Land of Confusion

[Bloom]

_{(Third time posting this. I'm not a one trick pony, I promise!)}


There were only subtle sounds around her, the chirping of crickets and the rustling of leaves, but the thing that caused her to awake with a start was cold chill that ran through her body. Her blue eyes opening wide, she sat up and looked around in fear. She was in the middle of a clearing surrounded by trees; her long red hair was tangled and wet, and her nude body was damp and shivering. Hearing a particularly loud rustle from a bush to her left, she let out a sharp yelp and scrambled away in the opposite direction. As her back hit a large tree she cried out again before drawing her knees up to her chest in an attempt to cover herself and make herself as small as possible.

Where was this place? Why was she here? Worst of all... why didn’t she remember anything?

Huddling back against the tree as if it would protect her from all that would harm her, or as if it had the answers she sought, she searched the darkness desperately for anything recognizable.

“Somebody... anybody... help me,” she whispered, not daring to raise her voice in the near silence.


(Tag: Anyone, though preferably a Winx girl or a Specialist that Bloom would know, even in her amnesiatic state)

[Demeter]

OOC: and introducing one Winx Girl I would have done Chris but considering how Bloom would react finding out that Sky has a new girlfriend, well, we'll save those fireworks for when Bloom regains her memory

It had been an extremely long day, far too many classes, far too many notes, far too much stuff in general and Flora was in a desperate need of a break. Especially since she and Palladium were still dancing around the whole issue of were they, weren't they, what were they for that matter (it was obvious that they both liked each other, but the rank, and whole mess was just draining).

Also, she could still feel the taint that Darkar left on her that was just bubbling under her skin and that made her afraid, terrified her. So, a walk in the forest was just what she needed to get her centered again - hopefully, in theory.

Something, some voice caught her attention and she silently padded over to see what, who it was.

"Bloom?"

[Bloom]

_{(Yeah, she has enough to think about right now without completely crushing her on top of that. I was hoping for one of the club, so yay Flora!)}

Starting at the sudden voice, she turned her head toward it, fear written all over her face. Pressing herself back against the tree, she hugged her knees closer and looked up at the girl that approached with wide eyes. Her face, so familiar, seemed to calm her almost instantly. Maybe not calm her, but at least disperse her fears.

Bloom... yes, that was her name. She was Bloom. And the girl... the name was right on the tip of her tongue. She was her friend...

“Flora?”

[Demeter]

"I'm here," Flora said, kneeling down next to Bloom. Her cheeks went immediately crimson and she slipped her coat off and draped it over Bloom. "I think you need this more then me," she said, glancing away a bit.

Of course, she was a bit confused, because the last she had seen Bloom - Bloom was decidely doing try-outs for a different Earther show, "The Little Mermaid". But they'd deal with what happened later.

"Honey, let's get you back inside and fully clothed. You're like ice," she said, having felt Bloom's skin when she dropped the coat on her.

[Bloom]

Feeling the warmth of the coat around her shoulders, Bloom slowly released her arms from around her knees and slipped them through the sleeves. Pulling it tight around her, she fumbled with the buttons to close it.

“Wha-“ she started to ask, but cut herself off. She wasn’t ready for that question yet. Considering her current state, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer. Ever. “Wh-ere am I?”

She didn’t argue with Flora’s suggestion. What she wanted much more than anything right now was to be inside where it was warm.

[Demeter]

Flora gave Bloom a brief confused look herself before answering. "You're in the forest outside of Alfea," she answered, trying to figure out why Bloom didn't remember something so simple.

"Are you okay?"

[Bloom]

Alfea. Alfea was her home. Yes, it was where she lived, where she studied. Looking around them, she felt a vague sense of recollection, but ultimately it just looked like a bunch of trees.

Meeting Flora’s eyes again, the confusion and concern that accompanied the other girl’s question only rattled her further. She tried to nod. She knew she didn’t have the strength to lie verbally, but as it turned out, she didn’t have the strength to lie at all. After all of two nods of her head, it began to move from side to side instead of its own accord.

She was so far from okay. Closing her eyes, she felt the first sting of tears start to trace down her cheeks. Holding the coat tight around her, she tried to struggle to her feet. She had to get out of here. She didn’t know why she was here, but she didn’t want to be here anymore.

[Demeter]

"Shh," Flora cooed gently, pulling Bloom into a hug. "Let's get you inside, get you in some warm clothing, get something in your stomach and let you rest. You'll feel better then," she said softly, brushing Bloom's bangs off her forehead. She'd worry about Bloom's seeming lack of memories later - much later.

Of course, hopefully, she wouldn't have to be the one to tell Bloom about Sky dating someone new...

[Bloom]

Bloom gratefully accepted the hug. Wrapping her arms around Flora, she buried her face in her friend’s shoulder as the tears continued to fall. Everything felt so strange. It was all wrong. Why couldn’t she remember anything? Slowly the details of her life were coming back to her, but nothing that shed any light on why she was here right now. The more she thought about it, the more she became certain that she didn’t want to know. People often blocked out traumatic events; perhaps this was what she had done.

“Thanks, Flora,” she sniffled, pulling back from the embrace so they could make their way back home. She kept one arm around Flora, though, both for the support and the comfort.

[Demeter]

"C'mon, dear heart, this way," Flora coaxed as she lead Bloom back to Alfea. She'd tell the others that Bloom was back later - after she figured out how to tell them that while she was back that she didn't quite remember anything and not to bring up Sky's new relationship until she was sure Bloom was able to handle it.

"Luckily, we share the same dorm, so I can watch over you while you sleep and make sure you're okay," Flora said, giving Bloom a warm smile. The small part of her that was still the darkened fairy, Demeter, reveled in the knowledge that with her lack of memories, Darkar could easily corrupt this helpless little fairy. She'd have to let the master know that, somehow, without alerting the Winx girls that Demeter was slowly coming back - and back with a vengence.

"So, do you want me to tell the others you're back, or do you want to wait until after you get a decent night's sleep?"

[Bloom]

Flora always had the most soothing voice; that, coupled with the term of endearment she chose, made Bloom feel calmer. More than that, it made her feel safe.

“I’m not sure I’ll be getting much sleep tonight anyways,” she replied, honestly, in what sounded like a confirmation of wanting company. But did she really want to see all of them yet? Especially since she couldn’t quite list all their names of out of her head. They were her friends, though, and she missed them... missed them as much as one could miss people they didn’t quite remember. And those she did remember, like Flora, she didn’t miss because as far as she knew, no time had passed since she’d seen her last. It was all so confusing.

“I’d like to see everyone... but I’m just not ready for questions or anything.” There would be questions, she was certain. Something strange was happening, or had happened, and the person who had the most questions as to what was going on was Bloom herself. For now, though, she was content to keep them to herself.

[Demeter]

"Okay," Flora said quietly. "I'll help you get settled and while you get comfy in your bed, I'll tell the other girls to keep the questions to the bare minimum - like, what you want to eat, if they could get you another pillow, and we can keep the gossip to a minimum so you can get your rest but still find out what you missed."

[Bloom]

Looking over at Flora, Bloom smiled. It was weak, but still an honest to goodness smile.

“Those kind of questions I think I can handle,” she said as they continued toward Alfea. She didn’t like that last part, though, about finding out what she had missed. She was too frightened to ask just how long she had been gone that lead to her missing anything. This obviously wasn’t just a trip home to Earth to visit her parents.

“Thanks, Flora. I’m... I’m glad you found me.”

[Demeter]

"You're welcome, Bloom," she said quietly, smiling at the other girl. "Now, there we are," she said quietly, leading her inside after the long walk back to Alfea. Now, to get the master's attention later - oh, this was too delicious for him to pass up.

"Now, do you want me to pick out something for you to wear or do you think you can find out where you left your pjs?"

[Bloom]

Once inside the building, each object they passed seemed to jog Bloom’s memory. Everything felt so familiar, but it wasn’t until they reached their room that an overwhelming feeling overcame her, one that almost brought tears to her eyes again.

This was home.

“I think I’m okay now.”

She was far from okay, that was for sure, but at least she got to feel, if only for a moment, that things would be okay again. “I’ll be fine.”