[PRP] Fluff-Heads Unite! (Lorimer Encantador&Mariposa Neive)

[divena]

“A flower is your nemesis?” he repeated. Okay, now that could mean one of several things. Either this little mare was completely insane, which was very likely, or she was a complete idiot, which was also likely. There was also the possibility that she was both sane and intelligent and the flower was some sort of poisonous, semi-sentient plant, like a Venus fly trap, or something similar. He had heard stories of such things, but they had always been just that, stories about the long ago past. Myths and legends where everything was magic, or fairytales where everything had the potential to come to life and bite you in the tail if you weren’t careful. He had never put much stock in those stories because he had never thought them to be true. So, his options were to believe her and chuck his worldview, or accept that his new acquaintance was crazier than he was.  

[divena]

“Uh huh,” she nodded quickly, smiling brightly. “Well… maybe not. I don’t remember him looking like a flower, but he was definitely purple!” Oh, and it was a he! That was good to know. She filed that away in the void she called a memory to be remembered later. Or forgotten, which was far more likely. Of course, Mariposa never seemed to realize just how bad her memory was, or perhaps she didn’t care. There simply wasn’t enough room in her head for concern over such trivial things. She had to devote more energy to defeating her arch rival, Purple! Never mind that, before she had stumbled across that flower, she had never felt an ounce of competitiveness against anyone or thing.  

[divena]

Okay, that answered that for him. She was completely bonkers. Not that that was a bad thing, really. Many people had told him that he was a complete loon. He didn’t think it was such a bad thing. And there was that one time… yes, best not to think on that. “So… the purple flower… distracted you?” he prompted, trying to get her to keep talking and distract him.  

[divena]

“Right,” she agreed, then quickly contradicted herself. “Well, no, not distracted so much as challenged me,” she explained. She had simply HAD to reclaim her title! She glanced at the flower again, wondering if she could go for another round. Just then a gust of wind drifted by and caused the petals to rustle just the tiniest bit. “See! See!” she said, crouching down so she was more on level with the flower. “He’s doing it again! I’ll get you this time! And... go!” she said, signaling the start of another staring round. She widened her eyes as round as they would go and kept them trained on the flower, determined not to lose this time. She’d allow there to be no distractions, not this time! She would win and defeat Purple once and for all!  

[divena]

“I… see… well… I don’t suppose you could tell me what type of flower it is?” Lori asked, rather pleasantly, he thought. If he could just get the name of that flower, then he could wander off whenever. Of course, ideally, now would be the best time. She was clearly distracted. But he couldn’t seem to bring himself to do so. Not just yet. She was cute and somewhat interesting.  

[divena]

“Flower?” she repeated, without taking her eyes off the plant. “What flower?” Why was he asking about a flower? Couldn’t he see that she needed to concentrate here? Or maybe he did and he was trying to sabatoge him. Was he working with her opponent? But that didn’t make sense, even to one as scattered as Mariposa. He had come out of nowhere… oh, but that was just it, wasn’t it? He had come out of nowhere and had distracted her from winning her first round with Purple. And now, when she was about to defeat her nemesis, he was asking about flowers? Clearly he WAS in cahoots with Purple! Why, she didn’t know and, frankly, didn’t really care.  

[divena]

“The… flower… you’re looking at,” Lori said carefully, keeping his words slow and clear. He didn’t THINK she was stupid, but that didn’t necessarily mean that she was paying attention. Or that she maintained any ability to process what he was saying. He could tell that he was losing her, it was just a matter of whether or not that was a good thing.  

[divena]

“I’m not looking at a flower,” she told him, still keeping her eyes on the plant. “I’m looking at the enemy!” Which, she reasoned, he would know unless he was working with the enemy. But if he was working with the enemy, that would make him her friend, wouldn’t it? How did that saying go? “Friend of my enemy is my friend?” No… no, that wasn’t it… Oh! Right, “Enemy of my enemy is my friend!” That was the saying. So if he was friends with her enemy, that would make him… what? Hmm… ah! Right, her enemy! If an enemy of an enemy was a friend, then a friend of an enemy would be an enemy, wouldn’t it? Because she would be the enemy that he was being enemy to, which meant he would be friend to her enemy, and still her enemy. So he was totally on Purple’s side in all this! He wanted her to lose! That was awfully mean, especially when she had just met him.  

[divena]

“I… beg your pardon, fair lady,” Lori said cautiously, “But… that looks an awful lot like a flower to me. What has it done to insult you so in the past?”  

[divena]

“Oh, like you don’t already know!” she huffed, fighting back tears. It simply wasn’t fair that Purple got such a good friend and she was all alone. The world started to waver a bit and she sniffed. Nope, it wasn’t fair, but she wasn’t going to let that beat her. She was better than that. Better than Purple, even. She was going to win this contest, once and for all, and then it wouldn’t matter who was her enemy and who was Purple’s friend. She’d be the winner.  

[divena]

Lori blinked, startled to see that the little mare genuinely looked upset, though she didn’t look away from the flower. “I assure, you, madam, I do not know. I promise, I don’t.”  

[divena]

“Really?” she sniffled. “You’re not in cahoots with Purple?” He certainly sounded sincere, but could she really believe him, or was he just trying to play her and get her to lose the game yet again? She couldn’t possibly allow that to happen. “If you’re really not, then prove it!”  

[divena]

“Very well, my lady,” Lori agreed, with yet another charming smile. “What may I do to put your mind at ease?”  

[divena]

“Leave,” Mairposa ordered, still staring fixedly at the plant. “If you’re not here, you can’t distract me, and I’ll believe that you’re not trying to sabotage me!” It was a sound plan, in her mind. If he WAS in cahoots with Purple, then he would refuse and stay, and she would know who she could and couldn’t trust. And if he left, she would know that he wasn’t on Purple’s side. Maybe he was what he said, maybe he was just an innocent bystander. But she couldn’t take that risk while she was locked in battle with Purple. She couldn’t blink, couldn’t look away. She couldn’t afford any distractions and, for better or worse, that was exactly what the big pink stallion was to her just then.  

[divena]

Lori blinked again, once more surprised. He’d had many people tell him to leave or take off out of frustration. This was the first time he had been accused of sabotage. But the message was quite clear. To gain the little mare’s trust, he had to leave. Heaving a heavy sigh, he agreed, “Very well, then.” He picked himself up and, with only a couple confused glances back, he left the little mare to her self imposed competition.