Radioactive // Onceler x reader

Chapter 5

A little while later as I was sitting next to the canvas I had painted earlier, I suddenly remembered the flashing images from before, and figured maybe the guardian of the forest would know something. I got up and went looking for him, finding the orange creature playing around with some animals. 

"Um, excuse me, can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked genuinely, using a calm tone so he knew I wasn't trying to come at him with an attitude. He nodded and we walked for a while before sitting down in a clearing. "So, what you wanna talk about?" he asked me, raising one of his big, yellow brows.

"You see, something happened to me earlier. When the Onceler, uh- Beanpole, began chopping down the trees.. I got this." I said and pulled up my sleeve, unraveling the bandage to show the cut on my arm. "That's not all, right before this happened I had a vision. A vision of a big forest fire, and a source of light in the middle of it." I continued, not sure how to explain everything in a comprehensive way. The Lorax inspected my cut for a moment, and put a hand on it. I felt a tingling sensation in my arm and realised the wound were closing, turning into a scar. My eyes grew wide, and I stared at him in disbelief before feeling the smooth surface with my hand. The mark was still there, but the wound was healed.

"I don't know what you are, but like me you are connected to this forest. I'm not a magical being, but rather a forest spirit. It seems like you and I aren't so different. I can't take away whatever is hurting you, but instead of a wound you'll now just get a red mark." he said, and looked worried, so I braced myself for what came next.

"The forest fire you saw actually happened. It was a long time ago, probably over a hundred years since it happened. Some kids had made a bonfire and accidentally sat fire to a nearby tree. They failed to stop the fire from spreading and a great forest fire emerged. I helped evacuate the animals, and something miraculous happened. A being pleaded with me to save the forest, so I accepted. A bright light emerged from the heart of the forest, completely obliterating the fires and healing the trees from the damage. A crystal was left in place of the light, and there were something inside. I moved the crystal into a small cave by the river, so no one could damage the it." he told me, and I felt like the story was familiar. A crystal was next to the river? Did that have something to do with me? I felt like he knew exactly what was going on, but just avoided telling me directly.

We sat and discussed this for a while, and it was actually very pleasant to converse with him when he wasn't purposefully being annoying. "You know, if you're really connected to the forest like that, you understand what will happen if he ends up chopping down all the trees, right?" the Lorax looked at me, and I understood exactly what he meant.

"Yeah.. I get it." I replied sadly, realising how risky it was allowing him to start a business where he was dependent on trees. Not only would the animals be forced to leave and the forest would die, I'd probably die with it. 

"I think maybe I can help with the Onceler, convince him not to chop down all the trees. I think he just said that because he was angry, anyway." I eventually said, watching as the sun began setting over the mountaintops in the distance. The Lorax looked unconvinced, but I think he trusted me now that we were kind of on the same wavelenght. He suddenly got up and started stretching out. "Well, you shoud head back, check in on your friend. I've got some things to do anyway." he said and gave me a nodding goodbye. I got to my feet as well and made my way back to the cottage. 

I found the Onceler snoring loudly on the bed, he had probably fallen asleep while reading or something since he was fully clothed and lying on top of the duvet. He had been sleeping on the floor for the past week anyway, so I let him stay. I was feeling kinda hungry so I made myself an evening snack that I enjoyed by the window. The night sky slowly crept upon us and I eventually fell asleep, leaning my head on the window frame. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but it worked nonetheless.