Bloom

27: The Scary Purple Flowers

For several minutes it's been dead quiet. It's something Tulip is used to in the nearly dark room. But when it comes to the chatty teamaking deity, it strikes them as strange. They watch and watch as Pepper grounds something down in a mortar. They said it was extra medicine they could slather on their bare shoulders, just in case the pain worsened when Pepper was absent. That was many minutes prior, and the more time ticks its powerful hands, the more Tulip sees Pepper get more anxious.

"Belladonna..."

This wasn't only one purple flower that put Pepper on edge. There were many.

"That's why she cannot stand the sight of purple flowers."

Even in the garden Tulip had noticed no purple flowers grow there. Mortelline destroyed all of them, right? Or perhaps to them it was something more. Because it's not just violets. It's any petal that pops up in a purple shade. Finally they lift their head out of a daze to look at Pepper.

"How come it is... when you describe almost every flower, you stop at the purple ones?"

Pepper remains quiet. They continue stirring a mixture in the bowl, but Tulip notices they're grounding it down even harder.

"You told me your memory ceases to be forgotten, but why is it when the lilacs from my back were purple, you seemed to hesitate?"

Finally they break.

"Because purple flowers hold pain," Pepper sighs and wipes their nose. "But a belladonna plant... holds an indescribable pain."

"Is it shared pain with Mortelline?"

Pepper's teeth rest on their bottom lip as they remain lost in thought. A storm in their eyes that cannot be weathered.

"Some things refuse to forget, Tulip," they sigh. "So I have to be the one to turn away."

"What if my back grows belladonnas?"

That makes Pepper look up at them. Fear spread all across their face. Frowned eyebrows create a wrinkle on their forehead.

"It won't," they say in almost a mumble. "It won't."

Tulip reads through the fear. They stare down at Pepper's hands, which they assume are frighteningly cold, so they grab one and hold it with both. Pepper watches them. Deep down they want to smile again, but the pain hooks down their lips.

"A purple flower... belladonna, is what made me look into the eyes of Death."

Tulip freezes. Blinks. They recall a past conversation, but cannot remember exactly what was spoken.

"You met Death?"

Pepper's eyes grow wide in shock. "I..." their hand trembles in Tulip's grip.

Both deities turn to look at where the larger door is usually situated. At any moment the goddess will likely return. Pepper snakes out of Tulip's hands. They quickly place the mortar in the dark before standing up.

"Remember. Put that on your shoulders and the medicine will ease the pain on your back. Okay?"

Tulip's a little jittered by Pepper's demanding voice. They nod as they watch Pepper dust off their tunic before darting out of the room through the smaller door in a flash. Seconds after, those same pink barriers from before instantly materialize at the usual spots. Tulip takes a few seconds to process what just happened. Then it hits them.

Does Pepper have the ability to control the barriers, too?

***

It seems that not only is Tulip mysterious, but Pepper seems to have a mysterious past as well. What will be revealed in the coming chapters? :)