#TipToe Tulip | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wonder-in-wings · 3 months

Text

Tiptoe Through the Tulips || Ariadne, Parker

TIMING: Mid-summer LOCATION: The Common PARTIES: Ariadne (@ariadnewhitlock and Parker (@wonder-in-wings SUMMARY: Parker’s never seen an eintykára from this part of the country before and intends to catch one. When Ariadne strikes up a conversation with him, he offers for her to help. CONTENT WARNINGS: drugs (hallucinogenic venom)

The Common. Parker tended to be acutely aware of when new plants, trees and flowers were introduced to the environment whether it was for a flower show or as a new centerpiece for the park because new plants meant a potential for the insects that came with them. It wasn’t a terribly common occurrence but he tried to take advantage anyway.

He was in the Common after the announcement that the park had been decorated with seemingly unrecognizable flowers. Parker tended to be of two minds when it came to unfamiliar fauna - he appreciated being raised out in the middle of nowhere for his hardy resilience, but he of all people knew that it created a barrier with which he viewed the world. In any case, here he was, his blue eyes spending an intense amount of time on each flower, seemingly trying to memorize each little detail about them before moving onto the next one. In fact, Parker was so focused on these flowers, their unusual shapes, colors and most importantly, the untapped potential to see an insect by chance that wasn’t supposed to be there, that he hadn’t noticed that he was standing right in the middle of the walkway and that he might’ve been obstructing someone else’s view. — —

Her now belonging to the night, sort of, didn’t make Ariadne any less fond of the day, Or of the way that sun felt on her skin. If anything it made her love and appreciation of the daytime all the more vibrant – strong – real.

Flowers were nice. Flowers were nice even when they were picked or dried, but Ariadne found that she most enjoyed them when they were still vibrantly alive, covering the ground with all sorts of fun colors. Today, it seemed, she had company in her flower-gazing expedition.

He was blocking one of her favorite patches of flowers, and so Ariadne nervously hopped from toe to toe while she waited for him to be done. Though she had to admit that she admired the detail with which he looked at each flower. “Um.” She began. “Are you an artist? You look like you’re really good at looking at details.” She looked down at her Converse, “sorry, uh, I hope I didn’t scare - startle - you.” — — Parker thought he heard a voice behind him; he couldn’t quite hear what they said but he assumed it was something along the lines of “move, you’re in the way”. He considered not moving in that case, as he had gotten there first and he wasn’t particularly concerned with the thoughts and feelings of others at the best of times, especially when he was fixated on something. Fortunately, he wasn’t in one of those moods so he straightened up and turned slowly, taking a step over so that he wasn’t quite in the way of whoever was behind him when his blue eyes fell upon a small girl. Not a child but couldn’t have been older than… Parker was bad with ages. Not a child for sure though. At least a teen. He also attempted to read her body language and he could figure that by her looking down at her shoes, it was a display of submission. Maybe she didn’t tell him to move. But Parker hated asking for people to repeat themselves. At least she wasn’t a fae. He sighed quietly and crossed his arms slowly, a gesture to protect his feeling vulnerable and he turned his head so that his good ear was facing her. “I apologize, I didn’t catch what you said. Can you repeat yourself?” — — He didn’t seem mad, which was something of a win, at least. “It’s okay! You don’t have to say sorry – I just wanted to make sure I’d not scared or uh, startled you, I mean.” Ariadne blew wisps of hair out of her face, offering the man a shrug. “But uh, if you didn’t hear me, then I hope I didn’t, even though I guess I could’ve startled you just by like, existing,”

“Do you come and look at the flowers a lot?” Which sounded extremely stupid to say, but if he heard her this time, she couldn’t exactly backtrack. “I do.” Ariadne shook her head. “Look at flowers. Should probably work on finishing sentences, right?” — — Well, at least Parker could understand her more, or at least more accurately parse through what she was saying as the girl seemed to trip over her words; she seemed to be a bundle of nerves and Parker considered it a good thing that he wasn’t easily influenced by the demeanors of others. “I was in your way.” He replied bluntly, though missing the usual aggression that came with someone who had a face like his, with its unamused expression and unblinking stare. He turned his head to look at the flowers once more and inhaled their varied scents as they floated in the gentle breeze of the summer afternoon. Normally, Parker checked the weather and frequented the more public places to view nature on certain days, such as when there was a high pollen count to help empty out the space and make everything more accessible to him but he didn’t do that today, instead foolishly going on a whim to observe what he could and finding himself with a girl who didn’t seem… unfriendly but she seemed like she felt out of place. Parker supposed he could entertain her though, if only for a few moments until she inevitably grew bored of his stilted cadence and unsettling stance. “Not too often.” He replied as he regarded the girl once more. “I look at the flowers but what I’m after is either in or between the flowers.” He continued and motioned for her to step towards the colorful displays as he reached forward and moved one of the unfamiliar-looking blossoms aside where he exposed a chrysalis. “That’s going to be a monarch butterfly.” He explained his tone growing softer as his expression followed suit. “I’m looking for insects and other bugs to add to my collection.” — — “Yeah, still, I don’t want to startle you, even if you were in the space I was trying to go.” Ariadne shook her head. “Regardless, pleased that I did not startle you, because that’s basically never my intention.” Except when she’d been little and had tried to surprise Chance. Otherwise, she never really wanted to startle anybody unnecessarily. Heck, even the necessary startles she caused weren’t enjoyable nor something she wanted.

And the man was smart. Which Ariadne admired instantly and immeasurably. “Flowers are nice, but oh - pollen?” Which was stupid, something she recognized the second she’d finished asking it. Because of course it wasn’t pollen, of course it was bugs. Which would probably scatter given her close proximity to the flowerbeds. “Do you study bugs?” She wanted to bury her face in her hands for what a horrible first impression she knew she had to be making.

“Like, living? How do you collect living bugs and insects? Do you just put them in a jar, or…” she bit her lip. “Do you get them when they’re no longer alive, and look at them like that. Like what the Natural History Museum does.” — — Parker quickly came to the conclusion that the girl opted out of using ten words when twenty would do. He wondered who she felt the need to explain herself to when as far as he could tell, it was just the two of them in the immediate vicinity but while he normally would’ve tried to disengage from the conversation (not realizing how awkward he’d be) himself, he felt as though he were in the right place to find what he was looking for and she didn’t seem to want to be rude. Regardless of whether or not she was just entertaining him on purpose, Parker couldn’t keep a very small ghost of a smile from tugging on the corner of his mouth. Botany was something his mother suggested for him when he was a child but that was disregarded in favor of other endeavors. He held respect for flowers and plants, of course, but he knew he would’ve grown bored of them eventually. Her guess about whether or not he was collecting pollen was mildly amusing to him. However, she quickly learned that he was actually referring to the bugs and he removed his hand from the stalk of the flower, letting it rest where it was as he straightened up once more to regard her. “Typically I try to acquire live specimens,” The man explained and he placed one of his hands on the utility belt that he was very rarely seen without, though this one was considerably different than the other one. This one, as he motioned to it, had a pouch with something in it that clinked together quietly and two jars that loosely hung off of it with three vials strapped to the leather material in between. The whole thing looked not unlike something from a renaissance festival or perhaps an enthusiastic steampunk potioneer’s cosplay. “I have special smoke that calms them down then I put them in these.” Parker held up one of the jars gently, unclasping it from his belt and pausing before offering it out for her to see and hold - if, for some reason, she was going to run, he got the immediate impression that he could catch her. He inhaled, deciding between being honest and omitting parts that may not’ve been important for the conversation, though he couldn’t be sure why. It wasn’t as though this random girl’s offense meant anything to him. “Both.” He opted. “I’m the curator of the entomology exhibit at the Natural History Museum.” — — “That makes sense, I just don’t know a whole lot about this, so sorry if the questions seem stupid or something,” Ariadne looked toward the man’s belt, as he explained himself, what he did to get the creatures. It sent half of a shiver down her spine, because she’d never really heard of smoke that could do that before, but her dad had some sort of thing like that at the store, maybe. Or at least something like it.

She took the jar, and looked at it just for a moment, before she handed it back to him. “That’s cool. How do you make sure they don’t all break?”

Nodding, she paused a moment, “the bugs, right? Or like, bugs and stuff.” She was making a fool of herself, she had to be. “Sorry, again, not so eloquent. Are you new there? I used to go there a lot when I was a kid, and I don’t remember ever seeing you, But again, I probably didn’t always see everybody there, so if you were there and I didn’t see you, I’m sorry.” — — “Questions are how we learn.” Parker glanced down at her when he took the jar back, referring to her past and present stream of curiosity. “You’re very anxious.” He added mildly; she most likely knew that. He wasn’t sure why he said it. Nonetheless, he inhaled and regarded the flowers once more, absently placing the jar back around his waist. “Sometimes they do break. I have more than one for such an occasion and I’m in the process of replacing them with a special type that has plastic on the outside and glass on the inside.” A couple of careful fingers moved a different flower aside where Parker paused for a moment and straightened back up, a brief expression crossing his features. There wasn’t anything here, either. The Warden’s blue-eyed gaze drifted slowly among the bright colors and unique shapes, flowers he’d never seen, specimens that alluded him in terms he was familiar with. “I’ve only been here for three years. It’s understandable for you not to recognize me.” Parker answered, giving her a small motion with his head; he was giving her unspoken permission to accompany him, which he didn’t normally affirm. He couldn’t control other people or what they did but he was also apt to unceremoniously disengaging from conversations. As he walked off, keeping his arms loosely behind his back in observation, he craned his neck up to observe a nearby tree this time. “You’re young. Are you in school?” He asked in a rather awkward attempt himself to make small talk. — —

“That’s fair, yeah, but still…” she let her voice trail off. “Just - also yes, that. I am.” She shuffled her feet awkwardly. “But yes. It’s – yeah.” There wasn’t really much more to say on the subject. It was the truth, and she might’ve felt a bit more exposed with him having admitted it and everything, but she wasn’t about to back-talk an adult.

“That sounds cool, and smart, uh, to have the plastic instead of just glass.” Ariadne chewed on her lip. She watched him fiddle with the flowers, wanting to say that he probably wasn’t going to find anything while she was around, but refrained, at least for now.

“Oh, okay.” She jumped at the opportunity to follow him, doing so as quietly as she could manage. “Just didn’t want to think I’d ignored you or whatever.” Ariadne winced at the way she was talking, something about the man screaming that she needed to act her most proper and grown up. “It’s appreciated that you’re letting me come. I won’t be a bother.” She shook her head for added emphasis, even though he was already looking up at a tree.

“I am. University. I do dance and art history.” There was a faint buzzing coming from somewhere, but Ariadne figured, or hoped, perhaps foolishly, that it wasn’t to do with her. Assuming every unpleasant noise was her fault was selfish, after all. — — To none of Parker’s surprise, she opted to follow him, which he’d already given her the aforementioned nonverbal permission. She seemed like that type, especially the way she didn’t deny his comment about her being nervous. However, she was receptive to the things he was saying, taking care to reply to each and every thing as though afraid that if she didn’t, he would get the impression that she wasn’t paying attention. Seemed like a given considering she went through the effort of letting him know that she wasn’t trying to ignore him and assuring him that she wouldn’t be a bother. If there was one thing Parker was able to gather quickly about most children and especially the young adults of Wicked’s Rest, it was that they craved the validation of adults. Parker was largely apathetic but he supposed he was in a mild enough mood not to be bothered by her stammering. If anything, the Warden was wishing that she could speak a little louder but he assumed that’d be a difficult ask for someone as shy as her. He kept his eyes pointed upwards as she spoke, scanning the environment like a hawk, subconsciously turning his head so his good ear was facing her. “Dance and art history.” Parker repeated before his head sharply turned and his gaze narrowed. He thought he might’ve… His eyes darted around, trying to find something visual for him to lock onto but he couldn’t see anything that accompanied the ghost of a buzz, a drone of a bee or maybe even a wasp. He sighed quietly and he looked down at his temporary companion. “I apologize for diverting the conversation.” He started. “But did you hear something just now?” He hated asking for confirmation. Yet sometimes he needed it and if he’d been right about the girl so far, she wouldn’t mock him for anything. Parker could probably even tell her that he was hard of hearing and she’d apologize on his behalf. — —

He seemed nice enough. Though, if she were honest, most every adult that she met seemed nice enough. Ariadne was acutely aware of the fact that maybe this wasn’t always the case, even though she’d had little reason to ever believe otherwise.

“Yes.” She followed his gaze, “you’re fine, you don’t need to say sorry, we can talk about whatever you’d like.” Ariadne nodded. She had heard something, and it seemed that this man had, too. Which was either comforting or not so good. Whatever thing she’d run into with Zane hadn’t made a noise like this, so she hoped it wasn’t that. That it wouldn’t be a creature that would try to gobble her up whole.

Except any unusual animal-like sounds were not the best sign. She’d yet to find any animal that took pleasure in her presence – or even to her very existence. Ariadne took her best steadying breath. “I did. Hear something, I mean.” She chewed nervously on her lip. “I’m afraid I don’t know animal sounds too much.” Only that whatever it was sounded mad, except there was no real easy way for her to step out of this without drawing attention to herself.

Or at least, she figured as much.

“Should we look for it, or…?” — —

Parker’s steely blue eyes went from their concentrated stare to sharp, punctuated bursts glances, like a cat trying to find an insect that disappeared from its view. And perhaps that’s what the Warden was trying to do. “It’s an insect.” His voice dropped but it still sounded resolute; it wasn’t a suggestion, it was a statement. Insects weren’t anything new, of course, but this one was familiar yet strange. “It’s an eintykára.” The name was surely unfamiliar to the girl. Indeed, in Parker’s experience he hadn’t met many others, if any at all, who knew what an eintykára was. As both someone who specialized in entomology and fae, he’d spent many long, arduous nights being able to hear the difference in noises between the supernatural bugs and anything else. And while his hearing wasn’t nearly what it used to be - indeed, sometimes he wondered if he’d gone deaf entirely - he still put in the effort to know better. This was an eintykára, he knew that without a shadow of a doubt. However, he wasn’t sure about which type it was specifically - as they spanned all over the globe, so too did their variances. First, though, perhaps Parker should’ve explained what it was to better give his young friend some context. “It’s an insect that looks like a large wasp.” He explained, looking down at her as he popped open one of the pouches on his belt and pulled out a small, condensed capsule with three fingers. He turned it over in his hand briefly before clasping the pouch shut again and curling his ring and pinky fingers around it securely. “You aren’t afraid of or allergic to insects that sting, are you?” He asked, conveniently leaving off the small, yet important tidbit that eintykára stings weren’t the standard. Maybe if they were lucky she wouldn’t find out in general. — —

She nodded – it being an insect made sense. Once, when she was little, a few flies - or insects of some sort - had wound up in her room, and she’d begged her parents to let them stay at least the night, and it was only when her mother explained that they’d be happier outside that Ariadne had relented.

“A what?”

Ariadne was, once again, acutely aware of how absolutely ignorant she knew she had to sound. Half of her asking what had to do with the fact that she wasn’t even sure she could repeat the name accurately. “I mean - I get the insect thing, I’m not what-ing that.”

Except soon enough the man was already explaining what it was. “That’s wild. I thought extra-large bugs were only in like, Australia or places like that. That’s what the internet says, anyhow.” Her gaze followed his hands as he pulled something out of his belt.

“No, neither of those.” Ariadne didn’t know if she should mention that insects – as well as anything else that was not human but alive - were afraid of her, and tended to react poorly to her existence, at best. “I don’t especially relish the idea of being stung,” the buzzing sound got louder, “but no, I got stung once when I was little, and I was fine. I also like bugs and insects and stuff, so you don’t have to worry about that.” — —

Well, it was fortunate that she wasn’t particularly vulnerable to insects. He was correct in his assumption that she wasn’t familiar with an eintykára and he wasn’t particularly surprised to hear that she was under the impression that there weren’t really large specimens in the States. “If we’re fortunate, neither of us will be stung.” Parker replied calmly as the buzzing got louder. He glanced around, trying to find the source. “These are found all over the place.” He started to explain as his blue eyes scanned the air, nearby trees and flowers for any movement that wasn’t leaves rustling or falling in the gentle breeze. “I’ve yet to obtain a specimen from this area.” Then Parker saw it - the large, red wasp-like insect that absently buzzed around in the distance, hovering near a water feature. “There.” The Warden pointed, not wanting to take his eyes off of the insect as his body language shifted, almost as though he were a jungle cat who just saw a prey animal stop by the river on the opposite bank. Still holding the capsule in one hand, Parker used his other to retrieve one of the glass jars from his belt and he held it aloft. “Would you like to assist me, miss…” He trailed off, his brow furrowing ever-so-slightly. He didn’t ask for her name? He supposed he didn’t think it would matter as he assumed that she was either going to get bored of him and leave or he’d possibly do something to irritate her. — —

She didn’t want to say that when it came to animals, in the past year, she wasn’t fortunate really much at all. But that would mean more questions, and she didn’t want to answer them. Ariadne also didn’t like the idea of this man maybe thinking that she hurt animals, because even if her very existence did seem like an affront to them for reasons she couldn’t understand, she still loved them, and did her best to not ever hurt one.

“Oh, so they’re like… well actually, I can’t think of another regional bug off the top of my head, but that’s interesting. And I mean that in a real way, not the fake way people sometimes call stuff interesting.” She was explaining herself too much again, she knew.

She followed his point, “I – Ariadne, and sure! That — if you’re sure.” She offered him a smile. “Just tell me what I can do. I’m down to help however I can.” — —

The girl freshly known to him now as Ariadne was off on another tangent and while Parker was a proficient multitasker, he found himself decidedly more focused on wanting to catch this new, previously-unattained eintykára as she talked, opting to keep his eyes on it rather than break contact and pay more attention to whatever it was she was talking about. He did catch her smile as well as her affirmation to help, however, and he wondered what she could do. He handed her the bottle carefully. “Keep this at the ready.” He explained. “I’m going to stun it, then I’ll bring it over and you shut the jar, okay?” This all felt somewhat childish and for a moment Parker felt thrust back in time where it was him and Walker, out in the swampy waters, himself keeping an eye on whatever he was fascinated with at the time while his brother complained in the background. Granted, back then the tools were a little different and even now, he wasn’t sure how effective his smoke pellet would be against this type of eintykára but it was new and he wanted it. After she took the jar, he held the small sphere in his palm and he carefully inched forward, his steps light and specifically positioned almost as though he were tracking a mammal instead of an insect, large though it was. — —

“I – okay. Stunning it won’t hurt it though, right? I don’t like when stuff gets hurt.” Her face contorted into an expression of concern, hoping she wasn’t being some sort of failure-disappointment-something, even though this man wasn’t someone she’d met before. That didn’t mean Ariadne wanted to disappoint him. If anything, it made her want to impress him more, because he was still a stranger and it was always best to leave a good first impression with strangers.

She watched him as he moved, impressed by the silence that he held, and, in turn, holding her own breath – not that she’d ever been especially loud, but again, not wanting to disappoint this stranger man (not Strange man, that felt rude) had Ariadne more on her toes than usual. Which, she supposed, was saying a lot – even compared to other dancers, she was pretty sure she spent more time en pointe than others. She winced internally at her joke.

“I – It’s – buzzing more?” She looked between the man and the source of the noise. Probably because of me. “Um…” — —

The specific sentence ‘I don’t like when stuff gets hurt’ made Parker want to roll his eyes at the naivety of it all but as he was a professional, he didn’t and instead simply turned his head slightly to indicate that he heard her. “It shouldn’t, no.” He replied. And while he didn’t do anything when she asked if his methodology would harm the insect, he found his patience waning more visibly when she asked if it was buzzing more. Every man had his limits and at this point, Parker was finding himself reaching his. Social interaction was never his strong suit, anyway, and he didn’t point fingers unless he was certain in his assessments but… ‘You’re just saying that if she weren’t here, you’d have that thing and be done by now, right?’ His brother summed up his thoughts. The Warden finally tore his gaze from the large wasp and regarded Ariadne, his flat expression subtly shifting so that he gave her a look that suggested that she said something foolish, regardless of whether or not she actually had. “I understand that you’ve probably never seen one before,” he began, his flat affect betraying the words he was saying, as though the sentence was supposed to be gentle and encouraging but the way he was saying it wasn’t at all. “But if this scenario isn’t preferable to you, I’d rather–” The rest of Parker’s sentence was cut short as he tensed his body, recoiling from something sharp piercing his shoulder. Blue eyes grew wide and in an instinctual motion, his spare hand reached behind him and deft fingers caged– ‘Uh oh.’ — —

“Okay, that’s good, then.” Ariadne fidgeted with her fingers, not really sure what to do. Not entirely sure what sort of impression she was making on the man, though part of her wondered if she was making a very poor sort of impression. Which would’ve been bad. But not totally unexpected, because Ariadne was a certain sort of disaster of her own. Though if the man near her liked to hurt bugs or animals, she supposed that was more of a disaster than her lack of social graces.

His look told her that she had, in fact, very much messed up and she could only look at the ground in shame, feeling more than a bit like she was far younger than she actually was, though she’d had the good fortune to have never been scolded all too much as a child.

“I haven’t, no.” She let her gaze float back up, though she still refrained from looking directly at the man, as if that would somehow limit the impact that his words had on her (which, for the record, was a Not So Good kind of impact). Ariadne’s eyes grew wide as she observed the man’s body tense. “Uh oh what? What – happened? We – what’s up?”

— —

The Warden blinked, his head shaking slightly as his vision grew blurry for a moment. It was interesting sometimes, how his blood was so used to reacting to any input or external stimuli that it would unintentionally help toxins spread through his body quicker than if he hadn’t been a Warden. Now, though, it wasn’t quite appreciated. “It’s… fine.” Parker said, though his tone had taken an uncertain cadence to it, almost as though he were suddenly confronted with too many choices thrust into his face. The second sting went unregistered as he felt his blood pulsing under his skin and he blinked more, opening his palm uneasily. The large, red eintykára angrily hummed as it took off, leaving two swelling red holes in his hand. “The thing with, um–” He winced at the sentence filler, feeling a casual, yet sharp strike from his father’s hand against the back of his head as it tumbled from his mouth. “The thing with eintykára is that… their stings…” Icy blue eyes, unfocused, darted up sharply, intensely narrowing as he saw something out of the corner of his eye only… he didn’t. Parker knew he didn’t, and yet he still turned his head to look at something else he knew wasn’t there. “They inspire hallucinations. They’re… venomous.” — —

“That doesn’t sound real.” Ariadne made a face. “Not that – I – I believe you, and I don’t really even know a lot about like, legit bugs, outside of ones I used to save and pick up when I was a kid, but not –” he’d seemed frustrated before when she talked too much, and so she cut herself off. “Not these.” She said, plainly, finally.

“Are you seeing stuff now, then? What - uh, what sort of medicines help fix this? Maybe I can go to the pharmacy and grab some?” Mostly because she was feeling uneasy, and guilty because these things – however real or not real they were – had gone after this man because of her, because she set every animal off, and it resulted in damage to those around her in addition to herself. Ariadne crossed her arms. “Also, you should move away from them, maybe probably?”

— —

She was talking, rambling again as Parker had since been able to discern from this limited interaction. Speaking to fill the space, not letting things sit. He didn’t mind, not usually, and right now he found it welcoming. It was wavery and muted and he didn’t catch as much of what she said as he normally would’ve - venom was a tricky thing - but it was there. She was there. He wasn’t actually starting to float off into the chasm of psychedelic lights that tugged on the corners of his eyes. He did stagger, though, taking deep breaths as she spoke and he turned his head to hear her better. It figured that she didn’t believe they were real but as he reeled, placing a palm on the tree behind them to ground himself, the pieces of his mind that struggled to stay present enough to maintain coherent conversation with her wondered if she would’ve changed her tune had she been the one stung, instead. It was just one. It’ll go by quickly. Parker was alone in his head now, and how– “It’ll… go away.” He shook his head, though not even he was sure if it was in response to her inquiries or an attempt to alleviate some of the spinning. “Your suggestions are… suggestions.” The Warden, in this temporary haze, couldn’t create enough of a filter to call them good suggestions. But he also didn’t want her to leave; it had been a long time since he’d been affected by psychotropics but the last time he’d seen them in effect, he quickly learned not to leave someone alone. “I have–” A familiar shadow, bathed in sharp strobes, flashed in and out of the backdrop of the saturated environment and Parker’s sentence faltered for a moment. “A healthy circulatory system. It’ll pass through and… Stay. Please.” His blue eyes managed to find Ariadne’s outline, waving back and forth like the swirl of colors down a drain. “What’s… the most interesting bug you’ve… saved?” He opted to ask; keep her talking, keep her present. Keep her from leaving, at least until he could see straight again.

— —

He was staggering and moving around and Ariadne still couldn’t figure out why. Except that he had explained things to her, and so she figured she did technically have an answer of sorts, even if it wasn’t one that made any great sort of sense, but she figured this guy probably wasn’t the sort who would take well to her saying that. Also, it was a bit rude, or could come off that way, and she absolutely didn’t want to be rude.

“Oh. That’s good, then. But yeah – I can stay.” She wasn’t sure what good that would do, outside of making sure he didn’t just collapse and die. Which was more than enough of a reason in Ariadne’s opinion, which did matter very much, even if the man was just calling her suggestions, rather than good ones. Even if that made her stomach turn. Maybe she could prove to him that she did have good, productive ideas. “I can stay, but let’s sit down.” She pulled him over to a bench.

“Most interesting bug? I – uh, probably some kind of beetle. I did save a butterfly once. Part of its wing was torn, I think ‘cause a bird went after it, but I don’t know, but I took it home and gave it sugar water and it lived, and I was able to let it back out, and I like to think it came and visited my bedroom window a lot of times after that.” Ariadne glanced around the park. “I think – those buzzing bug things are gone now, right?”

— —

Usually, he might’ve been more resistant to the idea of both being touched and taking someone else’s suggestion but as it were, enough of the world was spinning on a tilted axis that Parker didn’t have the brainpower to shut it down. Her hand on his arm was a further grounding technique, literally, and even the moment he made contact with the wood seemed to help his ever-shifting environment. Placing a strong hand on the back of it, clenching it so tightly one could’ve heard the wood starting to splinter under the force of his grip, the Warden pinched his eyes closed and heaved a breath through his mouth. In, out, deep and as steady as possible.

With the spinning and the venom coursing through his rippling blood came a brief wave of nausea but Parker, eyes still closed, shakily turned his head so his good ear was facing Ariadne as she answered his question. It gave him something to think about, about how someone could place so much value on the life of a literal insect that they would keep it alive, bring it back from a perceived cusp. Parker himself saw the beauty in insects, to be sure, but he was rather neutral on death. That wasn’t reserved for insects, either. Ariadne didn’t need to know that, though. Instead, she mentioned that the abnormal wasp had since left the vicinity and with a head that swayed faintly as it still wanted to attempt to keep up with the swirling earth, Parker managed to nod. “Yeah, it’s gone.” He affirmed, loosening his grip on the back of the bench where the painted white wood had a semblance of an indention in it from his thumb. “The venom will be too.” He inhaled again through his arrow-straight nose. “That’s a lot of effort for a butterfly.” He admitted. “Did you… name it?” He asked, leaning forward slightly now as he flexed and extended his arms, getting the blood flowing through them, letting the toxin run its course and resolutely keeping his eyes closed.

— —

“Good. It’s – I’m glad it’s gone.” She nodded, probably with too much effort, too much insistence or something. Ariadne offered him another smile, doing her best to seem confident and not off putting, though she wasn’t sure what would be off putting to him right now. But that didn’t matter, so long as she didn’t disappoint him too much or make him mad, then it would be okay.

“I did name it!” This was easier to talk about, melancholy as it was, considering it wasn't something that could ever happen again. “I named it Leo. That just seemed nice, even though I guess that the butterfly was more the color of a tiger, but all the same…” Ariadne let her voice trail off. “I kept it safe as I could, and I’d do the same for anything living, including plants.” Mostly because the idea of causing animals pain was still one of the things she hated most about herself. Given how much it was out of her control.

She held out her hand to him with a couple packs of Starburst. “I think sweets can be a good distraction. If you want these. Otherwise, uh, just let me know when you’re feeling better, and I can leave you alone, if you want?”

— —

He supposed he was also glad it was gone, though Parker would’ve rather have caught the thing. Instead, as he sat there on the bench, flexing and extending his muscular arms rhythmically to help the blood pump through and the venom out of him. His breathing was steady and deep as she spoke about her torn-winged Butterfly named Leo, how it was colored similarly to a tiger and how she seemed to genuinely care about plants and animals, even insects. Definitely not a hunter, then. The Warden didn’t open his eyes again until she mentioned something about ‘sweets’ and as he did so, Parker turned his head slightly for his gaze to rest on what appeared to be… candy. Shaky, saturated, morphing into different shapes as they wavered in his temporary haze. He paused in his exercise and with a hand that seemed unsure of where they were supposed to be going, he carefully, gently took the candies from her. They seemed to solidify once they were in his hand and he decided to focus entirely on them, as though willing his vision to stop swirling. “I appreciate it, Ariadne.” He said quietly. And he did, ultimately. Even if he did find himself shorter on patience than he could’ve been, Parker could normally tell when someone was trying to be helpful as compared to antagonistic. Actions spoke louder than words ever could to him nowadays, and everything about Ariadne, even when her words didn’t seem to fit, indicated that she was trying to be helpful. Or possibly wanting approval. Likely both. “I’ll be okay.” He nodded, finally removing his intense stare from the candy to look over to her. “It’s… almost gone. I’m a quick healer.” A pause, as the Warden struggled to think of something pleasant to end the interaction on. ‘It shouldn’t be that hard. Just be nice.’ “Th– …Thank you for your help today.”

#wickedswriting #writing // tiptoe through the tulips #writing with // ariadne #drugs tw

6 notes · View notes