Our Promise - A Once-ler X OC fanfiction

Chapter II - The Guardian of the Forest

Maya squinted, the light from the lightning striking the stump of the Truffula tree that had just been felled being too intense. The next moment, the clouds disappeared, giving way to a blue sky again.

An orange creature with a mustache, the Lorax, emerged from the stump on which the lightning had struck. Lying on the ground, he took a brief moment to regain his senses. The young woman approached and knelt down to get to his level.

"Hi Lo', it's been a while, she said with a slight smile.

- Maya! he said as he stood up. What happened?"

With a look of sadness, she pointed to the stump behind him. Then he turned and his face expressed a feeling of surprise, fright and finally sadness. The animals of the valley came out of hiding to join him.

As Maya explained what had happened, a sort of ceremony took place. The Lorax, the Barbaloots, the Humming Fishes and the Swommee-Swans found round, mossy stones and placed them around what was left of the freshly cut pink Truffula.

"A traveler, you say? asked the Lorax.

- I don't know what else it could be, I don't want to seem rude, she sighed.
- Where is he now? "

The young woman pointed to the Once-ler's tent, not far away, and the orange creature frowned. He decided to approach it, and firmly, so Maya sighed as she did the same. She suspected that her friend would do everything to make the traveler leave, but she also knew that given the heated conversation she had had with him, it would be difficult.

***

The Once-ler sang as he harvested the soft pink tuft of the Truffula tree he had just cut down. As he harvested, he felt himself getting closer to his dream, and he didn't think at all about what the gardener had told him a few minutes earlier. All he cared about was his Thneed.

As he grabbed a portion of tuft, he felt it heavier than the others. He lifted it up and was surprised to see an orange  creature that called out to him. The young man became frightened and fell backwards, and this thing now stood on the trunk of the tree. Soon after, Maya and the animals of the Valley arrived, supporting their furry friend.

"Did you chop down this tree? he asked.

- Uh... no. " he denied, shaking his head gently. 

He straightened up, leaving a knee on the ground and displayed a falsely interrogative face, which made the young woman raise an eyebrow.

"Who did it? he asked. What's that?!"

With his finger, he pointed to a random spot on the horizon, distracting the Lorax and the animals. The gardener sighed and looked up at the sky. She was not fooled, she had seen him chop down that tree. Once-ler handed his axe to Pipsqueak, a little Barbaloot.

"I think he did it, he said.

- If you're going to try to tell us such nonsense, at least make it believable."

Interested, the young man turned to Maya, who looked very serious, arms crossed at her chest. Both threw black glances to each other. Thus, the Lorax realized the deception and turned his attention back to the traveler.

"Leave! he ordered. Vacate the Premises! Take your axe and get out!

- And... who are you? the traveler asked teasingly.

- I am the Lorax! Guardian of the Forest. I speak for the trees."

From the look on the Once-ler's face, the young woman suspected that he had never heard of such a creature. And that was not surprising. However, the Lorax tended to forget that its existence was not obvious to everyone. But still, there was something surprising: the man didn't seem to have noticed the black clouds and lightning that appeared a few minutes earlier.