Intertwined

The Red Court

I wake up some time later, looking up at the top of the tree dome where bits of purple sky filter through. I can't remember much of my dream, but I knew it had something to do with flying. Sitting up, I stretch and look over to where Jay is, sitting on the blanket with an array of colorful berries in front of him. The fruits all range from deep mauve to brilliant yellows, from the sizes of marbles to baseballs.

He has a sort of confused look on his face, picking up and putting down different color and sized fruits cautiously. He looks over at me when I clear my throat. "Oh, morning- er...afternoon-day Straia." He chuckles a little and waves me over. "Time is still wonky here, I have no idea what it's supposed to be right now, but come look what I found."

I scoot over to where he is and sit across from him on the other side of the pile. "So is this supposed to be brunchinner?" I laugh, "Because I don't know what time it is anymore than you do." I pick up a baseball sized yellow fruit, that's squishy like a sponge, and squeeze it a little. Purple goo wells to the surface and bubbles a little, but recedes back into the fruit when I lightly release it. "Are these like...safe to eat?"

Jay snorts softly and looks at the sketchbook to the side of him, "I don't personally know, but it says so here." He passes me the book and I scan the open pages with lightly colored drawings of the fruits in front of us. Names like "Snazzle" and "Daphberry" are scribbled beneath the pictures, each with its own weird name. "They're supposed to be the edible ones. I'm trying to save the stuff mom gave us for when we start traveling again."

I put the sketch book down and eye the yellow one again, "I'll try one if you do."

"You're on."

We both pick up a fruit, Jay's is an apple sized green, and mine is the yellow one. His has bright yellow spots covering it, kind of like a mottled apple.

"1...2...3...bite."

I hear an apple like crunch when Jay bites into his, and mine squishes like a sponge cake, but tastes similar to a mix of strawberries and purple grapes. Chewing slowly, I look up at him, "Ish not 'alf ad." I take another bite, chewing thoughtfully.

He laughs and swallows his second bite, "Mine kinda tastes like a mix of a lime and a lemon. Which sounds sour," he says, examining it. "But it's actually kinda sweet, it tastes a little like sprite if it was a fruit. Switch?" Taking another bite before he hands it off to me, he raises an eyebrow at my choice.

"It tastes kind of like a strawberry cake with grape jelly." I tell him, turning the green fruit over in my hand before hesitantly biting it. He was right, it tastes reminiscently sweet like the lemon-lime soda, just with a little more sugar. I'm thinking on that a little more before something catches my attention. "Hey...Jay?"

"Mmhm?"

"Did you...ever think that eating any of these fruits might, ya know...." I press my mouth together in a line, a bubbling feeling rising in my chest. "Have side effects?"

Jay looks at me curiously, bright green hair flopping onto his forehead. "No...why?" The green slowly overtakes the blonde, starting at the tips and slowly bleeding upward towards his roots. "The book didn't mention anything. Although, this is Wonderland after all, where food makes you grow and shrink..."

I pat my head then pull forward a shorter strand, but my dark hair has no green tint at all whatsoever. "And apparently," I add, with a small laugh. "Where it turns your hair green."

"Your hair isn't-" then silence. "Is my...?" He grips his hair and pulls it down, looking up all the way to where his green bangs graze his eyebrows. "....What, the actual hell?"