Dahlia sat on the ground leaning against the cool metal of the high striker game, feeling as if she’d been put in time out.

Kris and Suho had pulled Manfred aside to have a conversation which Dahlia presumed was half scolding, half lecturing. The rest of the guardians were going about their business, having cleaned Kyungsoo’s blood off the game booth. None of them had spoken to her since she revealed the truth to them. Not even Chanyeol.

Dahlia knew it was a lot to take in – Kyungsoo’s sudden injury and finding out that they were technically still prisoners of the cards. But still, Dahlia would freely admit that it hurt.

Chanyeol was the first guardian she had met, her first friend of the bunch, and he’d only spared her a grim smile. She’d taken to thinking of Luhan like her safe place ever since she found out he could create a mental barrier. He hadn’t spared her anything – not a glance, not a word; instead he was standing near Kris and Suho as they spoke with Manfred. Even Sehun, the cuddle bug, had distanced himself from her too.

Dahlia had always been alone since her powers manifested; it kept her safe. But this time, alone didn’t feel safe. It felt stifling, choking.

“I don’t blame you, you know,” she heard Kyungsoo say, and she turned to see him sitting down in the grass next to her. “Neither do the others; it’s just a lot to take in.”

“Why are you comforting me?” Dahlia wondered. “You just had your abdomen ripped open like it was nothing; if anything, I should be comforting you.”

Kyungsoo gave her a soft smile, “But it isn’t your fault. I saw the look on your face when you came running over here; it wasn’t a look of guilt, but a look of concern. I’m not going to lie; it kinda felt good to have someone other than my brothers get that worried over me.”

Dahlia blinked at him, unsure if she heard right. “I’m sorry, did you fall and hit your head while you were bleeding out?”

“Probably,” he chuckled. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve affected all of us. I know we must be burdening you and making you feel uncomfortable, but even those who won’t admit it are grateful for your help. It might not be what we were expecting, it might not be perfect, but without you we would’ve been trapped in those cards for who knows how much longer. We might’ve been too late to do what we were sent here for.”

Dahlia shifted in her place, angling herself to a more comfortable position. “You’re the guardian of earth alright. Stable and solid.”

Kyungsoo smiled, his cheeks dusted a light pink. “You know, Luhan and Chanyeol told us about what you’ve been through before coming here. They mentioned you felt comfortable in your backyard garden. Did you…have a favorite flower?”

“Mmhm,” Dahlia hummed in acknowledgement. “I really like orchids, but I could never keep them alive. Of all the flowers I had to like the most difficult ones to grow.”

Kyungsoo gave a small chuckle and lifted his hand above the grass. As if she were watching a nature documentary in high-speed, a gorgeous purple orchid curled upwards from the ground. Dahlia gave a soft gasp of amazement, letting her fingertips run gently along the soft petals.

“Wow,” she breathed. “It’s beautiful. Thank you, Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo smiled, giving a small shrug. “It’s nothing.”

As she brushed her fingertips across the flower, her smile faltered slightly. She didn’t have the heart to dig the flower out of the ground and pot it. She didn’t have the skill to take care of it and would feel guilty if she let Kyungsoo’s gift die.

“What’s wrong?” Kyungsoo asked, noticing her expression.

“It’s just…we’re not going to be in this one place forever,” she remarked. “Soon, we’re going to move on to a new place and it’ll be left behind.”

Dahlia grimaced as soon as the words left – she hadn’t intended for her words to be so heavily symbolic of her current emotions, but sh