Winter Wreath

It’s warm, almost cozy, inside of the flower shop. Viola likes to keep it a bit warmer inside the shop during the winter season to make sure the flowers aren’t affected by the cold. She, herself, isn’t too fond of the weather, either. She much prefers the warmer seasons, where plants can bloom without the fear of frost in the morning. So she keeps her shop warm and her greenhouse stocked for the winter months.

While the warmth in the shop isn’t surprising, the holiday music playing might be. She’s never been known to celebrate the holidays in any capacity, not even decorating her home above the shop. Celebrations and parties just don’t appeal to her, truthfully. She’d rather stay home with a warm cup of tea than go out and revel in debauchery. Other succubuns can enjoy that life, it simply isn’t for her.

This new holiday—Cherubmas—however, seems to have caught her attention. Maybe it’s because the cherubuns also seem to enjoy a more relaxed approach to the holiday, or maybe it’s the fresh holy holly featured in the decorations, but Viola has found herself falling victim to holiday cheer for the first time in many years. Dove had stopped by the shop earlier, a bright smile on their face as they asked her if she had any flowers to go along with the holy holly from the Heavenly Embassy. She’d been surprised by the request at first, but took a look at the holly and welcomed them and a sour looking Primrose into her shop to look at her more seasonal flora. Eventually, she settled on a white poinsettia, explaining to them how the flower tended to represent hope and peace. Dove had been delighted with it, and even Primrose’s sour expression softened a bit.

She sold them a few poinsettia plants, thinking that would be the end of it. But Dove has a way of surprising people. They proceeded to give her a few branches of the holy holly, insisting that she should decorate for the season. They’d even offered to weave a wreath for her, right then and there. Unfortunately, Viola is nothing if not a perfectionist, so she turned the offer down, saying that she’d try her hand at it herself.

Now, she sits in a chair behind the front desk of the shop, humming a bit as she weaves the branches together. There’s a blanket around her shoulders that Honey has nestled himself into as she works. He’d been buzzing around the poinsettias for a while, but it seems even bimbles get tired after a while. It’s all the same to her, having grown used to the little imp. She’ll be sure to save a few flowers for him for later.

She weaves the final, largest poinsettia bloom into the bottom of the wreath, making sure it’s framed perfectly by the holy holly berries. She pulls a few through the gaps in the petals before fanning them out. Viola holds the wreath out in front of her, turning it a bit back and forth to get a good look at it. It had taken much longer than a flower arrangement would have, but she thinks it turned out rather well for a project she hasn’t attempted before. The golden berries from the holly shimmer a bit in the light as she turns it. The poinsettia blooms are centered at the bottom of the wreath, a few of their leaves still attached to give the white wreath a bit of green. As usual, her aesthetic choices are perfect. She nods to herself, preparing to stand up to hang the wreath.

“Wow, Miss Viola, that wreath is simply beautiful!”

Viola startles and nearly drops the wreath. Honey tumbles off of her shoulder when she jerks to make sure it doesn’t fall out of her hands. Sitting there on the counter is Nina, wrapped in a red scarf rather than her usual bow. She looks just as surprised by her reaction, as if she thought Viola knew she was there already. Should she have known? How long has she been there?

She clears her throat. “Yes, well, thank you, Nina. When did you come in?” She straightens out her skirt, trying to mask her surprise. Nina tilts her head, her ear pooling on the table as she pretends to think about the question. She’s seen this act before.

“Oh, probably an hour or so ago. You were so focused, though, that I didn’t want to interrupt.” So she’d come in and saw Viola at work and decided to clock in for a break. She’s about to call her out on it when she gasps and hops around on the counter. “Oh, but you know! I hate to say this, Miss Viola, because your work is always lovely, but I dare say this wreath is missing something.” She narrows her eyes and raises an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair a bit.

“Is that so?” If her time is being wasted, she’ll certainly be upset. Sometimes, however, Nina does do her job well. When she chooses to. It isn’t always a bad idea to hear her out.

She nods confidently, crossing her little arms. “Yes! I think a ribbon will bring the whole thing together perfectly!” She hops down from the counter and makes her way over to where the ribbons for bouquets are kept, pulling out a spool of shimmery gold ribbon and holding it up for Viola to take. “I think this one will match your standards.”

She hums a bit, bending to take the spool with one hand. She turns it a bit, watching the gold shimmer in the light, before holding it against the wreath. Nina may be lazy to a fault, but she does have a good eye for details. The ribbon matches the holy holly perfectly and is just thick enough to add a pleasant detail without detracting from either the holly or the poinsettias.

She sets the wreath down on the table and begins to unravel the ribbon. “Bring me the scissors, please.”

As Nina climbs the counter with scissors half her size, Viola begins to wrap the wreath with the ribbon. She uses the branches of the holy holly to almost pin it in place, hooking it around them as she wraps it wide. She takes the scissors, snipping it with enough excess to tie a large bow beneath the largest poinsettia. When she’s finished, she holds the wreath up again, admiring her work and nodding to herself.

“Perfect.” She looks down at Nina, still on the counter, and gives her a rare, soft smile. “Let’s go hang this, yes?”

Her eyes seem to sparkle as they go out to hang the wreath on the front door of the shop. Viola would have preferred to keep it inside to preserve it for longer, but it would be a shame not to show it off to the world. Nina sits on her shoulder and directs her to centering the wreath in between chatting about whatever else comes to her mind. Somehow, though, she doesn’t seem to mind the chatter much. Perhaps a bit of Cherubmas cheer has infected her more than she thought. Either way, with her part timer on her shoulder admiring her work, she finds that the winter weather isn’t so bad.