Convulsion

✿ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ꜰɪᴠᴇ ✿

"Come," I whisper. Nothing happens and I groan, watching the thin vines that are covered in fluff dangling from the branches of the tree only a few feet away. What I'm feeling right now is nothing like how I felt last night. Last night I felt connected to the vines. I knew I could control them and that they would listen. Right now I only feel the urgency to get down to the ground in order to see what's going on. I glance at the beach again. Axel isn't there anymore, he's walking on a pathway towards the door that leads out of here. Now just the two girls are standing there, and it looks like Ethan is talking to them about something. I focus on the one more, trying my best to not lean over the edge.

"Come on!" I urge, reaching one hand out toward the closest vines while keeping one on the wall inside of my room. The vines don't move. They just hang, motionless. I take my hand away from the wall of my room, wrapping it around my necklace instead as I lean even further. A second too late I realize that's not what I should've done. I feel myself falling through the air, the wind rushing past me as my speed increases. Strangely enough, I don't panic. I close my eyes as the ground gets closer until I feel my necklace heating up my hand, a green light emitting through my fingers.

The wind around me starts to lessen, and by the time I open my eyes again I've slowed to a stop. I find out why when I find my limbs tangled in a mess of fluff and stems. I grunt, rolling around to try and escape the strange vines of the putras tree. 

"Thanks," I mutter to the vines, yanking my arm out of a cluster of fluff. I grunt a few more times, attempting to disentangle the rest of me. I give my right arm one last tug and it goes flying, along with my right leg. I swing through the air, my hair flying behind me as I hang from both my left leg and my left arm.

"Oh, come on," I sigh. I'm so close to the ground, but I'm stuck swinging above it in an awkward position. I kick my left leg as hard as I can, moving it repeatedly until the vines slither away. Once those vines are gone I find myself kneeling on the dirt with my left arm hanging above my head, still wrapped in vines. I stand up, grabbing the vine with my free hand and tugging it as hard as I can.

"Need help?" I exhale through clenched teeth, ignoring the sound of Ethan's voice as I finally pull my arm free.

"No thanks, I'm good," I announce as I swivel toward him, the vines flying past my head and back up to the top of the tree. I was about to walk toward him but I stop, freezing in place. The two girls I saw on the beach earlier are standing next to him, but that's not what shocks me. Both of them are wearing human clothes. The girl on his right has silvery blue eyes and wavy blonde hair that's dyed purple at the ends, and she's wearing a gray sweater with light pink yoga pants. The girl on his left has dark brown hair that looks almost black and flows in pretty waves to her shoulders, making her green eyes and pink lips really stand out. She's wearing a cropped white t-shirt and ripped jeans, which kind of reminds me of what I used to wear.

"Hey." The girl with the dark hair nods at me, sticking her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"Hi," I reply with a smile, glancing from one girl to the other. The girl with green eyes and dark hair is staring at me intently while the girl with blonde and purple hair is examining the ground. I focus my gaze on Ethan, trying to convey my questions with only the expression on my face. He seems to get the message and motions to each of the girls in turn.

"This is Vashti." He points to the girl with dark hair and green eyes. "And this is Luna." He points to the girl with blonde and purple hair and blue eyes. "They're our newest Guardians... apparently." He purses his lips, as if contemplating something for a quick moment, but then he looks back at me, continuing on. "We should head to the Agora now. I'll explain things on the way, Lily."