something purer

renaud sister / human pearl renaud + 21

[pearlrenaud-blog]

lailarenaud:

She could hear it– the rabbit’s heart that raced between her sister’s ribs. There was something violent in her, nastier than a tropical storm, it made her wonder how easy it would be to slip her fingers between them and pry the organ free. Laila fell, bare knees met the soft bed of pine needles and her fingers splayed when they caught her, gouging the earth while sharpening into claws.

Blonde curls were replaced by coarse, grey fur. Bright blue eyes blinked back at Pearl, now amber. A snarl ripped from her throat, echoing around them before her head tipped back, calling to the moon. There was a stillness in her– all that moved was large eyes, watching the human to see what it would be that she would do. Would she run? Laila hoped her to be far more brave. Would she approach? Surely she was more clever.

Pearl stumbled back instinctively, giving the transformation a wide berth, her body trembling as she watched, wide eyed, a slick, cold sweat forming along the length of her spine. Laila was no longer human, the crack of bone and the replacement of girl skin with something feral was nightmarish, she could feel her stomach turn at the sight of it.

The noise that ripped from the creature’s throat almost echoed in the stillness of the clearing, as if every other animal with any sense at all had disappeared, leaving nothing in the wood but Pearl and the beast. The girl took a few more steps back, fumbling over a fallen tree and nearly falling. She didn’t take her eyes off the creature, liquid blue locked on the deep amber.

[pearlrenaud-blog]

lailarenaud:

Laila grinned widely, each tooth sharpened and it indented her full lower lip. The moon lived in her eyes as she turned her gaze to her baby sister, and a snarl lived in the back of her throat. “Just peachy,” she returned, moving out of the dark to circle the youngest Renaud. She wondered if she was scaring her, but tonight she didn’t care enough. Life simmered in her veins, threatening to boil over.

“It’s happening,” the blonde confirmed, feeling the crack in her spine– she doubled over.  An anguished sound escaped her lips. “This doesn’t look very nice, Pearly girl.”

Her heart picked up its pace, a gallop in her chest. Her body stilled, barely housing the muscle that ricocheted, and her breath clouded in front of her, a soft haze framing her frightened face. She wondered how far she would get if she turned and ran, if she could persuade her form to resume action. 

She wouldn’t hurt her, Pearl reassured herself, light eyes watching as the other blonde circled her, something wicked coursing through her body, the horrible snapping and cracking sounding through the little clearing. “Laila,” she breathed, one pale hand fluttering to her mouth, unable to rip her eyes from the change that wracked her eldest sister.

[pearlrenaud-blog]

darcycrawford:

The abruptness of Pearl’s response broken the hunter’s stoic features for a moment, sending a tingle through her cheek. She laughed, nonetheless, admiring the woman’s persistence. There was no reason she’d tag along if she hadn’t been ready, slowly she was inching closer and closer to accepting the truth of their world. At least, Darcy hoped so. “We’re in this together.” A pat of her hand before she too exited the vehicle. The normal slamming of car doors echoing in the quiet of the night. “Good,” she added to her companions confirmation before silently running a hand to her own hip. Her gun remained holstered, but tucked into her belt away from sight was a wooden stake. She had no expectation of needing it tonight, but over-preparedness was no longer a luxury. For a moment, Darcy contemplated handing the young woman a weapon. Plenty were stashed away in the trunk of her vehicle and she had introduced her to training, but unless she made the request it seemed less demonizing of the situation to leave it be. After all, sometimes handing someone a weapon could make them feel as if they were entering a dangerous situation and that was the furthest thing from tonight’s activities. “Stay behind me while I clear the rooms, then we can look around. Safety first. ”

Pearl ran her thumb over the tiny silver locket that hung right in the hollow of her throat, rubbing it like a lucky rabbit’s foot. The smooth surface housing a bit of vervain, her only protection on this expedition. When she was about to leave the house, she considered tucking a pocket knife or something into her coat but eventually deciding against it. Darcy was well armed, and she’d assured her, over and over that nothing was going to happen. The place would be abandoned. The blonde nodded vigorously, content to just be coming along. She wouldn’t learn anything from the sidelines. “You’re the boss Darce,” Pearl agreed easily, the tilt of her chin only steepening in a subtle defiance. Gesturing towards the crumbling steps, she moved to the side. “After you, then,” she said, following after the brunette.

[pearlrenaud-blog]

prozny:

Henryk had borrowed Malachi’s bike for a quick trip to the store — not because he needed a ride, but because he enjoyed it. It was a chilly day, but the cold weather never bothered him; if anything, the vampire preferred it. The crisp night air that filled his lungs, and the blankets of snow that covered the dirt. Winter had once been unforgiving, but it was now a memory of home, when he still felt the cold chilling his bones and sitting by the fireplace with his family was a must. He wondered what the thick of winter would look like in Ashbourne.

After grabbing a few things from the store, he made his way back to the bike right outside. The keys jingled when he twirled it around his finger, but instead of starting the engine, he caught himself distracted by the sight of a blonde. “The hero from the park,” Henryk greeted her as she walked past him. “You haven’t stopped by the club yet, have you?” It wasn’t the sight of her that kept him from leaving though, but her scent — she smelled like Adelynn; like the wolf girl he caught for the full moon special in his basement. 

Pearl looked up in surprise as she heard a voice call out, her painted red lips shaped in a little ‘o’ as her eyes locked onto the dark haired male. “Henryk,” she remembered, eyes lit up in recognition, “How have you been?” Over one thin shoulder was slung a tote bag loaded with vegetables, plans of a homemade chicken soup in mind. She was bundled up with layers of wool sweaters and a coat, with a wide scarf wrapped around the top. She could pass as a snowman, so padded that there was a real possibility that she could be rolled down the street should she get tired of walking.

“I did actually. I heard of the Halloween party and stopped by with my sister. It was a busy night, you wouldn’t have see me. I’ll have to come and collect that drink another night.” The pale blonde shoved her hands deep in her pockets, smiling as she eyed the bike. “That’s quite the machine,” she remarked, nodding towards it.

[pearlrenaud-blog]

lailarenaud:

The evening had rolled into something dark. Berserkers still roamed and tonight was when the pack was meant to make the most of their impact; while they could shift and become something more feral. Laila was headed into the woods, clad in something dark, so as to let her meld into the shadows. The shift hadn’t torn through her limbs yet, she was still mostly girl, despite the way that she trembled with violence.

Scent was what gave her pause; the world felt saturated in something sweet– she turned back, tasting fear. “Hey Pearl,” she murmured, voice the same texture as sandpaper. Laila stepped from the shadows, entering the pathway that her smaller sister tread upon. “You shouldn’t be out here tonight.”

It was Laila, but not quite. Her body didn’t un-tense at the recognition, there was something wrong with her, the darkness that usually surrounded the eldest Renaud wasn’t in the foreground, it haunted her features, coated her voice. Pearl stepped back instinctively, hands balled into little fists. “Are you alright?” The smaller blonde asked, her voice sounding thinner in the night air, stringy.

The woods are lovely dark and deep, her heart trilled, a shiver running down her spine. The way her body seemed to quake, like something was churning and bubbling just under the surface. “It’s happening, isn’t it?” Girl to wolf under the white belly of a full moon.

[dragvnqueen-archive-deactivated]

[pearlrenaud-blog]

@lailarenaud

She had no business being there, and she knew it. She could almost hear Darcy’s words ringing in her ears, followed by Adie’s warnings, and Mack’s. Still she lingered at the edge of the woods, pale hair so light in the moonlight it almost glowed in the darkness, a silver light. Be brave, she hummed, tilting her chin up, the headphones tucked in her ears turned up loud. They were wolves, the Renaud girls, they were something terrible and beautiful, and tonight, she would get a glimpse of them.

Pulling out the headphones, Pearl inhaled sharply, like a small child plucking up courage, before she moved forward, the dark shadow the towering trees cast swallowing her up, drowning out the silver. There was enough light filtering through the canopy of ancient pines to illuminate her way, the path lined with pine needles, softening her tread. The woods were quiet, as if even the creatures knew to hide themselves away on full moons.

Hearing a branch crack behind her, her breath caught in her throat and she spun around, light eyes saucers, threatening to crack around the edges. 

[pearlrenaud-blog]

“She’s not like the others. She lives in a dream.”

“But she’s dancing.”

“That’s because she doesn’t know she’s dreaming.”

You remember. You remember it all.

You remember kissing in the passenger seat of a boy’s car, thinking, this is what love feels like, this is love.

It tasted like stale beer and the cigarettes you snuck from your daddy’s jacket pocket, and you felt like you were dancing on the moon, like nothing could get better than this.

You remember driving fast down the highway, your heart beat is singing, your friends howling. You’re screaming not because you’re afraid to die, but because you just might.

You remember how you saved up every penny from every babysitting job you ever did, just for that dress. You were a queen, you were Helen herself in that dress, and your date kissed your neck like it was holy ground.

You’re dancing until you’re breathless and shouting until you’re hoarse, you’re puking at the house party.

You’re ten, eleven, twelve, blowing out candles at every birthday party, your smile stretching so tight across your face it’s elastic, bound to snap back.

“Someone has to remember how it was. How it was supposed to be.”

“It’s too late. She woke up.”

She clings to the idea that somehow tomorrow will be like yesterday, buries herself in the things she’s lost. The past will do that, steal from the present and pad it with recollection, with the softness of how things once were. This is her downfall. She still believes that the world has a way to right itself, to pick up the pieces and mend. She still believes in purity, in picket fences. Her heart will still beat and break in her chest, and it will continue to bleed for the girl she had been, and for the girl she is bound to become.

[pearlrenaud-blog]

darcycrawford:

@pearlrenaud

November 14th, 2017 9:34 p.m. 

It was embarrassing being caught off guard, not only enough to be kidnapped by a vampire but by yet another misguided friendship. If fact, that may have hurt more. Darcy continued to curse her lack of resilience, the tightness of the pseudo stitches in her cheek and stomach a continuous reminder of her mistake each time the hunter hit a bump in the road and an ache coarse through her body. It’d only been a few days since she’d been well enough to return to her feet, but she’d been ready to work long before then. Plus, she had a date to keep with the cute blonde beside her. “I know we talked about this, but are you sure you’re ready?” Darcy turned to Pearl, a smile in her eyes but her face stayed froze. The pain of a forming scar keeping it straight. The home they were visiting, old and decayed, should have been empty. Darcy promised to show Pearl how she tracked the places she suspected were in use by vampires. Of course, she never used the word vampires in front of the young woman but she had slowly eased the human into the idea of the supernatural over the past few months. Though her partner never admitted it, Darcy suspected an encounter with a supernatural had lead her interest in the hunter’s ‘private investigation’ work. “We’re going to go in, look around. Maybe take a few pictures and leave but you can stay in the car if you feel more comfortable.” 

Pearl tried to sit contently in the passenger seat, teeth grit and fingers drumming on the side of her leg as she pulled together her focus. Her mind jumped constantly, eyes flitting from the wound on Darcy’s face and back to the window, her heart beat trilling in her throat. She had resisted asking if she was alright, the explanation she’d received along the lines of animal attack. It sounded like the closest thing to a lie that the hunter had ever fed her, but she swallowed it all the same. Nodding slowly, the blonde turned her gaze her back to the windshield. “Are you?” Pearl tossed back, arms crossing against her thin chest. “I'm coming in Darcy,” she replied, her high voice sounding odd when she tried to make it firm. “We’re in this together, right?” She pulled a hint of a smile onto her lips, trying to reassure her partner. Opening the car door, she stepped out, eyeing the house. Tensing as a memory flash backed of a similar house, where a red headed monster had lured her up its decrepit steps, her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she steeled her nerves. “I’m not staying in the car,” she confirmed, stepping forward, her chin tilted up in the smallest defiance.

[anevieoutofwater]

Fluffy cats and tiny blondes

[pearlrenaud-blog]

anevieoutofwater:

Evie frowned. So the situation was serious? It made her all the more determined to help the girl find the kitten. It would be a shame for him to get hurt. “I am Evie,” she greeted, giving the girl a brief smile before returning to their search. She pushed a few bushes out of the way, fairly annoyed with how difficult this was above the surface. Humans didn’t have a connection to their animals the same way merfolk had with theirs. Then again, it kind of served them right considering how poorly they treated their fellow land-dwellers. 

After a few more bushes, she finally spotted the little white fluff, looking terrified that it had been discovered. She didn’t give him a chance to run away before scooping him up into her arms. The kitten hissed and bit her, causing Evie to hiss in return, but she managed to not drop him despite the bite drawing blood. “Found him!” she called out, the kitten struggling in her arms. She happily returned the cat to the other girl before inspecting the bite wound. It should heal the moment she hit water but she would have to deal with the unsightliness and sting for now. 

She was like an alien of a girl, Pearl concluded. One of those children found in the wild, human to the appearance but different inside. There was something so interesting about her, a certain child like curiosity. The blonde returned the girl’s smile, she seemed harnesses, friendly if anything. A sweet creature, if only a little different. “My name is Pearl. Thanks for the help Evie,” she replied politely. They searched in silence, Pearl unable to help herself from sneaking glances at her companion, as if waiting for something incredible to happen, wings to sprout between her shoulder blades or her skin to fade to a pale blue.

It was almost funny, the small creature puffed up in an electric ball of white, spitting in anger and ferocity far beyond his meagre size. Taking back Minou, the cat calmed, pressing against her chest until she closed him in her jacket, securing him to her. “He bit you?” She asked, her eyes wide, “I'm so sorry, he's never bitten anyone before. He's only frightened. Is it deep?” She was fretting, reaching for Evie’s hand to perform a closer inspection. “We should disinfect it, that last thing you want is an infection.”

[lifeinpoetry]

This is no time to be soft. This is no time to be soft.

S. A. Khanum, from “Prelude to War,” published in Kingdoms of the Wild (via lifeinpoetry)

[anevieoutofwater]

Fluffy cats and tiny blondes

[pearlrenaud-blog]

anevieoutofwater:

Evie nodded and pointed to the direction where the cat had disappeared. “I can help you find him,” she stated, getting up and not giving the stranger the chance to reject her offer. Evie had never met a cat before and she was quite excited. According to her research, people were rather divided on them. Some thought they were evil demons and others worshipped them as gods. Just the thought of all the mysteries she could solve with one encounter made her giddy. She dusted off her blue dress and gestured for the stranger to follow her but she didn’t wait before she was already darting off after the creature.

If she were underwater, this would have been easier, her ability to sense other creatures nevma something she had mastered early on. However, the rules of land left her distinctly powerless and it was both equal parts annoying as it was exciting. “Is this a game?” Evie suddenly asked her companion, wondering if this was something the girl did often. It seemed rather fun and Evie would definitely love to join in more of these hunts.

She game a soft smile of thanks at the offer, already crouching down and lifting up the low hanging branches, checking under them for the snow white cat. Calling his name again, Pearl cursed herself for her own foolishness, trying to control the trembling of her bottom lip as she hung in the balance of tears and fear for the little creature. There was something strange about the girl by her side, her accent wasn’t one that Pearl could trace, it sounded close to Greek, but she couldn’t be sure. She had a friendly face, however, and it was a comfort to not be searching alone.

Pearl shook her head. “No, it’s not a game. Minou, he’s just a kitten. We have to find him, or he could get hurt.” She bit down on her bottom lip, calling the cat’s name softly. “I’m Pearl, sorry I never asked your name.”

[anevieoutofwater]

Fluffy cats and tiny blondes

[pearlrenaud-blog]

anevieoutofwater:

@pearlrenaud

Evie squeaked and popped up when she felt a tiny creature plop itself on her stomach. She was just enjoying the weird sounds of the forest when it had attacked her. The little thing was pure white and fluffy, no heavier than the average Atlantic salmon. Except, this thing was definitely not salmon. Evie cautiously poked at it, causing it to hiss and swipe it’s paws at her hands (luckily Evie was quick enough to withdraw). “What are you?” she questioned in her mother tongue, her brows knitting in confusion. She thought back to her studies and remembered recalling these fluffy creatures before. “Cat!” she suddenly exclaimed, the word coming out accented. 

Her excitement scared the tiny creature and the thing bounded off. Evie was just about to chase it to apologize when she heard rustling from the direction it came from. A small girl suddenly appeared from the brushes and the cat was quickly forgotten. A large smile made its way to Evie’s face. She had met a few humans before but it always excited her to meet more. The girl seemed concerned, however, and Evie looked at the direction where the fluffy creature disappeared. “Was… was that cat yours?” she asked, her eyes sparkling in delight. Humans had pets, right?

It had been a silly idea to bring Minou outside. The little creature always seemed to yearn for the outdoors, constantly perched on window sills and tucked behind doors, waiting for the perfect moment to slip out into the remains of the summer’s sunshine. The kitten had grown quite a bit since the day she took him home with her, but was still hardly large enough to fend for itself, at least in her opinion. The cat wriggled away from her on the way to the park, overwhelmed with excitement and dashing through the underbrush, with Pearl running right after him.

“Minou!” She called, as she pushed past the shrubs, branches snagging the threads of her sweater, “Où est tu?” Stumbling across a girl, she paused, catching her breath. “Did you see him? Which way did he go?”

[wordsnquotes]

I know life is hard, I think everyone knows that in their hearts, but why does it have to be cruel, as well? Why does it have to bite?

Stephen King, 11/22/63 (via wordsnquotes)

[prettymysticfalls]

[aliensfromhell]

[thinewillas-blog]