Irhaboggle Pride (2019) Spectrum

Green

Glinda grunted in frustration as she struggled to get her little limbs up and over and around and through all the confusing and twisting branches of the trees just outside her and Elphaba's dorm room. Why in Oz she agreed to this, she would never know. All she knew was that, one minute, she was listening to Elphaba goading her into going tree-climbing, and the next, it was actually happening.

While Elphaba scaled the tree with terrifying speed and balance, almost like a squirrel as she darted through the green leaves, Glinda struggled and sweated the entire way up, hauling herself up hand over hand as she tried to keep her grip... and her balance. And it was especially hard because she was weaving through nothing but green leaves. She was overrun by the color, and it was next to impossible to differentiate between one step and the next. It all looked the same. Nothing but endless green. Green, green, green.

The young blond was panting hard by the time she finally reached the uppermost limbs of the tree, and her arms, legs and hands were on fire. She fought the urge to look down. Elphaba, meanwhile, was still weaving expertly through the emerald foliage.

"C'mon, Glinda!" she called over her shoulder as she continued to walk along the branches like a cat, unwavering and unafraid.

"Give me a sec!" Glinda complained, placing a hand to her chest before she trundled on. She was going to have so many splinters after this!

But at last, blessedly, Elphaba finally stopped.

"Well, it's about time!" Glinda huffed and puffed. "Where even are we? And why did we have to go through all that just to-" but Elphaba responded by pushing some of the tree leaves aside, and Glinda's complaints died in her mouth at once.

"Woah!" All she could do was gasp as she was met with an Arcadian Eden rolling out in front of her like a dream.

For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but nature and wildlife in its prime, an untamed and elegant beauty for the eye to gorge itself on. Trees, flowers, grass, plants, leaves, shrubs. They all decorated a sea of bright green grass, the varying shades of emerald immeasurable. For the second time that day, Glinda was overrun by the color green.

"Sure is beautiful, ain't it?" Elphaba asked smugly as she continued to hold the leaves aside for Glinda. Glinda could only nod like an idiot. Elphaba laughed at her before she began to inch her way down the tree. Glinda followed her, almost in a trance.

"I mean, it's no Emerald City, but hey, it's still nice!" Elphaba continued to joke as she shimmied on down the tree.

"Well, it may not be the Emerald City, but it's an Emerald City," Glinda said as she followed Elphaba down. It wasn't until they were both back on solid ground that Glinda realized just how apt her remark was. It really was a beautiful landscape, and, in its own way, it really was just like the Emerald City. All that endless green, and yet it still managed to be so stunningly breathtaking and unique.

Once the two were on the ground again, Elphaba wasted no time and yanking off her dirty old black boots and burying her feet in the soft green sea. She let out an exhale and looked so enraptured that Glinda quickly discarded her own heels with an uncharacteristically dismissive toss.

"Ohhh! It is nice!" she muttered as she felt the green blades of grass poke up pleasurably between her toes.

"Isn't it? My own little slice of paradise..." Elphaba repeated, suddenly looking so different than the surly girl she usually was. The transformation that seemed to come over her enraptured Glinda as much as this little wild sanctuary enraptured Elphaba.

It was as if all the green of their surroundings was bleeding into Elphaba, making her even more verdant than normal. But this time, it was a lively and invigorated green. For the first time ever, Glinda got to see what Elphaba looked like when she was truly happy and at peace, and she couldn't have been lovelier!