square one {elegant; blitz}

Looking out from underneath,
Fractured moonlight on the sea
Reflections still look the same to me,
As before I went under.
And it's peaceful in the deep,

The room was clean. At a first glance Opal could see not a single speak of dust, not a tiny little bit of dirt. The thought was as discomforting as the fact that after hours of searching and scouring of her little room she had not found one plant. After only a few hours her chest was starting to ache and an unfamiliar need to go back home filled her. Never before had Opal ever wanted to be home more than she did right now. Home brought with it the comfort of sitting in a house filled with the scent of familiarity. It brought with it comfort to the point where she knew she was safe. And when she was not in the house she could go outside of her own free will. She could step, dance run and skip and most of all she could plop down and into her garden. She could dig and scratch and water. She missed those leaving beings and she wished with her all her heart that they would live on without her. Did they miss her? Where they just as pained as she was? The care that went into those plants was astounding, the love, dedication and passion that poured off of her as she cared for each individual seed, to each full flowered tree. Each was given time, care and love. Each one of them had been hand raised, Opal had planted every single seed with her own two hands, and she had dug the holes and measured the right amount of water.

They were her babies and like any mother the separation was agony.

They would die without her. She was sure of it. Her family did not care for them. That made her hurt more than ever. She stared at the room around her, her eyes flickering away from the well sculptured face of Xanthus. He had carefully covered his face with his apple, pressing it to his lips. To her Xanthus was the exact thing that she never wanted to be. She could see the way he visibly had to force himself to not flinch at her. With her own hand she covered her mouth, trying her best to cover up the smirk that had sprung to her lips. It was crazy, really, how the two of them were so clearly opposites. Here sat a young man, obviously traumatised by the idea of even being spoken to by someone as untameable, messy and wild as Opal. Again she stifled another smile, biting her lip to force it down. Well, she would have to agree with him, though. If their positions were reversed seeing someone as messy and dirty as Opal would be a horrifying sight. There were leaves in her hair and probably a stick here and there. The dirt on her face clung to her skin and her hands were permanently stained with the years and years of hard labour that she had put forth.

She had, however, washed her hands. She washed them every day. It was an unhealthy habit, to not wash them. Having dirty hands could spread sickness, and not washing them meant cuts could get infected. Healing cuts and wounds was no problem to her, but it was business she tried to avoid. After a few more moments Xanthus finally bit into that apple, before chewing and drawing it away from his bright lips. She watched, allowing herself a faint grin. "Now, Miss Opal, where did you get that idea?" She laughed at that, she hated his attitude, but she liked him. Carefully she sat down on the seat he had indicated. "Won't you have breakfast with me?" Shaking her head slightly she instead turned her full attention to him.

”Oh, just a few hints here and there.” Reaching forwards she grabbed a small strawberry. She did not eat it, but instead twirled it in her fingers, she stared at it for a moment, thinking. With a sly smile she said, ”you seem like a very clean man.” A little too clean, she thought. Her gaze flickered over to him, her eyes bright, her smile more cheeky then ever, then she stretched out her arm, offering her hand to him. “Please, just call me Opal.” She replied.

Cathedral, where you cannot breathe,
No need to pray, no need to speak
Now I am under, Oh.
And it's breaking over me,
A thousand miles onto the sea bed,