#fae!april

Crockett was born into the Unseelie Court in Louisiana

He was a shapeshifter, his most common forms being a black cat with glowing eyes or a large deer with oddly skeletal features

But he did perfect his human form as well and learned a lot about the way people acted and lived because he was so interested in the funny little humans <3

His family hated that; he was supposed to be malicious and distrustful to the humans

But as a young faerie he didn’t think humans were as bad as his people said

So he decided to leave the court and live among humans

And he did, he went as Crockett Marcel and tried his best to integrate into society

It took a lot of adjustment and lots of willpower to keep his human glamour near permanent

But he did it

He lived among humans for ten years and he loved it

He began to feel more human than fae

Crockett basically became a changeling as an adult and of his own volition

He met a girl

She was a human, with the most beautiful blue eyes that would put a selkie to shame and a fierce personality to match

Her name was Hélène and Crockett fell for her hard

They began dating and after a year, without planning, Hélène became pregnant

Crockett had no plans of fleeing, he believed he truly did love this woman and he would never leave her to care for his child alone

Even though he knew the implications of having a half Fae child

He believed they were strong enough to get through it

And he did struggle a lot to remain human honestly

He learned about deforestation and the horrible things humans had done to his family and his people

How they had no remorse or care for nature anymore

He hated it

But he stayed for Hélène

She was his happiness and he couldn’t leave her

When their daughter was born, she had her mother’s soft features but Crockett’s pointed ears. One eye was a striking blue but the other the distinctive, almost black, dark colour of an Unseelie faerie

Hélène was unbothered by this, Crockett had told her of his true identity when he learned of her pregnancy and while she took it hard at first, she realized she loved him regardless

They named their daughter Amélie and she was the light of Crockett’s life

She grew up to be this fierce little girl with impossibly curly hair and the most musical laugh <3

Crockett and Hélène were going to get married when Amé was 3 and she was so so excited to be a “pretty faerie” at their wedding

Crockett always told her these stories of his life back home, of the beautiful fae he knew, of her family

But to her they were just stories

She still wanted to be a faerie though <3 completely unaware that she was technically half one because it wasn’t safe for her yet

One day Crockett was at the market with Amé, picking up fresh fruit so they could bake a cake for Hélène’s birthday

He turned around for five seconds to ask a vendor about the strawberries he was selling and then when Crockett looked back his daughter was gone

He dropped everything, looking for her and calling her name

He searched for hours with many people’s help but they could not find her

When he broke the news to his wife, she immediately blamed Crockett ://

He was given 2 hours to leave, told that he ruined her happiness by letting their daughter be taken

He knew she was grieving and in pain and tried to reason with her, to soothe her

Because he really loved Hélène :((

But she wasn’t having it

So Crockett had to leave

And it was then that his hatred for humans flared

He felt cheated, he lost his daughter and his wife in mere hours

And all of the years of being told about how humans were malicious and hated faeries came up in his mind

He decided he would never trust a human or live among them again

Threatened to curse any human who crossed him 

He really fell back into his Unseelie upbringing ://

He still went searching for Amélie, for years he looked for any sign of his daughter

He had been shunned from the Unseelie Court in Louisiana and became very nomadic

Which was uncommon for a Faerie since they usually lived in large courts and groups

He eventually lost all hope and just kept travelling

He found his way to the middle of nowhere in Illinois

A forest bustling with magic and fae

It felt safe, no humans in sight

He met a Seelie Faerie while he was looking for food one day

She introduced herself as April and demanded he explain why he was on Seelie land

He told her his story and could see her attitude soften as she realized what had happened

Seelies were still not to be trusted but they were known to be much more benevolent and understanding than his kind 

April offered her condolences and said that while it was unheard of, of an Unseelie joining their court, that she could ask if he could stay

And Crockett accepted

April knew about Sarah the moment she moved in

She had seen many people come and go from that cottage over the years

She knew Natalie and had spoken to her on a few occasions too

Of course April was very in tune with the forest and it was her home so she was always bent on protecting it

Which also involved knowing who was there and why

So she watched Sarah for a while

Just kept an eye on her, not to be creepy but just to ensure she was safe and so was the forest

Also she wanted to make sure Crockett didn’t try to scare her off or hurt her

it’s not that she didn’t trust him she just knew he wasn’t fond of humans and didn’t want him to do anything that would anger the seelies or harm anyone

So anyway

Natalie and April did speak sometimes after Sarah moved in

Nat just kept her informed about the human and what she did

Especially since she had a cat, April didn’t want any of her animals (or shapeshifting fae) getting hurt 🥺

So April knew that Sarah wasn’t the most happy person and understood she lacked friends and support

And she thought about going over and talking to her but she didn’t wanna spook her

She didn’t look too human herself with her feline eyes and pointed ears

And she had never tried to shapeshift so a human glamour would be difficult

It was actually Crockett who told her about what he witnessed the night Natalie showed herself to Sarah

He noted that the human “tried to end her life; dramatic thing. The ghost saved her, so I guess we don’t have to deal with another one of those at least.”

He’s just bitter and traumatized not that apathetic :(

So that was when April decided she should try and cheer Sarah up in any way she could

She began leaving little things on her doorstep or windowsill

Just a flower she thought was pretty or a particularly shiny piece of quartz from one of the river nymphs

Now she knew humans weren’t supposed to accept gifts from faeries in case it was a trick, but she did this with no binding intentions

She just wanted Sarah to have a little life and happiness to add to her cottage

As Natalie and Sarah got closer, Nat took the time to explain that things in this forest weren’t always what they seem

And Sarah slowly became accepting of the magical aspects of it

She did have a ghost roommate after all, it wasn’t going to get any weirder than that she assumed

And one day April noticed Sarah down by the river, picking up a flat stone and trying to skip it across the water

“Flick your wrist a little more,” she spoke up, deciding then was as good a time as any to talk to her, “It’ll help the rock glide on the water.”

She apologized when she saw the way Sarah flinched, forgetting she was understandably jumpy

“I’m April,” she said as she came around to face the human

Sarah noticed immediately that the other woman was almost undoubtedly not human

“Sarah...” she shook April’s hand cautiously, “Are you-”

April laughed a little because she knew exactly what the question was supposed to be

“Human? No, to be blunt with you. Fae, Seelie to be exact.”

It took a little more explaining and a demonstration of April growing a flower from Sarah’s palm until she was convinced

And slowly Sarah did warm up to her

Because just as April was drawn to those who were hurting, hurting people were drawn to her

And Sarah of all people could use a little healing magic

They talked a lot that afternoon and Nat watched from the cottage window with hopeful eyes

(Crockett was watching from a tree a bit away, eyes narrowed as he waited for any indication that Sarah might harm April)

Nat was just happy to see Sarah open up to someone else

She was talking

And smiling !!

She looked so happy 🥺🥺 and comfortable

Because honestly how can you not be happy around April, have you seen that smile?

Seeing April quickly became a common occurrence and Sarah was super happy to have made a friend

Even if they weren’t human

Because as far as she was concerned humans were all rotten and cruel (Crockett would agree 😌)

***

April joined the the Seelie Court in a forest in Illinois when she was only little

Her mother was from Brazil though and joined the court when she was pregnant with April’s brother

Unfortunately their mother died in Noah’s birth and that left her children to the Court

There was sneaking suspicion that April and her brother were not actually full blooded Seelies, or full blooded Fae at all

Seelies were characterized by blue or violet eyes, regardless of the colour of their skin (Fae have different recessive traits)

April and Noah didn’t have those eyes though

Both of them had hetereochromia, their eyes a mixture of deep green and brown

April’s pupils were slit like a cat’s as well, giving her a rather intimidating look for a Seelie

April had always had the ability to manipulate the forest, going as far as being able to grow new plants and alter whole root systems

That wasn’t uncommon for a Seelie, but the fact that she had these powers since infancy was questionable

She had massive control over the Earth and all its creatures, which would be terrifying in the wrong hands

She was always super gentle though, unless provoked, which calmed the nerves of everyone (because Noah made them worry more)

She had the power to heal minor physical wounds with her touch, and she always felt drawn to those who were injured or suffering from mental trauma and pain

She just wanted to help those who needed her the most 🥺

There was no question that she had more power than they were expecting

And it made her an unstoppable force

She was very good at persuasion and very personable, so it was common for April to be involved in decision making and treaty meetings as she got older

She was friends with many creatures, including the niaids of the river and the fiendish little pixies who liked to play tricks

April was intimidating but also so alluring

Like there was just something about her that drew everyone in

The one thing that triggered her temper more than anything was anyone mistreating Noah

She would protect her brother with her life and wasn’t afraid to hurt anyone who even slightly upset him

When Crockett showed up in her forest she was defensive

She had only recently quelled a big argument between her people and the three pesky wolves who wanted to live on their land

So she was not ready for another turf war by any means

The presence of an Unseelie was a major threat in her Court’s eyes

But she thought something was different about this one

He was not like any other Unseelie she had met and he was clearly hurting

Something told her he just needed a place to belong

And April was nothing if not always ready to help