Disclaimer:
I do not own the D&D Cartoon. For fun, not profit.
Author's Notes:
Written for the DDCC 2008
Prompt: Darkhaven Day (as in anything that Kimmy would like).
--X--
Unhidden Feelings
It wasn't as though the people weren't friendly or welcoming, nor was the town itself lacking in attractions in general. In fact, the inhabitants of Seroniti had been very accommodating, expressing their pleasure upon meeting the pupils of Dungeon Master, while at the same time not crowding them, leaving them free to explore at their leisure. The problem was her. She just simply wasn't in the mood.
They had arrived at the town a few days ago on the recommendation of their guide following their disappointment on failing to reach the Celor Portal in time. They had been so close, but Venger had delayed them in another attempt to snatch their weapons and they had arrived only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the amusement park before the doorway had closed for another century.
At least everyone was OK, that was the important thing, and it wasn't as though this was the first time they had been mere seconds away from getting home. Ordinarily, she was able to put this kind of setback behind her, but for some reason, nearly a week later, she was still dwelling on it and generally feeling down.
They had broken off into two groups a short while ago, agreeing to meet at their accommodation later, so it was just the four of them, plus Uni, taking a steady walk along the busy street. Bobby was obviously beginning to get bored but she didn't want him wandering off alone, not in such a large place, and she was trying to decide what to suggest when Diana beat her to it.
"Hey Bobby, how about we go and check out the stalls over there?" she called, pointing at a very noisy and crowded area of the street.
"Great," he shouted.
The Barbarian instantly headed in the direction indicated and then, almost as an afterthought, glanced back at his sister to seek her approval. Sheila simply nodded, and with that he was gone, along with the Acrobat and Uni, leaving her alone with Hank.
Normally, the thought of the two of them spending time together without the others would have been enough to lift her spirits, but today she found herself worrying that he would find her bad company. She turned to face him and found he had moved so that he was standing at her side.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
"Yeah, I . . ."
She stopped and lowered her head, knowing there was no point trying to fool him.
"No, not really," she admitted with a sigh. "I don't know, I . . ."
She broke off again not really sure what to say. After a few seconds silence she raised her head and their eyes met. There was no mistaking the concerned expression on his face as he looked at her. She smiled sadly.
"I'll be OK, Hank," she said in an attempt to reassure both herself as well as him.
He continued gazing at her, clearly not convinced by her words.
"How about we get out of here for a while?" he suggested.
"Out?" she asked. "Where?"
"I'm not sure, just out," he replied.
Then, taking her hand, he led her to the side of the street and up the few steps to an arched window in the town's outer wall. They both peered through and surveyed the surrounding countryside.
"How about over there?" the Ranger suggested as he released her hand.
The Thief turned her head to see him pointing at a large woodland area a short distance away. She didn't respond immediately and instead stood quietly staring out at the trees. She called to mind the woods near her house and felt a fresh wave of homesickness.
"Sheila?"
The sound of Hank's voice snapped her out of her daydream with a jolt.
"OK," she replied in response to his previous question. "Let's go."
The two of them then made their way to the nearest gate out of Seroniti and had soon reached the first clump of trees which marked the edge of the forest. They had not spoken during the brief walk but the silence had not been uncomfortable.
Sheila had been relieved that Hank had refrained from attempting to get her to talk about what was bothering her. She was still not her normal cheery self and had feared his questions; not at all certain how she would have answered them. She was also annoyed with herself at her inability to enjoy the walk. Here she was, Hank at her side, a perfect location, no little brother to baby-sit, but instead of feeling elated, she was unhappy.
After a few minutes the path they were following branched in two.
"Which way shall we go?" the Thief asked.
"You choose," Hank offered.
"Urm, OK."
She hesitated briefly, used to him normally making this kind of every day decision, before opting on the road to the right. He smiled and she could not help but return the gesture.
They hadn't gone much further when the trail divided for a second time. This time the Ranger selected their direction and they continued alternating in this way for a while. After the fifth or sixth time of her being the one to pick, Sheila realised that she no longer had any idea which way they had come.
"Hank, what if we get lost?" she asked anxiously, stopping to spin around and face him as she spoke.
"It's OK, I'm keeping track," he promised her.
She smiled then took a couple of steps back and suddenly felt herself falling. It was only the quick reaction of the Ranger grabbing her tightly around the waist and pulling her towards him that prevented it.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
She nodded and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. With his arms still around her she turned to look at what lay ahead. They were now standing at the top of a steep slope. At the bottom was a glen filled with small flowers, similar in size to buttercups, but instead of being just plain yellow, each one was a different colour.
Sheila gasped. She had never seen anything quite like it, even after so long in the Realm, and judging from the expression on the Ranger's face, she wasn't the only one to have been surprised. She would have expected such a vast array of colours to look all wrong, but instead, the exact opposite was true, and the sight before them was one of spectacular beauty.
"Do you want to go a take a closer look?" Hank asked.
She smiled and nodded in response, but her smile faded as she eyed the path they would need to take to reach them.
"We'll be fine," he assured her.
At that he relinquished his hold on her and carefully edged forwards. After taking a few steps he reached up and offered her his hand. She gladly accepted it and made sure that she kept a firm grip as they made their way down together.
The flowers could not have been more than thirty metres away, but the severity of the incline, combined with a track constructed of tiny loose stones made it a difficult descent and the pair were both a little breathless when they finally reached the bottom.
"That was harder than it looked," Hank remarked as he sat down.
"Yeah," the Thief agreed, following his lead and sitting down beside him.
"Thanks for the help," she added.
He smiled at her and then lay back and closed his eyes. Once again she followed suit, glad of the rest, and drank in the sweet fragrant air. She was beginning to feel better but had not managed to completely shake off her earlier sadness.
She found herself thinking about home again, recalling a picnic with her family and then realised with a pang that she couldn't remember which flavour jam her mom preferred. It was such a trivial little thing to be worrying about, but it bothered her immensely. She could picture the jar, just not the variety.
She sat up abruptly and opened her eyes, not wanting to focus on such thoughts any longer. It was only then that she noticed something odd about the flowers surrounding the two of them. All of the ones around her were now lemon coloured, while the ones nearest to Hank were burnt orange, but it was only the plants closest to them that had undergone this change.
As she watched, the lemon petals transformed to a navy blue, causing her to cry out. The Ranger was immediately on the alert and the flowers that had only a moment ago been deep orange faded to a pale peach.
Sheila quickly explained the reason for her alarm and they both observed the next change. This time the flowers around both of them turned the same colour, a lime green, much to their mutual astonishment.
"How is this happening?" Sheila wondered aloud.
The Ranger simply shook his head and they both remained silent for a few minutes until Sheila spoke again.
"I was just thinking about home when I spotted it," she admitted. "Trying to remember if my mom likes raspberry or …"
She stopped and stared, open mouthed, as the flowers beside her changed back to lemon.
"It's as though they know what we're thinking," Hank exclaimed.
"But that's not possible," Sheila replied. "Is it?"
"In this place, anything is possible," Hank pointed out.
"Well in that case, what were you thinking about to turn them orange?" she asked excitedly.
Her earlier depression was now all but forgotten as she began trying to figure out which thoughts and feelings mapped to each colour. She already had three to go on, lemon for anxiety, navy for shock and lime for amazement. She could also guess that peach probably represented apprehension.
"Lots of things," Hank stated in reply to her question.
"I was mainly frustrated," he added. "Frustrated with Venger for screwing up another chance to get home, frustrated in general about being trapped in the Realm in the first place, but mostly I was frustrated with myself."
He paused and looked look at her, seeming uncertain about saying more, but then continued.
"I was worried about not being able to help you when I could see how down you've been these last few days," he admitted.
Sheila reached towards him and squeezed his hand. He had confided in her more than she had expected, even at the risk of upsetting her, and it made her feel very privileged. She quickly reassured him that, on the last count at least, everything was now OK and that she was feeling much more cheerful. To emphasise the point, she lay back again and watched the flowers nearest to her as they changed to sky blue.
"See, I'm now perfectly content," she added with a smile.
He surveyed her for a moment before returning her smile. He continued watching her as she relaxed, surrounded by these unique and magical flowers, whose current colour complemented her fair skin and auburn hair perfectly.
As he looked, the circle of plants around him turned ivory. It was this change that made the Thief very conscious of his scrutiny and she blushed, which had the effect of transforming the pale blue to lavender. She hastily sat up, beginning to feel flustered, and noticed that the ivory petals had changed again to a rich burgundy.
She couldn't take her eyes off him as he sat there. She wanted him so badly. She was with him every day, loving him in secret, and always hoping that someday he might feel something for her, searching for some sign that her feelings were reciprocated. She longed for him to kiss her. Right now, that was the only thought in her head. She knew that the flowers would react to her feelings, but she didn't care. It wasn't as if she had to tell him exactly what she was thinking.
She glanced down to check, and saw that they had indeed changed to reflect her emotions, as they were now the colour of cherry blossom. She looked back towards Hank and was surprised to see that it was not only the flowers circling her which were pink. The ones surrounding the Ranger were exactly the same shade, which could only mean one thing - his thoughts and feelings mirrored hers.
Their eyes met, and she could tell that he had made the same observation. She smiled shyly, offering encouragement, praying he would react. She sat transfixed as he raised his hand to gently stroke her cheek. He then moved his hand down to her neck as he leaned forwards, his eyes never leaving hers.
His arms circled her as their lips met and he pulled her towards him. As he fell back she followed him down, not even breaking their kiss in the process. Her tongue soon found his, or perhaps it was the other way around. Sheila was no longer sure. All she knew was that something she had only previously been able to dream about had suddenly become a wonderful reality.
Oblivious to everything but him, she never noticed the continued reaction around them, which was no longer limited to a small circle, but had spread to include every single flower in the area.
One creature however, had observed the effect as it flew overhead, an Obsidian dragon. Ordinarily this particular species maintained an unusually high altitude when in flight, but her sharp eyes has spotted the glen containing the Caltha Aestus during their latest transformation from pale to deep pink and, wise to the nature of these plants, she had swooped down to investigate.
It was not a common sight to see them all the same colour and her curiosity was awakened. Only extremely powerful emotions could create such a uniform effect and she was keen to find the source. As the dragon descended, the flowers continued to change and she focused her attention on the darkest patch, which was now a bright crimson.
This latest colour spread, like a wave rippling on a lake, until it reached the outer limits of the hollow. The dragon did not know the meaning of many of the possible colour, but this was one of the few that she was familiar with, the colour of love.
If a dragon could be said to smirk, then that is exactly what this one did upon seeing the young couple entwined together far below. They had not noticed her, but her curiosity had been satisfied and so she began ascending back to her preferred height to continue her journey home.
--X--
THE END
Note of Thanks: Thanks to Sealgirl who created an Obsidian dragon for her fanfic 'Temple of Love' and kindly let me use it here.