Primavera

About the world they inhabit:

Their planet is very similar to Earth, both geographically and developmentally. Their social etiquette is also much the same. The most obvious difference is the population that's made up of anthropomorphic animals, and depending on their species, they can possess (often) magical abilities. Humans and animals like the ones we have on earth are not present (excluding fish and insects; they have those).

Some of the smaller differences are that their world is slightly more technologically advanced than ours is. Governments are run fairly similarly as well.

Every living being has a soul (excluding robots or artificial life). Rights are given to individuals depending on whether or not the soul is present. Inanimate objects (such as toys or stuffed animals) can come to life on rare occasions, and research shows that they do indeed have souls; though, it's unknown why this happens. In some cases, it seems more like possession occurs.

Abilities:

Primavera's species has the ability to "manipulate" plants and flowers to a certain degree. This can involve making them grow a bit faster, or bending and twisting in whatever direction is desired. This is done with chants and hand motions. The reason they have this ability is mostly to tend to the plants on their bodies, but it can be used for anything. 

Personality: 

Primavera is very analytical and critical. She makes her decisions based on how logical they are and rarely on emotions, as she was taught to repress them. She's quiet and reserved, even a bit stoic. Her personality is greatly contrasted with her girlfriend (Cotton)'s personality. She gets frustrated with those who make stupid and harmful decisions based on their feelings. Or who ruin their own lives. She does care about people's feelings though... Sort of. She doesn't like to watch people cry or get hurt. Especially since she isn't the best at comforting. But it doesn't make it any less foolish or confusing. 

Cotton helps her understand emotionally motivated individuals though. She even helps her understand her own complicated emotions, even if she'd rather not admit that they're such. With time, she gets more and more emotionally in touch. 

Biography: 

Primavera is of a species that is very traditional and often strict. The plant life that can grow on their bodies greatly varies depending on the individual. However, there are often not more than two species of plant that will grow on them. Primavera is an exception in this case, carrying roughly seven types of flowers on her body. This is considered gross and unsightly, as it isn't the norm. This made Primavera's adolescence extremely difficult, as her parents were strict, disapproving, and often commented negatively on her appearance. Her younger sister was showered with praise instead, which exacerbated her already low self-esteem and body image. The mistreatment didn't stop at school, either. Despite not attending school in her home country (where most of her species reside), kids would still pick on her for her appearance. This was consistent from elementary to high school. During high school, one of her friends was a student named Melon. They weren't the closest at the time, but often hung around each other. Melon's laid-back nature was really appealing, and he was a great listener.

After high school, Primavera went straight to college, as it's what her parents desired. They were hoping for her to get the best possible career, something high-paying and respectable. But truth be told, Primavera was dissatisfied with the prospect. She always wanted to be a florist. As cliche as it seemed, she always loved arranging different types of flowers together, having some sense of validation in seeing how such variety can be so beautiful. But she felt the need to impress her parents instead. Not only that, but her parents knew best, right?

During her time in college, she (and many others) had taken note of one eccentric student, a corgi named Cotton. She, in the eyes of everyone, was absolutely insane. Primavera thought she was insane too. Cotton often went on unhinged rants about aliens, the evils of the government, theories and sightings, even her own experiences with extraterrestrials. She claims to see alien messages in her dreams. Primavera is very down to earth, so she couldn't help but mock Cotton's conspiratorial ideas along with her classmates.

Even though Primavera was often bullied, she was never friendless. Unlike Cotton, who seemed to be completely socially ostracized. Being out of high school doesn't mean that the cruelty stops.

Primavera's peers would still mock her too, only it was just less direct and more passive aggressive than anything. Cotton overheard her being bullied once and decided to stick up for her. Primavera was confused and asked Cotton, "Why would you want to defend me when I called you and your ideas crazy?" Cotton gave her a sad look and responded, "Just because you mistreated me doesn't mean I want to see you mistreated."

This completely shifted Primavera's view of Cotton. She wasn't just some crazy idiot; she was actually quite kind and insightful. She knew a hell of a lot more about psychology and politics than Primavera did. Talking with her was nice, even if her ideas were frustratingly nonsensical. It was refreshing just how honest and shameless she was. She was just... herself; no strings attached. Cotton requested her number so they could chat more, and Primavera accepted. It's not everyday you meet someone like her. 

From then on, she and Cotton began talking somewhat regularly, building a friendship and, eventually, dating. They would bicker every now and again though, as Cotton's emotionally driven and conspiratorial ideas heavily conflicted with how Primavera saw the world. In her eyes, Cotton's ideas had hardly any evidence aside from hearsay, and it could be incredibly frustrating when she would go on and on about them. But the two got along well in many other aspects, such as their shared interest in preserving the environment, their respect and need for honesty and transparency, and their similar aesthetic tastes. Most importantly, they balance each other out. Although Primavera found herself becoming more empathetic and sensitive during her time with Cotton, she improved a lot.

One day, Primavera received a call from Melon. Despite not talking in years, he made an offer to her; he and another friend wanted to open up a business, but on their own, they couldn't afford it. So if she chipped in, she could own a portion of the store and fulfill her dream of becoming a florist. She said she'd think about it. Since her choices are often made logically, she wasn't sure that this was a better idea than striving for a higher-paying job. Not knowing what to do, she asked Cotton. Cotton was not only excited by the offer, saying she'd invest in the business, but she wanted to convince Primavera to follow her heart. This took a bit of pushing from Cotton, but eventually, she called Melon back to accept his offer.

After that day, their lives weren't the same. Together with Cotton, Melon, and someone new (named Cinnamon), they started their business, "Flowers & Flour." Primavera dropped out of college to pursue this, but Cotton would finish her last year there. 

It was nice finally seeing Melon again. He was as cool as she remembered, although maybe a bit more nervous than before. Cinnamon seemed alright, although communicating with her wasn't easy without Melon, so they couldn't really speak one on one. And Cotton was doing her usual thing while also helping around the store. Primavera felt free, being able to arrange her own bouquets and wreaths, having her own garden space, and all without the pressure of her parents. Sure, they probably weren't very proud, but her friends were. And that's all that really mattered. Slowly, her self-esteem got better, and she argued with Cotton less, though she was still emotionally distant.

She ended up becoming acquainted with the people next door, too. Tags and Kelli were their names. Kelli was a robot, and Tags is a teddy bear. They owned the store next to theirs, and seemed nice enough. Primavera wasn't as close to either of them as her other three friends were, but occasionally her and Tags would bond over their somewhat similar aesthetic tastes. Surprisingly, he opened up to her pretty early on, although this happened exactly once, and never again. Tags had told her that he had frequent thoughts of destroying the things around him, including himself... and sometimes Kelli. He sounded ashamed of it. She couldn't imagine someone like him ever being violent, so, not knowing what to do with this information, she chose to ignore it. Tags didn't talk to Primavera much after that, but everything seemed fine. 

A few pleasant years went by. Life seemed decent.

She woke up to the sound of Cotton shaking her awake and hyperventilating. Now sharing her panic, she asked what was wrong. Cotton, in a frenzy, explained that she had found Kelli smashed to pieces in her game store, and Tags was nowhere in sight. Primavera didn't know how to take this. She was, quite frankly, shocked, but first and foremost, she needed to calm Cotton down. She led her to the kitchen, shakily pouring a cup of water for her. Primavera reminded her to breathe, as she reminded herself. Putting the pieces together in her head, she realized exactly what happened and why.

Cinnamon, possibly catching wind of the commotion, worriedly pokes her head into the kitchen, only to meet eyes with Primavera. She explained the situation. The three tried calling the authorities for help, but they got their case dismissed entirely. Nobody cared about some robot; Tags didn't seem any more important to them either, simply saying to wait until he returned. They all sat down, bewildered.

Dealing with the grief was hard for everyone. Melon was in a constant state of agitation, Cinnamon clearly been struggling but was avoiding the situation as much as possible, and Cotton seemed completely down in the dumps. She didn't even have the energy to talk about her conspiracies, despite being on her computer and jotting down notes more than she ever had. It was the only thing she did aside from work. Primavera isn't even sure she's seen her sleep. Guilt weighed heavily on her. She could've prevented this, if she wasn't so horrible, so stupidly closed off. It was her fault that all her friends were miserable, that someone got killed. She could only IMAGINE what Tags was feeling. And to make it all worse, she hadn't told anybody yet. But keeping it to herself and wallowing in self-pity wasn't helping anyone; she told Cotton first. 

Unsurprisingly, she wasn't pleased with her. That stung. But it was fair. After all, the two respected honesty; Primavera was just as disappointed in herself as Cotton was. Cinnamon was angry omve she learned, mostly at Tags, but some of her anger was directed at Primavera. It was highly irresponsible, so she understood why. 

With this new information, Cotton seemed less interested in researching and more interested in comforting everyone who was grieving, including her. She couldn't understand why, Cotton should've been mad at her like Cinnamon was. Primavera felt horrible, but again, what was that going to do? She had to do something. So, she tried her best to comfort her friends too.

She seemed to appreciate the effort. And Primavera certainly was putting work in, doing research on how best to comfort someone, how to open up, and even how to love and forgive yourself. She had developed quite a bit in such a short span of time. 

Tags came home soon after, and Primavera's guilt came with him. But she didn't let it deter her, and if anything, attempted to make amends with Tags. He seemed even more guilty than she was, so, she took the time to try and relate to him, comfort him, let him know everything was alright. Cotton and Melon were extremely supportive of him, too. He seemed to be coping with his grief really well at this point, not to say it was perfect, but it was progress. The two became somewhat close again, Tags seemed to enjoy tending to the flowers, and Primavera enjoyed his company. Cotton couldn't be more proud of her girlfriend, and, admittedly, she was proud of herself too. Cinnamon eventually came to forgive the two.

It felt good to open up. Primavera could finally blossom.