Disguise

Peach-Mango

Flora's POV

I couldn't feel anything. It was like every part of my body was detached but nothing was wrong. It was a surreal experience. I couldn't feel anything physically, but my mind was awake. It was alert. It was only within itself, thinking about everything that went down a while ago. How long before I could wake up? I didn't know.

I had to let my mind protect me.

I didn't know that such an experience was possible.

I couldn't feel any movement around me, like someone had cut off my senses and shut my connection to the outside world. I could only feel myself, my body, my thoughts. It was okay. I was patient, and very aware of what was going on – within me. I remembered everything, although I suspected that that wouldn't be the case when I woke up.

I just wanted to wake up and assure everyone else that I was fine; I was sure that everyone was worried. I was glad that Xena was fine and he hadn't killed her. I didn't know how I would live without that girl.

I was trying to reach out to someone, anyone who could talk to me, get me out of this despair, this hollow feeling. Nothing was wrong but something was missing. I needed human contact. Or any species, really.

And then something poked inside my consciousness. If my mind and body were in a bubble, suspended in limbo, something was nudging me from one side. I had a choice about whether I wanted to let that in. Was it a person? A werewolf? An object? I had no idea. But I was lonely, and frankly bored. I had to see what it was. I struggled a little, feeling around my bubble, not understanding what I was doing but going around simply on instinct.

I said softly, a careful whisper, 'Hello?'

And suddenly I wasn't in my bubble anymore. I wasn't suspended in nothing but darkness. I was in a room, standing on my feet, not able to feel anything except a rush that rose from these alien surroundings.

It was a brightly lit room, but not so bright that I had to adjust my eyes from the darkness. I gave a thought to the possibility that this might be a hallucination, seeing as I Jeff had hit my head, hard. But something told me that this wasn't a hallucination, or even a dream. This may not be a physical realm, but it was definitely happening, and it was real even if it was inside my head.

Finally understood what Dumbledore was talking about.

"Hello?" I tried again, moving forward. I couldn't feel my steps either. Or the room temperature on my skin. It looked like a drawing room, with a couch facing a plain wall, some bedside tables, a lamp, a main door, and two other doors. A couple of steps were leading up from one end, disappearing into darkness. I decided to wait a minute before venturing. Where to go? The stairs? The main door? Try one of the other two doors?

Before I could decide, one of the doors – the sliding one, opened. A young man and a girl got out of the kitchen, a large tub of ice-cream in her hand, while he was holding two spoons, and the lid of the bowl. I vaguely read the flavor; peach mango.

Ew.

Then they noticed me. Then she dropped the ice-cream and he jumped. I watched them from where I stood, assessing if they were a threat. They watched me with something akin to disbelief, and then...hope.

The girl gathered herself first and moved towards me. I immediately stepped back, flinching. She froze too, realizing her mistake. The guy snapped out of his daze as well, and then the first thing he did was reach for the ice-cream tub, which had miraculously fallen straight down, not spilling anything.

"Tasmin." He told her, and I figured that that was her name. She turned around, her wide brown eyes looking forth between the guy and me. Not once did I speak, watching their interaction with all my focus. If they were a threat; there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.