Manipulated (Zakkol and Forlorn)

[Forlorn]

Sophie meditated, listening to the gentle pounding of the waterfall, and a breeze pass through the leaves with a soft hum. She exhaled, and a fig tree bloomed behind her, bearing fresh fruit. Getting up, she plucked a fig off and took a bite. "Your turn. Focus on your element" Sophie spoke in a soothing tone. Sitting next to him, she sprouted an aloe plant and picked a leaf. Breaking it in half, she let him smell the cool gel in the middle, which resembled water the most in Sophie's opinion.


(ok I know this sounds cheesy but thats Sophie's character, she's very crunchy and would fit the stereotypical yoga teacher role xD )

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo, sitting down with the lemongrass swaying around him gently in the breeze, turned his gaze to the waterfall. It was a large amount of water moving very fast, and Theo highly doubted he'd be able to do anything of note with it, but he'd at least try.


It started in small "bubbles". The water seemed to peel itself off the torrent that was the waterfall, and became spheres, hovering in the air, the afternoon sun catching them in its light. Then the bubbles grew larger, merging with the smaller ones. They hung there, floating creepily.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie peeked an eye open, looking at Theo's progress. A smile spread across her face, but she kept quiet to avoid ruining his concentration. Breathing in deep puffs of air, she gently sprouted lavender around him to calm him even further. She wanted to minimize noise, and had to concentrate to make sure the lavender didn't spread rapidly and cause distraction. the purple fronds swayed as the wind teased them, releasing a lovely scent into the breeze. For a moment, Sophie completely forgot about the Gin, or the fact that another foreign boy sat beside her. All she could focus on was how captivating nature could be. Her trance was broken when the bubbles Theo was manifesting began to combine and expand.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo's water bubbles had grown to a considerable size now, and there were only about three that were floating in the air, with all of the smaller ones having been absorbed into the three rippling, shimmering masses of liquid. Theo was well aware of what he was doing, for it was really rather painful. He had a raging headache, causing his skull to feel like it would give way. It was exhausting, and with a cry of pain, Theo fell backwards, the spheres of water exploding, the liquid sparing the area, with most of it landing in the pool. Theo's body collapsed backwards, his cross-legged position breaking as his unconscious body crushed the lavender and lemongrass that Sophie had grown, the plants being flattened by his weight.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie gasped and ran to his aid. "Are you alright? Still conscious?" After realizing how much strain Theo's body had been under, Sophie grew a kava plant and extracted the roots. Washing them off in the water, she said "This is a natural relaxer-no not weed-just eat it ok?". Feeding it to him, Sophie hoped he would accept the earthy root. It bore a rust brown color, with small streaks of yellow. It looked as though the outer layer was being breached by the yellow underbelly lying beneath. Placing her hand under Theo's head with a gentle touch, Sophie grew a soft blanket of moss for him to rest his head on. "natural pillow" she said with a small smile.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo was vaguely aware of having some kind of root with an earthy flavour being pushed into his mouth, along with having something considerably more soft than the grass that his head was resting upon being put into position beneath his head, which felt like it was made of lead.


Theo had been doing quite the bit of collapsing and being in pain over the past few days. Ranging from his spine feeling like it was melting into a molten, gooey mess to having to cope with not knowing what was going to come next (due to his daily cycle being shattered), Theo was wreck at this point, and he had been doing his best to hide it.


'Sophie?' He asked groggily after a few minutes of chewing on the root. 'Help me,' he mumbled, tears seeping from his eyes.

 

[Forlorn]

(Does Frysik like Nichole :x ?)


Tears brimmed in Sophie's eyes, she had caused him all this pain. "I'm so sorry Theo" was all she could manage. Wiping the tears away, she began growing a natural pain killer. "I have to be strong for theo" she thought to herself.


"Let's take a break for the next couple of days, ok? You can relax, and if the Gin rear their ugly heads we can outrun them" Sophie shifted her hands through his soft hair, trying to soothe the poor boy.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo looked up at Sophie as she ran her hands through his hair. It shocked Theo, for it had been years since he had been in such a state as this. One simple mistake had reduced Theo to nothing more than a small child, wanting to hear its mother's soothing voice. Instead, Sophie was playing the role of Theo's mother.


'It hurt,' Theo mumbled bluntly, his eyes beginning to close over again. 'It felt wonderful when I first started manipulating the water, but then it began to hurt. It really hurt Sophie,' he continued, shutting his eyes gently. 'I couldn't do it.'

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie pressed her finger to his lips gently. "Shhh, you don't have to talk, I understand". Sprouting more painkillers, she gently fed them to Theo. She then wrapped her arms around his chest and laid there, silently crying on his chest because of what she had done.


"Lets just stop manipulation all together, ok?"

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo nodded slightly, for it was all he could manage while he was chewing the thick, earthy roots, determined not to spit them out, as they were tasting foul, even though Theo was well aware they were exceptionally good for him n his current state.


'Yes,' Theo nodded, agreeing with Sophie once he had stopped chewing. 'I think we should stop for a while,' he said, moving his arms slightly.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie squeezed harder, as if she was attempting to squeeze the pain right out of him. "What do you want to do, Theo? We can go home, back to the human world if you wish. Or we could stay here in nature. It's your choice" a sudden urge came over her, one she had to purge. She leaned in and kissed his forehead softly in an attempt to console him. "Whatever you want, Theo"

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo let out a cough when Sophie squeezed him, and felt a crimson rash spread across his face when she kissed his forehead gently. The words-Sophie's words-her words-rang in Theo's mind still.


"Whatever you want, Theo."


Even though they had only been said, they felt like they had been utter an age ago, and he was only just remembering them. Sophie's options. He had to remember those. He could return to the world of the living and the Gin, or he could stay in nature. The human part of Theo longed to return, to be among the scent of man and metal, while the wolf desired to remain in nature, to become like Sophie. And then a thought hit Theo.


'Sophie?' Theo croaked, his throat dry. 'I need to see my parents,' he said, pulling his eyes open.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie picked him up in her arms, letting out an groan as she did. "Heavy" was all she could muster as she tried to gently put him down. "Las soon as you feel better, we can go back. I cant carry yo-wait" an idea popped into Sophie's head. Turning into a wolf, she burrowed her head under Theo's body and pulled him up onto her back.

 

[vibrantsystem]

When Sophie tried to pull Theo onto her back, Theo responded by kicking around. He wasn't fond of this idea, and rolled off, looking at the wolfy Sophie, thoroughly unimpressed by her act as he lay on the ground. But Theo, following his breakdown earlier, was determined to show Sophie that he wasn't completely useless, and putting in an immense amount of effort, was able to right himself, standing on two legs now, rather than lying down.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie could see the physical strain he was undergoing, and placed her hands on his back. "Just lay down and rest. We can leave when you're feeling better" she soothed. "Where does it hurt?" She rolled him onto his back and began massaging deep circles into his muscles. Sophie was an innocent girl, and had no idea the implications of her actions. Her hands slipped under his shirt in an attempt to calm him more. "Better?" She cooed.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo had to lay down on the ground for Sophie to massage him, to relieve the pressure in his back. It hurt, and Theo hissed in pain once or twice, but he was able to cope with the intense pain for the most part. The roots he had consumed earlier had done wonders for him though, as his head now felt properly clear. 'Thank-you Sophie,' he breathed as she continued to massage him. 'Thank-you very much.'

 

[Forlorn]

(Can we skip to tomorrow?)

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo's house could be seen in the distance now, through the trees. Following the previous day's breakdown at the waterfall, Theo had been in mostly constant pain throughout the whole trek back, and he was relieved to finally see the house through a gap in the smothering trees. It was wonderful to see, and Theo could't wait to be back in the house.


'Sophie?' He asked, checking if she was still with him. 'Are you familiar with being in a car?' While this may have seemed like a strange question, it bore a lot of sense, as Theo had no clue as to whether or not Sophie was familiar with riding in a car. It could terrify her. Or the wolf inside of her, that was.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie shuddered. "Not since I was relocated " she uttered. "They're rather curious contraptions," she said as she recollected the slick metal machines. "How much money do you have? We cant stay in your house or we'll be sitting ducks". Helping Theo into the house, Sophie quickly sniffed the air to ensure there were no intruders. The Gin was tracking them, and could have set up surveillance systems in the house.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo nodded in agreement. 'We can't sit around,' he mused. 'We should go somewhere. Like I said yesterday though, I would like to see my parents...and explain the situation to them, provided you believe that that is a wise choice,' he said, asking Sophie for her opinion. While he waited, Theo looked around the hallway. Nothing seemed to have changed. All the paintings were still on the walls. There seemed to be nothing strung around as a trap. Although, then again, Theo wasn't exactly sure what a Gin trap would actually look like.

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie clenched her jaw with uneasiness. "Well, the Gin wont think twice about slaughtering them if they don't cooperate" she spoke with sadness. Sophie wondered if this was what happened to her sisters. Were they even still alive?


"You need to warn them, they have to relocate" she uttered with resolution.

 

[vibrantsystem]

Theo bit his lip at Sophie's advice. 'Right, well, about that,' he said, concerned. 'They're belligerent. They won't want to. They won't want to accept the fact their child can manipulate water (albeit poorly) and can transform into a wolf. I'm sure they'd love to hear that. And besides,' Theo started, ready to ask a question. 'Do the Gin know the locations of all the associates of the people they are hunting?' He asked, not willing to believe that. It seemed too far fetched. How would they know what, if they were still using archaic, wooden, poorly constructed bows?

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie realized that theo poorly underestimated the Gin. "Look Theo, they may be a bit outdated, but they are vastly resourceful. How do you think they found us in the first place. The Gin have connections. everywhere. Money goes a long way, and the Gin have a surplus of it to throw at people" Sophie neglected to specify that it may already be too late; the Gin may have already slaughtered his parents. She kept her mouth shut to protect Theo, she valued the boy. "We should get to them as soon as possible" She uttered.


Then a thought hit Sophie. The Gin most likely already found Theo's parents, but what good would killing them be? Does one slaughter the worms before sinking them into the depths of the ocean, looking for a fish? A shudder resonated through Sophie, the in could very well be anticipating their arrival. She cursed under her breath. "Theo, what if they want us to find your parents so they could lie in wait?" Her eyes were wide with fear, she did not wish to find his parents anymore.

 

[vibrantsystem]

The thing was, no matter how Sophie thought Theo could see things, she was actually wrong. Or at very least on this account, as he had already considered the thought of the Gin finding and killing his parents. And he was furious at Sophie for biting him yet again, but she hadn't meant to, and Theo had to keep reminding himself of this as to not be consumed by his anger.


'They probably do,' Theo said bluntly in reply to Sophie's question. 'I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case, but we might as well try, no?' He asked, noting her wide, fearful eyes. 'Don't worry. It'll be fine.'

 

[Forlorn]

Sophie scratched the back of her neck cautiously. "Well, if you say so. Do you have any means to get there?" She asked. Grabbing a loaf of bread from a cabinet, she grinned. "I haven't had this stuff since I was 6! This is amazing!" Taking a huge bite of the crusty bread, she smiled, bearing puffy cheeks filled with her meal. She then grabbed some peanut butter out of the cabinet and spread it on the loaf. "This stuff is so much smoother than the kind I make myself. Full of unnecessary oils though" She said with a shrug. Holding out her new creation to Theo, she gestured for him to take a bite.