He gave you Geranium, you are fooled my love
Grow your lavender heathers, and may the light see you again
Probably not, for you are ensnared in the labyrinth
Grow your Iris’s for they won't last long
Vector was nervous.
Vector, honestly, was always nervous. Anxiety was something that plagued his mind, apparently. And when he was nervous, he fidgeted. A lot. Tugging at the strings of his hoodie, glancing around, back and forth, back and forth, his chain connected to his pants (For the sake of aesthetic, sue him) rattling and clattering as he wriggled around on his seat, tapping his foot in a steady beat as his inter thigh seemed to vibrate.
Once in a while someone else riding the Terradragon transport would get annoyed by the constant racket Vector was making, look up, spot him, and Vector would watch as horror and fear flash in their eyes, and then they would immediately look away. As much as it hurt, it made sense.
Vector was a Blood Walker, rumoured to be the last remaining species sharing blood with the End-Worlders from before, before Life-Forces were a thing, before when the inter Plant was destroyed at the hands of the creatures whom walked it. That meant Vector's species did not have a good reputation, and the factor that they were also blood fueled, ‘mindless’ killing Beings didn't help that.
And on a side note, Vector was probably more harmless than a Nubbin. 5’2, transgender male, chubby and selective mute, the only reason to fear Vector was his species representation. And that was really it, but Vector supposed the star burst blood-scar mark on his throat didn’t help him seem harmless. Running a hand through waves of curly dark ginger-brown hair, he tugged on it, a bad habit from years of fear and upsetness. Almost instantly, something in Vector's chest pocket began to move, pressing small, hard hands into his chest. And Vector sighed, lowering his hands to quietly look down. Funny to bring up Nubbins before, since Vector owned one. Hue, a small multicoloured Nubbin that had noticed Vector’s hands in his hair, had begun to wriggle and paw at his shirt to distract him.
‘Sorry,’ Vector couldn’t help but finger sign to the lil Nubbin, despite them having no clue what the hand sign language meant. He offered his hand, and the little Nubbin clambered out of the pocket to stumble into his open hand. Hue was small, with their legs hidden they were no bigger than Vectors pinky, made from two fabrics, one for the body and head which was a vibrant tie-dye of pinks, blues and yellows and the other a soft cream for the false paws, belly, muzzle and ears. They had a small mane, of a soft fluffy white material, with a silk red ribbon tied around their neck, Hues name and Vector's number interstitched into the ribbon.
They immediately proceeded to roll over into their back, waving their small black true legs at Vector as they delightedly wriggled around, clapping their hands in a sign of happiness. It made Vector crack a smile, rubbing their stuffed belly with his thumb, using Hue as a distraction instead of his hair, softly ruffing their little mane.
Vector then sighed and lifted his head, checking where they were. He didn't want to miss his stop, more so today of all days. It was his first day of work. The Terradragon was a sweeping majestic female, gas one to, ripples of purple smoke creeping along the passenger platform. Its Life-Force, an easy spot, was skin level on its forehead, the usual reigns customised specially so the firm leather didn't touch its life-giving muscle. Every once in a while light similar to lighting would chase up the creature's neck, dancing and zipping through the smokey haze of its not solid body.
A Leafette was in control of the sweeping smoky Beast, guiding it through the winding streets of the city; The Glass Heart. The Glass Heart was the biggest community cities in all of Sileo vitae, the original place that all the Beings were brought together by Sileo Vitmay, a Being of amazing powers and gifts, whom spend all his power, his inter essence to create a massive landmark, the Glass Heart. The Glass Heart was rumoured to be made out of light itself, the colossal vase-like structure shining and shimmering with different light colours from the orbs that orbit it. The structure could be seen even from here, probably 3? 4 Kilometres away?
It was beautiful, in Vector's opinion, he had seen it up close once before, when he first moved to The Glass Heart to start over, get away from his old life as Victoria. He remembered that he had leaned a little too much over the railing as he waited his turn to ascend in the helix platform and had toppled right over it, and had ended up panic-signing to the angry harpy guards that looked after the monumental.
Yup. Those were the days. Being an idiot clutz. Vector quietly hummed as the Terradragon continued trudging along the road, studying the closer things around him. The houses changed at random, sometimes with blocks stacked on blocks, trees and vines, platforms where Beings of the sky landed and jumped off, laughing. There were water gutters, with clear plastic covering for those needing contact with water, beasts carrying passengers like the Terradragon Vector was on, as well as luggage for those passing through and the list goes on.
Vector watched up ahead, there was road work happening, small young Beings excitedly watching a massive Nature Deity fix an electrical pole, the massive creature bringing vines to their aid at will, stabilising the pole as lifted theirself up onto their back legs. A Modern Vernid accompanied by a trained Impurr were seated in the Nature Deities twining antlers, attached by a harness. The Vernid happily waved to the kids, carefully standing in the Nature Deities antlers and lifting his hands to begin fixing the circuits, the Impurr sniffing and passing tools with its first set of its nimble paws.
The Terradragon rounded a corner, and the Nature Deity, Vernid and Impurr went out of view. They were nearing their destination, and Vector felt his nerves come back. He was applying for a job as an assistant at a Life-Force research lab, the Being he was going to assist called nothing but ‘Doc’. He… seemed nice, but…. Vector shook his head. He was probably just over thinking. It’ll be fine.
The Terradragon came to a slow stop, huffing against the reigns as the Leafette pulled them in. Vector was quick to get up, moving to the front of the platform to descend the two small stairs to the street's pathway, scanning his card on his way down. He waved, signing a clear ‘Thanks!’ with the other hand. It was unlikely the Leafette would know sign language, but you never know.
The Leafette didn't react. Vector gently lifted Hue back into his chest pocket, where the little Nubbin wriggled around before settling to nuzzle happily, and began his speed walk to his new location of work. He was on the outskirts of town now, getting more rural than urban with more trees and grass than cement and stones. Vector turned, just quickly, to watch the Terradragon turn back the way it came, its long slender tail crackling with electricity as it disappeared around another corner.
‘On we go, I guess….’ Vector signed to Hue, whom had poked their head out of Vector's pocket, small black paws gripping the rim. Hue wiggled, and stuck out their paws to clap happily, and Vector let out a loose puff of air at the sight, lips quirking up. The walk was silent, other than the chittering of small beasts and loud growls and huffs of bigger beasts working the planes of vegetation for the market.
The road had changed from smooth interlocking slabs of rock to gritty compacted dirt and loose stones, and Vector waved politely to the Beings working the fields, some full of rows of water with knee high sugar plants, others massive orchids of fruit and vegetables. A couple of the farms also had mines, livestock and normal thick barked trees, the farms changing and never the same as each other. Vector eventually reached the edge of the farms and the beginning of the nearest deep forest, ensuring he knocked on the first tree he passed. He wasn’t sure if the forest surrounding Doc’s lab was guarded by a Nature Deity, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He walked the rickety stone path deeper into the forest, until a smooth dome, a dark forest green in colour came into sight. Positioned upon a hill, under the shade of a large sycamore tree, Vector almost missed it entirely.
He could do this. He could do this, all that studying, all those blasted exams, all that pressure was not for nothing, he. Could. Do. this. Vector could already feel his palms beginning to sweat as he wandered to what he thought was the door, lifting a hand and banging on it with as much confidence as he could, quick to wipe his hands on his black jeans, and smooth down his dark blue shirt.
It took a couple minutes for Doc to answer the door, but eventually a man answered. Vector's mind immediately wanted to scream and run away, as far as he could, but he locked his knees and smiled as nicely as he could. There was just something off about Doc, immediately kick starting Vector's anxiety all over again.
Doc looked old, maybe in his late 50’s, hair ruffled and messy and loosely tied up in a ponytail. Ice blue eyes bored straight into Vector’s soul, ringed by dark marks from lack of sleep. Pale skin, so pale it made Vector wonder if this man had ever seen the sun. There were holes, actual freaking holes in his skin, opening and closing like gills on a fish. Doc didn't move for a minute, and Vector held his breath, nervous. He practically jumped out of his skin when Doc suddenly grabbed his arm, a large grin forming across his face.
“You must be Vector!!! Oh, come in, come in, I've been waiting for you.” Doc said and Vector full on shuddered as he was tugged by the man into the lab. His hands were freezing, Vector was scared this man was actually an animated corpse. ‘Yep, that's me…’ Vector fearfully signed, weakly smiling. He had chosen this job because according to Doc, he knew sign language already, which made Vector's life easier.
“Alright, do you have any dietary restrictions?” Doc suddenly asked. Vector blinked, confused. ‘No…?’ “Excellent. Any allergies? Resent, or past surgeries?” Vector could feel something off about this, dread building in his chest as Doc continued to tug him along the corridor. How long was this corridor? Vector couldn't see the end... ‘No allergies Sir, um, I had a chest surgery a while ago, maybe like 5 eclipses ago? I’m also on testosterone. I’m trans Sir.’
Doc mumbled, coming to a stop, still not letting go of Vector’s arm. “I can work with that, gender is stupid in my opinion. You’ll fit perfectly for my next experiment.” Vector gave a small hopeful tug of his arm, but Doc wouldn’t loosen his grip. ‘Experiment? What do mean by exper-’
Vector couldn't finish his signing as Doc had pressed his thumb on the wall, which opened up to show a small bare room. A cell, whispered his horror-struck mind, your cell. And then Doc sharply tugged at Vector’s arm, letting go and sending him stumbling forward, into the cell, and Vector jumped as the door slammed shut behind him. ‘Doc!? Doc this isn't funny! Open the Door!’ Vector signed unconsciously before pressing up to the door, panicked, banging on it. Vector made a frantic wheeze from his panic, beginning to shake and sank to the floor, hands gripping his hair. In his pocket, Hue began frantically wiggling.
And then the lights went out.
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