Storm (G/T)

Petal Plants

"How does it look?" I hear through the bathroom door, and I need a second to reply, not quite knowing how to.

"Great..." I lie, trying to roll up the endless sleeves of the sweatshirt Austin made for me while I made another outfit. "I think I'll wear the one I made though. I just uh... like the color a bit more. I'll wear the one you made tomorrow when we make more." With that, I quickly throw off the triple XL homemade purple shirt and toss on the orange shirt I made that fits me much better. It also makes me look a bit curvier, which I could always need. "You can come in!"

With that, Austin opens the door and slowly enters the room. "Aww, yours did turn out great. Now come here, I want to show you something." He drops his palms out.

"Oh, okay." I slide into his hands and I'm whisked to the main area.

"Get your coat."

"Wait, am I...?" My eyes widen.

"No." I feel all of my body slink down in sadness. I really thought I'd be out of here- "But you do need fresh air. Now come on, the stars are coming out. Gather what you need as well."

I throw on my shoes and hoodie and try to get the zipper up, but it's still cracked from the cold. It can't be fixed. Is there anything in my bag I could get? Well, we're going outside. I'd be home free if I could just ward him off. I slowly reach for my knife-

"Don't even think about it," he says calmly, not even needing to see what I'm trying to grab.

"Damnit." He laughs at my frustration.

"Right, let's go." I'm shuffled between hands as he gets on his coat and boots, stepping outside slowly with me against his chest. It's warm, and I can feel his heartbeat. I like that. As soon as we're out the door, the cold hits me, but I don't even care because one thing takes up my entire mind.

The stars. Gorgeous, plentiful specks of light litter the night sky, with a soft blue glow painted across the whole setting. There are no lights on. No light pollution. Just me, nature and its inhabitants. Soft snowfall is the only thing keeping me from taking in the stars in its entirety.

"Pretty, isn't it?" my thoughts are interrupted. I turn around to face Austin, who'd stretched his hand out for me to see the sky better. His face is only illuminated by the moon. He sticks out his tongue and a large snowflake lands promptly on the tip. "I'm sure you're used to this, but I think the snow really adds to the feel."

"I've never seen stars like this before." I can't say anything else, all I can do is return to the view. The twinkling stars give me peace, something I haven't had for too long now.

"Are you cold?"

Actually... no. Not at all. "I'm fine. Your hand is warm."

"Oh..." there's a pause. "That's good."

"Yeah." The stars. Good god, the stars. Their dancing brilliance still hasn't failed to amaze me, filling me with a feeling only comparable to nostalgia. Like the stars have been here all along, waiting for me to arrive.

The two of us sit, fending off the cold with our eyes fixed on the stars. Never have I been so okay with feeling so small.

I look to my right, where Austin simply stares up as I was, then straight ahead. A vast, beautiful forest awaits me. Would he notice if I left? I know I promised to not try and break out but, his eyes aren't on me and there's barely any light. I'm already broken out, it's just slipping away when he doesn't see. Maybe if I just crawl forward a little bit-

"Something wrong?" He immediately looks at me.

"Nope," I reply, sitting back down. "Nothing wrong at all." He doesn't know much about humans. He doesn't know if there are differences between us. He doesn't know that I can't see in the dark. Time to fake it 'til I make it. "Hey, I see a really pretty flower over there, can I go get it? I promise I won't leave." I point to the pitch black trees, where there might be nothing at all.

"What's a flower?"

"Oh my god, it's uh... it's a plant that's really pretty and smells nice and comes in lots of colors."

"Oh, those. We just call them petal plants." He squints. "Ah yes, that yellow one. Go ahead."

"You can see in the dark?"

"Sure I can, we're more similar than you think," he smiles, lowering his hand.

"Says the person who doesn't even call it a flower," I stand up and walk away quickly, going towards freedom. I just need to hide around to where he can't see. Unfortunate that he can see in the dark though, especially since I can't. However, I can judge based on footstep patterns and feeling the ground-

Shit, the ground's shaking. He immediately picks me up and returns me back. "I didn't get the flower yet, why'd you stop me?" I ask frantically, trying to cover up.

"There are no petal plants out in the middle of winter, Robin," he explains calmly, walking back to the house and not even making eye contact with me. "I don't even need to see in the dark to know that."

"So you can't see in the dark?"

"Of course I can't, and I reckon that you can't either." The door opens and we step back inside. He kicks off his boots and slowly sets me on the ground, taking off his coat and scooping me up again. "You're just easy to see when you're darting around for a petal plant that doesn't even exist." We walk to the bedroom and he sets me on the bed, holding his hand out for my coat and shoes. I take them off and toss them to him, and he pours them onto the nightstand.

"Don't you think I'll be fine out there if I could go an hour without feeling cold?"

"You were resting in my hand. You aren't going to have that warmth once you leave. The trek from here to the end of the forest is too much for you, let alone getting back to human territory. By the way, anything or anyone could come and scoop you up and take you away like that. I just want you to stay safe."

"No one will see me in the darkness," I interject.

"I surely did, and I don't even have the same instincts as animals. I can't sniff you out or trace footsteps as light as yours or anything. Any animal that can would hurt you, seeing as they're all at least your size."

I sigh in defeat.

"Sleep well, I hope you had fun tonight. I might do it again but I'll have to keep you by me somehow. I wouldn't need you running off again. So much for a promise." He thinks for a second, but gives up and turns off the light, setting his glasses on the stand and slowly crawling into bed to keep me from bouncing about. I sigh again, pausing for a few seconds and then slowly lying down to rest. I guess I can't be mad at him for looking out for me.