Petal hair binds

Blown from the trees of the Natahim and the Starfall River, pink and purple sakura petals collect on the shores to be dipped in a binding agent to make these hair binds for the ladies of Levis. Made popular during the 1300s to the 1350s of QY Natare and surrounding region, they are most commonly used in long ponytails or to keep braids or locks together.

Their bindings are from a river creeper, and are the section of the binds that need regular replacing as they deteriorate (though are easy to keep in a garden if one doesn't mind them taking up space).

History

Used first by one of the council women of Natare, it gained popularity among the women of the city and surrounds when she appeared at one of the Fete of mind's-growth with one that had been tied in a massive spiral down the length of a bum length ponytail. The layers of treated sakura leaves made her hair shine with shades of pink and purple that captivated those assembled and reminded them of the trees that lined the rivers of the region.

After Solaris' first conflict with the Nocturne Empire, many Nightbloom attempted to make their way down the Natahim to sample the flavours and styles of Natare and see how they could build relations away from Solaris. While the relationship did not last, their embrace of the binds created both a resurgence of the style in the area, and the recreation back within the Empire when the immigrants returned.

The second resurgence led to an adoption of the style among the category of people the reader might know of as trans (and the author has yet to think of a diagetic term for). While having no stigma within Natare or Levis culture, they are still a group of people who find community within urban life, and the petal binds became a way to signal that community to others. This community often favoured series of smaller petal-binds instead of one long one.