For Mel :3 Arachnea’s revenge! I hope it’s cool that Maggie’s headed towards Anathema and in between our other thread I’ll just have her meet a random person from Anathema who tells her Larkspur left, but for now, she’s heading towards the caves.
She finally got the courage to run.
Magnolia had found an abandoned satchel in the Kingdom early in the morning, and stuffed all her belongings into it. She had looked for Niro, but he wasn’t home. The bitter chevalier decided against finding Amaranth, knowing she would raise the alarm for her father. Magnolia was grown up now, and had made up her mind to leave. Niro would worry, of course, but she had to find a way to let him know she was leaving. Reaching into her satchel, the silver girl put one of her beloved necklaces at the entrance to Niro’s home. It was a simple silver chain with a black stone on it. It was fitting for Niro as a parting gift from his daughter.
And with that, she girl had taken off. Still nervous to shift, the young girl had stayed four-legged form for the journey. She had no idea where she was going, so long as it was out of the Kingdom. The memory of the caves still stuck with her like a parasite, filling her mind with false hope of belonging. Larkspur had stressed that nothing but family mattered. She had met his family and felt right at home. Though he was a faint memory now, his act of kindness towards her was what kept her going. She hoped to see him again and find somewhere pleasant she could reinvent herself.
The Kingdom was far behind her after running for what seemed like hours. Her athletic build helped her as she kept on running, making various stops for water. Hours and hours passed as she found herself on the same trail she had ran when she met her dark savior back in February. The sun finally fell as the girl slowed to a stop, exhausted. She had no idea where she was, but wasn’t terribly afraid. She was going to set off somewhere new, somewhere where no one knew her. The thought made the mohawked girl shiver in excitement.
Work on the Salsola barn had begun, but it was a slow process. Larkspur lacked tools, and this had driven him to travel to Halifax. As much as he wished to take his horse, she was too-far into her pregnancy to ride. Of course, he had traveled further on his own legs and did not forget himself capable of such a thing. He had made decent time, traveling between dusk and dawn, and slept lightly once he had arrived. His search was prolonged but fruitful—a slightly rusted axe, hammer, and several still-sealed containers of nails were found and stuffed into a bag that Rowan had fashioned. Despite her inability to do any manual labor, she had proved herself useful.
Once loaded, he had done his best to affix the strap so it would remain taunt during his return. It was a clever contraption his slave had sewn; by placing his arms through two loops and running a third across his chest, he was able to drop to four legs. Even after the shift back to his lupus form, Larkspur managed to tighten these straps by craning his neck to tug on leather looped through metal rings. Please by the usefulness of the girl’s bag, he intended to reward her once he returned.
The return journey was only slightly hindered by his supplies, but once he adapted to the weight of the bag and the way it fell against his sides, he found himself ignoring it. Larkspur was a powerful animal and while not fast, he contained the incredible endurance of his breed. It took several long hours before he made it close to home, but this didn’t bother him. He preferred Salsola’s positioning. In the darkness, he traveled with greater ease—the cool air and moonlight kept his dark pelt from roasting, and he avoided pack-lands with the stealth granted to him by his night-god.
A familiar scent finally broke through this mediation of walk, rest, walk, walk, and it was with some surprise the now older form of a child he had rescued in the depths of winter came into view. She was alone, and once again, very far from home. He did not slow his approach, emerging from the shadows like some wraith born of shadow and flame. “Another one of yer adventures?” Rumbled the accented voice; his speech had become clearer in the past few weeks, but still carried the distinct German-tinted mountain twang. The depth of his tone perhaps suited him more than this rough and ineloquent thing.
Magnolia had found a fresh water source and the teenager drank heartily, letting the cool water splash down her front as she lapped up the river. She had ran more than 13 hours today and was intent on resting up for another long day tomorrow. As she was settling down and scoping out a potential area to sleep, the wind threw a scent across her entire face that stunned her for a moment. It was her dark savior! Impeccable timing.
This time, however, he was alone. The teenager whipped around, tail wagging in excitement. His presence was detected despite his body being obscured by distance. The man called out, and Magnolia whipped around to respond to him. She exhaustedly plodded closer to where he stood. “I’m leaving, this time for good. I don't know where i'm headed, but all I know is that I want some serious distance between the kingdom and myself,” she stated simply, tired eyes looking up at the man she so dearly respected.
Larkspur’s own travels had been long, but he was used to such things. In time he would rest, but he desired to pass the coyote’s territory before this happened. Orange eyes studied her now wiry frame, seeing the exhaustion in her step. A fond smile broke across his face as she approached, odd for such a brutal man, but he had fallen into the role of father and found it welcome. The girl reminded him of himself in a small way; once he too had considered running. It would be so like the night-god whose color he wore to do so.
“Take it easy,” he said, settling to his haunches so she might rest. “Yer pretty far as is. If anyone was gonna come after ya they’da done so by now, right?” Simple logic from a simple man. The Khalif would have chased him, and chased him like a dog. Of course, he had a price on his head—she was simply a child who had no reason to be sought after if her stories about her parents were true.
While the last Monroe girl was in good health in the Kingdom, she felt as if she didn’t deserve the food she was given. In the past week or so Magnolia had eaten very little and had caught very little food herself. Now she was exhausted and anxious and had indeed looked thinner than usual. And after a full day of running, she was surprised she could keep her dainty eyelids open. The man seemed to almost order her to calm down, which irritated the teenager but she was too exhausted to let it show. Silver ears clung to her head, brilliant green eyes averted in embarrassment. His words sent heat to her cheeks as she listened to his well-intended lecture.
With a low voice she responded to him after a few moments. “I was fully intending on resting for the night,” she said quietly, eyes still downcast reminiscent of a puppy that did something wrong. “I just… want to get out of here for good. I’m an adult now, I can do what I want,” as those last few words were spoken the girl proceeded to inject a little more confidence into what she was saying. She was headstrong, after all, and determined to not turn around and go back.
She was haughty, in her subtle way, and he admired her for this. Pride was all many creatures had in the world, and as long as she kept that, she would survive. Stubbornness was equally as important—that was, after all, how he had survived four years and four fires that screamed his name. He tilted his head slightly, eyeing the girl with silent praise.
“Yes, but yer probably best not stayin’ on yer own too long,” he warned her gently. “I did for a while and it was hard livin’.” He did not warn her about the monsters of the unfamiliar world, the men like those Rowan had fretted over in her stories about travel from the land she called Europe. It would do not good for him to frighten the child yet, so he held back this information.
Magnolia would never admit it, but Larkspur was one of the few beings in the world that actually gave her advice she paid attention to. She was too stubborn to ever talk to Niro about anything important, or anyone else in her life for that matter. But for some reason, the dark man presented some sort of fatherly aura to her and it was a force she couldn’t ignore. His presence shook her young bones and Magnolia found herself fascinated by what he had to say, as much as she tried to hide her opinion of the man before her.
“But… I can make it out on my own,” the stubborn teenager said quietly, unsure of how to react to Larkspur’s words. “I lived by myself pretty much every day in the kingdom because I didn’t want to be around my dad,” The young girl sighed softly before continuing on. This made her uncomfortable. “When my mom dropped me off with him I just kind of… kept to myself,” It was the truth, after all. She just spent her days murdering butterflies with Elvira and collecting necklaces that caught her fancy. Despite these odd activities she was surprisingly well adjusted for a girl who had raised herself for most of her puppyhood.
Word Count: -- ● We could start wrapping this up so she could go to AT and then come find Lark again? And he'll explain the way to go about joining and what-not to her. :>
Certainly, she might be able to survive on her own. She had done so before. Larkspur’s eyes twinkled with the knowing of a man who had been in that place before. While possible, it was not something he would wish on another. Especially a naïve girl who had little knowledge of the outside world. “Yeah, I’m sure y’could,” he agreed, easing her with gentle words. Flicking his ears at a silent whisper, the dark wolf shifted his weight.
“I would advise ya t’think about findin’ a pack. Yer gonna be better off with a real family than the one y’left.” All this simple advice was the base of the Arbiter’s belief. He considered speak to her about Salsola, but recalled both Sirius and Eris’ warnings about outsiders. For this reason alone his tongue remained silent on the matter, though he now began to think how best to send the girl west.
8D Sure. So she’ll go to AT, but then when she finds out should she just head straight over to Salsola and get his attention there or something? Also, maybe one more from you then we can archive this?
Maggie was surprised at Larkspur’s words. Every time the two ran into each other, she was always running away yet he wanted her to go back to what she was trying to escape. She could have been happy at the kingdom if she chose to make it work and stay. She didn’t think about undoing all the work she had been so desperately working towards. The very thought of returning made her cringe, but it was her only family. Lolita was long gone, and Niro was inconveniently distant. She didn’t know where to go now, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell Larkspur that, either.
“I don’t have a real family,” she said simply. “My mom left Dahlia de Mai and I hate the Kingdom. I’d join a pack if they’d take me, but I don’t know where,” At this rate, maybe being alone was the way to go. “Maybe someday,” she shrugged. Maggie hesitated for a moment, considering asking about the caves… But she wasn’t ready for that yet. She was going to join Anathema with Undertaker, but going there without him would hurt like hell.
