#josaphine

i should be a asleep but no

im here redesigning her! and making her a tiny ref sheet

im still workin on her background and such

January 7th, 1973. 19 people were shot in New Orleans, but the young woman in the alley didn’t know that. All she knew was that she had to somehow keep the baby alive. Though she hadn’t really wanted it. And she hurt a lot. And it was cold. It was so cold. At least it hadn’t rained, or even really snowed.

The baby screamed in her arms, and she shifted, feeling trapped, holding the tiny bundle. She hadn’t meant to do this. She really hadn’t. She moved to the end of the alley, slowly. She’d sat for as long as she could rest, but she was freezing, and she had to get the baby somewhere safe.

She got to the midwifery, and crouched down, starting to unwrap the tiny bundle. Bright blue eyes looked up at her, bewildered, and tiny hands clung to her coat. She swallowed. It was really cold. And she’d heard you could get in trouble if you were caught leaving a baby. 

She looked up and down the road, and then tucked the tiny warm burden back into the sling she’d fashioned out of a sheet. 

“Please, Josaphine, I don’t know what you want!” The baby screamed, wailing, red in the face, and her mother stared at her, frantic with worry. “I... Are you hungry? I don’t have any... Any food.”

“Shut that baby up!” Someone shouted, and she cuddled the child in tighter, which only seemed to make her scream louder. 

“Please, little one.” She whispered. “I don’t know how to help you, please...” She whimpered. Josaphine eventually cried herself out, and fell asleep, and her mother sighed in relief.

“Daniel, come on!”

“Hold on! There’s something here... I think there’s a puppy or something.” 

“A puppy?”

“Yeah, under... oh.” The two boys stared at the tiny, filthy child staring back at them. She was wrapped in a shirt that was much too big for her, and nothing else, apart from the layer of grime covering her skin. “Shit.” They stared at her, and she stared back. She couldn’t have been more than two, and the boys looked at each other. “Do we...”

A woman appeared out of nowhere, and scooped the child up, making her scream in fright and the boys backed up. The woman was holding her awkwardly, and she whimpered, sniffling, licking her feet, hanging from her grip. In a moment, she was gone, and the boys ran off. 

“I told you not to wander off!” The woman snapped, holding onto the squirming child in her arms, and made it to their shelter, almost dropping her onto the ground. She skittered back, looking up at her mother, bewildered. She hadn’t moved, not even a bit. “Stupid child.” She muttered, opening her bag, and pulling out some bread, and meat, and started eating. Joe reached for it, and her hand was slapped away. She whimpered, and curled up in a ball, trying to sleep.

The young princess was in disguise, as she walked through the streets of her country. She had left home, taking the chance to mingle with her people, before she was crowned and everyone knew her face. No-one recognised her. She was shoved aside, glared at, and she didn’t mind. How could she? This was the heart of her town, the lifeblood that flowed through the veins of the living thing that was her home, the people flowing through the streets. 

“Out of the way!” She laughed, delightedly, as someone shoved her out of the way, and she span, giggling, and hiding under a table in the market.

“I see you under there.” A huge shape loomed up behind her, and she turned, eyes wide. The enchanted walrus looked down at her, grumpy as always, and she backed up. He reached out a huge flipper, and grabbed her, and she shrieked, her feet skimming the floor. “Come wi’ me, young lass.”

She was plopped down on a stool, and a steaming fish was set in front of her. She beamed, and he twitched his whiskers in a way that meant he was smiling. “Oh, I couldn’t possibry-”

“None o’ that. I know who you are.” She screwed her face up. 

“And I fought I wus disguised so well! You mus-mustntn’t tell ve guards, vey’d only take me back to the tower an’ lock me away!” He nodded, chuckling, more of a rolling growl - walruses didn’t have the right parts to laugh properly. 

“Eat tha’ up. Ye’ll starve.” 

She tucked in, ravenous, and then giggled. “Not ve menners ov a princess I know.” She kicked her feet.

“Quite a’right.” He twitched his moustache again. “Yer majesty.”

"Who are you?” The young boy asked her, when he’d finished coughing. She’d dragged him in through the window, and now they were squatting in the abandoned building, the police having run on.

“Josaphine.” She informed him. “Who are you?”

“Clifford. You not got a fam’ly neither?”

“I do. But secretly.” She whispered, grinning. He was a couple of years older than her, maybe six, and now he frowned.

“Secretly?”

She beckoned him in, ducking close. “I’m secretly a Princess.” She whispered. He looked sceptical, but she powered on. “My Muvver and Faver are the King an’ Queen. But I’m here secritly. Getting to know my town an’ stuff before I’m crowned.”

“Really?”

“Yes! But you can’t tell anyone. Issa secret.”

“Didjoo live in a palace?”

“Yeah!” She smiled. “I had a huuuge bedroom. With a bed as big as vis room, all covered up in pink silk and lace. And I had guards, ov course, t’protect me an’ keep me safe. It wus very stifling.” She said. “I do miss the balls, though. They wus beautiful.” She smiled, shaking her head. “An the Dukes an’ Duch-Duchesses would come and see me, and vey’d bring gifts from all over ve world. Silk, an’ ve latest fashins from Paris an’ Milan. Beautiful birds ov all colours, monkeys dat can play pianos, an’ sweets an’ chocolates.” She beamed. Clifford was fascinated, staring at her, and she puffed herself up. 

“You’ll be aright if you stick wif me.” She beamed. “I know all the guards. They’ll let you off. An there’s some people who reckernize me. Like th’ Selkies who live under th’ bridge!”

“Whut’s a Selkie?”

She looked at him, incredulous. “Don’t you know anyfin?” She beamed, and took a deep breath. “A Selkie...”

“S’taxes.” She explained, looking at Clifford and Archie, over the pile of money between them. “I can do it, cus I’m a princess.” They nodded, accepting this without question. Josaphine was special, they all knew it. 

“So. We’s gonna have a ball tonight.” She grinned. “an’ the Richmond kids are comin’, an’ so is Aggie.” She took her portion of the money, which Archie had divvied up - he was the oldest, and the brains of the group, though Josaphine was undoubtedly the leader. “I’m going to getta dress.” 

Later that evening, she had a dress. It was purple and it had flowers on it. The boys had dressed up too, managing to steal a jacket and a tie between them. Josaphine thought they looked very smart. The other guests were arriving, and they were outside the back of a dance hall, using the music, ignoring the smokers who were watching them. This was their night.

The dancing lasted a long time, before it happened. People scattered, as the huge hulk of a man approached. Joe had seen him before, and she gowled. He was not going to break up her party, no matter that she didn’t even come up to his hip. 

“Hey!” She stomped up to him, and he actually stopped, looking down at her, and chuckling. “You are interrupting my party!” She was furious. He laughed. 

“Well, I am sorry, kiddo.”

“You should be! Do you know who I am?” She screeched, and then screamed as she was scooped up. She sank her teeth into his hand, and he laughed again. 

Fenrir sniffed, curiously, as he headed into the safe house. “What the fuck is that?” Regulus looked like he wished he’d left a few seconds before Fenrir had entered, and was wondering how hard it would be to sneak out, before Fenrir sat opposite him, focusing on the chocolate tart in front of him. Regulus immediately pulled it closer, and Fenrir narrowed his eyes.

As if by magic, Josaphine popped up at the end of the table, licking her lips, and Regulus looked even more shifty. “Uh. Hello.”

“Alright, Sproglet.”

“Oh, you aren’t still calling me that, are you?” He was supposed to sound vaguely exasperated and above it all, Fenrir imagined, but he was too busy trying to keep his dessert to himself as Josaphine edged closer, and Fenrir casually leaned forwards. 

“You know, it’s very rude not to share.”

“It’s mine!” Reg protested, practically hugging his plate.

“And we’re hungry.”

“Really hungry.” Joe added, right by his side now, the bloodstains on her clothes illuminating her point nicely. Regulus sighed, and cut a slice off the tart, pushing the plate towards Joe. She promptly grabbed the rest of it, slicing it in half with her own knife, and giving one half to Fen, before taking a massive bite out of her own, and dancing out of the way. The whole thing had taken about two seconds, and Regulus was left blinking in bewilderment. “I... That’s not what I...”

“A very wise decision.” Fenrir grinned. “I mean, for us, it’s either or, but I guess if you could choose between us having a slice of this, and a slice of you...?”

Samekichi brooding alone

No it’s just you. *ZING*

I would change into clothes first, Garrion.

SNOW. ARE YOU HIDING A BODY?

Lol whoops