A giant car had stopped right next to the tent, all was silent as the beings and animals walked up to it. A door slowly opened and on the inside was a bright light. It was, to say the least, a bit terrifying. Then, out popped a lady, wearing purple.
"What a dump." She commented.
"Hey! Aunt Grizelda!" The Onceler hollored, waving to her.
"Is this your family?" I asked the Onceler, and he nodded, a light smile.
Then, two boys, both quite alike, jumped out of the car.
"Hey Chet! Check this out!" One of them grabbed a barb-a-loot. "Go long!"
"No, Brett, that's actually not a.. Okay." The Once-ler tried to stop his sibling but the animal was thrown anyway.
"Stop!" I yelled, following after the mammal. I could see terror on the animals face as it soared through the sky.
"I got it, I got it!" The brother yelled, directly before hitting a tree.
Luckily, the barb-a-loot feel into the soft leaves of the truffula tree, falling onto the twins face.
Picking up the poor animal, I walked it back to the main group, sticking far away from the newcomers.
"Oncie, is that you?" A woman with blonde hair popped out, using an older man as a stepstool.
"Mom!" The Once-ler said, though he didn't seem as excited.
"There he is! There's my big suddenly successful son!" She kissed his face, the Lorax touched the weird animal scarf she wore. The scarf looked like a dead animal, and the nose bounced from the poke of the Loraxs's fingers.
"This woman is terrifying." I mumbled to myself, setting the barb-a-loot down.
"We always knew you would make it Oncie! Right?" She looked at the older man, who I could assume was the Once-lers father. The way she talked, it didn't seem like they believed the Once-ler could amount to much, which was disheartening to say the least.
"Hey, I love this guy!" The father ran up and hugged the successful son.
"But you always said I wouldn't amount to anything, remember?" The Onceler clarified.
"Oh hush your mouth, I was just trying to motivate you!" His mother responded.
"I'm really clad you clarified that, because it actually hurt my feelings for a really long time. Anyways, you are all here, you all work for me, and that's cool." He set his father down. "Let's get to work!"
The mother yelled to the two twins. "Brett, Chett, set up the RV-" I looked over, they had grabbed another poor barb-a-loot. "And will you stop throwing that bear!"
The boy dropped it on the ground, while the other brother kicked it over, seeming to have no care what's in front of him. I grabbed the bear, checking for injuries before setting it with the rest of the animals.
The twin pressed the button, and the RV began to make loud noises and the vehicle shifted its shape and moved, turning into... Well... A house I suppose. It was definitely a lot different than the forest setting and the Once-lers tent.
The Lorax protested. "Time out, back up, stop. Don't move an inch. Nobody is moving here!" He pointed his finger to the Once-lers family. "You've got to go, goodbye!"
"So who invited the giant furry peanut?" The aunt asked, making a joke.
"You callin me a peanut, huh? I'll go right up your nose!"
The Guardian and the aunt started to go at each other, and the Once-ler stopped the both of them.
"Woah woah woah! You wouldnt hit a woman!"
The Lorax stopped and turned. "..thats a woman?"
"Okay, everyone cool it. Let's not get off on the wrong foot here." The Onceler said. He began to introduce everyone. "This is my friend,"
"Aquaintence." The Lorax corrected.
"Yeah, acquaintance, very good aquaintence, the Lorax. He speaks for the trees."
"That's right. On behalf of the trees...get out!" The Lorax argued, and I gently smacked him, a way of telling him to tone down a bit.
The Once-ler then moved next to me. "This is my other aquaintence-"
"Friend." I corrected. If the kiss was to mean anything to him, I hoped friend would fit a more better title than acquaintance.
"My very good...friend, Y/n." The Onceler continued. He pat the lower part of my back, letting it linger a small bit.
The Lorax still seemed like he was gonna make the newcomers leave again so the Once-ler moved him away. "Be nice, this is my family! And, in gonna need their help if my company is gonna get bigger. Okay?"
"Bigger?" The Lorax questioned.
"Yeah! This isn't some sinky dink operation anymore! I got plans, big plans! A vision of a world filled with thneeds! It's gonna be huge!"
The Lorax sighed. "Which way does a tree fall?"
"Uh..down?"
"A tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean." He said, turning and walking away.
After a few passing moments, the family got to work. The Once-ler was in his tent sketching out blueprints for the company design. Below the closed blinds, I laid agaisnt the windowpane.
"What are you working on?" I asked, as if I hadn't already known.
"The blueprints for the company building, i mean, look at this. Its amazing!" He beamed, proud of his work. I leaned in more to take a better look.
"You've got quite a talent there, among others." I smiled, taking in every detail. "Its beautiful."
There was a small pause. "Not as beautiful as you." He spoke.
I blushed and gently pushed his shoulder. "You charmer." I grinned. I quickly placed a small peck on his cheek. "Keep up the good work, it's going swell so far." I quickly turned and walked away towards the river.
Suddenly, there was a small tap at my shoulder. I looked over to see the Once-lers dad. "I'm not sure you notice, but someone's got eyes for you." He grinned. I gave him a questioning look and saw one of the twins staring at me. I felt uneasy. Another tap on my shoulder.
"Not that one, Oncie!" He whispered. I peeked over at the blinds and saw him looking at me, seemingly lovestruck.
"You think so?" I asked, not taking my eyes off him. The Once-ler smiled and gave a slight wave before noticing his mother and speaking with her. I had known the Once-ler had some sort of feeling of adoration towards I, but neither had made anything official in the following months we had gotten to know about each other.
"A parent always knows." The father gleemed. "Now I've got to get back to work, you know I love this guy!" He shouted, racing back to cart full of thneed tufts.
I walked over moments later, overhearing a conversation. "You have to do what's best for your company, and your mama!" The blonde woman said.
"Well, I guess it coudlnt hurt to chop down a few trees.." The Once-ler said. I froze.
"You've made me so proud, Oncie. Come here!" His mother said, giving him a hug before parting ways.
I walked over to his window. "What are they gonna do?" I asked, looking at the family huddle together to speak.
"Just.. Get the tufts faster." He said.
"And does it involve chopping down the trees?" I questioned, not daring to look at him.
It was silent, till he finally spoke. "Yes, but only a few, nothing enough to take too much away from the forest!" He tried to explain himself.
"You made a promise." I looked back at him. "Don't let this go too far, cause the Lorax won't be the only one upset." I pressed my hands against the windowsill. "I don't know how you can't see your mother is using you.. Your whole family is." I took a look at the family, now starting to grab cutting supplies. Gently, I placed my hand over his and squeezed it. I felt my heart break a bit, and quoted the Lorax's words. "Be careful which way you lean." Then left, not wishing to hear anymore.
Sounds of crashing and hacking at wood ruptured the once quiet area. The Lorax, having before been teaching tricks to the younger animals, heard the crackling of wood faking down to the ground, causing them to stop.
The Guardian ran to the twins, who were chopping down the trees mercilessly with one swing. "No, no no no!" He beckoned. "Stop it! Please! Stop!"
But the twins didn't stop, they ran right past him, creating destruction behind them.
The Lorax ran towards the tent, but was stopped by the aunt.
"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, picking him up.
He yelped, trying to swing out of her grasp. "Excuse me sir. I need to talk to your boss."
The Once-ler removed the blinds from the window, though I dont believe he realized what was going on till his name was called.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but Mr. Once-ler's not seeing anyone right now." The older woman smirked, carrying off the orange guardian.
"Yeah, well he'll see me, so-" she carried him further away, and the Lorax saw the Once-ler open up his blind just a bit to look out. "Hey! You broke your promise! Your better than this!" He called to him. "You gotta stop! This is bad!"
The aunt held her arms out. "Have a nice day!" She grinned, spinning and launching the Gaurdian in the air.
He screamed, eventually finding his way into my back. I yelped, falling to the ground and he rolled off. Seeing that the Lorax was thrown rather than having flown, I stood up and helped him up as well.
"Y/n, he broke his promise!" He was saddened, looking back at the tent, trying to find any remainder of the Once-ler.
"He broke his promise..."