Sienna raised an eyebrow but said nothing, her eyes meeting Phoebe’s for a moment before they returned to the ocean. “Do I look that different? I didn’t know that.” Her hands falling to her sides, she shrugged a thin shoulder. “You look different as well.”
“Maybe different isn’t the right word.” Phoebe thought for a moment, looking at Sienna as she did. “You look— wiser, maybe? As though you’ve seen everything and lived to tell the story. It’s a good look.” She brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I suppose I do. Jesus, though, how long has it been?”
Her expression melancholy and weary, Sienna stood by the edge of the ocean, letting the salty waves just touch her bare feet. Bringing her arms around her slender frame and shivering despite her coat, she stared out at the slowly setting sun. Go home, Sienna. You’re not as daring as you were once, and you know how much trouble you could find yourself in just by being here. Go. Sighing softly, she turned, just about to depart from the beach when her eyes rested upon another person who had been lingering behind here. “Oh. Hello there,” she greeted, barely able to bring a smile to her face. “I didn’t notice you.”
Barton Hollow had never been a large town. However, given the funny little traits of the various creatures who lived there, it was possible for one to go years without seeing someone else. And upon finding a woman standing on the edge of the ocean, Phoebe recognized a face she hadn’t seen in years. Unsure if she would remember her, Phoebe cautiously approached Sienna. “No, it’s okay.” She scrutinized her. “Sorry, it’s just that I can’t get over how different you look— in a good way, of course.”
Phoebe graduated BHU on time with a degree in Anthropology but proceeded to attend graduate school and earn a Master’s degree.
Although it was incredibly hard at first, Phoebe did eventually come to terms with her faerie status. Over time, she grew curious about it as well and began to show an eagerness to learn more about herself.
Around the time she became accepting of her heritage, Phoebe also realized that holding a grudge against Kellan prevented her from gaining the parent relationship she’d always wanted. Therefore, Phoebe forgave Kellan for abandoning her and has since formed a relationship with him. He’s taught her a lot about her faerie status and she enjoys spending time with him.
Phoebe never did quite get over Samson’s growing distance nor his relationship with Oceane. Although they did begin talking as much as they used to (as well as hanging out), it never went back to the way it was before and Phoebe has yet to get over that. Part of her still believes she’s in love with him.
She found out about the true nature of her and Chloe’s friendship which did scare her away for a while. However, with her growing loneliness, Phoebe did muster up the courage to go back and her friendship with another half breed did aid in her acceptance of being faerie.
Phoebe did find out about Rowan as her half-brother. The idea freaked her out. Nevertheless, Phoebe realized that she and Rowan were alike and gradually accepted him. They kept in touch even after he’d left town.
She still dislikes showing emotion although she did cry in front of Samson once or twice. However, she has gotten better at trusting people and not being so cautious/secretive. It’s a work in progress but it’s something.
She lost her virginity a few years back but never married. Somehow the idea of marriage is even scarier to her than sex.
Phoebe outed herself to the Snows as a faerie after forming a relationship with Kellan. They were shocked and apprehensive but given that kicking their daughter out would be more of a scandal than having her be a faerie, they reluctantly accepted it. However, Phoebe hardly has any physical contact with the Snows anymore either because they’re out of town or it being awkward. A phone call and an email every week is the most they do.
She still visits her mother’s grave just as she did before only this time with a new understanding. Once in a while she’ll take Samson or someone else along with her.
She’s grown more sure of herself (inwardly and outwardly) but still has a tendency to glom on to people. She is working on that, though.
Phoebe does have a trust fund given to her by the Snows but she hardly ever uses it. Phoebe makes her own money now and although she still enjoys a privileged life, it isn’t because of her parents.
And for Monday I want a 6-page paper on this topic. The professors words rang in Keegan’s ears as she packed up her things to leave class. U g h. She’d actually been planning to go out this weekend. Now she’d be stuck writing this paper she knew she was going to put off until Saturday. It was going to be spring break the week after next. She’d figured her teachers would give them some time to s t u d y this week, not pile on the work. Looking at the person next to her as she walked towards the door she spoke. “You’d think they’d assign less work as spring break approached, no?” she said breezily, still trying to shove books into her bag.
Phoebe nearly died at the professor’s words. Although she didn’t have anything planned for the weekend, the thought of being forced to write a paper was excruciating. Having been flooded with work the entire week, it seemed like Phoebe couldn’t catch a break. Grabbing her bag, Phoebe stood up, mentally planning how to set up the paper. Walking towards the door, Phoebe was already working on her thesis when a voice interrupted her thoughts. Turning, Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Professors feed off student pain and the tears that stain their papers. I can’t say this is surprising.”
Kellan smiled, taking pride in his actions because this was it. This was his first conversation, face to face, with the daughter he so hopelessly wished to connect with. “You’re welcome,” He said, but it followed by his smile faltering at her expression to his gesture. His brows furrowed, fingers playing with one another in a nervous reaction that he quickly forced himself to stop. “Yes, I did and, I know.“ He remarked, taking back his change and slipping it down into his pocket. He had no idea what he was doing. Flirting was easy, but you don’t flirt with your own flesh and blood. No, this was different. This was Phoebe and he had to do so much more than flirting. His actions, his words— they all had to have meaning and if they didn’t, then he was nowhere near ready to do this. Not that it was a smart idea to begin with, but Kellan was always an accidental risk taker. Yet another negative quality of his he had yet to recognize.
The faerie shrugged, running his shaky fingers through his blond locks. “So,” He paused to clear his throat. “Since it is very crowded today— would you like to take a seat at the table over there with me?” He asked, pointing to the place he was talking about. There were a couple plays sprawled out over the wooden table, Shakespeare to be exact, along with two empty cups and one he had recently begun to work on. He had spent a majority of his morning taking notes for the millionth time in different perspectives on the works of the great and wonderful. Amidst the plays were Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth.
“I’m Kellan, by the way.” He said, extending his hand in greeting. It was surreal. She knew who he was, but he never wrote a name in his letter for the sake of this very possibility. It was also surreal just how much she reminded him of her mother. For years, this thought came to mind but never once did it fully hit him… until now. He had to brush the thought away, scratching away the images and thoughts as the seconds ticked by waiting for some kind of response and instead of showing worry, Kellan couldn’t help but to flash another smile towards Phoebe.
“No, you didn’t.” Phoebe muttered somewhat stubbornly. She studied the man in front of her. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him before but often being lost in her own world, Phoebe knew it was a possibility and she had simply never remembered. Looking at him pocket the change, though, sent another wave of pain through her body. It wasn’t that Phoebe didn’t appreciate the gesture, hell, it’d saved her from the embarrassment of saying she didn’t have enough money. It was simply that having been essentially on her own for so long—especially now without Samson by her side— Phoebe had trouble accepting help from anyone even when it came to the silliest of things. She prided herself on doing it all and the fact that someone else had to buy her coffee made her cringe.
Phoebe looked up in surprise before her eyes followed to where he was pointing, landing on a slightly messy table. She was vaguely suspicious but knew better than to let it show. Scanning the crowd, Phoebe hesitantly looked back at him. “Actually, I—” She paused. There was a glint of hope in his eye and Phoebe found herself relenting. After all, he had just paid for her drink and there really was nowhere else to sit. Giving a small sigh of defeat, Phoebe shrugged. “I suppose that’d be all right.” She looked doubtfully at the table; with everything on it she wasn’t entirely sure they’d be room even there.
Phoebe returned his smile warmly as she shook his hand. “Pleasure, Kellan. I’m Phoebe.” The knowledge of his name made her feel a bit more at ease. Had she known she’d just officially met her father, perhaps Phoebe would’ve had a much more different reaction. Whether that was a good thing or not would remain unknown. Instead, she gave him a polite and ignorant smile, oblivious to everything that was right in front of her. Her gaze flickered back to the table, nodding at it. “Not to be rude but what’s all the things you have on the table? Are you studying or something?” The last part of the question was fairly stupid given Kellan looked as though he was in his thirties but Phoebe couldn’t help but ask— both out of curiosity and to make conversation.
"That doesn’t bother me either. I happen to be very good at that too." it was trued, football was one of the many things Jake was good at, or at least that’s what he thought about half the things he could do, but he was good at football, and he was damn proud of it "Good as always. I never had a problem with classes, and them killing me. I’m waiting for the big break though."
"I know. The entire football team is great." Phoebe said with a nod of her head. Although she wasn't too interested in sports in general, Phoebe had attended a few football games and she knew they were pretty amazing. "Oh, you're lucky. I can't wait for a break either. I'm just ready to be done for at least a little bit."
For a split second, Sawyer wondered if she had misjudged the girl standing in front of her. It could’ve been possible, but all she had ever seen of the Snow’s were that they were wealthy. Pursing her lips around the cigarette as she poised it between them, Sawyer lit the cigarette. Taking a drag, she blew the smoke in the opposite direction that the girl was standing in as to not be annoying, and made sure to hold it away so that the smoke wouldn’t actually billow towards the girl. “No kidding. Money doesn’t come easy.” Sawyer looked at Phoebe, unsure of what else to say. “I’m sorry for wasting your time or whatever.”
Phoebe was satisfied when Sawyer blew the smoke in the opposite direction. Too many times had she had smoke blown in her face and it had grown to be one of her pet peeves. "Not at all." Phoebe agreed. She shook her head at the other. "No, no you didn't waste my time at all." Standing around for a moment, Phoebe noticed the air getting colder and glanced at Sawyer with an unsure expression. "It's getting kind of cold and I have no idea where you're headed but I was actually going to stop by Hoodoo Voodoo if you want to come with me? I mean, like I said, it's a little too cold to be standing around out here."
"Yeah, it certainly hasn’t been as cold out recently as it is tonight," Angela agreed, taking another glance at Phoebe’s coat. Angela couldn’t imagine not being able to use it for an entire month after buying it. If she had something as nice as it, she’d probably look for every opportunity to wear it, even if it was just around the house. She was sure that it held better protection than her own did, though she couldn’t imagine it being completely weather-resistant. No article of clothing ever seemed to be. "I’m sure some witch or something out there would be willing to take you up on that offer," she commented, though she did agree with the sentiment. "I hope spring does come sooner, too. This wind chill really is awful. I think I’m going to stop by somewhere and thaw for a little bit before I get to work. I don’t think my fingers will last if I don’t.”
"It’s honestly shocking how cold it is." Phoebe replied. The cold weather had always thrown her off. For the past few mornings she’d wake up and expect to step into the warmth of the sun only to be open the door to a blast of chilly air. It wasn’t anything compared the winter in other states but considering Louisiana’s average weather, it was very different to what she was used to. Phoebe laughed at her statement. "That’s true but I’m not sure bargaining with witches would truly work out in my favor." She glanced down the street. "I think the bookstore isn’t too far from here and neither is The Mystic if you want to warm up?"
Ariel shook her head “No, no. Don’t worry” she said, it was normal. It happened to Ariel often, this might be due to her being awfully distracted. Humming was something she took up when she was just a child, and it usually ends ups with her sloppy singing appearing. Giving a quick nod, she smiled “Yes, actually I do! that’s probably why.” It seemed like a great opportunity to make friends.
Phoebe brightened. "Oh, we've probably seen each other around campus then." She extended her hand. "I'm Phoebe, by the way." Pulling her coat tighter around her as the wind blew, Phoebe tried to place Ariel in a memory. "What's your major if you don't mind me asking? Mine's Anthropology so maybe our classes are near each other."
"I suppose in comparison to running around a football field it wouldn't." She nodded her head. "That's good. I'm doing all right. School's been killing me, though. What about you? How are your classes treating you?"
Phoebe, the light of the piece of Kellan’s life that he hoped to one day be his. He needed it. He needed the girl— correction —he need his daughter to understand exactly why their lives played out to the beat of a lost and broken violin. If only the King could realize that he was the one to bend the bow and to cut the strings of this sad violin. Instead, he glided through his days focusing more on Gwen than Phoebe, assuming one day she would seek him out but like most things in life: Kellan got tired of waiting.
So, he sat perfectly still in The Mystic, waiting for something to happen. Then it did. The door swung open, bell chiming cheerfully to welcome another early bird. The man’s eyes set on the face of the girl who entered. His eyes glassed over in a moment of disbelief, a moment of awe. This was his chance and much like his letter, he couldn’t contain missing another minute.
He stood to his feet, slipping past a few others who sipped on hot coffees while twiddling with their electronic demons until he reached the girl. He almost said her name out loud. He almost muttered in a cheerful, “I’m glad to see you tone”, the name Phoebe. Instead, he cleared his throat, pulling out a few dollars and offering to pay for her order. “May I?” He asked, cautiously.
Her keys jingled noisily in her hand as Phoebe walked away from her parking spot. Although it'd be easier to drive to The Mystic, the half breed enjoyed walking. She took delight in observing the town around her over the black asphalt of the road. Never mind the cold, Phoebe could handle that albeit reluctantly. So, the young woman parked her and carried on her way, her steps light as she looked around her. In Barton, there were always new things to see: one simply needed to know how to look.
She had barely set foot in the cafe before the sweetly bitter aroma of brewing coffee enveloped her as though giving a hug. It was tantalizing and her eyes quickly scanned the menu in front of her, eager to get what she came here for. In her observance of the menu, Phoebe failed to notice a man staring at her as though in shock. Truthfully, even if she had noticed him, she wouldn't have recognized him as who he was— her father. Therefore, she stepped happily in line, oblivious to the fact that the man whom she blamed and secretly longed to know was a mere few feet away.
Phoebe had settled on a mocha, the perfect combination of chocolate and coffee. She opened her wallet and was about to pay when a figure pulled up next to her, catching Phoebe by surprise. She raised an eyebrow at his offer and knew to say no. Phoebe loathed accepting help from anyone, priding herself on being able to do it all. However, as she glanced at her wallet and realized she only had a measly two dollars and had left her credit card in her other wallet, Phoebe also knew she had no choice. Call it fate or a happy coincidence, Phoebe forced herself to nod despite the physical pain and inner turmoil the action seemed to cause her. She mumbled a "thank you" and looked away as he paid. When she received her drink, Phoebe faced the stranger with a bewildered expression on her face. "You didn't have to do that although it was nice of you to."
"Uh, yeah. No problem." Sawyer managed another smile. "No fuckin’ kidding, ‘cause I mean, I’m used to dropping shit all the time and then I get home and I’m pissed as hell ‘cause you know, money doesn’t come… cheap." Taking another deep breath, Sawyer immediately went into her pocket to retrieve the pack of cigarettes and lighter. "I’m fine, I’m fine." Sawyer waved away the girl’s question, "just out of shape." The cigarettes didn’t help whatsoever, but she wasn’t about to quit just because she wasn’t capable of sprinting a couple of steps ahead. "I’m just glad some skeevie fuckwad didn’t pick up your money."
"I know. And of course, when you need the money, that's the day you just so happen to lose it. It's one of the worst things to be counting your money and then you realize some of it's missing but it's too late to go check." Phoebe agreed with a nod of her head. She decided to take her word for it and watched as she pulled out a cigarette, wondering if that was the best choice given her current breathless state. Rather than say anything, however, Phoebe laughed. "So am I, believe me. I'd be so hypothetically pissed if they'd have used my money on something stupid or wasteful."
"I figured." Jake muttered, slightly disappointed "Wouldn’t that just take the fun out of everything? I mean, if I want to smoke and I see a pretty girl with potentially a lighter on herself, why zap my fingers when I could just go over to the girl and ask for one? Make conversation maybe?"
Phoebe opted to ignore the flirtatious part of his remark. She enjoyed having fun with boys but given Jacob's reputation, she wasn't too interested in batting her eyelashes when she knew where it could lead. Instead she gave him a smile. "It might have saved you the walk. Conversation, hm. Well, in that case, how are you? I mean, besides not having a lighter."
Ariel hummed as she walked home, already imagining her bed. She often came to the conclusion that it was irreplaceable and that she wouldn’t be able to get a good night of sleep elsewhere. Truth is that her bed wasn’t exactly the best, neither the worst and it was arguably a mildly good one but compared to her old one, it was heaved. Taken aback by the stranger, she smiled and shook her head “No, sorry…i might have been singing.” That was it, that was probably it. She was sure she had seen the girl before though. “Excuse me—-this may sound strange, but do I know you?”
Phoebe returned her smile. "My bad, I thought you were." She replied before studying the girl. Now that she brought it up, the other did look familiar and she wondered if perhaps they had met before. "I'm not sure. Do you go to BHU?" She asked. Seeing as the girl didn't look much older than her or vice versa, Phoebe figured the University was a good place to start in terms of where they might have met.
Drawing her arms around her slender frame, Sienna shivered due to the biting cold that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Making her way down the street, she stepped in pace with a dark-haired woman who seemed to appear just as cold as she was, her coat wrapped tightly around her body. “It’s freezing,” she whispered to herself, startling slightly when the brunette faced her, asking if she had been talking to her. “Oh - no, I’m sorry. I was just saying that it’s freezing. Kind of redundant.” Shrugging a delicate shoulder, she glanced down at Phoebe.
Phoebe gave Sienna a small smile. "Oh. Well, either way I agree with you. The weather here has been terrible lately." She said with a sigh. Now she enjoyed winter as much as the next person but there came a point when it was simply too cold. Plus, it was cumbersome having to layer on clothing for a five minute walk only to return and have to take it all off. "I think the day spring arrives will be the day I finally feel alive again."
