The One In Green

ch. 4

The sound of screams were what woke me up, followed by the respective, "ow!" A punch from spooking a sleeping Guardian, followed by an, "okay, what are you.." A stop momentarily, the Once-ler taking in the view of his home. "Question, what are they doing here? And follow up, if I may, what are you doing here?" He was talking bitterly to the Lorax.

"Well, after the incident last night, we found one of your socks and came here to return it!  But when we got here, you were asleep!" The Lorax explained, placing the damp sock on the matress. 

I sat up from the couch I slept on, stretching as sleeping barb-a-loots that had piled onto me for warmth found their way to the other cushion.

"Exactly. And sleeping is the body's way of telling other people to go away!" The Once-ler said.

"I know, but you looked so cozy, and it was cold outside, and none of the animals, nor Y/N had a place to sleep! So we all fell asleep here! No harm done!" The Lorax mentioned, causing the Once-ler to glance over to me.

I waved sheepishly, mouthing a "sorry" to him.

"Huh." He got up frustrated with the Lorax, then with the other animals. The fish used his cups as bathing spots, or just to sleep in, the ducks using his bowls to lay their eggs, and the Lorax had grabbed the poor lads toothbrush, combing his moustache.

"Why do you have one of these?" The Lorax asked, and the Once-ler dropped to the floor, shocked at the scene. "You don't even have a moustache!"

The Once-ler took the toothbrush in his hands with disgust. "Okay, that's it!" He said angrily, standing up.

"What, I thought we made a deal last night!" The Lorax said.

"Yes, we did! And I said I wouldnt chop down any more trees!"

"And y/n and I said we were going to keep an eye on you!" The Lorax turned, done with the conversation, opening the fridge. "I'm starving, what's for breakfast!"

The door opened, and there was the barb-a-loot, eating an entire chunk of butter.

"Uh.. Breakfast is overrated." I chimed in.

The Once-ler grunted in frustration. "You know what? I got work to do. Yeah, I got to go into town and sell my thneed!" he dropped his pants, and the rest of his garments before going into his day clothes, only to then show a strange pink...something. I assume the thneed he was talking about.

"You chopped down one of my trees to make that piece of garbage?" He chuckled.

"Dont be rude." I muttered to the Lorax. I believed that he shouldn't have chopped down the tree but neither of us knew what it was or could be done with it.

"Garbage? Oh no, oh NO! You do not get it! This is a revoluionary product.." The Once-ler began, telling and demonstrating the uses for the thneed. While doing so, he winked at me, causing me to look away with a small smile. Having finally sat down and listen to him, look at him now that he was not an enemy, i got to take in his features.

He was so chipper, his smile was adorable, and when the sun hit his yellowed peach colored skin just right, you could see small freckles dotted along his cheeks to the bridge of his nose. His gorgeous baby blue eyes wandered from area to area, coming up with as many possible ways for the magic thneed to do its business.

"It even doubles as a hat!" The Once-ler announced, plopping the wet object upon the Lorax's head. "Of course, you probably want to wring it out first."

The Lorax threw the sopping wet thneed to the Once-ler. "Go ahead! Knock yourself out! But nobody is going to buy that thing!"

"Good to know, well unfortunately you are not the target market, weirdo!" The Once-ler said, taking his guitar and wrapping the strap around him.

"You're bringing a guitar?" The Lorax asked, to which the Once-ler answered, proud.

"Oh yeah, I got a little jingle! Gonna blow some minds, gonna sell some thneeds!" The Once-ler closed the door, and I looked at the Lorax, a little out of my daze.

"Go follow him, maybe crush his spirit a bit, so he will want to leave." The Lorax had given me a task. I nodded and ran out of the tent, following behind the Once-ler.

"Do you mind if I tag along?" I asked, tugging gently at the thneed he had slung around his neck as a scarf.

He turned, noticing who it was. "Uh, sure, I suppose, though I may be a bit busy selling the thneed." He set his guitar on the wagon and hopped one, stopping a split second to offer a hand to me, helping me up. I took it, and we both sat on the chair piece as Melvin, the now named donkey, started to walk.

"I would like to apologize for this morning, on behalf of the Lorax, the animals and I." I smiled gently, and he responded with a smile as well.

"Its.. Fine I suppose." He looked away, a small pink tint. It instantly vanished as he continued. "The Lorax is a real piece of work, though, his 'I'll keep an eye on you' shtick."

I nodded in understanding. "He was a lot like that when I first came here." I looked into the vast open area of the forest, lost in memory.

"How did you come to get here?" He asked. I blinked, my attention back to him.

"I can't remember much, I just showed up, I suppose. The Lorax did his best to get rid of me, but after finding no sort of action that worked, he took care of me." I placed my chin in my hand, chuckling soft. "At one point he, too, used my toothbrush as a moustache comb, just to get rid of me, but you can see how well that worked."

"Wait he was still trying to rid of me?" The Once-ler questioned.

I grinned. "Don't tell anyone, but from what I can tell, the Lorax doesnt seemed to be as bothered by you after last night's incident, and your promise."

He took the moment in and nodded. "Do.. You have an issue with me, still?"

I shook my head. "I may have been a bit tough on you for starters, but I just wanted to protect my home. You understand, right?" I looked into his beautiful light blue eyes, and he glanced away for a moment, taking a shuddering breath.

"Yes, I understand." He smiled. We then faced out attention to the upcoming town.