• Protea | Weekly Challenge Entry •

Content Warnings: Fire, mentions of death, brief depictions of mourning

If you are not in a state to read these topics, please put yourself first and click off of the blog

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Take care not to be separated from your Guardian when exploring the forest, else you become Lost in its trees…

The warning was whispered among the Eternal Children, yet it did not stop all of them from venturing into the surrounding wood. For some, it was simply to find solace in solitude, whereas others used the forest as a place to expend an overflow of energy. Even so, each and every Kokiri who stepped outside of the bubble of magic that kept them safe made sure to keep their guardian fairy close, for they knew what would happen if they did not.

Though it had been quite some time since the last Child was deemed Lost, there were still those who ed…

They had been a quiet soul, though that was not to say they were unsociable. Oftentimes, their actions said more than their words ever could, and it was well-known among the Kokiri that the simple action of spending time with them was more than enough to express one’s appreciation. In some ways, their Guardian Fairy was the opposite – always willing to talk to anyone who would listen about anything and everything – yet he was also incredibly vocal about how much she cared. While some might have considered him overbearing, there were others who appreciated the Fairy’s nurturing nature and awareness of others’ emotional energy. The pair complemented one another; the Kokiri’s quiet nature would mellow the abundance of energy from the Fairy and in return, she would ensure the Kokiri would not overexert themself socially.

It was not uncommon for the Kokiri to find a secluded place within the forest when they needed to find silence or simply needed time to themself, and one of their favorite places to hide had been a hollow tree only a few paces away from a small clearing. The location held its dangers, yet there was no denying that it held few disturbances. It was a perfect place to get away from the stress and noise within life and simply exist…

However, it was oftentimes the Fairy who prompted the Kokiri to take such a break, as he would recognize the signs of the Kokiri reaching their limit before they recognized it themself. While she only ever offered a recommendation, the Kokiri knew that the Fairy’s words came from a place of genuine care for their wellbeing.

They did not want to think of when they were younger and refused to listen, going beyond their limits until they could not physically move…

Of course, there were also days like this one where the Kokiri was not on the verge of burnout and instead simply wished to spend their time enveloped in the small joys of nature – the way the freshly fallen rain rested upon blades of grass and flower petals, the warmth of the sun as it sifted through the canopy of leaves, the rush of the wind carrying the forest’s song… In some ways, it made the Kokiri feel… small, like their troubles were nothing more than a raindrop trickling down a tree branch and into the roots below the surface. In others, it made them feel connected to the world surrounding them, reminding them of their existence and how lucky they were to be alive…

…it did not take long for the Kokiri to fall asleep, their Guardian watching over them as they slumbered.

The first thing the Fairy noticed was the rise in heat, soon followed by the smell of smoke.

It was not uncommon for fire to exist within the surrounding forest, as there had been many instances of trees burning down after a lightning strike, yet there had been no rain, no thunder, no sign of such a thing occurring.

And yet, the smell of smoke grew stronger.

After a quick glance to check if the Kokiri was still asleep – they were, which did not ease the Fairy’s fears as much as he hoped it would – she slowly flitted away, searching for… well, he honestly wasn’t certain what she was looking for, but simply hoped whatever it was could quell the wave of anxiety threatening to overtake him. She could not venture far, else he place the Kokiri in danger, but doing nothing could also place them in danger. It was the uncertainty, the lack of control, that spurred her into action.

The forest was quiet. Something was wrong, yet the Fairy could not discover what it was. Even so, he knew she had to get the Kokiri to safety.

The Kokiri’s breathing was labored, the rapid movement underneath their eyelids suggesting they were in the midst of a nightmare. The Fairy knew that when this happened, it could be difficult to wake them, but there was something telling him that she had to try. If he didn’t…

…she didn’t want to think about what would happen.

The smell of smoke grew stronger, the light surrounding noticeably shifting. The fire was spreading, and it was spreading fast.

He was running out of time.

To her relief, the Kokiri abruptly opened their eyes, and though it hurt his heart to know she could not comfort them. There simply wasn’t enough time if the Fairy wanted to ensure their safety.

The Kokiri began coughing, the smoke no longer just a scent carried on the wind. They slowly shambled out of the hollowed tree and tried to traverse through the forest, but the surrounding smog only grew heavier as the heat worsened.

The Kokiri was struggling to breathe, and the Fairy could only watch as they crumpled to the ground.

The forest was glowing as time ran out.

In the ashes of a clearing, a forest imp opened their eyes.

They had no memories from before this moment, but they knew there had been something. If there had been nothing before they awoke, then why did they feel such a strong sense of loss?

Why did they feel like someone was supposed to be by their side?

Tears began to fall from their eyes, a pain blossoming in their chest, yet they did not know why.

Where life had burned away, new growth had begun to sprout. Green branches began to grow on the body of trees that would have been deemed dead, flower buds began to peek through the soil, and the creatures that had once abandoned the area began to return. Amidst this new growth, a spirit took form.

It took several days for the spirit to fully piece himself back together – and even then, her new form was not what it once was. His wings were gone, her senses had shifted…

Yet the guilt still shackled him.

She ed those final moments, the fire overtaking him and the Kokiri before the world grew dark. She ed being torn apart, piece by piece, yet the physical pain was incomparable to the pain within. He had failed, and her friend had to suffer because of it.

And yet, this form could not cry.

Guilt turned to grief, and all the spirit could do was curl into himself and wait for the wave of sorrow to , even momentarily.

The imp chose the name “Hyacinth.” They knew it hadn’t been their name before, yet who they were didn’t matter anymore. They are Hyacinth now.

The Blupee aimlessly wandered the forest day after day, searching for any signs of the Kokiri and they became. She could only hope they were safe, even as one of the Lost Children.

Hyacinth was resting on a scorched tree-trunk at the edge of a clearing when they heard the faint sound of bells. It was a sound they could not hearing before, yet it was a beautiful sound they wanted to hear more of.

The Blupee began to wander towards the remnants of what once was the Kokiri’s secret safe place, a habit she had developed after the many weeks of searching for any sign of his charge and friend.

A soft glow pierced through the underbrush as the sound of bells grew louder, and Hyacinth could only watch in wonder as a small spirit pushed through the brambles and entered the clearing.

The Blupee stopped in her tracks at the sight of the forest imp sitting on the remains of the hollow tree. For a brief moment, he thought she was simply imagining things – after all, it seemed too good to be true. Yet as time ed and the imp still remained, he couldn’t help the swell of hope rising from within her.

The spirit slowly approached Hyacinth, as though it was examining them. The sound of bells accompanied its every step, and Hyacinth could only watch in awe as the antennae on its head gently moved in the wind. With a careful motion, they lowered their hand for the spirit to smell…

…it was them. It had to be them. It had not been the first time the Blupee wished he could shed tears, yet this time, her tears would be of joy and not sorrow.

The spirit jumped into Hyacinth’s lap – much to their surprise – but the shock soon gave way to a strange feeling of comfort. Something deep within them hummed with recognition, and as they looked closer at the spirit…

The imp opened their mouth for a moment, their voice creaking from a lack of use. Disgust briefly flashed on their face, likely from the sound they produced, before they tried again. Their voice was still hoarse, but the Blupee could feel his spirit lift at the sound of her name:

“Protea?”

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Hullo Zelda Amino!!

I have quite a bit to say about this blog and its creation process, so you’ll have to excuse my rambling.

First things first, let’s rewind a bit to 2019. Yes I know that was six years ago bear with me.

On January 19th, 2019, Lilcreaper posted a batch of Blupee designs that s could adopt for 50 coins, and I managed to adopt this design:

At the time, I wasn’t entirely certain what I would use the design for, but I still wanted to Lil and let my impulsivity win. I even doodled the Blupee design in one of my sketchbooks (no I will not be showing pictures, but that’s because I do not have access to that sketchbook atm), but I never posted anything with the design.

Fast forward to 2025 and I still had no idea what to do with the design, and honestly I almost forgot I had it. I don’t what conversation reminded me about the Blupee I adopted all those years ago, but I do that I left the conversation with the idea to include the design into Hyacinth’s story… somehow.

Of course, that would require I actually *write* Hyacinth’s story…

Enter the current Weekly Challenge!!

My original idea for this challenge was actually to make a fairy companion for Miki, but as I was trying to think of how I would execute such a thing, the shower thoughts kicked in and I had the genius idea of using Hyacinth instead. Afterall, they are a skull kid, so it would make sense if they had a fairy companion at some point in time, right? Enter shower thought number two of using the blupee design as the inspiration for Hyacinth’s fairy companion, and then enter yet another idea of how the fairy became a blupee after being separated from their kokiri in the Lost Woods. But wait, the ideas don’t stop there!

You see, during last August’s Title Challenge, I ran the campaign with Hyacinth as my character, and one of the things we had to include in the character sheet was one of our characters’ fears. For Hyacinth, I made that fear fire. Afterall, they are a forest imp (which I interpret as literally being made of wood and plants, hence why Hyacinth has a tree-bark texture), so it would make sense for them to be afraid of catching on fire and burning to… not death because they’re technically already dead but I guess still death?? Anyway, while all the ideas of how I would connect the blupee design to Hyacinth’s previous fairy companion were firing, I also had the idea of implementing the fear of fire somehow – afterall, what if the reason Hyacinth is afraid of fire is not just because they could catch on fire and burn away, but also if it’s a subconscious fear based on their time as a Kokiri? What if their fear of fire is not just about survival, but also because a fire broke out and separated them from their fairy companion, resulting in both of their transformations?

AKA: what if I further traumatized my characters?

Don’t worry, we’re still not done with the rambling.

Once I decided how I was going to proceed with the challenge, the next step was naturally the design process. Since I was using the Blupee design as an inspiration, the design process actually went by fairly quickly – I already knew what colors I wanted to use, and the patterning on the Blupee design were an additional design element that I thought would be fun to try and include. However, I still felt like I needed one more design inspiration…

…anyway so this is where I started researching bugs.

I ended up using the Purple Emperor butterfly, the Purple Thorn moth, and, the Violet Dropwing as references for wing design (you can see there was a pattern with my search queries), and then from there just kind of grabbed shapes I liked while sketching. I also tried to include the patterning on the Blupee design in the wings to make the two designs feel coherent beyond just using the same color palette. I also took the pattern on the Blupee and made a particle brush to add a bit more detail to the artwork.

I did entertain the idea of creating a humanoid design for Protea, but I didn’t really have the time for it and wasn’t entirely certain of what that design would look like. Maybe one day…

As for how I came up with Protea’s name, it’s actually pretty simple? For those who don’t know, I’m a bit of a floriography nerd and have multiple books on the subject. I actually got a new one recently that is entirely on Victorian floriography (as some of the meanings differ from modern floriography) and I decided I would consult that book instead of my normal one when naming my fairy.

One of the flowers I was considering was the bluebell because its scientific name (Hyacinthoides) is very similar to the hyacinth (Hyacinthus) and I thought it would be a cute easter egg, but I ultimately decided against it because I felt like the meanings listed in the book – humility and faithfulness – didn’t really fit what I was looking for. Among the other flowers I considered were crocus (cheerfulness and youthful glee) and cypress (death and mourning), but I ultimately decided on the protea because of its meaning of “transformation”.

Fun fact: I don’t think I actually referenced floriography when I first named Hyacinth, but there are a few meanings that I think fit them, like “gentleness of nature." I believe I actually named them after the Ancient Greek myth of Hyacinthus – who was transformed into the hyacinth flower after his death at the hands of the west wind Zephyr – but it’s been years at this point, so I may be mistaken.

As for the writing process, there’s really not much to mention? I did try not to focus too much on Hyacinth, as this is an entry for a challenge where you make a fairy companion, but I also didn’t want to spend too much time focusing on Hyacinth as a Kokiri – which is unfortunately when Protea would be a fairy and not a Blupee. I will mention that the decision for Protea to use he/she pronouns was entirely to complement Hyacinth’s they/them pronouns and also because I just couldn’t decide on one gender to give him… so why not give her all the gender?

…okay I think I've rambled enough. If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading all of it – I know it wasn't easy ^^”

Until next time ♡

~Dorkling

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