Peace Was Never An Option

It was time for Amaranthe’s semi-regular visit to Haven in the Verdant Kingdom. Ever since she agreed to help Blossom after the Festival, Ama had taken the time to visit the city and help with the cultivation of the various mushrooms that could be found. Though it also worked out in her favor since she could get the strange black stew that served as a great fertilizer for her own garden back home.

Which would hopefully still be standing when she returned home.

Somehow over time, more and more fruits decided to join her basket. Cherry, Blueberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Watermelon… and the newest member Pumpkin. Back when it was just Ama and the trio of fruits, she would never leave them alone for any length of time. However since Raspberry and Watermelon joined, they were able to keep them from being too destructive. Losing a few bags of spores was more preferable to losing her hut. Pumpkin seemed to be neither interested or uninterested in the happenings around him so leaving him was also not as dangerous as it could be.

But that was a concern for later Ama. Current Ama… definitely felt like something strange was going on.

Normally, the city was bustling with people and there was an annoyingly care-free atmosphere. Today though. Not so much. Tension felt high, and Ama could feel more eyes on her than normal. It was bad enough she had to be around people (ew) but being noticed by said people (ew) was not something she wanted.

Ama quickly made her way to Strawberry Gardens. As she opened the door, everything seemed very quiet. Surprisingly, there was no Petal to bother her or anyone else. And she didn’t see Blossom either. Since this was not her first time here, she decided to go check the office to see if she was working in there. She stopped when it sounded like Blossom was talking to someone. Was there another visitor? No, there were no responses. So not in person. Kay.

Amaranthe made her way back to the cultivation beds and began to tend for the currently growing mushrooms. All of them seemed to be growing quite well considering so Ama went about fertilizing them.

“Oh, Amaranthe, I didn’t hear you come in,” Blossom spoke up, “Sorry about that…”

“…” Ama didn’t say anything right away and instead noted the very anxious behavior of her acquaintance. “It’s fine” was what she decided to say.

Ama went back to doing her thing, finishing up quickly, “I have the next set of logistics thought out if you want to go over them today.”

This time, it was Blossom’s turn to be silent. After a moment, she spoke again, “Amaranthe… have you heard about the things that have been happening in the city lately?”

“No, I have not,” Ama replied, “I usually just come to the city, come here, and then start the trek home. I don’t get news about anything.”

“So you haven’t heard about the potential attack then?”

“Attack? No. Who’s attacking what?”

Blossom took several moments to catch Ama up on what had been happening. Between the weird news that was probably fake to the actual news that was real. It was a lot. And it reminded her why she preferred solitude.

“So. That’s what happened,” Ama’s fins twitched.

“So you… haven’t heard anything? About this?”

“Not at all. It just reminds me why I like the Basin.”

“Lumina Basin… that’s where you live, right?”

“It is. Less people. Less politics. More peaceful.”

“Safer than the city… maybe.”

“Maybe… if these… corrupt(?) royals attack though… I get the feeling no matter where we are, we won’t be safe. Eugh,” Ama made an annoyed noise. Maybe it really is impossible to find peace anywhere.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Blossom asked.

Ama shrugged, “Probably go grab the fruit basket at home and come back. If I can’t find peace out there, I might as well try to make some here.”