that was then
Aster was Zinnia's first kiss.
It was a quiet moment deep in the caverns of Meteor Falls, stolen far from eyes that would pry. This behavior wasn't expected of the future Lorekeeper. She was to marry—specifically a man, in the case of a female Lorekeeper—and pass on her duties to the next generation.
Zinnia thought that was boring, but the rules had been passed down from generation to generation. Even the next Lorekeeper couldn't change them.
So they took what they could, pressing lips against lips and body against body in the dark of the caves when they were supposed to be training their Pokemon.
this is now
A bouquet of red spider lillies lies upon the cold dirt; the mound of earth that is the only marker of where Aster now lies.
Zinnia pulls her cape more tightly around her shoulders. If she couldn't protect the one she loved more than anything from something as trivial as illness, how is she supposed to be capable of protecting the entire world?
It doesn't matter. It's not like there's anyone else who can.
She leaves the grave.
Her eyes resolutely forward, she trips over a Whismur.
