A Garden of Flowers and Bones [Lloyd Garmadon x Reader]

Chapter 10: Innocent or not, you're not a bet I care to take

After that day, the frequency at which they began to see each other increased. This was partly because he didn't bother hiding when he was watching her, which was... unsettling to say the least. Maybe she made it awkward by not approaching or trying to talk to him. Most of the time, he didn't either. 

But during those times he said nothing, he'd smile like there was blood in the water, baring his teeth as if ready to pounce, and she'd speed walk away until her stomach stopped churning, and the birds were noisy once more.

Although she began to get 'used' to his appearance, that didn't mean he was any less strange.

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"That's the same dress you wore on the day we met..." He looked almost baffled.

Glancing down at herself, she evaluated the fact that this was, indeed, that very same dress. Congrats on pointing out the obvious. She looked back at him, slightly unimpressed.

"Uh... yeah...?"

"Why did you wear something you've already worn before?"

"Um... it's a warm day out, and it's perfect for the weather."

He seemed to take her appearance in all over again. To be honest, in comparison to him she looked extremely simple and un-noteworthy. But his clothes were probably made of magic, how was cotton supposed to compete with that?

"Is that the only dress you have for this weather?"

"I... no? But I like wearin it, it's comfortable 'n stuff..."

"... Huh," He acknowledged, seemingly only just realising something, "Humans are... minimalist."

What an assumption... she couldn't help but snicker at the thought.

"Maybe the ones that have to worry about time and money."

"You need to worry about that." 

It was a statement, not a question. Yet, she felt the need to answer anyway. His face was strangely thoughtful and sympathetic. Seeing him frown was invigorating.

"Yeah, well..." She shrugged with her hands, "What can you do, like?"

"You know what I could do."

"Unfortunately."

She stared at the beauty of his down turned lips, and the amusing way the space between his eyebrows scrunched. His eyes still shone viridian, with more clarity than a shard of pristine glass. He was still in a cropped shirt that showed his shoulders, and a crown of light purple, lavender coloured lilacs, clusters of purple peeking from between strands of hair as it winded around his head.

His was incomparably gorgeous. The frowny face wasn't the only thing that clued her into that. She'd have to be blind to not see it.

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There was a basket on the side of the path.

She had stopped as soon as she saw it in the distance. Prior to this, she'd already noticed the way the forest seemed to dull into a low hush, until it was silence interrupted only by the sough- the sound of leaves and trees rustling from the whispers of a breeze.

'He's here.'

Knowing that didn't make it any less unnerving. Still, she cautiously approached. Perhaps not acknowledging it at all would've been a better option, then she wouldn't need to reject the gift and possibly tick him off. She could just pretend she never even saw it and move on with her life. But then, if he confronted her, she wouldn't be able to lie.