Featured in post: Raine, Roselyn, Estelle, Kiki, Fresia, Shola, Tanner's Mom and Dad, Ivy and mention of Snow and Shift
Time: Later that night after Roselyn and Raine help with his hair and after Kiki touches Tanner.
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Tanner
I wasn’t expecting to be up about two more hours with the girls, brushing my hair. Raine was yawning by now but Roselyn seemed fine, even though I could see she wanted to get to bed. I could still see some sadness in her eyes but a pale bit of a scratch on her face, but it wasn’t my place to intrude or ask about what was going on. She could tell me if she wanted to.
Once we finally finished, Raine said goodnight without a problem and Roselyn nodded and said goodnight. That’s when I finally closed my door and thought of how to have my hair tomorrow. Having it completely down would be a problem. People would trip over it and there would be yelling involved. Having it in dreads again would be just annoying because I would be up for another four hours doing that… Maybe a braid?
That always works, Tan-Tan. Besides… you know what might happen tomorrow…
“Don’t remind me,” I mumbled but decided to braid my hair tomorrow because that would take me a whole hour to do again. I just plopped down on my bed and immediately fell asleep.
Memory
“Hey, Snow… Ivy?” I called from the cage, scared and afraid and shaking from the needles they had already injected me with. I was bleeding from the head and had a puffed up, black eye. I could barely see out of it.
“Honey… you need to keep quiet or they’ll come back…” I looked over at Mom, who sat in the cage next to me, her long, black hair flowing down to her waist, cut and unhealthy, but her red eyes shown. They weren’t common for a Tangrowth… Not really… Her dress was torn and Dad was sleeping beside her, his regular black shirt ripped up along with his green pants but Dad’s hair was cut too… All the way up to the nape of his neck… Why would they do such a thing to Tangrowths, Dad? I’ve asked it too many times… My hair hadn’t really even grown yet, so they had no reason to cut mine, I think…
“O-Okay…” I fidgeted in place and sat back down in my cage and looked over at Momma, who was holding her hand out to me through the cage bars. I reached for it, my hand still in pain, and she took it and kissed it. Momma had told me once that she had been one of the most popular guys in the Clan and she met Dad, who wasn’t really popular. She wouldn’t tell me anything else though…
“Honey, I’ve got a story to tell you about our Clan. You wanna hear it?” I looked at Momma with excitement and nodded and Momma smiled a sad smile.
“Well, it’s a story about how some Tangrowths use a defense mechanism, something in the brain, to survive. Not a lot of Tangrowths can do it and if they do and the defense mechanism takes over, they don’t remember anything. Now, I want you to do this, honey. So that you can save yourself in the long run, in the future, okay? From any danger that might be imposed on you, okay?” Momma told me and I looked at her confused and tilted my head.
“Okay, Momma.” That’s when I heard the door open and Momma took her hand back and I sat quietly in my cage.
“Get him out of the cage.” Ivy moved over to me, his green hair dirty and his ears perked low. He got the cage door open and grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the chair I was in earlier. They prodded me some more, made fun of me until they noticed I wasn’t going to respond, so they just got out a needle and put it into me and it felt like my whole body was on fire.
I was only looking at Momma as I passed out. I didn’t know what would really happen to me later, when I enforced that defense mechanism. I don’t wish that I never made my other side.
End Memory, about noon the next day
I bolted upright in my bed, drenched in cold sweat. Why did I remember that of all things…? Whatever. It’s like I always asked why do such things to Tangrowths?
I moved myself into a ball and thought. So today was the festival… I think Shift would be here today… That’s great. That means if he was here, Shupple would be fighting him, and I would be dealing with Ivy and Snow. God, that would be an easy fight compared to when I was nine…
“Tanner? Are you alright?” I looked up from my ball and focused on Fresia and the new matter at hand. She looked tired and worn. Upset too.
“Yes, I’m alright. What about you? You look tired,” I told her and she just nodded and didn’t say anything as she stood in the doorway. I stood up and shook out my hair and she looked at it.
“You brushed it all out. That must’ve taken a lot of time, Tanner,” Fresia gave me a smile and I looked back at my hair and nodded. That gave me an idea.
“You want to help me braid it?” My face lit up a little and so did Fresia’s. She nodded and we both sat down and started to braid my hair. It took us maybe an hour to finish the braid and I just brought it over my shoulder and that’s when Fresia suddenly stood up and rushed to the door.
“I have to get ready for the festival. See you later, Tanner?” Fresia asked and I nodded and she just hurried off with a slight blush on her face. It made me wonder why she was so flustered in the first place. Well, I guess I would find out later…
I stood up and left the room with a yawn escaping my mouth after getting on my kimono and was heading around the corner to see if Estelle was awake yet when a girl tripped over my braid and was about to fall when I caught her hand quickly and held her steady.
“Are you alright?” I asked her and that’s when her eyes snapped open, I realizing it was Kiki, and she glanced at our hands and she looked back at me. That’s when sudden pain shot up my arm but instead, the pain formed in my stomach wound and I felt like it was bleeding again… Wait a second…
“Oh, no…”
“What the…” I left off but that’s when I forcefully coughed and my legs started to shake and I knelt down. The pain shot more and I clenched my chest as it shot pain all around my body, especially in my rib cage.
“Oh…oh no!” Kiki exclaimed but that’s when I noticed a kid beside Kiki and of course, he started in my head…
What the shit is this? I can take over and heal it if you give me the damn chance!
“No…don’t…don’t…” I mumbled accidentally between breaths and that’s when the kid beside me touched my shoulder and I felt a calm, sustained persona coming from him. The wound wasn’t starting to hurt anymore.
“Calm mind,” the kid said and I relaxed and the pain in my stomach and rib cage stopped hurting and my breathing slowed and I let go of my shirt and tried to realize what just really happened. I stood up slowly as Kiki backed away.
“I-I’m sorry…” Kiki said quickly. “I didn’t mean for that to happen!” Kiki bowed about a dozen times frantically. “It was…uuh. It’s hard to explain….” Kiki fidgeted with her hands anxiously. “Do you…feel okay now…?” Kiki asked and I did a slow nod.
“Ah…yes I am,” I replied.
“Tanner-san!” I turned my head and saw Estelle in her kimono, which was stunning. She must’ve modified it… There were now ruffles on it and it made her look more stunning. Was she getting ready this whole morning?
“Rally let’s go,” Kiki said taking Rally’s hand and turned away. “Again I’m really sorry.” I didn’t get to say something to Kiki as she hurried away because I really wanted to know just what really happened. That’s when Estelle appeared before me and I smiled.
“Wow, Estelle. You look beautiful,” I told her and she smiled and curtsied in response.
“Thank you very much, Tanner-san!” Estelle told me with a smile and I smiled.
“I saw you heading to the kitchen. Do you mind if I join before we head over to the festival?” Estelle asked and I shook my head.
“No, I don’t mind at all,” I told her and we both headed down to the kitchen and I started to make ramen and Estelle started to make her own dish when the door opened again to the kitchen and Fresia walked in. Now, I had to really admit, she looked pretty amazing. She must’ve really modified her kimono…
“Wow… Fresia… You look amazing,” I told her and Estelle chimed in.
“You look really beautiful, Fresia-san,” Estelle said with a smile and Fresia blushed brightly.
“Thank you very much, Tanner and Estelle,” Fresia said with a smile and she headed into the refrigerator and started to get ingredients out. Once I finished up my ramen and Estelle brought her meal over to the table and I sat my ramen down on the table, I noticed Fresia was having some trouble with some cutting so I got up and decided to help her. I went behind her and put my arms around onto her’s and took the knife from her hand.
“Want me to help?” I asked and she just nodded instead of replying and so I helped her, making sure her hands were under mine so she would get to know the feeling of how to really cut the vegetables she was cutting up and once we finished up, I helped her finish her dish and she then sat down in a chair and started to eat. I sat back down and we all started to talk about the festival until Shola joined in on eating and we all finished up on our meals.
“To the festival, correct?” Estelle asked and I nodded and we all headed out of the kitchen and started to head outside.
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I hope that was alright with you, Elixr! :D If I need to change anything, tell me :D So yep, helping everybody get to the festival :D And I meant neck, not navel *facepalms*
~Anime
