385. Fleur, 6

(Blume)

I reached a sea, along with my odd pet.

A sea of salts, without water left.

And not solely sea salts given the colours of some of these rocks. There's sulphur and Arsenic inside these minerals.

It's a beautiful land more hostile to mammals than the sands we crossed before.

Even she is scared. I continue restlessly to challenge her. And she keeps prevailing without complains.

Her body is all twisted over itself. Wrinkled muscles are rolling over each other instead of leaning together along the bones. Her sweat in these abnormal folds of skin get mouldy. She looks more like a chaotic painting leaning toward abstract art, than we daiûas ever did.

She's beautiful.

And she's strong she's putting me to shame. So strong. You wouldn't fathom how strong this little thing is.

Children of this age are rare, but they are something else entirely.

We reached a cave to rest. She gathered in a spot what little combustible she could find with her uneven arms.

I snapped my fingers and the fire started. We laugh at that. I've come to enjoy doing some theatrics with her.

The fire is mostly for her anyway. She cooks her own food, when she finds any. I nibble on what she shares, but not much more. I'm not needy.

She's accustomed to my common nudity now. I wear my bag and my good clothes inside.

She asked me once why didn't I wear these clothes her family gave me.

Because I didn't want to wear them out too fast. It would be a shame to have them damaged too quickly.

She didn't say anything to that.

But she seemed to like my reply.

I'm not such a bad flower, am I?

Night falls, and an icy wind comes along. She snuggles around the fire. I cover her with myself as well.

Through my breasts pressing against her back, she can hear the heartbeat inside my chest.

It's almost human. It's very slow, and deep. I made myself an oversized and strong heart really. I designed it as best I could. But it's a kind and reassuring music for mammals, and for both of us in different ways.

The next morning, we ventured into the salt fields.

The little thing following me, cautious but wilful.

W - What would be the cost today?

B - Today, it would be two clouds from the sky inside a box.

The cost for me to reshape her body to more traditional human look will never be free.

It's become our daily play.

W - You never will...

B - Why would I want to spoil your magnificence?

The talks usually turn short, because she has to give a lot to be able to follow me in these hostile places. She has no time to waste chatting pointlessly.

She understood a long time ago that a body able to follow mine without using magic directly is already close to perfection.

Her body has an optimum efficiency in nearly every possible aspect, from chemical efficiency to acclimation to our form of energy. All except her look, and her psyche.

I don't care much about her feelings, maybe because I'm a monster.

I do have some affection for her organism though, the way it's shaped and functions, maybe because I'm a monster.

~

She survives. She founds some herbs, something. She's so resourceful.

She weakens though over the days. When you reach those kinds of toxic deserts, there's so much a human or an animal can do, let alone a child. She was forced to grow very fast and with conflicting rules of physics and biology, but really she's still a very human child.

So when came the day of parting, she cried.

There was something in the air.

Something I couldn't quite understand and read at first.

Like a tickle, or a distant murmur.

A whisper.

When I snapped my fingers to create fire that day, when I opened even slightly my inborn ability to swim in the invisible ocean, I felt it more clearly.

That call.

It didn't bother me at first.

I didn't listen to it.

I didn't care about it.

But over time, a slight concern grew.

An idea sipped, permeating inside my mind, and gradually coming to thoughts.

Not much.

Just a word or two.

Just an old name...

Rose Blume.

Rose...

I sigh.

I can't say I've forgotten you.

I'm no longer dependant from you, but of course I remember you.

You're alive, somewhere, somewhen... Irgendwann.

And something is happening to you.

Something of enough importance to send shockwaves through continental distances, and more worryingly, through the world of beings-like-me.

My curiosity will be the end of me. It has been triggered a while back.

I didn't brush it off when I had the chance. It's too late now, I won't be able to pretend I didn't notice, my curiosity has been hooked.

What kind of flowers have you bloomed little Rose?

~

I told my friend this was goodbye, and she cried.

I'm going to fly north, toward the direction of these things I kind of heard.

Because I'm sincerely worried now, I'm going to learn more directly closer.

There's a pressure around my heart I can't name yet, but it's cold and symptomatic of a wider concern.

She doesn't know much about my past. She soon begging me to let her come along.

At first I refused. Not because I wanted to tease her. Not because I thought that was dangerous for her.

Just because this was this and that was that. There was no reason to bring her into whatever was happening with you. She would live on.

You would as well, as will I.

But given her reaction, I grew a little beyond that first idea.

My first thought had been to wonder why I should consider bringing her along?

There was no reason to. My second thought was why wouldn't I bring her along? There was no really any good reason either. Odd.

But somehow it seemed like it was a better choice for her, and probably for me also.

I feel like I'm forgetting and learning again human psychology, over and over again, each time slightly differently.

Cycles...

I don't really know.

And I don't really care.

I warned her she could die, even more violently and suddenly than in her homeland. She's fine with it.

She wants to see another land. She wants to see the world I erupted from.

She could be your sister Rose. Nothing like that gloomy Blue you missed.

Anyway, we agreed.

And so, we went.

She thought I would grow wings to fly.

Why would I do that?

There is incredible danger in using power to be able to fly. I still fear what lies in the depths of the ocean.

I'm feeling rather confident though lately. Maybe I've become too human.

Because I recall being quite a scaredy-cat before with Rose. Was I too cautious and afraid?

Who can tell which of me was the wisest. I've changed a lot from that pas me in my memories.

Maybe because I have my own body. It really changed everything about myself and my relations to the world.

I'm willing to face the unfathomable consequences of my actions and curiosity of my life truly.

Infinitely yours,

The kid held onto my back. I held onto her. Salts flew along as I reopened the back of my head to my past and accumulated pearls of powers. Not pearls, fruits. I'm a flower.

Anyway. I used one of my accumulated artefacts inside of me, to make us fall into a sudden dive into the skies.

Toward the oddly blooming Rose somewhere out there.

~