Juniper Daniels's Story

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The young woman smiled warmly at her co-workers, a potted plant safely in her arms as she let herself out of the shop. She hadn't expected to be held up an additional hour but apparently, her last customer hadn't been too pleased with the fact that their vinca plant had yet to sprout any blossoms. She had maintained a straight face throughout the entirety of the exchange, not letting on to the fact that the little plant had been giving her pleas for help. She had immediately known what the problem was, after all. That was her gift. It was hyper-sensitive to the soil it was being given--not to mention the fact that the poor thing had been deprived of sunlight for half of the day. So of course it was melancholy and of course it wouldn't bloom. Trying to convey that and make it sound as if it wasn't accusatory, well, that was a whole other task--though she had a feeling she had done rather well.

Regardless, the encounter was now over and she had a pothos to bring back to her home. She cooed to the plant for a minute or so, rubbing her nose playfully against the leaves before putting it in her basket. She was careful as she got into her car--well, it wasn't her car, technically. When their parents had passed, her and Ara had assumed responsibility of quite a lot, and that included the two vehicles that had been under their parents care. Mmm, had they eaten dinner yet? Probably, it was a later hour than normal. And she had planned to surprise everyone with cupcakes too... She eyed the cupcake mix in the backseat, sighing. Oh well, another day, another time. It just wasn't meant to be, sadly. They never really did anything as a family anymore, well, what family? Things had fallen apart somewhat after the joint deaths and...

Her breath hitched in her throat, painful memories rising like bile in her throat. Feeling a small bit of panic beginning to bubble in her stomach, she forced her eyes closed, breathing in and out deeply. Focus on her central being, where her aura flowed in gentle waves. Reality is an illusion of hatred, strife is a consequence of misunderstanding. Inner-peace, inner peace... She stayed still for a few moments, the sound of her heart the only thing that pounded in her ears--frantic for a bit longer before calming down, finding a steadier rhythm as calm washed over her. She did not deign to open her eyes immediately, letting herself sink into peace. When she finally felt safe, her eyelids fluttered open--Juniper's lips upturning into a smile. It was going to be okay, though perhaps doing some aikido exercises tonight would behoove her.

Her drive home was quiet, she hummed to herself on the way, a whimsical and airy tone. Before long, she pulled up to their house. She parked the vehicle and picked up her plant, grabbing the groceries from the backseat before letting herself in. First stop, kitchen, she had to drop off the food. She wasn't sure who could hear her but she happily called out, as she always did when she arrived back.

"I'm home!" Normally, no one ever really came to greet her, well, not immediately. It didn't usually take a long time for her younger siblings to find her and generally one of them (typically Carrie) had a complaint about another (typically Max)--it was a pattern that suited their lifestyle. Then once that was all settled, Ary would do the whole brooding thing, she'd try to make him feel better and he'd give her that strange look he'd adopted lately. The one that told her he thought that she just 'didn't get it'. Truthfully, she didn't like the look but she did her best to shrug it off. She had to always maintain her positivity after all! And with all his worrying, Ary wasn't helping much in that department.

As she entered the kitchen, a small figure caught her eye--the golden tresses and height told her that this particular little one was Lillya. Her smile froze on her face and she forced down the insecurity that surfaced. She'd not heard her sister utter a word in a long time. Even before the incident. There was a time that the girl had been so full of laughter, Juniper had been so sure that she and Lillya would be super close. But then all that changed and now, things were just tense, awkward, and strenuous. Still, it would get better, it always got better, and she'd be silly to stop trying just because it was hard! Lillya was like the little vinca plant, and with some proper care and nurturing, she'd blossom and smile again. At least, that's what Juniper believed.

"Hello, little sprout," She said, trying to cheer her younger sibling up a bit. There was a look of distress on Lillya's face, Juniper couldn't tell why. But she'd learned that the usual questions of "what's wrong" did nothing to alleviate the muteness of their interactions. She tried for a different approach, putting the bags down on the table before cautiously stepping closer. "Here," She said, bending over a little as she waved a hand over the pothos. One of the vines grew, wrapping around the other girl's head gently to resemble a leafy halo. She smiled, tugging at the vine to break it off softly, leaving the halo behind half-buried in the golden locks.

"Don't be so upset, whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be as bad as Ary's morning breath." She tried for a joke, drawing back to allow Lillya some space. Though now that she did get a better look at her younger sibling... why was she dressed as if she'd been out? Hmmm... "Did your activities run late?" She questioned lightly, beginning to unpack some of the food from the bags casually.

It was too good to be true. Lillya held her breath until she couldn’t hear the sound of Ara’s car. She’d done it. She’d sneaked in late and hadn’t gotten busted for it. Whatever the phone call had been about was much more important than dealing with her and for that she was grateful. She sighed a deep, breath of relief. She was safe. Might as well continue poking around the kitchen for something to eat and then get into the shower.

That was when she heard another car. Ary back already? After that phone call? Her thoughts changed course quickly when she heard the sound of Juniper’s voice. She froze. Maybe not so free after all… She repressed a gulp as she tried to hurry herself along and get out of the kitchen to grab her bag and disappear to her room before her older sister got in the door.

Lily’s hopes were dashed as she heard her sister’s traditional words of welcome to herself, most days. Defeated. But it was Juniper and not Ara. There was still a chance, so she stayed in the kitchen making a small plate of food to take back to her room before a shower.

Watching the older female from the corner of her eye, she kept track of where Juniper was. At least until she started speaking to her. Then she turned to face her sister because it was rude not to face someone who was speaking to you. Her parents had taught her that, saying it was even more important if she didn’t want to talk.

I’m not a sprout. She protested to herself, but only managed a weak smile as a greeting. She was still terrified of getting in trouble for being late. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she feared her sister could hear it. As Juniper stepped closer to her, she stayed still. She wasn’t immune to the fact that her sister didn’t know how to react to being near her. Silence never boded well with the elder Daniels and she didn’t want to make things harder on her. So she kept still and watched the top of her head as the vine wrapped around her head.

With a final glance at the crown, she moved her gaze back to her sister and smiled lightly again. She wanted to show that she liked it. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Juniper’s feelings. It seemed to be working when the one sided conversation continued.

Ary’s morning breath? I try not to get close enough to anyone in the morning let alone Ara. I wonder if his breath smells as bad as a dog’s? That or Max’s farts. Lily repressed a giggle at herself, her face staying the same even though her line of thought was far from stoic.

When Juniper pulled back the feared conversation came up. Her sister was far from completely clueless especially when it comes to how she was dressed. Her and Max’s sneaking out were another story entirely. But then the saving grace came at the same moment.

Lillya nodded her head lightly, biting down on her lower lip. Activities ran late. Much later because they’d been further away and had more material to cover and go over from all the times before. Caleb had increased how much she was learning and the skill levels. The preteen wanted nothing more than to practice with her sister and see how good she was against someone else, but she knew she could never do that. Juniper wouldn’t allow it, or fight a sibling full out, but the girl craved to see how the two styles compared to each other.

She sighed lightly as she helped unpack the groceries and then headed off to the room she shared with Max. She picked up her book bag on the way. Once inside the room she breathed a sigh of relief. Glancing around, she didn’t see her brother.

Max… oh no. You didn’t get caught did you? Maybe I should tell Juniper that Ara left after a phone call… She shook her head. Everything was going to be all right. She wasn’t losing anymore of her family members. Max was fine.

Lillya ate her food as quickly as she could and then ran to jump in the shower. She put the vine down on the sink and picked it up on her way out. Her hair was combed, wet, but she was clean and the smell of sweat in her nose was gone. She headed back to her room to see if her older brother was home or not.

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The little nods to her questions came in quick succession, though there was a pause somewhere between her gift and the unpacking of their groceries. Juniper quietly reflected on her younger sister, though the movements of the other girl seemed to relax a lot more once their conversation had come to a halt. With the food put away and the task completed, Lillya had let herself out of the kitchen, leaving Juniper alone again and with her own thoughts. Hmm... it was so hard to figure out what pleased that little one. She had thought her joke funny--it had been funny, right? She shook her head, who was she going to question, herself? Of course it had been funny, but seeing as how her younger sister hadn't smiled in a handful of years, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the joke hadn't invoked any laughter.

Now that she was finally alone, she could take out her bong and get to smoking some weed. With a bit of a sigh, Juniper recycled the bags, eying the pothos that was on the table. It was difficult to communicate to others what she saw when she looked at flora. To others, she was certain that all they saw was greenery. But in her eyes, there was always a little wisp floating around the plant--and that wisp was what she associated the plants' spirit with. That was what she spoke to. In a way, all living things had a little wisp floating about them--she liked to think that perhaps this was akin to a soul. But she didn't possess the talent to see the wisps of other people, only plants had this kind of energy to her. Though she had to wonder if the wisp was just the reaction of her magic with the plant life itself.

Being a witch was complicated. From day one, the rules and what was "normal" in this type of lifestyle always seemed to be in flux. In fact, she had to think that there was no normal--all of her family members had different talents, and none of those matched up with the skill set their parents possessed. But if there was one rule that never changed, one rule that they always had to abide by... be careful of witch hunters. Never trust a hunter, they would always try and get under your skin. And then kill you. The thought sent a shiver up her spine, but not one of pure fear. No, the thought always gave her uncharacteristic anger. Juniper was a calm girl, she'd known that for years. But if one thing could set her off pretty fast, it was a threat to her family. Hm, that reminded her of... Ary didn't like talking about it and she was pretty sure Carrie had been too young to remember the incident properly.

The second oldest Daniels shook her head, wrinkling her nose a little. Those were some negative memories, and that kind of energy wouldn't sit well with her aura. She couldn't let her new darling be exposed to such things, after all! Lips upturned in her usual smile, she coddled her pothos close to her chest as she left the table, moving towards the stairs up towards her room. Carrie hadn't come down to greet her yet, come to think of it, neither had Max. She half-suspected her youngest sibling was asleep by now--either that or probably watching some owls roosting elsewhere. And even Carrie was one thing, Carrie generally zoned into her own thing but Max usually was the first person she saw when she came home. Why wasn't he coming down? Did she have a reason to be worried?

Wait, come to think of it. Ary's car wasn't in the driveway. Did something happen? Hmmm.... No, if Ary was involved, it was fine--Max had probably lost track of the time when he was out taking photographs--he was such a diligent worker! Yes, that was probably it. And Ary, being a good brother, had gone to pick him up. Mmm, no reason to worry at all. She hummed to herself, going up the stairs to the third floor--Juniper had chosen her room to be the attic long ago. The heat rose the most there, and she had insisted the window panels be changed so that her plants could thrive in a makeshift green house. So it came as no surprise that when she entered into her room, it was a little stifling. But it didn't bother her at all.

Walking into Juniper's room was something like a jungle. She kept a variety of plants.... everywhere. Her personal favorite hung from the ceiling, a venus fly trap that refused to be stationary, so she had grown some vines around its' roots. To this day, it stayed rooted at the ceiling, several of the seedlings staring down at her, waiting for their next prey. Well, not all of them. Two of the traps were sealed--looks like somebody here already found some food. She managed to push her way through the vine covered lump that was near her doorway for some reason (were her plants moving around) and settled on to her bed, which was half leaves at this point due to all the over-growth.

Mm, maybe she had time for a quick meditation session before Ary returned home. With a content sigh, she closed her eyes, letting herself be overwhelmed by the scent of flowers, roots, and fresh soil as she slipped into her own mind.

Jordan sat with her back against the rough bark of the tall ash tree. She listened to the hooting of the owls with her eyes closed, imagining herself soaring among them. A Barred Owl sat on her knee, tickling her nose with his feathers. Opening her eyes, Jordan stroked the owl's wing. He visited quite often and was used to her. Settling comfortably against the tree, the small girl looked up at the sky. The owl fluttered off as Jordan sat up with a start. She should have been home a while ago. Easily dropping off the ledge she had been sitting on, Jordan ran back towards the home that the Daniel children shared. Ara would take some calming, but she doubted any of the rest would care or be worried.

Slipping in through the front door, Jordan didn't see anyone, not even her big brothers. Juniper had been here, she could tell by the plant soil on the table. Otherwise, Jordan didn't know where her siblings were. They can take care of themselves, Jordan thought. She cheerily skipped to Juniper's room. She didn't hear any odd noises, so Juniper was probably doing her meditation. Jordan knocked, but walked in without any answer.

Jordan was met with both heat and humidity as the door opened. Stepping inside, the small girl admired the life in the room, like a tiny forest. It got her every time. "Juniper?" she called softly, scanning the room for her sister. "It's me, Jordan. Can you come back to Earth?" Jordan teased, sitting next to the red-headed older girl. She stroked the leaves of a nearby flower. Juniper probably knew the name, family, and mood of this plant. Settling into the warmth, Jordan fought a battle to stay awake. Yawning, she leaned in towards Juniper and smiled softly.

When they got home, Max snapped out of his mini trance. He heard the little Ary said, but he had gotten engulfed by the bad memory. "Technically, I would have gotten home at six thirty if he wasn't such a total ass".

As they entered the house, Max noticed a lack of noise and immediately wanted to change that. Plus, clearly something was bothering him. He didn't even try to argue with his brother. He said one sentence instead of his usual essay for his explanation. "Anyone here? Did you all leave to have a girls night or something?" He then finally found someone. "Hey everyone. What did I miss?"

Max thought he heard a noise outside, but he dismissed it. He smiled, though it was a little forced, and mustered the strength to return to his usual happy fun loving self. "Any leftovers remaining?" He immediately went to the fridge anyways before he got an answer. "I am starving".



(Because I used my phone, I had some tagging issues. Will try to fix)

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Lost in the world of her meditation, the eldest daughter felt like she was floating amongst clouds. It felt like her whole entire body was levitating, maybe even soaring somewhere in the depths of the astral plane. Juniper wished that she could astral project, she was certain that was a thing, but perhaps she lacked the dedication to achieve that sort of accomplishment. As the rush of cohesive thoughts filtered back into her mind, so did another voice, which was coming from her side. Her eyelids fluttered open as she pursed her lips, trying to figure out what... or perhaps, who was referencing her. It took her a moment to snap out of her reverie completely--the temperature of her room combined with the haze of meditation always did leave her feeling rather sleepy.

She yawned, noticing a small figure leaning into her--one she recognized as the youngest of their household: Jordan. Instantly, a smile touched her lips and she reached over, ruffling the younger girl's hair. Jordan had become her favorite sibling in the years, their love of nature had led for many positive bonding experiences out in the wild. And that one time that they went sledding and... well, she wasn't sure if the neighbors ever forgave them for what ended up happening but when you spot a wild porcupine, sometimes, caution needs to be thrown to the winds. Most of her memories were fond with this particular sibling, a sentiment she wished she could share with the rest of the family. Still, it wasn't as if there was no time at all to make happier memories--even if the recent hardship was wearing down on them.

"Hello to you too!" She chirped, and then noticed that Jordan's eyes appeared to be drooping somewhat. She held in a giggle. It was very common of Juniper to forget the effect that her room had on other people. It tended to make them drowsy, even straight up knocking out some visitors who had deigned to enter her room. It was an unfortunate side-effect to having an in-door greenhouse but what was a botanist to do? She shrugged, steadying her sister upright as she glanced around the room. The door had been left slightly ajar--not that she minded, Juniper wasn't a very secretive girl with her things.

However, it was the noise from downstairs that made her continue to stare at the door, straining to hear what was going on. It sounded as if the two males of the household had returned and were shuffling around downstairs. More than likely looking for something to eat. She stood up, offering a hand to her younger sister to assist her before moving towards the door and calling down in a soothing voice.

"I'll be down in a moment!" Feeling excitement over the prospect of getting to eat with at least a handful of her family members, Juniper waited for a minute or so to allow for her sister to follow her before gliding down the stairs. Her cheeks were flushed as she reached the bottom step, glancing around and noticing that Max and Ary were in the kitchen. Grinning, she skipped to greet them, stopping to pat Ary on the arm and then swooping down to give Max a warm hug.

"Welcome home, you two! I went shopping, maybe you want to help me make some food?" She offered, hoping that her peppy attitude would rub off on the others. Ary didn't look too pleased and she was trying to ignore the fact that perhaps the reason for their lateness was not overly positive. She didn't show this doubt on her face, however, no need to alarm Max or Jordan to this--at least until she was certain of what had happened or how bad it had been, if at all.

(I am summoning all people to post here)

Ara considered the leftover status in response to Max's question. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe there's some casserole. Or something." He started when Juniper's hand patted his arm. "Oh, hey," he greeted. His stomach growled loudly again, and he was still so angry about everything that had happened. "You don't have to make us food," Ara said. "Haven't you already eaten?" He checked the clock on the oven behind him. Two hours until he had to leave. "It's a little late for dinner, don't you think?"

If Juniper hadn't eaten, he could only imagine that the rest were still going hungry as well. Where is everyone? Ara wondered. They can't be in bed already. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I can just make something quick for the two of us," he insisted, "so you needn't bother."

(Tagged Carrie to see if we can lure Children back. If I dont hear anything soon....meh, I will figure something out. Probably will involve duct tape and foam swords)(added a bit extra just for the fun of it)

Max couldn't really tell from Juni's face, but he had a feeling they were probably curious about what happened. Or maybe that was just him wanting to explain things again so they realized he wasn't even guilty of what he was falsely charged with. But, he would rather not do that in earshot of Ary and risk getting him angrier. Or at least, he thought Ary was still angry. He wasnt going to risk finding out.

"We could order a pizza!" Max suggested. "Then no one has to bother cooking! Of course, I could just charm the kitchen appliances to cook for us whenever no one was around. That would be a lot easier".

He doubted that he would get them to agree to that any time soon. His parents never budged on the topic. Something about "the smell of cooking when its done by a person". Whatever that meant. He put his hand back on his pocket, but he felt something missing. He quickly grabbed everything out of the pocket, and went through each item to see if he was right. He knew he had it earlier today. It was his grandfather's coin. Apparently, his grandfather had been working on a powerful charm on the coin right before he died, and Max had been trying to figure out what it was.

And now, it had just randomly disappeared from his pocket. And he knew exactly who was responsible.

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The cop flipped the strange coin in the air. It had all sorts of weird symbols on it. Maybe he could somehow convince anyone that kid had gone insane, if he had more occult items like this. He flipped it again, and he swear he thought he saw a flash of light emanate from it. He disregarded it, and put the coin in his pocket. He thought he saw it glow again, but he figured it was just him stressing out over that kid.

He would need to get revenge on that kid for the meddling he was doing. He didn't care how.

Jordan skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen. Three of her siblings stood around, and she walked up to join them. "Hey, guys! How are all of you? It's great to see you! Max, what did you do?" Jordan talked quickly, adding the last question due to the brooding look on Max's face. The brooding disappeared instantly as her brother dug in his back pocket. He pulled out all of his items and sifted through them. She hoped nothing was wrong; as Max looked worried, and then angry. Jordan glanced at Ary and Juniper as they discussed dinner. Maybe Max was missing a charm- that didn't happen often, and it would worry him. She shrugged to herself and leaned against a window.

A tiny pecking noise issued from the window behind her, and she opened it almost instinctively. A peck usually meant a bird was asking to enter. This was indeed the case as a small blue jay swept inside. The small avian creature folded his wings and hopped around on the counter. Then, he fluttered over to Max and plucked a sunflower seed from the array of items from his pocket. The bird chirped and flew over to Jordan with the seed. The dry husk fell off as the jay pecked at it a couple of times. Chirping again, it pecked at the seed. Jordan smiled lightly and stroked the feathered head with one finger.

The bird pulled off a strip of the seed and Jordan noticed a small silver object inside. She deftly pulled it out and examined it as the blue jay disgruntledly finished his snack. It looked kind of like a hieroglyph, and Jordan instantly knew it was a charm. She rolled it around in her fingers, and it seemed to be iridescent. She put the charm on the table with Max's other items and shrugged. His charms were not to be messed with. "So... what are we having for dinner? I'm starving."

After Carrie had used her binder and Ary’s signature for whatever reason, it was returned to her. Still she needed to get it signed. Otherwise the teacher would be highly upset at her. So she took the thing and headed back down the hallway. It seemed almost every member of their family was now present.

Lillya stood just outside of the kitchen as she watched her siblings banter back and forth. Without her and Carrie around, they were the perfect family. Everyone always loved Jordan more than her simply because the girl was outgoing, loving, everything Lily wasn’t. Max even though he always got himself into trouble, was the youngest boy. Honestly, he could do no wrong.

With a shake her head and water dripped from her wet locks reminding her of the recent much needed shower, the preteen walked into the room over to Ara. She held up the binder for him to sign. She knew how awkward her presence was going to make things now especially since Juni was still in the room. She felt so wrong for ruining their time together, but just because she didn’t talk didn’t mean she didn’t like being around other people.

The only thing going in her favor was that both Ara and Max understood. Neither of them pressured her nor made being in the same room weird. Funny it was the complete opposite when it came to the siblings of the same gender. Maybe she just got along better with the opposite sex. She had been hanging out with Caleb for six years. It made sense.

Glancing across the room, her roommate seemed to be in the same downcast mood that she had put herself into. She wanted to find out exactly what had caused him to be later than her tonight. He was always so careful about making it back on time. Like her something had caused that to go wrong. She knew she’d probably find out later when they were back in their room alone. Although at times she wondered how long she would still bunk with Max. She was sure Ara or Juni had already figured out there was a free bedroom now. Course, she hadn’t even touched the door knob since their parents’ deaths.

At the mention of food, she felt bad. She’d eaten. Not much but something she hoped would hold her over until breakfast the next morning. With everyone else wanting to eat, she knew she couldn’t refuse. She hated how her not speaking made everyone feel bad for her. Doing everything else she could was the only way she could think to ever make up for it.

But now it was up to the eldest to decide what to do. She was fine just sitting beside her oldest brother and watching her siblings interact.