The Green Newcomer

[Strazio Rockwell]

Valerie shivered as he stepped through the Frozen Field’s gateway. A cloak made from a mishmash of leaves and vines clung to his lithe frame. Snow and ice covered the cloak, swallowing him in a layer of white. His fingers tugged at the clasp, which was just a few intricately knotted vines, and in one motion he shed his shell of cold and leaves. The discarded cloak withered and disintegrated after a few seconds, leaving behind a pile of rapidly melting snow. What remained was a man dressed in garish summer colors. He wore a long and loose coat that he wore not unlike a dress. While his clothing carried a smattering of bright oranges, yellows, and greens his skin only held a soft green pigmentation. Even his hair and nails were colored a pale green. As he wiped away the last bit of snow that clung stubbornly to his hair he produced a crown of flowers from his palm and wrapped it around his forehead.

Val smiled and stretched. While the Nexus wasn’t particularly warm by any stretch of the imagination it was a welcome change of pace to the blistering winds of the Frozen Fields. He scanned his surroundings and noticed several figures scattered across the Nexus. None of them were very interesting, just a few stormtroopers and camelot knights standing sentinel at their respective gates. None of them piqued his interest except for one humanoid fellow standing near the Fountain of Infinity. The stranger stood taller than the average person and wore sleek armor that was a much darker green than that of Valerie’s ensemble. Perhaps what was most striking about this character was the bright orange sphere seemingly embedded into its chest. Val clapped his hands together and stood on his tiptoes, excited at the prospect of meeting someone so peculiar.

As Valerie approached the stranger he came to realize that the stranger’s armor was part of his body. Still this discovery did nothing but to entice the mage closer.

“Greetings stranger!” Valerie practically shouted once he was close to the robot.

Grapefruit turned around and scanned the man placed before him.

“Ah, where are my manners?” Valerie said.

He held out his hand with the palm facing upwards. From the center of his palm sprouted a thin green stalk. The sprout grew quickly, developing a series of orange petals that spiraled around a central green body. A bright yellow pistil pierced through the twisting orange petals and spread open, providing a crown for the rest of the flower. Once the thin plant reached its full height of about a foot Valerie plucked it with his free hand.He offered the fragile-looking flower to his newfound companion.

“My name is Valerie LaMolle, and this is a gift,” he said, “in my land they call this a ‘Titian Lance’, a beautiful flower that hides a series of nasty barbs beneath its frail petals, but please do not fret my friend I have altered this strain so as to not produce its signature barbs, but please take it as a token of our newly minted companionship!”