Ballad of Flowers

Chapter 12

            She shudders as Alex steps in, holding a thermometer in his hand. He knew how much she despised having her temperature taken, mainly because he had taken it earlier. He closed and locked the door behind him, slowly approaching Orchid as she watched him with terrified eyes and snow white scales. He suddenly pounced on her, Orchid flailing around while struggling as she tried to slip away. He managed to get beneath her and lock her limbs in place, quickly sticking the digital thermometer into her mouth and forcing her snout shut. She gave him a betrayed and angered look, glaring at him the best she could from the current position. It beeped once, signaling her temperature was normal. He let go of her, Orchid hissing and skittering over to the corner, still glaring intensely. He unlocks the door again and walks out, putting the thermometer away again.

Fifteen minutes later, she was still huddled in the corner, scales red and light blue. Alex walked by and saw she was still upset, walking in with a small sigh. "I'm sorry, you knew I had to take your temperature, and I know you hate it, but I made you do it anyways, so I hope you forgive me..." He sits on the opposite side of the bed from her position, fur ruffled wildly while he waited for a response from Orchid. She never does respond, just silently dwelling in anger and fear. With a sorry expression, he walks over and hugs her gingerly. Orchid struggles at first, slowing to a stop eventually. "I know you may not forgive me now, but... I hope you can come to it sometime soon... I'm sorry..." She hugs him back tightly, lightly licking the crook of his neck with a quiet chirp of forgiveness.

It was about 6 in the evening, Orchid wishfully staring out the window into the open skies. She longed to feel the wind in her wings once again, the sun shining down on her vibrant scales as she soared through the skies. With a small sigh, she backed away from the window, sitting down next to Alex on the couch. Her scales twitched a magenta wherever Alex touched him, not drawing Orchid's attention at first. Alex was watching some TV, the show rather uneventful as Orchid drifted off, the magenta spreading slowly. Alex fell asleep soon after, holding Orchid close.

The long, golden grass tickled her snout, slowly blinking awake, the vibrant stalks surrounding her. She slowly stands, her bones aching as if she had just been beaten by someone. A small trickle of blood was escaping her nose, and she felt a fresh bruise on her shoulder stinging painfully. Above her was a tall figure holding a baseball bat, their boiling anger visible in their eyes. Orchid whimpers as they swing the baseball bat straight into her gut, Orchid falling over slowly, her pain audible as they drew it back and swung again, and with a sickening CRACK, her arm practically snapped like a twig. Orchid cried out in fear and pain, and her scales shimmered a dim white, spots of black and cyan lined the back as they drew back a final time, and hit her head with deadly accuracy, spitting on her small, broken form as they walked away. The figure looked rather familiar... it looked just... like...

She jolted awake, breathing fast and heartbeat racing as Alex woke up with her, coaxing her as she started to cry. None of the wounds from the dream were there, but they still stung as if though they were. "W-What's wrong hun? Bad dream?" Alex asked with a concerned tone, stroking her head gently and wiping her tears. She nods slowly, trembling as he holds her close. "Would it make you feel any better if I told you I had a bad dream too?" Alex asks, looking into her eyes sadly. She doesn't respond other than a small whimper, her scales light blue and cyan...