New Friend, New World

The rumors about the existence of an universe-sized flower shop had spread across other universes, causing many people from different worlds to explore it. Lots of words about its welcoming vibes & endless entertainment have even gotten to the unlucky adventurer Sam himself. He had already gone through several adventures by the time he was able to feel the positive energy from those around him who had the chance to explore the elusive flower shop universe. Although, with every single one of his adventures having gone wrong somehow due to him carrying the burden of bad luck on his back, Sam was extremely hesitant on trying to find a way to access it.

Not to mention rumors about needing a special invitation to be able to teleport there would also make finding this universe a lot harder than it should be. After all, where could one even find such an invitation in a world that was so different from the flower paradise?

As Sam kept contemplating about it all outside of what seemed to be a modest-looking house, he could feel someone coming towards him from the back. The sounds of wings flapping towards Sam caused him to look behind him.

“SAM! Are you thinking about what I’m thinking? I think we should totally try to find this flower shop!” Beezy could be heard exclaiming, very interested in the universe that was rumored to exist for so long.

Sam looked at his closest companion with worry on his face. “But…what if we end up in danger again? And, most important, what if we somehow can’t get back here after jumping in?” The fellow looked down while playing with his fingers, pretty worried about this adventure despite him also being curious about this place. It didn’t take long before he felt a very soft hand on his shoulder.

Beezy kept her smile on her face even after listening to her best friend’s worries. “Don’t worry! If you were able to tell people were able to come back here and express how much they enjoyed it there, surely we’ll be able to come back too! And, after all, it’s not a true adventure without some danger!”

A little nervous giggle could be heard from Sam before he eventually admitted defeat. “Alright, if you say so, bestie…” Right after he accepted to go on that little adventure, Beezy started flying around him, genuinely looking forward to the fun adventure she was going to have with him. Lots of hope could be seen in her eyes: hopes of finding some new friends, perhaps learning about something new, and maybe even a great opportunity to see what other worlds were like!

As Beezy tried her best to drag her best friend towards adventure, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to drag Sam that easily. The fellow swiftly grabbed his bow that was resting on a table nearby before letting his little bee friend drag him towards what seemed to be a forest.

—

The duo’s trip through the forest…was the complete opposite of smooth. Rough, one would say.

“Ow! Where did that branch even come from?!?” Sam exclaimed as he slowly got up after tripping on what looked like a branch that barely found itself out of the ground. 

Beezy looked at her friend with a worried expression on her face. Not only did Sam trip on some random tree branch, he also accidentally bumped into a wasp nest and was still exhausted after running away from the hoard of wasps trying to sting him for disturbing his home. Not only that, but Sam was still drenched after accidentally falling into a river while trying to cross it…only to be hit by another branch.

As Sam stretched after falling, he made some dissatisfied noises while complaining about the amount of bad luck he had already been dealing with. “We haven’t even gone that deep, and so much has already happened! It certainly couldn’t get worse, ri-” The fellow was interrupted by the growl of a monster that was nearby.

“...Right”, Sam sighed as he looked at Beezy, who was mildly concerned about the noise the two of them just heard, but also was curious enough to check it out. “You still…wanna check it out, don’t you?”

The bee only nodded, curious to see what the deal was. Though, rather than being overly excited about it, she was mainly concerned. On one hand, she really wanted to find one of the invitations to go to that flower shop. On the other hand, though, was it really worth going through all of this trouble for a new world?

No, no, what was she thinking? This isn’t the first time the two of them had gone through hell just to be able to reach their own goals, and it wasn’t going to be their last time at all! And besides, Beezy herself does have quite the tricks up her sleeves and that was exactly why she was thrilled for adventure! She wasn’t going to give up this easily! Beezy started flying towards the source of the growl, with Sam following her in panic.

“H-hey! Wait up, I don’t want you to get harmed!” The fellow rushed towards his friend, only wanting her safety.

In front of them stood a humanoid with prominent bug traits, such as wings, antennae & extra limbs. It was growling towards the surroundings several times out of rage, although Sam did feel something akin to fear from it as well. The monster kept walking around while scratching the ground, seemingly looking for something but its inability to find it made it roar even more.

Seeing this, Beezy hid behind Sam, completely unsure of what to do with it.

“Sam…I think it’s looking for something…I sure hope it’s not food!” The little bee companion whispered with fear in her voice. Her friend only looked at the monster with overwhelming concern. “I don’t think it’s looking for food. I think it might just be looking for some comfort or something like that. I can definitely sense some fear in it, and it doesn’t seem to know what to do at all. You can say…it’s lost.” Sam explained while touching his heart. He had the particular ability to feel anyone’s emotions & today was definitely a day when that type of ability was going to be useful.

Unfortunately, as the two discussed what to do with the bug monster in front of them, it noticed the two and started running towards the two, mouth open, mandibles appearing and ready to bite into the two. In a panic, the duo rushed away from the creature while trying to plot something to do with it. Sam definitely did not want to harm it, but Beezy was getting very worried they weren’t going to be able to resolve this peacefully.

As the two ran back towards where they had started from, they kept having to dodge trees, bushes & other small animals before Sam eventually trips on a bush that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. With the monster getting closer to Sam, he quickly split his bow in half and defended himself from its sharp mandibles with the newly-made swords. 

Meanwhile, Beezy slapped the monster with one of her fists, causing it to keep a distance from the duo. “Don’t touch my friend!” She exclaimed as loudly as she could, which was met with another roar in her direction. This pushed her towards Sam, who was still on the bush.

“Well damn, at least I tried!” Beezy exclaimed while still lying on Sam’s chest.

While the monster was still distracted by the little slap Beezy had inflicted on it, the duo quickly got up off the bush then rushed towards the entrance before going right back inside of their home. Beezy looked at her friend in confusion as he rushed towards the refrigerator to grab some food.

“Hey! What’s the big idea? Why are we back home and why are you trying to find food! This is literally not the time! We have a GIANT MONSTER trying to eat us over there!” Beezy jumped on Sam’s shoulder as he struggled to grab all the food that was in the fridge. The fellow, then, closed the fridge then rushed towards the outside of their home.

“Are you crazy? Are you going to throw yourself at the monster?!” The little bee continued panicking, still having no idea what Sam had in mind at all.

As the monster approached the two, Sam was waving the handful of food he had grabbed from his fridge. “Look, Beezy. Fighting this fella won’t do anything. And, I can tell it is simply lost. I’d love to help it out, but first it needs to calm down. And, what better way to do that than to feed it food?” The fellow smiled as he slowly started to hand the food.

He watched as the monster hesitated to get close to him. While it looked angry at first, its behavior softened while it sniffed the food before eventually taking a bite out of it.

“...Did you actually give it one of our only chocolate bars? It took us so long to get it!” The bee continued complaining, although she quickly stopped as soon as she realized the monster wasn’t angry anymore; just fearful and lost. Its multiple eyes showed a short history of losing its friends during travel, and now due to the stress, had been struggling.

While the monster enjoyed the food, Sam let out a sigh of relief as the werebug slowly turned back into what looked like a human. It lost its wings, extra limbs & odd coloration before adopting a fairly tan skin color.

“...Holy crap.”

—

After some time, the human that previously took the form of a monster was sitting inside of Sam’s home while the latter was laying down after what seemed to be such an exhausting day.

“So, uh…how did you get lost in that forest?” Sam asked, really curious as to where this person was coming from.

The human hesitantly looked around. She appeared to still be very fearful after what had just happened, although the hospitality Sam had been giving her had been comforting her a bit. “Well, I was just fucking around with my friends and we decided to go in that forest for fun. Yknow, because nature is pretty darn cool at times. But, I somehow lost them and spent so much time finding them, I don’t really remember the last time I saw them. And, eventually I started freaking out, like ‘damn, what if I’m doomed to be alone’. And, uh…I barely remember the rest. Then I randomly found myself in front of you.”

Sam kept nodding at the person’s story while Beezy was casually taking a nap on him. Clearly, she needed some time to rest as well.

“I don’t know what the fuck you did before you gave me food, but it was good, I guess. Name’s Cricket, by the way! Who the hell am I dealing with? Doubt y’all ain’t as cool as me, though.” The visitor finished while giving the duo a smirk. Despite what had just happened and despite her distress, she still wanted to keep her usual obnoxiously cool demeanor.

Sam noticed how hard she was trying to stay cool and let out a little laugh. “Well, nice to meet ya! I’m Sam, and the little bee you kept seeing around is my best friend Beezy! We’ve been together since god knows when!”

Cricket jumped out of her seat before rushing towards one of the windows as if nothing bad had ever happened. She let out a laugh, trying as hard as she could to bury the more negative feelings she was dealing with. “Yeah, yeah, whatever! Least I’m finally back and running!” As she continued to observe the outside world, she noticed something a little odd popping in. Cricket was completely unsure of what it was, which prompted her to rush towards the outside of the home without a word. Sam saw this and was very confused, before following her out.

By the time Cricket, Sam & Beezy had gotten outside, a portal had already formed. It was as light blue as the zenith’s sky and the sparkles around it only meant one thing: it was purely made of magic. 

The three of them observed the portal carefully, really suspicious at its random appearance. Beezy tried approaching it, hoping that it wouldn't absorb her, only to be jumpscared by a glass frog that jumped out of the portal. She jumped around for a bit before approaching the trio, who were all understandably shocked by the random frog that showed up out of nowhere.

“Hello there! I’m Lotus!” The frog started speaking. “I came here because, as requested by someone over at Lilium Emporium, I’m looking for a certain…uh….Cricket Cicada! Is she here by any chance?”

Both Sam and Beezy looked at Cricket, who was crossing her hands, unsure of why a frog would want someone like her. “Me. Sup?” Cricket asked the tiny frog, still trying to keep her rough front.

“Your sister’s been really worried about you and she gave me the little quest to come and find you! I’m really glad though, you seem to be in pretty rough shape! Come on, we’ll patch you up! And, we can even bring your other friends in. Lilium Emporium welcomes everyone!” Lotus continued jumping enthusiastically, happy to have completed her quest.

Cricket’s demeanor changed really quickly as the mention of her sister resonated through her mind. “Y-yeah! Let’s go, right now! You guys go in too!” It was a little crazy how quickly Cricket jumped right into the portal with Lotus following her. 

Meanwhile, Sam & Beezy looked at each other, still shocked that while things didn’t go so well, they ended up having the opportunity to explore an entirely new world. With someone as peculiar as that one frog, the duo couldn’t help but feel excited about the things they would find over there. Eventually, Beezy started flying towards the portal while holding onto Sam’s hand.

“Come on! This place seems very promising, and I’m sure we can ask the really nice frog to bring us back home! I’m really excited to see the other people that are in that world!” Beezy exclaimed before disappearing into the portal along with Sam’s hand.

As the fellow walked inside the portal, he couldn’t help but paint a smile on his face. In the end, even if their adventure in the forest didn’t quite go well, at least his goal was reached.

—

The vibes from this world were entirely different from anything Sam & Beezy had ever seen. Meanwhile, Cricket didn’t seem particularly surprised, almost as if she had seen the place before. She didn’t hesitate to look around while pointing about how “unimpressive” the entire scene was. “Oh, I’ve already seen this one before! It’s just a weird-looking lily! Oh, and that one looks like a dancing man! I’ve seen plenty of those already! And don’t even get me started on the grass. Pfft.”

The trio & the frog were greeted by a generous arc overwhelmingly decorated with different types & colors of flowers, as well as lots of different patches of flowers. Exotic trees were also surrounding the area and the grass beside the sidewalk they were on was as green as it could be. Right beside the arc was an older man in blue with cartoonishly square glasses and a red apron. As the man started speaking, his prosthetic on his left arm made itself visible, with a wedding ring shining on it.

“Oh, hey, Lotus! Is that the fellow you went out to find? Heh, of course it would be Cricket…” the florist in blue playfully greeted the little glass frog, who quickly jumped towards the florist’s arms.

Lotus got herself pretty comfortable in the man’s arms before explaining the situation. “Yeah! 

She definitely got lost out there, but at least I can tell Cynthia she’s safe and sound! What are you up to, Davie?” The little frog asked with lots of curiosity in her voice. After all, while it was usual for Davie to be greeting the new guests, it was almost as if he fully knew she was going to come back at that instant.

Davie let out a chuckle before pointing towards what looked like a terrace. There, there were quite a lot of people enjoying their time, as well as a florist in green happily chatting with a small bunch. “Well, that’s Florist Sirius for you! He told me to wait here because you were going to come back soon! And, he also mentioned something about having new guests, which I can definitely see right in front of you!”

The florist in blue smiled towards the fellow in yellow and his bee friend. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you two before. Who do I get to help out today?” Davie asked, still with the overwhelming friendliness he was exhibiting when Lotus came back to the flower shop.

While Beezy was looking all around the area, in awe with all the flowers & plants she could ever look at and have, Sam was looking at Davie with an awkward expression; he was still shocked by the fact he had ended up in an entirely different world. Why was no one else surprised by this?

Eventually, though, Sam gathered some of his composure and presented himself while dragging Beezy back towards him. “I-I’m Sam! And this is my best friend Beezy! We’ve been together since forever…! It’s very nice to meet you, Davie!”

Davie let go of Lotus, who headed right towards the terrace with Davie following right behind. “Follow us! Cynthia shouldn’t be too far. And, while you’re around, you enjoy your stay!”

—

As the group walked past the arc of flowers, they were all in awe from all the people who were enjoying their time, as well as all the different merchants and small businesses looking to offer their crafts to the world, whether it was food or handmade items. The flowers in this terrace were predominantly roses, however they nicely complimented the many tables & chairs all around the place for those looking for a place to rest.

On one side, a painter was casually working on a piece by using Davie & his little group as his main subjects while the rest being background elements. With a smile on his face, she was proudly placing some of the finer details when a duo approached her with smiles on their faces.

“Hello, hello! We heard that there are a lot of artists around here and just wanted to ask a few questions about your process? My friend Kirie over there is also really curious about the process, but is a little shy!” One of the duo, a bubbly girl in pink with antlers and hooves, exclaimed while her friend, a more calm and elegant fellow, was silently watching the conversation get started.

The artist was looking at the two, unsure of how to explain his process. “Well…I start by finding inspiration before letting my tools take me to whatever they want. I will say, though, it’s very interesting to see so much life here…” She then went back to working on the little details. 

While Kirie & his friend were calmly observing the painter, another fellow appeared in front of the canvas. While doing a cartwheel, he giggles for a little bit before standing beside the painter. “Looks like we’re having a bit of a party here, hoho! How can ya boy Ruffles help you spice things up, eh?”

The clown with multiple limbs reached his arms towards the little group, expecting handshakes. While the girl happily obliged, the others were a little bit reluctant. “I’m Elodie! Really nice to meet you! Over there is Kirie and uh…”

“Vanitas. Nice to see you all appreciate my art”, the artist replied while still trying to paint.

A giggle could be heard from Ruffles as he looked over the painting before starting a casual conversation. Overall, it seems that they would get along pretty well.

In front of the group consisting of Davie, Cricket, Sam & Beezy was a series of tables. One of them was occupied by a lady in pink & black with a notable headband decorated with little demon horns. She was simply enjoying some tea while observing the flowers, even appreciating the flowers decorating the area. Though, a conversation between a couple at a table close to hers did attract her attention.

“We really should come here more often, Amanda! This cheesecake is absolutely delicious!” One of them exclaimed.

“Personally, I’m just happy that you’re happy! And besides, the vibe here is absolutely perfect. I love you so much, Nikki, never forget that…” Amanda responded with a softer yet content tone.

Beside their table was a curious masked man who had recently finished a plate of pasta and was simply finishing a cup of orange juice. He slowly approached the couple. “You two should try their spaghetti next time, it’s definitely amazing!”

The couple and the masked man continued their conversation by commenting on the food while the lady in pink & black had her attention towards the little group that had just shown up at the terrace.

—

“Oh wow…! There are so many different kinds of people, and they are all having so much fun together even if they’re all from completely different worlds! How did you guys even make such a place?” Sam asked while looking around with overwhelming curiosity in his voice and expression. Meanwhile, Beezy was going absolutely crazy, looking at every single plant as she flew past them. Cricket, on the other hand, observed Sam’s amazement before laughing it all off. “Pfft, you find this cool? I’ve gone here so many times, I can quite literally name every single person that’s been visiting here! ” She looked at the duo with a huge grin on her face, expecting Sam to ask her about the many people. Though, he didn’t, mainly due to him still being shocked about the flower shop, which made Cricket laugh once again before giving the guides a chance to explain about the location.

Lotus jumped around Davie as he guided the group around the terrace before explaining what she knew about it all. “Well, I don’t know everything about this place, but Florist Sirius made this place and then…poof! It keeps finding new universes to interact with and then the people living there can always visit us through a portal or an invitation! It’s super cool!”

Sam nodded along while still following Davie around. He then pointed towards the other florist in green, who was holding some bouquets and some welcoming gifts. Davie, then slowly walked away to give some space to his superior. “Well, he wanted to meet you, so I’ll be doing my other tasks. Hope you enjoy your stay, and welcome again!” The blue florist then walked away, heading towards one of the groups of flowers to take care of.

The florist in front of the group smiled before looking back and signaling someone to come towards him. After a short amount of time, a girl wearing blue glasses joined the group with a smile and tears in her eyes.

“CRICKET!” The girl quickly screamed before rushing towards her sister, ready for a hug. “I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE DOING OKAY!”

Cricket didn’t hesitate before accepting the hug from her sister, admittedly feeling very comforted now that she wasn’t lost and had someone she knew back. She wasn’t able to say much, in fact she preferred to stay silent during it all. After all, she only vaguely remembered that she had turned into a monster once again. And, almost harmed someone once again. All Cricket wanted was to think about her sister Cynthia, who was back with her.

The florist accompanying the group looked at the reunion with a serene expression on his face before handing one of the bouquets to Sam, as well as a welcome gift. He wanted to also give a set to Cricket, but wanted the hug to last a little longer. “I see you were the one who helped Cricket get back here. Great job on that! I wanted to give you these to welcome you to my flower shop and as a thanks for helping us out! Cynthia’s been extremely worried for you and so we’ve been trying to seek Cricket for a while. But, with how many universes she tends to be, it was a little harder than usual, haha!” The florist thanked Sam for his deeds even though he really did it all because of his abilities of feeling others emotions without needing to ask people about them. 

Sam accepted the gifts while still feeling really humble about it all. “Well, I couldn’t just ignore someone in distress like that. I’m glad I also helped you out, uh…” The fellow was trying to figure out how to call the florist in front of him.

“Florist Sirius. But you can call me Florist. Otherwise you’ll get me confused with other Siriuses out there, haha!”

By the time Florist & Sam had finished their talk, Cricket & Cynthia were finished with their hug and started catching up with each other, especially since it had been weeks since they last saw each other. During that time, Florist reached out to Cricket to give her some bouquets and a gift before stepping aside to give the little group an opportunity to talk to each other one last time before separating for now.

Cricket slowly reached out to Sam while still holding the gifted bouquet with a smile on her face. “Well, ya ain’t so bad after all! I’ll have to thank you for getting me back to my sister! As you can tell, she’s been worried sick!” 

Sam only looked at Beezy, who was giving him a sincere smile to try and tell him he did an amazing job. “No problem! That’s just natural to me!”

As the group finished off their talk, they noticed the smell of fire towards one side of the terrace. Over there, a peculiar being could be seen on fire while an imposing buff man with a cape and a shorter, much more elegant being awkwardly holding a stick with a singular marshmallow at the end of it.

“Heh, so you really have never heard of a s’mores, huh bestie?” The taller man spoke with an immense smirk on his face. “Well, shit’s simple. You get two crackers, then a piece of chocolate. And then, you shove that marshmallow into these little shits. And then boom! S’mores.” The man could be seen making crackers and chocolate appear from thin air before carefully grabbing the stick from his friend and carefully sliding the marshmallow between the little sandwich he had made from the food. He, then, gave the resulting product to his friend.

The elegant fellow let out a gentle giggle. “You always find the most curious things, Deci. I’ll make sure to cherish this ‘s’mores’ moment forever.”

While Sam was observing the scene, he looked at Beezy, everyone else having gone off to do their own things. “Isn’t it too early to be making s’mores?”

His best friend only laughed.

“You silly goose! It’s never not time for some food!”