Lillya Daniels's Story

Late.

She was late.

Ara was going to kill her.

She wasn’t even sure Juniper could save her from this one. It wasn’t like her to be late. Of course, she hoped she could just sneak into the side door and pretend like she’d been there the whole time. It wouldn’t be the first time, but she’d never been out this late. Ary was going to kill her for this one.

Lillya was running back to the house, her book bag bouncing on her back. Part of the lie she’d feed everyone for years was that she had after school programs to go to. It had worked for the first two years after she started school. Speech classes. They wanted to try and get her to talk more and easier than she did now after so long they had given up. The next year had been tutoring. She was great at reading and writing, but her other subjects lacked comparatively. So she lied about that. The past year and her current school year were getting more challenging. How many after school programs could one kid be in during elementary? Middle school was going to make it a lot easier, if Ara didn’t kill her tonight.

The blonde, mass of curls, Lily called her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, still matted with sweat. She’d wanted to take a shower, but that would have made her even later than she was, plus everyone would notice that and know her school didn’t have showers there. The shower situation was something she was used to. She simply went in and grabbed a shower as soon as she got home and then ate dinner.

Her entire body hurt as she kept running. She was only a feet streets away from home now. With any luck, no one would know she hadn’t been home at a decent hour. Her muscles were stiff and achy, and all she wanted to do was let the hot water run over them to get some of the knots out. Caleb had healed her spilt lip, but he did nothing to take away the pain.

“You have to know what it feels like to take a hit and still function with the pain. I can heal the evidence so your family doesn’t know, but I can’t nor will I take the pain.”

He said it enough to make her just roll her hazel eyes before she took the next hit. One of these days she was going to get good enough to start making him fear for his life. The two never met at the same place, same time, ever. When she was younger it was extremely hard remembering where to be and when, but after six years she’d gotten everything done pat. Caleb would go to wherever he lived and she went home.

Only home wasn’t what it used to be. No longer did she have the parents to see. They were gone. She’d failed. Lillya shook her head, blinking back tears. She couldn’t think about that. She still had her brothers and sisters. She still had them.

Turning onto the street, she made a mad dash for the side yard where the door that was least used was hidden from street view. With luck no one would be around and she could get away with being late, scott free. Repressing a gulp, the eleven year old unlocked the door, stepped inside, shut and locked the door as silently as she could.

Tiptoeing through the hallway, she heard Ara on the phone with someone. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she could see her brother’s face. He wasn’t happy.

Oh no. I’m caught. I’m so dead. And with Ary standing there its not possible to make it unseen. Ugh. Dead. So dead.

Lily bit down on her lower lip as she looked around from her hiding spot in the hallway. She couldn’t get to her room for a change of clothes without going past her older brother. With nothing left to do, she slipped her backpack off and stepped out, went behind him into the kitchen to pretend to get something to eat. Her heart was pounding in her chest, hoping she wasn’t about to be busted for getting home so late.

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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.

When Carrie snuck back into her room she had picked up a pencil and started to doodle in her drawingpad. The drawings on the pad varied from chibis of her siblings to little stickmen doing backflips. As the pencil sketched across the paper, she heard more doors open and close. And running water which indicated someone was taking a shower. Carrie thought it was weird someone was showering so late, but then again she showered in the mornings. The pencil stopped moving, causing her to zone back into what she was doing. She had been doing that a lot lately. The picture she had drawn was unfinished but she knew what it was. It was dark and sinister looking, and Carrie knew that it had to be a Hunter. Her blue-green eyes had never laid eyes upon one in real life, or at least that she remembered, but she knew the drawing resembled one.

Rolling off her bed, she got up. The drawingpad and pencil stayed on the bed, as she headed back to her computer. Carrie's life was an endless cycle, and she knew this. Wake up, go to school, draw, go on her computer, draw, go back on the computer, and then go to sleep. Sometimes the last part was replaced with playing cello, but other than that it was the same. She also knew that she should break that cycle. Like that was ever going to happen.

With her mouse, Carrie pulled up a program for writing documents. She had been meaning to do this for a while now, write a letter that is. She started it off with "Dear Mrs. Smith,". The letter took Carrie very little time to write. It was short, but it got to the point. It explained that Carrie no longer is to attend regular meetings with the person who was to retrieve it, her couselour. When the highschool girl's couselour caught wind of the death of her parents, Mrs. Smith had pulled Carrie out of class to talk to her. The counselour had then asked her to stay after school that day, and the next day after that, and the next. Something about understanding her loss and wanting to help her to get through it.

The letter was also a response to another letter that had been from Mrs. Smith and addressed for the teen's older brother, and now parental gaurdian, Ara. Her brother had yet to see it though, and Carrie wasn't planning to let him see it. You see, the mistake she had made was giving the letter to Carrie instead of skipping the medium and handing it to him in person or better yet, sending him an email. The counselour's letter talked about the meetings, and what she had gathered from them. The letter included numbers for therapists, and informative sites about passive agressive teens. Carrie also thought the letter and it's writer were crap and that Ary shouldn't have to worry about it. That's why she hadn't shown it to him.

Anyways, it sucked up thirty minutes of her time after school everyday. Those thirty minutes were also filled with tears from her over-emotional counselour which annoyed Carrie further. Thus Carrie made the plan to write up a letter explaining that she no longer had to attend those waste of time meetings and her 'problems' were already being solved. The letter ended with "Sincerely, Ara Daniels." Before printing it out, she quickly scanned it for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Once she hit print, she headed out to the printer which unfortunately for Carrie was not located in her room.

On her way out, she passed towards one of her siblings' room. Popping her head in, she saw only Lillya whose damp curls indicated she had been the one to take the shower only minutes before. Carrie was surprised to see Max wasn't home yet. She shook her head, and silently prayed to a god she didn't believe in to make sure the thirteen year old got in some deep doo doo.

"Hey." Carrie greeted her younger sister. Her body turned to leave again but she stopped when something crossed her mind, "Do you know what Ary's signature looks like?" She turned back to look at Lilly. To make the letter look more authentic, she would need a handwritten signature, and Carrie had to admit, she couldn't remember what his looked like. In fact, she had no idea what any of her other siblings signatures looked like.

The warm shower had felt amazing on her sore muscles. After having lost count on the amount of times she’d hit the ground rather hard in one sitting, she was surprised she was still able to move like a normal person. Then again, she never wanted to get caught nor have the questions asked by her family that she would refuse to answer for their sakes. The less they knew the more protected they would be and one day she was going to be able to protect them no matter what came at them. She was determined to make it happen and not to fail.

Lillya sat in the middle of the room, crossed legged. Her eyes were closed as she took a few deep breaths. She had to make sure she was calm, even though Caleb had been training her to make them quick and under pressure. Her home barriers meant she could take her time and do what needed to be done. Her nightly routine never changed. She always reinforced her shields and tried to push them further and further. One day she knew she would have the entire house and yard protected, but she wasn’t nearly strong enough yet. Her trainer was trying to change all of that. He’d pushed her barriers to where they were now.

As the eleven year old breathed out she could feel her energy levels rising. She could feel her powers growing. She could see the green color as it surrounded her. A small smile formed on her lips as she made them circle around the entire room, above and under as well as throughout the space. Then she started pushing it out as much as she could. She could see it all in her mind just how far the barrier was stretching. She had it almost a third of the way into the hallway.

When Lily felt her powers had reached their max, she allowed the barrier energy to swirl around until it grew into a bright white to let her know it was done, which was her problem with creating the barriers in a hurry. She was never sure if they were done or not, never fully sure if they were completed or just there to look pretty.

Only she could see them. And none of her siblings ever seemed to notice that they’d walked into her barriers before. If they did, they had never said anything. Which was fine with her as it meant other witches or the ones that hunted them wouldn’t know about them either.

With a deep breath, she allowed her power levels to come back to her. Her heart rate had increased. She was even more tired after the day she’d had, but every day was getting better. As she stood up the door opened. She turned half expecting to see her roommate. Only it wasn’t Max. It was Carrie.

Max isn’t home yet… This could be really bad. Maybe I should tell Juniper… No, no, he’s fine. He’s got to be. Still she couldn’t shake the thoughts that something bad had happened or was going to happen. But she had to chalk those fears up to their parents’ death.

Lillya waved to her older sister, the only one who seemed to understand her as she started to leave. She was used to it. They tended to do that to each other. Nothing really said nothing ever really needed to be. It was like a visual confirmation that the other was there, alive and everything was good. No need to add anything extra.

But when her sister turned back towards her, she knew it meant she needed something. The question came and the girl wanted to smile to herself. She was right. But Ara’s signature…

Wait… I think I do. Ara has to sign my binder everyday for my progress in school. Not like I ever get into trouble but still… I wonder if he just initials it or if it’s his whole name? I can check. Mine or Jordan’s will have it. Why does Carrie need it?

Lily went over to her book bag and pulled out the binder she was required to have on her at all times during school. She opened it up and looked down through it. There were quite a few initials, but on one of the pages about her refusal to speak at all now was his signature. A paper that came right after the deaths of their parents. With a shake of her head, she held up the binder to her sister, her brows furrowed in confusion, her silent way of asking why.

(I am summoning all people to post here)

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.