Irhaboggle Pride (2019) Spectrum

Violet

"Come along, Basil, come along!" Sir Edward flicked his tail and the smaller rat quickly came scurrying after.

"Sorry, sir! Sorry!" Basil fumbled and mumbled and bumbled about. Sir Edward's large ears twitched in amusement.

"I say, old chap, are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Ha! When is ol' Basil ever feeling alright?" another nearby rat gave them both a toothy smile, but she was not wrong. Basil was known for his constant sneezes and sniffles. And as if on cue, only a second later, Basil gave another hearty "Achoo!"

"Good lord!" the female rat chuckled.

"I say, that certainly wasa good one," Sir Edward agreed.

"Sorry, sir," Basil mumbled with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, you have nothing to apologize for, my dear friend," Sir Edward waved a benevolent paw. "I know the sniffles are hardly your fault!"

"If only you didn't get so sick so easily," the female rat shook her head in mock disappointment.

The trio exchanged a few more words before Sir Edward and Basil finally departed.

"Pip, pip! Tally ho!" Sir Edward joked as he led Basil on.

"Say! Where are we going, sir?" Basil finally thought to ask as Sir Edward led him to the Asylum gates.

"There's a field nearby, full of all sorts of lovely flowers, I thought it might be nice if we pick some for our dear inmates," Sir Edward replied.

"Ah, how generous of you!" Basil twitched his ears in respect. Sir Edward was a true gentlerat! He even had a little old black top hat perched jauntily upon his head. No one knew where he'd gotten it, but it made him look quite dapper and handsome and charming.

"Well, I also believe a bit of sunlight and fresh air does wonders for a body, rat or human," Sir Edward continued as he and Basil finally scampered off the Asylum property. He deeply regrated being unable to actually take any of his human companions traveling with him, but a human was much more difficult to sneak out of an Asylum than a rat.

"That is true, sir, that is true!" Basil was quick to agree, picking up his pace so that he could run alongside Sir Edward.

But, as fate would have it, at that very moment, he gave another hearty sneeze.

"Well, sunlight and fresh air does wonders for most rats," Sir Edward teased, tail curling in amusement.

"Hehe, sorry, sir!" Basil apologized again, pausing to wipe his nose on a blade of grass.

"You have nothing to apologize for, my good sir," Sir Edward repeated airily. Then the two pressed on in their journey.

About half an hour later, they reached the field of flowers that Edward had been talking about.

"Heavens!" Basil stopped dead in his tracks. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but purple. Rosemary, pansy, columbine, violet, lavender, iris and much, much more.

"A lovely sight, is it not?" Sir Edward agreed, stopping beside Basil to enjoy the view.

"Very!" Basil nodded his head enthusiastically. He hadn't seen this much wild, untamed, natural beauty in a long time! And it was so rare when he got to see so many vibrant colors, even though they were all a shade of purple. It beat the endless black, white and red of the Asylum.

"Well, shall we proceed, my good fellow?" Sir Edward gestured to the garden and gave a courtly bow.

"Ah! Yes! We shall indeed, my good sir!" Basil tried to copy the gesture, but his bow was a bit less refined. Sir Edward gave a small, amused smile before leading the way into the flowers. Basil followed eagerly behind, although before long, his sniffling began in earnest.

"These sure are lovely flowers, sir!" Basil said as he cut a few of them away from their stems, using his teeth and claws. Sir Edward's mouth and paws were already full, so he couldn't respond verbally, but his nod said it all. Once Basil's teeth and claws were also full, Sir Edward led him to the far side of the field where a small brown bag was waiting.

"This is where we can store the flowers, and we'll carry them all back later," Sir Edward said. He'd stolen the bag from somewhere in the Asylum and used it to cart things back and forth. He'd left the bag in the field last time he was out, because he'd been planning on surprising the inmates with flowers for the past few days now. He just hadn't been able to get away from his Asylum duties until this afternoon.

He and Basil spent a pleasant day roaming through the violet pastures searching for the loveliest flowers they could find, engaging in pleasant conversation the entire time. But as the sun began to set, Sir Edward signaled for them that it was time to go home.

"Sir Edward! There's something that's been plaguing me for a while now," Basil said as he dropped his last load of flowers into the bag.

"Is it anything aside from your usual cold?" Sir Edward teased lightly.

"Yes," Basil replied, not realizing he'd made a pun, and thusly not registering Sir Edward's attempt to tease him for it. "I know you said you did all this to bring some nice flowers back for the inmates, but why did you invite me, of all rats, to help you?"

"Why, isn't that obvious, old chap?" Sir Edward's ears twitched. "You are my most beloved friend and companion. I wanted to spend the day with you. Is that not reason enough?"

"Oh, of course, my dear friend!" Basil promised, his own ears perking up as Sir Edward called him his nearest and dearest. "I just wanted to know."

"Well, now you do," Sir Edward gave him a polite nod. But right before the two rats began to drag the bag back towards the Asylum, Sir Edward pulled one last violet from behind his back. He'd been carrying it in his tail. It was the largest, prettiest, most colorful violet he could find.

"For you, my darling," he told Basil, tucking the flower behind his ear.

"Oh, Sir Edward..." Basil sounded genuinely touched. He began to sniffle, but this time, it wasn't because of his cold. "I didn't get you a flower!"

"There is no worry," Sir Edward promised. "This was my idea after all." He gave Basil a meaningful look.

"That may be true," Basil acknowledged. "But I care for you just as much as you care for me, so I think it only fair that I find a symbol of my affection for you just as you found one for me!"

"Well, if it means that much to you," Sir Edward's voice was casual, but his face was beaming.

"Just as much as you mean to me!" Basil gave Sir Edward an adoring smile, then he darted excitedly back into the field, searching for the perfect flower for his beloved, his own flower tied tightly to his ear. He wouldn't take it off for a long while more, and once he managed to find a violet to tie around Sir Edward's hat, Sir Edward wouldn't remove his violet either.

So, when the two rats returned home, they came bearing lovely gifts for all the downtrodden inmates, but the two violets tied around their ear and hat were, in their opinion, the most beautiful of all.