okay so, i got a dm on tiktok a few days ago asking about how druig and brelione 'began'. and apparently a lot of you want to know about the golden flowers mentioned in Flatter Me. so by relatively popular demand i wrote it.
(Druigs perspective)
there's eleven of us, six fighters and five thinkers. my ears have been flooded with informal formal introductions, the names and abilities of the others. not exactly from themselves, more from ajak as she introduced herself. followed by some waves and nods, though i'm sure we will have to reintroduce ourselves later on.
i watch, hands behind my back as the deviants are destroyed by the fighters, watching as they attempt to work right as a team, doing so surprisingly easily. one of them-makkari-moves too fast for my eyes to even comprehend, it looks like they're quickly becoming pairs. kingo shoots a ball of energy towards the deviant, sending it back and sliding against the ground in the direction of a fire haired woman.
her name is brelione, a user of sign language and a bender of elements. she stands simply, unbothered as the creature comes towards her. she doesn't move, making my heart pound in anxiety. maybe she's just showing off, or maybe she's truly zoned out. i want to shout at her to watch out, to enter her mind. she is a fighter, it's silly that i have become so worried in just a few moments.
but at the last moment she moves aside, vines shooting from the ground like lassos as they pull the terrifying creature down, locking it in place as ikaris comes down from the sky and steps beside her. she holds her hand out, telling him to hold on as the vines moves through the hard flesh of the deviant, destroying it as flowers grow from what was once its flesh. i cant see what ikaris says, though if i had to guess id think it was something among the lines of "well done".
she nods, giving him a gentle smile that's all too beautiful. in a matter of moments, the deviants are gone. destroyed by thena and gilgamesh, thrown over the cliff side by the force of makkari. bodies have been dragged into the ground, leaving no mess as breliones fingers move so effortlessly, gold wisps of cosmic magic twirling like ribbon as the earth opens and closes like s door for her.
"brelione is very talented,"ajak says from behind me, successfully creeping up on me. she watches through the window, a look of clear admiration on her face for the wonderful fighters. my eyes move to the limp bodies of humans, only two of them but still a great loss for the humans, i imagine. "arishem has many good things to say about her. it is time that we get down there ourselves."she says, turning around. i follow, seeing that phastos has created panels that will bring us down and present us to the humans like gifts.
his ability is technology, making it into anything he wants. sprite is the first to descend, creator of illusions. they go first, i follow behind as the humans watch. in terror or awe, maybe even both as we show ourselves. but terror soon turns to violence, as it always must. it's easy to take them over, their dull minds as i command them to put their weapons down as we regroup.
brelione, she ends up furthest away from me. her suit, it's different than ours in a way. the sleeves have a loose flow to them, her suit is a deep green that leans towards yellow, something that resembles a corset around her waist although it doesn't look to have any lacing or cause any discomfort. her chest has three symbols, the gold rims over lapping eachother, her red hair is cascading down her back like lava.
she looks ahead, a look of surprise in her eyes as she looks at the cliff side, turning her head to look back at the large water that's called an ocean. my eyes are dragged back to the others as sersi approaches a human, breaking the invisible barrier that separates us, picking up a knife. it's small, made of stone. although not for long as it transforms into a deep, metallic tool with blue accents, holding it out to the young human.
this, this is the moment that will define us. that will set up every single moment from now on, whether the humans accept us or not. for a moment, i think that the knife will be rejected. but as the boys fingers grip it, his eyes studying the object, he accepts us. he bows, an action followed by the others without my help. finally, we may move and explore, learn about eachother, learn about this place. learn about brelione.
it's no surprise to me, that we all seem to have the same idea, coming together as we begin to speak, ikaris and ajak going to speak to the humans. all of us have the same idea, all but brelione. she moves away from the group, seeing that the relatives of those who died are looking at the corpses. they're long gone, not able to be helped by ajak. but brelione walks towards them, making the humans back away slightly.
i feel something, a need to go over there just in case. but ikaris has beat me to it, watching as breliones hands move, translating so that the humans understand. and with sorrowful looks on their face, they nod. ikaris moves, looping his way back to the domo as we will not be staying here for long. but brelione, she remains as the ground opens under the body, taking the corpse in with open arms.
once the ground has come back, her hands move in a smooth manner, petals of gold leaking from the rich dirt and giving off a gorgeous glow that marks the grave. in the dirt, letters form, words from their language. too far for me to see but judging by the bow of respect the relatives give her, i know she's done good. like it's her job, as if this is the mission she was sent for, she moves from body to body, the others unclaimed by relatives, left for the merciless elements.
she takes a moment to look at them, to see how they've been hurt by the deviants. the dirt is covered by gold, letting the bodies deep into the ground before golden flowers sprout, crawling towards the sun as they gasp for air. and above all of the flowers comes a message, one etched into the sand firmly. out of curiosity, i look through the eyes of a human, one close enough to see what i cannot.
the end marks the beginning.
this moment, this may define who i am forever. when she's satisfied with her work she comes back.
this is the experience, this is the first impression that will be the foundation of my life on earth. my feet seem stuck to the ground, holding me in place as not to embarrass myself. "brelione, have you met the others properly?"ajak asks. she must be able to feel it, the way anxiety is coming from my body like an odor, how my face has surely began to pick up a red hue. all this, for what?
reluctantly, brelione shakes her head. there's been some messiness with introductions, most of us were more focused on the task at hand, although gilgamesh and thena seemed to hit it off immediately. as did brelione and makkari. kingo moves fast, going over to brelione. "that was amazing, the way you did that with those vines."he comments. it's true, factual even.
thank you, although your finger guns are out of this world.
this, this might be the best chance. "the way you grew those flowers, it's beautiful,really."i say. she looks at me, and for the first time i can see her. like, truly see her. she looks at me, face forward. her eyes are green, rich like soil with hues of gold so prominent i can see them from a few feet away. her cheekbones are high, her eyebrows are neat and don't hold the same warm hue as her hair. she looks at me like ive said something bizarre, that is before she has a small smile fighting it's way into her features.
your power over the humans is brilliant.
oh.
oh.
she has complimented me. we are making conversation. so much anxiety for reasons that do not exist.
i appreciate it. what do you think of earth? i sign back. it might make her more comfortable, i imagine that's why her and makkari got along so well. has anyone asked?
now, why did i ask that? what do you think of earth? what do you think of earth? she is the bender of earth, manipulator of elements. it should be evident that she'll enjoy this planet, how could i ask such a question?
too early to tell, though i do like that ocean.
"phastos, have you met brelione?"ajak asks, light hand on his shoulders. "i haven't had the pleasure of meeting her,"sersi says, seperating herself from ikaris. "i think it will be wonderful for us all to get to know eachother, we will be here for a long time. gilgamesh, have you met sprite?"ajak asks. perhaps everyone is as nervous as i, surrounded by beings that we don't truly know, sent to this planet that's been infiltrated by monsters. but meeting our coworkers should be the least of our worries. i hope, at least.
would you like to go look at it closer? i sign to brelione. this seems like a good thing to say, she likes the ocean, she's intrigued by it. id like to make more conversation, seems like a formula for success. she nods, looking to ajak for approval. "i think that's a terrific idea."ajak responds, looking out to the dark blue mass.
i am relieved when nobody volunteers to go with us, the two of us walking side by side down the small hill. and the way that her eyes seem to light up is unreal, it's like she's seeing arishem himself. a few humans watch, like they're expecting more deviants. but what they get is much better, big fish seeming to fly into a weak woven basket that's coated by sand, full of seaweed. it was probably used for fishing, abandoned in a moment of fear.
one of the men runs towards the basket, clapping his hands together as fish fly into it, hands grabbing the basket as he runs up the sand. "do you control animals as well?"i ask. she nods, looking down into the water as little waves start to moves toward her.
it seems like i control what you don't, maybe we'll be a perfect team.
i smile, not even trying to hide it. i feel foolish, sure, but that does not matter. i nod, sighing. "so it seems, i couldn't think of anything better."i reply.
sorry for the chapter being so late!! i took a long nap today and didnt have it prewritten. hope you enjoyed it!! xoxo-H.