follow me into the dark

Willow’s presence never failed to boost his mood and tonight was no exception. Her joy was nearly palpable and easy to fall into as she took his hand and brought him out onto the dance floor with her. It wasn’t quite the fever pitch he’d felt in the nightclub, but that energy she was talking about was still present, low and throbbing, and winding its way through everyone present. “I feel it, and I am happier than I know how to express to have everyone here, safe and enjoying themselves.” He’d caught images of his friends drinking, laughing, dancing and otherwise allowing the darkness of the past weeks slip away from them for a night and he was so grateful they were being given a chance to do so.

He wasn’t so good at it himself, but he did make an effort to stay in the moment, to allow the sense of warm and magick and happy fill him and guide his movements in a dance or two with his friend. For once, he kept the conversation light and cheerful but gradually, something changed. Either the atmosphere in the room had begun to decline or he was beginning to lose his sensitivity to magick. Things began to feel dampened and then became grains of sand slipping out of his grasp and eventually panicked him into an abrupt stop.

Turning in a small circle, he noted expressions of confusion and fear before turning back to check on Willow. “Something’s gone wrong,” he announced just before pain suddenly laced through his chest sending him staggering back a pace. Fighting through the aftershocks, he pushed it down and tried to narrow his gaze to Willow. “Are you okay? Maybe we should get out of here.” No, first he had to find Anthony. Micah. Automatically, he reached for Avery’s presence in his head, only to once again find it cut off and inaccessible. Apparently, this forest had no shortage of ways to work around their backup alert system and he was going to have to mess with the magick involved in the link as soon as this was over because fuck that. He tried to glance around to spot a familiar shock of red hair or tall Enchanter, but the second wave of pain meant he didn’t have time to look anymore. “Outside, we should get outside,” Gabriel mumbled, forcing his body upright and taking all of two steps before collapsing.

❝You are a protector. It is admirable.❞ Acknowledging his words, Willow spun, bringing herself to the point of dizziness before stopping to gain a more accurate sense of up before she began to dance around her friend once more. Each step felt a bit more labored than the first as an invisible weight seemed to fall upon her shoulders. Perhaps she was only tired, but that seemed unlikely as she’d slept two hours the night before, it was a record for her. She typically spent nights wandering the darkest portion of Arain rather than sleeping at all, in more recent days, she’d been keeping an eye out for Hans. Despite her anger towards, him, she did not wish him harm. Her thoughts had caused her to check out long enough for her to miss the rest of the shift from wisp to human. Her light had dimmed entirely, but instead of being replaced by shadows, she remained at a neutral lighting similar to that of Greta Grimm.

So self-absorbed in her sudden loss of magick and the co-morbid panic that ensued within her, she failed to see what was happening all around her. With a quick exam of the dance floor before bringing her eyes back to Gabriel, Willow nodded quickly. ❝I’m...❞ Her eyes distanced themselves from reality momentarily and she felt similar to how one might feel on an island, alone, in the middle of nowhere. She was entirely separated from not only her magick, but all magick. ❝It’s all gone, Gabriel... It’s gone... They were gone, and now I am. Am I even here?❞

There were only moments for Willow to consider if she might be nothing more than a ghost of herself before she was moving towards Gabriel on the ground. ❝Gabriel... What’s happened? Where’s the magick? Can you feel anything at all? I can’t feel it anymore... Can you stand? Gabriel. Please, get up. We have to go outside. We can’t stay inside here. It can only get worse from here...❞ 

❧ TMI TUESDAY

❝Oh! I’m not afraid of either because, well, I can fly.❞

@arainwisp​

A sense of contentment had fallen over Gabriel very early on because this was essentially it - outside of his friendships, outside of his romantic interests, this was his biggest desire. The one that Anthony had talked so easily about in their minds - that sense of belonging and community - it was right here and for once, completely his for the taking. These people were no longer strangers, no longer people to view with suspicion and pressure to keep his distance, no - these were his friends. His people. For awhile, he’d stuck to the outsides of the party, half out of habit and half out of being completely overwhelmed.

It was fun to just sit back and watch people mingle, dance, drink and play the guessing game of who is who since nobody (weirdly enough himself included) could pass the mask table without donning one. His own was a dark blue black with silver embellishments that contrasted nicely with his skin, hair, and outfit and obscured a good amount of his face. It felt suited to him and after moments he’d completely forgotten about its presence on his skin.

He’d lost his significant other at some point, but had no doubt he’d wander back and for now, he just happily sipped on the cup in his hand and felt his grin grow as he recognized a small bright presence.

Slipping through the crowd once his drink was finished and discarded, he made his way to one of his favorite people and gave a small bow once he found her. “Good evening lovely. Are you having fun?” His eyes moved over the dance floor briefly before extending an arm out to her. “Do you feel like dancing a little?”

Willow had taken her time arriving to the party. The words fashionably late rang in her mind in the voice of a human she’d met once long ago. Floating through the trees, she weaved in and out of branches, causing a glistening tail of light to follow after her. Some magicks smiled and waved as she moved quickly past them and she was sure to put on a show for those that did before moving on. It had not taken her long to reach the party itself, but she remained outside of the cabin for a time before going inside.  It was nice to see the forest alive once more for a celebration and she felt that they all needed it after the nightmares following the Solstice celebration. 

Two feet landed daintily on the grass beside the cabin and her small golden gown shuffled in the light breeze that passed over her. Looking up, she noticed a table of masks. Biting her lip, she considered the selection with the utmost seriousness before reaching forward to wrap her hands gingerly around a simple mask that certainly wouldn’t do much to hide who she was. Still, it was beautiful with small gems on top that allowed light to shine through them like prisms. 

Though Willow had taken her time arriving to the part, she could not bear to waste a moment as her feet found the dance floor. She spun and weaved through others, send small shimmers of light into the air around her until a particularly dizzying spin sent her face to face with a familiar enchanter. ❝I’m managing.❞ She smirked, offering a curtsy in reply before taking his hand and pulling him further into the dance floor. ❝Isn’t it wonderful to see so many together? Can’t you feel the magick in the room? It’s like a hum, but not one you can hear... more like one you can feel in your chest and in your fingertips...❞

✧ CLOSED STARTER ✧ @arainwisp ✧

Mingling for a little while, talking to familiar faces. Or, well, voices as many were behind masks and some who’d chosen a mask from the cabin were even dealing with similar things that Emma was. Powers not working- or being all together replaced. She’d soon realized what had happened. It seemed like everyone had been tossed  into some sort of randomizer and given a new sort of magick. She’d benefited from being the species she found most fascinating. Considering there was only one real one. A wisp. She’d also been playing with the powers for a little while and spotted someone she assumed to be the actual wisp of the forest from a distance. She made her way quickly over. “Willow?” She asked cautiously, waiting for the blonde to turn around in hopes she’d found the right person. 

Willow had spent much of her life wandering far too close to humans, always just out of harms reach until it just wan’t far enough. She could not help her mind as it wandered much like the way the human wandered into the forest and she could not help but wonder what it must be like to be one of them, to walk in their shoes, and see through their eyes. She had certainly not arrived to the party with any idea that she would gain sympathy for their unfortunate condition.

 Fatigue, the sensation seemed to flow through her body like slow molasses, binding her feet to the ground. Every movement took more energy than the one before and the world seemed almost muted. Eyes moved upwards to a world that was much more grey than the one she’d seen only hours before. She even believed that she was hearing things when she glanced over her shoulder to see Emma quickly approaching. ❝Emma... I’m sure you’ve noticed that something is wrong with the masks.❞ The being formerly known as a Wisp summoned all the strength that she could muster to fully turn to face the fae. ❝It is no wonder that they sleep so often. This body is a heavy burden to bear.❞

Yasmin had her hands stuck deep into jacket pockets as she walked along the forest. She didn’t need anything, she was only walking along an aimless path, when she noticed the ball of light flitting through the air. She didn’t bother distracting Willow, and had intended on walking past her, but when she called out to her, Yasmin froze.

“What, what did I do wrong?”

❝Nothing, yet... but if you don’t back away from the shamrocks, you’re going to have a really bad day.❞ Her hands were still out as if she was trying to keep her balance on the edge of a tall cliff of some sort. She’d made the mistake of stepping on the clovers several times during her years in Arain and she would not wish such a fate on anyone else. 

❝They’ll cause bad luck!❞ To some, it was likely that she sounded entirely mad, but she certainly hoped that magicks would be more willing to believe her since their entire existence was impractical to many.

It was getting warmer. Thank fuck. As much as she enjoyed the cold and the snow, it was nice to be able to see the sun and feel the gradual change to spring. Perhaps soon the fox that she had befriended would be able to play in the Forest again— that would be nice. Although, she felt bad for anybody allergic to pollen who was stuck here. It would suck to be stuck in a Forest during pollen season.

Iris kept wandering aimlessly through the Forest, hands gently swinging by her sides. The warmth of the day was comforting, and she was just in a better mood— until Willow’s shout and sudden appearance shocked her into stillness. Iris froze, one foot in the air, before she slowly took a step backward, an eyebrow raised in confusion and slight annoyance. “Why, exactly, am I not allowed to step on a bit of grass?” she asked, inspecting the patch of grass in front of her.

Willow’s arms remained out, the hair over her face swayed slightly from the quickened breath that escaped her lips that were still parted in her warning. Her body did not relax in the slightest until the young wolf was stepping back from the patch of troublesome clovers. ❝It’s more than grass... Look down.❞ Willow knelt by the patch, fingers brushing gently over the green to respect the mysterious magick that they held. 

❝They’ve shown themselves every year since as long as I can remember. They stick around for a bit, but you have to be very careful with them. You cannot, by any circumstances, step on them.❞ It was lucky that she’d stopped the wolf when she had, a luck that she could only attribute to the aforementioned clovers. ❝Hurry. Eat one.❞

The way she brightened- literally- told Sorin that she definitely appreciated the bubbles. Good. He didn’t want to waste them on someone who didn’t. “No magick,” He answered. “Just soap and water. So you can make more whenever you run out. The humans won’t know if you don’t let them.” They didn’t have a monopoly on the hand soap, after all, but he’d noticed that some of them were significantly more selfish than others. He huffed a small laugh at her disappointment, shaking his head as she deflated. 

“Everybody’s compatible with it… you just have to be gentle. Like this.” He demonstrated, blowing softly before tilting his head back and watching the bubbles float upwards. “Your turn again. Just be soft, and it’ll work.” He watched her expectantly.

❝No magick... but still so beautiful.❞ Of course, she did not expect anything less. She believed there to be magick within everything that surrounded them, even that which did not seem to possess such a quality. ❝Soap and water... Easily mixed. That would explain the smell, of course.❞ She marveled at how such simple things always managed to surprise her. 

❝Oh!❞ Being gentle was something that Willow understood very well. She dipped her wand into the solution once more, bringing it to her lips and closing her eyes before releasing a slow breath, along with small particles of light that floated around within the bubble as it floated into the air, followed by a few similar looking bubbles. She smiled, but the expression quickly turned sad as it reminded her of another sight. ❝Everything is magick...❞

“I think it would help to make them happy yes… wait you’ve never had a smoothie?” Ailis was cleaning the machines with a series of spells- but she let the smell linger even without whatever residue was letting it smell. She liked the smell of the strawberries and kind of wanted it now. “Do you want to try to one? I’m sure we have something I can use to make one around here. It’s been a while since I’ve had a smoothie…” She said almost wistfully. There’d been a smoothie shop not too far from her place in Galway. She’d had breakfast there many a morning.

Listening to Willow describe the items she mentally made note of the things she described. One sounded similar to a walkie talkie or just a phone… either way it was probably a communication device. “That’s a computer, or more than likely a laptop if the pieces are connected… if you could get me one of those… they store so much information on those… I bet that could be useful. But don’t get in trouble for it. Only if you can get away with it okay?” Despite herself being removed from plenty of situations she didn’t like to see others hurt.

Willow furrowed her brow. ❝I don’t think so, no. But I think I’ve heard the word, perhaps.❞ She looked up to the enchanter. ❝I suppose it is something of human creation?❞ Willow always approaches human inventions with wonder and caution. She could see how easily they could cause harm, but she’d also seen how they could help others. Technology, much like magick, seemed to be entirely dependent on the nature of those who utilized it as a resource. ❝I would love to try one.❞

Willow listened carefully, keeping a mental note of the correct way to name the device. ❝Computer... computer.❞ She whispered the word under her breath a few more times. The Wisp considered the request, knowing well that, if caught, it could mean that her place among the humans could prove even more dangerous. If it would help, however, she would do whatever she could within the limitations of her orders from Hans. ❝I will certainly try my best... Though, some things are more important than my own comfort.❞

Willow’s eyes opened upon a brightened sky, the warmth around her causing surprise. She sat up quickly, uncertain of the day until her eyes fell upon a patch of bright green shamrocks. The sight itself caused her to brighten visible and she moved into the air as a quick wisp of light before landing just beside the patch. A quick pluck sent a clover into her mouth, causing her to feel refreshed and renewed. The light of her magick soared through her and the darkness seemed to hide itself away in a corner for the time being.

Back in the air, the wisp of light soared through the trees. A smile was not visible in the light, but one would have easily been able to read her as happy due to the way she danced through the air and left a small trail of sparkling light in her wake. She moved quickly past a small clearing, only to turn around and shift quickly in the air before landing next to another being with her hands out. ❝DON’T STEP ON THOSE!❞

❧ TMI TUESDAY

“Hello, Whisp.” She wiped her eyes quickly, not used to anyone seeing her in such a state. he looked around her at the darkness and then back to Willow.

“I…” Her words started, but faltered as she brought up the courage to tell her. “I don’t know if I did the right thing. I left the forts. Aibell. My duty…I left everything.”

Sun bit back another wave of tears. She wasn’t strong enough for this. She wasn’t strong enough to protect her friend and queen. She wasn’t strong enough to fight off something that could control her own free will. Before she could do her duty she had to figure out a way to get rid of it.

“My friend. My queen. She hates me and without her I don’t even have a life.” 

Willow looked sadly to the fae. It was obvious how close she had been to the Queen of the Daoine Sidhe. It was rather odd how something so small could change everything so quickly in Arain. She was silent for a long moment, giving Sun the chance to say more if she wished. ❝You are a wise being... One who I do not believe would do something without having at least some  reason to do so. Am I incorrect in this thought?❞

Willow could not help but wonder if the fallout had anything to do with Sun’s time with the humans. ❝What happened? What has changed?❞

She furrowed her brow. ❝You had a life before her. No beings exist only in conjunction with another. If you build your entire life around another being, it is rather difficult to imagine yourself going on without them... It makes it rather difficult to believe that you can exist on your own... What were you before Aibell?❞

Hans was angry most of the time. He’d been angry for years, quiet and sharp and cutting into his lungs. The rage that swelled up inside him at her words was nothing like that, it was a scream, shattering violently and turning his chest hot. Her question went unheard as his head tightened. “No.” He stepped forward, his heart beating rapidly as he did so. “You do not judge me. You do not get to have a problem with the way that I am.” There was a little warning voice inside of him, the one that begged him to be quiet before he revealed too much, before he allowed himself to be weak, but the anger inside of him pushed it down into silence. “You are a monster, you and all the other wisps.” From a distance he could hear his voice beginning to break with every bit of anger and pain he had not allowed himself to express. “You were there. You came to my home and my life while he did what he did to me and you did nothing. You could have taken me away, I prayed for you to do it, but you ignored me and left me in that house with him. I was a goddamn child and none of you gave a shit, so don’t expect me to give one about you.”

There was something wet on his face, tears he hadn’t shed since his mother’s funeral, when his father’s hand had clamped down tight on his shoulder and a growl had ordered him to stop. He reached up and swiped them away, too angry to hate himself for it. Hans was next to Willow now, close enough that he could have reached out to touch her and order her to do whatever he wanted, but he couldn’t bear to reach out and make contact. “I was wondrous? I don’t know who I am? I know exactly who I am, and that is what you let him turn me into. I am what you turned your fucking faces away from and abandoned. If there is anything wrong with me, it’s because none of you cared.”

❝Judge you?❞ She grew angrier by the moment, at the way he spoke to her as his lesser, the way he implied that his life was her doing when she’d lost everything. As he continued on, she felt the area around her grown darker and darker, causing it harder for herself to breathe. How could he, of all people call her a monster? She’d only ever tried to help. She’d only ever felt love for the humans, she only ever wanted a closer look while the other told her that she needed to pull back, keep her distance, remain out of reach lest the humans latch on too tightly. When the rest of them seemed to fear the humans, she’d felt nothing but curiosity and amazement for the creatures. Yet, such a creature saw her as nothing more than a malicious being. As he continued on, she found her anger simmering into something new, something akin to a mix of confusion and sadness. 

Ailis watched Willow with curiosity that she rarely felt with people. She didn’t want her to get in trouble- but she had a funny feeling even the Grimms wouldn’t harm this woman too much. She was the last of a very powerful species. A species that had more connection to this forest than most. So she figured she was safe. Even if she was stealing a smoothie machine. “It … does smell like strawberries.” Ailis laughed lightly as she got closer to it. “I can use anything for parts, believe me.” She grinned. She’d made plenty of things in unorthodox manners. “This is actually a smoothie machines. Hence the strawberry smell. But I can definitely use the parts… or hell- maybe I we bring it upstairs into the kitchen and enjoy the smoothies it can make.” They weirdly sounded good. Possibly because that wasn’t something that was super common out here. “Wait- does it look like this?” She pulled out her phone and made the screen light up. (It was mostly useless save for an enchantment to let her communicate with Tobias.) “Or does it have another part attached with a bunch of letters and numbers? Honestly- either way if you can get me one of those….” Not necessarily because of parts or the use of the item but the information that would be on them?? That would be useful. “That can hold a lot of helpful information.”

Willow nodded excitedly at the validation that it did, in fact, smell like strawberries. ❝That’s the best part!❞ Because of course it was. Willow was delighted to be of any service at all to those that she believed could help the forest. In her heart, she believed that every one of them had a role to play. ❝Smoothie?❞ That did not sound at all like something either of the Grimms had discussed, unless it had been outside of her presence. She did, however, hear three of the other humans that rarely worked talking about smoothies at one point. ❝So, it will help to make them happy?❞ Even the smallest bit of joy could help the resilience of the forest and they needed as much help as they could get.

Willow raised her eyebrows at the small talking device Ailis pulled out and quickly shook her head. ❝No... The window was bigger than this one. They have some like that, but different with an antenna that make a loud krshhhhhhhhh sound sometimes.❞ She’d seen one that looked closer in the hands of the receptionist at the GRF, but she’d only stared at it blankly and pushed buttons, looking sad about there being nothing on the tiny window. ❝YES. There’s a thing that they press with their fingertips. It’s covered in letters and numbers and symbols on small squares...❞ She paused noting the excitement. ❝Yes! I know where they keep some, though, I’m not allowed near there unless I’m told, but I will find a way...❞

Sorin dropped down to sit in front of Willow, crossing his legs. He snorted at the question. “No,” He answered, and then paused, slightly disappointed that he hadn’t said yes because the look on her face probably would have been hilarious. “Well, you could,” he amended, “But I don’t think you’d enjoy it very much, and you’re not really supposed to. Besides, it’s more fun if you do this.” He unscrewed the top and blew, and bubbles flooded the air between them.

Sorin grinned wide, watching them float heavenward and pop until they had all disappeared. It was easy to forget everything even remotely negative in moments like this, fixated on the simple little things that brought joy. No stress, no animosity, just bubbles and someone who would hopefully appreciate them as much as he did. He looked back to Willow after a moment. “Do you like them?” He asked. “You try doing it next.”

Willow watched him lower himself to sit across from her. She felt no reservations about this vampire as she did many of the others who she felt might cause trouble. She consistently reminded herself that they were not all bad, just as not all other magicks could be considered good. Perhaps good and bad her overly simplistic concepts to apply to living beings... especially those beings with such a high potential to be so far on either end of the spectrum. Willow sniffed at the bottle, tilting her head at him before visibly brightening at the sight of the bubbles. The glow around her grew brighter and brighter as they rose up and began to float away.

❝What are they? What sort of magick is this?❞ She reached up, feeling the cold and minuscule splash as a bubble popped against her brightened fingertips. Willow brought up the small wand within the soapy solution and pulled it to her lips, blowing much to hard to garner any fascinating results. With her expectations popped along with the rest of Sorin’s bubbles, her light dimmed slightly. ❝Is it possible that Wisps are not compatible with this sorcery...❞

Out of everyone Gabriel cared for in the forest, he found Willow to be the most calming presence. It didn’t really matter what had happened or what was going on, time ceased to run as it normally did around her, so his thoughts would slow, his worries would remain at a distance, and he could just breathe. It was a welcome contrast to his usual pace. A small smile hit his lips as he watched the weaving dance before she was close enough to pass the strawberries over to, but it faded as he looked up into unexpected sadness. Did she miss Sabine too? 

Before he could ask, the moment passed, sadness being quickly overrun by fond amusement as he watched the wisp cram strawberries into her mouth. Part of him wanted to remind her they weren’t going anywhere, but the rest just wanted her to revel in the small pleasure. There wasn’t much light, so to speak, in their lives, so these small moments were precious to grab onto when they did occur. 

Picking a berry for himself, he used the distraction to weigh his answer. It wasn’t as simple of one as he’d first assumed. His free hand instinctively went to the ground, lightly burying his fingers into the soil as he thought about leaving and gave a very minuscule shake of his head. A sense of betrayal immediately followed the action and welled up in his chest, but it wasn’t strong enough to change his answer. “It bothered me at first.” Gabriel admitted. “I wasn’t used to locks but…we came here looking for a place to belong, to finally find somewhere to call home, and I think that’d kind of become a fantasy to us? I think we stopped believing such a place existed and already had one foot metaphorically out of the forest but….now I don’t want to go. I like it here. I like that I can have friends of all types - vampires, fae, you, and not just be in an insulated community of Enchanters, you know? I like the lake, and the trees and how alive everything feels compared to out there. I like the magick obviously. But it’s deeper than that and I don’t know how to explain it. Even in my darkest moments it felt like the forest opened up spots for me to seek refuge in and then drew the people I needed in my life to me. Does that sound ridiculous? Maybe it is. But I’m trying to learn how to take care of it in the same way.” Breaking off another wisp flower, he blew more seeds to the East and pretended like it wouldn’t break off a piece of his soul to go. “So, no. I’m not ready to leave.” 

Willow watched him, a large part of her feeling thankful that he’d grown so attached to her home. At the very least, that meant that she would have more time with him and she was prepared to appreciate each moment as she would with all those about which she cared and Gabriel had certainly found his way into a special place in her heart. He managed to be so very kind to her even after all of the times she felt like she was burdening him with her pains and griefs. 

Willow considered his words. Even now, she was able to come and go to and from the forest as she pleased, but there were still limits. Her connection with Hans would not allow her to remain gone from him very long and passing through the cairns took quite a bit out of her. Even so, Willow could not imagine herself as one who would be able to remain far from Arain for a long time due to her love and profound connection with the place that had always been her home... at least, for as long as she could remember. There were, of course, some blanks in her memories due to there being so very many of them by such a point in her life. 

❝Some believe all of this to be a fantasy... The magick, fae, us... That we believe something as simple as a place to call home to be a fantasy is not abnormal as far as I can see it.❞ She took another few berries, caring little that they still held leaves atop them. ❝I am not sure if this will mean much to you, but it likely will. You feel much more... rooted here since last we spoke.❞ Willow wiped strawberry remnants from her hands on the snow before reaching over to grab his hand with her own that were rather cold by that point. ❝Sometimes the best way to take care of the forest is to take care of those between the trees and those who trip on its roots.❞

❧ TMI TUESDAY