[Harriette]

@Bloody

She had to bite the bullet some time, and apparently that time was now.

The sun had carefully slipped behind the jagged cliff side, the sky growing dark in its absence. This was the only time to go to the faerie pools – it was when those shimmering waters were at their most magical state.

Gentle steps were taken as she neared the thick vegetation that surrounded her favorite place, her heart racing as she got closer and closer. Finally, it was time to break through the brush. Shoving herself through, she kept her eyes closed until she felt a thick carpet of moss beneath her feet.

She paused, almost … Afraid? Sighing softly, she muttered to herself, “oh, this is silly. Just open your eyes, Harriette. Don’t be ridiculous.”

The pale girl peeled her eyelids back and before her lay the familiar, awestriking pools of water. They glowed gently, but seemed bright among the blackness of the world around her, especially since she couldn’t see the moon from where she stood. Faeries fluttered freely above the still surface of the water, their reflections so clear and real that it almost looked like there were faeries beneath the water’s surface, too.

Despite the fact that she missed Sveyn so much – a bit too much – she still found solace in her favorite place; for that, she was thankful.

Lowering herself to the ground, she stretched her forepaws out to dip slightly into the water, watching as the ripples contorted the reflections of the dazzling faeries that danced through the air. It had been a while since she’d really seen the faeries, her imagination not being what it used to be, not quite as strong and prominent as when she was a kid.

It was nice to know she hadn’t completely lost it.

Harriette rested her head on her forelegs, fire and ice eyes watching the little show the faeries held for her. She hummed a mindless tune lightly, giving them something to dance to.

A E S T H E T I C

[Rhodes]

RHODES
I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING -- TO FIGHT WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE FLYING

The thin girl moved in slow, smooth, delicate strides. Uneasy. She didn’t recognize the stranger. Which made her nervous, not that it was an out of the ordinary thing - everything made her nervous. Rhodes backpedaled a step further into the brush. She hadn’t expected anybody to be here.

“Oh, this is silly. Just open your eyes, Harriette. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Rhodes paused - was she talking to herself? She assumed so. Otherwise she had a friend who was very well hidden. The delicately built yearling cleared her throat noisily, to announce her presence then immediately regretted it. Oh no, now she was going to mad at her for spying! Her ears pinning back a bit now that she had the stranger’s attention.

“I uhm-” Rhodes sputtered, then got stuck on the words in her throat and had to pause and steel herself with a breath. “Hi...”

She strode tentatively forward a few steps. Her orange eyes glancing between the stranger and the sparkling lights. Rhodes approached her, her nervousness obvious on her features. “D-did...you come to watch... t-too?” Her voice was a soft stuttering whisper. 

[Harriette]

@Bloody

Harriette’s trance was broken as the voice of another broke the silence. Briefly startled, Harriette lifted her head to see who was there and found a girl, roughly similar in size to Harriette, peeking cautiously at her.

The unfamiliar girl gave a small ‘hi’ and Harriette smile softly at her. “Hello,” she offered, feeling oddly at peace. She wished she’d have come to the faerie pools sooner, to ease her mind, but she had been afraid that it would only remind her of Sveyn.

The girl came closer, clearly nervous, and spoke in a small stutter. “D-did… you come to watch… t-too?”  Her voice was merely more than a shaky whisper, but it was so calm and quiet here that Harriette could hear her just fine.

Nodding quietly to answer the girl’s question, Harriette patted the ground next to her, inviting her to sit or lay with her for a better view.

Once she did, or if she refused, Harriette would speak quietly. “I’m Harriette. This is … My favorite place in Gemini.” Her eyes moved back to watch the faeries dance. “What’s your name?”

A E S T H E T I C

[Rhodes]

RHODES
I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING -- TO FIGHT WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE FLYING

Rhodes let out a breath of relief as her greeting was met calmly and warmly. The question answered with a simple quiet nod. Already she liked this person far more than the last person she’d stumbled across here - Traveller was a oaf, a loud one at that.

The other girl patted the ground next to her in invitation, and though Rhodes hesistated she accepted. Padding closer and settling awkwardly next to her as she spoke.

“I’m Harriette. This is … My favorite place in Gemini.”

Rhodes looked up, following the other wolf's gaze to watch the soft glowing lights flit about. She nodded, in agreement that it was a lovely place - though that might be missed since she didn’t really preface it with any words.

“What’s your name?”

”Uh - R-rhodes?” She says, her voice lifting weirdly at the end like it was a question. It wasn’t of course. She was just an awkward fool who's words never came out right.

"They're uhm- very p-pretty...." She offers with an almost apologetic shrug.

@shortyhooz

[Harriette]

@Bloody

Harriette was happy to see that her potential new friend accepted the invite and settled next to the Medic. She watched briefly as she got herself somewhat comfortable, and gave her attention as she introduced herself – though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Rhodes.” She said with a smile as she turned her head back to the pools.

The faeries danced so beautifully, their movements hypnotizing. It was so easy to get lost in their show, to lose your sense of reality and forget about your troubles. They always seemed to offer a sort of calming sensation for Harriette. She always knew that she could come here anytime she felt down or anxious – so why hadn’t she just come by the pools sooner?

Foolish. Sometimes she was just so foolish.

Harriette nodded as Rhodes commented on how pretty the faeries were, and she turned to look back at the girl.

Icy hot eyes scanned her, taking in the familiar hues of reddish and earthy browns and cream, gazing into her eyes of wine red. Tilting her head slightly, she realized that this girl almost looked familiar in a way. “You know, you kind of look like family.” Then she chuckled lightly, feeling like that was a vague comment.

“I mean, you look very similar to some of my siblings. You’ve got the same fur colors, and your eyes are red like my mom’s.” She continued to look at the girl, wondering if maybe they were related, and Harriette was being rude by not realizing.

“Were you born in Gemini? Are you related to Serrate, my mom, the Queen?” She tried very hard to not sound like she was interrogating the girl. She seemed quite skittish and she didn’t want to scare off her company.  

A E S T H E T I C

[Rhodes]

RHODES
I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING -- TO FIGHT WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE FLYING

((aaaahhh SORRY I ABANDONED THIS FOR A BILLION YEARS.... if u don't wanna continue don't sweat it)

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Rhodes.”

The other girl was surprisingly friendly despite Rhodes' yammering, and so well spoken, at least in comparison. Though to be fair, Rhodes felt like just about anyone was well spoken when compared to her. Rhodes watched the fairy lights glimmer across the ponds surface, quiet a moment before realizing she ought to reply to her.

"Uhm y-you too." She muttered, "Nice to have c-company."

"You know, you kind of look like family. I mean, you look very similar to some of my siblings. You’ve got the same fur colors, and your eyes are red like my mom’s.”

Rhodes flopped ear lifted curiously at the statement but she responded with a sheepish shrug, acutely aware of the other's searching eyes taking in her splotchy odd coat. Rhodes swiped a pink tongue across her lips, suddenly self conscious of her over-sized canines and rail thin statue. Some how on dad they had always looked intimidating, and he made his leggy slim build look downright regal. She peeled her eyes away from Harriette to inspect her reflection in the water. The hellion mix just looked snaggle toothed, gawky, and uncoordinated.

“Were you born in Gemini? Are you related to Serrate, my mom, the Queen?”

"Uh.. n-no. I was b-born far away? Saboro, but I d-don't r-r...remember it." She pauses then adds more quietly, "I d-don't... remember my mom."

She hung her head a bit, caught off-guard by the strange feeling saying that aloud had evoked. The admission had affected her more than she had expected. She knew some of Estein, her father had told her stories, but they were just that - stories. They had parted ways when she had been very very small. There were no memories there. She squinted at her reflection in the water, trying to imagine Estein's face in place of her own, but despite the supposed resemblance she couldn't call it to mind. In truth she hadn't seen any of her family in a long while - they'd all just... sort of disappeared. She tried not to mope, this stranger didn't need to hear all that. She instead lifted her head and gave Harriette a feeble smile.

"B-but, I can see why you'd think that..."

@shortyhooz

[Harriette]

@Bloody

Harriette’s previous woes fluttered away from her body as though they themselves were faeries. Even though Rhodes was a quiet, timid girl, her company calmed Harriette’s nerves and distracted her from the troubling thoughts in her mind. Harriette had to force the conversation out of Rhodes a little, but it helped to busy her brain.

When Rhodes mentioned that she was born in Saboro, the pale girl couldn’t help but perk her ears. It seemed to be a common place for people to have been born and escape from… Many of Gemini’s members came from this “Saboro” – even her own mother.

Curious eyes twinkled as she watched Rhodes’ face while the girl seemingly lost herself in a train of thought. Could it be that she was perhaps a distant relative? It wasn’t completely far-fetched if her home pack land was the same as Serrate herself.

“Saboro?” Harriette clarified, but whether or not Rhodes confirmed, the Medic would continue. “I know you said you’re not related, but my mom was also born in Saboro. That’s where she grew up.” Harriette turned herself to face Rhodes more, suddenly more interested in this conversation than the faeries that danced upon the surface of the water.

“I think lots of my other family is actually from Saboro – or still there. I’ve never been there, though. I’ve only heard stories. There’s lots of people in Gemini that came from Saboro.” She wondered if this would be good news to Rhodes, or if it would make her uneasy. She hoped for the former.

Tilting her head, Harriette pressed on. “What was Saboro like?” She didn’t get a chance to ask this question very often, though she did always want to pique her mother’s brain more about the topic. But the Queen was busy, so Harriette would settle for whatever information her new friend had for her.

A E S T H E T I C

[Rhodes]

RHODES
I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING -- TO FIGHT WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE FLYING

“Saboro? I know you said you’re not related, but my mom was also born in Saboro. That’s where she grew up.”

Rhodes cocked her head to one side, her ear flopping freely. More people from Saboro? She had always been rather curous about it. Her father had never told her much. It was supposed to be far better here. So he said, anyway. She couldn't help but wonder if it was better here, why mother had remained there... She had never pressed the subject - it seemed an upsetting one.

“I think lots of my other family is actually from Saboro – or still there. I’ve never been there, though. I’ve only heard stories. There’s lots of people in Gemini that came from Saboro.”

"Hmm - maybe we are re-... r-related d-distantly? Maybe? I d-don't know any of my family but my d-dad and my siblings..." She gave an uncertain shrug. "He d-didn't say..."

“What was Saboro like?”

Rhodes bit her lip a moment, and her eyes shifted back to the dancing fairy lights as she considered how to answer that.. She struggled to keep eye contact even with people she was very familiar with. Much less girls she had just met. Though Harriette seemed a nice enough sort. "Uhm... I d-don't really remember. There was... lots of moss?" She gave another uncertain shrug of her bony shoulders. What did that matter? Harriette didn't care about moss. " I was just a baby when I was last there. You should p-probably just ask your mom... Sorry."

Rhodes shuffled her feet, the gesture nervous and awkward. She felt like she was sitting wrong - could you sit wrong? It made her a bit glum that she could not answer Harriette's questions. Her memories of Saboro, what little she had, were the blurry memories of a tiny baby. Her father had taken them as soon as they were weaned.

@shortyhooz

[Harriette]

@Bloody

Rhodes seemed interested when Harriette mentioned that her bloodline started in Saboro. She then suggested that maybe, by a chance, Rhodes and Harriette were related distantly. Maybe they could be cousins! That was kind of an exciting thought – at least Harriette thought so. She always loved family, and the idea of discovering new family members put a smile on her masked face.

But the smile faded when the stuttering girl mentioned she didn’t know any of her family aside from only her father and littermates.

Harriette couldn’t imagine not knowing her own mother. Sure, she didn’t get to spend as much time with her as she wished she could, but they were still in each other’s lives, and that was more than she could ever ask for. To have an absent mother would be an entirely different sort of life, a life Harriette struggled to imagine. Of course she didn’t think her father was incapable of raising the children on his own (though… there was a lot of them…), she just simply adored her mother and admired her so much that she couldn’t fathom the idea of being without her.

It wasn’t the sort of thought she liked to entertain.

Rhodes went on to try and recall what Saboro was like, but confessed that she was only just a baby when she was still there.

Harriette shrugged her shoulders. “That’s okay. Moss sounds nice, though.” She smiled lightly at the shy girl. “Well, I’m glad you’re here, Rhodes. I hope you like Gemini. We don’t have quite as much moss…” she trailed off as her eyes shifted down to her paws, remembering the day she took an interest in the art of healing others. The moss beneath them was thick and lush, thriving in the tiny oasis of the faerie pools. “But maybe if you feel homesick, this would be a good place to sit. See? Lots of moss here!” She grinned at her new friend.

Thinking back to what Rhodes said earlier, Harriette searched for the girl’s eyes, tilting her head slightly. “So maybe we’re like … Cousins or something. That would be pretty cool. You’d be related to Gemini royalty! And I have so many brothers and sisters, you’d have so many cousins to hangout with.” A small laugh bubbled up as she spoke. She hoped it was contagious and Rhodes would giggle with her, or maybe she could just get a smile out of the girl.

A E S T H E T I C