8 views
Lilac
go to instgram.com/lilacbloom35
for the full image of the cover
(this is only the first five chapters, more to come soon!)
{CHAPTER1}
I shiver as cold washes over me. Without opening my eyes, I let my senses take in my surroundings. The ground is rough against my skin. My hair tickles my nose. I brush it out of the way. It's wet and slimy. I finally open my eyes. The world is bright. Sitting up, I slowly become accustome to the light. I look around, taking in the lush, green forest around me. In front of me is a dying flower pod.
It lets out a final slow hiss and turns brown. I look over and notice that my other hand is in a tight fist. I open it. Inside is a small lilac coloured seed. My heart leaps. My Instincts tell me that this seed is important. I close my fist again and keep it closed. Slowly, I stand up. My legs buckle under me and I need to hold on to a tree for balance. I take a breath and hoist myself up, still clinging to the tree. I steady myself before attempting to walk. As I take a step my toes dig into the dirt. It's soft and moist. I take another step, letting go of the tree. I put my arms out to balance myself and continue taking small steps.
{CHAPTER 2}
I've been walking for a while now. It feels like I've been walking in sircles. It's just trees as far as the eye can see. It's so cold. Here and there are spots of warm light but the wind makes them cold. I rub my arms. My left arm feels bumby. I look and see strange markings on it. They look like vines with small flower pods. They lead to the seed in my hand.
I close my eyes, feeling the energy flowing to that seed. Keeping it alive. Although there are so many things I do not understand, I know this seed is important. I don't know why but it is. I feel weak. I feel defeated. I look up but all I see is a blinding light. It hurts my eyes but feels warm on my skin. It helps. The warmth. I sigh. A small smile spreads across my mouth. I hold my hand to my chest, feeling. Just feeling. No beat.
Living things have beats. Heart beats. In their chest. I don't... But I do feel something. It's something like a beat. I look and see the seed glowing. I put it in the light. It bathes in the light. Giving it energy. Giving me energy. It is my heartbeat. I take a deep breath and continue walking. I know I need more than light and warmth. I need water. That's what I'm going to find.
After walking for what seems like forever I come across water. It's shallow and I see small yellow animals inside it. It's flowing in a curved line. Rocks scatter the edges. They're slippery and cool. I bend down and take a sip. The light gleams across the water. I wipe the excess water off my face. A slight shiver goes down my spine. I suddenly feel... Scared. I stand up and look around. Something is here with me. I can feel it.
I see no movement. I feel eyes on me. I feel fear. My breathing becomes shallow. My legs uneasy. I panic. I look around. I try to find any movement. Any sign of something. Anything. Is it an animal? I shouldn't be afraid of an animal. Why do I feel such fear then? This... This isn't an animal. Not any I know of. And suddenly I hear a loud BANG!....
Then... The world goes dark. I try to breath but my chest hurts. I look down and there's a hole... In... in my chest. My legs buckle and I fall to my side with a blunt thump. My vision becomes blurry. All I feel is the pain. And then. It all fades away...
{CHAPTER 3}
I groan. My chest burns. The air is cold. There is no more warm light. I try to take a deep breath but pain pushes the air out of my lungs. I whimper. "Shh, it's gonna hurt a bit, just stay calm." A quiet, gentle voice says. I feel a warm hand on my chest. The burns worsens, then stops. "How do you feel now?" I groan and try to sit up. The world spins. "Woah, slow down there, your wound still needs time to completely heal." I see a warm light. It's not the same but it's warm nonetheless.
I reach the seed in my hand towards it but another hands grabs mine. "Are you crazy?!" The voice asks. I reach with my other hand but it's grabbed by another hand. "Stop it!" I look away from the light and see... I lock eyes with another being like me. Their eyes widen. "Oh, your new, aren't you? That would make sense with you trying to grab fire and all" They smile. It's a nervous smile. I blink. "Sorry, I don't usually deal with newlings. That's Sun's job. She knows what kind of flower you are and gives you your name. I'm Dahlia! You don't have a name yet, do you?..."
Their voice trail off. I look down and see leaves on my body. Did they put this on me? It's surprisingly comfortable. I look back at the person. Their still talking. How much do they talk? I look back at the warm light. Fire. That's what it's called. Fire. Their still holding my hands "Um..." I say. The person is suddenly quiet. They let go of my hands. "Sorry! I didn't realise that I was rambling... Again." They sigh.
"Anyway, we should head back to the village in the morning. Sunflower will give you a name and you can tell me a bit about yourself on the way. Like your pro-nouns, your favourite colour, your favourite flower, y'know YOU!" They help me sit up. "What are pro-nouns?" I ask. I understood colour and flower. "Oh um..." They bite their lip. "Like when you talk about someone, you don't say their name constantly, that gets super annoying, you say he or she. I go by she."
"Why?" I ask, genuinely confused. "Because it's how I feel. Since our species don't have specifc genders each person get's to choose their own pro-nouns, and if you want to change it, you can. It's your gender. If you don't feel like a he or a she, you can just go by they." I think. "I think I'll go with they." Yeah. It feels right. They. She smiles. "They it is then!" I stare at her smile. It's pretty. She gets up and twirls in front of me and giggles. Then sits back down. She looks up, her eyes shimmer in the now dark woods.
"I love night time." She says. I crawl next to her. I look up, seeing small shimmering dots in the sky. "Those are called stars." She says. "And that's the moon" she says, pointing at a big ball of white light. She lies down. I just look. Stars. Moon. Wow. I think back to the water. The loud bang. What was that? Why did it hurt so much? I touch my chest. The hole is gone. She healed me. I look back at her. Her eyes are closed. She looks so peaceful. I lie next to her. Her left hand is open and I see the flower pods and lines that go to her seed.
Hers looks different from mine. Her arms shimmers. Mine does too. The flower pods on our arm bloom at the same time. She rolls to me. My breath hitches. I smile and close my eyes. As sleep pulls me in I feel an arm pull me closer. The air becomes sweet. Dahlia. It fits her.
{CHAPTER 4}
The warm light is back. It burns my eyes but I feel energized the moment it touches my skin. I look at Dahlia, who is still asleep as the sky turns from pink to yellow to a beautiful pastel blue. She stretches, rubbing her eyes as she sits up. "Hello." I say, smiling. She smiles back. "Good morning." She stifled a yawn. I couldn't help but giggle. "What's so funny?" She asks. I shook my head. "Ready to get a name?" She asked. I nodded.
We walk through the forest. I don't have much to say but that isn't a problem. Dahlia can talk for days on end. I don't mind that. She has a pretty voice. I ask her about the loud bang but then she goes quiet. She stops walking. Her eyes are locked on the ground and her brow is furrowed. She mumbles something. I put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine." She reassures. She smiles. It's fake. She walks away from me and starts talking about how our seeds work.
Her voice trails off. Why did she react like that? Something doesn't feel right. The further she walks, the colder it becomes. I run towards her and wrap my arms around her. I hold her. "Hey! I'm fine, you don't have to hug me." Hug. "You seemed sad." I say, letting her go. She russles my hair. "Whatever." She giggles. It's a real one.
When we get to the village I suddenly feel that same scared feeling I felt when...
My eyes dart around. There are so many of us. I feel overwhelmed. I feel something touching me and I jump away. It's only Dahlia. "Hey, it's ok. Here." She takes my hand and pulls me closer. "It'll be ok." I close my eyes, take a breath, then open them again. We walk through the crowd. Some are smiling. Some look confused.
We come to a stop. I look at Dahlia. She's smiling. A real smile. She's looking ahead of us. I look and see. Nothing. It's just a vine wall. She notices me staring and giggles. "Sunflower is in there." She whispers. I take a step forward but Dahlia doesn't. She let's go of my hand. "You need to go in on your own." Fear settles in again. "You'll be ok." She hugs me. The sweet smell fills the air again. I hug her back. We let go and I walk in, fairly afraid of what waits for me.
A bright light makes me close my eyes. It's warm and peaceful. It feels as if all my fear has been washed away. I open my eyes. It's so beautiful. It's a big, no huge, half-circular room. It's filled with Flowers of all kind. There are also pods. Like the one I came from. I touch one that is next to me. I feel movement inside. A small light comes from inside. It's a hazy pink glow. "Hello little one." I jump.
"Woah, stay calm. I'm not gonna hurt you." I can't find where the voice is coming from. It's not loud, nor is it demanding. It's a gentle voice. I look to the middle of the room. Someone is there. Could it be? "Come here." They say. "I-I'm sorry I'm... I'm looking for Sunflower?" I ask wearily. The person smiles as I approach them. Their eyes are a gorgeous hazel and her hair an amazing oak brown. She is wearing a yellow meterial. It complements her dark skin.
"Hello there." She says, standing up to meet my eyes. She is only a little bit taller then me. "H-hello." I say, sheepishly. She smiles. "Are you ready for a name?" She asks. I take a calming breath and nod. She motions me to a platform in the middle of the room. She tells me to close my eyes and stay calm. I hear russeling then what sounds like ropes tightening. "Ok, open your eyes."
I do and I'm instantly surrounded in darkness. I hear moving. Like someone is walking around me. My breathing quickens. Panic returns. I try to take calming breaths.
"Shh, it's ok."
Dahlia
I look around for her but everywhere I look is darkness. Did... Did I imagine it? Could I have? I close my eyes. "Dahlia." I whisper.
Suddenly I hear a high pitch sound. I open my eyes and see a flower. It's purple glow draws me in. Another blooms. Then another. One by one purple flowers bloom all across the room. They all sing in harmony. It's a magnificent melody. They song displays strength and kindness. It wraps around me, making me a little dizzy but happy at the same time. This melody is mine. My own melody.
The song slowly fades away, leaving me with a sense of calm and belonging. I feel content. I close my eyes, feeling the warmth of sunlight gently wrap it's arms around me. "Lilac." Sunflower says, proudly. I open my eyes. Her expression is that of a proud and loving mother. "Your name is Lilac." She says. Lilac. My own name. I love it. It feels as if I have been refreshed. My mind is clear and fear is no where to be seen.
"Thank you." I say, softly. She pats my head gently then leads me to the exit. I hug her tightly. Her body is warm and her touch comforting. "Welcome to the village, Lilac." She says, motherly. Lilac. I say the name over and over in my head. It feels perfect.
{CHAPTER 5}
Dahlia lunges towards me. Her smile is unmistakably real. "Congratulations Lilac!" She hugs me so tightly I fear that I nearly can't breath. I hug her back. The air becomes sweet once more. She let's go and the sweet smell dims. "C'mon! I have to show you everything!" She grabs my hand and we run off.
As we run I see huge cocoons hanging above me. Beings like us are walking along bridges smiling and talking to one a other. There are so many of us. They are all different colours aswell. Blue, green, red, pink. It's so beautiful. I bump into someone. They turn around. We lock eyes. "Hi." They say. I shyly wave my hand. Dahlia puts her hand on my shoulder. "Lav, Tulip, this is Lilac, they/them pronouns. Lilac this is my two best friends Lavender, he/him pronouns and Tulip, they/them pronouns."
Tulip waves to me but doesn't look at me. "Tulip, be nice." She says. Tulip looks at me then back at the thing in her hand. "Sorry about them," Lavender starts. "Their part of the 'Thorns'. It's basically a group that protects the rest of us from any predidors." Thorns. Like on a rose. Hmm, clever name. "Welcome to the village, Lilac." He smiles at me. Everyone is very nice here. I smile. I think for a minute. "Can I join the group?" I ask.
Tulip's head immediately shoots up. They raise a brow. "You?" They ask. Dahlia bites her lip. "Maybe it's not the best option right now. I don't want you getting hurt again." The worry in her eyes puts me off. Is being a Thorn really that dangerous? "I think they can do it." Someone behind me says. Dahlia's eyes narrow. "Palash." She hisses. Lavender and Tulip both look angry, Lavender grinding his teeth. I turn around seeing a dark red coloured being. "Relax Dollie, I'm just tryna talk to the Newby." They push her away walking over to me.
"Palash, He/him, and you are?" He says flirtatiously. I feel uncomfortable. Something about this guy puts me off. Dahlia shoves him away from me. She is furious. "Look here Palash, I don't want you anywhere near Lilac. Don't touch them, don't talk to them, don't even look at them! I swear I'll rip you apart if you dare hurt them." She made a sound similar to a growl. He just rolled his eyes. "Lilac huh? Cute name." He says, winking at me.
Did he not just hear Dahlia? He will so regret it. "Listen Palash," I say, trying to mimic Dahlia's anger. "Why don't you just leave. Things don't have to get difficult." He chuckles. "Wow, you really are adorable." He pinches my cheek. I slap his hand away. "Don't touch me." I say, my voice half breaking on the last word. I'm trying hard to look angry and tough but inside I'm panicking. "Why you little-" Dahlia lunges toward him, knocking him to the ground.
Tulip grabs her hands, lifting her up and keeps her in place. "Dahlia, calm down." They struggle to keep her away from Palash. He gets up and dusts himself off. He looked completely unfazed. If anything, he looked bored. Dahlia kicked and screamed, trying to free herself. I ran over to her. "Dahlia! Calm down!" I try to hold her. Her eyes are shut tight. "NO! HE'LL PAY FOR TOUCHING LILAC!" She tossed her head, knocking Tulip back. They grunt.
Suddenly Dahlia started calming down. She mumbled something then shut her eyes. Tulip let her go and I caught her. "Dahlia?!" I ask concerned. "She's fine." Tulip said, wiping red liquid from her face. "I knocked her out by stopping the sap flow from her seed. She'll wake up in a few hours." I hold her. She doesn't look peaceful like she did the day we met, her brow is furrowed and her hands are in loose fists. Tulip walks away, not saying a word.
Palash had long since left. Lavender walks up to me, offering to carry Dahlia to her home. I shook my head. I pick her up and tell him to lead me to her home. She's so light. We walk past a few beings. They gasp and some whisper. I ignore them. We walk to a staircase made of wood. It winds up a thick oak tree. As we walk up, I ask Lavender who Palash was. He didn't answer me. Instead he changed the subject, talking about how the 'homes' were made.
"Lavender, tell me." I feel angry. Everyone assumes I'm stupid just because I recently bloomed. I'm sick of secrets. He sighs. "I made a promise to Dahlia that I wouldn't talk about him. Or what he did." He looks distraught. I look at Dahlia in my arms. So many secrets. The way she reacted back when I asked her about the loud bang still claws at me. She had hurt. I had cause that hurt. "Never again." I whisper under my breath.
Never again will I hurt her. Never again will I cause her sadness. I will become a Thorn and I will protect her. I will admit that making her upset by this decision does go against what I want to do, but she's gonna have to face the fact that I'm not as weak as I may seem. I'm doing this to show her that I can protect her just as well as she can protect me.
© lilacbloom
for the full image of the cover
(this is only the first five chapters, more to come soon!)
{CHAPTER1}
I shiver as cold washes over me. Without opening my eyes, I let my senses take in my surroundings. The ground is rough against my skin. My hair tickles my nose. I brush it out of the way. It's wet and slimy. I finally open my eyes. The world is bright. Sitting up, I slowly become accustome to the light. I look around, taking in the lush, green forest around me. In front of me is a dying flower pod.
It lets out a final slow hiss and turns brown. I look over and notice that my other hand is in a tight fist. I open it. Inside is a small lilac coloured seed. My heart leaps. My Instincts tell me that this seed is important. I close my fist again and keep it closed. Slowly, I stand up. My legs buckle under me and I need to hold on to a tree for balance. I take a breath and hoist myself up, still clinging to the tree. I steady myself before attempting to walk. As I take a step my toes dig into the dirt. It's soft and moist. I take another step, letting go of the tree. I put my arms out to balance myself and continue taking small steps.
{CHAPTER 2}
I've been walking for a while now. It feels like I've been walking in sircles. It's just trees as far as the eye can see. It's so cold. Here and there are spots of warm light but the wind makes them cold. I rub my arms. My left arm feels bumby. I look and see strange markings on it. They look like vines with small flower pods. They lead to the seed in my hand.
I close my eyes, feeling the energy flowing to that seed. Keeping it alive. Although there are so many things I do not understand, I know this seed is important. I don't know why but it is. I feel weak. I feel defeated. I look up but all I see is a blinding light. It hurts my eyes but feels warm on my skin. It helps. The warmth. I sigh. A small smile spreads across my mouth. I hold my hand to my chest, feeling. Just feeling. No beat.
Living things have beats. Heart beats. In their chest. I don't... But I do feel something. It's something like a beat. I look and see the seed glowing. I put it in the light. It bathes in the light. Giving it energy. Giving me energy. It is my heartbeat. I take a deep breath and continue walking. I know I need more than light and warmth. I need water. That's what I'm going to find.
After walking for what seems like forever I come across water. It's shallow and I see small yellow animals inside it. It's flowing in a curved line. Rocks scatter the edges. They're slippery and cool. I bend down and take a sip. The light gleams across the water. I wipe the excess water off my face. A slight shiver goes down my spine. I suddenly feel... Scared. I stand up and look around. Something is here with me. I can feel it.
I see no movement. I feel eyes on me. I feel fear. My breathing becomes shallow. My legs uneasy. I panic. I look around. I try to find any movement. Any sign of something. Anything. Is it an animal? I shouldn't be afraid of an animal. Why do I feel such fear then? This... This isn't an animal. Not any I know of. And suddenly I hear a loud BANG!....
Then... The world goes dark. I try to breath but my chest hurts. I look down and there's a hole... In... in my chest. My legs buckle and I fall to my side with a blunt thump. My vision becomes blurry. All I feel is the pain. And then. It all fades away...
{CHAPTER 3}
I groan. My chest burns. The air is cold. There is no more warm light. I try to take a deep breath but pain pushes the air out of my lungs. I whimper. "Shh, it's gonna hurt a bit, just stay calm." A quiet, gentle voice says. I feel a warm hand on my chest. The burns worsens, then stops. "How do you feel now?" I groan and try to sit up. The world spins. "Woah, slow down there, your wound still needs time to completely heal." I see a warm light. It's not the same but it's warm nonetheless.
I reach the seed in my hand towards it but another hands grabs mine. "Are you crazy?!" The voice asks. I reach with my other hand but it's grabbed by another hand. "Stop it!" I look away from the light and see... I lock eyes with another being like me. Their eyes widen. "Oh, your new, aren't you? That would make sense with you trying to grab fire and all" They smile. It's a nervous smile. I blink. "Sorry, I don't usually deal with newlings. That's Sun's job. She knows what kind of flower you are and gives you your name. I'm Dahlia! You don't have a name yet, do you?..."
Their voice trail off. I look down and see leaves on my body. Did they put this on me? It's surprisingly comfortable. I look back at the person. Their still talking. How much do they talk? I look back at the warm light. Fire. That's what it's called. Fire. Their still holding my hands "Um..." I say. The person is suddenly quiet. They let go of my hands. "Sorry! I didn't realise that I was rambling... Again." They sigh.
"Anyway, we should head back to the village in the morning. Sunflower will give you a name and you can tell me a bit about yourself on the way. Like your pro-nouns, your favourite colour, your favourite flower, y'know YOU!" They help me sit up. "What are pro-nouns?" I ask. I understood colour and flower. "Oh um..." They bite their lip. "Like when you talk about someone, you don't say their name constantly, that gets super annoying, you say he or she. I go by she."
"Why?" I ask, genuinely confused. "Because it's how I feel. Since our species don't have specifc genders each person get's to choose their own pro-nouns, and if you want to change it, you can. It's your gender. If you don't feel like a he or a she, you can just go by they." I think. "I think I'll go with they." Yeah. It feels right. They. She smiles. "They it is then!" I stare at her smile. It's pretty. She gets up and twirls in front of me and giggles. Then sits back down. She looks up, her eyes shimmer in the now dark woods.
"I love night time." She says. I crawl next to her. I look up, seeing small shimmering dots in the sky. "Those are called stars." She says. "And that's the moon" she says, pointing at a big ball of white light. She lies down. I just look. Stars. Moon. Wow. I think back to the water. The loud bang. What was that? Why did it hurt so much? I touch my chest. The hole is gone. She healed me. I look back at her. Her eyes are closed. She looks so peaceful. I lie next to her. Her left hand is open and I see the flower pods and lines that go to her seed.
Hers looks different from mine. Her arms shimmers. Mine does too. The flower pods on our arm bloom at the same time. She rolls to me. My breath hitches. I smile and close my eyes. As sleep pulls me in I feel an arm pull me closer. The air becomes sweet. Dahlia. It fits her.
{CHAPTER 4}
The warm light is back. It burns my eyes but I feel energized the moment it touches my skin. I look at Dahlia, who is still asleep as the sky turns from pink to yellow to a beautiful pastel blue. She stretches, rubbing her eyes as she sits up. "Hello." I say, smiling. She smiles back. "Good morning." She stifled a yawn. I couldn't help but giggle. "What's so funny?" She asks. I shook my head. "Ready to get a name?" She asked. I nodded.
We walk through the forest. I don't have much to say but that isn't a problem. Dahlia can talk for days on end. I don't mind that. She has a pretty voice. I ask her about the loud bang but then she goes quiet. She stops walking. Her eyes are locked on the ground and her brow is furrowed. She mumbles something. I put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine." She reassures. She smiles. It's fake. She walks away from me and starts talking about how our seeds work.
Her voice trails off. Why did she react like that? Something doesn't feel right. The further she walks, the colder it becomes. I run towards her and wrap my arms around her. I hold her. "Hey! I'm fine, you don't have to hug me." Hug. "You seemed sad." I say, letting her go. She russles my hair. "Whatever." She giggles. It's a real one.
When we get to the village I suddenly feel that same scared feeling I felt when...
My eyes dart around. There are so many of us. I feel overwhelmed. I feel something touching me and I jump away. It's only Dahlia. "Hey, it's ok. Here." She takes my hand and pulls me closer. "It'll be ok." I close my eyes, take a breath, then open them again. We walk through the crowd. Some are smiling. Some look confused.
We come to a stop. I look at Dahlia. She's smiling. A real smile. She's looking ahead of us. I look and see. Nothing. It's just a vine wall. She notices me staring and giggles. "Sunflower is in there." She whispers. I take a step forward but Dahlia doesn't. She let's go of my hand. "You need to go in on your own." Fear settles in again. "You'll be ok." She hugs me. The sweet smell fills the air again. I hug her back. We let go and I walk in, fairly afraid of what waits for me.
A bright light makes me close my eyes. It's warm and peaceful. It feels as if all my fear has been washed away. I open my eyes. It's so beautiful. It's a big, no huge, half-circular room. It's filled with Flowers of all kind. There are also pods. Like the one I came from. I touch one that is next to me. I feel movement inside. A small light comes from inside. It's a hazy pink glow. "Hello little one." I jump.
"Woah, stay calm. I'm not gonna hurt you." I can't find where the voice is coming from. It's not loud, nor is it demanding. It's a gentle voice. I look to the middle of the room. Someone is there. Could it be? "Come here." They say. "I-I'm sorry I'm... I'm looking for Sunflower?" I ask wearily. The person smiles as I approach them. Their eyes are a gorgeous hazel and her hair an amazing oak brown. She is wearing a yellow meterial. It complements her dark skin.
"Hello there." She says, standing up to meet my eyes. She is only a little bit taller then me. "H-hello." I say, sheepishly. She smiles. "Are you ready for a name?" She asks. I take a calming breath and nod. She motions me to a platform in the middle of the room. She tells me to close my eyes and stay calm. I hear russeling then what sounds like ropes tightening. "Ok, open your eyes."
I do and I'm instantly surrounded in darkness. I hear moving. Like someone is walking around me. My breathing quickens. Panic returns. I try to take calming breaths.
"Shh, it's ok."
Dahlia
I look around for her but everywhere I look is darkness. Did... Did I imagine it? Could I have? I close my eyes. "Dahlia." I whisper.
Suddenly I hear a high pitch sound. I open my eyes and see a flower. It's purple glow draws me in. Another blooms. Then another. One by one purple flowers bloom all across the room. They all sing in harmony. It's a magnificent melody. They song displays strength and kindness. It wraps around me, making me a little dizzy but happy at the same time. This melody is mine. My own melody.
The song slowly fades away, leaving me with a sense of calm and belonging. I feel content. I close my eyes, feeling the warmth of sunlight gently wrap it's arms around me. "Lilac." Sunflower says, proudly. I open my eyes. Her expression is that of a proud and loving mother. "Your name is Lilac." She says. Lilac. My own name. I love it. It feels as if I have been refreshed. My mind is clear and fear is no where to be seen.
"Thank you." I say, softly. She pats my head gently then leads me to the exit. I hug her tightly. Her body is warm and her touch comforting. "Welcome to the village, Lilac." She says, motherly. Lilac. I say the name over and over in my head. It feels perfect.
{CHAPTER 5}
Dahlia lunges towards me. Her smile is unmistakably real. "Congratulations Lilac!" She hugs me so tightly I fear that I nearly can't breath. I hug her back. The air becomes sweet once more. She let's go and the sweet smell dims. "C'mon! I have to show you everything!" She grabs my hand and we run off.
As we run I see huge cocoons hanging above me. Beings like us are walking along bridges smiling and talking to one a other. There are so many of us. They are all different colours aswell. Blue, green, red, pink. It's so beautiful. I bump into someone. They turn around. We lock eyes. "Hi." They say. I shyly wave my hand. Dahlia puts her hand on my shoulder. "Lav, Tulip, this is Lilac, they/them pronouns. Lilac this is my two best friends Lavender, he/him pronouns and Tulip, they/them pronouns."
Tulip waves to me but doesn't look at me. "Tulip, be nice." She says. Tulip looks at me then back at the thing in her hand. "Sorry about them," Lavender starts. "Their part of the 'Thorns'. It's basically a group that protects the rest of us from any predidors." Thorns. Like on a rose. Hmm, clever name. "Welcome to the village, Lilac." He smiles at me. Everyone is very nice here. I smile. I think for a minute. "Can I join the group?" I ask.
Tulip's head immediately shoots up. They raise a brow. "You?" They ask. Dahlia bites her lip. "Maybe it's not the best option right now. I don't want you getting hurt again." The worry in her eyes puts me off. Is being a Thorn really that dangerous? "I think they can do it." Someone behind me says. Dahlia's eyes narrow. "Palash." She hisses. Lavender and Tulip both look angry, Lavender grinding his teeth. I turn around seeing a dark red coloured being. "Relax Dollie, I'm just tryna talk to the Newby." They push her away walking over to me.
"Palash, He/him, and you are?" He says flirtatiously. I feel uncomfortable. Something about this guy puts me off. Dahlia shoves him away from me. She is furious. "Look here Palash, I don't want you anywhere near Lilac. Don't touch them, don't talk to them, don't even look at them! I swear I'll rip you apart if you dare hurt them." She made a sound similar to a growl. He just rolled his eyes. "Lilac huh? Cute name." He says, winking at me.
Did he not just hear Dahlia? He will so regret it. "Listen Palash," I say, trying to mimic Dahlia's anger. "Why don't you just leave. Things don't have to get difficult." He chuckles. "Wow, you really are adorable." He pinches my cheek. I slap his hand away. "Don't touch me." I say, my voice half breaking on the last word. I'm trying hard to look angry and tough but inside I'm panicking. "Why you little-" Dahlia lunges toward him, knocking him to the ground.
Tulip grabs her hands, lifting her up and keeps her in place. "Dahlia, calm down." They struggle to keep her away from Palash. He gets up and dusts himself off. He looked completely unfazed. If anything, he looked bored. Dahlia kicked and screamed, trying to free herself. I ran over to her. "Dahlia! Calm down!" I try to hold her. Her eyes are shut tight. "NO! HE'LL PAY FOR TOUCHING LILAC!" She tossed her head, knocking Tulip back. They grunt.
Suddenly Dahlia started calming down. She mumbled something then shut her eyes. Tulip let her go and I caught her. "Dahlia?!" I ask concerned. "She's fine." Tulip said, wiping red liquid from her face. "I knocked her out by stopping the sap flow from her seed. She'll wake up in a few hours." I hold her. She doesn't look peaceful like she did the day we met, her brow is furrowed and her hands are in loose fists. Tulip walks away, not saying a word.
Palash had long since left. Lavender walks up to me, offering to carry Dahlia to her home. I shook my head. I pick her up and tell him to lead me to her home. She's so light. We walk past a few beings. They gasp and some whisper. I ignore them. We walk to a staircase made of wood. It winds up a thick oak tree. As we walk up, I ask Lavender who Palash was. He didn't answer me. Instead he changed the subject, talking about how the 'homes' were made.
"Lavender, tell me." I feel angry. Everyone assumes I'm stupid just because I recently bloomed. I'm sick of secrets. He sighs. "I made a promise to Dahlia that I wouldn't talk about him. Or what he did." He looks distraught. I look at Dahlia in my arms. So many secrets. The way she reacted back when I asked her about the loud bang still claws at me. She had hurt. I had cause that hurt. "Never again." I whisper under my breath.
Never again will I hurt her. Never again will I cause her sadness. I will become a Thorn and I will protect her. I will admit that making her upset by this decision does go against what I want to do, but she's gonna have to face the fact that I'm not as weak as I may seem. I'm doing this to show her that I can protect her just as well as she can protect me.
© lilacbloom
