Warning: Heavy angst, near-death experiences, near child death, severe burn injuries, infection/corruption, and themes of death.
The smell of burnt skin and smoke lingering in the air. The gut-wrenching scream loud enough as though vomitting blood, tearing through the silence until they became indistinguishable from the crackling flames . It never felt so painful before
Fire was one of the greatest inventions of humanity, to chased away the cold, to lit up the darkest nights, and brought people together around its warmth. And it was now burning through the vulnerable skin, leaving nothing but smoke and ash behind
It was never meant to feel the pain, as it would always heal itself anyway. But right now, the fire refused to let it heal, and every attempt soon crumbled away, let the flecks of ash that drifted into the smoke.
The pain was unbearable, and the scream was so distorted they no longer sounded human. High-pitched cries broke into hoarse, broken grunts, each one swallowed by the relentless roar of the flames until everything blurred into a single, deafening cacophony.
Is this... what becoming nothing is like...?
The last thing it heard before everything went dark, was the faint cry of a young child
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There were times that he wondered, what is it like to lay in a flower field?
He had seen countless videos, people running through endless fields while the flowers swayed gently beneath the afternoon sun. Every season seemed to bring a different sea of colors—roses blooming in neat rows, white daisies dancing with the breeze, pink cosmos stretching toward the horizon, and so many more that he lost count
He wondered what's like to lay in one?
Would be the softest kind of bed, leading to eternal sleep, or too ticklish to lay down due to the grass underneath, or would the scent of the flowers linger on his clothes, or even on his hair after he got up, or would the stems be too stiff, the ground too uneven, making it impossible to lie there for long?
He never knew, but a person could dream, right?
There were times that he wished he could lay in a flower field, he never thought much about which kinds of flower
Maybe sunflowers? Nah, they tends to to grow really high from the ground, in order to take the light from the sun
What about dandelions? Well, he would sneeze alot when it is their time to bloom and fly away
Then roses? Its thorns would stab him quite alot, causing him to bleed
He knew this one from those times when he heard his dad telling him stories about his grandmother. He never saw her except for those family portraits, and he never had the chance to talk to her ever, as she passed away when he was just a little baby
But he knew so much about her from his dad, even her favourite flower, blue stars
He was a curious kid, who loved researching, and when he came across floriography, he never stopped looking eversince
That was their real name.
Small, pale-blue flowers shaped like tiny stars, blooming together each spring. They weren't flashy like roses or towering like sunflowers. They were quiet, resilient plants, known for thriving with little care.
Beautiful blue, with the symbolism of hope, resilence, and everlasting remembrance
"Blue stars" was what he called them most of the time. It was shorter than Amsonia, and besides, he thought "blue stars" sounded prettier.
He wondered if they were as soft as they looked.
Would the petals brush gently against his hands if he reached down to touch them?
Would they sway around him if he lay in the middle of the field?
Would the wind carry their scent?
Or would they simply rustle quietly, like tiny stars whispering to one another?
He never knew, but a person could dream, right?
And there were times he wished he was laying in a flower field of blue star, never cared much about other things
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The scent of the flower field was difficult to notice, as blue star tend to grow for its look rather than its aroma. They are hard to make out, but that doesn't mean they smell bad.
In fact, their mild sweet fragrance was comforting when you lean in closer.
It was nice to lay in a flower field, and it was nice for the flower to brush against your skin, tickling you slightly, causing you to giggle
You then reached for them, letting the tiny blossoms slip between your fingers. They were impossibly delicate, their cool petals brushing against your skin before springing back into place
They reminded you of the stars, brightly under the endless sky
You enjoyed being here, and wanted to fall into deep slumber. It was nice to lay here
Until reality hit you, there was never a flower field as you thought. Your vision blurred beneath a sky blackened by smoke, and somewhere nearby, the dying flames continued to crackle around the wreckage
There was no flower field as you wished, and you wanted to fall asleep again, but this time
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"What if that fire explosion jaune did did worse to the hatzgang than it normally did as it straight up kills em?" an ask from @candiceturner455 for Spooky month: night of darkness by @plasmagruntcalvin that caught my attention, then I was like, wait, lemme cook this
And here you go, a near death experience of the hatzgang, and I focused on Ross specifically
I think the Darkness would do everything it could to preserve its vessels. It wouldn't simply allow them to die—not when they were still useful. So while I don't think the explosion would outright kill them, I do think it could leave them hanging by a thread, forcing the Darkness to keep them alive just enough to recover.
As for the flower field, to be honest, this works both as a headcanon of mine for Ross, and how I imagined his mind giving him one final moment of peace—a place untouched by smoke, pain, or the Darkness. A quiet field of flowers beneath an endless sky, where, for just a little while, Ross could finally experience the peace he deserve after all the things that happened.
Before reality slapped him in the face, hard
And I was also inspired by those arts featuring characters laying in flower fields, dying but also looking peaceful, so ye
Amsonia was what I chose for Ross, while sunflower was what I wrote about in the last fic, I associate them with the memories of him and his mother (Sunflower is also what Jaune is associated with most)
I found its symbolism fits Ross alot, and shoutout to @rskujra-925 for her recommendation!!!!!
Anyway, the thought of laying on a flower field, is also what I would love to experience, too
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