| abstract | - By Talula Kya Nali sat in her room, propped up in a chair, her head bandaged. It hurt worse than that day, early in her training with Sensei Osgood, when she first sparred with a live opponent. The boy had misjudged his distance and gave her a good bump on the head with his wooden practice sword. She smiled at the memory and then winced at the effort. There was a soft knocking at her door. She had half a mind to get up and flay the interloper for making such an ungodly racket but held her temper and called out. "What?" "Flowers for a Miss Kya Nali?" called a small voice from the other side of the door. This caught her off guard. She wasn't the sort of girl that got flowers. That was Kennia or maybe, if you were bold enough and had stolen them, Taai. No, she was the sort of girl who got knives or new buckles for armor. This was unexpected. "Come in" she called out. The door opened and in walked an odd bouquet with legs. She blinked, wondering if she was still suffering the effects of coffeetable to the brain, when the smallest gnome she had ever seen set the flowers down on the floor. Kya tossed him a coin for his trouble. He bowed and left. There was something peculiar about the plants in the vase. Their colors, though pleasing, were all wrong and there was the faintest clicking noise coming from them. She leaned closer for a better look. The flowers were all made of the thinnest sheets of metal, heated until it had changed color. She reached out to touch one of the blooms. Minuscule gears and springs stirred to life and the tiniest puff of scent ejected from the center of the flower. Kya recognized the scent as Redridge Heather. How long had it been since she had smelled that? She watched, as other tiny mechanisms in the clockwork bouquet kicked to life and ever so quietly arranged themselves in a new, pleasing fashion. She reached for the card and opened it. It read simply: Get well soon. Talula Spannerbang.
|
