[Harriette]

@Corvo

The feeling of such vapid emptiness was never easy to consume. Instead, it choked you, refused to settle in your gut, and constantly rose up into your throat. It made for sleepless nights and sluggish days of heavy fatigue. Routine was nowhere to be found, and comfort was even farther off – the cold grip of winter’s chilly winds wrapped tightly around the bones, refusing to let go even when nestled so snugly in a bed of hay and dead grass.

Perhaps Harriette was being dramatic – it was always a possibility. But she hadn’t felt this empty in quite some time. Not since the fog of her mind lifted and revealed the truth of her brothers’ deaths. If she could pull through that, couldn’t she pull through this? A silly lust, a harmless crush. It was nothing quite so serious as the tragic passing of her brothers, so why was it hurting her so badly? Why did her heart ache so endlessly?

The winter didn’t help. Long nights, short days. The pale girl missed the sun, missed the warmth of summer, of that thick, soft, snowy white fur.

A long sigh slipped from between her lips, her breath crystalizing in the frigid air around her.

She couldn’t do this anymore.

When Kariya and Tauro passed, she couldn’t do anything to see them again – to really see them again – and so she had no choice but to mope and try to get on with her life. But this was different. Sveyn wasn’t dead. He wasn’t gone forever.

“When I see you again, I will be whole once more.”

The words echoed in her mind, his voice hushed and calm in her memory. When. He wasn’t gone forever.

So Harriette decided to do something about it this time, decided she could take control of her emotions and fix her feelings if she so wished. She marched straight from her den to wherever her mother might be, and confronted her with confident words. Harriette would go to Sveyn, because she couldn’t go to Kariya and Tauro when they left, but Sveyn was not worlds away.

For reasons unbeknownst to the pale girl, she had already come up with a ‘plan B’ should the Queen refuse Harriette’s request to leave Gemini in search of her newfound love interest. Harriette wasn’t known to be devious or mischievous; it was not in her nature. Yet, she had rehearsed over and over in her mind as she searched for her mother, each possible outcome and how she would proceed if the answer was anything other than “yes, of course, Harriette”.

However, the answer was yes – of course it was yes. Serrate was always understanding, always forgiving. Harriette was grown now, and her mother knew this. Her only stipulation was that Harriette not go alone, which she never intended to do in the first place. While the girl was now grown, that did not mean she didn’t have fears lingering within her.

A thousand ‘thank-you’s fell like a waterfall from the Princess’ mouth, hugs and kisses given to her mother who always understood – always understood.

Permission had been granted, and so phase two commenced – convince her carefully chosen travel buddy to come along with her.

As she left the dilapidated castle, feeling hopeful after her brief meeting with her mother, Harriette smiled to herself. She was one step closer. Her grand plan was spinning into motion.

She’d never gone on an adventure like this before – the only time she’d really left the pack was to go with the others to save the orphans. This would be particularly less traumatizing, for sure. Thinking about it made her chest warm up with happiness. The ice was finally melting.

Trotting at a pace which implied she was on a mission, Harriette headed for the camp of one of her favorite people in Gemini – well, the only person, technically.

“Gaven!” She called out as she neared the elven man’s camp, her tone urgent yet hopeful. She hoped he was there. She didn’t want to have to go searching for him – she was feeling very anxious. If he agreed to go with her, they could gather some belongings and head out first thing in the morning. She didn’t want to waste another second.

“Gaven, I need you!” Now more than ever.

A E S T H E T I C

[Gaven]

Gaven's camp was becoming less of his camp and more like a camp of bachelors and lost souls who were all magnetized there by the sheer force of the elven man's personality and his many, many warm blankets. He was boiling a stew, made days ago but the leftovers kept frozen, when his wolf friend came to seek him out; the smell of it on the fire was rich in the air. Eli warned him that someone was coming before the first note of Harriette's call as his hearing was much sharper than Gaven’s, but when he heard his name Gaven recognized the voice and excused himself from the camp. The dog had handfuls of traumatic incidents with wolves and while Gaven could maybe help Harriette warm to Eli, now didn’t seem to be the time. He stomped over the snow that settled around his camp, blazing a new trail through its previously glittering, untouched surface.

“Gaven, I need you!”

"Wow, do you ever," Gaven responded in his typical amusing fashion. Then he saw her face as they pulled nearer to one another, "What's the matter, starshine?" He cupped the bottom of her muzzle, tilting her head back a little, "You've got this look in your eyes."

[Harriette]

@Corvo

Gaven was always all smiles and open arms, meeting her a ways from the camp before she could reach it. She didn’t realize there was a particular reason for this, but she also didn’t exactly care in this moment.

The elven man approached Harriette and cupped her maw in his hand, lifting her head so that their eyes met more closely. “What’s the matter, starshine? You’ve got this look in your eyes.” His voice was soothing in a way, the nickname feeling comfortable in his tone.

She broke away from his grip then, wiggling her chin out from the palm of his hand. “I … I need you to come with me.” She began, her voice suddenly a little bit nervous as she thought about the extent of their journey.

Harriette had no idea how far Bacchus was, and had no idea what they might encounter along the way. However, with Gaven by her side, she shouldn’t have to be afraid. He was strong and capable of things Harriette was not – between the two of them they’d be able to take anything on.

She hoped.

“Remember Sveyn? From Bacchus?” She asked, remembering that Gaven was there upon Sveyn and Reath’s arrival. “Well … I want to … Go to Bacchus. To see him.” She hoped she didn’t sound silly to her friend, hoping he’d simply understand and oblige. “I miss him…” The words fell quietly from her lips.

She lowered her head, pawing at the dirt softly. “A lot,” she added.

Harriette fell silent for a moment before looking back up to Gaven, searching for his amber eyes. “Will you come with me? Mom granted me permission, but only if I took you with me.” She’d take any leverage she could get.  

A E S T H E T I C

[Gaven]

Harriette had a sharp presence Gaven had rarely seen in her before. Anxiety pricked her like a thousand sharp needles and she wiggled from the gentle grasp of Gaven’s palm with a wavering voice; in turn his expression quickly transformed into one of concern. He did not interrupt her at first, only listened as she explained what she wanted from him. She must have known she did not need to ask him if he remembered Sveyn. He remembered most names and the faces they belonged to. When she admitted that she missed the Bacchus diplomat the Starreaver’s face suddenly cracked into a grin. Of course.

“Ohhhh, it’s that type of missing,” Gaven said while rubbing his chin. “You two are friends now, huh? Special friends.”

He was grinning to himself as he paused to consider it. He wondered if Harriette had said it like this to her mother. It was very romantic and dangerously capricious, but of course the young wolf would have barely remembered their travel from the marshes and how unforgiving the land out here could be. This late in the season such a trek could be dangerous. Her eyes locked with his own, fixed grin drawing his gaze into taut slits. She would probably sense the next few things coming out of his mouth would not immediately please her.

“Why would I do that? It’s winter. The travel would be dangerous, even for a wolf,” he answered. He broke eye contact with her and looked up, holding out his hand to catch invisible snowflakes. “Surely such a trek could wait until spring? We could ask a bird to send a message for us to Bacchus. They are easily bribed with food and shiny things, especially the ravens.”

[Harriette]

@Corvo

Gaven went straight from concern to teasing, and Harriette couldn’t help but twist her face into a look of frustration. She didn’t need help pointing out the fact that she had feelings for someone, feelings that were strong enough to push her to travel an unknown distance to go see him.

Not only was it a far distance, but as Gaven pointed out next, it was also the dead of winter. Harriette was aware of these things, she already knew this. Yes, winter was not ideal traveling time, but Harriette didn’t care. She wanted to go now! So when Gaven suggested waiting until spring, the pale wolf shook her head aggressively, biting her tongue right up until he mentioned sending a message with a bird.

“Gaven!” She blurted, surprised at the level of her tone. Harriette swallowed then, feeling her heart race as her emotions shifted from longing, to anger, to guilt. “No, I … I want to go now. I don’t want to wait.” She huffed, her breath puffing out in a small cloud between them.

Falling back onto her rump, feeling somewhat defeated and unsure of whether or not she could convince Gaven, she felt those damned emotions bubbling up at the back of her throat again. Swallowing hard, trying to force them down, she searched her mind for the right words to say as her gaze fell down onto the snowy ground.

“He is special – to me.” She murmured, keeping her gaze down. Gaven was probably just going to tease her more, but she figured it was worth a shot. She hadn’t really gotten the words out before now anyhow. “I didn’t really realize how great he is until he was already gone. I feel like I missed out on an opportunity, and I don’t want to wait … In case … In case it’s too late.” In case he finds someone else. A selfish thought, but an honest one.

These feelings were all new to Harriette. She’d experienced loss before, yes, but in a different aspect. She’d felt sad before, but not like this. She’d loved before, but only in the familial sense. She needed to tell Sveyn how she really felt, because she never knew how she felt until he’d already gone back to Bacchus.

Lifting her head at last, her eyes settled on his. “So will you please, please come with me to Bacchus? It doesn’t have to just be about this. We can maybe do some trades while we’re there, we can bring some extra herbs that they might not have there. I’ll do anything, Gaven. Anything you want.”  

A E S T H E T I C

[Gaven]

“Gaven!”

The Starreaver froze with his fingers still outstretched. His face turned slowly to look at her with an expression etched with surprise and concern. She had expected Gaven to agree without question, for they were friends and he was a subject of her mother, so of course he was supposed to say ‘yes’. Maybe not, maybe she knew him better by now, and that he was a wild, unpredictable creature that was not easily chained by laws and expectations. His face sank into a displeased frown as the wolf sunk to the ground and gave a low, breathless explanation of why she needed to do this.

“Hmm, you know, starshine, I wouldn’t even do this for my sisters, and I love them dearly,” he answered her thoughtfully. “Even I have a sense of adventure but if Ashariel told me she wanted to travel with me across the world for a boy I would definitely tell her ‘do it yourself, buttface’ and then she would kick me in the shin, and we would start fighting until baba yelled at us. That was usually the course of business in my elven family.”

In other words, Gaven was saying, what makes your lust so special? The unsaid question would undoubtedly frustrate Harriette but at least she could take heart that the next words from Gaven’s lips seemed to entertain the possibility of him taking on such a task for her.

“Do either of us even know the way to Bacchus? Sveyn never imparted that knowledge to me, but I know there was a meeting. How long would such a journey take?”

At the last thing Harriette said his golden eyes flashed dangerously towards her, wide and bright, and if she did not feel sinking regret then she was a fool. You couldn’t just promise Gaven anything. Things like that backfired quickly. She couldn’t take it back though. It was already out of her mouth and they both heard it. Now they were in business.

“’Anything I want’? Can I save that promise for a rainy day?”

[Harriette]

@Corvo

Gaven rambled, as he always did. He told Harriette that he wouldn’t even consider doing this for his own family, and promptly went off on a tangent. The pale girl struggled to hold on to any thread of patience she could find within her, unable to recall a time that she felt so anxious and jittery. It frustrated her that he found her request so larger-than-life, and it might have even hurt her feelings if her emotions hadn’t gone completely awry.

At Gaven’s next point, Harriette was glad to have a counter. Apparently it was a big concern to him that they didn’t even know where they were going – couple with a harsh winter and that made for a dangerous journey. These were, of course, legitimate concerns; Harriette couldn’t deny that. But she could at least put the elven man’s mind at ease to an extent.

“Sveyn did tell me a bit about the journey. Of course, he didn’t come straight from Bacchus – he’d made a couple stops between there and here – but he did tell me about it.” That didn’t sound as convincing as she’d hoped it would, but she wouldn’t leave Gaven alone until he agreed to go with her. He had to know that by now.

“Between knowing what he told me and the fact that I can track his scent, we’d be able to find Bacchus no problem. I’m a wolf, remember, Gaven. Tracking is kind of what we do…” Perhaps she was trying to make a joke, or perhaps she was actually being a bit of a snob. It was hard to tell, and she wasn’t even sure what she was trying to accomplish by saying that.

However, it didn’t seem to matter what Harriette knew about the journey to Bacchus, since she’d clearly gripped Gaven’s attention with her mention of an owed favor should he agree to come with her. He perked right up, amber eyes glistening with an oddly dark sense of joy.

Harriette sighed softly. “Yes, Gaven.” She confirmed. “Anything you want. Anything.” She let the words sink in for a moment, pursing her lips. “Redeemable at any time.”

Yikes. Someone should have taught Harriette not to make deals with the trickster elves in Gemini.

A E S T H E T I C

[Gaven]

Harriette persisted. This was more than a passion of the loins, it was a matter of the soul. It must be lovely to speak so casually of things one knew nothing about; ignorance begets confidence. She assured Gaven she knew where Bacchus was. Well, not exactly, the words seemed to waver as they left her. In the few seconds it had taken the she-wolf to answer his question he started to notice a rising black in the trees behind her and forced himself not to look. If he looked, so would she, and he already knew Harriette would see nothing. She wouldn’t know why Gaven suddenly adopted a stillness. He pinned his lower lip under his teeth and tried to swallow his anxiety.

Horrible black wolves only appeared when they were interested in something and Gaven didn’t want his friend to be interested in something as innocent as this.

“That does not make me feel safe.”

“Between knowing what he told me and the fact that I can track his scent, we’d be able to find Bacchus no problem. I’m a wolf, remember, Gaven. Tracking is kind of what we do…”

“Well, la-di-dah, aren’t you special?” he returned to teasing her. It may have annoyed Harriette but at least she didn’t have to watch him chew his lip. “You know, Harriette, out there we’re not the only wolves—er, or elves—wandering between packs? I came to Gemini with a red-furred beast on my metaphorical tail and they gifted me with teeth to the ankle. That was only one wolf. We might also have to contend with lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my. Well, maybe not the bears, it is winter. But what about humans? Those beasts can be worst of them all.”

He would not mention what outsiders had done to her brothers. The point stood that they would not be the only things tracking in the wilderness.

“A rather generous bargain aside, I have this sinking feeling you aren’t going to give me much of a choice, or worse of all you’ll do your thing and take off alone,” Gaven muttered. “Hmm. Why would you ask me to come along of all people? I am the Lorekeeper but…I’m going to slow you down. A lot. I’ve only got two-legs, I don’t need as much sleep as you, all my food must be cooked, and unlike you I’m going to need safe shelter every single night. I have the stamina in me but if you want to get to Bacchus quickly it would almost be smarter to ask a Whisper or two to come along instead. Then again, I suppose if your choices are between Iaera and I, I’m the much better option. I can actually protect you.”

He smiled to himself, amused at the thought of that tiny, angry dog escorting Harriette. At least Sveyn knew who Iaera was so there wouldn’t be any surprises when they arrived at Bacchus, but Gaven remembered how badly that tiny dog had gotten wrecked when thrown into a fight. Harriette was the best wolf to be injured on the road with, at the very least.

“I suppose I will need to pack for myself,” Gaven sighed. “You wouldn’t mind carrying some things too, would you? I need items so I don’t die on the road, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring what gifts we can scrounge up to Bacchus as a gesture of goodwill and I’m not going to be able to carry it all.” He stared at Harriette for a bit. “Besides, you would look adorable in a little doggy backpack.”

[Harriette]

@Corvo

Harriette could feel the anger rising up in her throat again – the nasty, bitter taste prominent on the back of her tongue. Did Gaven think she was stupid? She knew that there were dangers outside of Gemini – she was very much aware of this fact. Those dangers were the reason her brothers were both dead. The teasing and chastising was unnecessary, and he was about to cross a line.

Before she could blurt out another protest, however, Gaven seemed to change his train of thought.

The pale Princess was unsure of what made Gaven change his perspective of “this does not make me feel safe, it’s dangerous out there” to “I suppose I have no choice”, but she also didn’t particularly care. He continued to ramble, and Harriette sat back with ease, not minding to listen since it seemed he was finally on her side. Her patience was back, and her heart was calm. Her previous troubles were lost to the wind.

Deep down, she must have known that Gaven wouldn’t end the conversation with a firm “no”, but the elf was so unpredictable at times that she was left uncertain as their conversation had progressed. At the end of the day, Gaven was one of her most trusted friends. It seemed he trusted her a fair amount, too, considering he was now willing to embark on a less-than-ideal journey with her, where their safety would no doubt be in question.

At the question of “why me”, Harriette simply cocked her head to the side. She considered the choices he laid out before her – Iaera, a fair Whisper she’d met once or twice, or Gaven, someone she’d had many conversations with and who she knew her mother had faith in.  

Smiling half-heartedly, she looked at the elven man and spoke with genuine veracity. “There’s no one else here that I would trust more to take with me, aside from my own mother. But we both know she’s a busy woman, and we also both know that she also trusts you very much.” She spoke as if to say, “you know why”. The answer was so obvious to her, she couldn’t understand why Gaven would question her choice to begin with.

Besides that, Gaven was useful in ways another wolf could not physically be.

He spoke then of the logistics of their journey, asking about packing, what to bring, who to store it on. Harriette nodded at him when he mentioned her carrying supplies, blatantly ignoring his comment about the doggy backpack – whatever that was anyways.

“I don’t mind carrying stuff. We’ll be moving slower anyways, and it will help keep me warm if we run into some weather.” She’d thought about this quite a bit, and she wanted to make sure they were both prepared for anything.

“Taking breaks isn’t a problem with me. I don’t mind building fires for you to cook on, either. Again… We don’t know what the weather will be like, so the extra warmth for sleeping could be good.”

She looked behind her – not because she suspected the shadows that haunted Gaven – and thought about what was in the Living Tree. “I’ll bring some basic medical supplies and some herbs and things that I think might be native to Gemini. Why don’t you pack up whatever you need, for cooking and camping, and meet me at the Living Tree with whatever bags you have to bring along?

I want to leave as soon as possible. Like… In the morning, at sunrise.”

Watching him with trusting eyes, she waited to see if he agreed with her plan, forgetting (for the time being) about her little deal she’d made with him.

A E S T H E T I C

[Gaven]

Harriette’s stillness stood in place of outward bristling and Gaven noticed. He was familiar with the rising tensions of stepping out of line with someone on a short fuse; the nerves between his shoulders lit up and he was no longer paying attention to the liquid darkness flowing through the trees. It was good he had easily shifted the conversation in Harriette’s favor when he did. He didn’t think she would hurt him, but her patience seemed to be melting away at a rapid pace, and he liked verbal fights only slightly more than physical ones; he would rather avoid fighting entirely.

The wrinkles faded from the corners of his eyes as Harriette assured her trust in him, as well as her mother’s, and left him with an oddly strained smile. They did not trust him, they blindly threw their faith at him, into the black abyss of space between them where they did not know much about Gaven if they thought about it too long, but he had done something nice for them once so he must be good. He wouldn’t argue the point of his badness with Harriette though. In hindsight, he would have.

Harriette agreed to all Gaven’s accommodation demands, somewhat to his surprise. She mentioned she wanted to leave at sunrise, and it was his turn to quirk his head at her in confusion.

“Why at sunrise? Why not within the hour?” Gaven asked. “Oh, do you do that whole night-sleeping thing like the humans do? I forgot. Sunrise it is, then.”

[Harriette]

@Corvo

When Harriette thought Gaven would have no further qualms, he opened his mouth to ask more questions. He wondered about her need to leave at sunrise rather than right this moment, and Harriette felt herself sighing in response. The urge to roll her eyes was strong, but she was trying to be more consciously aware of her emotions. It seemed she was flying off the handle a bit more ever since Sveyn left.

“Oh, do you do that whole night-sleeping thins like the humans do? I forgot. Sunrise it is, then.” Despite the subtle mockery, she was just glad that he’d agreed. She wasn’t sure how much more negotiating she could handle at this point.

Furrowing her brow at him - somewhat playfully - she shook her head. “I thought it might be good to get some rest before we head out on an extensive journey.” She explained, even if she didn’t really need to justify why she thought they might want to wait until morning to leave.

Harriette began to turn away from the elven man, but paused briefly. “There’s simply no pleasing you is there?” The pale girl’s words were more light hearted now and there was a ghost of a smirk on her lips before she turned away from him at last.

“I’ll meet you at the wall at sunrise.” She told him as she started to walk away.

But again, she paused.

Turning to face him once more, her lips curved into a genuine smile. “Thank you, Gaven. I really appreciate this.” Her eyes lingered on his face for a moment before refocusing her gaze on the direction of the Living Tree, her mind recounting the items she’d need to pack up.

In the morning, they’d set off to a foreign land. She didn’t know how long it would take them, but she hoped they wouldn’t get there too late. Her stomach had been tying in knots lately, as though her subconscious was telling her something was wrong.

She had to remain positive, though, and keep her focus on their journey.

A journey that was sure to change everything.

A E S T H E T I C