Lorax - Once-ler x Aurora - Breathless - Chapter 1

Alright, I decided to post this fanfiction in chapters that go along with the deviation I made for certain areas of this fanfiction. So, this is Chapter 1. I hope you like it.

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Once’ler sat perched on his wagon, his faithful horse pulling him along the small dirt path. His mother’s words haunting him deeper than he cared to admit. Underneath his happy-go-lucky smile and always making excuses to burst into song area of his personality, something had to give. He had a dream, he had a destiny he needed to fulfill and everyday, he grew closer. He knew that one day, he would find the perfect place needed to make the product the world could not live without.

As he strummed his guitar lying loosely against his fingertips, he began humming softly as a smell he always dreamt of filled his nostrils. He looked up over the horizon line of the land, his eyes fell upon the furry tops of trees and the smell that accompanied them made him realize he had found the place – for these were Truffula Trees – and the smell of butterfly milk that accompanied the trees with fuzzy round tops. He smiled as he inhaled the sweet aroma and closed his eyes in the retrospect of all his hard work finally coming to fruition, and his dream about to be realized. Without another thought – he started the work to make it happen…

A few days later, the sun was barely peeking over the horizon one warm August morning. The colors of fall were beginning to form along the trees and grass as she tried not to get her new white shoes full of grass stains before college was set to begin. She pictured the look on her mother’s face when or if she found out she’d worn the new shoes before the first day. It would surely take away any joy she wanted to experience before a long semester was set to begin. The red-haired girl giggled softly at the thought as the crisp air ran through her hair. She felt the heaviness of the change in her pocket and of her mother’s instructions for what she needed to buy at the store across the forest. While she had a hard time making friends living virtually in the middle of nowhere, she did enjoy the freedom and knew someday, there would be an adventure she’d soon have that would change her life forever.

Still a few miles away from the town, she found herself taking in the sights and smells of the scenery around her. She looked upon the dirt path she was traveling and as she bit her bottom lip, she looked in longing at the soft grass and beautiful trees wondering what it would be like to explore the woods without care like when she was a child. She smiled before walking off the bath and down a tilted embankment and giggled softly as she walked deeper into the woods. She watched in wonder at the swani-swans flying above the trees and into their nests atop the Truffula trees and smiled warmly watching the mother land and the chicks rejoicing at her return with their lunch. After a few moments of walking through the woods, a soft moment of silence fell upon her, but them in the distance, she heard a soft singing. She squinted her eyes and listened more intently and followed the voice trying to find the source. She peeked behind a group of trees expecting to see a few humming fish but instead, her eyes fell on a dorsal view of a tall male figure standing only a stone’s throw away. She was going to say a greeting but her shock of why someone actually being here peaked her curiosity and kept her from saying a word as she continued to watch him.

As she watched him turn, she blushed softly when she laid her eyes upon his face when he turned toward her direction. His kind face, warm eyes, and gentle smile were ones she didn’t recognize around here. She watched as he picked up a musical instrument and sat down on one in a large group of rocks near the trickling stream. She listened intently as he hummed a few notes softly as he tuned the instrument in his hands trying to match the tone of his voice to the tune of the strings. After all of the strings were to his liking, she listened as he began to softly sing a very soft melodious tone as if tuning up his vocal chords. After a few more moments, he stood up and kept strumming softly and she came up with the conclusion he’d changed his mind. Wanting to know more about this handsome stranger, she walked out from behind a few trees finally gaining the courage to approach.

As she opened her mouth to speak and gain his attention, his arm flew down and hit the strings to play a loud chord as he burst into song. Startled by the loud noise and the swani-swans screeching at the unexpected sound, she stepped back. Not looking at her feet, she unintentionally stepped into a small hole and tripped, feeling a rock knick her skin and allowed it to continue to fall into it knowing if she moved her ankle, it could surely bend in an unnatural direction, so she just instead fell with a thump onto the soft grass. The tall man glanced over to the noise and his eyes grew wide as he watched the girl sitting up and wincing in pain as she grabbed her leg.

“Oh my goodness, are you okay?” he asked as he ran over to her after placing his guitar gently on the ground.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just have to look where I’m going next time.” She said, trying to laugh but groaning instead as the pain shot up her leg as she inspected the fresh cut on her ankle. She tried to get up and walk it off, but he touched her shoulder as he looked down at her ankle.

“No, I wouldn’t move it too much too soon if I were you. It looks kinda painful. Wait here.” He responded softly as he got up and ran to a bag he placed on the rock. He grabbed an old t-shirt and ripped off a piece and walked back over to her. He kneeled next to her before he crouched over and placed his arm around her shoulders than under her arms before he pulled her to a standing position, making sure she didn’t put her injured foot touch the ground. He allowed her to put her weight on him as he walked her over to the rocks where he had been sitting.

He gently lifted up her leg and placed it upon his lap. She watched in shock as he gently pulled off her shoes that were now covered in dirt and grass stains and placed it on the rock beside her before he took a bottle of water and washed away any dirt or particles that may have gotten into the wound. She winced slightly at the frigid water before he dabbed away the excess before he wrapped the white piece of cloth firm but gently around her ankle. She watched intently as his fingers worked carefully to tie a knot in the bandage to keep it from becoming undone. “You gotta be more careful next time.” He said softly as he looked up from his finished work and smiled warmly at her.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind…” she replied.

He looked at her hair billowing softly in the wind. Her cerulean blue eyes staring deeply into his dark brown ones. He felt his face flush when he realized one of his hands were still gently holding her ankle, his other near her kneecap, and her toes gently pressed up against his abdomen. He gently removed her ankle before he was going to have her hobble up to his cabin to get some pain medication, but quickly decided against it. Wondering exactly what to do next, he was happy to hear her speak.

“Um… Thanks…” she said, hoping he’d tell her his name.
“You’re very welcome.” He said with a brilliant smile. He looked at her as she gave him a quizzical look and a few moments to think it over. “Oh. Name’s Once’ler.”

“Once’ler… I’m Aurora.” She said, placing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Aurora. That’s a wonderful name.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, Once’ler… What exactly are you doing here? I mean, I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never seen anyone attempting to live here in the forest…” Aurora inquired.

“Well, normally I would never give away my business secrets to a stranger… but… you seem harmless enough. Now tell me….” Once’ler whispered as he drew his face closer to hers making her eyes wide wondering his intentions and feeling her fist clench ready for anything he may attempt. “….can you keep a secret?”

“Uh… Sure.” She said as she watched him draw back and place his arm into a knapsack he was carrying a few items in. As he was looking through the bag, she took a moment to look at his cabin he set up. He looked like a small fish in a big pond. She looked back at him and knew he was most likely just a few years older than her. She wondered silently why his parents would allow their son to live alone in the woods and more importantly, what kind of business venture, no matter how unrealistic, could survive in the middle of nowhere. Why not set up in the city instead?

“…and here we are! Now close your eyes…” the Once’ler proclaimed proudly as he kept his hands behind his back careful not to let her catch a glimpse. She was second guessing ever asking him about it but nevertheless, she found herself closing her eyes. She felt a silky fabric soon covering her shoulders and resting warmly against the bare skin of her neck. “Okay. You can open them.”

After hearing his voice, she opened her eyes and looked down at the soft fabric around her neck and the first reaction was nothing more than a perplexed look. “So… what do you think?”

“Um… What is it?” she asked.

“It’s a thneed!” he said, a very commercial voice now coming from his throat as he got more louder and dynamic as he continued to speak.

“…what?”

“A THNEED! It’s going to be the latest and greatest accessory in the modern fashion world! Both men and women will soon never be able to live without one in their wardrobe! It’s possibly the only accessory you’ll ever need again! Look, it’s a scarf, no – it’s a hat!” he said, removing it from her neck before bundling it up before placing it on her head. “But wait, it’s also – a sweater!” she said removing it from her head before putting the fabric over her head, but it got stuck because of the smallness of the hole, getting stuck against the bride of her nose. “Uh… I can fix that.”

After a little bit of struggling, Aurora finally pulled it loose and handed it back to Once’ler and tried to fix her hair that was now standing on its ends.

“So… other than the last part, what did you think of my pitch?” Once’ler asked.

“Fine. I just think the product could use a little work.” She said with a slight laugh.

“Well, this is just the prototype. Maybe I should just check the blueprints once more and… Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! You probably didn’t expect me to speak this much. I do apologize. It’s just still so exciting to me. You know, dreams finally being realized and all!”

“No! It’s quite alright.” Aurora said, grabbing his arm. “Listen, thanks for everything. I should really get going. I just need to get back soon. My mom is waiting up for me.”

“Oh…”

“Hey, um.. I’ll be heading this way tomorrow. I’ll be happy to try it on then and let you know if you fixed the problem.”

“Really?” he said, a smile tracing his lips.

“Sure. Why not?” Aurora said, reaching over and reaching for her shoe so she could put it back on her foot. Once’ler watched as she sighed dejectedly at the shoe when she saw the massive green stains along the sides and front of the white shoe.

“Wait.” Once’ler said, taking the shoe from her hand and taking the other grass-stained shoe off her other foot before taking them both and walking over to his cabin. She watched him leave with a perplexed look along her face. After a few moments passed, he walked back out and her shoes appeared even whiter than when she brought them home from the store.

“How did you…”

“Ah-ah, a magician never reveals his secrets…” he said with a wink before he placed the shoes back upon her feet. He took her hands and pulled her up. The pain had dulled and she thanked the Lord that her fall hadn’t caused more damage. “You sure you’re gonna be alright?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” She said, about to walk away when she felt his fingers still grasped softly around her wrists. She looked down at her hands and Once’ler gasped slightly before quickly withdrawing his hands and a blush growing quickly across his face.

“Be safe.” He said before he saluted her quickly before walking off to continue his work on his thneed.

As Aurora walked away, she looked back at the tall man and smiled softly in anticipation for what tomorrow held…''

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