Growing Up with the Twinflower Boys (Patreon)

Here's a little tale from the MC's childhood that takes place before their first episode brought on by the curse. They're pretty newly 5 years old here (a thing to keep in mind is that, canonically, MC is better read and spoken than most kids around their age). Little Ravinder is quite bright.

Later, I will add more to this one as well since this happens the same day that Yarrow gets attacked by bees and gets those stings on his rump, lol.

Reminder: "Aster" here is little Emre!

You sprint towards the treeline that separates Stonebrook from the forest. Chores are done, and you're free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day. And what you want is to explore the woods with your best friends. Maybe you'll find some sort of grand adventure today.

Aster and Yarrow are hot on your heels, squawking about your head start. Your early victory is squashed when you almost immediately stumble on a tree root, hitting the ground with your palms and skidding through the dirt. Your knees sting.

"Ravi!" Yarrow calls as he catches up. "Ravi, are you okay?" He catches up fast, fast enough that you now suspect he wasn't chasing you in earnest after all.

He helps you up, and Aster wheezes to catch his breath a short distance behind you. Fussing over your palms, Yarrow checks for cuts before checking your knees. Thankfully, you're just dirty with little scrapes.

"I'm fine," you insist. You're a whole five cycles now; he shouldn't fret so much.

He sticks his tongue out at you, and you're tempted to wack it with your dirty fingers. "Well, maybe you feel fine, but I don't feel fine seeing my best friend tripping and falling."

Before you can respond, you hear laughter. You can tell from the shrill voice that it's Ves Thornbloom. The village idiots who parade in his shadow join him soon after, though they don't look certain about what's so funny. The group is hidden behind an old shed that you passed on your way out of town.

"Yarrow, you're too nice to the Northbreaker baby," Ves says, flipping his hair. "Why do you hang around so much with them and Aster anyway? Does your mama make you or something?"

Yarrow sighs and shakes his head. "I told you before, I like to. I don't understand why that upsets you."

"They're still babies!" Ves screeches. "Look at your brother, he can't even run, and Northbreaker is barely old enough to walk. It's weird. You should hang out with me, we're nearly the same age."

You raise an eyebrow. Last you knew, Ves was only maybe two cycles older than you, and he's never been… What did Da call it? ‘A beacon of athleticism.’

Yarrow is perpetually too nice, though. "We see each other at school," he says.

Ves folds his arms. "You see them at school, too. You live with Aster."

Your friend shrugs. "I like spending time with them more."

Aster stops panting like he's in such disbelief over what he heard that he no longer requires air. Your eyebrows shoot up as you wait for Ves's ensuing tantrum. You know that Yarrow doesn't mean anything malicious by it; it's just how he actually feels. But like any time he's told no, Ves will take it like a personal attack.

"I don't get it," Ves snaps. "They're little. They can't even run like you, they're not strong like you, and they're still so dumb."

You wrinkle your nose. "Ves, when is the last time you ran for anything anyway?" It's a genuine question with the added bonus of also being a bit of a slight.

Yarrow snorts, then begins to laugh, which only fuels Ves's anger. He turns red in the face, and his idiots suddenly become more interested in what's happening.

"Oh, I know!" Aster chirps happily. "When that squirrel got into the schoolhouse. He ran outside!"

The dam breaks, and you and Yarrow begin to howl with laughter. You know Aster was just being helpful in his own way, and the look of confusion on his face just makes you laugh more.

This does nothing to soothe Ves's building tantrum. "It wasn't a squirrel! It was…it was a really small badger! They have big teeth and claws, and even the little ones are dangerous!"

Yarrow puts his arms around you and Aster and begins to usher you into the woods. He shrugs as he turns his face back to Ves. "Well, maybe my brother and best friend aren't as fast as me, but at least they know the difference between squirrels and badgers…"

Ves screams.

His goons rush past him.

And all three of you begin to run.

Yarrow keeps hold of your hands as you rush through the trees. Even if there were a fight and he'd be stuck getting the beating, he's still laughing. With the three of you ducking left and right around trees to make it, you easily evade the little group. You know the forests around Stonebrook better than any of the other kids. For all of Ves's talk about running, his friends are out of steam fast and lose you in the thick of the trees.

Aster is a bit out of breath again, so Yarrow carries him for a while until you're certain that there's no way they tried to follow.

Finding a pretty patch of woods, you slow down and explore. You find a bunch of mushrooms outlined in a big circle, and Aster begins to make up stories about why they grow like that. He loses track about halfway through, but warns you not to step in the middle of the circle.

It doesn't take long for you to find a sunny spot with some flowers and herbs to peel Aster's attention away, so you go with him to see what's growing around you while Yarrow wanders off to pee. You don't understand why he doesn't just pick a spot and go like he used to, but Aster tells you that his brother is kinda like a dog sometimes. You're not sure if you understand that completely, though one of your dogs at home has one specific tree he likes to pee on, so maybe it's like that.

Your friend is giggling as he spots a large trove of wildflowers of all kinds. "Look, Ravinder! There's so many! You think I can take a few to Mama, or will the bees be sad?"

You smile. "Papa says it's okay to take a few flowers, but you're not supposed to take them all. Dada likes it when I bring him flowers, too."

"My papa likes herbs the most, the really prickly ones even. Mama does love flowers, though. But no worms." The way he says that sounds like he's reminding himself. "What should I pick for her?" he asks.

You consider the small area. "Maybe you can take a few, one of each color, and then take some of the grass and weave them together. It can be a bracelet, and you won't need many flowers to make it."

Aster claps. "I love that! Let's do that. Will you help?"

You nod along and start selecting flowers together. Aster names all of them to you and then points out all the herbs as well. You're familiar with a lot of them, too, but Aster can already list all the stuff they're used for. You both end up with a lovely selection, Aster finding some of the older blooms and ones with missing petals because he's worried they don't feel loved. You gather a few that look a bit sad and lonely as well, along with a perfect white daisy for your da.

Yarrow returns, helps you find long blades of grass to weave into your flowers, and then sits with you as you begin making the bracelets. He helps Aster when his work keeps falling apart, teaching him the best pattern to keep all the stems and grass together on its own. You enjoy watching them together. Aster smiles big and wide when he finally gets the bracelet to stay together. Yarrow looks back at him with a lot of joy in his eyes, and you wonder what it would be like to have your own Aster or Yarrow — a sibling to help or one who would help you.

"Are you doing okay, Ravi?" Yarrow asks.

You nod and show him your work. His face lights up as he takes it from you.

"This is pretty," he says. "Your da will love it." He holds it closer to his face. "You're really good at the weave, Ravi. It reminds me of when Mama braids her hair."

Your face lights up, and you thank him as you take the bracelet back. The three of you go a bit quiet again. Aster is focusing, biting his lip in concentration, and Yarrow is staring into the sky. You can't help but wonder if he's bored. You know Ves is just mean, but it's hard not to also wonder why Yarrow likes to be with you and Aster all the time. He always seems to have fun, and he laughs a lot…but the others his age are always together, and he's the only one who doesn't join them. Even though you have school in the same place, he always finds you and his brother instead.

"Hey," Yarrow interrupts your thoughts. "You're making a weird face. Are you bored or something?"

You shake your head. "No, just thinking."

"Well…I found some really nice sticks when I peed. Do you want to sword fight?" His face lights up with a big smile.

"I'm not too…little?"

He shakes his head. “No, it's just sticks. It'll be fun. I can show you some stuff I learned from the guards.”

You eye him skeptically for just a moment. "You didn't pee on them, did you?"

He laughs. "No! But I kinda wish I had thought of that…"

You roll your eyes and stand, looking at Aster. "Are you coming?"

Aster shakes his head. "No, I got just a little bit left, and I don't wanna forget to finish it."

Yarrow shrugs and leads you over to the shady spot close to the mushrooms, where a few nice thick sticks have fallen from the trees. He picks through them and then breaks some of the extra little branches off before handing you one and taking one for himself.

You flip yours between each hand, trying to work out which feels more normal to you as Yarrow swings his with his right hand.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Which hand are you supposed to use?"

He shrugs. "Just use the right one and then if it feels bad, switch."

"So it's like writing?"

"I think so. Don't worry about it so much. Once we start, you'll know what feels normal. Come on and take a swing at me!" He bounces excitedly on his feet, taking up a pose that you've seen the guards do when they spar.

You stick with your right hand and try to mimic Yarrow's pose.

After squaring up just for a moment, you give Yarrow what he wants and take a whack at his makeshift sword with your own. His smile grows as he smacks yours back, his other hand on his hip. You dance around each other, laughing as you cross your sword-sticks, more so trying to knock them from each other's hands than hit each other with them. Yarrow smiles so wide that you spot a gap in his teeth on one side. He must have lost another one recently. He really is older than you, and it feels like a lot now that you think about it. He's taller, bigger, losing his first teeth…he goes slower so you don't get left behind or so you feel like you're one step ahead.

Your sword stick goes flying from your hand, and you blink in surprise.

"Ravi?" Yarrow asks. "Are you okay?" He goes over, picks up your stick, and hands it to you.

You nod. "Yeah," you say with a smile.

He tilts his head. "You can tell me," he says softly. "We don't have to play swords if you don't like it."

Shaking your head, you decide to go ahead and ask. If Yarrow really does feel too big to play with you, you'd rather he say so. "Do you really like playing with me and Aster?"

His eyes go wide, and he jerks back. "What?"

You shrug. "Ves said it, and you are bigger than us. Why do you want to be with us and not the older kids? There's a lot more of them to play with anyway."

His eyes go sad. "Do you…do you think I'm weird, too?" His voice is soft and crackly, like he might cry.

"Weird?" you echo. "No, I think you're being nice. Like when Papa eats the wilted leaf thing Da makes and says he likes it. You don't have to do that, Aster and I are fine by ourselves."

Yarrow shakes his head. "No, I'm not just being nice. You don't think I'm…I'm different or stupid?"

Your nose scrunches up. "I didn't say that. I don't think that. I just don't get it. You have to slow down for us all the time. You're not friends with the big kids."

Tossing the sticks to the side, Yarrow flops down on his rear and presses his face into his palms.

You join him, sitting close, a little worried about what your friend is thinking.

"I don't like the other kids," he finally says quietly.

There's a smug smile on your lips just for a moment, a zing of happiness that your friend really is your friend because he wants to be. "Why?" you ask. "Don't you want to, though?"

He shakes his head. "No, I don't feel like I belong with them. They always feel like strangers to me, and I don't understand them. Even the ones who aren't like Ves. Some are okay, but I don’t want to be with them for a long time."

"Oh," you say simply, though you're wondering why, and you're not sure if you should ask.

"I don't know why," he adds, reading the question on your face. "Mama says I have a 'young heart.' I don't know what that means, though. She said that I didn't play much with other kids even before Aster was born."

"Are you like my papa? He doesn't like to see a lot of people either."

He shrugs. "No, I like to see people, just certain ones, I guess. But I like being with you and Aster the most. I feel…like I belong."

"Grandmother told me that Dada and Papa are each other's 'safe place.' Is it like that?"

Yarrow nods. "Yeah, that sounds like it could be right. I feel safe, but also like I keep you safe…and I like that. I like being able to do that."

"Okay," you affirm, satisfied.

"And you don't feel weird about me being here with you?" Yarrow adds in a hurry, worrying his hands together. "Am I getting too big to play with?"

You shake your head. "No, we have a lot of fun together. I like being with you, and I know Aster does too."

He smiles and stands to his feet, holding a hand out to you. "Then let's get my brother and go find something sweet to eat!"

Taking his hand, you laugh. "Are you a bear or something? Maybe you'll get big like my papa some day…Da calls him a bear all the time."

You leave with your best friend, heart a little lighter, knowing that age doesn't make you any less of a friend to him. Aster fell asleep in the flowers, so Yarrow carries him back while you make a list of places to look for sweet berries and fruit trees. As you plan the rest of your day, you notice a funny wiggle at the side of your mouth…maybe you're growing up faster than you realize.