let them see your black heart, baby
#1
[html]

For any and all of you that want to jump in. Smile

He'd broken off from them long before, though still after two of his sisters had already gone. Sage was the first, wasn't she? He couldn't remember why the eldest sister had so desired to break from the pack she loved so much, though she had always been the one with the most logic, he believed — other than himself, of course. China had been next, polite and prompt in her departure, most likely to follow after her eldest sister's footsteps. He and Clover had remained, for the longest time, brother and sister; he had been more bonded to she than all the rest, and that included the whole of Juniper Peace, for there he had never belonged at all.


No, Clover had been "Ocean's Girl" after her two sisters had gone. There was no talk of Razekiel, no concern as to what came of him and his relation to the alphas or Storm Lily. All that was heard of him was "Razekiel's Boy," when they looked at Micah, with suspicion in their smoke-clouded eyes. He had never been his mother's son like Clover, for he had never taken up their ways of peace and love and sex. No, he would not fool himself into such fantasies. There was war in every soul, and to believe all would be right under the protection of a false earth mother was no more than sheer idiocy.


And yet he had been the last to leave them. He was a coward. His sisters had all moved on to better things, most likely together, and had not looked back at their idiot little brother who wasn't like them. He missed them, indeed, like he missed their mother, but their ways he did not. Micah was not one of them. Micah was not his mother's son, and not his father's son, either.


Micah was not a murderer, like he.


Now he had grown, over a full year; he was thin, tall and long as his minor wolven genetics allowed, but thin and gangly like the coyotes his father so loved. There had been a snowstorm some weeks past where he had spent several days trapped and starving; as a result he had thinned out considerably since, but hardly enough to grow concerned for his own health. Dusk hung overhead, painting the winter sky pinks and purples, a sight Micah did not drink in like his sisters might. Nose at the ground, the male tracked his way in and out of trees, following a scent he vaguely thought he knew, but did not hold any hopes about. He'd meandered about for some time, months even, in search of nothing in particular but a place to eat and sleep on each passing day.


Chocolate eyes on the ground, he paused only when his nose tapped against a stake. Eyes ran up the length of it, freezing at the skull on its tip, and instantaneously the male backed up quickly, mouth agape, ears flipped, tail between his legs. What kind of loonies ran this place? Ducking into the bushes, the male quickly shifted into his two-legged for, deciding it best should he run into someone, and continued following the scent in winding trails, the skull-tipped stakes yet always in view.

<style>
.micah-newday .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.micah-newday p {padding:2px 14px; margin:0px; text-indent:25px;}
.micah-newday b {color:#A67C4C; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.micah-newday {background-color:#F1F1EF; background-image:url(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g210/ ... htable.png); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #DFCC9A; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#C6B694; letter-spacing:.2px; word-spacing:.2px; line-height:16px; width:479px; text-align:justify; padding:10px 0px 165px 0px; }
.micah-newday-border {width:481px; border:1px solid #383230; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]
#2
[html]

Word Count → 5+ :: table style © Sie


Dusk was falling over the world, a twilight blanket that bathed the frosty ground in an ever-growing darkness. She who walked amongst the pines could feel it, but did not fear it, for she was within the border of skulls and was therefore safe. The silver girl did not venture beyond this invisible barrier - Bad things happened beyond it. There was beasts out there with red eyes and black hearts, and when the darkness came, so too did they; lust on their tongues and death in their gaze.


These thoughts were subconscious, hidden deep in the murky, muddied waters of her mentality. The Lykoi princess had grown about such thoughts, and although they festered like tumors within her brain they did not awaken to terrorize her.


The air was mild, kissing blushing limbs and cheeks and coloring each soft exhale that with it brought a cloud of smoke. The stench was wafted away, but it would cling to her pelt. It issued from the small cylinder held at a jaunty angle between two of her fingers; lackadaisically, obviously habitual to the young woman. She was in her element, with the stars winking palely overhead and the pleasant mists of a high to obscure the jagged edges of her mind from view.


The devious creature was different from the one that had emerged from Juniper Peace. She had retained many aspects of her former shell - an incurable curiosity and mischievous outset, a firm belief in the powers of love over all else. But there were many fissures in the mask she wore. Where was the Earthmother when she needed her? In her heart, in her soul? A vibrant sparkle that had once been permanently within Lapis Lazuli now flickered there like a broken bulb at a rundown gasoline station. Sometimes, she felt it. Sometimes, she did not.


On this coming night, China had left Sage behind, back in the depths of the Forest of Nod. She had been peacefully sketching when her silver sibling had gone walkabout, and China knew that if the tawny beauty wanted her, her smokey trail would be easy to follow. Aside from that scent the girl left no mark - Her footsteps were naturally silent, and she melted between the silhouettes pines like a rogue wraith, a silver nymph born of the forest itself. Those of her family had never had difficulty becoming a part of the flora, from disappearing completely.


Just as suddenly, He had appeared. He was a shadow, and for a moment a tremor of nameless fear clutched at her breast. Then bloomed an irrational knowing, for although she could not have been visually certain, there was a link between her and him that existed beyond the world of the natural and the explainable. "... Micah?" gentle tone wavered sweetly into the air, and she took a step closer towards the gangly male silhouette lingering on the other side of the stakes, he who was backdropped with splendid pink and mauve. Could it truly be?


<style>
.china-x02-box {background-image:url(http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b47 ... asmall.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position: top center; width:146px; height:200px; float:right; margin:3px; }
.china-x02 {font-family:arial; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: left; margin:0px 25px;}
.china-x02 .ooc {font-style:italic; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:justify;}
.china-x02 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold; font-size:14px;}
.china-x02 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.china-x02 b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:-.05em;}
</style>
[/html]
#3
[html]

Look, look, I made it?! Did we determine they lived in a cave? Also I'd assumed they'd been home but idk. Can fix anything if needed(for the hug, too!). Sage does speed-watercoloring... and I hope horses can eat beets. That is all. xD WC: 688


It was true Sage had allowed her pixie sister to fly away like the little bird she was, leaving Sage alone to her arts and thoughts. The tanned girl was not sad for this, though, for she was in that wonderful state of mind that left her dazed and curious, but still alert and creative. The paintbrush flew, like China had, in whichever direction it pleased, and the scene was beginning to look marvelous.


Perhaps ten minutes later, the end result was a brightly colored springtime landscape, with a few small animals doodled in. Sage stood back and smiled; her watercolor style may have been messy and simple, but it pleased the girl, and so she set it out to dry. Then, with a sigh of content satisfaction, she stood and brushed off the artfully tattered hide leather skirt around her slim hips. Yellow eyes glanced about before coming to a rest on her handmade bag which she scooped up in a graceful motion. Then, with a giggle to herself as she did it, the girl turned abruptly about-face, marching out of their cozy little home with a grin on her face. Sage walked stiff-legged and cheesy-grinned several feet out of the doorway before resuming a normal posture, sending a swift and quiet call out for Lennon.


His footsteps came around from behind her, and it was mere moments before the cream-colored stallions large, handsome head was looming beside her own. Another smile, and the girl reached into her bag, producing a bright red beet for her horse friend. He took it happily, and as he did so the girl climbed up onto his back, setting off into the wilderness, following her sisters familiar scent, and the added scent of the girls' favorite herb.


The smell grew stronger, and Sage leaned into it, know that her beloved sister would be nearby, now. Chocolate ears twitched and turned as she picked up the sudden sound of voices in the near distance. Not just a female one, but a male voice as well? She couldn't be sure, but she urged Lennon towards it nonetheless, and he responded with little provocation.


Soon enough into her line of view came her silvery songbird sister, and Sage's smile broadened, focusing on the smoke-clouded girl as she approached before her drowsy yellow eyes fluttered to rest on the other figure there. Immediately, her expression tensed, eyes widening, brows furrowing, and even a small gasp escaping from her mouth, though it hardly traveled. She blinked several times, glancing back and forth from China to the dark, salt-and-pepper man. No, she thought, he wouldn't come here... would he?


Puzzled, she dismounted, patting Lennon in dismissal and cautiously nearing the thin, lanky boy before her, so handsome but so gaunt. Sage's golden-yellow eyes met his amber ones, just a few shades darker; just like his personality, his appearance, his aura. Just a few shades darker than her, he was. It was strange to see him here; it felt out of place, but then the girl realized that maybe he would belong here more than they did. Still, why would he want to be here? She couldn't figure it out, before realizing that he might not even be here to live, but to visit. Was that it? Was he here, to see them? The girl swallowed, managing at first only to breathe his name between them.


"Micah..." After a moment more of silence, she managed something more. "What are you doing here...?"


She wanted to hug him, to embrace him, to share her warmth, her energy, her food and everything else with him, but would he want it? Sage quickly decided that she wanted it more than enough for both of them, and she glided to her brother, pulling him into a soft and gentle hug that tightened as she felt the bones beneath his skin and lack of muscle or tone. She had missed him. Sage nearly shed a tear for his poor form, his far too strange face, but she wouldn't, yet.


<style>
.sagetrippyhippie .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.sagetrippyhippie p {padding:2px 30px; margin:0px; text-indent:35px;}
.sagetrippyhippie b {color:#AF7817; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.sagetrippyhippie {background-image:url(http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/5007/sagetrippy.gif); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:0px solid #000000; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#000000; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:16px; width:450px; text-align:justify; padding:10px 0px 90px 0px; }
</style>[/html]
#4
[html]

It reeked of death and murder, Micah came to notice as he meandered about, or was he only imagining it? No, he paused, putting his nose to the air. I smell him. Not Razekiel, exactly, but scents so similar, intertwining, intermingling, and they were many. His ebon curls drifted before his eyes. What was this place? So far from the place he himself had been born, so far from the places he had been raised, as if Juniper Peace itself had avoided it knowing it had been inhabited by the Juniper alphas' murderer, for that straw-eyed demon that had stolen they and Storm Lily's lives in one night. Micah hadn't seen him since — but the day he did, Razekiel Lykoi would stand no more.


Just as he began to snicker at how his sisters might have hated the place, lo and behold, there they were.


Micah's ears flipped back; the girls he had not seen in so long, or at least two of them, suddenly in his presence as if a dream — No, no, Micah, that's what they would say, not you. Chocolate eyes darted between them briefly, then to the empty space beside them where Clover did not inhabit, and with an unsaid disappointment his gaze shifted back, only to be overwhelmed by the eldest of the surviving Juniper sibling runaways. The yearling was, quite blatantly, in absolute shock, but the feel of Sage's squeeze confirmed their presence. None hugged like his sisters, and no one would ever hug him but they.


He laughed, nervously at first, then heartily next; Micah wrapped his arms around her, the great pile of black curls tied to his neck bouncing and twirling every which way in the excited motion. "Sage— China— I can't believe it!" he laughed, squeezing her harder, then breaking away to embrace his short-haired sister next. Despite his gauntness, the male's arms seemed no less strong.


"I was just passing through, just looking around, and — wow — I had no idea you were here!" And Micah released China as well, the youngest brother stepping back to look between them. They had grown, just like he, but unlike he Juniper had clearly not left their blood and hearts. He made no comment on it; despite their peace-loving, ignorant ways of life, they were his big sisters no less, and he indeed still loved them as a little brother would. "What are you doing here? Is Clover here?"

<style>
.micah-newday .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.micah-newday p {padding:2px 14px; margin:0px; text-indent:25px;}
.micah-newday b {color:#A67C4C; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.micah-newday {background-color:#F1F1EF; background-image:url(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g210/ ... htable.png); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #DFCC9A; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#C6B694; letter-spacing:.2px; word-spacing:.2px; line-height:16px; width:479px; text-align:justify; padding:10px 0px 165px 0px; }
.micah-newday-border {width:481px; border:1px solid #383230; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]
#5
[html]

Word Count → 3+ :: table style © Sie


As if drawn to the wonderful scene like magic, the heavy hoof-falls of Lennon announced Sage's approach. China had grown quite fond of the horse her sister had adopted into their small vagabond family; it was no longer strange to her, to see the giant fourlegged beast meandering about near their temporary cave home. He was very handsome, and when spring came, China had chattered to her darker sister about braiding his long hair with all sort of beautiful things.


But not even the horse's arrival could deviate her gaze from the portrait of her brother. Micah, her mind spoke blankly, cerulean eyes still staring at the young man. Sage mauled him with one of her famous hugs, but the silvery girl hung back - not out of nervousness, but because she was irrationally battling with the urge to weep. Unable to fight it, the silvery girl felt great big, fat teardrops slide down her cheeks. She attempted to hide them by burrowing her face into her younger brother's hide when he hugged her, but they kept coming.


Swiping at the moisture with the back of one of her blushing hands, China managed a watery smile. "Oh, Micah Sunrise," she crooned, clearly still in shock about seeing her brother almost on Inferni soil, "How handsome you've become!" And it was true - As she had been the first of the sisters to leave, she had been away from him the longest, and up until now it seemed as though she hadn't noticed how desperately she had missed him. But the aching hole where their father had been was red and raw, and Micah's face made her long for him even more.


Dashing away the tears, irritable because they kept blurring her vision of the salt-and-pepper male, the coyote Fae pulled her face back into another wan smile at the mention of Clover. "Clover is here, of course she is. You'll see her. We'll be together again!" The end of her sentence was lost to a small sob that could have been deliriously happy, or really quite heartbroken. With China, who always seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve, it was often difficult to tell. Needing the support, the girl grasped for her sister's hand. Long forgotten, the joint that had been smoldering between her fingertips was put to her mouth as an act of habit. Micah had never seemed as fond of the stuff as the three sisters, but then again, he had always been the black sheep of the family.


<style>
.china-x02-box {background-image:url(http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b47 ... asmall.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position: top center; width:146px; height:200px; float:right; margin:3px; }
.china-x02 {font-family:arial; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: left; margin:0px 25px;}
.china-x02 .ooc {font-style:italic; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:justify;}
.china-x02 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold; font-size:14px;}
.china-x02 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.china-x02 b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:-.05em;}
</style>
[/html]
#6
[html]

*runs in* Oh hayyy, lovely hippie family! <3 +5


Finally it seemed as if winter was winding to an end, and for that the young coyote child was grateful. Though she had appreciation for all of Mother Earth’s seasons, Clover had begun to grow tired of the monotony of white and grey. She longed for blue skies and vast amounts of greenery, accompanied by the music of life heard in the bird’s morning songs and the crickets at night. The storm from weeks prior had inflicted quite a lot of damage to the area, but Clover did not want to linger on those things. They had all done their best to clean up the mess, and they were all trying their best to move on with their lives. Spring was coming, and that meant it was time for change.

Having been holed up inside the mansion for the duration of the storm, Clover had longed to get out into the fresh air. She had been spending more and more time outdoors once again, returning to her natural roots and embracing the environment Mother Earth had provided her. If she was being honest, she had come to resent D’Neville slightly, if only because she had been trapped there. Really, she had no reason to be displeased with the mansion, for it had kept her safe during the inclement weather, but now she wanted nothing more than to be free. Perhaps she would not go back to her bedroom for quite some time, and live elsewhere as her sisters did.

She called for Daisy, deciding what she needed most was a change of scenery. Her afternoon had been spent tending her plants in the greenhouse, trying to save those that had not already withered away. Clover had been blessed with a green thumb, but lately it seemed as if her gift had begun to lose its power. However, as long as her favored plant survived, the young Discens decided she wouldn’t remain too upset.

The white mare came trotting up to the girl’s side, and Clover turned to greet her, patting her broad neck and stroking her mane there. Much like her sister, Clover did not use any tack with Daisy and communicated rather simply through gesturing and low speech. She wasn’t as proficient in low speech as Sage, but she was growing more skilled as its use increased. Having done so times before, Clover lifted herself onto the horse’s back and the two were off. She had no real destination in mind, other than to get somewhere away from here. Perhaps she would visit the two that completed the trio of hippie girls, but for now she would let Daisy steer her where ever she pleased. As long as she was out enjoying what Mother Earth had to offer, Clover didn’t really mind what her physical location was.

The cylinder of white was once again present between her fingers and Clover breathed slightly easier. The thick scent of sweet cannabis clung to her pelt, though the smoke drifted lazily behind the mare and coyote pair. "Soon it will be spring, Daisy. Life will be full of color again, and Mother Earth will bring us beautiful flowers and the singing birds and babies galore! Oh, I can’t wait," she sighed dreamily, speaking in high speech, thus in effect essentially speaking to herself. This was lost on Clover though, as she brought the smoldering joint again to her mouth and filled her lungs with a deep inhalation of smoke. She did not mind drifting off to this wonderful dreamy world of spring, replacing what she saw in front of her with what she hoped to see. It was only because of this that when her straw colored eyes finally spotted her siblings on the farthest point of her view that she thought she was conjuring them. A broad grin lighted her features and the girl raised a hand to wave. "Hello, my loves, hello!" As Daisy brought them closer, Clover didn’t realize what she was seeing. She hadn’t realized it was Micah who was accompanying the other hippie girls.

Oh how her heart would soar when she realized she was to be reunited with her dear baby brother.

<style>
.clover-122 .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.clover-122 p {padding:2px 20px; margin:0px; text-indent:35px;}
.clover-122 b {color:#0F0A02; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.clover-122 {background-color:#E0D2BC; background-image:url(http://sleepyglow.net/souls/gifts/2010dec/clover.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:2px solid #000000; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#9E9079; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:16px; width:450px; text-align:justify; padding:150px 0px 10px 0px; }
.clover-122-border {width:454px; border:1px solid #FFFFFF; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]
#7
[html]

I think I had the time of day wrong somewhere? Oh well. Iluall. YAY ANNA <333WC: 439


Sage could not manage to hold back several large, happy tears as she embraced her brother. His nervous laughter turned his true, mirthful one in moments and filled Sage's large ears as much as her heart; she couldn't help but laugh a bit herself, despite her wet eyelashes.


"Sage— China— I can't believe it!" he said excitedly, moving to embrace China now.


She released her brother and watched in awed, exuberant silence as Micah visited with China. Sage was bewildered, dazed to see her brother here, and curious to know where he had been, what he'd been doing; everything! A large grin spread on her face as her handsome dark brother launched into more excited speech.


"I was just passing through, just looking around, and — wow — I had no idea you were here!" he said, adding curiously: "What are you doing here? Is Clover here?"


China answered his question first, and Sage gave an exaggerated nod of agreement as the silvery girl confirmed Micah's concern for their third sister. "Yes, yes, she's here!" she babbled, nearly bouncing from excitement, grasping China's hand and reaching with the other to the joint between her hands, desiring that lovely smoke in her lungs as well."We're here because she's here; because Daddy's...well, he's supposed to be here..." she trailed off, brow furrowing as those thoughts of his absence returned.


Sage hadn't thought about the rumors that had spread about Juniper Peace in those days; those rumors that cursed her father as a murderer. She had dismissed them, sure that her papa was not a violent man, that he would not have killed their baby sister, the pack's leaders. He couldn't have; could he? The tanned girl tried not to remember that, tried to keep those dark thoughts from her mind. She did not want to taint the picture of him that still lingered in her mind. She wondered, still, but tried to keep herself convinced of his innocence.


Not giving her much time to linger on such cynical thoughts and frightening memories, she was quickly distracted by the sound of large hooves on the hard, cold ground nearby. Large ears swerved and, as if on cue, a large, ivory mare strode out of the forest carrying the third sister, whose golden locks lit up the scene, the smoke around her making an even more dreamlike setting. "Clover!" Sage shouted happily, her face lighting up at the sight of her sister, who she truly hadn't seen as much as she had liked, recently. "Clover, look, look who it is!!" she said bouncing from one foot to another with a large grin on her face, a thin, tan arm motioning to Micah, who it seemed Clover had failed to notice.


<style>
.sagetrippyhippie .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.sagetrippyhippie p {padding:2px 30px; margin:0px; text-indent:35px;}
.sagetrippyhippie b {color:#AF7817; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.sagetrippyhippie {background-image:url(http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/5007/sagetrippy.gif); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:0px solid #000000; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#000000; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:16px; width:450px; text-align:justify; padding:10px 0px 90px 0px; }
</style>[/html]
#8
[html]

His emotions soared: Joy, excitement, anxiety, confusion. So much information flowed over his eyes and between his ears, all of which he had not expected in the least; why were his sisters in such a place that would line their borders with skulls? What were the odds that he would stumble into one of them at all, let alone all three still united together without him? Not only that, but they were excited for him, excited to see him once more despite he being the black sheep of the four. He was not a peace-loving treehugger like they — and each of his sisters knew that — and yet they treated him no differently, something Micah had always truly cherished about his family. His mother had been no different.


A grin spread across his speckled face when they confirmed Clover's presence; he had been closest with she, somewhat, as he and she had spent more time together than the other two girls in Juniper Peace. He would not admit to it, of course, but there were times when his sisters' personalities simply meshed together like one entity; they were far too similar to their mother and the rest of Juniper, and at times Micah honestly feared they lacked construction behind their drug habits and sun-god worship or whatever the hell that was. For now, though, he cared little of their own tendencies or why they were there.


"We'll be together again!" His ears flipped back almost instantaneously, though his nervous smile remained. Chocolate eyes shifted quickly to the skull-tipped stake just yards away from the happy reunion, staring them each down with dead, hollowed eyes; how dangerous was this place? Surely it could not be that bad if his three sisters all called it home — perhaps he could stay...


"Daddy's... well, he's supposed to be here," Sage added, and all at once all hopeful thoughts in his mind dispersed. His eyes thinned to slits a moment, ears flipping back, joy bleaching; this was where Razekiel was hiding out, and they were allowing it? He was here, just within his son's grasp? That murderer was hiding out here, behind the safety curtain of his all-too-innocent daughters? He would not inhabit the same space as the man who killed his sister. How did the two girls forget? He feared their reactions, of course. "No," he replied, tone grainy as his name, "I'm sorry, I... I can't stay." Eyes darted away, intimidated, nearly frightened. He couldn't disappoint his sisters... or he didn't wish it, anyway.


He remained as such — hesitant, quiet, regretful — until Clover made a convenient entrance, and just as before his mood swept back to normality. The boy brightened as the last of the Juniper siblings reunited with them, and before she might even have the chance to recognize her baby brother, Micah swept to her and dove into her arms. "Clover!"

<style>
.micah-newday .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.micah-newday p {padding:2px 14px; margin:0px; text-indent:25px;}
.micah-newday b {color:#A67C4C; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.micah-newday {background-color:#F1F1EF; background-image:url(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g210/ ... htable.png); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #DFCC9A; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#C6B694; letter-spacing:.2px; word-spacing:.2px; line-height:16px; width:479px; text-align:justify; padding:10px 0px 165px 0px; }
.micah-newday-border {width:481px; border:1px solid #383230; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]
#9
[html]

Word Count → 2+ :: derrrrrp, slowalaine attacks again!


At Sage's mention of Razekiel, the silvery girl's lower lip trembled again, her shadowy eyes filling again with salty water. It was unlike China to be so weepy, although perhaps her siblings could overlook this in the light of Micah's miracle appearance. She had condemned the memories of the search for Razekiel to the darkest depths of her mind - That day was when the fractures had appeared before her, and the descent into her current state of emotional imbalance and uncharacteristic moodiness had begun.


However, at her brother's response, all pretense of happiness fled. The tears, previously spilling over her silvery cheeks in abandon, now seemed to be absorbed at once into the shocked and hurt cerulean of her eyes. "What do you mean, 'No'?" But a reply was not given, for at that moment a third spectrum appeared - The golden-haired girl, the third sister.


However, China was not so easily escaped or dissuaded. Barely allowing her brother and sister a moment to reunite, the silvery girl cast an accusatory look to her handsome kin, tilting her maw to speak sharply to Clover. "He says he's not staying!" The Lykoi princess' tone was sharp, offended - trying to cover the wound that threatened to gape again with crossness. "But you are, Micah. Don't be silly, of course you are." The tears started again, and her eyes were beginning to look rimmed slightly with a painful red. She had been crying too much. China swept at her watering vision with the back of one blushing hand before speaking, in a wavering voice, "... Of course you are. Right?"


<style>
.china-x02-box {background-image:url(http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b47 ... asmall.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position: top center; width:146px; height:200px; float:right; margin:3px; }
.china-x02 {font-family:arial; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: left; margin:0px 25px;}
.china-x02 .ooc {font-style:italic; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:justify;}
.china-x02 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold; font-size:14px;}
.china-x02 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.china-x02 b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:-.05em;}
</style>
[/html]
#10
[html]

Big Grin +3


As Daisy brought the flower child closer to her sisters, it was Sage who first enlightened Clover to exactly who their company was. Straw orbs were veiled in a few quickly paced intervals as if to clear the fog from her skull. Was she day dreaming again, as she had been moments prior? Though his appearance had changed somewhat with time – his features somehow losing their sense of adolescence and evolving into something more masculine and handsome – it was easy to see that her brother was standing before her. Could it really be Micah?

The girl barely had time to react, before the salt and peppered boy was making his way towards the coyote and mare duo. Their brother was slightly larger than the three sisters and had no problem reaching Clover to scoop her into a strange, but welcome embrace. Daisy didn’t seem to mind the commotion at all, as if she sensed this moment was somehow important. Clover easily wrapped her slender arms around her brother’s shoulders, free fingers curling gently into the darkly colored fur as she savored his embrace. "Micah!" It seemed as if it had been forever since she had last seen her brother, and this was a moment she would not soon forget.

But the simple bliss of the reunion did not last long before it was infected with a sense of doubt. Their pixie sister, with her unique resemblance to their father, had broken into their joyful cries with her sharp accusation. Instantly, Clover’s whole body posture changed and hurt was clearly reflected in the straw colored eyes she shared with her sister. "You’re not staying?" Her tone wasn’t as sharp as China’s, but it easily mirrored the pain in her expression. Clover had pushed back from his embrace so that she could see the milk chocolate for herself and determine whether these words were true. However, Clover did not completely let go of her brother just yet, afraid that he might somehow slip through her fingers and escape to the wind like the smoke from her precious joint.


<style>
.clover-122 .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.clover-122 p {padding:2px 20px; margin:0px; text-indent:35px;}
.clover-122 b {color:#0F0A02; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.clover-122 {background-color:#E0D2BC; background-image:url(http://sleepyglow.net/souls/gifts/2010dec/clover.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:2px solid #000000; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#9E9079; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:16px; width:450px; text-align:justify; padding:150px 0px 10px 0px; }
.clover-122-border {width:454px; border:1px solid #FFFFFF; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]
#11
[html]

<3 WC: 306


She'd been so excited at the mere presence of her beloved, albeit strange brother that it didn't register immediately for her when he said that he couldn't stay. Sage's smile faded slowly, and her laughter and bright face fell with it. No, he can't be serious! she thought. Where else would he go? They would be safer here, together. What reasons could he have for not wanting to be here? She thought about that, for a moment, and realized that maybe it was actually Daddy that he didn't want to see.


Yellow eyes fell to the ground; she hadn't wanted to think of those rumors, of that discovery and that strange, seemingly linked series of events. Sage had always refused to believe it; their beloved Father wouldn't kill his own daughter, certainly. Why would he? Frustrated and conflicted, Sage cleared her throat and turned her face back up towards Micah as China and Clover expressed their own dissatisfaction at the news he'd spoken.


"Micah," she started, her voice calm and nearly sad. "Why not?" Her question came hesitantly, almost afraid to hear the answer, the possible truth that she's managed to hide from for so long.


If he wouldn't stay here, they would need to at least convince him to stay close. After seeing him again, Sage would not want him to be so far away again. Being away from Mum and having Daddy missing was hard enough on the girl; she were growing up, sure, but that ache for family was always still there. Sage knew she had family in Inferni, of course, but it wasn't that same close-knit, shared family feeling that she'd loved about Juniper Peace. Her expression was pained, but tender, her arms limp at her sides, no longer so intensely excited. He can't leave us... she thought, Not him, too...


<style>
.sagetrippyhippie .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.sagetrippyhippie p {padding:2px 30px; margin:0px; text-indent:35px;}
.sagetrippyhippie b {color:#AF7817; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.sagetrippyhippie {background-image:url(http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/5007/sagetrippy.gif); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:0px solid #000000; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#000000; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:16px; width:450px; text-align:justify; padding:10px 0px 90px 0px; }
</style>[/html]
#12
[html]

Their reactions met his worrisome expectations, all one in the same yet unique: Sage sank completely, Clover only grew confused, and China resorted to denying what had already been said, as if Micah had been joking the second such words had left his mouth. She laughed a little, finding humor in her desperate denial, but why did they worry so? Micah had been separated from all three for some time, not to mention was the black sheep when they were together. What did they care if he broke away from them again?


As they each spoke and asked him the same thing, Micah simply glared at the ground, stiff, his arms locked to his side. He hated to explain himself, hated to admit he could never dwell in the same space as his murderer of a father. Micah had hoped Razekiel was long gone, destroyed for his sins somewhere far away, but his sisters had proven to him otherwise — and forgiven their father, on top of it. He could not understand it. Did they all forget Storm Lily? The Juniper alphas? How hard their mother worked to raise them alone?


"I'm not staying," he barked, a little louder than intended. "I didn't know you guys were here, but I'm not staying. I don't like this place." It was a rather pathetic excuse, but he could not think of anything else.


A sigh. "But I won't go far."

<style>
.micah-newday .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.micah-newday p {padding:2px 14px; margin:0px; text-indent:25px;}
.micah-newday b {color:#A67C4C; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.micah-newday {background-color:#F1F1EF; background-image:url(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g210/ ... htable.png); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #DFCC9A; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#C6B694; letter-spacing:.2px; word-spacing:.2px; line-height:16px; width:479px; text-align:justify; padding:10px 0px 165px 0px; }
.micah-newday-border {width:481px; border:1px solid #383230; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]
#13
[html]

Word Count → 3+ :: c:


Her sister's echoed her horrified sentiments, although their tones differed. China had always been a little more unruly than they, a little quicker to the underflowing anger that Juniper Peace had buried deep, deep. She could feel it now, the current of burning emotions that sought breath and life within her voice. But her hippie upbringing was not for nothing, and although the accusatory tone had swelled from her, nothing more came but a deep sadness in eyes of Lapis Lazuli.


Wishing to draw strength from something, China moved to lean against Daisy's side, if the mare would allow it. There was something granite within horses, within beasts larger than herself - A connection with the Earthmother that she feared to have lost. Besides, her knees were feeling a little week, and China was reluctant to cause a further scene by collapsing here. It must have been a while since she had eaten.


A thought occurred to the silvery girl. Her brother's sharp bark brought back her wavering attention, but the desperate idea had formed, for a little more of his company at least. She could not allow him to disappear, not like Razekiel had. All thoughts of her father's mysterious abandonment in lieu of the murder of the Juniper Alphas and the suspected death of the girl known as Storm Lily had long since been buried in China's subconscious. It was how she coped, and how she survived - By never bringing those disastrous blames to the light of day. Sometimes they came to her in dreams, but the silver girl was fickle and shallow, and by daylight she could easily forget them again.


"Okay," She said bluntly, letting a deep breath hiss from between her teeth. "Okay. But you will stay a little while longer, just a little. How about we eat? A picnic or something?" She was desperate for more time with him and her sisters; more time to soak them in, more time to heal.


<style>
.china-x02-box {background-image:url(http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b47 ... asmall.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position: top center; width:146px; height:200px; float:right; margin:3px; }
.china-x02 {font-family:arial; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: left; margin:0px 25px;}
.china-x02 .ooc {font-style:italic; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:justify;}
.china-x02 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold; font-size:14px;}
.china-x02 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.china-x02 b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:-.05em;}
</style>
[/html]
#14
[html]

Word Count → 507 :: Smile

Clover did not quickly put things together like her sister had. Though she was well aware of the accusations, Clover did not want to see them as true. Their community had faced a lot of pain and suffering upon the discovery of the murders that had taken place, and the flower child could not come to terms with the fact that it was most likely her father’s doing. The circumstances were too perfect to be coincidental, but the child just could not grasp the idea that her father’s hands had ended her sister’s life. It was this part of her past that Clover often kept hidden away – so much so, that she often forgot that it had truly occurred, had memories not resurfaced every once in awhile through the form of nightmares. So when Sage voiced her question, straw yellow eyes sought Micah and his explanation. She too wanted to know exactly why he was not staying.

And it was at this moment that their embrace ended. Clover felt entirely too detached from the group, now that she was free from her brother’s arms and alone upon Daisy’s back. And yet she somehow felt comforted when China leaned into the mare’s sturdy frame; as if she could feel her sister’s energy radiate through Daisy. Micah let his arms fall to his side and Clover detected the stiffness in his limbs. Confusion was clear amongst her features – she did not like nor understand this strange mix of emotion; the thrill of her excitement tainted by the fear of rejection. She had always felt as if she had been closest of all the sisters to Micah, and it pained Clover to know he might not be here long. Already her arms were aching for his embrace once more. She couldn’t let him slip away. His arrival there was a reminder of Juniper Peace, and Clover wanted nothing more than to cling to that.

"I'm not staying." His response was less than satisfactory and Clover could feel the threatening dampness of tears amongst pale yellow. A glimmer of hope was offered, however, and Clover could not help but smile at her brother’s words. If he didn’t go far, Clover could easily see him – Daisy would be able to take her distances that would take much too long on her own. She patted the mare’s mane of white, eyes tracing the few braids that Clover had worked in herself.

At China’s words, the girl’s grin broadened. China to the rescue! "Oh please, Micah. Please, let’s all have a picnic together. It’s been so long since we’ve all been together, and I want to hear about Juniper Peace and your travels." As she said this, Clover swung a slender leg over Daisy’s broad back, and let herself slip off to the ground below. By dismounting, she hoped that she could reaffirm the fact that she was not leaving, and that she wasn’t about to let him leave either – she was serious about China’s idea. She was not about to lose another sibling.


<style>
.clover-flower {font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: justify; margin:0px 25px; background-image:url(http://anna.sleepyglow.net/images/souls ... flower.png); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding:0px 10px 30px 10px; margin:5px auto; width:500px; }
.clover-flower .ooc {font-style:italic; font-size:11px; text-align:justify; border-bottom:1px dotted #000000; margin:5px auto; width:100%;}
.clover-flower .tagline .sub {font-size:11px; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; }
.clover-flower .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold; font-style:normal;}
.clover-flower p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.clover-flower b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:-.05em;}
.clover-flower u {text-decoration:none; border-bottom:1px dotted #000000; font-style:italic; font-variantConfusedmall-caps; }
</style>
[/html]
#15
[html]

Hoooahh. Weird post! Also, I totally didn't forget about replying to this thread; nope. WC: 359


"I'm not staying," Micah stated. "I didn't know you guys were here, but I'm not staying. I don't like this place."


Is it really that bad? Sage wondered to herself. No, of course it wasn't. If the tanned hippie child could survive and even flourish in such an environment, then surely he could as well? But Sage knew that there was something else. Daddy. Micah had been the only one to so quickly accept those slanderous words thrown at their father. Murderer. Daddy couldn't be a murderer; Sage just knew it. And if she ever found out that he had been, then perhaps she would just finally explode and lose all faith. But she would not believe it. It didn't matter right now, though; Daddy wasn't even here.


"But I won't go far," Micah added with a sigh.


Sage expelled a sigh of her own, and her tense body relaxed a bit. Oh, good, then! she breathed quickly. "Well, wherever you go, I will visit often!" she said with an emphatic nod. Now that he was here, he would not be able to escape her company; Sage hoped with a grin he understood that.


China reluctantly agreed, but began requesting that the group enjoy the day together, at least. Sage's large ears perked a bit at this suggestion; she'd been getting a bit hungry herself. Eyes widened with anticipation as she watched quietly, her brother considering the options. As she dismounted, Clover weighed in, too; Juniper Peace was on her tongue, and Sage instantly became more alert. She wanted to hear news of Juniper Peace, too!


Gold eyes attended strongly to Micah, now, hoping that he would agree. Waiting until she caught his attention over her sisters' pleas, she threw in her own silent mouthed request: Come on, she whispered below her sisters, her eyes closing briefly and head nodding away. Sage's smile widened, and there was nothing about her posture or aura at that moment that said anything except: Please, stay, if only for now.


"Yes, let's do that, Micah," she finally echoed cheerily, nearly ready to march her brother away to the perfect place. She knew just the perfect one, too, if they would let her lead.



<style>
.sagetrippyhippie .ooc {font-style:italic; }
.sagetrippyhippie p {padding:2px 30px; margin:0px; text-indent:35px;}
.sagetrippyhippie b {color:#AF7817; letter-spacing:-.2px; }
.sagetrippyhippie {background-image:url(http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/5007/sagetrippy.gif); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:0px solid #000000; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#000000; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:16px; width:450px; text-align:justify; padding:10px 0px 90px 0px; }
</style>[/html]
#16
[html]

WHOOSH! Sorry, a little late. @_@


He could clearly discourage them, but all three sisters alike seemed completely incapable of full disappointment. At his words, each sunk further into their shoulders, into their own little pits of flaky, flower-filled worry and fear, but with China's encouragement rose once again, like nature's phoenixes they surely believed themselves to be, to higher spirits on the chance they remained united. He could have told them they stunk of death and blood now just as badly as the skull-tipped wasteland they called home, but he did not. He could have told them he didn't dare walk within, lest he be captured in torment by whatever disease the Lykoi possessed, whatever it was that had created his murderous father or swayed his malleable sisters... but he did not.


He was a Lykoi. He knew it. He had seen the Chaos star, carved into his father, carved into his sisters and into the land itself. He knew he was a piece of it. He knew he would be leaving more than his family behind.


"Okay, okay, fine, calm down," he said, smiling weakly. They were idiots, yes, but they were his sisters. They were all he had left, and he loved them with every ounce of his being, just as he loved his mother wherever she may be. "But I don't eat leaves and dirt like the Junipers anymore. Please tell me you've gotten more appetite since then." He stepped back, holding out his arm to motion at the land behind him, rather than the land before — a deliberate motion to expose his unwillingness to follow them into the territory.

<style>
.micahtearitdownooc {font-style:italic; color:#000000;}
.micahtearitdown p {padding:0px 20px 5px 20px; margin:0px; text-indent:35px;}
.micahtearitdown b {color:#B5DCEF; text-shadow: 0.0em 0.0em 0.1em #332138; letter-spacing:-.2px;}
.micahtearitdown {font-family: georgia; font-size:12px; color:#223D56; letter-spacing:.2px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:15px; text-align: justify; margin:0px auto; margin:5px auto; width:450px;}
.micahtearitdowninner{background-color:#59A6D0; background-image:url(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g210/ ... table3.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding:150px 0px 10px 0px; border:1px solid #223D56; width:450px; border-radius:10px; -moz-border-radius:10px; -webkit-border-radius:10px; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]
#17
[html]

Word Count → 3+ :: oh hi there, alaine is crusty. revive or archive?


The three sisters seemed to bind together, as perhaps they always would. Many times had the girls been separated, and many times had they found their way back to one another again. It seemed as if the three were magnets, circling and straying, but never able to resist the pull to their family - The toxic pull toward the blood-soaked kingdom of the Lykoi. Micah had always been a little different from that, a little detached. Maybe his clever, disillusioned mind had seen what the three bewitched Faes had not; The world was a dark place, a truly terrible place.


China was coming to realize such a fact, much faster than her sweet hippie brain could cope with. The nightmares were more frequent, and sometimes she refused sleep at all in fear of them, clinging to dusk and dawn with a smoldering joint and wide blue eyes. At such times, she felt alone - So horrible, hollowly alone. But then the sun would rise again, and her sisters would be with her, and together it seemed they could forget the terrors that waited behind closed lids. Razekiel, the madman. Razekiel, the murderer.


Clover and Sage were quick to echo her suggestion. Perhaps, together, their pleas would be enough to finally sway their handsome vagabond brother - It seemed so, for a moment later he relented. A bright smile swept away all traces of sadness and fear, lighting China's pretty doll face with a similar beauty to that of the sibling's mother. Eagerly shifting her slim weight from foot to foot, the hippie damsel released a soft whine of excitement beneath the flow of Micah's words. "Oh, yes, yes," She chattered, almost bossily, "You can eat meat, Micah Sunrise, if you can catch it." The silvery girl paused thoughtfully a moment, trying to think of some place where fishing or fowl-hunting might be possible.


<style>
.china-x02-box {background-image:url(http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b47 ... asmall.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position: top center; width:146px; height:200px; float:right; margin:3px; }
.china-x02 {font-family:arial; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: left; margin:0px 25px;}
.china-x02 .ooc {font-style:italic; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:justify;}
.china-x02 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold; font-size:14px;}
.china-x02 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.china-x02 b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:-.05em;}
</style>
[/html]


Forum Jump: