[Harriette]

ooc: open to 3 other people!

It was as if she was opening her eyes for the first time, all over again. The world was brand new, sparkling and shining and mysterious and enchanting. Everything astounded Harriette, everything overwhelmed her with a new sense of curiosity. Those icy hot eyes glazed over in awe, rolling here and there, then back over yonder. What was that? The grass looked so soft. What is that sound? The air felt so freeing. How does the sky do that? The clouds floated carelessly across the blue horizon. There was nothing she was seeing that didn’t have her insides bubbling with excitement, her blood at a constant low boil, her nerves vibrating beneath her goosebump-ridden skin.

She wanted to run; she wanted to sprint as long and as hard as she could. She wanted to feel the wind on her cheeks, enjoy the way it combed through her fur. She wanted to breathe in the world, fill her lungs with its wonder, taste the joy it had to offer on her eager tongue. But more than that, she wanted to sit here forever and gaze at her surroundings until her eyes melted out of her skull and dribble down her smiling face. She didn’t want to miss anything that this place had to offer… She didn’t want to miss anything…

A small wind escaped from Harriette’s nostrils, and in her fleeting imagination, she watched as a cloud of shimmering pink expanded in front of her before dissipating into the air around her. Turning her head slowly, she looked back at where the faerie pools laid, hidden in shrubbery, trees, beautiful flowers, and the shadows of the mountainside. She smiled softly. She loved those faerie pools, they were easily her favorite place in Gemini (aside from her den). It was where she discovered her calling as a healer. Looking down at her paw, Harriette recalls patching a minor flesh wound with moss. Briefly, the moss is on her paw again, she feels the dull sting of a scratch.

Raising her head, she sighs softly. Perhaps she should be back at the tree, checking on father, ensuring he’s doing his exercises to keep that leg in full working condition. He was young yet, she didn’t want to see him lose motion in his leg at that age. She knew he wasn’t weak, but they had done a number on that leg of his. Those demons that tried to cast her parents into Hell, into the screaming flames that licked the Earth’s underside. She hated them for what they did to mother and father…

She blinked away the thoughts, huffing lightly. The thought of father being a young wolf reminded Harriette that he was probably out and about, socializing no doubt. Or perhaps he was simply hovering over any one of his children he could find.

Harriette quickly scanned around her.

She was not the lucky target this time. Not today, at least.

Lifting herself from the soft grass, she began to walk. Not in the direction of the healers’ den, however. Harriette had decided she was going to take some time off today. She felt she’d earned it. She’d been caring for mother and father for … Quite some time. Sometimes she wondered if perhaps they were meant to die that day, but an angel reached down and lifted them from their graves. It seemed more viable in mother’s case. It was why she lost consciousness, it was why her memory and her sense of direction (and maybe a part of her sanity) abandoned her. The Angel had to steal those away from her mind, had to keep them for itself. The Angel could not let mother remember the its sheer brilliance. The pure beauty of an angel would leave you blind, would make everything in this land seem dull and hideous. The Angel wanted mother to retain the ability to see beauty in this world, rather than view it as an ugly, broken bone.

Harriette thanked The Angel every day, but wondered why mother was so deserving of being given a second chance. Harriette loved her, more than most anything in her life. But Harriette also knew that with mother came a dark, troubled past. There were things buried deep in her history that Harriette would never learn about, things that Harriette never wanted to learn about. So why was mother given a second chance?…

The daydreaming girl paused, lifting her chin to look up at the sky, wondering where The Angel was now. She always imagined that every angel only got to save one person, and after that, they were set free. So where was The Angel now?

Her pupils dilated, her mind tingling. She watched as The Angel soared above her, a dazzling light against a pale blue sky, brighter than the sun. The Angel had an immense wingspan, each powerful wing beating the sky with the strength of a thousand doves. The Angel was free, free to do anything. So it flew, it flew far and wide, smiling down on Gemini, shining brightly on the castle, the old willow; bringing life to everything in its shadow of pure beauty. ‘Thank you’, she mouthed, eyes watering slightly as she stared, its light nearly blinding.

Casting her gaze downward, she scolded herself gently. She didn’t need to question why mother was given a second chance. Her mother sacrificed herself countless times for her family, was constantly ensuring they were given a chance at every possibly opportunity. She was so selfless, she was so brave, she was so beautiful. Her soul was so astoundingly beautiful, it took Harriette’s breath away some days. Mother was always deserving of being saved. Harriette would save her a thousand times if she had to, and she wouldn’t stop there. Mother had such an alluring aura, the kind that brought a sense of calmness. Not just anyone had such a pure soul and an enchanting aura… Only mother.

“Thank you,” the words were real this time, and they hung lightly in the air before sprinkling onto the grass. Thank you for sparing my mother’s life. Thank you for granting me more time with her. Thank you for letting her stay, to love her family, to do so many great things.

Harriette didn’t know what she’d do without mother or father. Or her family in general, for that matter. She loved all of her siblings so much. She didn’t spend a lot of time with them, but she always knew they loved her, and they always knew she loved them. It was something that did not need to be acted out daily, it was something that they could feel when she was near. It was something she could feel when they smiled softly at her, casting sideways glances, making sure she’s doing alright.

Her litter of siblings were the ones she always felt closest to, having stumbled around the den with them on clumsy puppy paws, bumping into each other for comfort, sleeping in piles on top of each other, growing together, playing together, forming armies together…

Perhaps Harriette was always the outcast, but she never felt alone. She could always feel them. She still felt them, always. Deimos, Akira, Aquarian, Marcus, Archer, Kariya… Tauro… She always felt them, no matter how far they were. She would always be connected to her closest siblings.

She could feel herself building bonds like this with the second litter now as well. It was coming slower than with her immediate siblings, but it was forming nonetheless. It was exciting to feel these new bonds forming, and exhausting all at the same time. She could see these new threads being spun, attaching her to her younger siblings, dragging along behind her wherever she went. She could always follow these threads and find her siblings at the other end, never needing to feel alone or afraid. She always had them at the end of that thread. Always. Sometimes Kariya’s thread and Tauro’s thread would lead her astray, sending her to the cliffs or the borders, where she would still find herself alone. But usually, they were just playing tricks on her, and she’d turn around to see them snickering behind her. She’d smile at them. They’d laugh and run into the shadows, waiting to lead her on a new journey the next time she followed that thread…

A small smile tugged at her lips as she thought about this, and wondered where those threads might lead her today. She followed its winding path, heading toward the castle, into the woods that surrounded the North side. She trotted freely, following the thread, until she heard a few branches snapping, which caused her to halt. She turned her head, trying to find the source of the sound, eyes scanning the area. Was it food? Was it family? … Was mother lost again?

“Mother?” She called out softly, the words fizzling as they escaped her maw. She looked around slightly, but was suddenly finding it very dark within the cluster of trees.

A E S T H E T I C

[quartz.]

A soft flickering light roused her from her dreams. 

It danced before her eyes in a playful manner and urged the yearling from her den, diving and swooping every which way while waiting for the girl to follow. She yawned quietly, followed by a stretch and tired smile. 

" Well you're new.... " She chimed curiously to the hovering orb. It's light grew brighter as if to acknowledge her statement, and her smile broadened. She assumed the gentle thing was a child, certainly younger than herself, based on it's childlike mannerisms and the fact it was not a full body manifestation. She noticed the older the being was before they died, the stronger their apparition appeared. She'd gotten used to the roaming, listless spirits that made their home in Gemini along with the living. There was bell-boy, who's presence was always alerted by the chime of a soft bell, a dark girl with even darker scythes marking her red eyes, a curly haired deviant who was often found staring at her reflection in the fairy pools, a beautiful girl dappled with gold and eyes the color of the sky, the grey father who never stopped looking for his children, there were countless beings she could recognize. There was one, though...... a single white moth. She catches glimpses of it every so often, fluttering aimlessly above the cliffs. She could never figure out this one's story. 

The light before her danced and brought her to the castle, where it scaled the tower and loped around the stone blocks. It's light seemed to fade in and out, until eventually the orb disappeared into the castle all together. Well, that encounter was short lived. 

Well, maybe not entirely. Quartz could smell someone just past the castle, somewhere in the dark woods. She wagged her over curly tail and made her way to this stranger, who wasn't so strange after all. By the looks of it, the starling was likely related to this woman.

"Mother?"

" Afraid not, " she offered a warm smile, all the while staring at the light blue aura surrounding the stranger. " My name's Quartz, what your name? " 

-----

i tried my best to fix the black words but my coding skills are primitive and i couldn't figure it out lol 

[Sinn]

The shadows had attacked her - the red ones.

Demons? She didn't think it, more like lost souls, wandering shadows, angered, upset and lost for purpose, died without much reason, dying to hate and anger instead of love. She could feel it and it scared her, it scared her to see these lonely shadows roaming, angered by her presence and lashing out. She hid in the woods, ran like hell, panting loudly and desperately, she could hear it behind her, giving chase.

It would come for her.

She wanted to scream but was left breathless, she stormed through the woods as if it was life and death and her small paws were tired, hurting and sore. She had been running for so long that she could hardly feel her legs anymore, but she could hear it, schreccing like an animal and reach its red nails toward her. She knew it, she felt it. She shut her eyes while running and that would be her demise.

She ran straight into a medium size branched and fell forward, gasping she rolled forward, hurting her entire body in the process. She was shaking and could she she would be sweating, instead she was panting like a mad and as she tried to rise she felt it

She screamed.

She screamed louder and clawed herself on her hind leg to get its fingernails off her, she lashed into thin air where nothing was, her eyes where showing white and she screamed again. She began clawing like a mad at herself, bleeding on the forest floor, turning mad from the red shadow that followed her and she tried to wiggle herself up, but her pawpads were pounding and blistering she couldn't stand.

So the mad girl bit the empty air again and hoped someone would save her.

The shadows always seemed to disappear when others were nearby.

[Archer]

---

With heavy eyelids draped across the dark boy’s face, Archer felt himself beginning to lull into a sleep. What else did he possibly have to do today, if at all, as in the blurred vision before him was the faint outline of the wall that now separated Gemini from the lowlands, and furthermore, the outside. The wind was soothing and something had caught his conscience into a low veil of drowsiness, his black frame was sprawled across the mossy, decrepit stones of the dilapidated castle. The breeze offered a small hollow chime through the cracks and crevasses of the stonework; almost in a tune that sounded like talking. Archer knew something had been missing, but this time he chose to try and ignore it.

Maybe if he pretended to hear his brother’s voices, it meant they weren’t really gone.

Instead he heard a faint chime of a feminine voice, one he recognized nearly immediately. It had been a while, although he knew his sweet, creamy litter sister was around here and there. Her light was still bright, even if it were faded in sections of the timeline— some days the Sun and Moon’s were too. Archer grunted, debating if he should go say hello to her (god, you're so lazy still, sometimes). Of course he should, he made a promise to himself that he would keep in touch, keep himself tethered, involved, not waste anymore time.

A distant scream was actually what stirred him the most. What shocked him more was it sounded like Tauro when it filtered through his close-to-dreamy mind, as if he could hear him that fateful day when his life was taken by teeth. Archer wondered if he screamed. He shook his head and bitterly frowned, disappointed in himself for thinking of it. With an exaggerated groan for no one to hear, the short-tailed, floppy ear tipped black sheep rose from his sprawled position and stomped his feet down the steps of the castle.

Thunk, thud, thump.

With a soft landing black and white met green and he sauntered through the swaying grass, raising a brow and starting to wonder if he actually hear a scream or if it was his subconscious playing a trick on him, those anxieties and regrets buried deep within his aloof temperament tried to pray on him once again. Letting his legs take him toward the voices blindly, he opened his maw wide with closed eyes, tongue rolling out in a loud, audible yawn (no doubt those nearby could hear his obnoxious groan) before he reopened them, nearly walking right into the unfamiliar face of the two. Archer side swayed, taking a seat and simply inviting himself to their interaction, turning to Harriette with a grin.

“Haaarrrriettteeeeee!” He drawled, swaying his stubby tail as he lifted a paw to rub at his eye. “What are you doing today?” Archer asked without really thinking, turning toward the younger girl who absolutely looked like she could’ve been another one of their siblings. Raising a brow as he put his paw back down, leaning closer to her and squinting as if to decipher if she was indeed that. “Hey, lady, are you also one of my sis-“

A scream erupted from the distance again and Archer’s words were drowned out into nothingness. With perks ears he turned back to Harriette again, then back to the russet teen and then chuckled under his breath. “Sooooooo, is anyone else hearing that?”

---

[Harriette]

Keen eyes watched carefully as the trees parted their darkness to reveal someone who was not, in fact, her mother. However, this being that stepped forth looked shockingly like one of Serrate’s own. “Afraid not,” said the young girl, and Harriette nearly found herself frowning at the realization that mother was not there. She offered a small smile at the adolescent instead.


“My name’s Quartz, what’s your name?” She asked through a smile, her eyes floating all around Harriette, looking at the air around her rather than into Harriette’s eyes. For a brief moment, she wondered if perhaps there were pesky gnats fluttering around her, dancing in the space around her head, flying around her ears. She watched the young girl for a moment, noticing that she really was quite distracted by whatever it was that floated about Harriette. She couldn’t blame the young girl, since Harriette was distracted as well. The name Quartz vibrated within her, and the cogs in her mind worked to place where she’d heard the name before… Why she looked so familiar… Where did she come from? She didn’t seem to know Harriette, so maybe she didn’t know her after all…

Blinking slowly as she looked Quartz over, Harriette remembered that she had been asked a question. She laughed lightly, the sound like wind chimes in a gentle breeze. “I’m Harriette.” Her mind almost instinctively began to recite the script she’d formed at the healer’s den when new subjects made their way to them. She felt as though she’d been spending a lot of time there in the past few months. It definitely wasn’t a bad thing, she loved the experience and loved to help.

She didn’t love seeing her pack mates in pain. Especially not her family. But it came with the job she so badly wanted to pursue. So pursue it, she did. And she would never be able to say she didn’t love the job with her whole heart.

Harriette forced herself back into real time, and tilted her head at Quartz, trying to place where she’d have seen that face before. It bothered her that she could not recall, that her mind was not quick and sharp like some of her siblings’. “I have to say, Quartz…” she began, before a piercing scream broke her trail of thought, leaving the words to hang ominously in the air between the pair.

Ears perking, she turned her head to the source of the sound, eyes widening in slight horror. That didn’t sound like the kind of playful screeches she was used to hearing around the castle. That was a blood curdling scream, a call for help, a cry of terror.

Her head snapped back to Quartz, her heart racing behind her breastbone. “Where-” but again, she was cut off, however this time it was a much more welcoming sound than the treacherous one before.

Bulky, swaying, and charming as ever, Archer rolled into the scene, plopping himself near the two girls as if they’d called him over. He greeted Harriette in his naturally smooth tone, and immediately Harriette’s heart was calm.

She missed her siblings. She used to spend so much time with them, used to see them day in and day out. They used to sleep next to each other, sometimes on top of one another. They shared meals. They played. They explored. They grew together and now they were slowly growing apart – as you do when you become independent and develop your own interests. It was a shame, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t hate it from time to time. She remembered at that moment that she was following that little thread before Quartz showed up... Where did that thread go?

His presence was calming, as it always was. He was always the lazy one. It drove some of the others mad at times, but Harriette always knew she could rely on him to calm her down when it stormed. He rarely got worked up, was always laid back. It grounded the creamy girl, it made her feel sane, it brought her peace and he often made her smile.

“Archer,” she breathed lightly. It had been a while since she last saw her brother, and she definitely missed him. She stepped toward him and nuzzled his neck gently, her way of telling him that she was glad to see him. He asked what she was doing today, and she shrugged slightly as she backed away from him. “Taking a break, I suppose.”

Archer then seemed to catch on to the same realization that Harriette had earlier – that Quartz just had to somehow be related to the two of them. She resembled their bloodline so adequately that there was no way she was not one of them.

But that horrible scream rang through the trees again, reminding Harriette of the possible horrors that laid beyond the barrier of the forest. It would not be forgotten. It would not go away.

Harriette looked at Archer with wide eyes. “Yes, I heard it earlier…” She murmured, her body frozen in fear. She wanted to help. She wanted to stay. She wanted to make sure they were okay. She wanted to get as far away from that terrifying scream as possible…

“We should… We should see…” Her voice crumbled as the words fell from her lips. She didn’t handle situations like this very well. She was timid. She wanted to close her eyes and escape into the lush purple fields in her mind, where she often escaped in stressful situations, to where she could count sheep in the sky and drink from a fountain full of faeries.

They had a duty. They were a pack. They had to help. Whatever it was that was screaming, whoever it was... They needed help.

Swallowing, she turned herself to the direction of the screams and began to walk toward the area, her legs carrying her swiftly. She hoped Archer and Quartz would follow. She knew Archer would, she could practically feel him behind her, his dark pelt transforming into her shadow.

The sound had disappeared, but Harriette was determined. It had to be nearby... It had to be right here. Where did it come from? Where did they go...? "Where...?" She let her voice trail off, hoping Archer had a better idea as to where the sound might have come from. It was obvious that she wasn't just hearing things, because Archer heard the sound, too. It wasn't just her. For once in her life, it wasn't just in her head.

Looking here then there, she tried to catch a trail, tried to find where the voice went. But it was gone. It was completely gone.

A chill ran through her.

Blue and red eyes were wide on Archer. She wished he'd say something, tell her where the screams came from. She glanced back, either to see if Quartz had followed, or to make brief eye contact with her if she'd followed. Did she know? Did she hear? Was it only the two siblings?

A thought spiraled her mind, that perhaps it was a ghost, a spirit. A whispy being that floated among Gemini, protecting, haunting, watching, waiting. What did they want, though? Harriette sighed. "Guess it was nothing.." She offered a small, defeated smile.

A E S T H E T I C

[Harriette]

ooc: updated!!

[Sybella]

Sybella heard it, too.

When the scream had reached Sybella's range, she was face-deep in a berry bush in an attempt to appease her appetite. Extracting her face from the bush as a sort of knee-jerk reflex to the scream caused her to carry some thorns from the shrub with her. Normally she'd wine about it, but she barely noticed the pain now; a frenzy had worked itself quickly and deeply within her that the only thing she could decipher was the source of the sound. And how to get there immediately.

Without second thought, she dashed. Her mind racing as to what the cause of the scream could have came from. A distressed child? A dying mother? A confrontation gone wrong? Being as little as she is, Sybella was worried that there would be very little she could do to aide to the issue. But this thought was fleeting, she thought it'd be best to figure out the issue before she made too rash of a decision. Perhaps there'd be something useful she could do, and she could get there faster alone than she would had she found assistance first.

Hearing the scream again provoked her legs to move faster now, heart raced as quickly as her feet did. The shriek was much closer this time, it even set off a ringing pain within her ears. When she assumed she was advancing to the culprit of the yelling, her gait slowed. Her chest was heaving but the adrenaline still embodied her.

The clearing provided no answers, but just a short distance away she saw three wolves -- noticeably younger than Sybella could account for. She leapt up again and closed the distance between them. Really closed the distance. When she was in arms-reach she was touching their faces, examining each of them closely, all the while rambling off her worries. "Oh, HONS! Are ye okay? What happened 'ere? Did somethin' get'cha? I hope ye weren't just playin', then. That scream was awfully scary, which one of ye did it? Do I need to call a healer?" Her accent was as thick as her panic, her eyes growing larger with the frenzy that she carried.

She took a step back to look at them as a group, and quickly analyzed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with them. "..... Well, then. You heard it, too, didn't ye?" She was mortified by the way she'd worried and man-handled these kids for absolutely nothing, she had to be sure that she wasn't going crazy, here.

▌note:

[quartz.]

"I'm Harriette,"

Her voice was as gentle as the breeze and carried through her ears like molasses. As she laughed, the light around her seemed to brighten, outshining the outline of her soft fur. A delicate yet distinguished powder-blue. The curly starling gazed at the woman with rapt curiosity, thick lashes flaring out of soft, half lidded eyes. She was a healer by nature, Quartz had learned this from encountering the beautiful Jasmine, who's aura had been a soft, silvery blue. A healer as well.

" A pleasure, Harriette~ "

"I have to say, Quartz..."

But that sweet voice was cut short by a blood curdling scream resonating through the forests. They both had heard it, so Quartz doubted it was a haunting spirit. Quartz shook her head with worry written on her features as Harriette asked where the scream came from. Another presence waltz in, this one a hulking dark mass with white accents and striking blue eyes. He had a very low burning orange tint surrounding him, but it was so faint that she had barely noticed. 

"Hey, lady, are you also one of my sis-"

Another scream interrupted the dark furred stranger. Quartz assumed both were asking of her lineage. The starling too noticed the resemblance of Harriette and some of her aunts she'd met before. However, the more pressing issue were the shrieks they all were hearing. Harriette began to jog quickly towards the sound, and Quartz followed with a quiet sense of urgency. However, the closer they came to the origin, the more Quartz was beginning to suspect it was just another wandering spirit playing tricks on the wolves.

Another came running to the scene, frantic and grabbing their faces with genuine concern radiating from her delicate frame.

" We have a healer right here! No need to call another. " The light blue aura around the woman was a sure sigh of that. Quartz flashed Harriette a light smile in recognition, then turned back to the red stranger. Whoever was the cause of the scream certainly sounded like they were in distress. " Yes, we heard it! But you can never be too sure what's real and what's... not around here. Lots of voices. " 


In essence, the teenager wasn't too concerned when it came down to it. Her nose hadn't detected any scents close enough to the origin of the scream, so she brushed it off as a spirit. 

Quartz turned to the two probable relatives, her gem glittering wildly in the mid day sun, and spoke quietly, " My father was Tauro, if that clears anything up. " She gazed down at her chest, as if expecting to see his reflection in her gem like she does in her dreams. 

As much as she wished it would, it didn't. 

 

[Harriette]

Ark, I know you're busy with RL and school and such - just wondering if you guys still wanna continue this one. <3

[Archer]

---

Nightmares trained Archer for this sort of thing.

Despite the distress etched upon his sister’s face, Archer seemed somewhat nonchalant about the whole ordeal, glancing between Harriette and the other stranger, (What was her name again? God, Archer, why do you suck so much at names.) next thing he knew the three of them were wandering toward the sound. Whatever had been screaming seemingly stopped shortly after they started their trek, Archer’s head bobbed idly as he followed the two ladies with an almost bored look on his face; something quite the contrast from the level of concern that struck Harriette’s features and the far-from amused look of the rusty pelted girl.

Archer opened his mouth and let out a huge yawn, just in time for a flurry of a figure to barge into their personal spaces and smear motherly worry all over them, from what Archer could only assume was due to the same scream that led them here. Snapping his jaw shut when the stranger got too close, the black boy was surprised he didn’t take a snoot or a toe off in how rapidly he did. Leaning away he audibly groaned to the jarring close-contact and ended up shoving a lot of his weight into Harriette. “Hey, HEY!—“ He managed to murmur with confusion knitted in his brows as the assault was far from expected.

Nearly zoning out the humming conversation of the two talking about needing help, healers? or something, Archer continued to shift his weight toward Harriette and murmured quietly to her. “Am I some kind of lady magnet or what?” He snickered to himself, once again, the scream having left little to no worry upon his face. Honestly, he had already forgotten that it had happened at this point.

Then the truth came out.

" My father was Tauro, if that clears anything up. "

“Oh—“ Archer’s voice nearly dropped in his chest as he coughed, loudly, probably a lot louder in Harriette’s ear than he’d intended. “I take that back. She’s our NIECE!” He exclaimed, looking over at her with wide eyes, although unless Harriette moved away from him he was still very much within her space. “That’s bigger news than whatever it was that screamed. Which, by the way— What she said—“ He lifted a paw at Quartz, surprise, he was actually listening. “— It was probably nothing, well, nothing serious. You know there are spirits around here? Yeah, well, they can be stupid little buggers sometimes. I didn’t know we’d be going on a wild ghost chase or I would’ve ate a bigger lunch.” Archer nearly groaned, looking at his stomach and putting the same paw he’d used to point, now toward his gut and lips gutted out in a pout.

His pout turned toward Harriette. “Crisis averted, right?” Lunch anyone?