my gravity is twisted
Lou & Open
"Aren't you a beauty?" It took its time, that slow spread of a smile, to grow but it was the purest and most genuine expression across Lou's face for a period of some days now. He was a consummate liar, barely able to breathe without needing to change, to accommodate someone else. Not that he minded, of course, because else was he supposed to do? He had One Job, just that singular thing, of course he'd do the best he could at it.
He inched forward, a pair of garden shears in his hand. Two bushels were kept at his side, separate piles carefully kept in thought as he crept around them, least he crush or bruise the bulbs or leaves. One, which he was going to add this beautiful poppy to, were just flowers. Nothing in particular with them, just beautiful, vibrant flowers to add a touch of warmth to the cold halls of the infirmary. Lucien could never get over how cold the castle was, how cold Scotland was, England too for that. He was always shivering, no matter how many layers he stacked or didn't, so he stopped trying. Just got used to feeling that ache in his fingers, those network of goosebumps across his shoulders. Took it and embraced the unpleasantness as another penance. The other bushel were the useful ones, the aloes, red clovers and feverfews. Those were what Matron Abbott requested, the legitimate reason he was in the Greenhouses after curfew.
Despite the peaceful nature of his mission, he still had to wear those awkward, stiff dragonhide bracers and gloves to protect himself from the Devil's Snare that, after nightfall, spread across the floor of Greenhouse Five like a living sea, withering around his ankles. He flinched as, after a quick snipping and depositing the few of the flowers into his baskets, the plants grip around his boot convulsed and started slowly up his leg.
"Right, okay, enough of that, thank you." Where was his wand? A mild panic set in when Lou couldn't find it, his breathing going quicker as his search yielded no results as the plants' hold immobilized his legs. "I said that's enough, please stop, please please.." Ah ha! It's always the last place you expect it! Lou banished it, igniting the tip with a hasty lumos. Immediately, the Devil's Snare recoiled, retreating away from the blinding light with a cry of dismay. Lou was similarly blinded and lost his balance, once he regained use of his legs, and ended up on his ass for all of his troubles with a clatter.
Luckily, there was an audience to his embarrassment. The door opened and Lou’s face lit up like a firework, the back of his neck burning and the tips of his ears too. He picked his head up to grimace sheepishly. “Hi, sorry, I’m so sorry, I hope you hadn’t needed any aconite?”
