❥ : tucking stray hair behind their ear (for Addy)
Gotham was icky. At first, Adarlassa didn’t really know what she meant by that. It was just a thought, a feeling, a reaction. It was overwhelming. But Terras had taken an entire fifteen seconds to figure it out and put it in words:
“Gotham has no trees. You’re a tree elf. You need trees. Go find you some trees. But good trees, not these sad saplings. Argus has better foliage than this.”
And it was… sort of true. Gotham had trees and shrubs but their roots were blocked in with concrete and stone. Their leaves were doused with harsh pesticides. Their water was full of chemicals and pollutants and the buildings were too tall for sunlight. They were isolated from each other, or squished too tight to breathe.
The first time she touched a tree in Gotham bare handed, she almost cried. That poor thing was in pain. It would not live to grow as big as it should. It would remain sick until its untimely young death. It upset her more than she thought. She almost abandoned her mission and went home, let Gotham deal with the demonic tumor it let fester in its belly and let it die, like its trees.
But Terras picked up on her discontent like he always had before. She hadn’t yet figured out how he could determine her mood just from a punch or a glaive throw, curse him.
She figured Terras was the reason Bruce pulled her away from the Hunt one night, folded up the maps and handed them to Terras and dragged her off to the jet. A short flight later and they landed a small walk from a fruit orchard outside of town.
“I know it’s not what you’re used to, but-” Bruce had begun, but Adarlassa was already off with a sob, throwing her arms around the nearest tree and rubbing her cheek against it before moving on to touch the next and the next and the one after. Only minutes later, she’d found the strongest, healthiest tree and climbed up to the tallest of the branches. She leaned back against the trunk and sank into the night air, hat and mask off and resting in her lap for maximum face to wind sensation.
Bruce made his way into the tree beside her. The way he sat on the limbs made her laugh softly. Although he could climb just as well as she could, it was painfully obvious that he was not as comfortable in the tree as she.
“You’re right,” she told him after a minute, kicking a foot idly as it hung off the branch. “It’s not the same but… these trees are happy and healthy. They’re free. They’re fed. They’re with friends. … thank you, Bru-PHFTFTFBFTPHT!”
A gust of wind shook the tree and slapped a twig full of leaves into her face. She laughed in absolute joy while untangling her hair. He helped, grabbing a strand and pulling it up along her skull until it could drop behind her long ear.
“Aww. How helpful,” she grinned, tying her hair with the extra length of her blindfold and then adjusting her position until she could lean over onto his shoulder.
[ @bloodiedpearls @felwarden-ed ]
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