The Rarest Flower of All

Haven - Sentinel Island

Gonyaul was half hoping that his placement into the hole would be short lived, just long enough for his captors to organize themselves around what they were going to do with him; however, it didn't seem to be the case. His lengthy meditation had helped reduce the panic he was previously feeling, having gone in his own mind somewhere where the troubles of reality couldn't find him, but it did nothing to hinder this new anxiety. He could hear the advice of his teachers whispering in his ears, ~Gonyaul, if you fixate your focus on solely the problem, than you won't see the solutions.~

Taking measure of his solitary confinement, Gonyaul realized there were indeed a few inherent threats to his person based on its design. The wooden grid-like cover would allow for the elements ... like wind and rain ... to enter unobstructed, but just as serious would be the sun. He recalled how brutal it could be from his time in the deserts and it made him miss all the more the shade provided by the canopy of the Kru'll jungle. He imagined the temperatures could range from hot in the sun and very cold in the shade. Like a reptile, he may have to relocate through the course of any day to keep himself from getting too harmed by either extreme as the celestial bodies traversed across the sky; noon would be the worst part of the day as there would be no shade. In addition, there was the damp mud patches admits the stones, salt water remnants, and when the temperatures lowered he was sure the dormant sand gnats speckling the walls in the shaded areas may decide to make his stay even more uncomfortable.

Fortunately, he was wearing ladies clothes. And therefore, had more material than was necessary. He spent his time ripping the lower dress up the middle carefully; removing a section. He then made smaller horizontal tears along the remaining fabric encircling his legs. Taking the slivers of fabric on both sides of his ankles he tied them together with a knot. Then he tied the next pieces of fabric together, then the next; each one being two to three inches apart. In this way, he worked either side of the material around his right leg all the way up to the crotch. He had made a sleeve around his leg and then proceeded to repeat this process up his left leg. When he was finally done, It looked like he was wearing pants with lots of ties running down his inseam; instead of a dress.

Gonyaul looked up to see if anything up above had changed. He could hear the everyday sounds of the village; however, nothing yet in regards to him.

Next, Gonyaul stripped quickly, down to his undergarment wrapped about his waist. He shivered in displeasure at what he decided to do next. Taking handfuls of wet mud from the prison's floor and walls where he could get it, he covered himself completely in mud from head to toe. He could smell the rank and saltiness in the mud, like bathing with rotting leaves mixed with ocean spray. Unlike being inside the earth, where he was trying to make himself harder to see in the dark and mask his scent from creatures sense of smell, this time Gonyaul was using the mud to keep any pesky insects from successfully biting any exposed skin. It dropped his body temperature a bit, and as he finished and put his clothes back on, his teeth were beginning to chatter.

He was now clothed again, but cold. Therefore, he did a few physical exercises that looked a lot like dancing to raise his body temperature. Once the mud dried it would not only help against the bugs, but also create another layer of insulation from the cold and keep the sun off his skin from being burned.

Gonyaul wasn't done with his transformation. He tore out the extra padding in his hip and bottom. It was designed to make it seem like he had well endowed female curves; to help sell the illusion. He used the extra padding to help provide extra layers for his hands ... his kneck, making a collar with the wrap ... and the upper parts of his feet. The padding already in his chest region, making it look like he had breasts, he redistributed about his chest evenly. His goals was to provide yet another layer of insulating material about his heart region for warmth to where his more vital organs would be.

Finally, Gonyaul took the strip of the dress that he had removed completely earlier and wrapped it about his face and head like the fashion of a desert dweller. Only a sliver of space around his eyes was visible. His skin was covered in mud, and his dark eyes were so large, that it almost appeared like he was a shadow inside of the clothing. He continued to let his long hair fall freely to shield his neck and provided a layer of warmth to his head, shoulders, and midback.

Gonyaul wondered how much longer they would be? He once again took a seated meditative position and waited to conserve energy. He closed his eyes and rested, singing silently to himself lullabies he had written in the desert. His thoughts were dancing with Voah, transporting him into her presence as he relived memories of them together.

A slight smile was on his face, covered by the head wrap. The rarest flower of all was the one that could still bloom in adversity.