//------------------------------// // Anything // Story: Embodiments // by Thorn buck //------------------------------// Wallflower Blush stared at her strawberry sundae in complete disbelief. She had tried her hardest to retrieve her backpack from the disturbingly cheerful man, but the dammed mustached oddity had insisted on carrying it for her till they reached the desired place. He had stated that he wanted reward her properly and that a gentleman never falls back on his word. Honestly, in any other situation she would have been flattered by this kind of treatment, but the man couldn't have chosen a more bad time to do it. It didn't help that people were giving them funny looks when they passed them. She really hated drawing so much attention. After the man had finally found an ice cream bar to his liking , he quickly rushed her inside and planted her on a chair. She didn't even have a chance to open her mouth to protest because the odd man had already blitzed to the counter. She thanked the powers above that the place was relatively empty, the thought of everyone staring at her made her feel weak. It wasn't long before he returned with a bowl of ice cream and a large smile on his face, dropping it right in front of her. "I hope it is to your liking, young lady." She tore her gaze from the icy goodness and stared at the man. She had to admit, the dish did look quite appetizing. "It looks pretty good.." She sighed. "You really didn't need to do this for me. A simple ´thank you´ would have been more than enough." As expected the man just brushed her off with a shake of his head. "Pish posh, you need not to be so modest. This reward is something you have earned." "Fine, I will accept it." She gave in with a roll of her eyes. " Can I now have my backpack back, please?" The man smiled and nodded. "Of course." He handed it over to her and she quickly took it. Phew, finally. She internally sighed in relief. The thought of just erasing the weirdos memory entered her mind, but after a moment of thinking she decided against it. It would be too much of a hassle to bolt away and to leave the man to his own devices. Besides, it would be rude to erase his memory after all the trouble he went trough to reward her, even though the pale man had a weird way of going on about it. The ice cream was a nice plus as well. Well, might as well dig in.. She took a small spoonful and plopped it in her mouth. She let out a pleased hum. Yep,it was delicious. She wasted no time and started to happily munch on her desert. The man smiled at the sight, leaning into his fist. "Tell me something, are all the young people here this helpful?" He questioned. She raised a brow at the question. "Whad do yhouh mean?" She asked with a mouthful of ice cream. He chuckled at the sight, causing her to blush in embarrassment. "Ah, I see that the ice cream is indeed to your liking!" Wallflower buried her face into her palms, groaning in defeat. "But back to your question. It was just yesterday when a young girl helped me to find my way in this city!" He caressed his mustache. "Now that I think about it, she seemed to be in the same age group as you. What a lovely coincidence." She lowered her hands, having recovered from her embarrassment. "Really? " She asked surprised. "What was her name? If she was the same age as me, I could maybe recognize her." The man smiled at the memory. " I believe her name was Pinkie Pie." A look of recognition appeared on her name. " Pinkie? We attend the same high school." The man smiled gleefully." Jolly coincidence! Is she a friend of yours?" A frown found its way to her face. "Well..not really." She said, her eyes downcast. "I mean, shes nice, but we never actually hung out together." A sigh escaped from her lips. The man frowned slightly,taking note of her downed mood. "Oh, but surely a helpful girl such as yourself has many other friends." He tried to cheer her up Wallflower wondered why the man cared about her social status. It was odd and it made her feel out of place. "To be honest I don't actually have many friends." The words seemed to escape from her mouth. She had no idea why she decided to open that can of worms to this weird man. Maybe its because she had never talked to anyone for this long since forever. His smile faltered for a brief moment. "Ah, do you wish to talk about it?" He offered with a soft tone. Wallflower snorted. "It would be nice, but it feels weird to talk about these kinds of things to a total stranger, you know?" He nodded understandingly "Naturally, humans have a tendency of fearing the unknown after all." He raised a finger. "But I reassure you that I am not some any no-face from the streets. I am a professor and have years of experience in dealing with students such as yourself." Her eyes widened in surprise. The man was a teacher? She was not expecting that. "You are a professor?" "Indeed! My name is Görnebog." He tipped his hat. "What would yours be?" "O-oh, Im Wallflower Blush." She stuttered at the sudden question. Görnebog nodded his head approvingly. "Hmm, a beautiful name for a beautiful young lady." Wallflowers face turned red from embarrassment again. "O-oh thats..nice to hear?." She said awkwardly. Quick! Return the compliment like a normal person would! Her inner voice screamed at her. "Your name fits you too! Its very.." She cleared her throat. "...Nonsensical?" Wallflower offered with a strained smile. Görnebog stared at her silently with a look of utter confusion. Her smile fell, replaced by a blank stare. " I actually have no idea what your name even means." Smooth. The man blinked before letting out a small chuckle. "Understandable. There are only a few who do know." Awkwardness was replaced by intrigue. "Really?" He nodded. "Indeed. Its quite the rarity" He winked at her. "A smart girl like you has probably already figured out that I am not exactly from around here." Wallflower gave a small smile. "Well yeah, the weird name was a dead give away." She winced at her poor choice of words "No offense of course!" she added. Görnebog waved her off. "Pish posh! None taken." The man clasped his hands together. " Now that the introductions are past us, shall we return to the main topic?" Wallflower sighed. " You mean my lack of friends?" She asked dryly. Görnebog nodded and motioned her to continue. "Fine, but its nothing really special." The girl muttered before continuing. " I have always had problems in socializing with people. I do not know how to start conversations without it turning awkward or uncomfortable." She fidgeted in her seat, eyes downcast. "Others have tendency of ignoring me when I try to speak to them, and they never really talk to me either..." She rolled her eyes. "Expect when they want me to do something. It feels like little old me is completely invisible to everyone. " "That sounds very unfortunate." Görnebog said with a soft tone. "Have you tried talking with someone about your predicament? The school counselor or a teacher could provide you with a way of explaining your situation and finding a solution." Wallflower scoffed. "Been there, done that. They just told me to try my best and interact with my fellow students more." "Exposure therapy." Görnebog added, tapping his finger on the table, "Like all forms of therapy the results vary from person to person." He flicked his mustache. " I can see that it wasn't suitable for you." He said firmly, catching her of guard. She wasn't expecting the man to actually have experience on the matter. "Yeah, it just made things worse." Görnebog was silent for a moment before continuing. "Tell me something.What was your childhood like?" She raised a brow. "What are you getting at?" Görnebog leaned slightly forward on his chair. "A major part of a person's personality is molded in their childhood. It is true that one can change or tweak their personality during the course of their lives, but the foundation always has roots to ones childhood." Wallflower stared at the man with an unsure expression. "Well..." Should I really be opening up my life this much to a stranger? She debated internally. Ugh! Nevermind. He doesn't seem like the´I will use your information to blackmail you`type of guy. Besides, it seems like this is my only chance of getting actually good advice. "My parents wanted to shield me from the evils of this world, so they raised me very protectively." She sighed. "It was nice back then, but now that I'm older I can see that maybe it wasn't the best way." "That caused you grow up as an introvert child?" "Bingo.." Wallflower drawled. "Thats what happens when you don't have any contact with children your age outside of school." "I see, that certainly explains the difficulties you are facing now." He said with a thoughtful hum. "So...Any advice?" She asked hopefully with a strained smile. The man tapped his chin, before nodding slightly. "Do what you want." Görnebog said simply. Her eye twitched "...What?" "Go were the fence is the lowest." He added. "What does that even mean?!" She hissed. "Use your sense of individuality and bring some comfort to your life." "Okay." Wallfower massaged her eyes in frustration. "Stop talking like a board game quest giver, and just give it to me straight." "A simplified response?" Walllower groaned and nodded her head. "Yes, please.." "Very well, young lady." Görnebog said professionally. The man pinched his mustache."To put it simply: Do anything that gives you even a slight wisp of comfort." Her eyes widened in surprise. "Anything?" "Anything." Görnebog said firmly. "You have tried your best with the tools you have been given. At the pace you are going, it could take a lot of hard work for you to reach the level you desire." He spun his hand. "Not saying it is a bad thing, these things take time after all, but I have a distinct feeling that you don't want to wait that long." "True.." She said slowly. "But I'm still not entirely sure what you mean by ´do anything`." "Eat foods that you like, engage in your favorite hobbies, enjoy the little things in life, teach the the students who have ignored you a lesson. The list goes on." He listed casually. "Wait. What was that last part?" Wallflower asked completely baffled. Had he actually said that? "Teach those who ignored you a lesson, young lady." Her jaw fell open slightly. That had come completely out of nowhere. "W-what!?" "You don't have any fellow students that you dislike?" "Of course I have..." She muttered, a certain bacon haired girl coming to her mind. "But what you are saying is-" "Morally wrong? Under normal circumstances yes, but you have gone past that point. It is a widely known fact that inflicting a healthy dose of jolly retribution to a person that has done you harm creates a feeling of success and accomplishment. " "B-but." "Miss Wallflower. I am not implying that you should give them a wallop, only that you give them a justifiable lesson for treating you so poorly." "O-oh. I kinda see your point, but that still sounds a bit...extreme?"" "Pish posh, don't dwell on it too much. You will see what I mean when the moment presents itself to you." Görnebog said with a good natured wink. "If you say so.." She drawled, still a bit unsure about the whole thing. "Trust me on this one, young lady." Görnebog said with confidence. "Do not give into despair, stop thinking about how others would react or how they feel about you. Enjoy life and have fun." The man suddenly spread his arms in a very theatrical manner "Pish posh, rish rosh! Do anything you want, remember that the world isn't as black and white as one may think." He said with a burst of energy and a grin. She stared at the strange display and declaration with wide eyes. I-I guess I have to think about that... Her eyes wandered to her backpack where the memory stone was currently hidden. I do have the tools for it. Wallflower massaged her chin in thought after several seconds of pondering. "Anything, huh?" Görnebog smiled knowingly at her. "Anything, young lady."