dandelions || 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘰 (COMPLETED)

x - the attack

THE ATTACK
-
"wishing on every one"

LUNCH FLEW BY, and lyn found that most people were overly courteous and had sickly sweet looks of sympathy on their faces. she knew that only a handful of them had been told the full story and was grateful that most were unaware of the humiliating truth, but it didn't take away any of the frustration of having so many eyes fixed on her. she just couldn't seem to get away from the spotlight. 'star of the glade' was what newt had called her when he offered to scold the boys for their nosiness. however, lyn refused, wanting to preserve as much of her privacy as was conceivable: the first step of which being to break the pattern of drawing attention to herself.

she sat with her normal lunch group (minus minho, since he was running the maze) and as she parted with gally to tuck into her tomato soup, he'd given her another light hug. she was pleased he was beginning to warm up to her; in turn so was she.

thomas leaned across the table and pilfered one of the biscuits on her plate. "how's the food, greenie?" he asked, sitting back and taking a bite of the purloined treat. the soup was delicious, the sweet and the savoury of the tomato complimenting each other exquisitely, though the biscuits were admittedly stale. that's why lyn wasn't bitter in the slightest as a result of thomas' stunt.

and even if she was, she wanted to keep up her persona of being nice. that was all she wanted — to be accepted by the boys. her questionable actions had already cost her enough of her reputation and she didn't need any more judgement to hinder her. she needed to survive and despite the reckless decisions she'd made, she wasn't too foolish to know it would be more accomplishable with them on her side.

even over the minimal time she'd spent in their company, she'd grown to know a lot of them like brothers. she'd found a family she couldn't lose, and that was the thought she deliberated over the rest of her meal.

• • •

once she'd scraped the last of the creamy tomato soup out of her bowl, she gathered her dirty dishes and walked over to frypan, where she reunited with gally to finish the rest of her duties for the day.

she almost severed one of the other builder's arms before she even properly arrived back from lunch and after that, gally didn't hesitate to set her to work gathering wood from the forest. she'd completed what she guessed was four journeys (though she lost count partway through) when she went back around the homestead and into the gnarled trees again for her final trip.

but this time, it felt different.

something wasn't right; she could tell only by breathing in the air. she didn't know what, and she set it aside in her mind — until the first thing happened.

humming the melody to a song she had a faint recollection of from before her life in the glade, she was leaning down to pick up a long piece of wood that caught her eye beneath her when she heard a twig snap behind one of the trees. startled by the realisation she likely wasn't alone, her head whipped up and she stood defensively with the stick in her hand like some sort of weapon. she wasn't sure what good it would actually do, but came to the conclusion it was better than nothing at all.

probably one of those ridiculous beetle blades, she thought.

she hoped.

a matter of minutes passed with no more sinister sounds as she continued to mumble the tune, and she calmed slightly the longer the silence went on.