dontleaflily - Tumblr blog

[dontleaflily]

All her life, Lily had heard the words You weren't born to be a fighter over and over again, growing up. She'd been on the verge of being kicked out of her family's home -- for being too small, too weak; even though she's always been angry. This, this is different. This is a You can do it instead of You can't, and still. She's not the strongest, and not the tallest -- but she's quick.

That's cute. Little wolf. Lily snorts.

Seconds later, the woman uses the full weight of her own body to push the older woman back, her shoulder crashing into her chest. Taking her Alpha's words as a personal challenge, Lily lets her senses take over -- eyes analyzing every single movement, her own body moving quicker than that of a human would -- then grabs her right arm and her shirt in an attempt to throw her to the ground.

The solid sound of the body hitting the ground minutes before was all that resonated in her mind as she stands almost lazily. Enjoying the few minutes in which rage ruled and the change was involuntary. A natural act for them, as easy as breathing.

Aaren can't help but roll her eyes at the apology. The word slipping past her without much care, if it wasn't because she had agreed to train Lily, she'd be storming out of here just at the word alone.

A rough scoff leaves their lips and there's actual amusement shining in her eyes. "You don't want to hurt me?." She laughs, shaking her head as she eyes the position. "That's cute."

Moving just a couple steps closer, she doesn't bother taking a fighting stance, only looks at Lily half assessing before humming. "Tell your inner wolf your fucking Alpha wants you to fight her." Raising her chin, she invites her to move first, do something. "Come on little wolf, you can do better than this."

[dontleaflily]

Beer hits her stomach, cold fluid meeting her flaming hot skin, but Lily barely winces. She just keeps staring, eyes full of fire, full of rage, and neither falters. Then plastic drops to the ground and Lily is shown empty palms.

"Lily what.", she barks back, angry again, "Don't fucking touch me." His hands are ripped off her shoulders and she finally takes a step back, "What do you mean, if I really want to do this here? Now do I get choices, huh? But a few years ago, when Sam fucked off into oblivion, and everyone fucking laughed at me, pitied me too, where were my choices? Where were you?"

Lily takes a step back forward, burning him down with the look in her eyes, "You followed him like a stupid dog with your stupid tail between your legs, and now all you have to say is 'I dunno'? Look. I've been trying to understand." There's no more yelling, with her voice just sharp now; "I've been trying to find a reason, to get behind it. To make some sense of them running away."

Pause.

"I was left stuck like in a goldfish bowl. For everyone to point at." In a simply motion, Lily rips the necklace with the engagement ring off, once again taking a step back, just to throw it at his chest hard. "Just for you to offer me a fucking beer."

It's a fight or flight instinct that wanted to kick in, and Wyatt was struggling. He'd been running, and had been content with running, when someone else was running with him. But as his back slammed into sheeted metal and his lips curled in a snarl, echoing the growl of the wolf in front of him, his hands tightened. Around the plastic outer of a full cup that crushed in his grip — and what a waste of precious booze — and the toss of the other to free up his dominant hand.

But his expression didn't match his behaviour in the slightest. No, his eyes were blown wide in panic, with the blue hue darting between Lily's. Unsure which eye to settle his attention on, since they were equally vengeful. And his lips were parted to draw air between them as though he couldn't draw in enough air through his nose to fill his lungs fast enough.

He didn't speak. He couldn't speak. What the fuck was he meant to say? Swallow his pride, own up to a mistake, in the heat of her scathing review of his character? Fuck no.

A hand dropped the crumpled plastic to free both, instead tucking his elbows to his chest and holding his palms face-out. A truce. Fighting the urge to bite back. And it would be so fucking easy to open old wounds and call out hypocrisy.

"Lily," he started, his voice low and tone apprehensive. But he was cut short by the waiver in her voice and the way his heart sunk to the pit of his stomach. Not in pity. But with guilt.

Cautiously, broad palms came to rest against her shoulders. Long fingers splayed out against her skin softly. A gentle hold as brows furrowed and eyes scanned her expression. Trying to make sense of conflicting thoughts, and wanting so desperately to piece together the right words to say in her onslaught of questions.

"I dunno." Simple, and sincere, and he'd bet his left fucking lung it wasn't what she wanted to hear. "You really wanna do this here?"

[dontleaflily]

"Oh no way, after Freddie Mercury? That's so cool. You're so cool, Freddie, do you hear that?" Fingers full of scars gently pet the dog's fur wherever he seems to like it most.

Lily looks up when the man comes closer, and she lets one hand rest on Freddie's back as she lifts the over to shake his hand. "Thank you.", she answers as she slowly gets up from the ground, wiping the loose fur onto her pants and off her hands. "I was just going for a run. That's what I needed. But it's kind that you offer."

She pauses, then curiosity wins, "You're not mad at me for being here, and offered me help.", she points out, "Why? I know at least five Warwicks that would have strangled me by now, had I been a stranger in our territory."

He nods. "Fr...Freddie. She's... named after... Freddie M... Mercury." Ash explains. The pack leader smiles as she gives the dog her attention - something the pup loves more than anything.

A Warwick wolf... needing a break. He wonders if 'family' means her pack. He doesn't pry, of course. Simply nods. "Ash... Alpha of... Harford." Ash walks a few easy steps over to her, holding out a rough, broad hand. "You... can stay as l-long... as you like." Ash doesn't like to act as if he owns the woods, even if it is technically Harford territory. Would he be angry if a human, or a witch, was roaming the same place? Of course not.

"...Do you... need anything, then?"

[dontleaflily]

"Maybe you could also just pay them.", Lily points out, "Use your little fortunes to get a big load of money from tourists, or whatnot. Is that allowed?" She wasn't quite sure if the use of actual magic was, but there was always the option of faking. "You could work some hours in my store. We need someone to help on Mondays, when new stock comes in. Or you could play delivery driver." She shrugs, "If that helps you out."

Then, Lily sniffs in his direction, "Are you okay? You look like you're a little wonky. Please don't faint on me here, yeah?" Eyebrows furrowed, the wolf looks around, "I think curses could be quite effective, actually. You could threaten to do so. Works also. Maybe."

"That'd be plenty nicer than the crap that usually comes out of me." Hector rolled his eyes. The headache was growing, pulsating through his skull, right down into his neck. It had that migraine kind of aura that Hector just knew was bad news and was making him spacey, distracted. At this rate, Lily was going to end up with a fortune whether she wanted one or not. The advil wasn't taking the edge off and Hector could feel his pulse increasing, a thin sheen of sweat settling over his skin. He'd have popped a prescription Xanax (for the anxiety), but he'd left them at home.

He started to amble in the direction of his house. Ideally, he'd like to have been moving a little faster, but increasing his speed was only making him nauseous. "Oh, you know. Goons. The usual pay up routine. I could curse 'em but then what's the fucking point, y'know." Curses were not Hector's forte. Most magics weren't. As much as he hated it, augury was all he was good for. "'Sides I'd just find new people to be in debt with."

[dontleaflily]

"It needs some alterations.", Lily points out, carefully pinching the fabric at her waist, "Could be a little tighter, unless you want it a little more loose." She grabs a few needles to pin it down and show it to her, "Like this? Or like it was before?" Humming, Lily waits for her to answer, before searching through the rolls of fabric, finding a color that comes close to what she's envisioned. She lets it unroll partially and carefully holds it so Lara can see what it looks like against her skin.

"I was thinking a square neckline, and then some pearls sewn onto said neckline. With maybe a dark blue border? We could also do a color gradient, with the bottom of the dress being a really dark blue? Like the night sky?"

"Hey, ouch." Lara can't help but stick her tongue out mockingly just for a second and follows behind the tailor, hands clasped behind her back as they meander towards the back. The chaos is expected, and she makes no comment on it - if anything, she'd expected it to be a little bit worse.

Still, she wastes no time in removing her clothing to try on the new dress - taking her time, instead of using her speed to make sure that the dress is handled gently and with care. It's the least she can do. Once done, she turns a little and gives a hum of approval. "Hot damn, baby, you did it again." She runs her hands down the fabric and lets out a soft sigh.

"Pearls and midnight blue? Speaking my language." She turns once more. "Free reign on whatever you think I'd look good in, honestly. I trust you."

[dontleaflily]

*/ @huntedarte near a river, in the afternoon

"I hate fish.", Lily confirms the moment she touches one with her bare hands, "Oh god, I hate this so much." While she might like the feeling of walking through streams and rivers, the fish that come with it have never quite been her friend. She's collecting edible plants from the riverbank, her trousers rolled up as she searches through the water for what she wants to take with. It's clear, and it's a sunny, warm day -- "You should come in.", she offers to Arte.

It's quite a random acquaintances -- and at fault is her old car. Opposed to some other Warwicks, Lily finds befriending other wolves from other packs quite easy, and Arte is one of them -- so she's invited them out to accompany her, "But if you'd rather like to hunt, that's a thing we could do, too."

[dontleaflily]

*/ @vicenterosas at the Summerfest

The sun has set, and Lily is inevitably confronted with masses of newly arrived vampires. Some familiar, some not so much. She tries her best to stick to the friends she came with, but after a while, she looses them in the crowd. There's too many scents spread out all over the place to track them down by that, so Lily finds herself wandering back to the bar, hoping to find them there, waiting.

And there is a familiar shape she can make out, a familiar smell, too, and Lily figures it's her friends new boyfriend, so she places her hand on his shoulder and waits for him to turn around, "Hey, why did you just run off? Where did the others g- oh."

It's neither her friend's boyfriend, nor someone else she really knows -- it's the mechanic that repaired her car last week. Which, wow. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else."

[dontleaflily]

*/ @rimedancer at the Summerfest

She's seen her before, in the parklands. Hidden away in the bushes, on trees, close to the ground, transitioned into her wolf-persona, and in human form. And the question has been burning beneath her tongue for ages now, though she's never dared to ask -- have you seen traces of this person before? Of Sam before? Do you know about any bodies that were found?

Lily decides fuck it, I ask.

"Hey.", she slides in awkwardly when she sees Jennifer on her own for a moment, "I'm Lily. Can I ask you a question?"

[dontleaflily]

*/ @silvcrbite at the Summerfest

It's been a while since Lily has last come across Zahra -- she's been more around Aaren lately, going through training session after training session, in an attempt to become a better fighter. Her brother's haven't been something that could be labeled as a good trainer -- and the deep scars on her throat speak volumes. She's been gradually getting better, and still. There's something she has been hiding. A random mention, random proposal she's heard her brother make to her Dad a few days ago, something she wasn't supposed to hear -- I'll challenge for Alpha. And while Aaren might be the better fighter, Lily is still scared that his brutal and cruel ways might get the best of her.

The familiar smell of lilies wavers in with Lily's scent as she leans against the bar right next to the advisor, grin soft on her lips as she masks her trail of thoughts, "Hey Mom," she jokes, but maybe also deep down wishes it to be real, "Are you going to buy me a drink or what?"

[dontleaflily]

The strut and the hair flip made Lily grin, which she tried to hide beneath a stern gaze -- but it wavered as the witch started to speak, and Lily laughed softly. "God, you're an idiot." Not quite. Blair had played a big part in helping Lily live through her youth. There had been many witches and vampires and whatnot used to provoke her parents, used to get a reaction out of them, but Blair had been different. Blair had stuck around a little longer than it had been meant to be. While that now laid years in the past, there was still enough friendly love leftover in Lily's heart.

"A small problem? What's up?", she asked, patiently waiting for Blair to explain her issue. "It ripped?" Carefully, the tailor took the shirt out of the back, inspecting the shreds, tracing them down with her fingers. "Yeah, I can fix that. It might need some slight alterations, but it ripped close to the stitches. I can just hide that with some seams." Smiling softly, the wolf spread the shirt out on her desk, "I can fix it now, if you have twenty minutes to spare? Twenty minutes max. I think it'll be less." Beat, "And it'll be free for you."

Blair cradled her bag close to her chest as she pushed open the door, listening as the doorbell chimed announcing her entry. The familiar sights and smells of the shop eased the tinge of anxiety that had been fluttering in Blair’s throat all morning. Blair moved easily into the shop, making eye contact with the comforting and familiar face of Lily.  Blair made a point of strutting across the shop, mimicking the most dramatic hair toss she could, her hair just slightly too short to make it truly effective. as she came to a stop in front of the werewolf Blair struck a dramatic pose “It’ll match my glimmering purple personality” she said with an easy grin in response. 

Blair’s nose wrinkled slightly in disappointment as she processed what she just said. “Wait hold on, that sounded stupid give me a second, I can think of something better”  tapping her chin for a moment before shaking her head with a roll of her eyes. “No I can’t, we’re just gonna have to roll with stupid today.”  Blair let the performative movements she had entered in the shop with drop as she set the bag on the counter. Leaning her weight onto the counter as well  “while I wish this was an entirely for pleasure visit. I was actually hoping you’d be able to help me out with a small problem.” 

Blair paused slightly, looking down at her hands, toying with the rings on her fingers to buy herself a moment to work up the words she needed to say. She hated the feeling of embarrassment bubbling up from her chest.  “I have this old flannel, it was my pops, and I went to take it out of the closet this morning and it caught on something and kind of ripped. I was hoping you’d be able to help me fix it up?”  Blair looked back up at Lily, putting on her best pouting face. The truth was Blair trusted Lily. She wouldn’t have done it to just anyone to help with this. The small bits of her fathers that Blair managed to hold on too meant the world to her. The fact one of the shirts had ripped, was devastating to Blair.

[dontleaflily]

Lily knew that she was meant to tell Aaren -- and she was going to, that she was sure of. Just not now, just not yet. Ultimately, she carried a fear inside her heart: being kicked out off the pack in dishonor, in betrayal. Cruelly rejected and left to find a different home. "I know.", Lily answers, "I know you couldn't. It's okay." Taking a deep breath of his smell in, she just stays like this -- she knows the consequences of coming back home with his scent stuck to her clothes, which means a trip through the river on the way back. If there's one thing she doesn't want to be called, then it's traitor.

"Sam left.", she then adds, referring to her fiancé, "They ran away, suddenly. Out of nowhere. Without further notice. I think my brothers played their part in it."

Arther stared at Lily for a few quiet moments, a dangerous flicker in his one eye when she said her brother's name. Fucking Tyen....that was a brat that Arther was always itching to put in his place. That pup was so arrogant and sure of himself. And of course he would think he would be strong enough for Alpha. God he hoped they stomped him into the fucking ground. The elder was quiet as she leaned forward, a hand cupping the back of her head and holding him close with a soft hum. "I'm sorry doll...I couldnt come back. I am sorry..."

[dontleaflily]

"The Warwicks are my pack. They consist out of born werewolves only.", Lily explains. "In this town, the four main packs include the Ceberus, the Harfords, and Eventides. And again, the Warwicks. There's loners, and smaller packs." She doesn't judge him for not knowing -- because how would he?

"Being a werwolf is not a disease.", Lily finds herself defending, "It's a tweak, a change in DNA. There's not going to be a cure.", she points out, "I hope you've given that hope up immediately." Pausing her work on the shirt, Lily looks at him instead, furrowing her eyebrows, seemingly thinking. "It's not my job, because you're not in my pack, I know. But if you need help with anything. Accepting it. During full moon. Help with whatever it is, regarding your new life. You can always reach out to me. I hated it once, too, you know? Desperately at that. You can come to terms with it. There's always a way."

Taliesin paused, tipped his head sideways, thinking. Then, slowly, he said "What's a Warwick?" Based on context, he'd gathered that Lily was one and he wasn't, but he honestly wasn't sure what it meant. Another pack? Another kind of wolf? He'd been considering himself next to some of the other wolves in the pack and he didn't quite look like the others, didn't exactly look like a native species. Which, in fairness, he supposed he wasn't.

He supposed that Ash was meant to be teaching him these things, but Ash had many responsibilities, of which Taliesin was only one, and Taliesin was not a very good student. In fact he'd mostly stuck his fingers in his ears. Learning all these details felt too much like acquiescing to the bite.

"I didn't really intend to join a pack. I came here with Ash's name and motel address on a bit of paper." That was all Chuck had provided him with, other than a couple of thousand dollars to see him through. "I thought I was coming for a cure."

[dontleaflily]

Ash waves it off, and Lily's scent turns less sour. It reveals the reason for her name given at birth, as the smell of lilies seeps through, minimal but still there. Sometimes, Lily questions how her mother has given her such a lovingly thought through name, being the person she is.

"Freddie?", Lily repeats as her knees slowly hit the ground, "Hey, Freddie. Oh god, you're so sweet. I might steal you." Soft laughs leave her lips as she pets the smallest of the four, fingers gently caressing his fur. She stays like this for a moment, before looking back up at Ash -- "I'm Lily.", she introduces herself, "Warwick.", she adds just to be sure. She doesn't look like it, really -- and she's toyed with the thought of leaving.

"I just needed a break from my family.", she gives as an explanation for why she's ran so far off, "I'll be gone before you even know."

Ash shakes his head. He's not exactly worried about it, and waves off the apology. Clearly she'd been trying to help, and there's far worse things he could find stalking around in the forest anyways.

Perhaps it isn't her territory - he can smell that she's kin, but knows she's not one of his own. Still, Ash doesn't go looking for trouble, and many would say he's probably one of the more agreeable pack leaders in Port Leiry. Maybe it's his experience, or how he manages his pack like a close family. Who knows.

"Ah. You... can pet them, they're... friendly." As if on cue, Freddie, the puppy of the four, is sniffing around closer to her and looks curiously up at her. "That's... Freddie." He grins, taking a few steps closer to make sure Freddie doesn't go too far, and only goes to Lily.

[dontleaflily]

Wyatt chooses to ignore the wolf gnawing at him to be Warwick -- and Lily, Lily doesn't.

For a woman standing at a height of 5'2, her hands are surprisingly strong when they grip his hand to pull him with, just to hit his shoulders and push him back against the more secluded back of a trailer a few seconds later. The growl that rises in her throat is loud, just like her eyes darkening and pupils blowing out is obvious. Her teeth start to dig into her tongue, and she can feel her bones cracking gently, ready to let the wolf take over.

"You run away like a dog, with your tail between your legs, and all you can do is offer me a beer?" She has to snarl far up in his direction, "You should thank God now every night for making you as tall as a fucking tree, so that I can't just rip your fucking throat open right here, right now." Speaking of throat. Her's features a new set of scars -- deep, long, claw marks, stretched from skin to collarbone, and a necklace -- running down to the engagement ring once worn on her finger.

"Got anything else to say, asshole?, Lily keeps yelling, "Or more beer to offer? Where the fuck are they?", she asks, and then her voice cracks and breaks, and she feels her eyes starting to burn terribly, which she just gulps down. Then, much quieter, much calmer, much more broken, "Why did they leave?"

closed starter for @dontleaflily where: tidal pavillion when: sunset

It's not that he didn't expect something like this to happen. He just didn't expect it to happen so soon. Thought he could keep avoiding Warwick wolves for maybe a month or two longer. Long enough to find himself a comfortable place to stay that didn't have him surfing couches and making himself a home out of Remi's spare bedroom. Maybe even slot himself into a pack that would take him, since he doubted the Warwicks would take him back in.

Or maybe they looked fondly on the small riot he'd incited, sticking his nose between the couple and defending one side over the other. The wrong side, as it would turn out.

He'd be lying to himself if he hadn't fantasised about having a laugh over it with Lily. Somewhere down the line, in the far off future probably, where she'd mock his poor judgement of character and he'd mock her right back. But that fantasy was far from his mind in that moment.

Instead, he could hear the thump of his heart in his ears like a deafening omen. Could feel the bristle of hairs at the back of his neck and up his arms standing on end. Could feel the wolf stirring, wanting to snap teeth and snarl at the girl in warning — the Warwick way.

But he didn't. His hands were full, double-parked with beers, and there were a sea of people navigating around the six-foot-three-idiot staring at the girl as if she were a wraith coming to claim his soul. Wide-eyed, parted lips, breathing through his fucking mouth. Say something. Anything, so he didn't have to worry about his throat being ripped out for staring.

"Umm."

Okay, not that. And the way the corner of his lips quirked up in a sheepish smile didn't help his case. He held one of the beers towards her as a... peace offering, maybe? He wasn't really sure. Rarely was the wolf lost for words, but he couldn't decipher many thoughts when all the blood in his body was in his head and pounding in his ears.

[dontleaflily]

*/ @tenderrage-remi in the outskirts of the town

Her tire hits a big, fat rock on the street she hasn't paid attention to, and her car wavers on the street. She hears the tire rip, and Lily releases a noise of agony. There's no way she can fix that, in the dark, all alone. She hates cars, and everything technical that comes with it. She remembers her Dad teaching her, remembers how to do it. She just really doesn't want to, alone here, in the dark. Where thousands of hunters could hide, and whatever else is out there.

"No.", Lily whines as she pulls the keys out and pushes them into her pocket, searching for a flashlight in the glove compartment, pulling it out and taking it with in case her eyes aren't enough in the dark. "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hate fucking cars." She's a tailor, not a mechanic. Weary fingers search the tire for the hole, and Lily just leans her head against the ice cold metal. "God, I wish I wasn't fucking alone."

Careful what you wish for, Lily.

[dontleaflily]

While Arther smells different, he also still smells the same. Most precisely, he smells like family. It's hard to let go, but when familiar hands wrap around her face -- rough, but warm. They angle her face differently, revealing the line of scars on her throat, lining up to her neck -- they used to be deep, and the lines are nowhere near straight; it's clear they were ripped in slow. The nickname, the question -- they make her voice crack as she answers. "Tyen." Tyendinaga -- the oldest of the three Leaf siblings, her oldest brother. Had there been any consequences? Of course not.

"He wants to challenge for Alpha.", she adds, before leaning her head against his chest, taking deep breaths, "I missed you so much.", she admits, "You were my family, and then you were just gone." Shaking her head, the werwolf takes a few deep breaths.

Strong arms wrapped around the woman as she closed the gap and hugged him, the wolf returning the hug while shoving his face into her hair and closing his one eye tightly. He had a lot of feelings...smelling the pack he had given so much to only to be kicked out when he needed them most, being isolated from those he considered family, the scent of the young woman he considered a daughter....but right now he just wanted to milk this moment for all he could.

"I know doll...its ok." he stated softly, rubbing her back gently. "They are fuckers like that." he stated sadly, pulling away a little to cup her face in calloused hands. His brow furrowed at her question, a little more distracted at the new scars on her. He angled her head up, his eye getting hard. "Who did that to ya?" He asked, voice growling.

[dontleaflily]

There's no sign of rejection -- at least not yet, and Lily takes it as her call to close the gap in between them and wrap her arms around his waist in a tight hug, her ear pressed against his chest (the way she likes it, so she can listen to the other person's heartbeat). It's a rare sight -- Lily hugging someone, and she can't quite remember hugging Arther. (Maybe once, after she had told him about the proposal -- as a massive thank you, for how far he's pushed her.)

Now, was it all for nothing?

"I really thought you were dead.", Lily admits, not quite letting go of him yet, "They really made me believe it." It's hard to grasp, this moment, and when she slowly lets go of him, she bites back a mass of tears, collected over the years, about multiple smaller and bigger occasions she hadn't been able to complain to him about.

"Are you okay?", she asks, soft and warm hands on his shoulders, gaze worried, "Are you okay?"

Arther moved through the territory boundary, the walk familiar but also different. he usually was on the other side. He remembered as a pup he hated doing territory walks...he felt it was boring. But now, older and grizzled? Arther enjoyed the quiet. Just listening to the smallest changes, the soft movements through the world and what scent flowed on the wind. And today, judging by the scent he caught, he would have company he knew. Arther sighed softly, standing still to let Lily get closer. He haven't seen her in years...not since he had been kicked out of the pack. She was a tough bitch. And a smart one. He helped her when he could, soon viewing her akin to something like a daughter (though he would never admit that). So as he stood there, waiting for Lily to show her face, he wandered...would she want to see him? Hell was he even ready to see a face he trusted from his past? Arther lifted his chin a little, trying to have a hard wall up when Lily's voice cracked. His scarred brow furrowed, catching the new scars on her skin as well....and the lack of a band on her finger. He snorted softly, rolling his one eye. "Course they fuckin said I died..." He growled, shaking his head a little. The Warwick pack would never admit why they kicked people out...rather just pretend they were dead. Arther shook his head, stepping closer to the other. "Nah dont do that. Ya did nothin wrong doll." He offered gently, eye dancing with a softness he was trying to hide.