Dandelions 1

He could hear the other children playing. It was distant, but never too far away. He could hear, but could not join.

Instead, he rummaged through a small pile of scrap metal, putting pieces aside after scrutinizing them for a moment. A small boat, half-finished, sat beside him. Finding the components to construct the windup mechanism had been surprisingly challenging. There had always been too much damage to some parts that made the whole thing unusable, but by taking what could be used, he had managed to piece something that worked. Well, almost. There was one more component he needed. A winder that fit the gear properly. Grabbing a toy from the pile of junk before him, the boy squinted. The winding peg looked like it would be the right size, but he would have to take it apart to test it out. It was a little past noon, so the sun was at its hottest. He would have to move to the shade soon, but until then, he would enjoy the warmth on his back as he worked. That is, if he remembered to. The more he took apart and put together, the less he could hear the world around him. The stream, the children, the heat, the light smell of dust. It all melted away when he worked. In his own little world, where his mind and hands made toys from scrap. Toys that sang, jumped, moved. Where he made pieces of metal live. He loved it, this feeling of making things from bits and pieces that others threw away. Seeing value where no one else did. It was because of this that he did not feel as lonely as he knew he could be. Here, his creations could take him anywhere, they could be anything, and he could play endlessly in the sun with them. The boat was still far from finished, but when it was done, he would imagine how it felt to stand on it, cutting across the sea to lands he had never seen. Meet people he did not know, and listen to stories he could not imagine on his own in the Undercity.

“What if it had a cannon?”

The boy jolted, whipping his head to his right. There was a child right next to him, staring at the boat in his hands. Where did she come from? He did not hear her approach at all. The boy blinked, then turned to look at the boat as well. “But it is a cargo ship. Why would it have a cannon?”
 The girl tilted her head and stuck out her lip in thought. “For fireworks. Boats aren’t very fun, so maybe it shoots fireworks at night for everyone to enjoy? Oh, or maybe to shoot at pirates if they ever come? Then you can make them go “kaboom!”” she lifted her arms, stretching them far above her head to show just how big the explosion could be. Oh. He had not thought of that. The boy stared at her as she folded her arms over her knees, now grinning at him as she said, “It sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

“Being attacked by pirates and shooting them with cannons?” he skeptically lifted his brow.

“Yes.” She nodded.

He pondered this quite seriously for a moment. But before he could say anything, she stood up with her chest puffed, one arm folded behind her and the other held out like she had a sword in hand. “Well alright, cannons wouldn’t be needed because I’d beat all those pirates in an instant.” She waved her hand sharply left, then up and again diagonally before breaking into another laugh and sitting beside him. The boy found himself smiling as well, imagining her chase a rugged band of pirates with the bold swings of a sword. “What if there are too many pirates?” he asked, setting the boat down at his feet. She shrugged while looking up at the sky. “You needn’t worry, you’ll find that I can fight off very many pirates. Bare-handed if need be.” He did not know why, but he found himself giggling to himself at the declaration. With her confidence, he felt that she really could manage a whole gang of sea-faring scoundrels. Just then she turned to him and asked, “What’s your name?”

The boy smiled and drew his knees to his chest. “My name is Viktor. What about you?” the girl had turned her attention to a sheet of scrap metal, picking it up and turning it over in her gloved hands, but she flashed him a beaming smile before saying, “My name’s Wynn. Nice to meet you, Viktor.”

Alright y'all, I've got a bunch of words for you. I hope you enjoy! (and yes I decided to lean into people thinking that Wynn was a girl cos everyone on my socials mistook him for a girl and continues to. I thought it was interesting haha! also I'll do my best to keep my typos in check, your lovely enby can't type for shi <3

Read Dandelions 2 here!