Resting

[Demeter]

OOC: following this

Flora was grateful for one thing after speaking with the school nurse. She was excused from classes for the rest of the week. That was mainly to make sure she had fully recovered from the attack by the sand merks.

She was curled up into a tight ball, Chatta was absent - something Flora was glad about. She loved her pixie, truly, but with her mind in still in a bit of an uproar, her pixie's chattering would have just done more harm then good at that moment.

She stirred a bit, and stared blearily at the clock, trying to read and see what time it was. She debated on getting up out of bed, but given the last time she had done that, her legs had gone out from under her and she landed on the floor. 'I think I'll stay in bed this time,' Flora thought. 'If, when it gets close to meal time and if one of the girls tries to get me to come to the meal with them, I'll just ask them if they can bring it back. My legs aren't steady yet.'

And since she wasn't allowed to leave her bed yet, she had plenty of time to get some much needed sleep in and she was able to reflect on the kiss. Needless to say - *that* had been her first kiss. She blushed to the roots of her hair as she thought about it. Granted, it was merely to awaken her from whatever hold the sand merks had on her mind - but it was still a kiss, dammit. And she... she liked it. But there was no way in all of Marigold that she was going to play with the sand merks just to have him kiss her.

She sighed quietly and snuggled back down in the sheets and blankets. Her eyes had just been about to close when one of her friends entered the room. "mmm?" she inquired sleepily.

[Layla]

"Flora! I just heard about what happened with the sand merks; are you okay?" Shaking her head in disbelief she continued, "I can't believe that happened to you . . . " but as she noticed Flora's sleepy position, her voice trailed off. Wrinkling her nose comically, Layla flashed an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry; I'm probably being a little too much like that one girl Doyne with all my rambling - I shouldn't be bothering you. You definitely need your sleep after all that's happened."

[Demeter]

"It's okay," she said, yawning. "I've been sleeping most of the day. So, what has the gossip said about my incident with the sand merks?" She propped herself up a bit to look at Layla.

[Layla]

"Oh gossip is gossip . . ." Layla said staring down at her hands, obviously dancing around the issue. Reluctantly she brought her gaze up to Flora's, not able to keep her friend in the dark. "Honestly? Well, honestly no one is saying much about the sand merks . . . I mean they mention it and they say how sorry they feel for you - but the real gossip about you is about your leaving Alfea the other day. When no one saw you at that meeting Griselda called at the Observatory, everyone kind of assumed that you were somehow connected to that new 'no student-teacher relationships' rule." Pausing, she bit her lip, "All the girls are talking about Professor Palladium too - they said he looked nervous at the meeting . . . but so far, no one has linked you guys together . . . at least not out loud."

[Demeter]

Flora winced at that. "I was afraid of that," she said. "And, I just hope no-one finds out how the hold was broken. I'd *never* hear the end of it," she said, still blushing.

[Layla]

Layla looked at Flora in confusion, "The hold? Oh! You mean the sand merks' hold over you . . . wait, I'm still confused. I mean, I don't know much about sand merks so you'll have to fill me in - how is their hold broken?" Jokingly she added, "Don't tell me - you had to be kissed by a handsome prince to have the 'curse' broken like in one of those so-called fairytales that Bloom has told us are popular on Earth."

[Demeter]

Flora blushed to the roots of her hair again, and gave a single nod. "Apparently, a kiss can break their hold," Flora said. "And, well, he... oh," she paused, looking up at Layla. "He kissed me."

[Layla]

"Kissed you?" Layla echoed in surprise. "Well . . . that certainly is something I don't hear everyday." Smiling humorously she added, "So much for no student-teacher relationships, right?"

[Demeter]

"I just hope Miss Griselda doesn't find out. I don't want the professor in trouble. I mean, it wasn't even a romantic kiss," Flora said. "And getting whomped by sand merks wasn't my idea of how I'd like him to.." she let her voice trail off.

"Besides, even if we were to have a relationship outside of Alfea.. I don't even know what to call him..."

[Layla]

"I wouldn't worry about Griselda; I mean, I don't see how she would know what happened between you and the professor - it's not like she witnessed it happening, you know? But then again . . ." Layla sighed as she dropped to the ground, her arms resting on Flora's bed, "then again, Griselda seems to know everything. I don't know how she does it, but she does."

Resting her chin in her hands, Layla eyed Flora carefully; it was obvious that her friend wasn't saying all that was going on in her mind - the question now was whether she should let it go and allow Flora to sort things out for herself or whether she should just call her out on it. Layla chose the latter; she never was one for beating around the bush, so to speak, until recently and it wasn't a habit she wanted to develop. Turning to her friend she arched a brow and then asked, "So what are you really thinking about, Flora?"

[Demeter]

"I do want to have a relationship with him, but... at times he seems open to it, and then there are other times when he doesn't. He confuses me so much, Layla," she said. She bit her lower lip and looked at Layla.

"There's something else... I had this dream, and it scares me. I saw a girl, in a cream colored dress... She was with the Specialists, and her hands were bound in front of her with a golden chain. She looks so frightened, so alone. I go to reach my hand out to her and she drops to the ground, and there's that awful chattering sound the sand merks make... I'm scared, Layla."

[Layla]

Layla gave Flora's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Hey there; everything will be fine, okay? Besides, this dream, it's just a dream, right?" Pausing, Layla stared at Flora, "You do think it's just a dream, right?" After a moment of silence Layla stated quietly, "No you don't. You think that there's more to this dream than just being a simple dream."

[Demeter]

"Considering that the Specialists in my dream were the ones we know... And the girl looked like the one from the dance, you know, the singer..." Flora's voice trailed off. "I just don't want to think, Layla. I'm sure if I told Tecna, she'd laugh and say I'm not being logical."

[Layla]

"I don't know what to tell you, Flora," Layla replied, tapping her chin as she thought about what exactly Flora's dream could have meant. "I'm not a dream interpreter, but I have had my share of nightmares - like when I got back from Darkar's lair. But the difference between my dream and your dream is that mine actually happened . . . yours, well, we don't know about yours." Wondering if she was stressing her friend, Layla added, "But don't worry too much about it; I'll do a little investigating and see if I can find anything that might help you; after all, there's bound to be something out there that'll put all this into perspective."

[Demeter]

Flora smiled up at her friend. "Thanks, Layla. I don't what I'd do without you." She was just grateful that Layla hadn't noticed that Chatta was absent - then again, Flora didn't know where Chatta was to begin with...