Moonflower's Arc

Chapter 2 of 5

The tentacle dragged Moonflower down. Her knees hit cold mud. Thorns bit her wrist, and blood ran to her fingers. The bloom yawned open, red and wet, teeth wide. She had one breath before it took her arm. So she stopped fighting her body and reached with her mind instead. She pushed her thoughts down through the roots, the way she had before. She spoke without words. Not food. Partner. She sent a picture of the pit ringed with fresh meat, of the plant fed every day, safe and rooted. She poured calm into the dark soil. The tentacle slackened for one heartbeat. Then it clamped tighter. The plant did not want a partner. It wanted the meat in its grip. Moonflower felt herself slide another inch toward the teeth. Her free hand fumbled at her satchel. Her fingers found a small tin. Inside sat fine powder, rainbow flecks she had gathered from a butterfly with wings like stained glass. She had scraped its dust for months, saving it for wounds and sleep. She knew what it did to living things. It slowed them. It made them dream. She pried the lid with her thumb and flung the powder into the open bloom. The dust settled on the red mouth. The teeth trembled. A pink cloud drifted up and coated the swinging pods. The plant shuddered head to root. Its tentacles curled inward, loose and slow. The grip on her wrist went soft. The bloom sagged, teeth parting, its stink turning sweet. Moonflower tore her arm free and scrambled backward up the mud. She pressed her bleeding wrist to her chest. The Cryptbloom Trap swayed above the pit, drugged and dreaming, tentacles drooping like tired snakes. She did not run. She knelt at the edge and watched it breathe. A faint image floated into her mind now, dull and slow. She saw the pit again. This time the plant did not fight the picture. It only drifted. She understood. The plant would never come quietly. It was too hungry, too wild to dig up and carry home. But drugged, it was hers to command. The butterfly dust was the leash. Moonflower wrapped her torn wrist in a strip of cloth. She looked at the empty tin. Only a pinch of powder remained. Enough for one more dose, maybe two. To claim this guardian, she would need far more. She knew where to find it. The butterflies gathered near the old hotel at the edge of the woods, the tall stone building with broken windows and clothes hung from its balconies. She had heard the place crawled with goblins now. A short woman there had hired her once for garden work, Brooke Lee she believes her name was. Moonflower stood. Her garden would have its guardian. But first she had to walk to the Hotel and ask some questions about the Rainbow Butterflys and take more dust from the air itself if she could. As Moonflower collected herself and picked up the cumbersome Cryptbloom she pondered what she would call her new guardian. Unbeknownst to her two pairs of bleary eyes watched her, two Goblins had seen everything and were very interested in that Rainbow Powder the girl had used on that dangerous plant. They decided after some bickering to follow her. “I bet that stuff that plant girl got make you feel real good” The male Goblin said longingly. “Damn straight, i heard about that stuff before at a party a while back at the Den. Supposed to make you feel better than you ever have imagined.” The female Goblin stated. “Let’s see where she getting it from.” They snuck behind Moonflower, with greedy little eyes on her making sure to not lose sight of their prize.