10 Minute Tales

Jun 7

"What?" she asked, incredulous. "No, there is, I bought a flower last night..."

"I am sorry, miss, but there is nothing of the sort here. This is mostly a food market." Felicia looked around, incredulous. She wasn't a tall woman, but what she could see over the heads of the crowd... he wasn't lying. The building she thought she had been to last was now boarded up, empty and abandoned. Judging by the condition, it must have been several years.

"No... I don't... I don't get it..."

"Miss? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, I just... I'm confused..." she shook her head slightly. "I should go home..."

"Safe travels." the man nodded briefly and walked off. Still confused, Felicia left for her apartment, her mind reeling. There was no questioning that she had the flower, but what exactly was it? How had it affected her life so much in just one day? Or was it just her frustration finally finding a voice? She shuddered as she realised what potential for cruelty was within her. She had enjoyed Marvin getting his comeuppance... she shook her head as she carried on home. Overthinking it like this wouldn't help anybody. She just needed to calm down.

-----

The rest of her journey home was, thankfully, free of any further confusion. She walked into the building without as much as a word spared for Liam. Liam was surprised, but just let her through. The march up the stairs was quiet. The ruffians weren't making their usual ruckus; she assumed they were out. Good for them. She fumbled with the keys and strode into her room, the door swinging shut behind her. She wriggled her tie off with one hand, slumping onto the chair in disbelief. What had happened? She glanced over at the flower. It was still beautiful, and she smiled when she saw it was starting to bloom.

"Oh, thank goodness, the food's enough for you..." she muttered. The sight of the plant was calming her down. She was annoyed, yes, but why blame the plant? It wasn't as though it could do anything... well, anything other than smelling nice. She breathed deeply and sighed, standing up again. She needed to change out of her work uniform before she got it any more creased. She strode into the bedroom and closed the curtains.

Damn. Scouting was impossible without a straight line of sight. I looked at the flower instead. Sure enough, its aura was a little brighter, almost visible by typical arclenses. It was growing in power quickly.

"Any ideas why?" my boss asked, making me flinch in surprise.

"Why what?"

"Why it's getting stronger, faster. I thought Cinniúis were going extinct with the rest of the L-class beings."

"So did I. Maybe it's reacting to a lack of competition around here?"

"Maybe. Keep observing."

"I wasn't going to stop."

"Excuse me?"

"Y-yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."

She came back out, wearing her lounging outfit. She sighed as she sat down again, somewhat heavily, and fumbled for the remote. She should work out, really, skipping two days in a row wouldn't look good in the diary. She grumbled to herself as she stood again, walking over to the DVD player.

"... me...?" she heard in her head. She froze and looked around. That wasn't just something she thought, was it? But no further comment came. She stayed still for a while, listening out. What... what was that?

Interesting. "White Mask here. Target was reaching for a box below the television but froze. Possible psychic message, the Uncasting wouldn't be used to telepathy."

"Telepathy? Is there another being in there that we need to worry about?"

"Not that I can tell, ma'am. The arclens didn't come up with any visual, but it's definitely psychic."

"Scan the building."

"Ma'am?"

"I'm not letting this go if there's another unusual creature around there. We need to identify what sent her the message."

"Roger. White Mask out." I put the crystal into its holder and looked at the building in earnest. There wasn't much to go by, but if she thought there was something else in the building that needed my attention, she was probably right.

-----

She had gotten through most of the exercise before deciding to take a break. She flopped onto the seat, desperately trying to catch her breath. She had given it more energy than she usually did; it hurt now, but it was a good pain. She took a sip of water and stood up, ready to go again.

"... you... me?" she heard. She nearly dropped the glass in shock and looked around again.

"Hello?" she asked, her exhaustion all but forgotten in this renewed surprise. "Is... is anybody here?"

"... you can...!" the voice echoed.

"Where are you?" she demanded, putting the glass down.

"... I need... help..."

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice a little higher. Why couldn't she pinpoint where the voice was? It sounded like the voice was in her head...!

"I am... I... I am... Cinniúi..." the voice admitted. Felicia stopped, disbelieving as she slowly turned towards the flower. It had bloomed a tiny bit more. She walked over, confused, scared.

"... you're... a flower."

"Yes... I... I must grow..."

"I'm talking... to a flower. And I'm imagining it's answering..."

"Will you help? I... I want to be beautiful..."

"You want...?" she hesitated, remembering the dream. It had terrified her at first, but now... it was wonderful. Now it was something she... she shook her head.

"I'm poisoned... this flower's poisoning me...!"

"No... I wouldn't poison you... I need your help..."

"..." she hesitated. A flower was talking to her - or, at least, she was talking to a flower - and she was listening to it. "Okay, what... what can I do?"

I detected a sudden spike in power. Something was going on, something big. I abandoned my post and jumped to the observation point, looking into the target's window. I didn't want to see it, but the target was...

"No, no, no...!"

"Report, White!" my boss yelled, her voice muffled by the holster. I fumbled for it and held it to my mouth.

"The Cinniúi is bonding with her already!"