Shea and Ali

[Experimentally]

Hello again, lovely forum members!

This is my first attempt, so any constructive criticism is welcome! I’ll try to improve! 

Here are the characters, in a perhaps too brief introduction.

Characters

Shea: An extravagant woman, she undertook the task of raising a plant-humanoid hybrid after finding some seeds that had taken root in a corner of her balcony. Also dating the human-plant hybrid. And being allergic to her? But Shea’s determined self will make it work.

Ali: An indeterminate age- apparently she’s been traveling for some time and retreating into a seed form to travel. She has tiny leaves around her wrists, elbows, neck, ankles, etc. She also has a series of flowers running down her spine that “sleep” at night. Shea takes care to stay far away from these. Can a plant get sick? It must be the human side of her.

 

Part 1

“So, do you eat salad?”

Shea held the bowl behind her back, afraid to show her partner what may turn out to be the equivalent of a bowl of guts.

“Salad?”

Ali was concentrating on writing out her name on a piece of printing paper. The pen she was holding had tiny vines wrapped around it. She tended to do that while focusing, and Shea found it cute.

Shifting nervously from foot to foot, Shea explained. “Yes... er. You take some assorted greens and put them in a bowl? It’s supposed to be really healthy. You can’t just eat chocolate, love.”

This was meant quite literally, since after Ali had stepped fully grown from the enormous plant bud on Shea’s balcony, she had only had the nourishment of a snickers bar. Over three months had passed, though, so maybe she didn’t need food.

Ali frowned and sniffed lightly. She absentmindedly used a finger to rub the tip of her nose. “So... you consume other life forms with less protein in order to receive more energy.” 

Shea blinked. “Yes, and also vitamins and stuff. It’s healthy.”

“Sure.” Ali said, turning to her with a smile. “I’m omnivorous too.”

With a laugh, Shea handed her the bowl. “Well that’s another thing to know. I was worried it was cannibalism!” 

“Cannibalism. Same-species- snf- consumption.” 

“That’s the idea, hon! Nice stuff like that.”

Ali grinned and prodded a leaf, the wrinkles in her leaf-crowned forehead smoothing out to leave an expression of mild curiosity. She sniffed again and pressed her wrist to her nose. 

The smell of coffee permeated the air as Shea poured hot water over some instant powder, creating a rich aroma that sang of store-bought mix. It’s caffeine, so what more could she want? She hummed and poured in sugar from a small glass bowl. Behind her, Ali dipped a finger in the vinaigrette and gave it a tentative sniff.

“Hhh!” 

She inhaled with surprise before involuntarily drawing in another shaky breath.

“Heh... haah.” A relieved exhale was followed by a couple blinks. Ali dropped her shoulders before being struck with a second itch. She half-raised her hands to her face and hovered in that position as the tickle ebbed and teased her, the sharp smell of the vinaigrette wafting from the bowl below. 

“Hah.... heeahh... ugh....” she sighed and then tensed. “Shea, help.. heahhhh... whheh-“

Shea had been watching with a confused look on her face. She was worried for her girlfriend, but had assumed that the impending sneeze would solve her predicament. Though it hadn’t yet.

“Um, yeah. Wow, darling, you take your time, don’t you? Is this a plant thing?”

Ali raised her eyebrows at “plant thing” only for them to draw back to a frown as her eyelids quivered, again on the verge of a sneeze- “HeahhHHHH...”

-which faded into nothing. She frowned and noticed that Shea had left the room.

Footsteps from the bedroom of their apartment heralded Shea’s return. She was holding a glass bottle filled with an light amber liquid. The label had a couple words that Ali couldn’t make out through half-closed eyes.

“Here! Use this, I suppose.”

“Thahhh... heh. Thanks?” 

Shea removed the screw cap and waved the bottle vigorously under Ali’s nose, prompting her twitching nostrils to flare dramatically as they inhaled the strong, acidic smell.

“heh- HEAHH- AAHHHH-“

Shea grinned victoriously. Apple cider vinegar hadn’t failed her. Ali snapped down, her hands braced on her knees as she released spray towards the table.

“HHHHTTCHHHHHHH! Ugh, there’s anothhhhHH- HETCHHH! ITCHHHHH!” 

From between her hunched shoulder blades, a series of petals burst through the thin fabric of her tank top. They looked like the spines of a dragon- perhaps Godzilla, Shea thought absently. They twirled in a burst of silvery colour and sprayed a cloud of powder with each shaky sneeze that Ali released.

Powder? No... pollen.

Shea inhaled involuntarily as the first grains found their tickly way into her nostrils. This only caused her to draw in more, and her nose scrunched up, a film of tears springing to her eyes as they began to itch. She raised a hand to rub furiously at the underside of her nose, the tip of which grew redder with each passing second.

“Ali, dear... I thihhH- I think I’m allergihhHH- allergic to-“ She was cut off by a sneeze, her forearm covering her nose.

“H’TCHHEEWWW! Ugh. HEETCHHHEW!” 

The tiny grains of pollen continued to swirl in the air. They drifted to rest on the surrounding surfaces, created a yellow film on the table, floor, even Shea. 

“Hah- HTCHEWW! H’TCHEW! Ah- Ali-! H’TCHEW!”

Ali, who had finally cleared the acidic smell from her nostrils, hurriedly retracted her buds back to their closed state. She pushed the bowl and bottle away. Then she firmly wrapped an arm around her girlfriend, who was in the throes of a sneezing fit. With the other arm she sent out a vine from her outstretched fingers to grab one of the clean dishcloths stacked on the counter. The vine then brought it around to Shea’s nose. It pressed against her flaring nostrils as she inhaled, shielding her from some of the effects of the pollen, and she took it distractedly as she snapped downwards again and again.

“HetCHEWW! Heh- H’TCHEWW! Ugh, it- H’TCHHHEE! It was id mby face. Huh- “

The last inhale tapered off, and she took a shaky breath, using the towel as a dust mask. “Thadks.”

“No, no, Shea, I’m really sorry.” Ali sighed. “It’s a defence tactic and I can’t control it... maybe I could change the pollen.”

“What?”

Shea was not at her most eloquent.

“I should be able to theoretically control my pollen explosions, but since I can’t, I could change the pollen they’re made of.” She looked at Shea, brow furrowed in worry. “Then we try again.”

“Try... agaid?”

 

 

Part two - a shorter part that doesn’t link to the first part... it just comes later on in the year. 

The two lovers lay tangled in each other’s arms, cuddling under a soft duvet. It was late into the night- perhaps early in the morning. Despite the time, neither of them were experiencing the deeper sleep they would normally have been, due to the occasional... interruptions.

“Heh... hhh-!”

“Ali, love-“

“HTCHHH!”

The smaller humanoid sneezed wetly. As she did, the tightly furled buds on her back burst open. They shot a cloud of powder into the air, which gently drifted down among their limbs. She groaned, freeing an arm from the blankets to scrub at her nose with her wrist.

The room was silent. The powder continued to settle.

Beside her, Shea sniffled once and began to protest.

“Ahh... heh... Aliiii.... your... heh...”

Ali rolled over with a look of concern. Eye-bagged, nose-dripping concern, but concern nonetheless. Her movement sent a small cloud of the powder into the air.

“your pollehhh- pollen! HECHHHHEWW!”

“Ugh.” Ali sniffed and rubbed her nose again, causing it to glow an even more angry shade of red. “I kdow, I kdow. I’mb sorry. But...”

“-But you’re sick.” Shea sighed and gave her an affectionate hug. She followed this up with a soft kiss to her partner’s warm forehead, frowning as she felt how high her temperature was. “I know, darling...” she paused. Then inhaled sharply before plunging into her arm, nearly kneeing Ali in the stomach. “HTCHHEWW!”

They both groaned in unison.

Needless to say, neither of them got much sleep that night.

[M214186]

I would to see this continued 

[Alex Hemmings]

two women together ommmmg. I love this so much.