Rosebud wandered through the garden, exploring it's beauteous surroundings with pleasure. She had watched as the fae played among the flowers and butterflies, seeming as if they had not a care in the world. This delighted her. Several fae skimmed across the water, playing with the fairy fish, and this amused her greatly.

She knew this garden well, for she had explored it on many an occasion. She was familiar with the fae who sat at the tables gossiping with one another as they sipped their tea.

On this day, at this hour, Rosebud wandered under the great willow tree near the pond. Sitting upon a branch, a fae sat with no one to keep him company. He appeared to be lonely, looking wistfully at the fae who skimmed the surface of the water playfully.

A feeling of melancholy washed over Rosebud as she silently watched the fae. Her thoughts turned to another fae, one whom she'd met in her own garden not long before. How different they seemed, yet, they were both Whisperers.

Gliding forward in silence, Rosebud moved closer to the fae. It was then she'd noticed the Jewel-toned moth that sat upon his shoulder. Smiling down upon the fae, her thoughts turned once again to the fae she'd met in her garden, and the moth he'd grown quite fond of.

She'd wondered if this fae felt the same way about his own moth. Sitting upon the branch next to him, she watched the fae as they played with the fairy fish, ever aware of his presence there beside her.

A thought suddenly formed in her mind, could he possibly hear her as the other fae had? Wanting to know the answer to her own question, she'd decided to recite a poem to him. Then, even if he could not hear her, the moth could enjoy her poem.

Sitting gracefully upon the branch next to the fae, she had spoken out strong and clear, her voice swelling and ebbing as a river flows, reciting,

As I gaze upon their playground,
happy they do seem,
flitting about with butterflies,
not a worry, so I deem.

As I gaze upon the water,
their laughter I do hear,
as the fairy fish leap up at them,
playfully coming near.

As I gaze upon this willow branch,
alone he seems to be,
yet there upon his shoulder,
a friend he ne'er see.

As I gaze upon your wistfulness,
sitting high up in this tree,
look closer now around thyself,
for it's here she waits for thee.

Lazuli's Friend, written by Joan aka Fiziali
Please do not use without my consent.

As she finished reciting her poem, she allowed her voice to soften somewhat, letting the final word float away in a whisper upon the breeze. She witnessed the moth as it fluttered it's wings, obviously pleased with her poem, and she'd smiled. She sat silently, awaiting the fae's response, unsure if he'd heard her.

• The sky this very day was a bit more cloudy than usual...that's why Lazuli decided to leave his lake, and search for some company in one of the more frequently used gardens. But ofcourse, it wasn't as easy as he thought...
  
  Midnight came with him, as always. She got used to keeping him company; even if he didn't want her to come, she was there anyway. The moth started acting as Lazuli's mother figure soon after they met, and continued ever since. He loved her, and she loved him, but sometimes he just wasn't in the mood to listen to her parently advice.
  
  He chose the Evercommon Garden as the place of his today's trip. Mostly because he still felt sentiment towards it; it was the first place he was exploring in the gardens, and even if his feelings towards it weren't entirely positive, it still was the first place he thought about when considering taking a walk...
  
  So, he arrived at the place... and had no idea what to do with himself. There were playful fae everywhere, chatting, swimming, having fun...and no one seemed to be looking for company. Everybody seemed to already have it. Lazuli was standing there for a while, in the middle of the grass field, dumbfounded, with no idea what to do now... And suddenly, he knew that he lost. There was absolutely no way for him to join those happy circles. And he decided to hide himself from his shame.
  
  The big willow was there for as long as he remembered. He quickly hid in its calming shade, and climbed on the branches, making himself sit comfortly. Midnight was strangely quiet today, and he was grateful to her for it. He just concentrated on observing the playful fae, and wondering, if one day he'll also be there...probably not.
  
  It was then, when he heard the poem from sudden silence. The words were calming, but way too unexpected... Lazuli jumped from shock, and momentarly lost his balance on the branches, falling hardly on the ground.
  "Ow..." He carefully touched his hurting head, his eye releasing a small sapphire from pain. This wasn't a good day, definetely not.
  The fae looked around, trying to locate the trickster that managed to sneak next to him....and didn't see anyone.
  "Who...who's there...?" He asked softly...wondering, if he'll even hear an anwser...

Rosebud had not expected the fae to be so startled by her voice, and so she had gasped when he'd fallen from the tree.

Gliding down to where he was at, wanting to be sure he was not injured, she had seen the gem form from the tear in his eye that had been caused in reaction to his fall. The formation of the gem intrigued her, and so she'd committed it to memory to muse upon at a later time.

At the moment, she was more concerned that the fae had not hurt himself. She watched as he rubbed at the spot he had fallen upon, having bumped his head, but there were no scratches. A small lump had formed there, however, and she felt a pang of guilt. She knew he could not see her, yet he looked around for her.

"Who...who's there...?"

His voice had been soft, almost inaudible, but she'd made out his words.
Not wishing to startle him again, she'd decided to do something to make him aware of her presence before she spoke once more. She had done this before, with the other fae, to let him know where she was at, and so she felt it would help to comfort this nervous fae.

Bending near to the ground, she slipped her hand beneath a leaf, and concentrating, she raised her hand, lifting the leaf into the air before him. Then she spoke again, her voice filled with concern,

"Fae, are you alright? My sincerest apologies as I really did not mean to startle you. My name is Rosebud, and I'm a Spirit within these gardens."

The floating leaf was definetely something he wasn't expecting.
One moment, he was sitting on the ground, looking around, trying to spot the person who startled him...and the second, he was staring in front of himself in disbelief.

It was the first time Lazuli saw a spirit.... Well, 'saw' wasn't a good way to word it... more like 'was in its presence'... And ofcourse, now he knew how the person was able to sneak behind him unnoticed.
She just wasn't noticeable.

"...A...spirit...?" Lazuli said slowly, surprise was clearly visible in his voice. "I never saw a spirit...um...I mean...you know...." He started making strange shapes with his hands, not entirely sure how he should word himself in this particular situation...

"I'm alright..I think. It only hurts a bit." A soft smile appeared on his mouth, as he carefully touched Midnight's wing, checking on her, and glad that she appeared to be fine. "...my...name is.. Lazuli." He ended, somehow feeling, that now he's supposed to give out his name.
This was definetely an unusual situation...

Having anticipated the surprise the fae would show towards the discovery that a spirit was talking to him, she'd smiled at the comical expression upon his face.

He was obviously having some difficulty in saying what he meant, due to her ethereal presence that did not permit him to visibly see her entity. His gestures were amusing as he formed strange shapes with his hands as if trying to describe something that simply was not there.

She felt another twinge of guilt when he'd mentioned he was feeling a bit of pain from the injury he'd gotten from his fall. Then she'd seen Lazuli fondly inspect his moth to ensure she had not been injured. Rosebud knew then that he did indeed have a bond with her similar to that of the other fae and his moth. This pleased her greatly.

"...my...name is.. Lazuli."

He'd introduced himself to her. Rolling his name across her tongue, if indeed spirits have a tongue, she said, hesitantly at first, "La..zu..li. Lazuli. What a pleasant name that is."

She liked the way his name rolled off her tongue, with almost a lilt to it. Reciting again, she said to him,

"Lazuli the coolie,
had truly set newly,
an awesome new ruley
to use at the schooley."

Lazuli's Silly Rhyme,
Written by Joan aka Fiziali,
please do not use without my permission.

She'd chuckled, her voice tinkling like bells on the wind. "Forgive me, Lazuli, but the rhyme entered my mind as I said your name for the first time. It's a silly rhyme, I know, but I thought you might like to hear it just the same."

She truly hoped he was not offended by her rhyme, but would rather find it amusing as well. She meant no harm in reciting it, as the rhyme truly had just formed in her mind.

She found herself liking this fae. There was a definite distinction between he and the other fae she had met, but they were both pleasant to be around, and she found she liked having the fae as her friends.

It seemed the more time she spent with them, the more she learned from them, and they from her. Being in their company, she found great pleasure in seeing the world through their eyes as they described it in their words and actions.

She was happy that her voice was strong enough for the fae to hear her, or she would never have come to know them the way she did now. As a result her voice was becoming stronger. Rosebud felt a great satisfaction in that knowledge.

There was someting pretty interesting in this voice, Lazuli could feel it...but why did she spoke in rhyme so often? Does she find it entertaining?

The fae finally stood up, and carefully fixed his robe. Definetely too short. But at least it was easier to move in, compared to other faes. But when you're flying, it doesn't matter if ten meters of cloth are floating around and between your legs. And Lazuli still hated flying where somebody could see him. So a short robe was definetely more convenient.

His attention once again fixed on the spirit, looking in the way of a floating leaf. It was definetely strange, and he wasn't sure how to treat this conversation...but oh, well... He did came here to seek company, didn't he?

"..are you a poet, by any chance?" He asked, wanting to explain the rhyming first.

Rosebud smiled at the fae's innocence. It was different with this fae, for he'd never spoken with a spirit before, where the other fae had.

She answered his question, saying, "Yes, I am a poet and a storyteller. It brings me great pleasure to tell my stories to others for their personal enjoyment. If you should ever desire to hear a story, then you are welcome to seek me out."

She spoke with a loving pride in her voice, for she truly did love to tell her stories. It brought as much pleasure to her in the telling as it did to her listeners.

"It seems to me you've never spoken with a spirit before. Is there anything else you would like to know about me?", she'd asked kindly.