#ofgarnett

        her walk in the woods has begun to lose its purpose, the strength of her willpower bending in the breeze like a struggling stem, weighed down by a heavy bulb and rough handling. the trees around her begin to twinge with the smell that she knows means she’s gone far, and deep. the sounds of the city fade, and allie continues to follow through. but, is it following if she doesn’t know what she’s following? and, well, she knows she had been looking for something, maybe for a potion, something aj had mentioned? but now her basket is filled with wildflowers, woven into a crown around her head, some petals tangled in her hair. and allie’s plenty happy with that, she’s lost to her wandering, which means she goes where the wind takes her. the mysterious beckoning tugs again, and allie’s path shifts. she doesn't find what’s pulling her, but the witch finds … she can see the shape of it. a curious darkness tickles her fingers when she reaches for it, a familiar feeling surrounded by- it’s a greenhouse. she’s found a greenhouse on the other side of the woods, potent with so much life and magic that allie can taste it from only just standing outside.

        the closer she gets, her curiosity blossoms, and allie’s turned the handle to the glass door and enters, feeling another flash of sensation brush up against her, though nothing’s there. inside the greenhouse is even better than she ever could have imagined. different from the apothecary, too, in the honesty of it. the building housed plants she knew, those that greet her warmly when her fingers brush over their leaves. but there was also mystery, she could feel it, she knew it.  “ oh, hello, you. aren’t you all just so lovely? ”  she chimes, sweetly, to the room of only greenery.

         allie thinks she sees someone who reminds her of it, when she starts looking for the garnett coven leader. she had really wanted to say hi, at least, and- oh, there she is! marion and golden, painted up little designs that allie could get lost in if she let herself trace them. but she can’t fall into a trance when her legs are springing her forward, sending her to cait with her arms thrown around her shoulders. like khàos, but different, now. it can't have been that allie that’s changed, she’s still the same lost dandelion, held together with stubborn. it’s cait that’s different now. one day, allie will just get what it is, she just has to keep trying.

character development questions: hard mode, accepting!  ˎˊ˗

What does your character like in other people?

character development questions: hard mode, accepting!  ˎˊ˗

21. If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

character development questions: hard mode, accepting!  ˎˊ˗

In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

They move quickly to bury her, not out of a lack of care for the Feng matriarch, but out of fear that a coven without its leader, without its very foundation, will make easy targets. It had been nearly a year since the Summerfest disaster, and longer since the attack on Siltshore itself.

Dani would suppose it is fitting for her to step into the leadership role, given that she was directly trained under her mother in their shared element. But she wasn't prepared to take over the coven. That honor was thought to eventually be reserved for their eldest sibling, training with the branch of the family back home in China. News of their mother's passing had traveled and there would be more time for mourning, but Dani would never ask her sibling to give up everything to come back just because she isn't ready.

Earth stands firm. She has to be strong for all of them -- especially for Jac, who Dani knows will blame herself for this with every fiber of her being. They're both grappling with complex feelings -- their younger siblings are too. The entire family is in its own vortex of grief, but the world would not stop for their sadness. The hunters would not wait until they managed to pull themselves together again. And while the greater coven also mourns with them, Dani now has duties to uphold with the Lindon branch as well.

At Siltshore, the graves are above the ground. Her mother is removed from the earth in that respect, and Dani is conflicted about whether this was the right choice. But Garnett finds its center here, and the nature of life and death has always been connected to the primal elements in its own way as well. If the time and opportunity to move their mother's body elsewhere, they could make that decision later. For now, the new Feng-Lindon leader finds herself searching for her foundation, her sense of grounding, in a maze full of monuments to the deceased. Dust to dust, the saying went.

Maybe she'd never make diamonds from the pressure of her abilities -- but she would grind her own bones down with the pressure of her new position.

        she actually screamed, seeing cait’s dress for the first time. it was a very quiet scream -halfway between that and a gasp, and she was careful not to scare zane, who she was still holding onto -but that didn’t matter so much. anyways, she hates screaming, but if anything could bring it out of her, it’s the excitement at seeing her friends. caitlin’s friendship is a slow thing that allie understands she has to earn, but it doesn’t make her any less thrilled to see her here, to daydream the prospect of her enjoying herself.

        the fondness squeezes away at her heart as she rushes up to caitlin, pushing to the tips of her shoes to wrap her arms around her shoulders for all of one giddy moment.  “ oh my gosh! ”  she squeals, a little too close to someone who’s usually so grumpy but, who knows? maybe she pre-gamed. the initial sweep of excitement fades to a low pulse, clears allie’s fluttering, dizzy mind so she can brush with reality. there, in a dark spot between the glittering gold, something … catches. she doesn’t know what it is, between the club and the noise and the people and the thousands of feelings that are tickling up against any spot of bare, sensitive skin. but there’s something here, misshapen … different. or maybe that’s just the magic, there’s a lot of that here, too.

        allie chalks it up to wonder, easily. especially once she’s back, semi-grounded, with her weight settling into her high-heels. nothing has ever been the matter. she beams, her eyes soft,  “ you’re so beautiful, cait. ”