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"What are all of those scars from?"
The sun rises over the horizon, orange and yellow peaking through a grey sky. Drops of rain are slow to fall in a patter, slipping down ████’█ face, washing blood off of her hands.
The fountain that serves as a centerpiece of the park runs with crimson, a corpse barely holding onto its head laying slumped over with their head dunked into the water. She'd slit the strangers throat and drowned them. Laughed as they thrashed under her hold, as they choked on a mixture of their blood and water. She runs her fingers along marks from nails raking down her arms. It was fun but less bloody then she likes.
Her hero showed up late with the thundering of storm clouds, coming to slowly stand at her side. The girl's eyes are on the corpse, spear held in a white knuckled grip. ████ looks her up and down, picking apart the subtle differences that comes with the loss of her signature cloak. That black turtleneck is on display, sticking to the shape of her arms as blond hair sticks to her forehead. The cloak has been by now replaced by a scarf, a dull beige color that doesn't quite fit her.
Neither break the silence of running water until her hero asks her question and ████’█ eyes light up, "Oh, well they're from a lot of things!" She sees her hero startle at the sound of her voice as she looks down to her stomach. Most of her scars lay there, scabs and raised skin. Red marks that make her sigh when she runs her fingers along them. "Fights, myself, accidents. Oh wait! Can I see your spear?"
She looks up at her hero expectantly and is already walking forward before she can speak another word, hands outstretched. It's snatched quickly from her grasp though and she's met with a look of concern, "No?" She says slowly.
████ makes a show of pouting, keeping her hands up in the air, "C'mon, please? Just for a sec. I only need the sharp part, you can even keep holding it."
She takes matters into her own hands as her hero's face shifts in thought, reaching down to grab it underneath the blade. The other tries to pull it back with an alarmed sound but pauses when they lock eyes.
After a moment her hero gives her a sigh, "Ok, fine. But I'm not letting you steal it from me again."
████ giggles at the thought of their rooftop escapades and cuts her mind from wandering further into the night, "Wouldn't dream of it!"
She guides the blade slow to her stomach, keeping her eyes locked with her hero's until the girl looks down to the movement of her blade. Skeptical, she notices. And the face she makes just causes her to smile wider.
She gives a shiver as the cold metal glides across her skin—the feeling of the blade familiar by now—and sighs as she digs in. She makes a cut through the flesh in a swift motion, staining the steel with a sweet-smelling crimson.
"What are you doing?" Her hero hisses at her, pulling the spear out of her hands.
Her jaw clicks shut as ████’█ Innards begin to unfurl from within. Roots pull away from her ribcage, spindly appendages reaching down to poke at the wound. Blood rushes out of her stomach as blood-slick greenery pull open the wound, something her body knows should be painful though she smiles. ████ reaches a finger down to wrap herself around, looking up at her hero expectantly.
Her hero has seen this many times over their years of knowing each other. Always in the heat of the moment—stabbing through skin or breaking bones. But never like this. In the quiet of dawn, as the birds begin their choir and the fountain burbles with bloody water.
"Cool, right?" She beams, bouncing back and forth on her heels as she waits for the other to say something.
The face her hero wears is hard to pick apart, the silence going on for a few moments to long before she murmurs a, "Yeah."
████’█ roots droop, letting go of her finger and she tilts her head, "Not a fan?"
Her hero stammers, drawing her shoulders up, "No, that's not it I-" She closes her mouth sharply, clearing her throat, "Doesn't that hurt?"
████ can't help but chuckle, "I don't feel pain," she says simply, another beat of silence and eyes narrow on her. Their last meeting replays in her mind, their first one too and she tries not to frown, "Well not usually- not right now."
"Right, of course." Her hero nods slowly, eyes drifting to her flower before back down to her roots. "May I touch it?" She asks slowly.
"Of course!" ████ nods enthusiastically.
Her roots are reaching for her hero's wrist before she can reach out herself. She wraps herself around her hand, needing into her soft skin. She entwines herself with her fingers, coating her hero's hand in her blood.
Her hero doesn't say anything, eyes wide. She flexes her fingers and ████ moves with her, shifting to match her movements, "Wow," she breathes out.
████ watches the look of wonder on her hero's face, silent before she asks, "Wanna feel inside?"
"What?" Her hero pulls away and ████ pulls her back.
"You can put your hand inside if you want."
"I-" Her face tints as she stutters, "I don't think-"
"Oh come on!" Her roots tighten around her hero's hand and she pulls her in closer. The girl squeaks and stumbles and ████ grabs her to steady her, fingers digging into her shoulder through the black fabric. Her roots pull her hand right outside of the wound, not pulling her hand inside. "You've never wanted to feel inside of a human body before?"
"No," She answers instantly, brows furrowed and gaze stuck on ████’█ wound, "Honestly, I don't think most people do."
"Wait, really?" She tilts her head in disbelief, "Well I doubt you'll feel a lot of my human stuff, should be more of my roots."
"But what if-" Her hero looks away, "Your organs are in there. What if I hurt you?"
████ stares at her for a second before she bursts out laughing, shoulders violently shaking as her lungs squeeze. She snorts and giggles and leans down into her hero, bringing a wide smile up to her shy look, "It's fine! If you mess something up inside of me then I'll just fix it, K?" After a moment she adds, "You don't have to worry about hurting me."
Her hero gives a small chuckle, "Yeah, because you're a villain?"
████ nods, "And because I don't get hurt easily."
"You get hurt just as easily as anyone else, I've seen it." Her hero gives her a cheeky smile and ████ hums.
"You're trying to make me sound weak." She puts a fake look of annoyance on her face before smiling again, "Really though, my hearts been cut into before and I was fine. I promise you can stick your hand inside of me without any issue!"
"You-" Her hero shuts her mouth just as quick as she'd opened it, taking in a deep breath, "Ok, as long as you don't get hurt."
She giggles again and nods, "I promise you, I will not get hurt from you sticking your hand inside of my stomach."
"You sound so ridiculous." Her hero mumbles with a smile.
She sees the inner conflict twisting her face. The concern, the curiosity, the conclusion. Her eyes flick to ████’█ face before she begins to slowly push her hand into the wound. More of herself unfurls as her hero pushes deeper, unwrapping around organs and bones to greet her, to wrap around her, to pull her in. Her hero gasps, nearly pulling back but simply stilling.
"That's- that's really weird." She mumbles, eyes darting around before landing on the ground.
"Is it?" ████ asks.
"Well, of course." Her hero swallows before simply adding, "I can feel your roots."
████ opens her mouth to speak but stops. Her hero moves her hand around, unfurling a clenched fist.
She closes her eyes, "I feel you too."
Her roots squirm around her body, unwrapping around bone and muscle, forcing her body into a lax state. They slither towards the foreign yet familiar hand, beckoning it inside, inviting her deeper. This feeling is odd. Strange in the best of ways and familiar in the worst.
Roots press into her hero's wrist and she feels the beating of a human heart. The thumping is rhythmic and fast, spreading throughout her body and her own heart mimics it.
The warmth is a pleasant buzz that she melts into, leaning into her. Hands reach out for her hero, pulling her near. Pressing into her back she smells fresh rain and something floral as hair tickles her nose.
Words flutter in her throat as flowers bloom and roots tighten around limbs. She feels warm in a way she has never been before, small in a way that aches.
When she opens her eyes she sees white. A soft expression on her hero's face, a small lift of her lips that makes her petals flutter. Fingers brush against her cheek—gentle and unsure—and for a moment she leans into the warmth.
Pain bites at her stomach, sudden and violent. She gasps, choking on an iron taste as she ejects her hero, pushing her back. She stumbles away with two steps, turning around as she retches. Her roots pull back into her stomach, curling back around bones and organs. Blood splatters on the ground from her mouth as flowers bloom over her wound.
"Oh- oh shit!" Her hero places a hand on her back she shoves her away.
"I'm fine," She gasps out before her hero can ask, wiping blood odd of her lips.
"Clearly your not?" Her hero reaches out again with her blood covered hand. There are petals stuck to her flesh, tiny things that are white beneath all of the blood. "I'm so so sorry I knew this was a bad Idea I shouldn't have-"
████ reaches out and covers her mouth, effectively making her stop talking. After a few seconds she slowly pulls her hand away, "I'm alright, I think something just got slipped out of place, that's all." Lies have always left a bitter taste on her tongue and she looks away with the shake of her head as her hero takes a step forward, "I already fixed it though! That's what all the roots are for."
"Are you sure?" She asks after a moment.
She nods, "Of course I am, I know what's happening in my body after all." She takes a deep breath, eyes fixing on the exiting storm clouds, "Everything is fine."