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 Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:55 pm
A sigh was heaved and Ren pulled the pillow to her chest, hugging it against herself with a small furrow of her brows. The smells were strange. New mingled with a familiar old to create something just off-center from where she wanted it. Ren had moved in with the rest of the family. She had smiled at Doucette and Troxel with little warmth in her eyes, but she’d made a show of chatting with Tatiana about who would get which room so the two of them would feel she was invested in her future here. The smaller room had been given to her, but Ren didn’t care. The aurora didn’t spend a lot of time in her room, generally. Watching movies in the living room or exploring the world at night were where she was most comfortable. When one didn’t sleep much, and a bed wasn’t entirely comfortable, one really only needed a place to keep their pile of things.
Ren didn’t even have that much to call her own.
Bright neon sea-foam eyes slid to the wall where she’d hung the few pictures she’d collected of her friends. Cesc and Lulu on the roller coaster with her, Halloween with everyone in their costumes, Luka and her with fro-yo, Reks and her with the stars falling behind them, Doucette laughing over her burnt s’mores. The pictures brought a smile to her lips, but it soon faded as she looked to the other wall where the faces of Jean Harlow, Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando and James Dean posed gallantly for their bigger-than-life films. Why would she have more photos of these people than those who occupied her every day?
Forcing herself to look away, Revontulet’s gaze focused upwards, onto the ceiling where Troxel had helped her string fairy lights so the whole place looked like the night sky when the lights dimmed. She wondered if there was a way she could make them twinkle and fade like fireflies dancing amid their brothers in the sky.
But those for other projects and better days.
Doucette could not assist with much of the moving projects, due to the way her stomach had ballooned with the coming child, and Troxel, steady as he was, was juggling plenty without Ren asking low-priority questions about twinkling lights and lava lamps. She was lucky enough that the man’s dedication to hockey had ensured there would be a TV set up in their new home first thing so she could enjoy her movies deep into the night.
Rarely these days did the moonstone venture far from their new home. The sea did not call to her as it did in their old home with waves that spoke of adventure of peace in the same soft breath upon the sand. There was no rustle of palm trees or irritable squawk of a gull when its spaced was invaded by another. Revontulet missed these sounds like a hole in her chest and it settled there much like another hole had settled there.
How much longer would she feel like pieces of herself were going to be taken away from her?
When would she start feeling like herself again?
Ren pulled the pillow over her eyes and breathed a deep sigh. She had to be better. She needed to pull herself together and be a better sister for Tati and a better daughter for Doe and, one day, a better sister for the new baby.
But these thoughts were easily pushed aside and her rune gave a little humm as the moon snuck through the cracks of her blinds and caressed her cool skin.
Yes, she could worry about these things another time. The one thing that didn’t change, and would never change, was the moon. It would always be there for her.
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:56 pm
Doucette had poked her head around the door into the family room one afternoon with the announcement, pulling the aurora’s attention away from her latest movie-craze: new movies made to look like old ones. Something about the redhead’s voice had caused her to pause the movie instead of simply turning her face a little and pretend to pay attention.
Tatiana and Trox were out for the day, helping Cam with his own move now that their family had finally found its footing here in the new place. There were a few lonesome boxes strewn throughout the house, but for the most part everyone had settled well into their respective nooks and Ren could tell that waking up every morning with the lanky pilot was (somehow) an improvement.
Shuffling away from the door the only way a large, pregnant woman can, Doe raised her hands with a ta-da! flourish and a tall man walked in after her. His smile was easy inside of a 5-o’clock shadow that had seen a few too many 5-o’clocks, and the way he wiggled his fingers, as if Doucette had magicked him from somewhere special, showed he had a great sense of humor.
Doe snorted and reached out to smack the man on his upper arm as he did so and he wrinkled a slightly crooked nose at her. “Now there is simply no reason to get violent in front of this beautiful daughter of yours!”
“I’m not her daughter,” Ren corrected, though not maliciously. The term was near enough, but with a real child on the way, the aurora didn’t feel comfortable being referred to in such terms.
The man nodded his head of dark, almost curly hair though Doe frowned at her charge. She hated it whenever Ren got like this. Ever since her birthday the girl had been formal and distant. Like a glass house, she’d closed her doors and she moved away at the slightest suggestion of damage.
“I do apologize, Revontulet is it?” he looked between Doe, who nodded at him, and back to the girl who floated before him. Despite the obviously odd vision of the raevan, he seemed unperturbed. “My name is Ezra. It’s so great to meet you.”
Ren extended her hand at the greeting and offered a small smile, polite but still warm. “It is nice to meet you Ezra. What brings you out here?” There was something about the man that was so welcoming and warm, Ren couldn’t help but like him. Despite everything that had been going on with the move and the baby and her problems with eating, for a moment she felt like everything was right with the world as long as the smile remind in this man’s bright blue eyes.
Ezra took the girl’s hand, muffling the surprised look at the odd texture and temperature, and lofted a slow shrug at her inquiry. “I’m actually an old friend of Doucette’s. We went to college together. I moved into the area a few years ago and have recently fallen into a bit of a housing problem. This wonderful woman has offered to let me rent her fabulous beach resort for a fraction if it’s worth!”
Doe let out a girlish squeal as the larger man wrapped an arm around her and not quite gently, but not so rough either, proceeded to squeeze her into his side.
A blink was given and Ren tilted her head. It was not unusual for the redhead not to mention old friends. Although she was not secretive, she was the type that didn’t offer up information that wasn’t pertinent to the moment. It was a habit that she herself had picked up on, and thus wasn’t surprised that this ‘great friend’ had been here all this time under the radar.
What did shock the girl was that their home was being given away. For a moment Ren could not look past the upset.
“Our home…?” she asked, her voice cracking slightly.
Stupid. Of course she knew it wasn’t her home. This was her home now and she was going to have to enjoy it. But somehow she’d always thought the other home was still there, just out of reach, a place she could escape to in her mind if not in person. Now this other person would be there, taking her space, living her life. It tarnished even the imagination of her escape to that beautiful island.
With a quick squeeze of his hand on Doucette’s shoulder to show he was happy to handle the situation, Ezra untangled from the redhead and took a step forward towards the frei, reaching out both hands and letting them rest there in neutral territory until Ren reluctantly lifted her own and placed them within his. It felt familiar, like when Trox or Cam gave her advice and life-lessons.
It felt like she could breathe again.
“Pretty girl, of course it will always be your home. Your momm-Doucette here is just letting me stay there for a while, till I find somewhere else I can live. She doesn’t want to let go of it any more than you do, which is why she’s letting me stay for such a good deal.” Doucette gave a little nod of her head, her curls bouncing about her face comically. “I promised her the two of you could come by any time you want and stay as long as you need.”
“You promise?” Ren’s eyes were wide, searching this big bear of a man’s face as if he could hide the truth from her. “Any time?”
Ezra nodded and squeezed her hands.
The three of them chatted for a while longer about the little things in life, but when Ezra finally did leave, Ren thought she could have cried from the relief of it all.
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:58 pm
[Sand Castles]
Who: ORP - Everyone's Invited!
I don't think I want to go to the beach again...
Ohh...I feel bad for what I said to Lulu!
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:02 pm
Ren wasn't sure she was glad they were meeting during the day or not. Although she wasn't tempted to feed on the sunlight, due to its somewhat bitter flavor, the light drew into focus the sharp angles of the pale frei who was already naturally thin. Nervousness and overthinking her clothing choices had made her late, but the weight of all her concerns melted away at the sight of the satyr. "Luka!"
"REN!" The Satyr cried out, glee surging through his voice. "You look prettier than I remember!" He teased, taking her in a tight hug. "Your hair is as beautiful as always though," He said, running a finger through her ombre locks. "Have you been? Are you excited for today?" He asked, eyebrows waggling dramatically.
The aurora's cheeks blushed at the satyr's compliments. Although she was looking far from her best, she appreciated the other's warm words and basked in his happiness. As Luka's fingers brushed into her hair she turned her head and brushed her cheek against the inside of his arm, nosing into the crook of his elbow and taking in his warmth. "I'm good now, with you. I have been very excited for this so-called delicious thing you found."
"I'm excited that your excited!" Giving her a peck on the forehead, the Satyr turned to face the building behind them. "Froyoland has the best frozen yogurt I've tried so far. They have a lot of fruit based ones, and then some not so fruity ones like red velvet cake!" Take her arm, he motioned towards the door. "Shall we my knight?" He asked, eyes sparkling with mirth.
A smile all but permanently on her lips, Ren looped her arms in with Luka's and took in the sight of this 'Froyoland' place, noting all the gimmicks and oddities. "I hope I find something I like," she said, a hint of dubiousness seeping into her tone. "Oh yes, my damsel! Ladies first!" Revon gestured grandly with her free arm.
"I'm pretty sure that you will." He said with a smile. When the Aurora held the door open for him, the Satyr entered into the store and turned to give Ren a makeshift curtsey. "Thank you my good sir." Taking the other's hand, he grabbed several of the small sample cups off the counter and gave a few to Ren. "So, these cups are for samples. If you want to sample a flavor, just pull the handle and get the froyo in teh cup." Luka turned ot the machine in front of him labeled dulce de leche. Sliding the sample cup under the nozzle, he have the lever a light pull and watched as the cup filled up with a light brown frozen treat. "Here, try it!" He said as he passed the sample to Ren.
Ren was assaulted by the scent of sweetness as soon as the door opened and it made her nose crinkle somewhat in response. Although sweet wasn't bad, she tended to enjoy somewhat milder flavors like a panna cotta or creme brûlée. Taking the little cups he offered her, Ren took a moment to survey the options before Luka showed her something squidgy and brown. It could have tasted great, but the aurora shook her head politely at it. "Thanks. But I want to try the cheesecake," she said, gesturing at a white (safer) option that sounded promising.
Luka couldn't help but smile. "Whatever floats your boat Ren." Bringing the sample to his lips, the satyr eagerly tried out the sample. It was his first time trying out that particular flavor, and the satyr found it much sweeter than the other flavors he'd tried in the past. "That tastes the same as caramel." Tossing the used sample cup into the nearby trash can, he moved onto the next flavor titled coconut dream.
With the mention of caramel, Ren's jaw flexed a bit. Doucette had given her caramel once, much to her displeasure. It was sticky and hurt her teeth and had a flavor she was not at all fond of. Although the ice cream was obviously a different texture, she was glad she hadn't sampled it. The cheesecake on the other hand..."Luka! This one is the best!" She was sure of it.
The Satyr's eye twitched ever so gently as the sweet taste of coconut exploded in his mouth. This was exactly the kind of thing his guardian would love, sweet and coconut flavor. When Ren called his name, he floated over towards the handle labeled cheesecake. He gave the handle a tug. "I can't taste it." He said with an amused smile. "Maybe the coconut and caramel were too sweet?" Snickering, the Satyr reached for one of the larger paper cups on the counter. "Oh, when you find flavors you like, put them into this container and we can check out later."
Ren gave a little pout when Luka proclaimed being unable to taste the cheesecake flavor. It was light and un-invasive on her tongue. She loved the smooth, cold texture and was glad she didn't have to make a face whenever she put a bite in her mouth. Taking the larger cup, Revontulet let her eyes gaze about the flavor options once more, wanting to make absolute sure of her decision. After all, she'd only tried a single flavor!
"You don't have to decide now, I just thought I'd let you know before hand." He smiled and gave Ren a light pat on the head. His attention now turned towards the pistachio flavor on the wall. Drawing the handle, the Satyr's brow arched ever so gently. It was much better than the first two flavors he'd sampled. It was light, a little creamy and a little sweet while carrying a hint of saltiness. And, the froyo was the color of baby mint. "Ren, you should try this one."
The aurora had just about decided she wanted to go with the cheesecake after all when she heard her name on the satyr's lips. Moving over, she noted the name of the frozen yogurt with confusion. "Pistacheeo?" Ren had never seen a word like it, and didn't have the faintest idea of what it might be. The color appealed to her greatly though, and so she gave it a try. It took a moment, but finally a smile grew on her lips and she nodded. "This one is good."
"Have you had a pistachio before?" He asked, taking note of the Aurora's mild confusion. "It's a type of nut. It's green and very small, usually comes in a shell. I can bring you some next time." A smile came on teh Satyr's lips when he saw that Ren enjoyed the flavor. "I bet there are more light flavors like that."
"No..." Ren thought for a moment and then shook her head, sure that she'd never tried anything of that nature. Although she knew some raevens didn't eat, Doe sometimes offered her little things here and there. Her palette was not overly wide ranging - enough to know what she liked or didn't like, but not enough to know names and their potential for enjoyment. She found it hard to believe that a nut would taste like this though... "Do you think so?"
"Just keep in mind that it's sweeter than teh real thing since we are eating frozen yogurt." He smiled at her before moving onto the next handle labeled french vanilla. It was sweet, definitely sweeter than the cheese cake but not as overpowering as the coconut. He liked it. Vanilla had always been one of his favorite flavors and the fragrance was always pleasant. He slid his container under the nozzle and gave the handle a good long tug. "Have you had ice cream before?"
Revontuet touched her tongue to her lips for a moment, trying to remember if she'd had something similar before. "No, not that I remember. Is this like ice cream?" For a moment the girl looked between the pistachio and the cheesecake, but eventually she caved and went with the original flavor. Although she didn't technically have a gut, the moonstone often went with hers. "You seem to have experience eating many, things Luka."
"It's very similar. Ice cream is usually much richer than froyo. And there's also gelato which is also very sweet but made from fresh fruit." He said with a smile. When Ren made the comment of having tried many different foods, the Satyr smiled. "I may or may not have simply just put things in my mouth regardless of whether or not Elai approved." There were just some things in his personality that he couldn't curb and his desire to try new things happened to be one of them.
A somewhat unladylike snort escaped Ren at Luka's words and she shook her head at him instead of out-right laughing. "Luka, you silly thing." With her full cup of cheesecake in hand, Ren looked at the satyr expectantly, waiting for the next step of the fro-yo process.
When Ren snorted at his response, Luka joking stuck out his tongue at her. Taking his cup of french vanilla, he led her towards the wall of toppings on the back. There were over two dozens of toppings ranging from sliced fruit to mochi to chopped nuts. "Now you add any toppings that you want." He said, reaching for some mochi bits. "And, there's also caramel and chocolate syrup too." He gestured to the bottles but he had a feeling they wouldn't be too popular with Ren.
Ren wrinkled her nose back at the tongue. "That's not very lady like, missy," she teased, before following him over to the toppings. Although she took a good, long interest in a few things, the only topping she chose were a few raspberries that looked quite red and plump. Many of the items she had seen before, but possibly wouldn't have been able to name or guess to their flavor, and many others, like the mochi, she didn't have a clue about one way or the other. "Done," Ren said proudly of her less than exciting masterpiece.
"I'll be as unladylike as I want." Luka retorted. Taking the cup of cheesecake froyo from Ren, he placed it on the digital scale by the register along with his own cup as well. "Now, we pay." When the girl at the register finished ringing up their frozen treat, Luka paid for both. "Finally, we get to sit at a place of your choosing and enjoy." He said as he held out her cup for her. "It's all pretty straight forward."
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:03 pm
With a flutter of her wings, the aurora hoisted herself up off her elbows where she’d been reading and into a more appropriate ‘sitting’ position, allowing her pregnant guardian to ease herself down next to her. “Thanks,” Doe said as she sat, the words carrying the kind of pain only someone with 9 months worth of baby in them can understand.
“Ren…we need to talk about whatever’s been going on with you. I tried to be patient and wait for you to come to me. I tried to make excuses for you with the move and the new baby and everything.” Ren shifted uncomfortably next to Doucette and looked like she was going to say something before her guardian cut her off, “but I can’t let this go on much longer.”
Doe tangled her fingers together in her lap, pulling at them as if she could pull the words right out of herself and get the difficult part over with.
“So tell me what’s going on.”
The aurora could count on one hand the number of times her guardian had tried to have a conversation like this. This new one was going to take her dangerously close to having to start using a second hand, and she was not interested in allowing that to happen.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ren replied with a little wrinkle of her nose and a shrug of her bony shoulders.
Doucette heaved a sigh. “Throwing little mini-tantrums here and there, sulking about the house all hours, not going out and spending much time with your friends, doing… Doe gave a wave to the girl’s muted locks and darker features, incorrectly assuming the frei had taken to some new fad, “whatever it is with your hair and makeup that I’m not overly fond of. Need I go on?”
With a stretch of her wings, attempting to look nonchalant, Renvontulet made a slow but sudden attempt to get off the bed and escape from the room, mumbling something about somewhere else she needed to be.
Instead of letting her escape, Doe’s hand whipped out, much faster than Ren would have thought for someone so much larger than she thought humans could become. Squeezing her hand, Doe pulled the aurora back towards her but remained sitting on the bed.
“No, no. You’re not leaving without giving me an answer young lady.”
If Ren had feet, she would have stomped them in frustration. The fact that she hadn’t told Doucette about everything yet should have told the guardian everything she needed to know. So what if the redhead was tired of waiting for answers to come to her! This was her problem and she could deal with it all on her own. “It’s none of your business!”
“I have a lot on my mind right now and I know you do too, so I would prefer if you simply worried about everything else instead of bothering me about the things I’m dealing with.” Ren tried to emphasize her words in a way that would suggest to the woman these things were supernatural and thus potentially unable to be confided to Doe.
Above all, Revontulet wanted to avoid looking foolish in front of her guardian. If that meant that the Irish woman had to put up with a few temper tantrums, Ren didn’t see that as a bad thing.
“I’m working on it.”
“Revontulet, I am your mother and your business is my business —”
Ren suddenly pulled her hand away from Doucette’s grip, her eyes narrowing. “My mother is the Lab. My father is the Lab. You are just some woman who took me in. I don’t even understand why you would take someone like me in. But don’t think that because you put a roof over my head it means you can tell me what to do.”
And with that the aurora spun away, her wings nimble and sure as they flung her away from her room and the woman and the house with too many people. Almost instantly the regret started sinking in, but the feeling was distant and strange and she easily pushed it away as she raced into twilight.
“Ren!” Doucette gasped at the frei’s words and struggled to her feet, rushing as fas as she could into the living room as if she had any chance of chasing the lithe thing. So distracted was her mind, flying in a million directions on how to track down the raevan and figure out how the two of them could talk in a way that didn’t upset the other, that she didn’t realize her legs were wet.
The baby was coming.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ren sped through the night, her mind a maze of familiar paths she could take. Quickly she scratched off the names in her head of the people she could go to. Too quickly she’d scratched off every name on the list. There was no where that the aurora felt she could go with her problems, no friend she felt close enough to to unburden herself.
Something inside of her tightened painfully. Doucette would have been the person she’d have run towards, but now here she was, running away.
Like a coward.
I the distance, Revontulet could see the lights of the apartment complex by the beach. For a moment she stopped in her flight and hovered near a street lamp. Could she go to Cruz? Of all the names on the list, Cruz and Luka were the ones she felt could most understand and most accept her.
No. She couldn’t tell her secrets to them. Not these kinds of secrets. She remembered the way Cruz looked at her the time she’d squashed a lightning bug between her hands and she knew that Luka would try to make her laugh and forget about her troubles. Neither were what she needed now. What she needed was something comforting. Something that didn’t judge. Something like home.
Home.
Ren’s rune lit her way as she turned out towards the ocean, her ribbon a rudder that brought up a light spray as she soared across the waters.
Home.
The thought was all consuming to her now that she’d locked onto it.
Home.
Revontulet didn’t know the time, only that the sun had set somewhere after she’d left the family house behind. She had no idea how many circles around the town she’d made before deciding on this rash adventure. She only hoped that Ezra would keep his promise.
The beach house looked as it always had - a moment of a memory, glowing softly against the white sand and the gentle moonlight. Ren paused on the beach and looked around, unsure of herself now that she was here.
“Revontulet?” The voice was strong but confused.
Ezra liked watching the sunset from the large porch on his new home and more than that he liked to watch the moon rise and the stars come out and the whole lot of them dance upon the ocean’s surface. It was calming and helped him get into the right mindset to fall asleep. It was no wonder Doucette had been reluctant to give up the place entirely.
“What are you doing out here? It’s so late.” Ezra got up out of his rocking chair and down the stairs, reaching a hand out for the girl. Doe had told him, before he’d even met the little thing, how much she enjoyed being in contact with others, and he hoped this would be a comfort to her.
Ren’s wide, wild eyes looked between Ezra and the house. Part of her had hoped to find it empty, the other part was glad to have someone there. Tentatively she reached out and took the offered hand, the touch causing a shiver to run through her all the way to the tip of her ribbon.
Inhaling, the aurora moved closer to the porch, as if proximity to the house was all that mattered.
“Doucette and I…we had a fight. I’ve been - ” Revontulet paused and looked at Ezra out of the corner of her eyes. “I’ve been difficult,” she finished, not quite sure how to put months of troubles into just a few words.
“Difficult?” Doe had confided in her friend that there had been some struggles recently with the frei, but Ezra was keen not to reveal that to her.
Revontulet nodded. “I don’t know Ezra…I don’t know what’s going wrong and I don’t know how to fix it! And on top of that there’s the move and the baby and everything else.” The frei fidgeted, wanting to cross her arms over her chest but also longing to remain in contact with the man. “I haven’t meant to be troublesome. But I don’t have anywhere else to go…”
Ezra reached a hand up and scraped his fingers through his hair with a sigh while the girl averted her gaze and bit her lip. “Doucette knows that, Revontulet. She loves you wholeheartedly and unconditionally.” Ren winced at the words, remembering the way she’d tossed aside Doe’s affection and ran out on her. “I think you should tell her what’s bothering you. And I mean really bothering you! Not these new distractions. I can’t pretend to understand what the root of your problem is, but if you need to tell me then I will listen. But I know Doe will understand and I know she wants to get you answers, even if she has to go to hell and back to find them.”
With another nod, the girl pulled her hand back, resolved to go back to the house and tell Doucette all of it, even the melting.
“Thank you, Ezra,” she said softly, casting one last look at the warm glow coming from the beach house, before turning and taking off across the water once more.
Unfortunately, there was no one home when she returned for her to confess her problems to.
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:05 pm
Despite her rush to the hospital and the nagging she gave the taxi driver, she she arrived at the hospital it was only to find Doucette holding a little swaddle of cloth and Tati, Trox and Cam all hovering over the bed. Ren thought about shrinking back - returning to the house and pretending she’d been oblivious to the fact the house was empty. It would have been so easy to simply escape and not have their judgement turned towards her.
Tatiana had turned to her while she debated the plan though, and Ren was forced to glide into the room with a large smile on her face. “I’m so sorry I’m late!”
“Was it very busy at the store?” her floating sister asked, and Revontulet realized that, despite everything, Doucette had covered for her. Her affirmative response was mumbled as she slipped up to the head of the bed, peering over to see the closed, squishy face of the newborn baby boy.
“His name is Keegan” Doe said, her voice airy and far away.
Ren took a moment to look at the woman, her hair a crazed mess of curls and sweat, freckles almost black on her skin that had gone pale with the effort of what she’d gone through. Although the aurora knew that Doucette had not gone through so much pain for her in the same sense, she recognized the tone in her voice. That breathy, so-happy-I-can-hardly-talk voice of Doe’s that she used so rarely.
It was the way Doucette’s voice had sounded the first day they’d met.
“Keegan is a perfect name…” Revon said, leaning in to touch her cheek to the pink thing’s cheek. It wrinkled its face and turned away from the cold finger, and Ren pulled back quickly, sorry she’d done anything at all. Trox made a noise like a stifled laugh.
Despite her promise to Ezra, Ren knew she couldn’t tell Doe about everything. Not when she had Keegan now. It could be her gift to the new parents - not to burden them with her problems more than she already had. She would be more careful about her attitude around the house, ensuring they didn’t catch her being moody or reclusive anymore.
Whatever it took, she could survive it and she could find the answer to her problems. She could do that little for Doucette, her mother.
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:06 pm
The memory of the bad dream seemed to slip from her grasp like an eel in the water, drifting back into the murky recesses of her mind. Sweat beaded on her forehead and the back of her neck and it made her shiver when the breeze from the open window chilled it there.
Try as she might, Doucette could not summon a reason for her concern, so she finally resolved to return to her slumber. Rolling back into bed, she draped her arm over Troxel’s chest and burrowed her face against his arm, as if she could banish the feeling with just his presence.
It must have worked, for the redhead was sleeping soundly once more in a matter of minutes.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The next night proceeded much as the first.
As her eyes adjusted to the pale outline of her room from the moonlight, Doucette struggled once more to figure out why her heart raced so quickly. Was she simply having post-baby jitters? She knew that many new mothers struggled to sleep for fear of things that could happen to their children should they shut their eyes for a moment. But their farm had a defense system of dogs that would never let someone close to Keegan, and he woke up hungry and crying often enough that she didn’t doubt for a moment he was doing well in his crib at this moment.
Despite the certainty, Doe pulled herself out of bed, feet seeking out the slippers on the floor before moving over to the little man. She stood and watched him for a long moment, letting out a small puff of a sigh in contentment as his lips made little smacking motions in his sleep.
“What are you dreaming about, my little man?” she cooed in a soft whisper, reaching out to touch his cheek with the back of one finger, stroking the warmth that resided there.
The mention of dreams pulled at her mind, and her brows furrowed as she thought.
Dreaming.
Doucette looked at the bed where Trox sprawled and the pillow where her head lay.
Why couldn’t she remember her dreams? For years now, Doe had woken every morning with vivid memories of her dreams. The colors were bright in a way that was almost surreal. If she’d had to describe it to another, she’d have told someone she watched movies in her sleep instead of dream. Each dream was so clear, all the action and dialogue understandable.
She never woke up like this, feeling confused about what her mind had conjured for her.
The more she thought about it though, had her mind conjured anything? Was she waking up from a moment of confusion and losing the dream so easily, or was she waking up from nothing at all?
It seemed the more she tried to grope for the memory of her dreams, the more unsettling the feeling became, like a car hitting a pot hole deceptively deep or reaching your hand into a hole that could contain more than the item you sought. She felt her stomach twist at the darkness that sat at the edge of her conscious where the dreams had simply fallen into and been unable to get out.
Goosebumps rose on Doucette’s skin and she hurried back into bed, kicking off her slippers haphazardly as she burrowed her way into the covers, looking for somewhere safe to hide from the feeling.
Only a matter of moments passed, the warmth of the blankets slowly chasing away the disturbing feeling, before Keegan suddenly let up a wail.
“It’s ok, I got him. I’m already up,” Doucette murmured to Troxel as he stirred.
Thankfully, the baby kept her distracted for the rest of the night and her mind did not return to the curious case of the missing dreams.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The pattern continued for a week until Doucette felt like a rope beginning to fray.
There simply were no dreams.
Every night Doe went to bed, though each new twilight brought renewed trepidation. She knew the feeling she’d wake with in the middle of the night. Her mind drifted like a boat on a still ocean, the night sky blank and starless and casting no light. Without dreams she was not only adrift, but also terrified. Her mind could no more conjure a single star to point her in the right direction than her fingers in the cold water propel her towards land.
Doucette had known people who didn’t remember their dreams. But this was different.
Each time she awoke with the same sense of alarm and anxiety, foreboding heavy in her heart. There were no dreams to remember, only the blackness to sink into and wonder if she’d ever get back out.
~*~*~*~*~*~
It took another week before Doe’s suspicions turned towards Ren. Although the frei’s attitude had improved somewhat since the birth of Keegan, and outwardly she forced a smile and left the house when thought appropriate, Doucette was still concerned that there was something deeply troubling the girl.
Every new attempt at speaking to her was rebuffed with charisma and charm, a hand waved dismissively and a laugh that was soft as holiday bells.
Doe was afraid if she continued to push she’d push the girl over the edge. She was not happy to admit it, but she was also not in denial. The red head was being a coward. After the outbursts the aurora had had and the struggles the whole family had faced, was it so much to hope there was truly nothing the matter and she was over thinking things?
She’d let herself believe that to be true, but not anymore. Perhaps Ren was not behind this loss in dreams, but it gave Doe something new to be fearful of, and that took away her fear of unsettling the balance between herself and her charge.
Resolving the speak with the girl first thing in the morning, the Irish woman checked on Keegan one more time before starting her ritual for bed. Sleep had only visited her for a few moments before something of a shock went through her.
If she’d been imagining herself on a boat until now then what she felt at this moment was something more like a terrible sea-sickness. When she tried to get out of bed she stumbled and fell to her hands and knees, too dizzy to keep herself upright.
Somewhere she knew Troxel had shouted her name, but all she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears. “Stay with Keegan,” Doe managed, feeling as though the words would bring up more than just sound.
Pulling herself to her feet, praying that Trox stayed with the baby, Doucette staggered to Revontulet’s room. “Ren! Revontulet!” Shaking fingers finally found the door and it took her more than one attempt to get the door open.
When finally the door swung open, she wasn’t sure how long she screamed.
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:07 pm
Thankfully there was no temptation to feed during the day. Sunlight tasted as bitter as biting straight into a lemon, and was about as filling. Any inadvertent feeding during the daytime seemed not to cause much effect, but also did little to make her feel better, and was thus also avoided.
Ren knew that Doucette was aware, but avoided the redhead like the plague. More and more of her days were filled with Ezra, quiet and calm out on the island. Avoidance was her only means of management. She knew that Ezra was keen to her struggles as well, she’d confessed them to him only a few months prior to Keegan being born, but whenever he attempted to pry she shut him out. He tried little things to tempt her though; inviting her to dinner later than usual, talking about a particularly spectacular meteor shower that was to be approaching in the next few days, and even once trying to lock her in the home until well after nightfall on a beautiful full moon.
None of his tricks could sway the stubborn girl’s heart however, and she continued to rebuff his attempts like a bratty high schooler.
“Ren…you can’t go on like this,” he finally said one day when the rain was coming down in a sing-song pattern upon the sand. Much like Doucette, his accent came out strongest whenever he was concerned (or angry), and now his letters had a funny lit to them that was always hard to place. Being raised Scotch-Israeli can do that to a person. “You know I love it when you come here and we talk about whatever’s on your mind, or I let you practice braiding my hair, but I know that what’s on your mind isn’t actually how much Keegs cries, or what Cam’s doing, or any other number of mundane things you try to occupy yourself with.”
Taking her hand, because he knew she was going into flight mode at any moment, Ezra gave the lithe, cold appendage a warm squeeze. “Once you promised me you’d talk to Doe about this. I want you to hold up your promise.”
She had promised, but things were different.
Revontulet had promised to speak with Doucette before the baby had been born, before there was more on her plate than the redhead could manage. The aurora knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Doe would drop everything to help her with her problem. She would go to the ends of the earth to find the solution to this problem and make it all better. But that was entirely the reason she couldn’t tell her! Ren couldn’t be the reason that Doe simply dropped everything for her. There was too much going on for there to be extra baggage caused by her magical charge. When Keegan cried it was because he was hungry or tired or wanted attention or maybe some small other number of things, but all the reasons he cried had an answer that was easy to identify and take action on.
This upset was not so easily identified, and it would likely not be easily solved.
“I can’t make that promise to you Ezra, and I shouldn’t have made it to you back then.”
Despite his hand, Ren’s wings had already lofted upon her back with an anxious flutter and she had already made her mind up to leave. The aurora tugged her hand gracefully from the man’s grasp and turned towards the door.
For a moment the frei paused, her ribbon trembling with anxiety. “I appreciate what you do for me,” Revontulet said, turning her head slightly so her hair tumbled down her back dull and limp and her voice would travel best to where he remained sitting, “But it’s my problem, not yours. I will solve it.”
And with that the girl was gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Revontulet raced from the cottage that had been her home for as long as she could remember. It wasn’t an outright sprint, but there was an urgency in the flutter of her wings, the notting of her fingers and the pulsing of her rune. The aurora struggled with feeding the most when she dealt with emotional moments, and now was no exception.
In an attempt to clear her head, Ren flew to a familiar park, her gaze flickering longingly to the pond where she often fed when the salt from the ocean bothered her ‘tastebuds’. Nearing the still water, the frei allowed herself to crouch next to it and reach out two fingers. With the slowness that should rival a snail, Ren’s fingers grazed the surface before slipping below into the cool liquid.
Relief washed over her for a brief moment, like cold water resting on her tongue after a hot day. The refreshing feeling was ready to consume her before she yanked her fingers back, daring not to ‘swallow’.
“Get a hold of yourself,” she scolded herself, staring at the reflection of the muted girl in the water as the ripples slowly stilled and the water only gave away the hints of a breeze.
The aurora stared at herself so long she might have turned into Narcissus. Thankfully, there was no admiration in her eyes at the woman at the other side of the water, only a sorrowful expression, and thus there were no flowers sprouting where she lay.
It was time to go home. Well past time to go home, judging by the way the sun had already set and the moon had poked its head over the horizon.
A flutter of panic rose in the girl’s chest at the sight of the moon. Ren wasn’t sure if it was waxing or waning, but it was more than half full and oh, so tempting. If she made it home before it fully rose in the sky, she was sure that she could resist the pull of its soft glow. But she worried about how long the trip home would be.
As feared, the moon had risen by the time Revontulet had returned back to the farmhouse.
Like a beautiful woman in one of her best dresses, it felt like the moon was putting on a show for her, and, like a sailor drawn by a siren’s call, the moonstone quickly succumbed to her.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Doucette’s scream seemed to echo in the room, amplified by the fairy lights strung around her headboard.
Looking at her hands, all Ren wanted to do was lift them to her ears and stop the noise and the yelling. It felt distorted and weird, but her hands were stranger. They looked like they were underwater, fluid in their appearance and covered with splotches of blues and greens from her hair.
Her long, beautiful hair that she had always taken so much pride in. Revontulet’s hair no longer simply dripped like the essence that had once been captured by the doctor, it had now completely lost the aurora that made her unique. Black night sky, wet and hanging loose over her shoulders, was all that was left now.
“Ren, Ren can you hear me?”
Revontulet couldn’t focus. Why was Doucette so far away? Was Doe underwater, or was she?
Her featured rippled as if from behind the pond that she’d only just a few hours ago stared into, but despite the disturbing effect, it seemed only the color was truly abandoning her. Like her hair, Ren’s wings and ribbon had melted as well and were almost entirely translucent. It seemed as if, any moment, the frei herself would melt away into the splash of blues and greens that had now soaked her room.
“REN! I need you to focus! Look at me! What happened?”
Doucette grabbed one of Revontulet’s hands, nearly sobbing when she felt real, solid moonstone under her grasp. Thank god one of the girl’s makeup was more stable than the other!
“I…got hungry” Ren said, her expression confused, as if she couldn’t remember exactly how it had happened or why. “I ate a lot. I ate until I couldn’t eat anymore.”
And she had. Binging on the moonlight had felt great for a while, and the aurora had nearly wept with happiness until the moment her rune had given a sickening sort of thump and she’d stopped. Realizing what she’d done, the frei had raced back to her room, assuming the usual would happen and all would be forgotten by the next day.
Now her rune was almost invisible, giving off less light that one of the small fairy lights adorning her room.
“You…you got hungry? Don’t you eat every night?” Doe continued to hold Ren’s hands, squeezing them every time the girl’s eyes unfocused or drifted away. She was terrified for her frei, but she had to remain calm or risk upsetting the poor thing more.
Ren shook her head, the hair shivering loosely about her cheeks and making a wet sort of slapping sound as it hit her flesh. “No. Told Ezra. Can’t eat.”
The redhead had become aware that Tatiana and Troxel, along with Keegan in his arms, had come to the door, drawn by the commotion. She knew Ren would have no idea the two of them were there, but she didn’t think the aurora would have been happy to be a spectacle if she’d been in her right mind. But she needed Trox to help her now.
“Then you just wait here, ok? I’m going to talk to Ezra. We’re going to make it better Ren.”
Doe passed the girl’s hands into Troxel’s with a soft murmur of thanks before she raced to the phone. After she reached the kitchen, the redhead waited for a moment and allowed the panic to overwhelm her. The tears rolled passed her many freckles and her knuckles whitened as she gripped the edge of the counter. What do I do? What do I do? The thought raced through her mind on an endless loop.
Stop crying and make Ezra spill the ******** beans.
With a clearing of her throat and an angry swipe at her eyes, Doucette grabbed the phone and dialed Ezra’s number. It took a second try before the sleepy voice on the other end picked up, but it didn’t take him long to realize what the call was about and to explain just what the aurora had been talking to him about these past few days.
The Irish woman started out furious that the man had withheld information that was so important to her frei. Did he not care that Ren had put herself in so much pain?! And Ezra listened with patience as the woman berated him before he calmly pointed out to her that Doucette should have noticed much earlier that there had been a problem. There was no reason to point fingers or assign blame, they had both let the girl down, but the important thing now was to figure out how to make her better.
“But I don’t know what to do,” she confessed, choking back tears that threatened to retrace their path down her cheeks. “If I knew how to make it better I’d already be doing it.”
“Well, here’s a question. If Revontulet is made of aurora, and thus the name you gave her, then why is she only feeding off of moonlight? From what I’ve gathered so far, shouldn’t she be feeding on aurora?”
His words gave Doucette pause and the silence stretched on her end of the phone, broken only by a yawn on his end. If he’d been standing in front of her he’d have laughed at the look of utter shock upon her features. It was so simple! Of course she needed to be feeding on aurora! How had they all missed such an obvious thing? How had the Lab failed to mention that to her?
“I have to go,” she said, not bothering to thank him as she hung up.
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:11 pm
Ren feeds from the aurora finally and discovers what she’s been eating up till now was nothing but snacks. Color fills her once more and she is back to her old self.
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Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:12 pm
That night, Ren dreams about spirits from the Aurora and a shaman who comes to her. She doesn’t remember much about what was spoken about, but she’s convinced her and Doucette need to return to the aurora.
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