Tree-centric
Continuity: Any time

#24:Confessions of a Tree

When I first met my new boys, I had been alone for so long that I nearly attacked them. I think I startled them quite a bit, they hadn’t expected for me to act so…I believe it was Kris who said it, ‘Childish.’ I suppose I am very child-like, but I am constantly learning and exploring new thoughts, especially since I have so much time to myself. That’s how I discovered that the excess power floating around the planet was my own doing, simply from thinking.

Ooh, that was embarrassing. It’s like going your whole life not knowing why a room stinks so much and finally realizing you’d been farting the whole time.

I’ve learned other things, like not to make life too easy for my people. I could create trees that sprout money if I wanted too, but then it would lose value and really the whole endeavor would be so pointless…

What? Oh! Right, my boys. Forgive me if I digress, my mind wanders a bit. Well, it’s not like I have an actual brain you see…but that’s a story for another day!

Let’s see…I love all my children very much, but this group is so special. They’ve been through hell together, and they are beautiful, uncorrupted souls who love each other deeply. It wouldn’t surprise me if they all married within their group, they are just that close. I could talk about my dears for hours if you didn’t stop me.

Kai is such a darling, he really is. He had a rough start, and he doesn’t like admitting that he needs people. He especially doesn’t like admitting that he needs Suho because Suho is very obvious in his fawning over Kai—he’s like that with all of his kids, but Kai feels…I guess embarrassed would be the word. Seeing how much Suho loves him, it makes him wonder how he’s supposed to return the feeling. Because let me tell you, Kai adores Suho. All the affection Suho shows to Kai, Kai returns it with just as much intensity, and Suho is very dear to him. He wants more than anything to be worthy of that love.

Sehun is so sweet, he really doesn’t need a lot to be happy. As long as he has his brothers, he’s home. Do you know what makes him happiest? Being hugged by his brothers. He has a different way to describe each hugs—Suho’s are comforting, Kai’s are playful, Kris’ are like being wrapped up in a blanket before bed. Chanyeol’s are powerful (usually because he knocks people off their feet), Baekhyun’s feel  like a butterfly landing on your shoulder—like a little victory in nature. Lay’s hugs are refreshing—he literally thinks that. Tao is shy but when he hugs, he lingers and the feeling stays for a while, like a hot cup of tea. Xiumin’s make you feel like you’ll never be alone. Kyungsoo’s hugs are giddy and Chen’s are soft like kitten fur. And Lu Han’s hugs? They’re love.

Tao, oh Tao. He’s just so precious. He thinks the sun rises and sets on Kris. There’s a reason for that of course, Kris is his. Just his. He shares of course, but as far as Tao is concerned, nobody will ever come before Kris. For Tao’s whole life, Kris has been the one to comfort him, play with him, hug him, make him feel safe before anyone else. Tao wants to thank him for that one day when he’s older. He doesn’t know how he’ll do it but he’s determined. And there’s one thing you should know about Tao, when he’s determined enough he could move mountains.

Chen thinks that having eleven brothers can be a little overwhelming, but he wouldn’t trade them for anything. Actually, sometimes he feels a bit like a princess surrounded by handsome princes. See, Chen is one of the youngest in the group, and sometimes he feels like he acts even younger than Sehun. Once Suho read them a story about a princess who was locked up in a tower and a prince who rescued her, and Chen immediately identified with the princess. She could see the world around her, but she couldn’t join in because she was trapped in the tower. For Chen, his fears are his tower keeping him away from the world. His brothers are his princes, they take him out of the tower and keep him safe from the outside world, while showing him how much fun it is at the same time.

Chanyeol…he’s a puppy. A big, lovable, happy as can be puppy. And just like a puppy, he loves all people without prejudice. That’s why it’s so hard for him to understand that people can find him a bit…overbearing. It can take him a while to learn to calm down but once he has, then you’ll see his quiet presence can be just as telling of his love as his boisterous hugs. Another thing, Chanyeol doesn’t like to hide anything. When he was a child, his parents would often hide their feelings from him and that hurt him more than their true emotions ever could have. So to avoid hurting others the way he has been hurt, Chanyeol shows what he is feeling all the time.

Baekhyun has a soft spot for the little ones. Oh he would die if he knew I told you, but he really does think of them quite fondly. They look up to him just because he’s older than them and you know, to a little kid a difference of even a few months can be awe-inspiring. Baekhyun sometimes goes out of his way to do little things for them. When they play a game he’ll try to engage the kids more than the older ones, and on nights when he can’t sleep he’ll walk around and check on the little ones to make sure that they’re okay. Even now that they’re all grown up, he still looks out for his baby brothers.

The worst moment in Lay’s life was when he found a sick baby bird and knew it was beyond saving. Not that he didn’t try to save it, he tried so hard that Kris had to stop him before he fainted. It was the first time Lay had actually witnessed death, and I’m afraid it scarred him a bit. He wanted so much to be a hero and save all creatures in need, and when he realized that there were some creatures he couldn’t help, he became depressed for a short time. I think that’s part of the reason why he rescued Keen, despite saying that the puppy reminded him of Chen. He really just couldn’t bear to leave a creature to fend for itself.

Xiumin designs clothing and jewelry! Ha, I bet you never saw that coming! It’s true though, he has dozens of ideas, he lost a lot of them in the crash to Earth but he remembers them all and he’s working on drawing them again—exactly the same, any changes he wants to make he’s putting on the back of the paper. He started drawing clothes for fun, and one day Suho picked up one of his pictures and told him that they were pretty good. He’s designed things for every member of the group, clothing based on their personalities and powers to help them move and be comfortable. He’s also designed charms for rings, bracelets and necklaces for his brothers. These designs were based solely on their powers. I think one day he’ll actually make those designs reality.

Lu Han once had a dream that he and Kris found out they had the same father. Over the course of several days he asked Kris numerous questions about his own father before finally spilling the details of his dream. He said that he just thought it would be nice to have a real brother. When Lu Han told me about that memory, he asked me why he couldn’t have had siblings. I told him that any sibling I could have given him wouldn’t have matched up to the connection he would have with Kris. As the oldest among their group, they stick together. And it’s true, they are best friends.

I bet you thought Kyungsoo was just soft and timid, am I right? Well, let me tell you—that boy is a swashbuckling pirate in another life. You should hear some of the daydreams he has; I think part of the reason he’s so quiet is because the inside of his head is so entertaining. Of course that doesn’t mean he’s indestructible. He is rather soft spoken in real life, but every now and then he’ll do something really big, sometimes even dangerous. He once hung a bed sheet off a branch and swung from it pretending to be a pirate. Usually those incidents end with him banged up and bruised. I’m hoping that somebody will help him come out of his shell.

Suho…oh where do I begin with him? I wish you could feel the love in his heart…but I’m sure you have some idea. How about I tell you that when Sehun came to the Sanctuary, he made it his personal mission to help Sehun talk again. Want to know why? I bet you can figure it out—Suho had a time in his life when he also suffered from a speech problem. After he was abandoned, he didn’t talk for half a year. To this day he’s not sure if he couldn’t or just didn’t want to, but either way he remembered how it felt to not be able to speak. I think if he wasn’t a Guardian he could have a promising career as a speech therapist. Or a babysitter. Or a father.

Kris is one of the most selfless boys—men—I have ever met. When I was just two half of a heart, I could still hear everything. Do you remember the wish Kris made that if he could only have one thing, he wanted for it to be Lu Han to get better? I heard that. If I could cry, I would have bawled. In my broken state I could only hear, I couldn’t reassure Kris that everything would be okay, but I was determined to make it so. I can’t do much to fix any kind of damage, but I never forget anything. Kris doesn’t know it, but I showed Lu Han all his old memories. I would have done it anyway, but I did make his wish come true. Lu Han got better, and I found out just what a wonderful son I have.

Maybe one day I’ll write entire books about my boys. I wonder who would read them though…

Sorry for the lack of updates. The good news is I have a lot of new ideas, but IDK how much time I have to write. We will see what happens.