Florianne and Odelia's Soulmate Trial [2/2]

Odelia's POV
Odelia yawned sleepily as she felt her shoulder being nudged. The bagbean hefted her large tail up and whacked whatever was touching her to the floor. A familiar, high-pitched, shriek of, “Lia!” Forced the bagbean to sit up and peer down curiously at her girlfriend who she had knocked to the floor. With a tired, but still wicked grin, Odelia poked her tongue out at hissed at Florianne before rolling over back to sleep. “Oh, no you don’t!” Florianne exclaimed from behind her. There was suddenly a light weight bouncing on Odelia, smacking the side of her face as she tried to get the tired bagbean up.

“Don’ make me get Dakarai to eat you…” Odelia mumbled tiredly, hissing faintly as Florianne’s paws dug into that spot on her neck that always made her squirm. She was a little ticklish there, and it was a low move on Flo’s part to use that area to get her out of bed. Then again, when had her girlfriend ever played fair? Odelia was a better fighter, so naturally, Florianne had to pull out all of the stops to ever try and best Odelia in physical combat. Getting the snake bagbean, who was lazy on her best days, out of bed was definitely something she would always have to fight for.

“He’s too small to eat me, Odelia,” Florianne pointed out. Odelia just hissed low in her throat and rolled over, fixing Florianne with half-lidded, sleepy eyes. “Why’re we awake?” She asked moodily. Since coming to Fluffia and gushing her feelings about Florianne to those weird kryptoxes, Odelia had found it increasingly easier to speak – as if opening up about her emotions had broken a dam in her mind. Still, she didn’t really want to talk to others. Just her soft, purple love.

“I have something for you,” Florianne said, going all shy all of a sudden. Odelia’s ears perked up with interest and she sat up, just in time to receive a soft kiss on the cheek from Florianne. “Where?” Odelia demanded, her tone childish and petulant. She loved presents, she wanted it now! Florianne beamed and flushed, climbing off the bed and reaching under it to pull out a present wrapped with silver-green paper. It was so pretty and shiny, just how Odelia liked anything she was given. The bagbean started to purr as she made grabby hands, Florianne laughing whilst she handed it over. “There there, don’t get all pouty and short-tempered with me,” Flo cooed. Odelia ignored her, too busy turning the present over and ripping off the paper with her multi-coloured claws (paint courtesy of Florianne’s need to decorate and dress up everything. Odelia didn’t mind, really).

Once the box was revealed, Odelia carefully lifted the lid and then made a happy noise of delight. She let the box fall to the side as she jumped at Florianne, hugging her around the neck and purring happily. She nuzzled her girlfriend, peppering kisses over her neck, jaw, cheek, and her nose. “Pretty! Pretty!” She exclaimed, moving back to her present once she was done.

She held the necklace up to the light, the opal that was so similarly coloured like her eyes and fur glinting beautifully in the pale morning light that streamed in from their window. “I love it.” Odelia beamed.

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Florianne's POV
Florianne hadn’t expected it at all, if she was being perfectly honest. One moment, they were quietly walking down a street, the sound of Odelia scampering around on all fours behind her a familiar comfort in the late afternoon, and the next she was being blindfolded and dragged off somewhere darker. “Odelia!” Florianne exclaimed, able to hear her love giggling gleefully behind her. Well, at least she hadn’t been kidnapped by some stranger, and it was just her odd (but oh so wonderful) girlfriend being silly. “What’re you up to now, hm?” Florianne asked with a grin.

She felt a light squeeze to her shoulder, the Medusa-themed bagbean’s way of comforting her. She was beautiful like that, all quiet and thoughtful and odd but so genuine. She was the kindest bagbean that Florianne had ever known, the most real. After suffering abuse at the paws of her mother for so many years, and struggling with the isolation breaking free of her family’s chains had left behind, Odelia was like a breath of fresh air on a sunny day. Florianne didn’t think it was possible to love her more.

“Surprise!” Odelia exclaimed, suddenly dropping the blindfold. Florianne blinked a few times, taking in the scene before her. There were two over-turned crates sat either side of a larger one with a shiny, purple tablecloth draped over it. Trust Odelia to pick something shiny, hm? Florianne’s eyes moved to the candle lit on the table, and the square box on top of it. There was also a plate piled high with desserts, and trust Odelia to go with that, too. Florianne didn’t mind – they both had a sweet tooth. “What’s this, now?” Flo asked, turning towards her beloved.

Odelia was blushing. What an unusual sight! It made Flo’s heart skip a beat, the same way it’d nearly made her faint when they’d been talking to Honey and Sweetheart near a week ago now. “I… I got you a present?” Odelia said, as if she was uncertain about it. “And… And some yummies?” She added quietly. Flo quickly kissed Odelia’s cheek, before taking her paw and moving over to sit on one of the crates. She picked up the box and gasped at the ring inside. She had been expecting something gold, like Odelia’s own jewellery, but she shouldn’t have been so naïve. Odelia wasn’t well-versed in gift-giving and the likes, but she knew Florianne, and she knew what Florianne would like.

The silver ring with its surface embedded by white and purple crystals was so utterly perfect she could cry. “Lia… It’s beautiful… It’s just right. It’s exactly what I would’ve wanted. Darling, thank you,” Florianne looked up with wide eyes. Odelia’s cheeks were red but she looked delighted, half a pastry already stuffed down her throat. The bagbean started to purr, and Florianne huffed a delighted laugh as she stood and moved around the makeshift table to hug her girlfriend. “I love you.” Florianne muttered against the fur on Odelia’s neck. She felt her swallow, the purr growing in volume as Odelia’s arms lifted to wrap around her.

Odelia was so much stronger than her, Florianne always felt beyond safe in her arms. Loved, cherished, protected, and needed. It was wonderful. “Love you too.” Odelia returned happily.

Part 4 - The Night of Bonding

Florianne's POV
“Where are we going?” Florianne asked with a laugh, letting herself be pulled along helplessly by the love of her very long life. Odelia was like a puppy sometimes, even if she preferred the company of tongue-wiggling snakes and lizards. The raven-haired bagbean was often a bundle of energy and enthusiasm, her tail flicking happily behind her as she showed off something that she’d found or made as if it were the only thing that had ever mattered to her. Florianne’s eyes flicked to one of the gold band wrapped around Odelia’s thick strands of hair, smiling at how prettily it glinted in the light.

Odelia really was beyond beautiful, and regal. It was so amusing to watch others react to her lover with awe, only to then look on in horror as Odelia dropped to all fours and scuttled along with her tongue tasting the air. She was wonderfully quirky! Flo loved that. Where Flo found herself often caught up in how she appeared to the world and what others thought of her, Odelia pulled her away from that. She tugged her out of anxious thoughts that ran circles around one another in her mind, and reminded her that the world wasn’t all dark and gloomy. “Hurry up!” Odelia huffed as Florianne started to lag behind, slowing them both down. “Sorry, my love,” Florianne laughed as she sped up quickly. Odelia beamed at being called ‘my love’, and Flo was glad she liked the pet name. Then again, Odelia seemed to enjoy most of the affection Florianne directed her way.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going now? Or am I meant to never know?” Flo asked playfully. Odelia poked her tongue out and curled it, rolling her eyes back in her head to be silly. “The Gods have decided… You will know!” Odelia exclaimed, Dakarai hissing and bobbing his head from where he was wrapped around her arm. It always amused Flo how he matched the gold snake on Odelia’s other one, and she was pretty sure Dakarai did it on purpose. He wasn’t your regular snake after all – he’d been one of Medusa’s herself, and possessed a great deal of intelligence from that.

“Here!” Odelia gestured over a beach. Flo’s eyes swept up along it, looking towards the boardwalk where beautifully-lit, wooden restaurants lined the coastline. Flo beamed. “This is beautiful! I love the lanterns,” she said, dreamily gazing on at the aesthetic. Odelia did always know how to woo her – with soft, pretty lights, and silvery jewels. What a wonderful girlfriend she was. Odelia nodded enthusiastically as if she could hear Florianne’s thoughts, tugging at her hand again and pulling her up the beach. “We’re going to dinner,” Odelia explained as they walked along the sidewalk. That was uncommon for Odelia – she didn’t really like being in restaurants or diners or any kind of eatery because she felt like she embarrassed Flo by being herself.

Florianne mentally noted that she would have to correct that notion in Odelia’s mind.

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Odelia's POV
Odelia was nervous about this whole ‘restaurant’ idea, but she wanted to show Flo that she could be normal for her. Even if Florianne had never said anything, she saw the heaviness to her gaze sometimes when Odelia acted up in public. Odelia tried very hard not to, always attempting to squash her urge to be weird just for the time being. She didn’t want to be a source of shame and mortification for her girlfriend, so tonight was to prove that she was serious about committing to them and normalcy and a life together.

Odelia could totally do normal.

“Do you like?” Odelia asked, gesturing to the place she’d picked. It had a real “Tiki” theme going, and was decorated with pretty lanterns and a fireplace in the middle. It was definitely the kind of style that Florianne liked when it came to beach things. Flo always liked lots of decorations and natural elements, like the creepers climbing over the walls. Odelia’s gaze swept towards Florianne to gauge her reaction, and watched as her girlfriend took it all in with a tiny little, “I love Odelia” smile. Odelia had come to recognise the smile that was just for her. “It’s beautiful, this is a lovely idea, Lia,” Flo kissed Odelia’s cheek.

She was always doing that, and it always made Odelia’s heart beat so fast! The bagbean wiggled her tongue and then quickly put it away when she realised what she was doing. She took them to the receptionist, who led them to their seats by the fireplace. Florianne sat beside her in their booth, snuggling up to her and resting her head on Odelia’s shoulder. “What do you think we should order?” Flo asked. Odelia picked out all of the meat that looked good on the menu, and they got all of it – because what was the point in having coins if you didn’t spend them?

Afterwards, when their bellies were full and they were feeding each other pastries, Florianne quietly piped up, “You don’t embarrass me, you know that?”

Odelia paused, before quickly putting the strawberry in her paws into her own mouth, whilst Florianne nibbled on some bread and stared at her with heavy, serious eyes. “You know that, right Lia? Because sometimes when we’re out, you don’t wiggle your tongue, or purr, or hiss, or wag your tail and it makes me think that you think I don’t like it. Lia, I love you the way that you are, and I want everyone to know that how you are is perfect. You don’t have to hide bits of yourself just for me, okay? Don’t ever do that for anyone, but especially not for me. You are my life, my love, my soul,” Florianne leaned up and kissed Odelia gently, reaching up to rub her paws over Odelia’s cheeks.

Odelia’s eyes were wide, her heart thumping and her cheeks going a brilliant red. She opened her mouth when Florianne offered her a pastry, giving Odelia the opportunity to think. She chewed and chewed and chewed, reaching out for Florianne’s hand as she did so. “I love you,” Odelia finally said, quietly. “I don’t want to make a fool of you. I know I’m… Not normal.” She murmured.

“You are fine the way you are. I don’t want you to be normal,” Florianne insisted, smacking her hand on the table. “I want you to be you.” She insisted. Odelia’s girlfriend’s eyes were serious and intent, so Odelia decided to agree to just be herself. “Okay. I will.” She leaned in to press their foreheads together.

Odelia watched Flo smile. “Good. I’m glad.” 

Part 5 - Collecting Dust Puffs

Florianne's POV
“Hey, Lia?” Florianne piped up, poking her head into the room from where she was in the bathroom doing her hair. “Do you want to go do something fun today? Honey and Sweetheart told me of something fun that you and I might like to do. Teamwork-building, or whatever,” she wrinkled her nose up. It had sounded weirdly like two camp leaders telling their scouts how to get along, but. Whatever, if it worked, then it worked? And it had sounded like something that Odelia would absolutely want to do, so who was Florianne to really care all that much? She loved to spend time with her girlfriend anyways.

Florianne watched as Odelia lowered herself down from where she was using her tail to push herself up so she could play with the ceiling fan, spinning it around and around with big, wide eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful, and they just about knocked Flo to the ground when they flitted to her face and squinted happily as Odelia’s smile arrested all of her features. One day, Flo hoped she’d be able to smile that widely, that freely. Even Odelia’s smile was a mark of her freedom, and her joy over aforementioned freedom. Could she be more wonderful if she tried?

Instead of saying ‘yes’ like someone else might, Odelia cocked her head to the side and made a noise similar to a cat, ‘prrow’ing softly at Florianne. She dropped to all fours and padded over to Flo’s feet, where she sat down and curled her tail around herself as she poked her tongue out. Flo’s heart exploded with fondness for her odd little love. “They thought that we might like to go out to a field on the edges of Flufftox and collect dust puffs from these things called… Dyst bunnies? They apparently look a little bit like those bunblebees that you like, and they also fly and like to be chased around. It also doesn’t hurt them to collect their dust puffs, either, they just grow new ones I think?” Florianne could tell after the first few words that Odelia was definitely interested, her eyes as wide as saucers.

“That sounds like a lot of fun! Do you want to do it?” Odelia asked, because of course even if she could be a little self-absorbed simply through not remembering to think of others, she always, always, thought about what Flo would want to do. She always worried that she was boring her with her love of chasing critters and examining them, but Flo enjoyed it too. She liked animals as well, before Odelia they had been her only true companions in life. Now that she had Odelia, she still loved animals, and she loved even more watching the way Odelia interacted with them. “Of course! I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise, silly,” Florianne booped Odelia’s nose, and the bagbean giggled as she nipped at her finger in rebellion. “Wow, I can’t believe you’d try to bite me. Relationship cancelled!” Florianne exclaimed dramatically. Odelia pouted, so Flo took her back.

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Odelia's POV
Odelia had bounced and skipped and purred the whole way there, and she tried to stop herself but then she remembered that Florianne wanted her to be the way that she was, so she let it all go. Flo seemed to notice that Odelia wasn’t holding back her enthusiastic spirit, because she hadn’t stopped beaming and playing with Odelia’s hair the whole walk to the field. It was a long one – Flufftox was big! – but they both liked to exercise so neither of them complained. Odelia could tell once they reached it, because a little creature with cute big ears and even bigger back feet went bounding past her and into the long grass.

The snake bagbean cried out a might warrior’s call, before lunging onto all fours and chasing after the dyst bunny. It popped its head up to look at her with big eyes, before delightedly starting to hop and bounce away. Odelia grinned as she took chase, able to hear Florianne laughing delightedly at her in the background. Odelia couldn’t find it in her to feel an ounce of shame towards her rambunctious behaviour – this really was one of the best ideas that Flo had ever suggested, and she couldn’t believe how much fun she was having already!

They wasted the afternoon away like that, Odelia on all fours and Florianne creeping along behind her. Together, they cornered quite a few dyst bunnies, and were able to collect their little puffs. They paused for a break as the sun started to set, Florianne laying out the little picnic set she’d brought with her. Odelia curled up in a ball on the picnic mat, chewing on one of the edges of it as she watched Flo put out some sandwiches and some desserts. “Let me see how many puffs you got, then,” Florianne hummed. Odelia watched as a little dyst bunny came sniffing towards them, its nose twitching cutely.

Florianne peeled off some crust and tossed it to the bunny, before she took her puffs out of her bag and laid them all out for her beloved to see. Flo ‘ooh’ed and ‘ahh’ed at the collection, which was much larger than the four she had caught. “You seemed in your element, hunting these poor little bunnies,” Flo teased, popping a chocolate right into Odelia’s waiting mouth. The snake bagbean made a noise of protest at the bunnies being ‘poor’ and Odelia being a hunter – she would never! Even if they looked like they’d taste like cotton candy, she wouldn’t put one in her mouth……. Maybe.

Odelia looked contemplatively at the bunny near them, the one that they kept feeding bits of their sandwich to. No, probably best not to eat it. “It was fun. Thank you for bringing me here.” Odelia beamed.

“Why don’t you chase them some more? I can tell you want to,” Florianne laughed.

Odelia didn’t need to be told twice, immediately tearing off after the one that had been getting a little too cosy with the two of them.

Part 6 - Coordinate with Cordelia

“So!” Cordelia exclaimed, eyeing the two of them off like they were candy. Odelia exchanged a look with Florianne that said ‘are we about to be mugged?’ to which Flo rolled her eyes and nodded her head towards Cordelia to indicate that they should be paying attention to the Angelic Hopper. To be fair, Odelia hadn’t seen that many before, so she was kind of interested. They had big… Big sausages hanging off their heads, with webs attached between them! She was pretty sure that was their ears? Odelia wrapped her arm around Florianne, nuzzling her head against Flo’s as she kept examining the hopper.

She also was hovering, probably by magic, and she had a big tail that ended in a mermaid fin! It was pretty as, Odelia liked the way she looked. “Do all hoppers look like you?” Odelia blurted out before Cordelia could continue. She felt Flo pinch her for interrupting, but the bagbean just grinned at her girlfriend, who smiled back bemusedly. Cordelia didn’t seem to mind the question though, just giggling as she looked up from her notebook. “No, there are different types of us. I’m a mermaid so I have a tail,” she flapped it to emphasise her point. Both Flo and Odelia’s eyes widened in wonder. “There are three other types, but even other mermaids don’t look like me. Would you mind if I asked you two some questions now? I’m very interested in the chemistry you have, it looks strong! You’re just feeding off of each other,” she looked like a scientist discovering a new element.

Maybe that was closer to the truth than Odelia thought…

The snake bagbean looked to her girlfriend to start, and after exchanging some silent words, Flo tucked Odelia’s head under her own and said, “Go ahead, we’d be happy to talk to you about us… If that helps you with something you’re doing? Your research, maybe?” Flo asked. There was a little bit of stiffness to her tone, and it was the way she got whenever she thought she was being scrutinised. To remind her that she wasn’t, Odelia kissed her cheek. Flo settled a little against her, some of the tension seeping out of her frame. They fit together nicely, Odelia thought, always able to pick up on the subtle nuances of one another’s body language. Odelia didn’t think she’d ever know someone who would be able to understand her like Flo did. She didn’t really want anyone else to know her that well, either. Only Flo she could trust with this understanding of herself, and most definitely likewise.

“It does help me with my research, I’m trying to understand love in every way! Besides, I love all of the stories I hear from everyone. So, how did you meet?” Cordelia asked eagerly.

Flo hummed, and Odelia beamed. She loved how they’d met. “I have a time tree that I’m very fond of, because I love to garden. It’s always been something that calms me down and soothes my mind, you see? Sometimes, my life could get so hectic with being in the spotlight and all of the fashion shows I’d have to run, my favourite thing to do would be to come home and tend to my plants. I was looking after my time tree one day, when I suddenly have these pair of pastel rainbow eyes boring into my skin. Lia was way too close mind you, it freaked me right out. It startled her as well, I think? Because she fell backwards and scampered away on all fours, looking right spooked. I don’t think we liked each other much at first, yet she kept always coming back to my time tree and watching me with those big eyes of hers as she played with bugs. I thought she was the weirdest bagbean I’d ever met – she didn’t speak at all, just hissed when I asked her for her name and ran off on all fours,” Florianne began, pausing to look at Odelia.

Odelia smiled, and took over. “I thought she was… Lonely. I could taste it,” Odelia wiggled her tongue, tasting the air to demonstrate. “And I didn’t like the loneliness, so I wanted to fix it, but I didn’t know how. Then, one day… I finally worked up the energy to talk to her. She’s very nice, you know. Let me look at her plants, showed me what she was doing and how to take care of them. It was… It was good. It made me happy, to be around her.” Odelia fell silent. Flo blushed.

Cordelia scribbled away excitedly in her note book as if this was the best thing she’d ever heard. Damn right they were, Odelia thought. Flo squeezed her side. “And how long have you two been together?” Cordelia asked next, looking up and smiling at them warmly.

She had nice eyes, kind eyes. Odelia liked her a little.

Florianne answered again, humming, “Just over three years. I didn’t think I’d be able to fall in love so quickly and hard, but we just work very well together. Lia makes me happy, and she says I make her happy too. We’ve known each other for four years though, it took her a year to stop loitering around my time tree and actually make conversation with me, and then it took us a while to actually admit we loved each other,” Florianne laughed.

“Oh!” Cordelia exclaimed. “How did that go down?” She asked eagerly.

“I said it first,” Odelia piped up immediately. “I dropped down from the highest branch on her tree, grabbed her face, and said she was pretty and that I had loved her for a very long time. Flo ran away at first, I think I frightened her, but I waited by her tree for a week and when she came back she said she loved me too,” Odelia beamed. Florianne blushed.

“You did scare me, you scared me a lot, but then I realised that whole week we were apart that all I wanted to do was be with you, and see you.”

They smiled at one another, Cordelia continuing to scribble on furiously in the background.