Desmond called Cael as soon as the stranger on the phone hung up on him, already on his way out. He picked up the witch on his way to the address, rushing there despite his plans. He didn’t think too much on it, his response was almost mechanical --- her sister was in danger and though he couldn’t do much, not like Cael could, she’d reached out to him. He cared not to disappoint her when she was that vulnerable. Family was something Desmond wasn’t willing to gamble with.
He stepped into the odd looking house, searching for Laila. He expected her to be loud, as per usual, but silence filled the place. Desmond threw a quick looked around the empty rooms before calling. “Laila?” The answer came from upstairs and they quickly climbed the steps, reaching the room where the two girls were. The scene was terrible and for a moment Desmond let it settle in that the two girls he’d met at the bonfire were the wolf girl’s sisters. Cael reached her, ever the eager savior, and he kneeled down by his side. “How can I help?” He asked, addressing the witch as he watched over the petite blonde’s unconscious figure.
The fireworks that night had exploded across the sky in brilliance, flashes of gold and red and vibrant blue, beautiful enough to take breath away, powerful enough to rob the town of their senses. Seemingly unaffected, she had just managed to slip away as the panic rose in the crowd on the beach, weaving through the people clutching at their throats or ears or eyes, getting into her car and driving to the motel in silence. Along the streets she could see similar reactions, those stumbling along crying out for help looked like something from an apocalyptic film, and she was not brave enough to stop and offer any help.
Pearl’s hands trembled as she unlocked her motel room door, rushing inside and tossing her things into various bags, the usual care she took with her items abandoned. There was a sense of urgency to all of it, the sudden phenomenon made her want nothing more than to be someplace safe, a place suddenly just within grasp. Tossing her packed bags into the backseat of her car, she drove towards Adie’s, her phone cheerfully calling out directions to the apartment. Her sister had assured she’d wait for her there, but her heart hung heavy in her chest as she reached the door. She wasn’t naturally a pessimist, but the words echoed eerily familiar.
The blonde knocked, waiting a few moments in silence. Knocking again, she opened her mouth to call to the other Renaud. Her lips had shaped the name, the breath had left her lungs, but no sound came out. Pearl tried again, her finger tips reaching desperately at her throat. Nothing. Now, she banged on the door with one fist, her free hand desperately typing out a text.
where: Ashbourne, Nova Scotia. Adelynn’s apartment
when: September 26, 2017
what: Pearl plans a family dinner for the Renaud sisters, Laila ruins it by being herself.
Pearl: There was a knot in the pit of her stomach, and she found herself checking the time almost maniacally. The dinner was nearly ready, the apartment filled with the smell of fresh roast chicken and vegetables and the wine was chilling in the fridge. Adie was coming straight from work, and she had Laila's word (whatever that was worth) that she would be there too, coming from god knows where. Her kitten sat contently in her lap, the rumble from it's small chest a comfort as she waited anxiously for her sisters. A knock at the door came as an iron grip on her wind pipe, and she steeled her nerves, placing Minou onto the kitchen floor and smoothing out the front of her trousers as she went to answer it. Inhaling slowly, she pulled a smile onto her red painted lips before swinging open the door.
Laila: She didn't know whether to knock or to simply just enter; but it wasn't her home and Laila balled her hand into a fist before rapping out a beat against the wood. So this was how the other half lived. Adelynn was doing well for herself, the building was old; but in the way that meant the rent could be hiked up on account of history, not leaking pipes. The door opened and Pearl stood before her, the smallest of the Renauds; her lips in a garish ruby smile. "Hey Pearly girl, can I come in?"
Adelynn: It wasn’t uncommon for Adelynn to stay at work until late in the evening but she stayed late purposely tonight, wanting to avoid as much of the night as possible. She knew it was only a matter of time before Pearl suggested it and as much as she would have loved to say no, she could never refuse her baby sister. By the time she got back, Laila and Pearl were already there and she awkwardly slipped in. “I’m glad you could make it, Lai,” she greeted, giving her sister a small shrug. They were far from perfect but they always managed to pretend for their sister’s sake.
Pearl: She had ushered Laila inside, seating her at the table and pouring her a glass. She wasn't able to bombard her with the questions she'd wanted to, Adie entering quietly, Minou's quick exit the only announcement of her arrival. Pearl couldn't understand why the little creature couldn't stand Adelynn, not for a lack of her trying. "Adie! Sit," she insisted, tacking on a 'please' after a moment. Placing a matching glass in front of the middle Renaud, she beamed at the two. "Thank you both for coming," the blonde said, reciting it like it was from an old time etiquette book. "I have to take the food out of the oven, no one move until I get back." She tried to give them both a stern look, though it would only likely make the two of them laugh. Ducking into the kitchen, she left the two to talk, hopefully civilly.
Laila: Laila glanced at the kitten, a small creature with ears too big for it's body-- a tiny pink nose sniffed the air delicately before it darted away. "I hate cats," the blonde noted, settling down into the chair that had been assigned for her. She didn't sit in a way that their mother would have called charming, heavy boots clunked onto the ground and she sunk into the seat like a petulant teenager. "How was work, Adie? Did you do anything good for humanity?"
Adelynn: Adelynn was about to object, offer to help Pearl with the food, but her sister had disappeared before she could even get a word out. Instead, she was left staring awkwardly at a random spot in the wall. When Laila spoke, she looked over at her sister and shrugged. “It was okay. I was dealing with mostly speeding tickets today.” She paused, realizing she didn’t actually know what Laila did day-to-day. “So, um, what have you been up to?”
Pearl: She could only hear the conversation faintly from the kitchen, too distracted by searching for hostility in their tones to be careful enough with the hot plate, and she hissed as she burned her fingertips. Running her hand under cold water, she cursed her own clumsiness. This had to go right, she chided herself, her insistence almost childlike, petulant. Tugging on oven mitts, she continued, dressing the serving plates with the meal. In a second thought, she poured her own glass of wine, swallowing down a gulp and making a face at the bitter liquid as it slid down her throat.
Laila: The oldest Renaud snorted, "Sounds exciting." She didn't really want to be there, like a dog caged, she wanted to pace and then race out-- there was a sort of running anxiety that surrounded her at the thought of such intimate time being spent with her family. "I blew off my shift tonight at the Sanatorium, but usually I'd be there at night."
Adelynn: Adelynn nodded, not really sure what to say to that. Her sister was being as unresponsive as ever. Still, this dinner was for Pearl’s sake so she at least had to make an effort. It had always been Adie’s job to make sure that Pearl’s illusion wasn’t completely shattered. “What do you do there? I haven’t really had a chance to explore the town yet,” she confessed.
Pearl: Piling the potatoes into a bowl, she barrelled in from the kitchen. It didn't take a genius to see that this wasn't going well, from the rebellious tilt of Laila's chin to the hard line of Adie's jaw, intervening was necessary to save the dinner. Plunking the dish down, she beamed at the two, her smile not quite reaching to her eyes. "Serve yourselves," she insisted, gesturing at the plates already set before them. They hadn't grown up in a house with matching dishes, and it was almost strange to be at a table with Adelynn's perfect set. She scurried back into the kitchen to retrieve the roast chicken ready to be carved, along with the roast vegetables. "Does anyone need anything else?" Pearl asked, with the flightiness of a small bird, hovering around the table. She mirrored her mother the most in that moment.
Laila: Laila looked at the chicken, wondering if there was any way that she could get a part of the creature that wasn't cooked through-- there was something carnivorous about her, though for Pearl's sake she'd swallow down the dryness of cooked flesh. She was already heaping food onto her plate, skipping most of the vegetables in favour of protein. "This looks great Pearly," she said before turning her attention back to Adelynn. "I'm a bouncer. I kick drunk guys out before they grope the drunk girls-- and I make sure the vamps stay on their best behaviour." She paused, glancing at Pearl, head tilting. "How much do you know?"
Adelynn: Adelynn could sense that Pearl knew things weren’t perfect and it pained her to see her sister so worried, but this was the nature of their family. Laila never wanted to really be a part of it. It sucked but, in a way, it was all they knew. “Thank you, Pearl, but I’m okay.” She began to dig in, though most of her food was getting more acquainted with the plate than anything. When Laila brought up vampires, Adelynn tensed. “Are you sure this conversation can’t wait until after dinner?” Adelynn stated, her words slipping through gritted teeth. She wasn’t sure if Pearl had fully recovered from what had happened and forcing her to suddenly relive it was cruel.
Pearl: She filled her own plate timidly, Laila shovelling enough food into her mouth for the three of them. The question took her by surprise, but she tried to hide it, albeit poorly. After seeing Felix, she couldn't get the subject off her mind. Vampires occupied almost every bit of her attention, and she secretly scoured old books and the internet for information about them, always exiting out of the browser or leaving the library with a sense of embarrassment. "Mack gave me a necklace with vervain before she left. That'll stop them from controlling my mind. Everything else, I figured out." Pearl didn't have to say how, the marks on her neck still lingered, silver scars marring the pale flesh. She tried to speak evenly, to stop emotion from bleeding into her voice, but still, it wavered.
Laila: "It won't." Laila interjected, ignoring Adelynn's protests. Her fight with Cael stood at the forefront of her mind, pressing her to be more urgent with the discussion. The blonde took a bite from the leg of the bird, swallowing down and continuing to talk. "Vervain only works half of the time and it's useless if the vampire is old enough." Blue eyes found Adie's, "I'm not staying after dinner." She barrelled on. "Do you drink it, as well?"
Adelynn: Adelynn clenched her fists, obviously the only one aware of their sister’s discomfort. “Laila, stop,” she ordered, her eyes narrowing in anger, knowing fully well her sister wouldn’t listen. “Pearl doesn’t need you interrogating her.” She briefly glanced at their sister, her anger flaring at the sight of how small she seemed in the moment. “Are you forgetting that the only reason she was hurt was because of you?”
Pearl: It seemed time had erased the memory of how cruel Laila could be. She cast her eyes down, her mouth gone dry as her sister cut in. She wondered if she meant to be this way, or if she never quite learned how to be soft. Laila was not the child who grew up at the hands of their mother, she had learned boldness from their father. "I don't know," she said, her voice coming out as nothing but a whisper, like it was caught in her throat, a rasp. Her fingers reached up towards the locket, momentarily overwhelmed. She looked up, eyes crystalline. "Don't fight."
Laila: She snarled in response, "I'm trying to make sure that it doesn't happen again." The blonde cast her hand towards the locket. "Do you want her to continue thinking that a locket will keep her safe?" Laila's light eyes narrowed and she shoved her plate aside, finding that she no longer had an appetite, "Or are you stupid enough to believe it as well?"
Adelynn: A retort was on the tip of Adelynn’s tongue but the look on Pearl’s face made her stop. All her sister wanted was one dinner, one reunion without them being at each other’s throats and they couldn’t even manage that. “I don’t want to fight you, Laila. We’ll be more careful, okay? So can you just drop it? Mack did as much as she could to teach Pearl how to stay safe.”
Pearl: In her belly was a rot, a sour taste in her mouth. "Make sure it doesn't happen again?" Pearl repeated, following the words with a horrible little laugh, an ugly noise that sounded wrong coming from her. "You did this, Laila. Adie is right. It was your fault. You attacked the vampire, and in turn, it came for me." She intended her words to cut, and her mouth was cut in an ugly grimace, but from her eyes a sadness bled through. "Maybe if we wanted to truly be safe, we wouldn't need lockets or good luck charms or full moons." She stood, her chair scraping back behind her, hot tears brimming, collecting on the base of her long lashes. "We'd just need to be rid of you." Maybe she didn't mean it, loneliness haunted her in those years spent alone, loneliness might be worse than the danger that haunted her now.
Laila: "You don't know anything," Laila hissed. Her words were venomous, an ugly match for the ones that fell from her sweet baby sister's lips. She'd attacked a vampire that left her family for dead-- the retaliation had left even more destruction. The oldest Renaud stood, backing away from the spread of gleaming plates and warm food. It had all been too idyllic to be true, too perfect for someone like her. Laila was the piece that didn't fit, the devil's daughter with the blackened heart-- blue eyes flashed darkly. "You should bite her," she said to Adie now, moving for the door, "On the next moon. That's the only way to keep her safe."
Adelynn: Adelynn froze as the words left Pearl’s mouth, having never heard anything so scathing coming from her. It was true, in some ways, but Pearl had always kept her feelings in, a smile thoroughly plastered on her face. Seeing something get under her skin like this… Adelynn’s heart clenched. She was about to reach for her sister, comfort her in any way she could, when Laila suddenly got up and stormed towards the door, leaving the table with rather haunting words. “The last thing she needs is to be like us,” Adie muttered under her breath, sure that Laila could hear her. She got out of her seat and walked over to Pearl, kneeling in front of her and taking her hand. “Don’t listen to her, Pearl, nothing will happen to you.”
Pearl: She bit down hard, tears stubbornly tracing hot tracks down her cheeks, no matter how she willed them away. Laila got the last word, and watching her retreating back she could feel herself crumbling. Maybe she would end up begging to be bitten, to join them as wolves, any relief from the curse of her own body. It was as weak as her spirit, like a pillar of sugar and salt in an evening rain. Threading her hands through her hair, Pearl pushed the heel of her hands to her temples, standing up. She looked past Adie, ashamed at the outburst, hurt over how the night had unravelled. "Don't you see Adie? Everything already has happened." They were broken, the Renaud sisters did not function as a unit but as three lost souls, patched and mended in a hundred mismatched ways. She bent down, scooping up the kitten in one hand and headed to her room, the door locking behind her. She didn't need Adelynn to see her cry as well.
Gosh, I don’t know where to start. You always make me want to up my game just because your writing is so lovely. Pearl is such a precious little thing that I constantly just want to squeeze her. You pull it off so well, love :)
You are the definition of quality, Sammy. I still remember being wowed by your writing the first time I ever witnessed one of your threads. I was genuinely intimidated to write with you (still am).
