Here to provide birds water on their long journey during the drought (or just in general.) That's all. The flowery clothes and accessories are for attracting the birds' attention. Also there might be food too.



<<I can't write.>>

Lillian

Once upon a time, there was no spring. (Or fall, but that's a tale for another time.) Instead, there was only winter and summer.

As you might imagine, this caused some confusion among the mortal people of Earth, who had almost no time at all to properly prepare for the changing of the season. For six months, there would be winter---all cold and snow and ice and bare-branched trees. But then, on the summer solstice, the snow would suddenly melt, the trees would abruptly be covered in green leaves, and the winter chill would be replaced by summer heat, all within just a few hours. It was bad for the crops, too, since they had no time to adjust to the changing clime.

Eventually, a disgruntled group of people petitioned to Boreas, Spirit of Winter and God of the North Wind, and Notus, Spirit of Summer and God of the South Wind, to make the changeover more gradual, so they would have more time to prepare. Boreas and Notus said they would do their best to find a solution as soon as possible.

"But what can we do?" fretted Boreas, after the people had gone. He paced anxiously, leaving patches of frost-adorned grass where he stepped, which shimmered briefly before melting into dew. "We can't do it gradually; that's not within our powers. Unless we somehow find two other spirits to control the in-between times, we're stuck like this."
"You might be on to something there, brother," replied Notus, who was lounging in the summer sun.
"What do you mean?" Boreas asked, stopping.
"I mean let's find two other spirits, silly," Notus grinned, sitting up. "It can't be that hard."
"Okay, wise guy. Where do you suggest we find these other spirits?" Boreas asked skeptically, folding his arms.
"Easy! We find a naiad and a dryad with enough power, and lure them out of their respective forest and river, and---"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it. Where do we find them in the first place, I mean?"
Notus jerked his thumb over his shoulder at a crystal-clear stream not far off. "There's naiads in there. I see them all the time."
"You spy on them?!" Boreas gasped.
"Not spying," Notus retorted hotly. "I've noticed it, that's all. Look, you find a dryad to be the Spirit of Autumn, and I'll find a naiad to be the Spirit of Spring. Deal?"
The two brothers argued for a while longer, but eventually Boreas agreed.

Notus, flying quietly over to the stream, spotted a gold-haired naiad sunning herself, half-in and half-out of the water. Her head rested on her arms, which were folded on a large rock that jutted out of the riverbank and into the water. She appeared to be asleep. Her long hair fluttered slightly as she breathed in and out.
"Psst," Notus hissed, crouching next to her and shaking her gently. "Wake up."
She stirred groggily, moving one slender hand up to brush her hair out of her face and rubbing her eyes. She sat up, yawning---then saw Notus and froze for a second, before quickly slipping back underwater before he could blink. He scrambled to the edge of the bank, scanning the water, but didn't see her.
"Hey!" he called. "Come out---I just want to talk for a second! I'm not gonna hurt you." No response. "My name is Notus. I'm the Spirit of Summer and---"
"---God of the South Wind," finished the naiad, her golden head popping up above the water suddenly, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Notus jumped. "That does make a difference," the naiad continued. "If you were mortal, I likely would have drowned you. But as a god---and one of the seasonal spirits, as well---I guess I'll spare your life. What do you want?"
"I, I, uh, j-j-just wanted t-to t-t-talk to you," Notus stammered. He wasn't normally a stutterer, but the naiad was quite beautiful, and he found himself suddenly tongue-tied.
The naiad's eyes narrowed even more, until they were slits. "I don't talk to strangers," she said. "Not even strangers who're gods. Go away." She went back under the water then and disappeared, and no matter how many times Notus tried to call her back, he got no answer. Eventually he gave up and left.

He returned the next day, however, and found the naiad snoozing in the sun again, this time completely in the water, with only her face poking out. Probably so she can make a quick escape if I come again, thought Notus. He chuckled, and the sound woke the naiad, who glared at him before swimming away. Like the day before, he was unable to solicit a response from her no matter how many times he tried.

This went on for a while. Notus didn't always see the naiad, but she likely saw him, as he came every day. Weeks marched on, until there were only three weeks left in the summer. Finally, one day, the exasperated naiad surfaced, startling Notus yet again.
"You! Are! So annoying!!!" she exclaimed. "Can't you just leave me alone?!"
"No can do, m'lady," Notus said. "Sorry. By the way, I don't think I caught your name..."
"Lillian," she replied, sighing resignedly. "Now will you go?"
Notus didn't answer, but instead leaned back on a rock and closed his eyes.
He's...rather good-looking, Lillian thought, studying him, but she would never tell him that to his face. She splashed back underwater.

Another week went by, and by the time the week after that began, Notus and Lillian had begun to be friends. (Lillian secretly liked him a little, though, as more than a friend.)

At last, the last week came, and Notus explained that he would have to go, much to Lillian's disappointment, but that he would be back soon.

And so more time passed.

Then, one day in midwinter, Notus returned, and bade her follow him. Lillian was torn. On the one hand, she wanted to go with him, but on the other hand, if she abandoned the stream, she would no longer be a naiad. After much deliberation, she decided to go, to Notus's delight. So she left the stream. As she stepped out of the water onto the cold ground, she let out an anguished cry as she felt her naiad self die, going like the droplets that cascaded off her shimmering gown to soak the river bank. She nearly turned back then. But Notus was waiting for her...She gave one last loving look at the stream where she had grown up before turning away. Part of her heart would always belong to it, and that part longed for the cheerful, bubbling laughter of the water, and the delicious coolness of the stream on hot summer days. But she could not turn back now. So she followed the Spirit of Summer, to whom she had given the rest of her heart.

Lillian was able to follow him without much trouble for a few days. But then a fierce blizzard arose, and she lost sight of him. She could not even hear his voice over the howling wind. All that she had left to guide her was her heart. Finally, the blizzard died down, but Notus had disappeared! Still, Lillian traveled on, seeing the wonders of the world as she searched for the one she loved.

Unbeknownst to her (at least at first), wherever she went, she left a trail of flowers. A valley cloaked in snow would become a valley cloaked in new grass and flowers, and trees with little green buds just starting to open, after she went through it. Winter no longer abruptly changed into summer; instead, summer crept up gradually, with the spring starting so imperceptibly you barely noticed the change, then jumping out at you in its full glory before becoming full-fledged summer.

And still Lillian wanders. But she has a different path now: to help life begin again, to nurture, to bloom, and to spread beauty throughout the world after the bleakness of winter.

And that is the story of spring.


*NOTE: For those who don't know, naiads are water spirits, and dryads are tree spirits. Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you enjoyed the story!! =^w^=*

She may be a lass in a bonnet of pink,
But, oh wolf, you'd better rethink.
She's fierce 'round her flock,
you'll be thumped with a rock,
Wolf, you'd be better to back from the brink!

Persephone, the Greek goddess of spring and queen of the underworld.

During half the year, she stays with her husband, Hades, in the underworld, through which the Earth is plunged into colder months where nothing grows. For the other half of the year, she lives on the surface with her mother, Demeter, and the world is reborn and flourishes.

With tanned skin, eyes like glowing peridot, and vine-like markings adorning her arms, it is easy to forget her other life. Despite this, the skull-adorned crown atop her head heralds back to this other side of herself, where she rules besides her beloved over the land of the dead.

----

So, I've never really posted to the forum before. Sorry if I've made any mistakes with this entry, but whenever I think of spring, the first thing that comes to mind recently is Persephone and Hades. (Although, I admit this could be due to my Lore Olympus addition.)

I tried to come up with my own little design for her, instead of basing it on anything in particular, so hopefully, it's not too generic or anything.

It's also 03:25 here, so sorry if any of this post is poorly written or anything.

The North Wind

The transition from Winter to Spring was never an easy one.

Winter never liked to back down, often unleashing its worries on the land, freezing and covering it with blankets of snow.

"They're not ready yet!" It would cry "They can't leave me yet! It isn't time for them to bloom!"

Spring would never argue, for it knew Winter cared for all the beings of the land. "Alright, you can let them go when they're ready."

But even as time passed and nature was ready to wake, Winter could never let it go.

"Please," Spring would beg, "It is time, you cannot stop them from growing."

But Winter could never let go.

Its frozen arms could never let them go. Winter simply cared too much for the beings entrusted to it. It kept them safe and warm throughout the entire season of cold, and letting them go was unthinkable even now, when it was time.

Spring would always have to coax Winter to release them, pleading and convincing it to let go. "It's time for them to go, Winter" Spring would say, "If you truly care for them, you must let them go"

And Winter would open its arms, tears rolling down its frozen face, as the flowers and leaves spilled from its hands. "Please Spring," it would say, "Keep them safe"

And Winter would retreat, moving north until the next cold season came. It would visit them all again. Although it hurt to see how much happier everything appeared to be with Spring, Winter's arms were always open to those who sought it out.

Winter's departure was never clean, however. The North Wind himself would come to sweep away the ice and snow to let the earth warm up again.

He would shake the icicles from the trees and the frost from the ground.
He would skate over the lakes and rivers, cutting through the ice and open the water to the air again.
And when he returned home, to the north, where Winter waited, he would assure it that all of its beloved beings were safe and well cared for.

Yes, the transition from Winter to Spring was never an easy one, but the North Wind would always be there to help out the seasons.

Flora is a faerie who's job is to see to the growth of spring flowers. She in particular loves the flowers that bloom in May and often carries bouquet made of these flowers.

Felicity is the guardian of the animals of spring. She helps them out of hibernation, and guards their young, until they are ready to leave the nest.

Faela. A forest fairy.

A quite..average forest fairy, you would think. But no. She is the creator of the earth-

|continuing later|