Mable: Here we are! Finally the sequel to 'Whatever's Out There' is here! I've been trying so hard to get something done, but I've been stuck on the requests I have pending… Just had to get this out since I've had this chapter done for a while. I don't own 9, but Velvet is my own character, Enjoy!
When the Wolf Watches
Chapter One: The Journal in the Attic
It was a warm afternoon already and the barely ventilated attic was nearly searing. A group of the Stitchpunks still made it their mission to continue searching and sorting through all of the old things, even though it meant suffering through the heat. Velvet was in a way a makeshift leader, which was something that hadn't ever happened before. Though it made sense as it had been her home that they were now searching through. She fanned herself with a folded piece of paper and untied the ribbon keeping her red capelet together around her neck. It was a recent gift from Five and she loved it, but the heat was pretty stuffy.
The fact that she was heading out of the Sanctuary was an indication that things were going well. Since she had joined the other Stitchpunks at the Library they had started to help her with her fears of going outside. They frequently took trips around the destroyed city even with the threat of Beasts, which Velvet now could see was much lessened than she originally feared. Occasionally she even left the Sanctuary without her bulky mallet. That was what she did today, though that was partially because Seven had come with them and she assumed that the female could handle any incoming threats.
The walls of the city had now become her limit and at the moment this was more than comfortable. There was practically an entire city in these walls and Velvet was more than content with what she had. It was curiosity that made them arrange the trip back to her old home. Some of the others were still curious about their mother, the woman that the Scientist had loved and lost, so the solution was to come back here and search through her belongings. That was what they were indeed doing now. It was then when she was called to attention by Six, "Velvet! Come look!"
Velvet glanced over and could see Five and Six standing at some sort of shoebox some ways away. With a smile she stood and lightly jogged over, "Coming! What is it?" Not all of the others had been able to come unfortunately. The ones currently present were Two, Seven, Eight, and the twins, along with Six and Five of course, and they were in random areas of the attic searching for whatever they could find. The Writer arrived beside the Healer and the Artist, both smiling and the former lifting out what looked like a photograph. Looking closer the female smiled as she saw a young couple in the picture.
"It's in much better condition than some of the others." Five pointed out, "Should we take it home with us?" Velvet nodded in agreement before reaching out to take it, "Sure! Maybe we could hang it somewhere in the Library." She looked down over the photo with a smile as Six started to dig through the box again, humming a bit. Things between Six and Velvet were the same; still close friends who spent a good deal of time together. Things between Five and her, however, were steadily changing. Ever since the careful kiss Velvet had noticed more and more little acts between them.
Sometimes they would hold hands, they would frequently talk, little acts of kindness; Velvet wasn't certain exactly what direction they were heading in, but very much enjoyed it. She gently set the photo aside and Five continued, "It looks like there's some fabric in the back too that we might want." It was then that Two came over as well, eagerly heading to his apprentice's side. "Point me in the right direction." He instructed and Five smiled before guiding him into the back, "Right over here!" Velvet watched them leave before hearing Six call again, "There's letters in here."
He started to pull an envelope out and a few papers spilled through the bottom. He managed to drop the envelope's bottom to block the papers from slipping to the floor. Once they were secured he looked back with a small smile and watched her approach. "Maybe they're between Father and her?" The female perked at this and opened the envelope, peering inside and pulling a folded, yellow paper out. She opened the letter and read over it before frowning firmly, "It's… It's in a different language." Six perked and leaned over to stare at the letter, "It is?" He seemed surprisingly eager even though Velvet wasn't so.
"Yeah… I think it's maybe French, but I can't read it." She looked to the envelope to see a location, but soon realized that this was fruitless as it was a multitude of letters shoved into a single envelope. It would be difficult to decode which had what address when they were all grouped into one. Either way, Six still looked down intently, "Maybe it says in the letter?" Velvet gave the benefit of the doubt and agreed, "Maybe we can get the twins to translate when we get back to the Library. Until then-." She lifted another letter and peered at it before perking, "Here's one we can read at least." It was then that she noticed something past and lowered the letter.
"What's that little leather thing? It sort of looks like a book. Or book shaped." Six looked over and cocked his head before noticing better from his angle. "There's a zipper on the side. Did humans use to zip books closed?" Velvet shrugged and climbed into the box, crouching down and grasping the zipper pull before dragging it open. As she finally opened the leather case, dusty air spilled out into the air and she waved it away, blinking at the irritation and coughing once. Six climbed into the box beside her and Velvet peered down before realizing it was a small book.
"It must have been a book cover to protect from the elements. Didn't work for the dust, did it?" She sent her friend an amused smile and he knelt down beside her as they looked at the paper it opened to. It mentioned the Chancellor and how much her creator didn't like or trust him. "And Julius follows him blindly. I can't very well stop him, but maybe he'll eventually realize that this man is wanting more than he can have!" Velvet still felt a giddiness though as this was the first time she truly read her Creator's messages. She continued to flip through eagerly and Six watched curiously, reading along whenever she stopped.
They found a few pages on porcelain dolls, more on the situation with the war, ones about herself and Julius, and then something different. The last entries, which Velvet skipped to rather quickly, showed sketches of different Stitchpunk body parts. There weren't many of them, but there were a few scribbled notes along the pages. Occasionally measurements and sometimes odd comparisons of metal pieces. Not much of it was understood by Velvet or Six, and it wasn't until the last page when the last paper read.
"Two creations. It is a miracle to imagine two. I will seek Julius' assistance tomorrow; I miss him dearly. At least out of this terrible war he's survived and managed to create something beautiful. These will be the children we never had."
"Did you read that?!" Six asked in surprise before looking towards his female companion. "This is- This is when you were created! This is when Helen went to the first room to create you!" The female stood slowly and wavered a bit, almost dizzy at the realization as she leaned back against the edge of the box behind her. "Hah… this…" Suddenly she was alerted by a hand on her back and looked back to see Seven. "Just making sure you aren't fainting or something. It looked a little like it from back here." Velvet gave an uncomfortable chuckle, "Almost there…"
"Seven," Six stood quickly with an eager smile, "There's another!" Seven blinked in confusion and looked to the writings, "…What?" As Velvet sat down to catch her breath Seven reread through what was there. Like the others Seven knew little about the human woman and the fact that it bluntly stated there was another Stitchpunk was almost as shocking as when they found the first one. "That's right… But wait, Six, it doesn't say-… Look." She showed the paper to the Artist and to Two who suddenly appeared beside him, causing Six to shiver with a start. "Is she saying she created another Stitchpunk or that she created three?"
"I don't see three." Six quietly added in and Two looked, bringing his lens forward so that he could read better. Then he perked, "I'll be, there's three!" He pointed out some key spots in the letter to Six. "This was written before she created Velvet. So when she mentions here that she's already pleased with two creations then that must mean that there were two Stitchpunks created already." Six nodded in understanding, but wasn't fully convinced even though staying silent about it. Velvet was even more baffled and was slightly pulled out of it by Five's voice from him standing beside her, still outside the box.
"She created three Stitchpunks?!" He beamed wide, "Velvet, that's amazing! You could have siblings somewhere!" Velvet smiled, feeling a growing thrill, but immediately hesitated, "But wait, where are they then? I've never seen any sign of Stitchpunks other than myself!" She paused then added in with a waving gesture, "And you all, of course." Two chuckled at the comment, "It's a big world out there. They could be anywhere. Though hopefully they decided like us to stay close by." He looked back to the journal, "Hmm… Seven, turn the pages for me please, maybe she wrote down what direction they went in."
He started to look through it as the others came over, being the twins, and curiously looked over it. There was spreading excitement through the group. Finally Two announced, "Released today, heading out towards the northern forest." He exclaimed in delight, "There we are; they were released and headed into the forest. It makes enough sense, the war was still going on after all." The others nodded and Velvet murmured, "So… Most likely they're still alive?!" She perked happily, excited at the thought of others, and Two nodded in assuring, "I would think so. They're probably together as well."
"We'll have to go find them." Seven announced and the twins nodded excited before Two offered, "Why don't we head back to the Library? The forest isn't too far, but we should plan with the others and head out together." This was a simple enough plan to which they agreed to. Shortly after they left the woman's home and returned back to the Sanctuary to tell the others. There was the same buzz of excitement as before, but this time One was there to level it, which he eagerly did. "While this is good news, of course, we can't go out there at this time." He was firm about this, "I think a storm is coming."
The others were baffled and Two sputtered, "Dear Creator, One, we just got news that there may be more Stitchpunks out there and you're worried about a storm?!" One was unamused by Two's accusation and looked to Eight, "Open the vent." He instructed and the Guard nodded before heading over towards the vent and doing so. "We have always known that there may be more. If there is then that is fine, we welcome them, but that means they would've lived this long alone." As the vent opened he gestured outside to a cluster of dark clouds on the horizon, "Those clouds have been moving-."
"That's what clouds typically do." Seven remarked from her position, eager to disagree with One's la behavior, "What makes you think those clouds will make it here, and if they do, why should we be concerned about rain?" She offered and, surprisingly, One looked suddenly concerned, "Because autumn is coming! Do none of you realize how quickly the chill will set in? Getting soaked through in summer was just fine, but in autumn, where the storms grow worse, it could send us all into fevers!" Maybe one or two of the Stitchpunks looked concerned, mostly the twins and Six, but everyone else was still unconvinced.
"One, it's not as though fall will suddenly just stumble through the door." He chuckled in amusement, "It's still plenty warm out and-." One interrupted, "And it is already getting late." Two continued, "Yes, that's true, but we can just walk through the dark. If there is a storm then it won't probably roll in until much later." The Leader hesitated until smugly asking, "How are your legs feeling, Two? Under any unusual pressure?" Two paused and winced a bit, One smirked in response, "So it's settled."
Velvet looked to Five in disturbance before adding in, "One, wait, can't we just-…!" She started, but trailed off almost limply, slumping as her voice was overtaken by One making another remark about the weather. "In fact, if the Library roof is too open there's a risk of us not being able to stay stable this year. Last year was a fluke that we made it." Five decided to make an attempt, "Ah… One, we need to at least try." He added in and Nine sent him a smile, proud that his friend was standing up for them. One looked back to him with a raised brow, but Five continued.
"What if they're like Velvet was, waiting out there for someone to find them? I know it's just a few days, One, but if we wait then… Then what if the storm does come and lasts past a day? They might not be safe out there." The Healer was obviously trying to convince the Leader, but the Storyteller was the one who was becoming more convinced. She forced her voice out, "One, please, we have to go look! I-I'll walk through the rain myself! I'm willing to risk my health." She assures, raising a hand as though swearing, and One exhaled before looking at Two, "I suppose you agree."
Two nodded and Seven spoke, "We all do…" She glanced over to notice the twins feverishly flickering their optics to each other. "…Except the twins. They're planning on moving all of their books now." She said with an exhale. One looked back out of the window at the clouds and Eight asked with a murmur, "What's the plan, Boss?" One huffed and waved his arm back at the others, "Fine, fine, we will go! But we will leave in the morning; I am not going to struggle through a storm and through the darkness!" This still wasn't perfect, but they were planning on going and so nobody argued.
Five rested a hand on Velvet's opposite shoulder in a one armed hug, shaking her gently and smiling to her encouraging. She smiled back happily, content with the answer.
Though as the hours passed into evening Velvet's contentment wavered a bit. She was happy with the agreement she got and knew that it was unreasonable to ask them to leave any sooner, but part of her dwelled on the possible family she had out there somewhere. She imagined them when she tried to do her work, to reprint stories she had heard dozens of times, her mind would click and think about the two Stitchpunks who were waiting for her. "I guess they would be females too, right? I mean, considering the ratio of males to females here."
She tapped her quill on the paper. It was a gift from Five and her key to writing, but for the life of her she was unable to focus. "Then again, the Scientist's third Stitchpunk was female, and twins. I'm the third, so I would be the female, right?... But she was woman, so I guess more females would make sense… I don't think they would be numbered either." She smiled a little to herself, "Wouldn't it be ironic if they had names after fabric as well?... No, that wouldn't work. I gave myself my own name so it couldn't work… Unless we're connected so they would naturally name themselves after fabrics?"
She shook her head, "No, no… Well, either way… Maybe Silk and Chiffon? Those would be nice names. Silk would probably be… Elegant and gentle. Chiffon? I keep thinking of orange or something. Maybe she would be a partial baker and the name could go both ways." Velvet suddenly realized that she started to write down 'baker' and stopped, dropping her pen into her inkwell and rubbing over her face. It was late but she wasn't tired and since she couldn't write she was stuck with nothing to do. Five had already went to bed at this point, Six too she believed, Two was awake but with One; her options dwindled.
Finally Velvet decided to head down into the Library. She grabbed her things and headed down into the Library. She lowered the bucket lift and headed out towards the front of the Library. Three and Four were still awake and as she looked past the multiple flickering candles scattered about she could see their quick, littler shadows scurrying across. She smiled in their direction and continued onwards to the front. The courtyard was darker than usually and she could see that it was from the cloudy sky out. She sat down on a book that was still inside the Library so that she was still protected by candle light.
After only a short while footsteps interrupted her quiet moment. Instead of the twins like she expected it was Seven who suddenly asked, "Are you going out to look?" Velvet was taken aback by the question and turned back to her, pushing her capelet back, "What? No, of course not! I was just contemplating things." The Warrior got a knowing smile of amusement, "You brought your mallet with you." She pointed out and Velvet glanced to it. Then she smiled in embarrassment, "I brought it anyway… I get a little spooked at night. That's all." The pale female came closer and sat down alongside her, resting her spear to the side.
"That's a shame." She pointed out with a tsking noise, "Because if you were I was considering going with you." Velvet looked to her in surprise, "This late?! And just us- What about the Beasts and the storm?" Seven waved it off, "They contradict each other. Beasts aren't fond of stormy weather so it's the best time for scouting." She pointed out and Velvet played with her ties a little, "Is that so…?" Her eyes went out towards the darkness and pondered it, "…If we did- And this is a 'what if' scenario- go out there, how long would it take us to get to the forest in the north? Do you know where it is?"
"I've seen it from a distance." Seven pointed out and tapped her fingers on the book in thought, folding her legs into a more comfortable position, "An hour there possibly… Maybe another hour if it takes us a long time to find them and an hour back. It's still early enough so we would make it back and still be able to get a full night's sleep." She promised honestly. Still Velvet was hesitant, but the plan was so temping. Seven knew the way and was no doubt one of the best fighters amongst them; most likely the one with the most Beast kills at least. "Well… Maybe." Velvet meekly admitted.
Seven gave a smile back and stood, "Wait here. There's something I need to get." With that she headed back into the Library. Velvet had no idea what she was about to get into and as she stared out at the night she felt a mix of anxious terror and adventurous need. Somewhere there was someone waiting for her and she was going to find them tonight. Yet part of her had a bad feeling that this wasn't the only thing she would be facing. She could only hope that her suspicions were unfounded. Eventually Seven returned carrying Two's candle hat with her.
"I think you might as well leave your mallet here. I don't plan to engage any Beasts if we see them." Seven remarked before handing over the hat, "But I will need you to wear this if you could." Velvet nodded and took it into her hands, "I think I can manage that, but I'm probably going to bring my mallet anyway, just in case." Seven nodded in agreement, "I just don't want you to get tired. Here's a bundle of matches." She handed them over as well, already tucked into a mini quiver that Velvet slid on as well, "Alright; light the candle, swing the lens shut, and press the lever to put the candle out."
She had seen Two use it but as she closed the lens her vision went obscured, "Whoa…" She mumbled before opening it again, "I thought this was to shield his face, but this is pretty powerful." Seven chuckled and helped her fold it back behind the hat somewhat. They then started across the courtyard together. "How did you get it? I thought Two usually put it away." She remarked, but Seven merely smirked, "He was a bit distracted with One, he just left it out." Velvet gave an amused smile and lit a match that she used to light the candle on the hat. She held the match like a torch, unwilling to blow it out.
They stepped out onto the street and Seven started guiding the way a short while. That was until they started to hear scuttling nearby. Velvet flinched back and Seven raised her weapon. The Storyteller just happened to look back and the light of the hat shined on a gray face, reflecting against the glass lens in its optics. "Ah!" Velvet gave a quick cry and flinched back before realizing what the face was as it disappeared. "What did you see?" Seven asked in alarm as she spun around and Velvet exhaled, "The twins." She almost grumbled, frustrated with how skittish she already was.
Seven lowered her spear and sighed, putting a hand on her hip, "Come on out, you two." Following her command the identical Stitchpunks slowly appeared into view. They looked guiltily towards the ground as they approached and seven inquired, "Did you think we weren't going to notice you coming?" The twins shrugged a little together and Velvet got a slightly amused smile. "Well, you had me." She pointed out and Seven looked to her before her own amusement arose. She shook her head and looked to the twins, "You two shouldn't be out here. We're heading into the forest."
"Yes, and you know how dangerous it is for two little girls to be out in the woods." Velvet relished as she set her mallet down and slipped behind the two. She rested her hands on their backs, "Trolls and witches are always looking for little ones. The smaller the better, so it's only safe that you two keep away from the woods. Why don't you both head back?" The twins looked to each other before looking to the Storyteller and shaking their heads. "No?" Velvet was a little taken aback. She didn't expect the twins to believe trolls and such, but expected them to at least humor her.
She pursed her lips and looked to Seven who finally gave a nod, "You two can come. You wouldn't be sleeping anyway, would you?" The twins shook their heads in reassurance. Seven seemed alright with bringing them and remarked, "Stay close, you two, and no running off to explore the forest." She then turned forward and continued on, Velvet playfully calling after her. "I'm an adult, so I get to run off into the woods on my own, right?" Seven quipped back with, "Only if you're willing to risk a troll. I hear they're rather strong."
Three and Four's optics flickered in giggles and the former hurried ahead while the latter waited for Velvet to grab her mallet. Then they continued along through the city and towards the forest, not knowing what they would soon be facing in the near future.
Mable: I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted, but hopefully it will be sooner than later. I didn't really want this to run into my Christmas project, but I really, really wanted to get this going before the end of the year. So… Well, here we go! I hope everyone enjoyed!