[ P ] Superstitious

Datura














Days had passed by painfully slow, and finally, the lost girl had stopped her crying. Datura was still adjusting — to her new name, her new family. It didn’t seem quite right; her young mind couldn’t make sense of it. Mother had promised them there were others — mostly unimportant (the boys), but with one new sister called Larkspur. Rhiannon spoke proudly of the fiery little girl, who Datura would meet.


The child was by herself today, though she didn’t stray far. She mostly stayed to herself, when she was allowed to, and spoke very little. The name that had bestowed upon her was weird. In fact, the young pup couldn’t quite pronounce it correctly yet, as the letter R remained illusive. But Mother encouraged her, with patience and firm insistence, to keep trying. No other name had ever existed for the pup. She had always been Datura. Maybe the rest of it had all been a dream, one that she had woken up from and now, everything was different.


She heard a strange noise, and twin ears of ivory hue swiveled in the direction of the sound. Or was a sort of, sort of like a frog she had known before… unless that was all made up, too.


Datura was surprised when her cautious steps led her to a big, black bird, perched upon a rotting log in the bright sunshine. It was a corvid with its head tilting back. The pup wondered what the bird was thinking about, or what any bird might think about.


Curiously, she peeked her head out from behind a tree trunk. The crow was black as coal, but it also seemed to gleam in the sunlight, shining somehow despite the darkness of its feathers. The pup dared to take a few tentative steps closer to the corvid, careful not to scare it off. ”Hi.” Her voice was quiet as a whisper as she tried to greet the winged creature where it stood.



@Larkspur

template by bean

Wretched Gods
Divine Fools

The tiny white runt had emerged from one of her her many hiding places. Not that they were very good...Larkspur knew all of the nooks and crannies she tucked herself into. She had observed her for days, keeping herself at a distance while she attempted to calculated what exactly had inspired Rhiannon to lure this one back to the Coven. She'd have to find out for herself, but first...the pup would have to show herself.

What better way to lure her out than to appeal to the girl's curiosity via a particular corvid. Lark had crouched herself out of sight in the undergrowth, watching...waiting...until, as expected, a small, frail looking thing approached the thing with feathers. She smirked, slowly pressing forward through the undergrowth that tangled in her fur until she became visible from behind her corvid. “Hello, Little Mousey..." She greeted with a twisted grin as she stalked forward slowly, trying not to spook the thing. “Are you done with your sniveling? What ugly noises you were making...it hurt my ears..."

Tag You're It
@Datura

"The familiar taste of poison."

Datura

The pup held her breath as she waited to see how the dark bird would respond to her greeting – only the voice that responded was not that of a corvid, and the sudden sound caused the girl to jump visibly with surprise as she lurched backward, sights wide with alarm and fear. Instantly, her eyes began to water with tears, but she bit her lip to keep from crying as she found the source of the voice.


Only then did she see: It was another child, not much older or younger than Datura herself, dressed in a pelt made of embers and soot. The other’s fur had been made messy by the thorns that had been her hiding spot. “Are you done with your sniveling? What ugly noises you were making...it hurt my ears..." The darker girl grinned in a way that made Datura even more nervous. It wasn't a friendly smile, but something more sinister, something still foreign to the pale pup.


The pup’s ears pinned backward, embarrassment written across her visage, shame evident in the way she stood, with her little tail tucked beneath her. ”I –” She didn’t know what else to do but apologize to the stranger, amber eyes cast downward at her tiny forepaws. ”I – ‘m soddy.”



@Larkspur

template by bean

Wretched Gods
Divine Fools

All she had to do was appear and there were instant tears forming in the tiny pup's golden eyes. Lark's own narrowed as she studied the smaller one. She glanced over at her corvid who seemed to raise up her wings, staring at her and letting out a deep cawing noise. "Hush, Laudna...can't you see we're having a conversation?" She snapped back at the bird that withdrew a few hops, though it seemed to be agitated by the darker pup's appearance.

"Soddy?" Her nose wrinkled as the other child sniveled and removed her gaze from looking directly at her and instead down at the ground. She was quickly able to discern what exactly the girl was saying and it made her sneer. "Tch, no...you're not sorry..." Lark moved closer to her, hooking a paw beneath the chin of the other pup to force her to look up at her.

"No, you look at me. That stops today, you saying 'I'm soooooddy'..." Lark mimicked the baby in a sniveling tone and huffed in her face. "Understand?" She growled, searching tear-filled eyes and waiting for her to respond before releasing her. Lark withdrew herself away and seated herself again. "Rhiannon brought you home to us, you must be worth something..." Her brows rose, waiting for her to explain herself and when there was more silence she barked, "Well?! What is it? What is it that you bring to the Coven, little Mousey?"

Tag You're It
@Datura

"The familiar taste of poison."

Datura

”Soddy?” A disdainful look appeared on the fiery female’s features as the other child turned her gaze from the scared pup to the ground. With a sneer, the girl mocked Datura, each statement like a punch in the gut. The girl came closer and Datura had no time to move away as a paw moved to cup her chin. It took little effort on the other’s part to force Datura’s face upward again. Now, she couldn’t look away from the steely blue sights of the girl.


"Well?! What is it? What is it that you bring to the Coven, little Mousey?" Datura had no answer, for even she had no idea why she was part of his mysterious coven, or why Mother brought her and her sisters here. So much of her brief past remained elusive, the distance of her former life fading further each day. ”’m not Mousey,” she finally said in a delicate voice, summoning all of the courage that she could from deep down. ”’m Da–” But she stopped when she realized… She couldn’t even pronounce the name she had been given. A frown tugged at her lips. All she could offer was a quiet introduction: ”Day.”

In a moment of brief boldness, she dared to ask the intense fae, "Why awe you hewe?" Datura didn't know her purpose, but perhaps this strange girl had greater insight into this whole coven business.



@Larkspur

template by bean

Wretched Gods
Divine Fools

“‘m not Mousy.”

Lark's eyebrows shot upward and her eyes narrowed slowly as the runt dared correct her as though she didn't know what her true name was. A snicker curled her lips and she shook her head as a malevolent cackle shook her bones. “Can't even say your own name...ah, but, you could say Mousey just...fine..." She emphasized the last words slowly, cold blue orbs boring holes into the puny sapling of a pup.

She approached the sniveling child again, slowly...as though she were a predator toying with her food. Although she could admire the fearful girl's boldness in the moment, Lark couldn't allow it to be directed at herself. She lifted a paw, this time letting it trace the swirls of light cream fur on Datura's chest as she spoke. She started humming an ominous sounding tune behind sealed lips, before she leaned forward and whispered, “You're pitiful..."

Without warning she took the paw that rested against the other pups collar and used all of her force to shove her backwards, aiming to knock her off her feet and into the ground. “I am here to teach writhing little worms their place!” Larkspur tried to adjust herself above the smaller child to hold her down, putting all of her weight into her front paws as they pressed the pups face into the dirt. Needle like fangs went to clamp down on one of her ears, biting down hard before Lark released only her teeth and hissed at the base of her ear, “If you ever talk back to me again, I will rip your ear off! Got it, Mousey?!"

Tag You're It
@Datura

"The familiar taste of poison."

Datura

She had heard enough about her various sisters to gather enough clues. This was most certainly Larkspur, which was a name that Datura made no attempt to say, for obvious reasons! And now, Datura was beginning to see why Larkspur was a favorite of Mother’s. She was different from Datura in every way, at least from what the small child could see. Where she was timid and scared, Larkspur was dominating and fearless. In an odd way, Datura admired the other, who appeared to be everything that she was not: brave, brash, and brutal.


She kept her head low, wishing for nothing more than to be swallowed up by the earth she stood upon. Anything to be away from this pup, the vitriol in her tiny voice. When the other girl raised a paw to touch Datura, the pale child flinched. The mahogany girl hummed an unnerving melody before she commented: “You're pitiful..."


Before Datura could even begin to think of something to say, she found herself crashing into the ground when in one swift movement, Larkspur knocked her off of her paws. “I am here to teach writhing little worms their place!” A tiny face was forced into the earth by small puppy paws, and Datura cried out in fear. The sensation of sharp teeth as they found her ear brought a sharp yelp of pain. Still, Datura was helpless to stop the other from her cruelty as she seethed, “If you ever talk back to me again, I will rip your ear off! Got it, Mousey?!"


”Y– Yea–” Tears flowed, unstoppable, from the small child’s amber eyes. The tears mixed with the dirt to leave streaks of brown mud staining her pale cheeks. She was pitiful. Datura could find no way to defend herself from the cruel words and being pinned down by the other girl.


@Larkspur

template by bean

N

imue kept herself distanced from most of the coven as she was still settling in. She would often find herself in a trance-like state as she walked various pathways within the forest. A sharp cry shook her from the deeper thoughts that led her astray, returning her to the present. She whipped her head around, ears perked and swiveling in an attempt to capture the source of the sound as the fur along her spine stood on end.

What she heard was the sounds of a struggle amid fallen leaves, voices of children that she wasn't too familiar with yet, and one of them weeping. Dark, stormy eyes narrowed and she quickened her pace in the opposite direction of which she traveled. Nim has a responsibility to these pups now and she knew that sooner or later she would have to face them one way or another.

Slowing her pawsteps, she peered through the undergrowth to see the unmistakable burnt umber and crimson hues of a child revered by Rhiannon. Larkspur... Nim reminded herself and then her gaze pinpointed on another pup that was being crushed into the ground. There was no time for her to discern which of the children it was before a fury caused her to surge forward. “Larkspur!" A growl laced a guttural bark as she halted just before them. “What do you think you're doing?!"

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Wretched Gods
Divine Fools

A cackle rippled out from her throat, taking the utmost pleasure out of being the cause for Datura's tears. When she noticed the moisture causing mud to form she pressed down harder to smear the mud all over the other girl's face. There was agreement in between the smaller pup's crying and she grinned wildly. “Good! Then we are on the same page!" That didn't matter. Lark had no intentions of letting her up anytime soon. She was having far too much fun!

“Larkspur!!"

The sudden and harsh sound of her full name spoken by an unfamiliar voice, caused her to immediately jump back and off of the dirtied pup. “What do you think you're doing?!" Her vibrant azure orbs were wide until they recognized the hideously scarred face of the woman Rhiannon had recently brought into the fold. Once she made the connection, those eyes narrowed and she scowled at the woman, irritated that her game had been cut short.

“I was teaching her some very important fighting moves. She's just so tiny she can't handle it, poor thing..." Lark clicked her tongue and poked her bottom lip out, eyeing Datura with the utmost pity. When her gaze drifted back to the haggard wolfess, that single eye that could still see bore through her fiercely. Lark huffed, giving her a disgusted sneer before starting to turn herself around. “Fine, I'm going...little Mousey is going to need a bath...she's awfully filthy." Larkspur giggled with a sinister smile before she scampered away back towards the heart of the coven.

[Exit Larkspur]

Tag You're It
@Datura

"The familiar taste of poison."

Datura

Datura’s small form writhed in the dirt, still trapped by the sadistic child. But eventually, her struggling would cease, for what use was there in trying? Larkspur would do what she wanted, and the more she tried to resist, the worse the cruelty would become. But when an unexpected voice called out, the mahogany pup leapt backward, finally freeing Datura, who still remained where she had been pinned: “Larkspur!!"

Larkspur claimed that she had been trying to help Datura, which earned a confused look from the pale pup, whose ears pinned backward against her skull at this obvious lie. Still, she made no argument, only quietly pulled herself up into a sitting position, with her head bowed low. In truth, the two girls were not very different in size, both born smaller than their respective littermates. But Larkspur was far more cunning – it wasn’t just muscle that could overpower the weak, and the other girl knew it.

Nervously, the child looked up toward the scarred she-wolf who had spared her any further humiliation, expecting to be chided or punished for her part in the scuffle. Tiny, pale features were now covered in mud, chin trembling with unwanted emotion. A little paw raised in an attempt to wipe the mud from her eyes, but this only made the problem worse until she couldn’t see at all.

Pitiful, just like Larkspur suggested...


@Nimue

template by bean