Painting Flowers [Larry]

Chapter 3

Louis kneeled in front of one, of the many, strange flowers that littered the ground around him. His fingers delicately explored the stem, noting the little imperfections etched into the green, examining the peculiar pattern etched into the leaves and flower petals. It was like someone had sewn the distinct curves in the dark green leaves and painted the petals themselves into this rainbow like color.. It was something Louis had never seen. 

The scientist quickly opened his kit, pulling out the essentials for removing the flower without damaging it in any way. For one sample he removed the entire flower, roots an all and the bit of dirt surrounding it, in case that had anything to do with the flowers design. Then he collected fallen petals and leaves. Last he hovered over one more, clearing the base of the flower before carefully cutting the stem so he could inspect the inside. Louis couldn't wait to get a closer look at the cells of this specimen. It had to be extraordinary, just like the rest of the newly discovered plant. 

As Louis finished the job and closed up his case with all the tools he had used, carefully placed inside, he stood up and looked around the meadow for the familiar body of a tall, lanky boy. He was crouched over one of the many flowers when Louis found him, his camera flush against his face in a way Louis found a little weird. The incessant clicking of the weird black box in Harry's hand began to annoy Louis so instead of patiently waiting like he intended too, Louis cleared his throat rather subtly and clasped his fingers together behind his back. 

Harry didn't move like Louis intended. Instead he took his time capturing those last few pictures before slowly standing and turning around to meet Louis gaze. "I see you're finished then" Harry spoke, raising an eyebrow in a mocking manner. Louis was sure the strange boy knew he was finished, why else would he bother interrupting him? He needed to get back now and Harry was his guide was he not? "What are you waiting around for hm? You said it yourself, you're capable of finding your way yourself, go one then" the boy dared, okay maybe Louis was a bit rude and deserved that. 

"I-I thought you were guiding me" Louis responded, a little less confident than intended. 

"I will if you'd like to wait,  but I'm busy now" Without another word the strange boy took off in the direction he had been facing  before Louis interrupted him and went back to his own strange hobby. Louis sighed and turned back towards the dark tree lining. Now witch way had they entered from?...The house was towards the east right? Oh Christ maybe he didn't know where he was going. But Louis wasn't about to let Harry know that. 

"That's fine! I-I've got other things I could do anyways" Louis called after him, although the moment the words left his lips, he felt really, really stupid. Harry just kept walking, being his own independent person which Louis was really lacking lately. The older boy sighed and began to chew his bottom lip, taking a moment to look around him. His eyes landed on another fallen tree trunk just before quickly walking over to it. He planted himself on the floor in front of it, using the trunk as a place to rest his back because god knows how long he may be stuck here waiting for Harry. The older boy filed through his belongings before finding what he needed. A little black leather journal. He kept it for all his findings and notes on specimens. Louis wasn't lying when he said there were other things he could be doing, that was true. And so he began to sketch the nearest flower, letting his fascination with the beauty of nature and this plant in particular envelope him for a time. His minds set completely invested in the strangeness of the foreign specimen. Now Louis may not have been the best artist but he could at least differentiate between the different parts he drew of the plant as he noted each place in his journal next to his own pen sketched, model along the page. 

When he finally took his eyes off the amature drawing his eyes zoned in on a mop of brown hair. Harry was watching him, his camera set on his chest yet still in one hand. Louis would expect the boy would turn away in embarrassment at being caught staring but Harry didn't even flinch. Instead he casually turned his back to the scientist once again and continued on with his little hobby. No smile to be offered or simple wave. In fact, he looked a little sad, and that puzzled Louis for the rest of their time together. 

 ~

Harry abandoned Louis the moment they stepped foot through the tree line together. Leaving Louis to fend for himself, even worse, Louis never got the chance to ask him about where the lab was. So, nervously, Louis wandered up to the house and made his way into the large room just beyond the large double front doors. Standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, Louis looked for someone too ask. No one at the top of the stair case across of him. No one down the hallway to his left. No one down the hallway to the right. So much for that hope. 

Louis whistled silently too himself and decided on wandering about on his own. He remembered something about Gemma saying it was in the left wing of the house, so he turned left and continued on from there. Almost no one was in sight the entire time and Louis wondered where all the people were. It was definitely a very, very, large home but he had to come across people sometime, right?

"Dr.Tomlinson!" Louis whipped around on his heels, keeping a tight grasp on his kit, naturally, at the sound of a familiar female voice. 

"Mico" Louis grinned, relieved to find someone he could talk to. "Hi" he breathed, no longer nervous he'd get lost and stranded among the many corridors of the mansion. The young Asian woman smiled, folding her hands in front of her body innocently before taking a few steps forward. 

"Can I help you?" she offered. 

Louis nodded rapidly. "Oh, uh yes" The scientist used his index finger to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose before speaking. "Could you point me to the lab?" he questioned politely. 

Mico's dark hair waved around the air furiously as she nodded happily. The young girl was obviously very happy to help the doctor again and Louis appreciated it greatly. The pair spent the next couple of minutes walking down the same hall, Louis was surprised it was almost a straight shot down and towards the left. 

Mico hovered near the two very large and ancient looking doors shielding the view of the laboratory. She gestured Louis in but stayed planted on her spot. So cautiously, Louis stepped forward and let his fingers run over the cold, brass door knob. His eyes wandered over the dark mahogany the wood was made of, almost as if it was straight from the movie 'A series of unfortunate events'. Even stranger was, as the doors flew open and the room came into full view, it seemed the room was almost a replica- but twice the size and without animal cages.  Castle-high ceilings, long tables stretching through the room from one end to the other with breaks between them to pass through. The black tops of the tables were covered in any tool Louis could imagine, it definitely wasn't as high quality as his old office but close and much, much bigger.. He'd just have to make a call or two on shipments but other than that.....it was perfect. Louis wandered down the room in awe, his eyes feeding on the sight of flasks and tubes and burners and chemicals- he could go on for ages. The scientist set down his kit and let his fingers glide across the table top until his fingers met a plastic sheet that covered a separate section of the table. Hiss brow's furrowed questioningly as he gripped the sides before yanking it off, dust emitted from it like a cloud or spoke. Louis felt like he'd been smoking for 35years, coughing heavily as his lungs met the now dirtied air. When his breathing was normal again, Louis' eyes spied over the covered table. Books.. Tons and tons of books. Again Louis eyebrows scrunched together as he reached for an open one, his fingers gliding over the page where a flower was sketched. It looked so familiar-

"What are you doing in here?"