Prompt: Strawberries (from @purple-dahlias’s July challenge)
CW: none
Sarah was sat on her back porch, brush in hand. She had been staring at her canvas for what felt like hours, trying to find some sort of inspiration in the endless woods beyond her. Natalie had left her alone, though she could feel her presence in the cottage regardless; which was a comfort now more than creepy.
She dipped her paintbrush back into her water cup, sighing as she wondered if she should give up for the morning.
“Sarah~” a familiar voice singsonged as she heard rustling in the trees, “Oh, you’re outside.”
The human nodded and gave April a smile, seeing that the Fae had a basket woven from dried reeds in her hands. She hopped up onto the wooden deck, holding out the basket to her friend.
“Wild strawberries,” her sharpened teeth showed proudly as she grinned, “For you, Rosebud.”
Crockett was born into the Unseelie Court in Louisiana
He was a shapeshifter, his most common forms being a black cat with glowing eyes or a large deer with oddly skeletal features
But he did perfect his human form as well and learned a lot about the way people acted and lived because he was so interested in the funny little humans <3
His family hated that; he was supposed to be malicious and distrustful to the humans
But as a young faerie he didn’t think humans were as bad as his people said
So he decided to leave the court and live among humans
And he did, he went as Crockett Marcel and tried his best to integrate into society
It took a lot of adjustment and lots of willpower to keep his human glamour near permanent
But he did it
He lived among humans for ten years and he loved it
He began to feel more human than fae
Crockett basically became a changeling as an adult and of his own volition
He met a girl
She was a human, with the most beautiful blue eyes that would put a selkie to shame and a fierce personality to match
Her name was Hélène and Crockett fell for her hard
They began dating and after a year, without planning, Hélène became pregnant
Crockett had no plans of fleeing, he believed he truly did love this woman and he would never leave her to care for his child alone
Even though he knew the implications of having a half Fae child
He believed they were strong enough to get through it
And he did struggle a lot to remain human honestly
He learned about deforestation and the horrible things humans had done to his family and his people
How they had no remorse or care for nature anymore
He hated it
But he stayed for Hélène
She was his happiness and he couldn’t leave her
When their daughter was born, she had her mother’s soft features but Crockett’s pointed ears. One eye was a striking blue but the other the distinctive, almost black, dark colour of an Unseelie faerie
Hélène was unbothered by this, Crockett had told her of his true identity when he learned of her pregnancy and while she took it hard at first, she realized she loved him regardless
They named their daughter Amélie and she was the light of Crockett’s life
She grew up to be this fierce little girl with impossibly curly hair and the most musical laugh <3
Crockett and Hélène were going to get married when Amé was 3 and she was so so excited to be a “pretty faerie” at their wedding
Crockett always told her these stories of his life back home, of the beautiful fae he knew, of her family
But to her they were just stories
She still wanted to be a faerie though <3 completely unaware that she was technically half one because it wasn’t safe for her yet
One day Crockett was at the market with Amé, picking up fresh fruit so they could bake a cake for Hélène’s birthday
He turned around for five seconds to ask a vendor about the strawberries he was selling and then when Crockett looked back his daughter was gone
He dropped everything, looking for her and calling her name
He searched for hours with many people’s help but they could not find her
When he broke the news to his wife, she immediately blamed Crockett ://
He was given 2 hours to leave, told that he ruined her happiness by letting their daughter be taken
He knew she was grieving and in pain and tried to reason with her, to soothe her
Because he really loved Hélène :((
But she wasn’t having it
So Crockett had to leave
And it was then that his hatred for humans flared
He felt cheated, he lost his daughter and his wife in mere hours
And all of the years of being told about how humans were malicious and hated faeries came up in his mind
He decided he would never trust a human or live among them again
Threatened to curse any human who crossed him
He really fell back into his Unseelie upbringing ://
He still went searching for Amélie, for years he looked for any sign of his daughter
He had been shunned from the Unseelie Court in Louisiana and became very nomadic
Which was uncommon for a Faerie since they usually lived in large courts and groups
He eventually lost all hope and just kept travelling
He found his way to the middle of nowhere in Illinois
A forest bustling with magic and fae
It felt safe, no humans in sight
He met a Seelie Faerie while he was looking for food one day
She introduced herself as April and demanded he explain why he was on Seelie land
He told her his story and could see her attitude soften as she realized what had happened
Seelies were still not to be trusted but they were known to be much more benevolent and understanding than his kind
April offered her condolences and said that while it was unheard of, of an Unseelie joining their court, that she could ask if he could stay
And Crockett accepted
Because this was the first bit of kindness he had been offer in years, especially from another Fae
How did April get in contact with Sarah? They’re so wholesome 🥺
In the occult!au? Ooh well
CW: very brief mention of Sarah’s suicide attempt
April knew about Sarah the moment she moved in
She had seen many people come and go from that cottage over the years
She knew Natalie and had spoken to her on a few occasions too
Of course April was very in tune with the forest and it was her home so she was always bent on protecting it
Which also involved knowing who was there and why
So she watched Sarah for a while
Just kept an eye on her, not to be creepy but just to ensure she was safe and so was the forest
Also she wanted to make sure Crockett didn’t try to scare her off or hurt her
it’s not that she didn’t trust him she just knew he wasn’t fond of humans and didn’t want him to do anything that would anger the seelies or harm anyone
So anyway
Natalie and April did speak sometimes after Sarah moved in
Nat just kept her informed about the human and what she did
Especially since she had a cat, April didn’t want any of her animals (or shapeshifting fae) getting hurt 🥺
So April knew that Sarah wasn’t the most happy person and understood she lacked friends and support
And she thought about going over and talking to her but she didn’t wanna spook her
She didn’t look too human herself with her feline eyes and pointed ears
And she had never tried to shapeshift so a human glamour would be difficult
It was actually Crockett who told her about what he witnessed the night Natalie showed herself to Sarah
He noted that the human “tried to end her life; dramatic thing. The ghost saved her, so I guess we don’t have to deal with another one of those at least.”
He’s just bitter and traumatized not that apathetic :(
So that was when April decided she should try and cheer Sarah up in any way she could
She began leaving little things on her doorstep or windowsill
Just a flower she thought was pretty or a particularly shiny piece of quartz from one of the river nymphs
Now she knew humans weren’t supposed to accept gifts from faeries in case it was a trick, but she did this with no binding intentions
She just wanted Sarah to have a little life and happiness to add to her cottage
As Natalie and Sarah got closer, Nat took the time to explain that things in this forest weren’t always what they seem
And Sarah slowly became accepting of the magical aspects of it
She did have a ghost roommate after all, it wasn’t going to get any weirder than that she assumed
And one day April noticed Sarah down by the river, picking up a flat stone and trying to skip it across the water
“Flick your wrist a little more,” she spoke up, deciding then was as good a time as any to talk to her, “It’ll help the rock glide on the water.”
She apologized when she saw the way Sarah flinched, forgetting she was understandably jumpy
“I’m April,” she said as she came around to face the human
Sarah noticed immediately that the other woman was almost undoubtedly not human
“Sarah...” she shook April’s hand cautiously, “Are you-”
April laughed a little because she knew exactly what the question was supposed to be
“Human? No, to be blunt with you. Fae, Seelie to be exact.”
It took a little more explaining and a demonstration of April growing a flower from Sarah’s palm until she was convinced
And slowly Sarah did warm up to her
Because just as April was drawn to those who were hurting, hurting people were drawn to her
And Sarah of all people could use a little healing magic
They talked a lot that afternoon and Nat watched from the cottage window with hopeful eyes
(Crockett was watching from a tree a bit away, eyes narrowed as he waited for any indication that Sarah might harm April)
Nat was just happy to see Sarah open up to someone else
She was talking
And smiling !!
She looked so happy 🥺🥺 and comfortable
Because honestly how can you not be happy around April, have you seen that smile?
Seeing April quickly became a common occurrence and Sarah was super happy to have made a friend
Even if they weren’t human
Because as far as she was concerned humans were all rotten and cruel (Crockett would agree 😌)
and she could use a little more light and magic in her life <3
April joined the the Seelie Court in a forest in Illinois when she was only little
Her mother was from Brazil though and joined the court when she was pregnant with April’s brother
Unfortunately their mother died in Noah’s birth and that left her children to the Court
There was sneaking suspicion that April and her brother were not actually full blooded Seelies, or full blooded Fae at all
Seelies were characterized by blue or violet eyes, regardless of the colour of their skin (Fae have different recessive traits)
April and Noah didn’t have those eyes though
Both of them had hetereochromia, their eyes a mixture of deep green and brown
April’s pupils were slit like a cat’s as well, giving her a rather intimidating look for a Seelie
April had always had the ability to manipulate the forest, going as far as being able to grow new plants and alter whole root systems
That wasn’t uncommon for a Seelie, but the fact that she had these powers since infancy was questionable
She had massive control over the Earth and all its creatures, which would be terrifying in the wrong hands
She was always super gentle though, unless provoked, which calmed the nerves of everyone (because Noah made them worry more)
She had the power to heal minor physical wounds with her touch, and she always felt drawn to those who were injured or suffering from mental trauma and pain
She just wanted to help those who needed her the most 🥺
There was no question that she had more power than they were expecting
And it made her an unstoppable force
She was very good at persuasion and very personable, so it was common for April to be involved in decision making and treaty meetings as she got older
She was friends with many creatures, including the niaids of the river and the fiendish little pixies who liked to play tricks
April was intimidating but also so alluring
Like there was just something about her that drew everyone in
The one thing that triggered her temper more than anything was anyone mistreating Noah
She would protect her brother with her life and wasn’t afraid to hurt anyone who even slightly upset him
When Crockett showed up in her forest she was defensive
She had only recently quelled a big argument between her people and the three pesky wolves who wanted to live on their land
So she was not ready for another turf war by any means
The presence of an Unseelie was a major threat in her Court’s eyes
But she thought something was different about this one
He was not like any other Unseelie she had met and he was clearly hurting
Something told her he just needed a place to belong
And April was nothing if not always ready to help
So she managed to persuade the Fae to let Crockett stay with them <3
When Sarah properly meets Faerie April she immediately goes “this is my human and I will keep her safe and make sure she’s happy” and just is constantly doing things to make Sarah smile like leaving fresh flowers on her windowsill and bring her to see the wild bunnies and braiding flowers and leaves into her hair <3
