Welcome to Color

Panicking was certainly not the answer as Molly ran from the assaulting flower, throwing herself to the floor whenever its petals started twitching in warning. It was easy to say that the once immaculate home was now a disaster area, one that would put the Devil in an even worse mood.
Fear bubbled up in the pit of her stomach as she stared at the broken surroundings, pieces of clay smashed on the floor, dust resting in the air above and stuffing from inside the couch cushions seeping onto the carpeted floor. Pin’s glittered in the vanishing sunlight, a warning to what this flower could do.
Crawling on her belly, Molly made it to the front door, grasping the knob and pulling the wood open with as much strength as she could muster. She was quick to vacate the house, stumbling over herself and rolling into the wilted lawn. The chairs hadn’t moved an inch and she was quick to duck underneath a nearby one, pushing the long grass to the side so she would fit underneath the cramped space better.
Unsure if the flower had exited the house, Molly stayed put until the Devil arrived home.

His footsteps were slow as he swaggered up between the chairs. Molly could see his long black legs move with each stride before the chair above her was suddenly thrown off a fair distance away. His eyes were smouldering, jaw clenched to the point she swore she could hear his teeth grinding.
If Molly thought he was terrifying when he stared her down back with Captain, then he was downright horrifying now. She thought her heart had stopped just staring at his cruel face. His lips had been pulled up in a sneer, and his pretty eyes squinted with rage from behind the half-mask.

“What did I tell you?” he seethed in a calm manner, though his body language spoke different.

Molly swallowed her spit to soothe her dry throat, tears prickling behind her wide eyes. “I-I saw... I’m so sorry! I don’t know what happened!”

His head tilted slowly to the side, as if listening to a funny story being told by a child too young to tell it properly. “Did you open a window, like I told you not to?”

“Y-yes but—“ she stuttered.

Immediately he cut her off, “And then you left, even after I told you to remain inside?”

Molly’s bottom lip trembled and thick tears began to spill over her cheeks. She didn’t like this dream anymore; in fact she was now sure this was a complete nightmare. “I-I want to wake u-up” she hiccupped and began to pinch her arm until it was a bright and sore red.

Kneeling down in front of her the Devil began to wipe away her tears, thumbs curling over her cheeks before repeating the process like a windshield wiper. Molly was not pretty when she cried as she practically hyperventilated over the heavy sobs. Not only did her eyes become swollen and red but her nose ran and her cheeks became raw to all forms of touch. The Devil merely smiled at all this, his jaw unclenching before he was standing up again and pulling her into his side.

“Calm yourself down; we have a walk ahead of us.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Molly continued to cry, latching onto the white vest that covered his upper torso and crumpling the fabric between her fingers, “I just saw- an—an umbrella and the-then there was a-a flower!”

He nodded as he led her away from his home. “That is a rocket, Original...” he turned his eyes down to her, “Now what of this umbrella, you saw?”

“It- it went by the w-w-window” she choked out, rubbing furiously at her eyes. “I don’t know. I thought it could be you.”

The Devil nodded slowly and turned his gaze back to his home, eyeing the broken glass of his windows and the tiny holes in his front door. Leaving the weeping Molly on the ground, he swiftly entered his home and began to search for the rocket.

Molly, still trembling on the ground and trying her best to dry her tears, waited for the Devil to return to her. She hiccupped loudly and buried her face in the sleeve of her sweater, only lifting her chin when she heard a pair of footstep’s make their way towards her. It took a minute for her irritated eyes to adjust and take in the sight of two individuals standing before her. One was the familiar blue Captain, his captain sailor hat tilted to the side and bowtie straightened underneath his chin.

“Good evening Original” Captain cheered, reaching forward to pull her up from the grass. “We came by to keep you company! Is the White Devil back?”

Glancing over her shoulder at the wide open door, Molly bobbed her head before returning her stare to the second, much shorter individual beside Captain. Their gender was indiscernible as half their face had been painted a pale white and extreme makeup while the other half had been left plain and masculine. The right of their hair had been pulled back and twisted into buns, while the left side hung in tangles over their large ears. A tie hung around their neck, worn improperly and blue suspenders held up a pair of loose pants that had been coated in floral designs. Their upper torso was left bare and flat, a clue to their gender but left ignored as they spoke in a high feminine tone:

“This is the Original? Captain, introduce us!”

The larger male turned a sweet smile to his companion, placing a thick arm over their shoulder and obeying their wishes. “Original, this is Curry. Curry, Original”

“Hello?” Molly’s voice was unsure, voice timid as her hand was grasped and shaken lightly. “But my name—“

“What are you doing here?” The Devil interrupted her, stepping forward to put a wall between Molly and the two arrivals. “I thought I told you we were finished playing.” Captain visibly shrunk under the height of the Devil and his maddening gaze, pulling Curry tighter into his side. The couple appeared frightened, both keeping quiet in the White Devil’s presence. “Well?” Devil snapped, lips twisting in a snarl.

“I came for introductions” Curry’s sweet voice whispered. Their small eyes darted around, “what happened?”

“None of your concern,” The Devil hissed. “Now, if you want to be helpful, go fetch Creature.”

Captain, whose eyes looked apologetic, began ushering Curry to leave. His large hands patted the other’s shoulders and continued to hold them from moving in any other direction than where they had first come from. Molly watched them go, feeling upset with how quickly the only comforting faces were disappearing and leaving her alone with the Devil again. She had no idea to how he would react to the rocket getting into his home, or her breaking his rules. In fact, with the way he had treated Captain and the newest acquaintance, she could only guess that the Devil’s reactions would not be pleasant.

“Go inside and sleep,” he ordered Molly, continuing to surprise her by undermining her thoughts. “It seems I have one more loose end to tie up.”