Fallow grew silent in thought, taking a good look at the owlet. Her
face was solemn and emotionless but gradually lit up as she nodded.
"It fits him," she said happily, leaning over to pat it lightly on
the head. It whinnied again, much to Fawn's dismay, with
contentedness.
he reached up with his free hand lightly cupped Fallow's cheek,
bringing her head back up so she was looking up at him and
sighed.
''now.... Fallow, what else is on your mind...? the past couple of
days this week you've seemed depressed and i'm starting to
worry.... everyone is, if... you need to talk then we're all here
for you... okay..?'' he murmured.
Shadow was laying in his bed in an empty corner of the room and was
watching them, having been woken up from the commotion before he
got, stretching and trotting over to meet the little owl.
he looked down at Dusk and gave a slight tilt of his head, sniffing
his head before licking him.
''welcome to the family little fella, just call my uncle Shadow''
he said, wagging his tail.
Her eyes softened for a moment, a sign that her guard was let down,
but she jerked back from his hand and looked back when she heard
Shadow speaking. Conflict flitted in her face and she ran her hand
lightly up her arm, her nose wrinkling before she smiled weakly and
shook her head. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I love you guys, but I'm
absolutely fine," Fallow said, her words soft. Before another word
could be said, she stood and looked towards the door. "I'm going to
find Tempest. Maybe you can get some bonding time with Dusk," she
suggested in a happier tone, ruffling his hair affectionately
before leaving the room.
Maxwell let his hand fall after she had left and stared at the
door, then got up with Dusk and sat the little owlet down on the
middle of the bed to go look for clothes.
Shadow hopped up onto the bed and flopped down onto the bed, back
to Maxwell as he kept an eye on Dusk for him, that way the little
guy didn't fall.
soon Maxwell found something to wear and started to get changed
once he made sure the door was closed, keeping the towel on just in
case someone walked in.
~~~~~~~~
Justin was sitting outside under a tree a little bit away from
Dawn's cottage and surprisingly looked like a normal teenager
instead of being Umbra or having his unstable episodes taking over,
he was surprisingly peaceful when he's occupied with a book.
It was the heat that finally woke Belle up from her spot under a
nearby tree, an unfinished daisy chain still limp in her hand. The
sun had moved since she'd laid down and was now in her face, poking
through the leaves in dappled annoyances. She yawned and rubbed the
sleep from her eyes, sitting up groggily and tossing the chain to
the side. Her hair was a mess and she made little effort to comb it
with her fingers. Last she remembered she had been mad at Jasper,
probably for just being Jasper, and she didn't want to be around
him. She stood up and brushed herself off, walking through the
forest absentmindedly until she spotted Justin. "Hey," Belle
mumbled, a bit taken aback by his presence.
Justin glanced up from his book and up at her, remaining quiet for
a bit before bookmarking his page and closed it, then sat it down
in his lap.
''hello Belle'' he said, now looking up at her with a rather calm
expression.
She examined his face for a couple of seconds before attempting a
halfhearted smile. "How long have you been out here?" Belle asked,
still fiddling with her unkempt hair. Her eyes were drawn to the
book and she paused before sitting down criss-cross, her hands in
the grass.
''not sure honestly, i was just reading my book.... i am like......
halfway finished with it even though i just started reading the
book'' he said.
Justin sat the book aside as he stayed quiet, for a moment, then
looked at Bell, a slight grin on his face.
''hey Belle..... why did the duck cross the road?'' he asked,
hoping she'd play along.
Belle rolled up her sleeves, reminded the times she would sit and
read in the sun for hours as a child. Her childhood consisted
mostly of hiding away from home by doing her two favorite things:
reading and fighting. She looked up at him with suspicious eyes,
but eventually, his playful grin drew a small smile on her face.
"That's a suicide joke, you know," she stated, contemplating before
mumbling a soft, "Why?"
he rolled his eye's and tilted his head, now giving a crooked grin
while crossing his arms.
''because... he didn't want to be chicken'' Justin said.
~~~~~~~~
Maxwell soon finished changing and was now fully dressed, picking Dusk up before he left the
bedroom with the owlet, Shadow following after them.
Belle's face was blank for a few seconds in exasperation, to which
she hung her head and chortled softly. "That's... dumb. I don't
know what the expect out of you," she told him, her periwinkle eyes
almost playful. Belle flopped onto her back, her arms spread out
and her head turned so that she could look at him. "Hey, you've
decided to stay with us, right?... So, uh... why? Not to be crude,
but Jasper's not the most fun to be around."
''it may have been dumb but i still got you to laugh, it's always
the things you don't expect that get ya.... and i guess i just....
wanted to stay? it feels calmer here, safer..... and truthfully
Jasper can go jump in a lake'' Justin said, the last part a bit
bitterly.
Conflict flitted across her face and she puffed the side of her
cheek as she was thinking. "He's..." Belle started, on the road to
defend him. She trailed off into silence before sighing and moving
a strand of hair away from her face. "Yeah, you're right. You'd
certainly do better off without him. He's a pain." She broke eye
contact for a moment and tried to move on to a lighter note. "Dawn
kind of keeps him in check, though."
''define "kind of" Belle'' Justin scoffed, reaching out as
he grabbed his book, but froze as he felt a chill go down his
spine.
he grabbed her hand with his free one and pulled her along with him
as he scrambled up to his feet and away from the tree whilst
dragging Belle along with him just as a large ebony lump fell out
of the tree, landing right where they had originally been sitting.
Belle inhaled sharply, tightly grabbing his upper arm in reaction.
She swore aloud and pulled away from him, drawing a blade in each
hand and glaring at the object. Her heart was racing and her senses
were heightened, but her lack of Fantasy knowledge stopped her from
attacking. "What the hell is that thing?" She hissed, her eyes
darting quickly to Justin.
''how am i suppose to f---ing know?! i literally just sensed
a presence Belle!!'' Justin snapped while glaring at her, then turn
turned his attention back towards the giant black lump, soon
freezing and staring wide eye'd at what he seen, all hostility
turning rapidly to fear.
the lump had soon enough formed during they're bickering and
revealed a sleek and graceful giant black jaguar laying where they
had been laying, piercingly bright amber eye's glaring at them whie
flicking it's tail.
Belle scowled at Justin before turning back to what had formed into
a clearly not-friendly beast. She chastised herself for leaving her
guns in the house (per Dawn's request) and simply stared at it, her
grip tightening on her blades, not quite sure what to do.
It's... laying down, she thought, taking that as a sign of
reluctance or passiveness.
the beast looked from Justin then to Belle, then looked at Belle's
weapons with narrowed eyes.
it flicked its ear and a shadow shot forwards, swatting away her
weapons and sending them far off from reach.
Justin scrambled backwards as the beast lashed out and knocked
Belle's weapons away, and with the shadows no less.
''t-that's the beast of darkness......'' he muttered, his voice
shaky.
Belle leaped back in surprise, next to Justin. She ground her teeth
together as the cold sensation in her fingers ebbed away, still
keeping her focus fixed on the creature. "The f**king what?"
Belle snapped, her face looking like a deer in headlights. She was
in a pose of defense, still, not quite sure what to do--her mind
was overwhelmed with panicked thoughts and escape routes, but she
hardly moved from her spot. It was at that moment she realized how
little she knew about Beasts and the origin of the Fantasies, much
less the actual extent of their power.
''the beast of darkness, the mother of all darkness fantasy's of
course~ you normal humans who know about a fantasy's secret are so
uneducated in our ways.... it's honestly quite hurtful... my little
kittens should really talk about me more'' the jaguar said in a
silky voice, a purr rumbling in the creatures throat.
Justin gritted his teeth as he sat his book down before he stepped
forward a bit as his hands into fists.
''what the hell is a creature like you doing here? and so close to
the beast of weather'' he said, trying to stay as calm as he
could.
the beast chuckled and sat up, curling it's tail a bit around it's
paws.
''i was hunting, i would've had a three course dinner but sadly the
desert disappeared....'' they sighed.