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Scarletella had just lost sight of the human when he found the flower.
Or more accurately, the flower found him.
He turned his head, frustrated as he looks in the direction that the human had left. Scarletella’s been tailing her for a while now, but she managed to escape his grasp every time. He was about to lift his foot in that direction before he loses her presence when he noticed something colorful beneath it.
It wasn’t there before. He would’ve noticed something so vivid compared to the gray floor.
Scarletella paused in curiosity, before standing in place and reaching down. He grasped the object, soft and fragile in his hand.
A flower.
More specifically a tulip. Unlike a deep blue, it’s a shade of red. Just a bit darker than Scarletella himself. Scarletella held it close, its petals brushing against his skin as he inhaled the scent. It smelled of citrus and honey, a refreshment compared to the damp mildew smell hanging above every room.
Did…did the human leave him it? It reminded him of the offerings from before. Perhaps her resistance was simply trying to give him a fun chase?
The thought made him smile, and he tucked it into his pocket as he waited for their next meeting.
It was the next day when he found her again.
He stepped forward. The human stepped back.
“Flower?” He asked instead of his usual question.
“Stop following me already!” The human backed away as she held her crowbar high even though it would unsuccessfully swing through Scarletella.
She was hiding behind the phantom. Scarletella could tell they’re preparing for another escape, a gap behind the both of them. The phantom guarding the human had no eyes, but he could somehow feel the mutual glare from behind the other’s long hair. He hated that man, the way the human always spoke to him so gently with open arms. He could see that love that should've been given to him by the human was being directed to the pathetic creature.
Scarletella frowned.
“You leave flower?” Scarletella tried again.
The human scoffed, a disgusted noise that made Scarletella’s throat dry. “Why would I leave you a flower?”
A mix of disappointment and humiliation washed over him, his legs stiff and body frozen. The two in front of him take advantage of his sudden halt, disappearing thanks to the unknown phantom from behind the gap.
Scarletella lingered there all alone for a moment, his head lowering.
It was just his wishful thinking.
Perhaps the tulip was simply a remnant that had dropped down here from the above world amongst other things. Scarletella had gotten hopeful for nothing. He turned back in disappointment, about to leave the room.
Yet, at the door frame, a ruby flower laid.
Before he chose to pick it up, Scarletella hurriedly glanced out into the hall to the left and right. He doesn’t sense any presence. Maybe he would’ve managed to catch the being who did it earlier if he wasn’t preoccupied with questioning the human.
This time, he’s left a camellia. Its scent isn’t as strong as the tulip, a light and comforting floral scent.
The disappointment he felt seemed to dissipate. Despite knowing that it wasn’t from the human, there was still that warm feeling in his chest from being left such a thoughtful and beautiful item.
Whoever it was, it was clear that it was meant just and only for him.
Over the days, the more Scarletella thought about the flowers, the more he stopped looking for the human. The human was still around of course, but Scarletella’s attention turned to finding something else.
The sender of the flowers.
It was a mystery that made him feel thrilled, a feeling he hadn’t known in a long time. It was definitely another phantom. He applauded them on their tactics, managing to leave them without a notice. It became a constant for him to look around for another one, sniffing for a sweet scent.
He’s roaming along the hallways now, almost startled when his foot brushes against something fragile. Scarletella glanced down and felt a spark of joy. Scarletella liked that joy. The joy that he isn’t alone, like he’s always been. He only wished that the sender would reveal themselves.
Everything around Scarletella faded into the background when he examined this new flower.
A rose.
Ah.
Ah.
Scarletella knew what a rose meant.
What it could mean.
He’d seen confessions from human’s above, a bundle of flowers and whispered promises.
His mind went back to the flowers he'd received before. Scarletella didn’t take the time to decipher them. There were meanings to flowers.
Red tulips and red camellias were related to…Love? No, not just that. Confession and passion. Perhaps he read it wrong like his guess it was the human. Yet as held the rose close he couldn’t help but see the gifts from then and now as a sign of it.
Could…could someone really love him?
Scarletella caressed the rose. The petals were full and bountiful, a lovely and dark crimson. He noticed its thorns were carefully ridden of. There’s a line of green, a shade that’s just a bit off. He touched it.
Soon, there’s a green strand of hair between his fingers.
Scarletella grinned.
He knew just the right person to give him information.
After finding and interrogating the Hairdresser, she gave him a small bit of information that led him here.
A door was in front of him. Vines reached out from between the cracks.
He lifted his hand and knocked.
It creaked as it opened, and Scarletella was met with the tall form of a man.
Scarletella blinked slowly, craning his head up. He estimated that his own height reached around the other's chin. It’s been a while since he’s talked to a resident on purpose that’s so much taller than him.
Most of the time he’d had to tilt down to meet the human’s gaze, even lower to glare at the companion she’d kept throughout her journey. He used to think about how unfair it was, how the human had chosen Crawling to accompany her when Scarletella was the one who met her first.
Yet, the human hasn't appeared once in his mind thanks to this man.
The one who’s been leaving him those mysterious gifts has a flower instead of a right eye with whites and reds that seems to match Scarletella’s. The green hair of his matches the strand he found on the rose.
“...Name?” Scarletella requested softly.
The man spoke, his voice smooth and velvety. “Me not remember. Though, called Petalis.”
Petalis. He thought. There’s only a slight tug of connection. Despite not remembering, Petalis’s nickname held a close resemblance or strength to his real one.
There’s a stalemate between the two of them. Himself analyzing Petalis, and Petalis analyzing him.
“Petalis.” Scarletella finally talked again after the odd silence. “You the one leaving flowers.”
The man nodded. His bangs shifted, revealing the black of his singular left eye and a white pupil. He’s staring at him with an intensity that matches the strength of Scarletella’s own. “Yes.”
Scarletella voiced the question that he’s been meaning to ask, desperate for the answer he's been hoping for to be correct. “Why?”
He watched with a sort of fascination as Petalis’s face warmed up. “Like.”
The tight grip on his umbrella loosened, his mouth slightly opening and closing. Scarletella said it so many times that it almost felt like a shock to hear it coming out of someone’s mouth to him instead.
Scarletella was right. He's right about the flower's meaning and if he had a heart it would be beating fast and loud in his ears.
“Like.” He repeated under his breath. Scarletella was louder this time, as if he was trying to make sure Petalis wasn’t lying. “You like me.”
“Very much.” Petalis shifted on his feet in a shy manner. “Love at first sight.”
Love, love, love.
He wanted to feel more of this.
Scarletella needed to feel more of this.
The human was unattainable, and her words seemed to cut into him like glass. Yet this phantom was looking at him so caringly. His gifts made Scarletella feel not so alone in the world, and his words had already ensnared what would've been Scarletella's heart.
“We’ll talk more?” Petalis asked, a cute eagerness in his voice. Eager for Scarletella. Scarletella was wanted, for once. Is this the same love at first sight that Petalis said he had?
He slipped his hand into Petalis's, their fingers intertwining. Petalis's hand immediately held on tight, as if he was afraid Scarletella would let go.
“Okay.” He whispered and Petalis smiled.