The sun hadn't shone as bright the next morning.
Yesterday, when Asrael arrived home, he spoke about the difficult trials he had gone through, and how he was forced to hide when he noticed Chrysa went to the same school. It couldn't be said that school today for the brothers would be any better.
Arius felt joyful when he arrived back home after the second day of dropping the two brothers off at school , and as the thought of the Haima flowers crossed his mind, he turned in the direction of the garden. He maneuvered around the hedges and knelt down in front of the Haima blossoms. Carefully, he folded his sleeve over his hand and reached to one, snapping the stem instead of pulling it. The stem was a nice green color, while the vines near the ground were darker.
He smiled as he stood up, the stem was pinched between his thumb and forefinger, wrapped in his sleeve. It's poison was extremely potent, but its effects weren't what one would expect. It would paralyze the affected area, then spread, and depending on the amount it could cause organ failure. The way it got into the body were the tiny bristles that you couldn't see with the naked eye, and unlike most plants it didn't make you itch. The bristles would go into the skin and come off the plant, which would allow the poison from within the plant to os out. The bristles also allowed the poison to get through the skin.
There was no reason the plant was created, is what Arius said, but there was a reason, although such a reason couldn't be put into words. The plant was like a weed, in the way that it was difficult to kill, so perhaps Arius wanted something beautiful, but not frail.
When he brought the blossom into the house, he kept one hand under it, incase the bristles fell. He got out the materials he needed and coded the plant in a serum that would neutralize the poison. He wasn't always prepared, but when it was something so simple, of course he had the appropriate things.
With the now harmless flower, he walked towards the stairs, but not before taking a glance at the portrait that was lain against the wall. It was then that he was reminded of the mission Zuna was supposed to complete. He would have to ask about that.
Arius found himself in front of her bedroom door, it wasn't surprising that she was still in bed. Yesterday, it took until noon for her to leave her room, and even then she was rather quiet with her eyes glued to her phone. He knocked on her door, and after having no response, he continued to knock for the next 5 minutes. When she finally did answer, she had the appearance of someone who had gotten no sleep. Her hair was a mess, and he eyes seemed dead.
"What's wrong with you?" She had her eyebrows furrowed.
"Aren't you the one with the problem?" Arius had a teasing tone to his voice as he held the flower out towards her.
"You're my proble-!" She began, but stopped as her eyes become transfixed to the flower.
"You want it?"
"You said it was poisonous?" Her gaze was accusatory as she glanced at him and then back at the flower.
"I neutralized the poison."
"Well in that case!" A smile formed on her face as she quickly snatched it from him. Her interest in it was odd, however, if one were to analyze the Haima's other properties it wouldn't seem so weird.
"Want to know what it's called?" Arius watched her as she held the flower close to her face, as if to study it. She nodded, so he continued. "I call it 'Haima', and it's poison has a few uses. It can paralyze it's victims, or if done correctly it can be used to make an Aphrodisiac."