Gem’s faerlie interesting weeks
I wrote a lil shiny duo fic, now I usually don’t write but oh well. Ive been obsessed lately so I churned out about 7k words anyway
Also posted on Ao3, so imma post the tags here as well
To be very honest. This might have been be the worst week of her life.
Now Gem liked complaining about the daily annoyances in her life. Like the brambles of her berry bushes tearing up one of her favorite blouses, or perhaps that time Grian left pixie dust on all her kitchenware.
(She never could have imagined just how difficult it would be to catch all those floating utensils)
But this week had very much exceeded anything she’d considered bad before.
At this point she would rather have every blouse she owned ruined by berry bushes if it meant she never had to experience anything like this ever again.
Just over a week ago there had been a little bit of a situation at the grove. The pixie known as Bdubs had been gone for almost two weeks. Now many of the fair folk like exploring new forests and spreading their wings a little bit outside the grove. Bdubs is no different in that regard
So no one really cared when the pixie had left the grove for a few days. To do some exploring and visit some friends at the human village close-by he’d said.
The Hermit village is one of the few places in the world where humans live close to the fair folk. The members of their grove had become quite fond of their little human neighbors.
(Some of them liked the humans a little more than strictly considered friendly)
But after two week had passed without any word from Bdubs and no word of him arriving at the Hermit village, they had become worried.
So when Lizzie and Joel asked if anyone wanted to go looking for him, Gem hadn’t hesitated to say yes.
Their little search-party had consisted of Ren, Etho and herself.
And it hadn’t taken long at all for everything to go wrong.
They had been well prepared too, Ren had cast his magick to disguise the three of them. Because obviously there was no way a girl with deer legs and antlers, a wolf man and a white haired man with wolfish features and a bright red eye would go unnoticed.
Yet it hadn’t mattered, because they were tricked.
Funny in retrospect. The fair folk had been tricked.
Of course it had been done by one of their own.
“You know I bet we’re going to find Bdubs headfirst in a bunch of diviner’s sage. Completely high off of his rockers”, a voice teases behind her.
Gem and Etho turn around from where they were inspecting some of the leftover pixie dust scattered over the leaves. They’ve been on the road for a day or two now and even though they had found some signs of the pixie they were after, they hadn’t been able to locate him yet.
Gem and particularly Etho have been getting worried.
“Its just way too strange Ren, he’s always back after a day or two”, Gem ponders as she put her hand on her sword, “and he really isn’t that sneaky either, I just don’t like this situation”. Etho hums in agreement. He has even more reason to be worried and for good reason.
Fair folk wear their experiences on their person and on their aura and one such phenomenon is what they call going red.
This is reflected in the most literal sense. Fair folk who go through truly terrible experiences wear it on their person. It can fade with time and by healing physically and emotionally.
When she first met Etho, it was when he was brought to the grove by Cleo and Grian. Both of his eyes had been a dark scarlet and his very being had vibrated with a dark and somber energy.
He was doing a lot better after spending so much time at the grove, but his right eye had never stopped being red and she knew the man had accepted that it would probably stay that way.
He hadn’t opened up to her about what had made him go red in the first place, but she knew it had something to do with the faerie hunters. Faerie hunters are humans that capture and kill fair folk for any reason you might think of. You want an exotic pet or perhaps a lantern that never stops shining, you commission a hunter.
She’s heard all kinds of horror stories about them and she shivers at the thought that they might have taken Bdubs.
He isn’t even a mischievous pixie, he doesn’t do anything malicious or even prank people. He’s just a genuinely nice pixie, and just loves helping his fellow fair folk or the Hermits in the village. He helps their crops grow or helps heal any of their sick when they don’t get better quick enough. He throws his blessings around without a second thought.
Before her mind can wander into darker thoughts though, her ears twitch.
She gestures to Ren and Etho and they put their guards up. She checks if the glamour is still in place before she calls out “No use hiding, we know you’re there”
A second later a tuft of blue hair appears out of the bushes. The man appearing from the bushes has all the typical features of the fair folk: bright blue hair and glowing blue eyes to match, long ears and an aura of wild magick.
“Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you all, I just couldn’t help but overhear you might be looking for someone” the light blue haired stranger said placatingly before the trio could reach for their weapons. He continues “I’m also looking for someone as well, his name is Jimmy”
“He’s my… well he’s quite dear to me. And he’s in trouble. There are some humans across the river and they’ve kidnapped him” the blue haired man continues “I think there were some others with him as well”
Ren replies “did you perhaps spot a pixie” he gestures, “about as tall as an apple and with great big eyes and a bright smile”.
The blue haired man seemed to perk up in recognition “Quite a lively little guy right, very mouthy but still kind of polite somehow” the stranger continued “big brown eyes and has a bit of a mossy getup?”
“Thats sounds like him guys” Etho said quietly, looking over to Gem and Ren. “Can you take us to them?” Gem asks, looking up at the strange fae who had basically come out of nowhere.
The stranger seems to hesitates for just a split second before he replies “Yea, I know the way… you can call me Scott if you’d like”
Trusting Scott was her first mistake and one that would cost them in a little while
Even after a bit of trudging around the bush, they still can’t spot signs of whatever human camp Scott was talking about.
(And they wouldn’t until it was too late)
“Just around this bend” The blue fae calls out before suddenly jogging off. Gem and the other guys look at him, confused and Gem calls out “Hey wait! Oh there he goes ugh, let just take it slow-“ But before Gem can finish her sentence, the three of them are suddenly scooped up into a net.
They struggle for a bit, but they’re too closely packed together and the iron has already gotten rid of the illusion magick that Ren had cast. The poisonous metal drains their magick and energy within seconds.
Hunters, that blue haired bastard sold them out. She can already see Etho’s distress emerging as he realizes this at the same moment she does.
A voice calls in the distance
“Well, well, well, seems you held up your part of the bargain little faerie”. Shapes emerge from between the trees as a few dark cloaked figures emerge together with the blue haired fae they met earlier.
Slumped within the grasp of two of the cloaked figures is a tied up blond human. The Scottish faerie looks longingly at the man, staring at them with a guilty look. Gem realizes instantly that this man has traded them for this human.
“YOU SOLD US OUT!” Ren exclaims next to her, the iron burning them as they are ensnared by the cursed metal.
“I’m sorry” Scott says guiltily “I needed to get him back… and this was the only way I knew he would be safe”. The leader of the mob who spoke out earlier gestures to the two figures holding the blond (who seems to be quite beat up). Blood slowly dripping down his forehead.
They drop the blond at the fae’s feet as the leader speaks again, “well three new prizes for the price of your beloved, I’d say this works out well for the both of us”
She doesn’t catch anything else because the metal works its purpose as Gem struggles to keep her eyes on the figures in front of them. Eyesight going blurry as she passes out.
She wakes up after an indeterminate amount of time. It’s difficult to tell but it isn’t daytime anymore. They’ve been moved, she’s in a large cart now with iron bars and as she groggily looks around her eyes widen in shock.
Around the cart she’s in are an assortment of different cages and magical creatures within them. And in a small birdcage in front of her is the little pixie they’d been looking for.
The pixie is already watching her, he’s probably been waiting for her to wake up. He flutters slightly when he sees that she’s awake, “Gem, oh no Gem I’m so sorry I really hoped they wouldn’t be able catch you guys” the pixie exclaims.
“I got snatched when I was in the southern flower fields, they came out of nowhere, and I was so used to our friends in the village” Bdubs continues as a flutters around guiltily in his tiny cage.
She looks around as she realizes she’s doesn’t have any of her stuff. Her potions, her sword, it’s all been taken. Fear and anger grip her. What good was it to take any supplies or train with her sword when they could cripple her so easily.
“I’m sorry Bdubs, we went looking for you. Ren, Etho and I and we were tricked by this fairy who claimed he needed help” she grits her teeth in anger. Anger at being tricked or being betrayed, she doesn’t know. He was a coward, he didn’t even try to ask them for help. Instead letting them get taken and subjected to a fate that could possibly be worse than death.
Bdubs sighs, “I guess we’re all sorry and unlucky then, but at least we’re in it together now” he shoots her a weak grin.
And now we’re back to where we started.
Everyday more and more people arrive, bringing new magical creatures. Fae are rare she notices. Mostly it’s small creatures like jackalopes, magical birds or tiny wyverns. Occasionally some bigger creatures get brought in like a unicorn or a young gryphon.
The hunters around them mock them, she’s already heard talk of shaving off her antlers or docking her tail. The underlying anxiety doesn’t leave her a wink of sleep after she’d heard that. She’s pretty sure they want to sell Bdubs to some rich nobles who will pay a pretty penny for a little talking nightlight.
She hasn’t seen Etho or Ren since she got here, she can only hope that maybe others from the grove will come looking for them. Maybe the hermits will help as well.She still feels awful and powerless in ways she’s never felt before.
And yet there’s a spark of hope
she’s heard chatter from the other faun in her cart. He tells her that it isn’t the first time he’s been captured and if they’re lucky then the next full moon will be a red one. She tells him she doesn’t know what the heck that’s supposed to mean and he just laughs.
She’s supposes that she will find out tonight. The cart she’s in is outside so she has a splendid view of the moon. A small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless. Mostly she is skeptical of the slightly older goat faun next to her, but she watches as the full moon rises nevertheless.
There are no clouds in the sky and the moon shines brightly between the stars. She sighs, it’s a nice view for sure but it isn’t red like the old goat had promised.
Until she notices something
There’s mist creeping in from the forest to the camp. Her ears perk up as she hears a howl in the distance. There’s a crackling noise as powerful magick seeps into the air.
And when she looks up at the moon again, Gem looks up incredulously. She’ll be damned
The howling and growling get louder. Wolves, and a lot of them if her hearing is correct. She starts hearing screams and yelps in the distance but it’s dark and the iron is messing with her night vision. As the chaos continues around them. She and Bdubs turn to the faun, the same question on their minds.
(What the hell is happening here?!)
“Don’t worry guys, she’s like mostly friendly. She’s probably going to be so mad at me that I got caught again though” the faun exclaims bashfully, chuckling slightly as if this is somehow a semi-normal occurrence.
Before she can go and interrogate him about this weird ass situation, she is suddenly looking right into bloody red eyes. Both Gem and Bdubs yelp as this stranger seems to have just manifested right in front of their cages.
Instantly Gem is on guard
The bloodied red stranger wears red in every conceivable way. A long red cloak that is absolutely covered in blood, along with two scythes that drip thick human blood onto the floors as she stands in front of the cart. She has scars all over her, most prominently is the one that runs over her right eye. And most of all, those glowing red eyes. The red curse comes off of her in waves. Gem can feel the sorrow, loneliness and bloodlust that seems to take up the air around this woman.
She might have passed for human if it wasn’t for the sharp teeth and red eyes, but Gem could’ve sensed her from a mile away with the amount of emotions leaking out of her aura. Gem has always had an affinity for aura reading. She could glimpse into the emotions of those around her easily. She could usually ignore someone’s aura unless it’s so intense that it becomes difficult to look away.
And this aura is definitely difficult to ignore
Gem has never seen an aura like this before. She thinks idly that going red like this is quite terrifying and she feels a pang of hurt for the stranger. Because she couldn’t gather what in the world would result in such intense redness like this.
Terrifying she thinks, but also she thinks this woman is hauntingly beautiful. She’s long and lithe, and Gem would bet she would look better if she didn’t look so haunted or starved
(For food or blood or maybe just some companionship and a nice bowl of soup, Gem doesn't know)
Suddenly the red presence breaks eye contact and turns to the faun sitting next to her. The scary presence instantly breaks down into something more friendly.
“Skizzly! Hey there mate, I thought I told you to stay away from hunters. We had such a good and productive conversation about it too” the red fae chides shaking her head.
The brunette moves over to the front of the cart as the faun replies, “Man Pearl I’ve just had the worst luck. I’d just set everything up to continue my search for a grove when these guys trapped me and my cart on the road and you know how bad I am at fighting” he chuckles bashfully.
(Pearl huh, she twirls the name in her mouth, part of a true name for sure. She and the faun must be on decently good terms)
The red faerie hums and turns back to Gem, “you look like a fighter though, I can see it in the way you carry yourself”. Those bright eyes are looking her up and down as the brunette grins down at her and she seems to make a decision. “Now usually I’d take care of these pests myself before freeing anyone, but you look like you might enjoy a little revenge” the brunette grins down at her with her sharp teeth.
Suddenly the red faerie grasps the iron lock of their cart and completely crushes it in her grasp.
“Whu- how did you do that?!” Gem blurts out. That should be impossible, the pure iron on the cage should be enough to incapacitate just about any faerie. And this strange red fae snapped it like a twig.
This week has gone from bad to just plain weird
“Don’t mind that, just a little something I learned how to do” Pearl replies easily, “more importantly, are you up for a little bloodshed?”. Pearls eyes flash a brighter red as she continues “I think I saw where they hid you guys’s supplies”
At that, Gem shoots her a little grin and she’s sure her green eyes flash brightly as well. And as she and the faun named Skizzly? (that didn’t quite sound right to Gem, probably a nickname) leave the cart, she gets to see some of the carnage first hand.
Most of them cloaked in shades of white and grey, but all of them with the same glowing red eyes she now associates with Pearl. Meanwhile Pearl has moved to unlock the birdcage that holds Bdubs. “Let me tell you it was getting cramped in there red lady” Bdubs exclaims as he whizzes out of the cage. “I’m Bdubs by the way and the amazing warrior lady, as you correctly observed is Gem”
“Bdubs we need to focus, Etho and Ren are still locked up somewhere” Gem says as she jumps out of the cart, “but first, let’s go get our stuff”. Pearl looks up when she says that, and she gestures over to a tent over in the distance. She turns back around after that and starts walking over to where the sounds of fighting are the loudest.
“Well, its been real fun meeting you nuggets, but I have some more business to attend to”, Pearl turns back to look at Gem “I’ll save some hunters for you if you’d like”. She shoots Gem one more sharp toothed grin before disappearing into the mist and bloodshed in the distance.
“Sooo thats Pearl, oh and you guys can call me Skizz” Skizz says, bouncing over to them. “She’s… she’s so red” Gem turns to Skizz, “what the hell happened to her”. At that Skizz blanches.
“That… thats not my story to tell. Maybe we should go get your weapons. We should hurry and free your friends right” Skizz says before quickly skipping into the direction of the tent Pearl pointed at earlier. Finally she and Bdubs shoot each other a look before they follow the strange faun into the tent
This week is turning out better than Gem previously thought
As it turns out, faerie hunters really aren’t quite as intimidating when you have all your weapons, a chance at a fair fight and a bloodthirsty red faerie with more than a dozen wolves on your side. So before she knew it, the camp was completely cleared out. Etho and Ren had been found decently easily and luckily they didn’t have a scratch in them.
It turns out the camp they were in was a temporary one and in a week or two they might have been moved to another one. If Pearl hadn’t come in the night to free them… she might have never seen her friends again.
Skizz, Ren, Etho and Bdubs meanwhile had gone off to free the rest of the captured creatures and fae. Which leaves her and Pearl
Pearl who is cleaning the copious amounts of human blood off of her scythes while the biggest wolf Gem has ever seen suddenly snuggles up to her. The red moon pulsates above them before it slowly fades back into its natural blues and silvers. The stars twinkling softly like the bloodshed this night hadn’t even occurred.
“Her name is Tilly” Pearl speaks up suddenly, gesturing to the large wolf next to her. “I found her when she was still a young pup, caged like so many of us are these days” Pearl continues “The rest of these wolves are her puppo’s” Pearl smiles as she pets one of the large grey wolves crowding around them. Pearl looks almost at peace now, the manic grin she wore earlier during the massacre now faded into something softer.
Gem hums at that, petting Tilly’s soft fur. The large wolf, much like her owner, is now way more docile and easygoing. “So where are you going to go now that this is all over Pearl?” Gem can’t help herself from asking. She’s too curious about the mysterious red faerie.
She can’t help asking because Pearl has the look of someone who got up one day and never stopped to rest since. She has a wild look of a fairy who hasn’t settled in a grove in ages. Coupled with the fact that she is drowned in red… well it paints a picture that Gem feels bad even thinking about.
Red eyes widen at the question, the crimson cloaked faerie’s red aura warping and darkening like she’d been reminded of something she’d rather not think about. Gem continues before the red faerie can spiral further into dark thoughts
“It’s our grove’s true name if you are ever in need of a place to rest” Gem continues, her eyes softening at the brunette’s momentary confusion. (To know a grove’s true name means you can find it no matter where you are after all)
Pearl turns around to look at Gem incredulously before she seems to steel herself. “And what if I take you up on your offer huh” Pearl says as she gets up and stalks closer to Gem. She puts on a menacing smirk, “A loose cannon red fairy in your nice grove, I’m sure I’ll be quite popular”. But Gem sees the words and performance for what they really are. Pearl is probably scared, scared to settle, scared to be judged for what she looks like. Red fae are a bit of a taboo after all.
“You’ve seen my friend Etho right, we’ve seen similar situations to yours” Gem continues, not letting herself be put off by Pearl’s scary front as she walks closer to the brunette “I know that more than anything, what you need is company and rest”. Gem reaches out to clasp at Pearl’s clawed hands, still covered in some residual blood. Pearl seems to hesitate, her scary front drops as the red fae deflates slightly.
“If not for you, I know your wolves could use some rest” Gem says, gesturing to the pack around her. Pearl seems to think it over, Gem gets the feeling it might be easier for Pearl to care for her wolves instead of thinking about herself. And she’s proven right when Pearl speaks up again.
“Well… I’m sure Tilly and the pups would enjoy a nice bath… we haven’t hunted regular prey in a while either” She doesn’t know why the idea of this faerie she’s only known for a few hours coming to the grove fills her with so much happiness, but she’s overcome with giddiness at the thought.
Even though Pearls answer is a slightly hesitant one, Gem can’t stop herself from rambling “Oh it’s gonna be so great Pearl, you can stay at the cottage, oh and you’ll have to meet Lizzie and Joel. They protect the grove you know and-“
“Hold your horses Gem, I don’t know if I’ll be welcome and I don’t know how long I’ll be staying… I haven’t seen a grove in ages, maybe its not really my thing you know. I can just do what I’ve been doing”
Gem realized that both of them are kind of jumping the gun on what might happen when they get to the grove. So she dials her energy back down. “Well how about we just head over there and we can find out if you’re up for a life back at a grove” she smiles as she tugs the red faerie along to where her friends walked off to.
When Etho and the others return, they tell her they’ve offered a place at the grove for Skizz as well. She tells them she’s asked Pearl to come with them as well.
Ren and Etho are a tiny bit skeptical at first, but when they officially meet Pearl, they agree quite quickly. Ren has a knowing look on his face when she and Pearl walk together at the front of their little group.
There is one thing Gem hasn’t figured out yet. She can’t place what kind of faerie Pearl is. She doesn’t see any fae features peaking out. No animal limbs, no tail peaking out from beneath her cloak.
It’s confusing and a little off putting. The red cloak never comes off, not when they rest, not when it gets warmer during the day and Gem worries. She doesn’t voice her thoughts, but she can tell that the others notice as well. It’s not natural for fae to be so covered up all the time, their limbs need room to breathe. Gem couldn’t imagine how annoying it would be for her tail to be covered constantly, or to have thick pants over her deer legs.
At least Pearl seems to be opening up more, she talks about Tilly and her pups. How she named all of them, even if most of the names she picked rhyme with Tilly (she doesn’t feel the need to mention it to Pearl). She finds out that when the moon gets full, Pearl's magick skyrockets and that’s usually the time she attacks any faerie hunter unlucky enough to cross her path.
But she never opens up about the red and never takes off her cloak.
Not unless there’s no one around, even Skizz doesn’t seem to have that privilege. Pearl will go off on her own for a bit, for a hunt or just to grab some air or whatever excuse she thinks of in the moment. They are thinly veiled excuses and they all know it, but if Pearl won’t open up then they won’t push.
It’s by complete accident that Gem sees
Pearl had gone off on another escapade while they made a camp for the day, Gem just went to look for some water when she sees the figure sitting at a small creek. It is so unlike what she is used to seeing of Pearl that it almost doesn’t register. The fae sitting at the edge was without her red cloak, clothed in simple leather and cotton garments, her sleeves and pants rolled up as she washes her hands in the creek.
And that’s when she sees it and the true horror of Pearl’s situation washes over her
It was never about hiding her fae features, no, it was about hiding what had been done to them. Remnants of dark brown moth wings hang at her back, torn at the edges like a serrated blade had cut through them and the wings had just kept tearing further.
The wings aren’t long enough to fly anymore, not nearly long enough to even peak the slightest bit out of her cloak, whereas usually wings like hers would almost reach the floor.
For a faerie with wings, there is no worse fate than being grounded. It’s unnatural to them in the same way it’s unnatural for a mermaid to be without water or a dragon without its flame.
It breaks Gem’s heart and she lets out a tiny gasp
It’s enough of a noise that Pearl swirls around to look in her direction andher eyes widen in horror that her secret has been so suddenly revealed. The red faerie scrambles back into a tree, probably to hide the mutilated wings from sight even though it’s too late. Gem thinks to herself in the back of her mind that Pearl’s never look so small before, so vulnerable. She quickly gets up and walks over before the brunette can retreat even further into herself.
“I’m so sorry Pearl, I didn’t mean to see, I really was just going to get some water and herbs” Gem says, apologetic, before she kneels down where Pearl is sitting against the tree. Pearls just laughs self deprecatingly as she curls into herself. She rests her head on her knees as she shudders out a breath.
Gem doesn’t know what to say so she just blurts out the first thing that comes to mind
Pearl seems shocked that Gem didn’t ask a different question, but she nods nevertheless.
“Slowly… slowly and painfully, not that it could ever make up for what they did” Gem goes to sit down next to her as the red fairy continues “You know, it’s how I found out how a faerie can touch iron”
She gives Gem a smirk, though she has a hard time deciphering the emotion behind it as Pearl says “its human blood… isn’t that funny, the beings that use that cursed metal are also the ones that allow us to withstand it”.
Pearl looks at her clawed hands as if she’s visualizing the red liquid dripping down them before flexing her digits and then dropping them listlessly. Gem makes a split second decision as she does and grabs her hand as it’s dropped down. Tired red eyes catch her own spring green ones as the brunette tenses, but it only takes a moment before she leans back against Gem.
And for the first time since she’s met Pearl, the redness around her recedes just the tiniest amount.
Safe to say that they sit under that tree for most of the rest of the day
Gem has had a weird couple of weeks
The journey back to the grove was relatively uneventful, but after everything that happened before, that was very much a welcome change. And even though Pearl had been wary when she first arrived at the grove, she’d fit in just fine with the others.
They’d even found out that Pearl knew Grian from a while back and to top it all off, Gem had found out that Scott had been the one to contact Pearl to help them out with the faerie hunters. If not for him, they might not have been freed at all. Although that didn’t stop Gem from giving him a good berating when he came to visit the grove with Jimmy. (Though the beautiful bouquet of flowers they brought for her did end up winning her forgiveness in the end)
Pearl had moved into her cottage for the time being and it had been a welcome change for Gem. She could hardly imagine her life without Pearl and the wolves anymore. And though she could tell the grove had been good for Pearl, Gem had some more plans in store for her savior.
Gem has been… eh… scheming is a big word… she’s been organizing something
She might be going behind Pearl’s back for this, but she hopes the brunette will forgive her when she sees what Gem has set up.
So we get to the situation at hand
Around her is a room of people who Gem has carefully selected and worked with for a little while.
First on that list is Grian’s human partner Scar, who has a knack for procuring items that are difficult to get.
Next is the Cleo, a fae who is well known for being able to sew things together and bring them to life, even when it should no longer be possible. Affectionately earning them the name zombie Cleo.
And finally she’d gone so far as to recruit the mysterious faeries known only by their aliases: Doc and X. Renowned for their complex medical magicks, hexes and blessings.
Gem is going to get Pearl her wings back
It has been a lot or work to get this all ready for her. Doc and X had a complicated list of ingredients for Scar to get, and even though it took a little while, Scar had delivered all of them (how Scar does it, Gem has not a clue). Next Doc and X had shared their schematics with Cleo (yet again, Gem has no clue how they just whipped out schematics for Pearl sized moth wings).
And as the project comes together and she sees Cleo knit together the wings and conjure feelers and tendons that hadn’t been alive nor reaching out (as if looking for the back of a faerie who misses them dearly), Gem thinks that she lives with some amazing people.
So now as the project has finished, she beholds them. Grand wings colored in different light browns and silvers. She knowns they are probably quite different than whatever Pearl’s wings looked like before they were so cruelly torn from her. Nevertheless she thinks they will suit Pearl beautifully.
All she has to do now is find a way to surprise Pearl with the wings without completely freaking her out.
This week so far has been chaos.
Trying to organize a moment to get Pearl this gift has been particularly difficult. She doesn’t quite know how to approach the cloaked girl. Because really, how do you approach someone and basically go: “Hey so you know this thing that was taken from you that is intrinsic to your very being, yeah so I basically went behind your back and had some people make a new pair, Enjoy!”
So far she’d asked some of her friends what she should do, and she’d gotten a range of answers. Joel had given the utterly uncomplicated answer of “you should just give them to her Gem, don’t make too much of a fuss about it”. Which… well refer back to the ‘intrinsic to your very being part’.
His lovely wife Lizzy on the other hand had given a completely opposite suggestion. She remembers the lovely pink faerie thinking up an entire celebration with flowers and merriment. She’d even suggested a sleepover with everyone, and that was kind of the point where Gem decided that that idea would very much not be happening either.
She loves Lizzy and Joel, but sometimes she does wonder how these two idiots became the great protectors of their grove.
She shakes her head, she’s going to do this her own way
And even though she might have clowned on the ideas her friends gave her, she did end up kind of combining their ideas in the end.
And do it her own way she did
She’d picked a day where she knew Pearl had nothing planned and told her straight up that she had a fun day thought out with a surprise at the end. And while Pearl had seemed surprised she’d also looked excited (Gem could almost imagine her wings fluttering behind her)
First Gem had taken Pearl out to the garden and they’d collected some fruits and vegetables. Of course Gem also ended up teaching Pearl how to harvest the prickly red berries at the front of her house. Pearl was lucky enough that the prickly bushes didn’t shred her thick cloak (Gem mourns her shredded blouse silently).
Next they’d baked a berry pie together, which ended with both of them covered in flour. In the end Gem subtly used some magick to make sure the pie came out looking and smelling amazing. They’d of course eaten a slice of the pie with some tea after that.
After eating their delicious pie, they went to the flower meadows. Of course they took the wolf pack with them, so that they could run and play in the meadow. Meanwhile Gem and Pearl picked flowers and made flower crowns for each other.
And while Pearl was out of practice making one, she relearned the art quickly and even wove in some feathers that miraculously seemed to match perfectly with Gem’s outfit. In Gem’s case, she got the distinct feeling that Pearl would look good in blue. When she told Pearl that, she gave Gem a knowing look before going back to her flower crown.
In the meantime, Grian and Scar were setting up a little dinner for them back at the cottage, while Pearl and Gem were out, which should be ready and prepared by the time they get back home.
So when they did get home, there was a lovely little dinner set up. Enchanted candles floating around a pink and white checkered tablecloth, a beautifully cooked duck was set in the middle, surrounded by different fresh fruits and vegetables. The very same ones they’d picked this morning.
And now that the dinner has ended, it’s gotten to the part of the night that Gem is most nervous for. But she isn’t going to delay this any further.
Pearl meanwhile, looks the happiest that Gem has seen her and she can swears she can almost glimpse some blue melting through the red of her irises.
As Pearl is feeding Tilly some of the leftover duck, Gem decided to speak up “sooo, about the surprise I mentioned”. Pearl grins back at her “really Gem you’re spoiling me so much today”.
“Well I’m not done yet” Gem says as she extends a hand for Pearl to take, “I’m going to blindfold you for the surprise, if that’s alright”. Pearl nods and after the blindfold gets put on, Gem moves to guide Pearl to the shed where she’d stored the wings.
The nerves are really hitting now that they are at this part of the day. Gem has no idea what Pearl’s reaction is going to be, but she wants to prepare the brunette just a little bit so she doesn’t completely overwhelm her.
“So, I know this might be a weird thing to start with, but do you remember the day I saw you without your cloak?” Pearl nods under the blindfold and turns to the direction Gem is speaking from “that day hasn’t left my mind, you know. So I got some friends together to organize something for you…”
She moves behind Pearl and reaches for the cloak, pausing for a second, unspoken question hanging in the air. Pearl nods again as Gem takes her cloak off. She gently runs her hands over the remnants of the fluffy moth wings, as Pearl shivers at the feeling.
Pearl’s turns around confused “Gem, what’s the plan here, did you just want to see my wings or-“ she gasps as something is connected to her back suddenly. Nerves flaring to life as Pearl feels something she hasn’t in a long time.
Gem removes the blindfold as she moves in front of Pearl again, grasping her hands as the red faerie starts tearing up. Pearl moves around as she looks at the wings that are now attached to the remnants of her old ones.
“So I know they aren’t the same as your old ones, and they’re probably not what you’re used to and-“ Pearl interrupts Gem’s rambling as she gives her a tight hug. Tears falling fast now as they sink into Gem’s sweater.
“I never thought I’d feel them again” she sobs as Gem feels the aura of red surrounding the faerie (that had significantly faded in the time she’d been at the grove) warp and take on a more blue and silver coloration.
Pearl steps back slightly, wiping her eyes as she twirls slightly with the wings that have seamlessly melded together with her old ones. The color change only slightly noticeable to those who look carefully.
Gem smiles at her, the faerie before her now so different to a few weeks ago. And as Pearl turns to look at her, Gem’s eyes widen as she sees pale blue eyes in stead of the bloody red ones that captivated her all those weeks ago.
Gem grins as she says “so, you ready to try em out?”
The last few weeks have been pretty amazing if Gem says so herself.
Pearl’s redness has all but disappeared, the red eyes only appearing really early in the morning (for reasons Gem has yet to discern) and around the full moon.
To celebrate they’d gone and bought Pearl a new blue hoodie. One that the brunette had become quite attached to. Pearl had in turn surprised Gem with a new blouse, one that looked startlingly like her old ruined one (she was going to be very careful wearing this one around the berry bushes).
They’d also made holes in both the hoodies for Pearl’s new wings to fit through.
And to test the aforementioned wings, Pearl had gone for a flight with Grian and Lizzy. Gem had cheered her on as she found her rhythm flying again. There was something beautiful about seeing someone do something that they were meant to do. Seeing them fly together, might’ve made Gem tear up a little (not that she’d ever admit it if anyone asked).
And when Gem had asked Pearl if she’d like to build her own home in the grove, she’d said “well I have a perfectly good one right here… if you’ll still have me”
And so, even though Gem had experienced some of the most… interesting weeks of her life, she’d acquired the most wonderful new roommate
Oh well, their little grove was never know for it’s normalcy anyways
