Petunia Elkwood

"I'm not a flower...I'm just me. I'm just Petunia." - Chapter Fifteen

Petunia Elkwood is the next door neighbor of Todd Allison, and she is one of the main characters of the comic. Her daring and brave spirit has led her to leave home and come to Melbourne in order to find her runaway brothers and forge a new life for herself; yet, that same spirit seems to be leading her into an array of strange and new messes which she never dreamed she would become tangled up in, especially when it came to the gruff and illusive Todd Allison.

Appearance
Petunia is a dark-skinned and slim young girl of 4'11, who has lavender colored hair and pale periwinkle blue eyes. She usually wears an assortment of dresses or blouse-and-skirt ensembles that typically incorporate the color pink and a blue jacket. As for Petunia's hair, she most usually wears it in a small, rounded-out bob beneath a pink cloche hat. Sometimes she is seen wearing a golden flower pin. She also wears her signature black and white earrings, which she tends to wear a lot, as they where a birthday present from her two brothers when they were younger.

During the flashback chapters, Petunia first appears with a head full of very long and unruly hair, which could be worn down or in a braid, and she is adorning a white blouse and long skirt. After she suddenly cuts her hair, the strands become quite short and choppy; thus, she covers it with a brown hat that she wears along with her disguise. Her disguise consists of a brown jacket, a white shirt with a blue vest, a red necktie, and brown trousers.

Personality
Petunia is a very cheerful person, who always seems to be smiling. She's very willing to help someone out, and listen to them if something is the matter with them. Her kind and noble nature has earned adoration and respect from many, leading others to praise her or refer to her with impressive titles, such as Cyril referring to her as "Lady Petunia". With her younger age, she also tends to speak somewhat naively and innocently, and act rashly or sound immature, as the case when she had her first conversation with Todd. She also tends to be quite stubborn, and will often refuse to let something go until her way has been set, exemplified whenever she bickered with Elijah whenever he told her that he and Meredith were leaving, and willing to go so far as to "become a boy" so that she could prove Elijah's judgement wrong. She also seems to not want help, as she rebuked Marcus and Roland's multiple attempts to give her advice, to where Marcus claims that it's not enough to do your best alone. Petunia often yells whenever she's upset, whether it's anger or surprise, and will often run away screaming something along the lines of "I'm sorry! I have to go!" if she's knocked into someone or is trying to make her escape. However, she also can be soft-spoken at times, often whenever she's conversing with the brasher and more outspoken Hana.

However, despite the joyful spirit that Petunia normally is, she's known to have hidden depths of her personality that aren't shown to many. Due to the time period she lives in and the treatment of her brother, Petunia has likely come into a lot of contact with racism, sexism, and violence throughout her life. She's shown to be fearful when it comes to mentioning the government, she's able to wield a pistol well, and she's unafraid whenever she goes up against a mercenary who's a threat to her life, implying that there is likely a dark history in her childhood that has continued to follow her around throughout time.

Background
Not much is known about Petunia's past before she reaches Melbourne, but it's known that she lived in the towns of Alice Springs and Perth before the beginning of the comic. For most of her life, she wanted naught but to spend time with her older brothers, Elijah and Meredith. The three frequently played together as children and even as they continued to get older, the trio still remained close. Meredith would often stay behind and play with Petunia if Elijah had to attend business somewhere, and the foster brother would be the one to keep her spirits up. Petunia was also acquainted with Dylan, a neighbor who had been at odds with Meredith, and whom Meredith still hates, but it's unknown how close they were.

Some time later, the family moved from Alice Springs to Perth, and it's assumed that they were there for a while, given Dylan's reaction whenever he sees Elijah again in Melbourne. Petunia probably witnessed several acts of violence against her race in Perth, considering the repetition of a particular memory involving a beaten and bloody Elijah. This likely led to her brothers leaving Perth for Melbourne, and as a result, her too. Arriving in Melbourne, she made her acquaintance with Todd Allison, who presumably found herself as his neighbor at his apartment.

History
'''*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION!* '''

Chapters 1-5
Petunia is introduced as the main protagonist in the story, who believes that although she came to Melbourne to change her life, she was turning into something she didn't really want to be. Hana, who has been rebuked by a comment from Todd, asks that Petunia find out what's eating at him. After attempting to appear like she hasn't been staring at Todd, he asks for her to take a letter addressed to Clancey and slip it under his door. As she approaches the residence of Clancey, she wonders about Todd Allison and how she finds him interesting, yet knows very little about him. After the tram ride home, she heads into her apartment and expresses her frustration about being unable to find out anything about Todd Allison except for his age. Lost in thought and staring at the window, the wind snags at a pin that she's wearing in her hair - one given to her by Hana, and not a very cheap one at that - and it lands on the ledge outside of the apartment building. She decides to climb out, despite her incredible clumsiness, and almost reaches it before Todd rolls up the blinds to his window - which she's standing before - and she tries to apologize before slipping off the ledge. Todd throws the window open to catch her, but with her weight, he's pulled out and falls on top of her. Petunia awakens to see that her wounds have been dressed and Todd's sewing her jacket. After he answers quick phone call, she crawls back into his bed when he comes to check on her and watches as he leaves with an associate from work.

The next morning when Todd comes to check on her, she knocks into him, apologizes and runs out, leaving him on the floor. She appears again at nighttime, where she witnesses Todd being knocked unconscious and taken away before a strange man, Cyril, shows up and points a pistol at her. He says that he wouldn't normally shoot a girl like her, but it's up to her boss and takes her away to the boss, Petunia's older brother Elijah. He pulls her outside and after he expresses his worry over her well-being, she persuades him to allow Todd to live. Elijah commands that Cyril take Petunia with him, much to the pair's dismay. He arms Petunia with a pistol, and he asks her if she truly wants to rescue Todd because of his association with the government, which makes her uneasy.

She follows Cyril into the warehouse and watches with horrific amazement at his skills, before making a bold escape past two mercenaries to the back room where Todd is being held captive. After verifying that he's alive, she unties him and the two plan to sneak out. However, at the sound of someone in the darkness, Todd becomes fearful. However, Petunia tells him that she isn't afraid and confronts the mercenary with her pistol. The mercenary tells her to go ahead, saying that he's no longer afraid to die because of Violet, and that she should be able to relate. She kills him and drops the gun. When Todd realizes that Cyril was the conductor on the tram, Petunia just looks on, surprised and petrified.

Chapters 6-10
The morning after the incident, Petunia meets up with Todd and they walk together to talk about the incident. When Todd asks if she's working, Petunia reveals that she had been fired the previous day, to which Todd comforts her by wrapping his arm around her and invites her to come to Rainbird with him. When they arrive, Hana appears distressed and Petunia goes to comfort her, until they see that the source of the distress is Cyril. Overhearing Hana and Todd's conversation, Cyril comes to the back and forcefully takes Petunia and Todd outside. He asks for them to come to his place for drinks, and when Todd refuses to comply, Cyril threatens to tell Todd about her relation to Elijah and what they know about the kidnapping, prompting her to go and Todd to follow.

They find the Eighth Lagoon and are greeted in by Landon, a waiter and cook who works for Cyril, and he prepares them a meal. On her way back from the restroom, Petunia notices a picture of Cyril with another individual, but is caught by him and becomes scared. He takes her back to the main room and he sits down with Todd, leaving Petunia to overhear Todd's demand for Cyril to work for him. After Cyril leaves, she tries to get Todd on his feet, and he accidentally calls her by the name "Jacqueline". The next morning, after Todd has recovered from his hangover, he asks her if he had said anything strange to her while he was intoxicated. Worried that she may hit a nerve with mentioning the name of "Jacqueline", she refuses, which prompts him to ask if he had done anything worse. However, Clancey interrupts them and shows Todd a newspaper detailing the incident of his capture, which after he verifies as true, he's dragged off to Clancey's car. Hana overhears the conversation and gets Petunia to come with her to the Parliament House.

At the Parliament House, they follow around an employee named Bentham in an attempt to find some sort of clue devoted to the Violet Investigation Unit, until Petunia sees Elijah and Meredith there. After Hana disappears inside a file room, Meredith confronts her and asks her why she's sneaking around. He teases her, and the two converse until an employee sees her and demands to know how she knows Todd. Hana quickly kicks down the employee and takes Petunia out of the building, where they find Todd. After Hana rudely asks him about the article in the Morning Star, he hands Petunia the pin she had lost in the first chapter back, prompting Hana to ask why he has it and causing Petunia to become flustered.

In the flashback chapter, Petunia is shown as a long haired youth, crying about Elijah and Meredith leaving  her behind. Her cousin, Arienne, advises her not to worry, but her Aunt Harriet suggests that she could just follow after them. Petunia agrees, and Arienne watches with horror as her cousin cuts her hair off with a kitchen knife. Now dressed in male attire, Petunia tries to buy a tram ticket to head into the city of Melbourne with a large pile of half-pennies. The ticket-master/tram conductor protests with his coworker, Cyril, about counting out the money before Todd comes up and stacks them into organized piles. He tells her not to be a nuisance to others and storms off. After finding an apartment, she declares that she'll prove Elijah wrong and goes out to seek work. After being turned away from several work places, two men, Marcus and Rolls, emerge and tell "Pete" that he won't be able to find work from whites. However, she takes that as an insult and leaves. She ends up finding Todd again, and stomps into the diner he's seated at - still sour at his comment. After yelling at him, her words deteriorate into desperate pleas, and Todd demands that she sit down, and he buys her a coffee, wanting to avoid more of a scene. She expresses how lonely she is, which Todd can relate to her new arrival, and they speak on better terms. However, when he asks her name, she accidentally says her real name, and bolts out of the restaurant when she realizes her mistake. Only when she gets back to her apartment does she remember that she needed to pay for that coffee.

Chapters 11-15
Lying around on her apartment floor, Petunia thinks on Todd telling her that he could have just gotten the lost pin for her if she had just asked him. Knocking on his door, Petunia intends to apologize to Todd for causing him any sort of trouble and thanks him for helping her throughout their time together. However, instead she sees that she's been speaking to Cyril, who was in Todd's apartment. Petunia's attempt to escape fails, so she ends up serving him tea in her apartment. After a brief banter between the pair, Petunia thanks him for leaving her and Todd alive at the warehouse, but Cyril says that she has no need to feel that she owes him a thing. However, after Cyril chokes on his tea, Petunia lays him out to rest and goes to buy food for him, since he hadn't eaten in several days. Todd comes back and asks her if she knows about someone breaking into her apartment, just in time for Cyril to call out for her to get him some red wine.

Petunia comes over to Todd's apartment after Cyril is moved over there, and gets biscuits out for the three of them, and Todd gives her a smile - making her and Cyril uncomfortable. Cyril demands to know if she knows what's the matter with him, and she admits that she doesn't know. When Todd comes back, she listens to he and Cyril talk about their employment, and Todd apologizes for bringing her into situations that he seems to cause for the both of them.

One day, on her way to Marcus and Roll's place, Petunia drops a handkerchief on the ground, and a strange man, William Quirke, tries to return it to her. Instead of taking it back, Petunia is struck by her attraction to Will, and runs away after becoming flustered, leaving the handkerchief behind. She eventually reaches Marcus and Roll's place, who invite her inside, eager to see her again. When she reveals that she's somewhat upset, the two comfort her until she hears that Dylan is coming, asking Rolls to hide her. Her hiding attempts are futile, as Dylan pulls her out and she proceeds to yell at and insult him. However, before Dylan can tease her too much, Marcus and Rolls stop him and tells him that she has "the blues". Though she turns away from his help, Dylan cheers her up by pulling out his violin and playing a song for her. He heads outside, leading Petunia, Marcus, and Rolls to follow after him, and they dance together outside.

In the second flashback chapter, Petunia stresses about her running out of money and still not having a job, remembering that she still has to find Todd and pay for the coffee he bought her. She muses that she liked the way he spoke to her at the diner, but isn't sure she's ready to face him again. While out looking for a job, she spots a dress shop and wonders how she'd look in a particular dress. Tripping and crashing painfully while walking out of an alleyway, she's found by Marcus and Rolls again, who scold her for not taking their advice, to where she rebukes them for sounding like her older brother. Dylan, who is with them, recognizes her as Elijah's sister, much to the confusion of the pair. After the truth comes out, Petunia faints before them.

While unconscious, she dreams about her awakening in a garden, Todd sitting beside her in a royal or princely attire. When he asks her about her name, she claims that she wants to change who she is, and that being just Petunia isn't enough. But, when he asks her what she would like to be called, she's pulled from the dream by Dylan, and she soon remembers who he is. He tells her the story about Elijah and Meredith coming to Melbourne and meeting up with them, and how concerned he was about Elijah's well being, causing her to wonder if she should mention what had happened to him in Perth. After revealing her poor financial situation, Dylan takes her apartment key and tells Marcus to take care of her, and Marcus takes her to meet with a familiar face: Norah. He introduces Petunia to her, saying that she's Elijah's sister, and tells Petunia that she will stay with Norah - against Dylan's wishes. Norah, though she sees intimidating at first, says that she loves her name and cleans up the scratches under her eye and bandages it. However, Dylan bursts into her home and declares that Petunia will stay with him, causing the two to get in an argument. Marcus reasons that Petunia should stay with Norah because she's a girl, and Norah gives her a dress of hers to wear. Petunia finds the situation unsettling because everyone is treating her nicely because they all know her brother, and becomes frustrated when she feels that Elijah is watching her from afar. Dylan then tells her that they will go get new clothes for her tomorrow.

Overhearing a conversation from Norah and the boys, she asks her new housemate about the Rainbird Cafe, the place where Norah works. She agrees to go with her to see it the next day. During the walk, Norah makes a comment about Petunia's earrings, causing her to blush and unintentionally think about Todd. While Petunia listens to her talk about how she would love to live in the wealthier part of the city, she notices Todd standing midst the crowd. He, in turn, sees her, and while he's distracted, a pickpocket takes his purse and dashes off - leaving Todd to scream hopelessly in anger. On impulse, Petunia then dashes over to him, takes his hand, and completely pulls him through the crowd in order to chase after the thief. She then steals a bicycle from a passerby and tells Todd to trust her. She says that she will get his purse back for him, and then makes him hold onto her waist, as she speeds through Melbourne in hot pursuit of the thief. It is then, that the pair almost get run over by a tram, only to be saved by Cyril who manages to pull on the tram's breaks and stop the tram in time. Petunia is unfazed. While on the bike, they end up crashing through the window of the Rainbird where Hana is currently working. She instantly recognizes Petunia and helps her take down the thief. This greatly impresses Petunia, who then returns the wallet back to Todd. She abruptly apologizes for originally running out on Todd in the cafe. He finally introduces himself. At the sound of Todd's honesty, Petunia fiercely blushes and bows down, emotionally confirming to him that she is indeed a girl. She informs Todd that her true name is Petunia, and this instantly puts Todd into a better mood.

Chapters 16-20
Petunia wakes up in a fright, realizing that she has fallen asleep in Dylan's room, who smiles at her. After punching him violently, because she didn't want to wake up to see him, he proceeds to escort her to the tram station. He teases her, saying that while he's fine with her growing up, he prefers to see her old self. He mentions that Elijah's changed a lot, and she denies that he's talked to her or even gone to see her at all, prompting confusion from Dylan. However, he tells Petunia to chin up and that things will get better, and he sees her off. However, she bumps into Cyril as she's getting on-board, and before he can order her to sit down, she sits in the front of the tram with him and attempts to offer him back the money he gave her for food. However, he refuses it, and mentions that she should keep it because she's poor, prompting him to ask why Elijah's so much richer than she is - considering that they're siblings. Petunia challenges him to fight, and Cyril only responds with laughter. She calls him the worst after he says that she's a bad girl, and proceeds to mention that he's nothing of a gentleman, like the one that she met the other day - alluding to Will.

Later, after getting off the tram, she slips the money that Cyril gave to her back to him, smirking at him. She walks down the street until she runs into Todd, who is tending to his plants. She becomes flustered and uneasy by his curt greeting and says that she was busy yesterday. She hesitantly asks Todd if she can help with his flowers and he says he doesn't, though he asks her if she wants to. When she says she does, he allows her to help with his flowers. The very next evening, Todd invites Petunia to visit the botanical gardens, which she thought was only a figure of speech. Then, he offers her a job as his assistant, for she was the first person who came to mind when he thought about his work. Petunia immediately imagines the angry face of her brother, Elijah, but fiercely blushes and stutters that she would love to become his assistant. Surprised by her response, Todd then gives a uncharacteristically happy grin and ecstatically grabs her hand.

Todd Allison
Todd is Petunia's next door neighbor and a close friend of hers. She seems to be the one person that he can genuinely be nice to, and in return, she sees him as someone who has done so much to help her. Although the two have a rough start when they first meet, they presumably reconcile and accept each other as next door neighbors. Petunia claims that she's the only one who finds Todd interesting, considering that most people treat him with contempt - not that he gives them any reason not to. She's willing to go to great lengths to protect Todd, considering that she persuades Elijah to allow him to live, she kills a man who stands in their way of escape, and she's willing to travel with a very dangerous man in order to retrieve Todd. She seems to have some sort of attraction or affection for Todd, considering that she gets flustered if he does something for her or if she's remembering something he's done or said. Following the kidnapping incident, they both seem to have some sort of need to defend and take care of one another, and they only continue to grow closer. Petunia is the first person whom Todd thinks of whenever it comes to his work, and she later becomes his assistant. The man rarely touches anyone, and yet he is seen numerous times holding Petunia's hand, and he has been seen once by his colleagues placing an arm around her shoulders.

Elijah Elkwood
Elijah is Petunia's older brother, and one of the people he's very overly protective about. He and Petunia were likely very close as young children, and still continue to be somewhat close as adults. It seems that Petunia looks up to her brother, as she described him as righteous and very brave, but she may also be somewhat afraid of him. Elijah, while didn't like to, probably had to put Petunia in place often by yelling at her and pushing her away. She even admits that she could often see something dark burning in Elijah's eyes. Regardless, Elijah is still very warm and loving towards his sister and has a bit of a big brother complex with her, hugging her and calling her sweet names whenever he first sees her again. He's also willing to sit and listen to her explain her case whenever she demands that he allow Todd to live. He also threatens to kill his hit-man whenever he believes that Cyril might have done something to her, but he may trust her strength more than it seems, considering he would allow Petunia five minutes to take care of a mercenary inside a warehouse room during Todd's rescue.

Meredith Elkwood
Meredith is Petunia's foster brother, who may have not been formally adopted by the Elkwoods, but still treated as part of the family. He and Petunia were probably pretty close as children, and still continue to stay close as adults. Meredith was the one to keep Petunia company whenever Elijah couldn't be there for her, and it seems that Meredith has a very overprotective streak about her, considering his reaction whenever a government employee demands to know Petunia's relation to Todd. Even though Meredith is historically much quieter than Elijah, he still has a bit of a big brother complex with Petunia as well, hugging her and calling her cute when they're alone together in the Parliament building. He hates the idea of Petunia being in any sort of danger, as he protests for Elijah and Cyril to not let chance decide if Petunia lived or died in the warehouse whenever she was rescuing Todd.

Hana Ikimoto
Hana is Petunia's best friend who works at the Rainbird Cafe with Todd. Despite their differing personalities, two seem to be very close. Hana seems to be the one to suggest up more rousing conversations and ideas, considering Petunia's reluctance to play into her conversation about Violet's bombing of the post office. This is demonstrated again when Hana overhears the truth in Todd's capture and takes Petunia over to the Parliament House whenever she wants to find out some clues and information pertaining to Violet and the Investigation Unit devoted to her, Petunia clearly has no desire to partake in the scheme, but she goes through with it nonetheless. Petunia cares a lot for her, willing to comfort a distressed Hana after she meets Cyril, despite Todd's belief that she was just being dramatic (though he didn't know Cyril was a factor).

Cyril
Cyril is a strange acquaintance of Petunia's, who starts out as an enemy of some sort to her. When her brother hires him to capture a member of the Violet Investigation Unit, Todd, she accidentally witnesses the crime and Cyril takes her as a hostage. While he does pose threatening to her, he admits that he wouldn't shoot her if the matter was left in his hands. He also finds Petunia to be entertaining, considering how much he teases her and how he responds to her demands, though she mainly finds him scary in return. In addition, the two seem to share some a moderate similarity in their thoughts on the government, as shown by their conversations on their way to free Todd. Cyril has also been shown to think highly of her, as he introduced her to Landon, who vouched that he seems to think quite well of her; this is because Cyril referred to her as "Lady Petunia".

Dylan Springbell
Dylan is an old acquaintance, possibly a friend, of Petunia's from her childhood. They seem to have a very heated relationship with one another, considering Petunia goes as far to call him ugly and yells at him to leave her alone. He seems to see her in a similar light, as to when he first meets her again, he calls her "Elijah's annoying kid sister". However, Dylan does seem to care for her, as he's willing to halt teasing her and plays the violin for her to cheer her up when she's upset, and smiles at her warmly when she insults him. In addition, he tells her to cheer up after she goes to visit them. On the other hand, Petunia may have some sort of attraction to Dylan, considering her reaction after he plays the violin for her. When he first met Petunia in Melbourne, he becomes very protective and selfish of her, since he believes that watching out for her is his duty as Elijah's friend. He gets into arguments with Norah and Marcus when he demands that they believe they should stay with Norah.

Marcus and Roland
Marcus and Rolls are friends of Petunia's, who meet her whenever she first arrives in Melbourne, disguised as a boy named "Pete". After she's turned away from work, the pair slip out from the shadows, suggesting that they've been watching her for a while, to speak to her. They offer up their advice to her, that she won't get a job trying to work for whites, but she takes the advice as an insult and ignores them. They continue to remain in contact, and eventually become friends after Petunia's gender is revealed, and it seems that she'll go to the pair if she's feeling down or wants company. They look out for her as well, considering that the pair stops Dylan from teasing her too much whenever they see that she's distressed, and they dance with her to cheer her up as Dylan plays the violin for her. Marcus is the one who takes her to Norah's after she meets Dylan again, believing that she would be better suited to staying with her because she was a girl, going against Dylan's wishes for her.

Norah
Petunia and Norah are friends who met through Marcus. When Dylan decides that Petunia will live with them, Marcus decided that Norah would be a better choice - considering Petunia's a girl. Norah finds Petunia adorable, and tells her that since she made it to Melbourne, she should decide what she wants to do with her life. While the two of them were supposed to be roommates, they likely weren't rooming together for very long, as Norah isn't incredibly close with Petunia in the modern day.

William Quirke
While William and Petunia only briefly met, William quickly left a lasting impression on Petunia. When she accidentally drops her handkerchief, he picks it up and tries to offer it to her. However, she is entranced by how handsome he is, and how much of a gentleman he is, and proceeds to run away in embarrassment. Later, when speaking with Cyril, she says that he's nothing of a gentleman, unlike the one that she met the other day - alluding to Will. Petunia clearly has a "schoolgirl" crush on the older man, but it's unknown what William thinks of her, if anything.

Quotes
''"I came to Melbourne wanting to become a new person but I think I'm turning into a person I don't want to be." ''(about herself, Chapter One)

"So many people....And I've never felt so alone!" (to Todd Allison, Chapter Ten)

''"I know I'm always, always, ALWAYS causing trouble for you since the very beginning!" ''(intended for Todd Allison, Chapter Eleven)

''"I'm not a flower...I'm just me. I'm just Petunia. Even though I want to change...Even though being Petunia is no good!" ''(in her dream, Chapter Fifteen)

''"Just stop it! Don't act like you're my brother!" ''(To Marcus and Rolls, Chapter Fifteen)

''"I'm sorry...!! Before...I ran off. I wasn't being honest... I really am Petunia! Petunia Elkwood! That's my name!!" ''(to Todd Allison, Chapter Fifteen)

Appearances in other media

 * She made a cameo appearance in the webcomic THIS IS NOT FICTION, along with Todd Allison.