The scent of roses (closed)

Odette loved the rose garden-- it was quiet, and the air was full of her favorite scent. Even if she was having a bad day, being able to curl up amongst the bushes with a book was enough to turn her mood around in no time at all.

That was where the breezy afternoon found her. Nestled at an intersection of several rosebushes, a well-loved copy of The Bonesetter's Daughter open in her lap. She smiled as she read, idly combing her fingers through her hair.

Asher grunted as he tried to keep his hands on Baram. He had gone through another set back and it was easier to get him into rose garden then to get him all the way back to the side of the castle with the Nest.

He kept his voice as calm and steady as possible. "We are almost there Baram." He managed to get Baram into the garden and thew him to the ground. Asher stood over Baram carefully, close enough to pounce if he planned on running but not too close to make Baram's trigger of claustrophobia set in.

Baram thrashed about, trying to find anyway to get lose. Then he suddenly fellt himself on the ground. The sent of roses filled his senses and he began to shake as the black mist in his mind began to vanish. His breathing changed into hyperventilating and sobbing. He had failed again. He could feel it. He balled his hands into fists, grabbing the soil.

"A-Ash. . . ?" His voice broke a bit. He looked up and saw fresh cuts and blood on his hands and a sound of a mixture of a gasp and sob escaped his throat. "Oh, god why?!"

Odette flinched at the sound of struggling. She peered through the bushes and saw two figures-- one of which was familiar. And seemed to be in a great amount of distress. Odette's brow furrowed and she hugged her book to her chest as she sank back against her corner of roses, thinking small thoughts in the hope that no one would notice she was there.

She felt pinpricks and scratches as the thorns tugged on her skin and clothes, but she was too worried about being found to make any noises in response to the pain.

Baram took a few moments to breathe and shook his head. He wasn't sure if he was trying to clear his mind of the fog or trying to ease himself from the blame of the crime he didn't even know about yet.

He sat up and looked his hands over again, the pain finally registering into his hands, his jaw and his limbs. "Asher? Please tell me I didn't hurt anyone. I was the only one who got hurt right? It's only me. . ." He felt his eyes stinging and he looked up at the older boy, feeling wet rivers beginning to run from his eyes down his cheeks.

Asher could feel a sadness and pitty for the younger boy. But he knew from his own past that none of those feelings would help Baram now.

"Do you want me to lie to you then, Baram? You never seemed to me to be one of those kinds of characters." He didn't mean the words to come out as harsh as they did. Then again that was one of his own flaws.

Asher crossed his arms and slowly allowed the skin along his shoulders, arms and core to become fleshy again. "No one died, if that is your main concern." He sighed. "You knocked out an older student. . . broke another's nose. Nothing that Miss Ellie can't fix. Though, to your credit, you fought it off for a while before you finally snapped." He wanted to add how the little shits deserved what they got for trying to corner a much larger and older student but he held his tongue.

Odette clutched at the front of her shirt, feeling her breath hitch at the sound of Baram's tears. She slowly untangled herself from the rose bushes and stood, ignoring the bits of blood she knew must be welling on her arms and shoulders from the thorns. She looked at Asher, and bit her lip.

"B-Baram...?" Her voice came out much smaller than she intended. "A-are you... are you okay...?" She started to walk towards him.

Asher's eyes lit up when he heard the small voice from the corner of the garden. He hadn't seen her there before. Eventhough he could tell that she knew who Baram was he still moved to stand between the girl and the younger student. "Miss, please keep your distance." His voice was stern but calm.

He looked over his shoulder at Baram, trying to make sure that he did not need to restrain him again.

Baram bowed his head in shame at the harsh words of his mentor. He didn't even notice Odette until he saw Asher move.

His gaze went to the corner of the garden and his heart sank when he saw Odette. He bit his lip and hung his head again. "Odette, I'm sorry," He could not hide a sad whimper from his voice. "I never wanted you to see me like this."

Odette felt a pang in her chest and pressed one hand to her sternum as she looked from Baram to Asher. She shook her head at Asher and tried to walk around him, reaching out with her other hand with intent to wipe his tears away.

"No... No, Baram, y-you're hurt. Your hands. What happened?"

Asher moved a bit to the side but still remained a close to Baram. As she  drew closer he recognized her. "Miss, I'm afraid I can't advise this. If you become afraid. . ." He left the sentence open, knowing that the young woman understood what would probably happen.

Baram turned away from Odette's reached out hand and carefully stood on shakey legs. "I'm sorry. . . I . . .I hurt," His voice caught in his throat. "I don't deserve your kindess, as always."

He tried to move behind Asher and ended up kneeling down again. He felt so tired emotionally and physically after everything that had happened. He almost preferred it when Asher or someone knocked him out. That way he could pretend like him being a monster was a dream and not really him. He looked down at his hands and said in a rather defeated voice, "You know I'm a beserker class, right? Do you really need an explaination of what happened?"

"It's okay," Odette said to Asher, "I'm not afraid." She sounded more confident than she felt. She eased to one knee before Baram and used the hem of her shirt to start dabbing some of the tears from his cheeks.

"I kn-know you are, Baram. And I c-can g-guess what happened. But if you f-feel this sorry about it, then you can't b-be a bad person." No one that talked about their family the way he had at the antique shop could be a bad person. She tipped her head to look at him and offered him a tiny smile.

Baram wasn't sure why Asher allowed the lovely girl to get so close to him. He was a monster. He hesitantly moved away from her touch at first but slowly allowed her to dry some of his tears. He sobbed once more before trying to regulate his breathing. "It's not the me that I am right now that is a bad person. It's what else I can become that makes me terrible. You have to know that I would never want to hurt you or scare you. . .I'm sorry."

He wanted to reach out and hold on to Odette, to protect her and keep her safe. The single most kind and beautiful flower. He settled for resting his hands in his lap with his head bowed.

Odette brushed his hair out of his face and continued to dab at his cheeks. "But you kn-know the difference. This is you." She patted his shoulder. "This right here. And th-that boy in the shop, who was talking about his d-dad and his sister. How he was going to g-go home to them one day. That's Baram."

She cupped his jaw with one hand and carefully tilted his head up a bit so that she could look at him. "Look at me, and r-roll your shoulders. Flex your hands and take a d-deep breath."

He took comfort in her words and leaned into her hand a bit when she cupped his jaw. He furrowed his brows a bit at her request, confused as to what she was doing.

He sat up straight and did as he was told. The only part that he had trouble with was keeping his eyes on her. He could feel a warmth rising from his neck up to his face and he just hoped that right now of all times that he wasn't blushing. He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. When he inhaled he could smell the additional powerful sent of roses and vanilla that must have been Odette. A relaxed smile slowly began to spread across his face and he chuckled softly. "Who knew that I would need a lovely young woman instead of a quartz to help calm me down?"

Odette relaxed a bit when Baram seemed to collect himself. She smiled again and started to reach up to touch his cheek again, but his words made her hesitate. She curled her fingers against her chest and started to flush a delicate pink, and she dropped her gaze to her knees.

"I-I j-just wanted you to smile again, Baram." She gave a nervous little giggle and glanced up at him, blushing harder as she made eye contact and immediately looking away.

Once again that urge to hold her happened. But he knew that he was still a mess of sweat, tears and blood and did not want to taint her. He smiled as he watched her and chuckled.

Baram carefully leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Odette. I don't know if I will ever be able to repay your kindness. You have done so much more than just made me smile again." He stood up, feeling better and a bit stronger than before. He glanced at Asher, knowing that he needed to go back. His gaze returned to Odette and his smile reached his eyes. "Maybe the next time I see you, I can do something for you for a change."

Odette made a tiny, surprised noise at the unexpected peck and felt something in her flutter a bit. She rose to her own two feet and she purred brightly to see him so steady. This was the Baram she had met in the shop.

She brought one hand to her chin and nibbled on her fingertips. "You can repay me b-by working hard with Oakleigh and A-Asher." She smiled and rose up on her toes a bit. "So that I c-can see you in the castle more. I'd really like t-to see you more."

He chuckled softly and nodded. "I will definately do my best, you have my word for that."

Asher reached over and touched Baram's shoulder and he nodded to the older, silently telling him that he was okay. He looked her over once more. "Make sure you go to Infirmary to get your scratches looked after okay? I'm sorry if I might have scared you at first." Asher helped lead Baram away, holding his arms, just as an extra percaution.

Baram looked over his shoulder at Odette, not wanting to leave her alone. "I'll find you soon, I promise."