Bloom Chapter One: And So the Flower Bloomed}

Hello! Sorry I havent posted in a while; ive been busy with homework and other things outside of twelve amino, causing me not being able to post. Unless you havent noticed already, ive changed May's name again to Delilah for reasons I cant tell you, because that will be spoilers to the AU. Along with that, her flower is now orange-y red. I hope you like the changes ive made, and I also hope you all like Chaper one!

Prolouge: Here

(Im sorry this chapter is so long!)

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Tick. Tick. Tick. The soft melody filled Delilah's Ears, as she groaned. It must of been her human's old clock. It ticked non stop, through night and day. Never forgets to ring at noon, never forgets to ring at midnight. She had never really liked, or disliked it. She just thought of it as annoying. Delilah opened her eyes, to find herself staring out the window. Raindrops were patterd against it, a pattern that seemed to never end. She watched a raindrop drip down into another, and another, and another...She watched it do it again and again...She had watched it...She could see it. But how? The fur along her spine rose. A faint reflection was in front of Delihla. It moved when she shifted in her coushin. It blinked when she blinked...It was her reflection. Mom had never really described what her appearance looked like, but she woukd always say that she was so beautiful, and had the prettiest eyes. She couldn't tell if she was right. Pale, peach fur coverd her body, with even darker patches on her ears and paws, with a line of white in the middle. On her cheek, was a star.

Her eyes were clouded, with a tint of Yellow.....But her other eye had a flower on it. The flower was beautiful; a dark reddish center, the petals fading to a pretty light orange. She went to touch the flower, but when she did, it stung...Bad..It was painful. A small trickle of blood ran down her cheek, as she held a breath. What had happened? Why was a flower on her eye? "Delilah, are you still asleep?" An urgent call came close by, as she turned around on her coushin. There was her mother. Just as pretty as she had amagined her; beautiful Blue eyes, peach colored fur..The same she had, and.. Stained red eyes. Had she had been crying? "Mom, are you okay? Also do you know wha-" She cut her off. "Delilah, how are you feeling?" A spike of worry filled her tone. "Im fine, mom..Why wouldn't I be? But..Whats wrong with you? It looks like you have been crying..." Mom looked at her for a long moment, before continuing her scentence without answering the question. "Hon, listen. Your going to have to wake up..Like now. You're in danger. " Delilah looked at her with confusion. "Mom, what are you talking about? Im at home...With you, not outside. Im fine! I can see, too!" Mom shook her head, sadness clouding her eyes.

"You forgot, didnt you? You're dead. You ran away. You were struck by lightning... but you have a chance to come back to me, to you're father. But first, you need to wake up, other wise, he will kill you. Take your soul." A lump formed in Delilah's throat, as she blinked away tears. Mom was right, she had forgotten. But how was she talking to her mother, if she had no idea where she was? "Mom, why are you telling me this? Who is "he"?" Mom shook her head again. She had started to fade away, slowly becoming more and more transparent. "Mom, wait..Dont go! Dont leave me! " a pleading cry escaped delilah's throat, as she lunged forward off her coushin to grab her mother, to try to feel her comforting touch, but nothing was there. Only air. "Im not the one leaving Delilah, you are." Was her mothers last words. Within the corner of her eyes, beside her human's clock; there was a figure...A grey figure. But before she could really see who it was,   the darkness came, that lead to knowhere. Falling....Falling......Falling....

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Tick. Tick. Tick. Delilah opened her eyes. She was in a black, empty void. Groggy, she opened her eyes, wiping them to find tears. And blood. Realization chiped into her mind, as she lightly touched the eye that had had the flower. She lightly touched her left eye, feeling the soft, delicate petals. She opened her mouth to ask Thorn about it, but then shut it again. She didn't want to bother him. She could ask him about it later. "Kid, wake up. Time for the first vessel of the day." Delilah forced her tone to brighten. She didnt want to sound glum, or rude. With a shifting haze that turned her vision blury, She blinked. She looked down at her paws, and noticed that they were a light...purple. "Thorn, what did you do?" Delilah blurted, a whole lot of confusion in her tone, less than anger. "Relax, kid. This is you're first vessel, Ivy. You're here to fix her problems. In Twenty-Four hours of course." Twenty four hours? That dosent sound like a lot of time... Delilah sighed.

"Okay, great! So, whats her problem?" Thorn gave an annoyed sigh, before responding with a sarcastic tone; "I dont know, but maybe if you would let me finish then maybe you'd know." Delilah flinched. "Okay, sorry. You didnt have to be so rude." Continuing, with a less menacing tone, Thorn continued. "Look into Ivy's memories. All you have to do, is close your eyes, concentrate, and then you will see them." Delilah nodded. Closing her eyes as instructed; she concentrated...A small movie popped into her head, as a short clip of Ivy's life played in her mind, before switching to the next. Ivy was born as a stray, her mother barely able to take care of them. Her mother died of sickness, leaving her father to take care of her and her siblings. When she was old enough, she ventured alone into the outside world, away from her home in an alleyway. She lived on the streets for a while after that, until she fell in love with another cat. Once she became pregnat, her mate left her in the dust, claiming that he wanted nothing to do with her and their children. After a few mounths she was found by a stranger near winter time, A male cat took her in. They had been together for a while, until her mate figured out she was pregnat. He kicked her out of the house, leaving Ivy on the streets, alone with kits.

The short vision vanished, as realization hit Delilah like a brick. "Im pregnat!? Ewwww gross! No no no no! Thorn, whyyy?" She put paws over her eyes with discomfort. "Do you want to live or not? Besides, it's only for a day anyways. Now stop whining before you make me regret this decision. As your guardian angel, I decide your fate. If you complain too much, then you dont get to live. that." Thorn lightly growled, his tone sour, as if he had made a troubled expression. "Okay, okay I got it." Delilah said. She looked up, uncovering her eyes to look at where Ivy was staying. Ivy was in an alleyway, resting in a box. "Is this really where she is living?" She asked, a little shocked. "Yes, it is." Thorn replied blandly. "Now get with the program and stop sitting there like a bump on a log, we have a day to stop her from dying, so make this work." "Alright Ivy, its time to start another day!" Delilah chirped cheerfully. Ivy stood up. "Alright, first things first, you need some food in your system! Lets hunt!" Thorn added in a comment; "Sense when do you know how to hunt?" "I know enough! You stalk it, and then catch it. My dad tried to teach me once! With stuffed animals.... In the livingroom..." Delilah replied, half heartedly.

Ivy turned the corner towards the next alleyway, where the scent reeked with garbage and the main goal, Mice. She obviously knew where she was going. Ivy seemed to flatten her ears. "Whats wrong?" Delilah asked, confused. "Ivy is nocturnal, which means she likes to hunt at night." Thorn replied. "Well we only have twenty four hours...So I'm sorry Ivy, but your going to have to hussle up!" Delilah smiled, trying to pump up Ivy, or at least put her in a better mood. Within a few tries, and failing, making a small noise, or the mouse scurrying away, Ivy tried one last time for a decent meal. Getting into a hunting crouch, Ivy alined her tail with her body, and put her body so close to the ground, that it was nearly brushing it. A mouse had caught her eye, scavenging for food near a garbage bag. One mistake, and it would run away without hesitation. Getting as close as a tail length of away from the mouse, Ivy leapt, pinning the mouse down with one paw, triumphantly. "We did it! Good job Ivy!" Ivy grabbed the mouse in her jaws, and bit it, killing it instantly. After that, Ivy walked out of the Alley, mouse in jaw. Within walking a small distance, there was a breaf movement coming from behind, like claws clanking on the ground, coming to an abrupt stop.

Turning, Delilah noticed a group of dogs, hovering over Ivy. They were staring at Ivy, with anticipation, drooling. They looked starved, and hungrily stared at the mouse in Ivy's jaws. "What do you want?" Delilah blurted out, her neck fur rising. "You know what we want, kitty. The food, or pay the consequence." The leader of the group spoke, teeth bared. "Listen, I understand that you're hungry, but this is just one measly mouse, and im sure it wont feed all three of you. The dogs looked at each other for a moment, before turning back to Ivy. "Look, kitty. We dont have time for you're shenanigans, now give us the mouse. Now. I wont ask again; if you dont give us the mouse, you will be what we eat." They were trying to scare her off. By looking menacing. Delilah sensed Ivy's frustration. "Can you just, please find your own food? Im carrying kits, and they need to eat too, and-" The dog to the Right licked his lips. " great! That means theres plenty of meat for us." Delilah stiffened. Were they going to eat her? She was right. The leader signalled to move foward, as the dogs slowly paced towards Ivy, teeth bared, and lips curled back. "Ivy, run!" Delilah blurted out. With sligt hesitation, Ivy sprined away, dropping her mouse as growls and barks began behind her.

"What the hell was that!? Ivy is a dead girl walking now." Thorn growled, scowl in his tone. Delilah took over, the wheight of Ivys stomach was uncomfortable, as adrenalin pumped into her limbs. Delilah swerved corners, and dodged bushes; doing whatever she could to get away. She wasn't sure if she had lost the dogs. The blood pumping in her ears and the sound of wind whipping by made it hard to tell if the dogs were still there, or had given up. She looked behind her. Horror peirced her chest; The dogs were very close behind her. This is rediculous....Over one measily mouse? They must be real hungry to be willing to kill a pregnat cat for food...Who the heck raised them? Delilah's chest heaved with pain. She knew Ivy couldn't hold on much longer...But if she stopped running, Ivy would most likely be killed..And It would be all her fault.

Dread peirced Her mind. What if Ivy dies? Would she fail and end up dead because of it? She turned towards the next street, Looking for a way out. Delilah noticed a Pale, dog beckon her over, sliding under a small hole in the fence, lerfect for fitting a small dog...Or a cat. The dog must had noticed Ivy's destress. The fence seemed tall enough to keep the dogs out. Basically flying, and tripping over her own paws, Delilah slid under the hole in the fence, feeling the hot breath of the dogs on her tail just as she reached the other side. Scratches and barks lay on the other side of the fence, as the dogs leapt at the fence, failing to get to Ivy. Chest heaving with pain, Delilah sighed a deep breath, basically gulping in air. The pale dog trotted over, Nudging Ivy up. "Hello, miss...Are you alright? I noticed you were being chased by a few street dogs... Are you a stray?" "Yes, I am. Im Ivy..Thank you for saving my life." Ivy replied, catching her breath. "Your welcome! Im, Azalea. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. In the woods not far from here, me and a group of strays have made a den. You need some rest...Especially in your condition." Azalea said. "Are you sure?" Ivy asked. "Positive, were always glad to take in strays in need." Azalea replied, wagging her fluffy tail a bit. "I like her, she seems so nice! And-" DING. The ground shook as Ivy and Azalea dissapeared. "Whats going on?" Delilah squeaked out a suprised reply, standing upright.

"Your times up, its been Twenty Four hours." Thorn replied. "Oh wow! Time sure flies by when your having fun!" Delilah chirped. "You think Ivy being chased down by dogs was fun?" Thorn scoffed with a laugh." "Well sorry, but I was just trying to be optomistic, sheesh!" Delilah replied roughly. "Well, its time to sleep. You're going to need rest for the morning." Thorn said, with a flat tone. "Oh okay. But can I ask you something Before we sleep?" Delilah asked, her whiskers quivering. "Im all ears, but make it quick, I need my sleep too ya know." Thorn sighed.

"So, theres this flower on my eye, and it hurts really bad when I touch it. It bled a little earlier." Thorn went silent for a few moments, before replying, his voice a little uneasy, but strangely casual. " Oh, that. That is just a flower that blooms more flowers on your skin and fur. The flowers are...Powerful. By each vessel we do, which is twelve vessels; you will have a lot of flowers on your body. They are normal. For some people, they hurt. Others, they dont. They only hurt if you are a strong person. And thats good. But dont touch them, because if you do, then the flowers will bleed." Delilah thought for a moment, before nodding briefly. "Okay, I trust you. Thanks for telling me! Goodnight." She but her head on her paws, and closed her eyes. The last think she heard was "Goodnight." From Thorn, before everything faded away, im a blanket of sleep.