Sounds of water flow in and out of Tulip's ears. Though the situation is tense, the noises are calming. Clear. Refreshing mist tickles their face as they crawl up the rocks. A thought blipped into their mind: It's freeing, right? This is the freedom I would've longed for. But their thoughts quickly cloud over with panic. Hundreds of feet behind them Dante continues his chase.
Questions fly with the wind covering their ears as they try to pick up the pace. How? How could he have escaped, too? Their back pounds simultaneously with their heartbeat, except in rhythmic pain. They've noticed a tiny sprout on their back slowly growing into a new flower, but the bloom remains unknown. On a wet rock they almost lose their footing. The slippery rocks make it hard for them to maneuver through the gorge, but they see Dante struggling as well, giving them time to climb and widen the gap. Their ears pick up a roar.
A waterfall.
Concerned eyes try to locate the easiest spot to climb. To the left are sharper rocks, to the right are the smoother rocks, however they are drenched in water. They have no choice but to climb the sharp ones.
"Hey!"
They turn their head to see Dante has started to pick up the pace. No! They take a leap of faith and grab onto a protruding rock in the shape of a stalagmite. A small piece of it chips off and dances from rock to rock before plopping into the blue water below. Tulip lifts their head to the sky. The mist creates a rainbow and darkens the rocks as if they're painted on.
One rock after the other they climb. From below Dante made it to the bottom of the waterfall. He smirks with furrowed eyebrows. He seems confident, but shaky hands and nervous toes tapping on the rock tell otherwise.
"Sure!" He yells up. "Wound yourself more! It'll make it easier for me!"
With crossed arms over his chest he plants himself in a spot and waits. Waits on the chance for his prey to fall and be caught into his sharp-nailed talons. Tulip refuses to give up, though. Despite the pain, they hoist themself higher with each grasp.
Suddenly, they dig their hand into a sharp side on accident, tearing across it. It forces them to retract that hand while holding on for dear life with the other. A scream is ready to escape from their throat but they hold it down. They notice the wound is turning the same shade of green as the cut on their neck. From the wound emerges a green substance, dripping down their arm and staining their tunic. It's like blood, yet it feels sticky, more viscous. The image perplexes them. Is this... sap? They look down while biting on their bottom lip to hold in the pain. Dante is directly below them. They lift their injured hand up high which makes the droplets fall. Some of them land on the patient orange deity.
"What the?!"
He vigorously rubs his head, then stares down at his hands. He blinks, confused. Then he looks back up at Tulip.
"Ha ha, really funny," he scowls. "What is this? Some kind of trick?"
After a few seconds, he starts to feel something. A burning sensation on his hands. When he looks back down, he notices his hands are starting to turn a dark pink.
"What's going on??"
The pain starts to intensify. It feels like both his arms are on fire.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Dante scampers to a shallow part of the pool, then dunks his hands into the water.
The sap drifts off into the pool, making the blue turn turquoise. The pain starts to die down. He catches a pebble landing in the water a few feet beside him. So his eyes travel back up. His eyebrows drop.
Both to Tulip's miraculous attempt, and to Dante's amplified anger, Tulip makes it to the top. From behind they can hear Dante cursing away, echoing all throughout the gorge. That doesn't make them stop. In front of them lies the forest.
YOU ARE READING
Bloom
RomanceA mysterious deity is captured by a goddess of death and afflicted with a curse for a wrongdoing. During their capture, the descendent of the goddess sneaks in and out to try and mend the prisoner's pain, but the individual isn't too keen on them in...
