the lorax [various x reader]

i.ii

As you stared after the Once-ler, hurt drawn all over your face, the Lorax coughed into his palm. You peered down at him, still a bit afraid as he apologized for the previous man's behavior. "Sorry about that kid, kid. Real downer. Anyway, to answer your question as to why I'm here, it's my job as the guardian of the forest to make sure no one touches these here Truffula trees. Unfortunately, that's exactly what this kid is doing." The Lorax stuck his thumb out towards the retreating man and shook his head in exasperation. "Now if you'll excuse me, I really must go stop him." He began to walk towards the large tent-like house you'd seen earlier, causing you to follow him.

"What are you going to do?" you asked nervously, remembering that the Lorax had said he had powers. Considering all the voodoo from earlier was merely him being summoned, you feared what his actual abilities were capable of.

"Oh, you'll see," the Lorax snickered, an evil grin spread across his face. You considered covering your eyes in case of another white flash but decided it wouldn't be necessary as you watched the orange alien carefully approach the man's home, no magic in sight. The Lorax, seeing the Once-ler's back turned as he rummaged around the rear end of his wagon for something, took the opportunity to uncork one of the nails holding in his travel tent. You gasped loudly and moved to grab the upturned stake from the air before the wall had a chance to fall in on itself.

Your shocked noise immediately alerted the Once-ler to the happenings of the Lorax, the former holding a large bag of marshmallows when he finally peeked out from his wagon. Upon seeing the situation, he quickly threw back the sweets and grabbed a hammer in retaliation. For a second you thought he would tackle you to the ground as he ran towards you hurriedly, but his main concern was on saving his home- he merely snatched the nail you were holding away from you to hammer it back in.

"Really, (Y/N)?" the Lorax called from behind the house as he uncorked another nail. "Are you on my side or what?"

"I-I don't know!" You hesitated, in the heat of the moment deciding to help the Once-ler in this situation. After all, chopping down one tree shouldn't mean your whole house collapses. Right?

As the Once-ler hurried to the next nail, you made sure to always be one step ahead of him, each of you alternating back and forth to hit the nails back in (him with his hammer and you left with the strength in a stomp of your foot). After this had gone on for a few minutes, you decided to ditch the nails and instead go for the Lorax. You figured weeding out the root of the issue would at least resolve most of the problem as long as you could catch him. "Lorax, stop!" you called up to him, lunging forward in your attempt to do just that. He dodged at the last second, swerving and leaving your fingers clasped instead around a nail already dug firmly into the ground.

The Once-ler, having just run around the corner, raised his arms, about to swat your poor fragile hands into the ground after falsely believing they were a loose nail. The Lorax was there in an instant, shooing the Once-ler's own hands away before he could do any lasting damage. "Whoa! Stop right there! Stop it!" The Once-ler stepped back before he could whack you, startled. The Lorax continued. "So you'd hammer one of your own kind? A girl, no less?"

"That's sexist," you huffed under your breath as the Once-ler tried to backtrack. "What?! No, I would never hit a woman- or a man!" He quickly added the last part after the withering gaze you sent him and gave you an apologetic look. "You were helping me. I swear, I didn't mean to." His seemingly genuine response prompted you to nod in understanding. A small sigh of relief escaped his lips before his expression became angry.

"Now you, on the other hand, I would gladly pound you and your mustache into the ground," the Once-ler snarled at the Lorax, gripping his hammer tightly as if ready to strike. You supposed the alien was technically neither a woman nor man, meaning hitting him was all good for the Once-ler. The latter of the two took this opportunity to say, "Behold, the intruder and his violent ways!"