Until We Fly

Chapter 6: The Single Poppy That Bloomed

"Then Jake pulled out the long swords and chopped both the monsters heads away! It was the very strange day."
Köleil sat back, munching on a small, red apple once finishing her...interesting...story.

"I...see...monsters?"
I shuddered, trying to hide my fear.

"I think Köleil is talking about Darks. Creatures formed from darkness, as you could guess. They're basically little, black, demon things with sharp claws that try to tear off your skin."

"...oh..."

I wasn't taking in all the new information very well.
So far, I had...
Köleil and Nim were Guardians.
Jake was a Warrior.
There was this big thing called The Darkness.

The Darkness could create creatures and monsters at will to destroy its enemies, us.

Guardians have a link to Warriors.
When I found Köleil on the beach, she was in a weaker linking state. Meaning, the first person to share eyesight would immediately connect with her and be bound.
So of course, that would be me.

Oh yeah, and Jake was a dickhead.

"So when are me and Köleil heading home?"
I asked, sipping on some sweet tea Nim had prepared for us.

"Soon enough. But Koleil hasn't been home in a while. Give her some time to relax first."
Nim said.

After some food and a lot of tea, Köleil insisted that I went up and saw her room.

Meaning another painful journey up those damn stairs...

The walls were smothered with paintings of lilys, roses and snapdragons, all varying in colour and size.
The ceiling was splattered with different blues, light, dark, dull and everything between. The floor done the same but with greens and small splatters of white.

Her bed seemed to be wringed with fairy lights and fake, string vines with purple sheets and a single grey pillow.

Köleil smiled at me once she saw my dazzled expression.

"Köleil did all the painting and penciling by herselfs. She even collected the lights and string and did everything! Does James like it?"

"I...yeah...it's amazing...I never knew you were such an artist, Köleil."

Giggling, I saw her cheeks begin to flush red.
And yeah, as you can guess, it was pretty cute.

"Well, Köleil needed something to do. Köleil has been here a long time."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. How old actually are you, Köleil?"
I wondered, turning my attention back to her.

Köleil plopped herself down on the bed, hand on her chin.

"Hmm...she thinks she is...maybe...in the one hundred and twenty sixth year of her life now. Or maybe a little more."

"One...hun....uh...."
Of course, speechless.

It's only Köleil, I thought. She probably had no idea what she meant.

I sat beside Köleil and looked around.
"Damn...maybe I should get you to decorate MY room, huh?"

"Well, it certainly didn't take YOU long to settle now, did it?"
Looking up, we saw Nim, smiling and leaning in the doorway.

"Hey, Köleil? Jake needs to talk to you downstairs. He said it's about Poppy."

"Oh yes, okay. What about James?"

"James and I need to talk too. Or rather, I need to give him a little lesson. I can tell he still doesn't understand anything."