[se] Swirling petals

This was a unique place to meet up for sure. Míngzé couldn’t help but feel nervous about this whole thing. He had wanted to ask her why, but hadn’t done so for some stupid reason. What if she had organized some kind of picnic? Things had ended rather well last time and he feared that maybe he had given her a wrong impression again. If that was the case, he wanted to be able to tell her face to face and not through text.

Míngzé could soon hear his name coming from a familiar voice. Jiu guided him towards her. “Hi,” he greeted her with a small smile on his face. How he wished this was not some kind of surprise. He really did not want to tell her again that things between them were not what she hoped for. “Mind telling me why we are here?” The smile was still on his lips. He did his best to sound as normal as possible. He was aware that more people were here, but maybe that was because of the nice weather. It always drew people to places like this.

Míngzé was ready for a lot of explanations, but not this one. There was a lot going on this month, but he was not aware of every event. Most things were not for him so he did not pay them much attention. His jaw dropped a little when Lucina told him they were here for the flower picking. “That is today?” That explained the amount of people here. He was a bit lost for words. They were going to go flower picking? Míngzé couldn’t help but feel out of place.

The reason she asked him was because she had no one else. It made him clench his jaw. That was not what he wanted to hear. “Yeah, sure, why not. I’m here now anyway.” The smile on his face was a little bit forced. Not because he did not want to do something for her, but more because he had to pick flowers. “Have you not met anyone else?” There was a hint of concern in his voice as he asked that. At the same time he motioned for her to take the lead while he would follow. After certain events, it did not feel right for him to be here with her right now.

Míngzé was worried. Even after all this time, it seemed like he was still the only one she really trusted. He’d hoped that she would’ve made more friends, other people she could hang out with. Xīyuàn was supposed to be one of them, but she had to leave shortly after Lucina moved in. “I’m sure they would not mind if you ask them to hang out.” Not that he was the right person to give her advice, as his own friendlist was extremely limited. “Just text them next time,” Míngzé tried to encourage her.

“No, no, it’s fine, like I said, I’m here now.” Míngzé shrugged. It was not like he wanted to go flower picking and for very good reasons. Firstly he did not exactly think it was for him, and secondly it would be more of a flower hunt. Perhaps he would let her pick the flowers while he simply stood there. “Where do we start?” This was already going great. It would be a miracle if he even found one flower.

A soft hum escaped. That made it difficult indeed. “Ask them for their number next time you see them, that makes it easier if you want to meet up.” Perhaps that would spare him from this torture next time. Not that he minded being her for her, but the whole concept surrounding this small event was a different story.

A patch of blue flowers was nearby and their first destination. The sun was high in the air and shining bright, enough for him to make out Lucina’s shape. Míngzé followed her, until they reached the flowers. Once there he held onto his cane, rolling it between his hands as he simply stood there. “What will you do with them?” He knew that each and every type of plant would die immediately if he brought it home. The few times someone had gifted him a plant or flower, it had withered and died. Another reason why he felt out of place in this field. Míngzé looked around as he stood there, more looking like a scarecrow than anything else.

It was a good thing Míngzé was not capable of seeing. At least he would not see how people looked at him because he was simply standing there. Slowly his cane was digging a hole in the ground from all the spinning. This was exactly why he did not pay any attention to these events. For multiple reasons they were not for him.

“Dry them? Why?” Míngzé asked with a raised eyebrow. What was the appeal to having a dried out flower? What did you even do with it? It made no sense. A bouquet on the table he could understand. Not something he would soon get, but it made sense. Not that it mattered, if Lucina was happy doing this, then it was fine. Míngzé would just— wait or something.

Míngzé vaguely registered that Lucina was moving, but he paid her no attention. It was only when he felt something touching his hand, that he tried to pull away. Her grip however was a bit too firm and he also relaxed immediately when he knew it was her. “Fine,” he sighed as he let her guide his hand. His finger touched something and he grabbed it, softly pulling on it trying to snap it off. A frown appeared when it did not work. Again he tried, only to feel something slithering around his hand. “What the fuck?!” he screamed out as he pulled back immediately. Quickly he moved backwards and fell to the ground after losing his balance. A grunt of pain sounded as he hit the ground.

For Lucina he would pick one flower, even when he felt silly doing it. She wanted to do this, maybe to feel normal among everyone else, do things everyone did. It was the only reason he did as she offered. One flower, that was all. Only his fingers did not find a flower but something else.

It clung to his arm and he hated it. The roots of the creatures were unrelentless as Míngzé shook his arm in panic. When that did not work, he tried pushing it away with his other hand, but nothing worked. “I guess, I don’t know,” he breathed, his hurried voice betraying the panic going through him.

Quickly, yet clumsy, Míngzé shot to his feet. This seemed to do the trick as the roots around his arm finally let go. He cradled his arm against his chest, rubbing the spot where he could still feel the pressure from earlier. “Fuck— Lucina, this is—” he shook his head as he took a step back. “This is really not for me.” For her, he tried, but after this he was done.

Helplessly he looked around, trying to locate this pokémon that had just attacked him. That pokémon in question stood at his feet, looking up with a weird expression but not doing anything else.

“No, it’s fine. This is not your fault,” Míngzé said with a shake of his head. Some things were simply not made for him and this was among them. A bit awkwardly he took a hold of his cane again, fiddling it once more between his fingers.

The pokémon was standing in front of him. Right. Involuntarily he took a step back. Where the sun provided enough light for him to see Lucina’s silhouette, it was not enough for the pokémon. Curse his eyes. Luckily it did not seem to have any ill intentions.

“I’m sorry,” Míngzé sighed. It did not feel good to leave her here by herself. Not when people around them were enjoying this little thing together. “Maybe next time, when it is something— different.” Not this. Not picking flowers among pokémon. “I’ll find my own way back, you can continue if you want.” There were enough other people he could bother if he needed help.

While she reassured him it was fine, he could not shake the feeling of guilt. He wanted her to meet new people. People she could spend time with besides him. People she might develop feelings for. Ever since Míngzé knew why he was here, he could not shake the uncomfortable feeling. Yet, he had tried to be there for her while she was enjoying something.

Míngzé hummed softly. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Enjoy your flowers.” Míngzé gave her a smile. She shold not stop doing something she liked simply because he was not enjoying herself. “You might even meet someone else here.” There were enough other people. All she had to do was walk up to them and talk.

“Anyway, I’ll see you later.” With those parting words he walked in the general direction of where they came from. What he did not notice was the pokémon that followed him.