paradisalogs | And the wind smells slow and sour when it blows

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And the wind smells slow and sour when it blows

Who: The Once-ler and YOU!
What: Nightmares
When: Friday
Where: HIS MIND
Rating: Uh PG/PG13.

[You'd be forgiven for thinking you've entered a pleasant dream, rather than a horrific nightmare here. You've arrived in Truffula Valley, a peaceful, wonderful place that almost puts Paradisa's created beauty to shame. Forest creatures are scurrying about, singing and playing and generally going about their business.

The sky is bright blue, the sun is shining and the waters of the nearby river and pond are crystal clear. And most importantly there are miles upon miles upon miles of Truffula trees. For anyone the Once-ler described these trees to, he wasn't kidding. The touch of their tufts really is softer than silk and that comforting, wonderful smell? Fresh butterfly milk baby.

Nothing good lasts forever, and there's a general unease about the place. A disjointed sort of feel, like someone's putting on a play and you've already been told everyone dies at the end]

[[ooc: Sections: Pretty Valley | Dying Valley | Dead Valley ]]

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[He doesn't even react to it. His expression is just full of regret and sorrow, he just looks so TIRED]

But I didn't give them the chance. Despite the warnings of the spirit who protected the forest, I kept on biggering.

So, you kept on taking and taking, until it was all gone.

[Oh, the tone of one who's seen the results of that.]

Until it became this [he waves at the mess around them] and it was too late to do anything. Yes.

[Well, Once-ler, she can't stay mad at you forever for two reasons:

One, she can see you regret what happened, and

two, everyone makes mistakes and should be forgiven for them.]

It's not too late to correct this, Once-ler. It can't be.

[He'd honestly find it easier to deal with if she DID stay mad at him. It's a lot harder to think people forgive him for what he's done, when he can't even forgive himself]

It'll get fixed. In about fifty years. It'll take someone special to do it. Someone who isn't me.

[Unfortunately, that's the first step, and the hardest--forgiving yourself. It's also something she knows from experience.]

Once-ler, do you want it to be fixed?

[He casts her a incredulous look]

Of course I want it to be fixed. All I've done since the last tree fall is regret everything I've ever done to this place and the creatures who lived here. I want it fixed more than anything in the world.

[Her expression remains the same as she steps to him, her stride confident for a change.]

Good. Because regretting the mistake is the first step towards correcting it. [And being forgiven for it.]

But, why can't you be the one to fix it?

[The Once-ler looks anything but confident. He folds his arms around himself, casting his gaze to the ruined, infertile land]

Because it doesn't work that way. [He wanders a little closer to that rock pile, nodding at it]

I have to wait until someone else cares enough...for someone to care a whole awful lot, before it gets better again. It's not enough for me to care.

[She thinks about what he says.]

So, even though you feel that way, you may not be strong enough to fix this alone? Is that what you mean?

[Sheena follows him, her expression turning perplexed as she sees the stone.]

"Unless"?

I can't fix it. The earth here is ruined. It's hard to explain.

[He nods]

That's why the word follows me everywhere in Paradisa. Why it's my loss, you know? I'm not allowed to escape it, because it's a message. Or a reminder or...something.

[He clears his throat, reciting the words carefully, if not with some reverence ] Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

It kinda looks like what happens when mana drains away.

[It's a quiet observation as she takes in the surrounding area again before kneeling respectfully before the stones.]

Oh. I didn't know that's what your loss was--[Although, seriously, did the man really need the reminder with this forever with him?]

[She looks up, craning her neck again.]

So, you're not allowed to even help fix this, even though you want to? That doesn't seem right.

Next time you're around me...assuming there is a next time, have a look around. It appears everywhere I go.

[And with that comment, he gives a dry laugh]

I don't deserve what's right, Sheena. The guardian of this forest warned me over and over again. For five years he warned me, tried to make me see what I was doing, and I brushed him aside each and every time. After I swore to him I wouldn't cut down another tree.

[He glances around his desolate surroundings] No. I'm getting what's right for me.

[She gives him a silent nod of a promise, although she doubts she'd actually look for it. That would probably only add to how bad he feels.]

[At the mention of a guardian, she nods again in understanding.]

So, this is a form of punishment? [Guardians and spirits can have different ideas of what's right when it comes to their domains.]

Maybe not so much as a punishment as...I don't know.

[The Once-ler stares at that rock. That stupid, haunting rock] I think he wanted to make me understand. Really understand what it was like for him. When whatever he did to try and save his forest was met with failure. [Another pause] How much it hurts to be betrayed by your best friend.

[It's rare he really talks about the Lorax to anyone, even Martel. But Sheena's different. She understands what it's like to have a spirit link itself into your life. It's an experience that's almost impossible to explain]

Edited 2012-10-12 16:19 (UTC)

[Sheena looks up at him, her expression neither stern or judging, as he explains. Spirits like hers are connected to the planet by mana, and when it's gone, they're gone. And since she hasn't seen any type of spirit around, it's probably safe to believe a similar thing is true here:

Without a forest, there's no need for a Spirit to protect it, so it disappeared. But as she listens to his words and studies the stone in front of her, something else comes to mind.

Rising, she places her hand on his arm in a uncharacteristic gentle manner and looks up at him.]

You told me that people who didn't care who they hurt as long as they got what they wanted were the worst. And they are--if they don't regret what they've done. You regret it, so you're not like those others.

I think you're friend knew this and had faith in you, otherwise, he'd have never left you that message.

[The Once-ler startles a little at her touch. He was too deep in his thoughts of how much better things would have been if he'd just done what the Lorax asked of him. If he'd just LISTENED. He'd be poor, yes, but at least he'd be happy]

You really think that, huh? [His tone suggests he really doesn't. Not yet]

Maybe. He was always so...irritatingly vague about things.

[She nods, her hand remaining where she placed it.]

I really do, Once-ler. [And her tone says she's not lying.] Sometimes it's easier to believe in yourself when others do it first.

[She smiles softly.]

Maybe he needed you to realize it for yourself.

...And here we go with the optimism again.

[He gives a soft shrug, turning away from the stone]

It would have taken me long enough.

You have to have optimism, Once-ler. If you don't, then things never change.

[She's speaking from experience, not from judgment.]

But you would have realized it--that's the important part.

I did have optimism, heaps of it. And things did change. [He waves an arm to the mess around them] Not all change is for the better, Sheena.

[His hand drops and he gives a small shrug. He hates this. He hates having all his mistakes just sitting there, being the topic of discussion. He hates everything about this] Yeah. Yay me.

[Sheena still believes this mistake can be corrected. After all, if a world can be put back together to save it, surely fixing this is possible, too.

She moves to stand in front of him, her gaze understanding as she looks up at him.]

Once-ler, did anyone tell you what happened to my world?

[His gaze drops down to her, before he nods carefully]

About the angels and the segregation and the magical life tree and everything, yeah. Martel told me.

[Sheena's a little surprised at the source, since part of what happened occurred after Martel's death. Her eyes narrow with the emotion as she repeats what she thinks he said.]

She told you about the world being split in two?

[He nods]

Yeah. I didn't understand it all, but I got the general idea of it.

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