Freaky Fusion Fragments: Clawvenus
Frankie ran up to her combined friends with a broad smile. "Good news ghouls! Ghoulia knows how to fix all this!"
"Oh thank ra!" Cleo exclaimed. "I always knew she'd be able to figure it out. She's so good at solving my problems."
"The bad news," Frankie continued, "is that there's no way she can get that whole thing fixed by tonight. So…"
Clawdeen felt a sinking sense of dread, and in was accompanied by some worry on Venus's part. "Wait, wait, wait. So you're saying we are going to be stuck like this all night!?" There came that tickling sensation in her nose yet again. Clawdeen immediately tried to hold her breath but… to late. She let out a monster of a sneeze. The grass around her immediately started to twine around her boots and she kicked it back with an annoyed growl.
Venus felt guilty about Clawdeen's, or rather their, continuous sneezing outbursts. But the more she tried to regain control over the pollen, the worse it seemed to get.
"Yeah, pretty much," Frankie admitted.
"Always knew she'd pull through, huh?" Toralei sneered.
"Excuse me, but if my best friend needs an extra night to fix your mess, Toralei," Cleo countered, "then so be it. Although I do admit that it's highly inconvenient."
"Come on, ghouls, it's only one night. I'm sure we'll be able to make it work out. It's not like we've got much choice," Robecca said.
"We'll just treat it like a sleepover!" Draculaura said. "You can all come over to my house!"
"Hmm," Jinafire said thoughtfully. "While I admire your enthusiasm, many of us have obligations we must follow through on." She gave Clawvenus a significant look.
Clawdeen knew exactly what Jinafire was referring to. The two of them, along with Skelita, had been planning on spending the afternoon working on fashion designs for a competition they had entered in together. It was extremely important they get it done on time. At the same time she thought of this, she felt Venus's nagging worry about something totally different, but there was no way she was going to give up valuable fashion time just to go hand out fliers by a dumpster.
"Soooo, no sleepover then?" Draculaura asked with a little disappointment.
"Sorry love," Lagoona said. "Maybe another time."
"Hold on," Frankie said, "there's more."
"Not more dreadful news?" Cleo lamented.
"Not at all!" Frankie assured her. "I've been talking to the new students—"
"You mean the hybrids?" Toralei asked skeptically.
"Yep. And they think they might be able to help us out."
Venus perked up a bit at this news, although she could tell Clawdeen shared Toralei's skepticism. Sure they hand been a little cold to them before, but some buds were just slower to opening up. At this point, she was ready to accept any help they could get. "It's worth a try."
"I've been fluttering from school to school ever since I was just a little larvet. It was always really tough, but I found that meditation could help me clear my head and help me gain control. And I think it can help you too."
"It's worth a shot," Clawdeen said. She wasn't super confident about this meditation idea, but she didn't have any better ones. Neither did Venus, as far as she could tell. Heaven forbid Howleen finds out about this, she thought to herself.
"Alright, clear your head."
This was the easy part for Venus, the garden was always where she felt calmest, even though the floral scents were a little overpowering to her newly sensitive nose. Unfortunately, it didn't have quite the same effect on Clawdeen, so she waited a little before giving Bonita the all clear.
"Now take a deep, soothing breath. Try synchronizing your movements and, as we move forward, your minds."
Clawdeen was quick to take over their mind's wanderings, and Venus was okay with that. She knew how wolves were with the whole dominance thing so she let Clawdeen's imagination unfold into what she quickly understood was Clawdeen's future fashion empire. Their movements fell into place, much to Bonita's delight. But Venus knew that wouldn't do much good unless they were able to synchronize their emotions as well, so she began to try to project herself onto Clawdeen's fantasy.
Just as Clawdeen thought they were doing well, she suddenly found her mental self stumbling over something. Something… green? She tried to push it out of her mind like an unpleasant thought, but something pushed back. And just like that Bonita suddenly cried out.
"Not what I had in mind!" Vines were everywhere, and the poor moth was tangled in the middle of it. Clawvenus shot off the ground and began helping her.
Clawdeen wasn't sure what Venus had been trying to do, but whatever it was it hadn't worked. She fought back the urge to growl in frustration.
Venus wasn't entirely sure what had happened either. It was like she'd hit some sort of mental wall within their mind, and the moment she struck it they lost control. "I'm so sorry," she told Bonita.
"It's alright, it's alright." Bonita said. "Let's try again." And they did. Again. And again. And again. But each try ended like the last.
Clawdeen felt her temper steadily rise. Every time she was sure they'd gotten it, every time they were able to move as one, Venus tried to change things and it all went downhill. Why the heck was she still doing it?
Venus was well aware of Clawdeen's growing ire, but Bonita had told them to try to merge their emotions. Yet every time she tried, she struck that same wall. She'd figured out that it was when she tried to push against it that they would both lose control. She wondered if Clawdeen even realized she was putting up the wall.
"Okay, stop, stop." Bonita finally said. "I don't think we'll be getting anymore progress until we try to figure out what keeps going wrong."
"I'm trying to figure that out as well," Clawdeen growled. "It all goes well at first, but then… Venus, what were you tryin to do?"
"I was just trying to do what Bonita said—"
"By tangling everything in vines?"
"By synchronizing our minds." Venus had a slight thorny edge to her voice now. "But every time I do, it's like I run into a wall and I don't know how to get past it."
"A wall? I don't remember anything about walls," Clawdeen huffed. To her surprise, however, Bonita looked as though the situation had been made crystal clear.
"Okay, I think I get what's happening. Clawdeen, where does your mind go when we start meditating?"
"Where it always goes, to the future where I rule the fashion world."
"And Venus?"
"Nowhere, really. I just see what Clawdeen imagines. It's actually pretty impressive."
Clawdeen was a little surprised by the compliment, and her inner puppy started to wag her tail. "But, haven't you been imagining anything? Shouldn't I be able to see what you picture?"
"Like I said, I keep hitting that wall."
"Here's what I think is happening," Bonita said. "Clawdeen is used to her mind being her own personal territory, so she automatically assumes control and inadvertently blocks Venus out. You've got to remember that you are sharing a split mind now, kinda like I have to keep in mind my split heritage. If I'm not aware of what I'm doing, my moth side will take over and I'll start to eat my cloths."
Clawdeen snorted in laughter, but Bonita's expression didn't change. "Wait, you're serious?"
Bonita held out her sleeve so that Clawvenus could see the numerous holes chewn through it. "The only fix is to be aware of what you're doing. So, Clawdeen, you need to be more aware of how Venus is feeling, and Venus, you keep waiting until Clawdeen assumes full control before coming in. Don't hesitate to remind her you're there." Bonita looked down at her watch. "It's been over an hour, so we should probably head out. You guys keep trying to open up your minds and we can try again tomorrow."
"Thanks for your help, Bonita," Venus said.
"Yeah, thanks a million," Clawdeen agreed.
Bonita inclined her head with a smile, then fluttered off.
"So, what now?" Clawdeen asked Venus.
"Well, we should probably at least figure out where we're gonna stay tonight. I guess we could call that somewhat of a plan."
"Oh, no, I forgot! I'm supposed to do a bunch of housework tonight because mom's getting home really late and we've got family coming over this weekend." Clawdeen groaned. "She's gonna kill me if—"
"Hey, it's cool," Venus cut her off. "I don't mind, we can stay at your place. Just let me send a text to make sure Chewlian gets fed tonight. He'll give me the cold leaf for a week if he misses his snack time."
She sent the text, and Clawdeen saw the time on their phone: 5: 13. Crap. "I'm also supposed to meet up with Jin and Skelita at five-thirty," Clawdeen said guiltily. "See, we entered this super intense freaky fashion competition together, and we have to submit our designs by the end of this week." Clawdeen fealt Venus's mind flick to something with a bit of worry, and Clawdeen's heart sank.
"How long were you planning to work?" Venus asked. She felt bad putting Clawdeen on edge like this, but she was responsible for about seventy percent of the school garden's care. Most of the plants could fair well enough on their own, but there were plenty of exotic ones that needed special care. She couldn't just ditch them for a day.
"Only for an hour or two. Pleases, Venus, this means a lot to me."
"Alright," Venus said. "Just as long as you promise to let me come to the garden afterwords."
"But we are in the garden," Clawdeen said. She didn't mean to be rude, but they had just spent the last hour surrounded by plants and the scents were starting to get to her.
Venus shook her head. "What I mean is that I have to work in the garden. I'm in charge of it. Especially the snapdragon sprouts who are getting a little too aggressive with each other."
Clawdeen didn't know that flowers could be aggressive, but she wasn't about to complain. She had been worried Venus would try and rope her into some 'save the planet' movement. How bad could a little gardening be? "I promise! Now, can we go meet up with Jin and Skelita?"
"Lead the way. And I mean that literally. I have no idea where we're going."
"We are so doomed," Clawdeen moaned. As much as she liked a good flame pattern, the scorched look didn't go with everything. As opposed to getting some valuable fashion work done, they'd spent the entire hour and a half trying to prevent Lagoonafire from ruining what they already had. Not to mention Venus's pollen had gotten everywhere. It is going to take them forever to wash it out of all the fabrics. Grrr.
"It could have been worse," Skelita tried to reason. "At least none of us are hurt."
"Speak for yourself. I'm not sure my nose will ever be back to normal after all-ah-ah-achoo!" Clawdeen managed to turn her head away just in time to prevent dusting Skelita with pollen. "Ugg."
"Maybe we should go outside for some fresh air," Venus suggested. She didn't mention it to Clawdeen, but they needed to get out into the sun. She had a feeling that the werewolf was unaware of how the lack of sun was contributing to her irritation.
"Cause that totally helped last time," Clawdeen said sarcastically.
Yep, totally unaware.
"Go ahead, Clawdeen," Skelita said while restacking some loose cloth. "I don't think Jinafire will be coming back after that, and I can handle the rest of this mess on my own."
Clawdeen looked around the wrecked room doubtfully. "You sure? Cause I don't mind—"
"I'm sure," Skelita said a little too quickly.
Right. Stupid pollen gets everywhere. Maybe it was a bit unfair, but Clawdeen couldn't help feeling irritated at Venus as they left the building. As soon as they stepped out into the sun, Clawdeen felt… relief? "What in the…"
"Better now?" Venus asked.
"Yeah, actually." Clawdeen couldn't explain it, but she was suddenly feeling much more relaxed and energized at the same time. "Venus? What is this?"
"It's the sun," she admitted feeling a little embarrassed. She usually preferred to cover up how important sunlight was to her, or else everyone would start treating her like some delicate daisy. "That's how plant monsters get a lot of their energy."
It took Clawdeen a moment to process this. "Weird," was all she could think to say.
"Would you mind if we go to the garden now? I still have some things take care of," Venus said.
"Yeah, alright," Clawdeen agreed. "As long as we aren't dealing with anymore fire, I'm good."
"Oh, um…" Venus said. "You remember those snapdragons I mentioned earlier?"
"Lemme guess, they breathe fire?"
"Just a little."
"Watever, just do what you gotta do."
The majority of the school's garten was located in an outside field surrounded by hedges. In the center was an enormous greenhouse big enough to house a full grown dragon.
Clawdeen had never felt inclined to expore inside the greenhouse herself, though she'd heard it held some pretty furrific plants and even a few restricted areas. The first thing she noticed upon entering was the overwhelming tangle of smells. The second thing she noticed was that in was warm and humid. Not a good combination for werewolf hair.
It was definitely weird being able to smell every minute thing within the greenhouse, and Venus wondered if she'd be able to stay focused with such an overload on her senses. That question was soon answered as a scent she had encountered many times already that day rose above the rest. "Oh, no," she groaned. She sprinted over to a door labeled AUTHORIZED WORKERS ONLY and pulled out her key.
Clawdeen had picked up what Venus had smelled too. "The fire breathing flowers?"
Venus nodded. "They're getting to crowded in the planters they're in now, so they've started fighting each other for space. I'm gonna have to repot them all before they burn themselves out."
Sure enough, the small table hosting seven fist-sized dragon-like flowers was smoking dangerously. The little dragon-heads were hissing and snapping at each other, flaring their brightly colored floral mains. Some had torn leaves while others had soot covered mussels. The worst by far was a little blue one who looked as if it were trying to disappear into its pot.
The moment they saw Clawvenus, they turned their angry hisses from each other to her.
"Easy there guys." Venus grabbed a nearby spray-bottle. "It's just me." Most of the snapdragons immediately stifled their growls and a few cocked their heads in confusion. The largest one, however, didn't let up. He flaired is fiery orange petals warningly as they approached. "Don't even think about it," Venus told him.
"Venus? Why's that one giving us the devil eye?" Clawdeen asked nervously.
"Cause he thinks he's tough enough to challenge me." Venus made sure to keep an eye on him as she began to spray down all the scorched areas. Some of the others hissed or flared up when she got close, but a stern glare was enough to make them think twice. As soon as she was in range of the big one, however, he sucked in a sharp breath. But Venus was too quick for him. She grabbed his snout and pinched it shut, holding the dragon firmly in place. "Na-ah, no. We are not doing this again." He tried to tug away a few times, but as Venus's grip tightened he whimpered submissively. She let go, and he rubbed his head against her hand. "There we go, much better," she said gently and scratched his petals.
"Oh, I get it," Clawdeen said. "It's a miniature dominance system. Just with flowers. That breath fire."
"Yep," Venus said. "Trouble is, whenever I'm not around this one assumes he's the new alfa and starts bullying everyone else." She pointed to the little injured blue one. "If they aren't separated soon, they'll all end up like that.
"Poor thing," Clawdeen said. She may not understand flowers very well, but she definitely understood what it was like to be at the bottom of the pack.
Venus nodded. She walked around to it and genly reached into the soil. Unlike the others, this one started purring and rubbing up against her.
"Aww, this one's kinda sweet," Clawdeen said as they lifted it out of the dirt. She held it up for a better look. Then, out of nowhere, it bit her. "What the—!?" Clawdeen nearly dropped the plant.
"She does that sometimes," Venus said, completely unconcerned. "It's a trust test the weaker ones do to see how you'll retaliate. All ya gotta do is keep your cool and she'll be happy." Sure enough, the snapdragon was back to purring and looking up at them with innocently large eyes.
"Evil flowers," Clawdeen muttered.
They carried it toward a table set in the back where Venus rubbed aloe vera onto the dragon's scratches. It didn't give them any more trouble while they transferred it to a bigger pot.
"Okay," Venus said while grabbing a black box and the newly potted snapdragon, "I've got to carry this one through there," she pointed to what looked like a tunnel made out of dark green foliage, "so be a quit as you possibly can."
"Why? What's in there?"
"Let's just call it my rescue project."
Clawdeen had a feeling Venus was leaving out some major details about this rescue project, but she didn't say anything because they were close to the tunnel now. It looked like a bunch of vines crawling up some mesh structure and growing thicker together as the tunnel went on. It was nearly pitch black at the center before it lightened again and then opened to a sun lit pond outside.
Venus set the blue dragon down by the water, then opened the box and reached inside.
"Oh, no!" Clawdeen yanked their hand back. "No way!" Inside the box was a mass of creepy, crawling, black spiders. "You are not going to make me touch those. It's bad enough watching Howleen feed worms to Cushion."
"They aren't poisonous," Venus said a little amused. "And I can't just not feed them. Look, we've gotten her all hopeful." The blue snapdragon was liking her lips and watching the box eagerly.
Clawdeen groaned. "Do you at least have gloves?"
"Wow, is big bad Clawdeen really that squeamish about a few bugs?" she taunted.
"I am not squeamish," Clawdeen huffed. And, to prove her point, she took a deep breath and plunged her hand into the box. It took all of her self control not to sudder as the spiders tickled her hand.
Venus tossed the fistful of arachnids at the snapdragon, and closed the box. "See?" She said. "That wasn't so bad. Oh, and yes, I do have gloves we can use when I feed the rest."
"You could of said that before I put my hand in there," Clawdeen grumbled.
They both fell quiet as they walked back through the tunnel. Halfway through, the fur on the back of their neck stood on end and Clawdeen got the inexplicable feeling that something was watching them. Not a second later did Venus freeze, and Clawdeen got an overwhelming sense of imminent danger. Without tuning their head, Venus directed their eyes, and Clawdeen saw it. A giant, black and green trap with a gullet big enough for three full grown mansters and numerous pearly-white teeth protruding from its mouth. Two beedy, slitted, red-pupiled eyes glared down at them from it's flat head. It was then that she realized what she had originally thought were multiple vines were all a part of this one, giant, monster plant. Clawdeen was briefly reminded of the dinosaur books Clawd used to keep as a pup. Before he chewed them up, that is.
It moved his head toward them ever so slowly, and Venus took a slow step back. "Easy there big guy," she said soothingly. "Easy, it's just me." She thought franticky to Clawdeen 'do not make any sudden movements.' She took another cautious step back. It let out a long, low, and menacing growl. She froze in place again.
A lot of things were running through Clawdeen's head in that instant, a few of which where: Holy crap that thing is so gonna eat us and Venus you are insane and if this is the end, I really hope someone publishes my sketchbook so I can become one of those famous artists who only become famous after they die and I really, really don't want to die right now.
The dinosaur plant, as she came to think of it, finally stopped it's growl, but it didn't back away. And then, the worst thing that could possibly happen in that moment happened. Clawdeen got a tickly sensation in her nose and, before she could do anything to try and stop it, she sneezed.
The beast recoiled with an angry shriek, and both girls thought the same exact thing: RUN!
They dived out of the way as the trap's jaws snapped closed over the space where they had been seconds before. Clawdeen's athletic nature kicked in and they tore through the tunnel at top speed and into the soft light of the greenhouse. They came to a shaky halt next to the work table.
"Venus," Clawdeen panted. "What. Was. That?"
"Sythious Droseraceae, commonly known as The Death Trap," Venus said breathlessly. "It's classified as one of the top ten deadliest plants in the world."
"Then why the heck do you have it!?"
"Like I said before, I rescued him."
"Seriously?"
"He's an endangered species."
Clawdeen had to hold back her exasperation. If Venus wanted to risk her own leaves to save killer plants, then whatever. "Just tell me we don't have to anywhere near it again."
"Not with a ten-foot pole," Venus agreed.
After almost getting eaten, repotting the rest of the snapdragons seamed positively delightful. Clawdeen didn't even complain about the spiders as they fed the last dragons.
"Great," Clawdeen said feeling rather accomplished. Her hands were a bit tired after thirty minutes of digging through dirt, but she'd be able to live with it. "Was that all?"
"Um, Clawdeen? Have you ever seen how big this garten is?" Venus asked. "Like, really seen it?"
"No. Why?"
Two hours, Clawdeen thought bitterly. She had been gardening for two whole hours. Venus just had to be in charge of all the exotic ones. Granted, most of it had been mixing minerals into water and adjusting sprinkler systems, and she had to admit that throwing water balloons at the one killer tree had been pretty fun. But still.
Venus felt bad about dragging Clawdeen throughout the garten all afternoon, but she didn't regret it. She'd done her best to kept it to all the necessities, but a lot of the more intelligent plants became uneasy when they sensed Clawdeen and made things even harder. She couldn't blame them though. Some have had unfortunate experiences with dogs trying to 'mark their territory' on them.
Clawdeen pushed open the door to her house, dreading the amount of work that still awaited her. Why, of all days, did today be have to be the day she was responsible for the house? The moment she was in, Howleen ran up to her.
"Where have you been!? You've been gone so long I was worried I was gonna have to—" Howleen stopped short as she registered what she was seeing. "Um, sis? What—"
"It's a long story that involves Toralei's lack of self control and a lot of sneezing," Clawdeen said brashly. "Mom's not home yet, is she?"
Howleen folded her arms. "Not yet. She shouldn't be back for another hour or so. Sis, why do look—"
"Hi, Howleen," Venus said.
The young werewolf's jaw dropped. "Venus?!"
"Like I said," Clawdeen huffed, "it's a long story."
"How—"
"I'll tell ya later. Right now I need your help with the dishes and laundry." She sneezed, but fortunately there were no plants nearby to go crazy.
Howleen's expression hardened. "I already did all my chores. What makes you think I'm gonna do yours?"
"Come on Howleen, can you help your sister out for once? I've had a really, really rough day. We've had a really rough day."
"And who's fault is that?" Howleen snapped back.
"Toralei's," Clawdeen growled. She held back another sneeze.
"Clawdeen?" Venus tried to interject. "Maybe—"
"Not now, Venus. Let me handle my sister."
Howleen's scowl deepened. "Handle me!?"
"That came out wrong," Clawdeen admitted.
"Yeah, it did."
"Look, can you just be helpful this one time? I don't wanna freak mom out with this whole fusion thing, but I'll have to face her if the chores aren't done when she gets home. I promise I'll make it up to you. What do you want? Do you want me to do your chores for a week? Free reign of my closet? Makeup?"
Howleen opened her mouth to respond, but Venus cut in. "Can I say something, Clawdeen?"
"I- fine," Clawdeen growled. Then she thought, 'Good luck. She rarely listens to anyone, even on a good day.'
'We'll see,' Venus silently replied.
Howleen gave her a slightly nervous look. "You're not gonna try to use your pollen on me are you?"
Venus smiled. "Nah, I'm only using that to make Clawdeen sneeze for now. But I wouldn't use it even if I could. All I'm asking is that you listen."
Howleen immediately brightened. "Shoot."
"Your sister wasn't kidding about a exceptionaly rough day. It started when Toralei messed with something she shouldn't have just after lunch, and since then your sister and I have been fused together. We've had to work two schedules into one day, so you can blame me for keeping your sister so late. After an hour and a half trying to keep Lagoona and Jinafire from torching her designs for the competition and then another two working in the garden, we're dead tiered. I know this is in no way your fault, but we really do need your help."
"Wait, so you're not the only ones stuck like this?" Howleen cocked her head a little.
"Nope. Lagoona and Jin are together, Draculaura and Robecca have been rocking all over the place, and," Venus smiled slyly, "Cleo and Toralei are fused together."
Howleen snorted, then burst out laughing. "That's awesome! Please tell me you took pictures! Oh, and don't worry about the chores, I was never actually gonna make you do em, we'd never make guests do our work. I just wanted to make sure Clawdeen didn't think she could get away with passing her chores to me ever again."
"What!?" Clawdeen snarled.
Howleen ignored her. "You can just go to the kitchen and help yourself to anything. I'm gonna go press start on the laundry."
"Oh, so you're gonna be all nice and friendly to Venus but not your own sister?"
"Yeah, pretty much." And with that, the younger werewolf was off.
"Unbelievable," Clawdeen growled as she stalked to the kitchen. They sat down at the table. She really wished her sister would just grow up sometimes. Her temper was really starting to inflate, so she asked, "How'd you manage to do that? That wasn't pollen, was it?" in attempt to cover it.
"I'll tell you you later, Howleen's coming back." It really was amazing to be able to tell where someone was based on scent alone. Venus briefly wondered how anyone could manage to sneak up on a werewolf. Then she sensed Clawdeen's accumulated stress from the day and decided it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try in the first place. She herself felt like all the sun's energy had been drained out of her.
Howleen cocked her head when she saw Clawvenus sitting down. "Aren't you hungry?"
"Starving," Clawdeen said.
Howleen frownd. "Not you."
Clawdeen's temper spiked near its threshold. "We are sharing the same body," she said through gritted teeth.
"Water would be fine," Venus said quickly before Howleen could say anything else to anger Clawdeen.
"Sure thing."
Venus felt Clawdeen's anger still bubbling beneath the surface, and it was beginning to make her feel anxious. She tried taking deep breaths to calm them both down, but it only seemed to agitate Clawdeen even more. They sneezed again. Naturally.
"Here you are," Howleen passed them a full glass of cool water.
Clawdeen hadn't realized how thirsty they were until the water had touched their lips, and within seconds the glass was empty. It was weird, relying on so much water and sunlight, and it made her miss her own fur even more.
"Wow," Howleen said. "That was fast." And without waiting to be asked, she refilled the glass.
They drank a bit more slowly this time. All the while, Howleen's eyes wandered over them. Clawdeen found this a bit irksome, but Venus couldn't blame the pup. It's not like everyday for someone's sister to be fused with another ghoul.
Howleen finally stood up and pointed at their ears. "Would you mind if take a closer look?"
"You want to poke around at us!?" Clawdeen growled.
Howleen frownd again. "I wasn't asking you, Clawdeen."
Clawdeen's anger was rising to a dangerous point again. "It's alright, Clawdeen," Venus said quickly. "She just thinks it's cool."
Clawdeen's temper finally reached its peak. "She thinks it's cool!?" Clawdeen snarled. She looked down at her leafy hands in disgust, then back up at her sister. All the day's frustration welled up inside her "Do you think it's cool having to share your body with someone else? Do you think it's fun feeling so dependent on the stupid sun, having to drink a gallon of water every hour, sneezing your head off every five seconds!? Do you think I'm enjoying this!?" She was breathing hard now, rage at full force. "I didn't ask for any of this. I don't want any of this. But I have to put up with it, so do me a favor, Howleen, and don't make it any harder. Just leave me alone." Now that she had expelled her rage a little, she felt something strange underneath it.
Howleen was staring at her in slack-jawed horror, and as her anger fully ebbed away, Clawdeen understood why.
"Oh, Venus, I didn't mean—"
"It's fine," Venus said in a soft voice. "It's fine," she said again a little more firmly. "We're all exhausted and confused. Let's-let's just go to bed.
But it wasn't fine, and Clawdeen knew it. She'd struck a tender cord during her outburst, and something had snapped between them. Now it felt like Venus was retracting, retreating, letting Clawdeen have full control. It was like watching a flower fold it's petals in on itself, hiding what was beneath.
"Yeah," Clawdeen said after a moment. "Yeah, you're right, we probably should." She mentally urged Venus to go ahead and take the lead, but she might as well have been urging an imaginary friend. Not knowing what else to do, Clawdeen stood up.
The time it took for them to get ready for bed passed in complete silence. Howleen, thankfully, had the sense to leave them alone. What concerned Clawdeen, however, wasn't the silence on the outside, but the silence on the inside. She could feel Venus's presence, but she could no longer tell what the plant ghoul was feeling. She remembered what Bonita had said about her needing to be more aware of the other's feelings and her guilt increased. She hadn't done that. She hadn't even tried until now.
They laid awake for some time, both tired yet unable to sleep. Clawdeen finally Spoke. "Venus?"
Silence.
"Come on, ghoulfriend. Talk to me."
But Venus didn't want to talk. She wasn't ready to talk. Not yet.
Clawdeen realized she wasn't going to get a response, so instead she turned inward and reached out toward Venus with her emotions. She was met by a wall of thorns. A wall… Clawdeen thought regretfully. Now I get it.
The morning passed much like the night had; Clawdeen took charge and Venus did nothing to interfere. She hated it. Clawdeen was used to being challenged over and over again, it was part of the unlife of a werewolf. It was a struggle, yes, but it was also what built her up, what pushed her to be greater. Great was the last thing she felt. She felt like a bad dog who had bitten the hand the fed her.
Clawdeen reluctantly entered the kitchen. She didn't feel like eating, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the guilt or the fusion. Both probably.
Howleen was already there and frying some bacon. She perked when she saw them. "Morning," she said brightly. "What would you like?"
Clawdeen knew better than to answer this time, so she waited to give Venus a chance to reply first. She didn't though.
Howleen cocked her head. "Venus?"
"I'm here."
"What do you want for breakfast?"
"I don't care. Whatever Clawdeen wants."
Howleen scowled. "Listen here, Venus. Do not let my sister take over you the way she tries to take over everything. Just because she's a wolf doesn't mean she gets to be alfa."
Both Venus and Clawdeen were taken a bit by surprise by this. Clawdeen immediately felt a bit of pride for her sister, then her inner puppy wagged its tail when she realized she could also tell what Venus had felt: appreciation. The wall had fractured.
"Thanks Howleen," Venus said, "but I really don't mind."
But the fracture was enough for Clawdeen catch what Venus really thought. I don't want to be a weed.
"That's it," Clawdeen said firmly. "We need to talk." She didn't wait for a response. She stalked out of the house and into the woods, walking until she found an open, sunlit area. She leaned against a large tree and tipper their face toward the sun. They stood and breathed deeply for a minute, soaking up the sun's warmth.
"I'm sorry," Clawdeen finally said. She wanted to add that she hadn't meant what she'd said, but realized Venus probably wouldn't believe it. Words said in anger were often honest. So instead Clawdeen said, "What I did was cruel and inconsiderate. I never meant to hurt you. I was so caught up in my own frustrations that I never stopped to consider how you were in the same boat." She could feel the wall of thorns start to crack, and through the crack she felt Venus's pain. "You are not the weed in this situation. My temper is, and my temper alone. And that's my problem to deal with, not yours." Clawdeen felt the wall crumble a little more, but she didn't know what else she could say without it sounding empty. So instead she chose to show Venus her guilt and shame, silently begging for forgiveness. A minute passed in silence, then she said, "You still haven't told me how you managed to persuade my little sis to help out so easily."
"Oh. That," Venus said. "It's this little saying my mom likes to use: Show them the rose before the thorns." And with that the wall fell. She couldn't hold it up any longer as she knew Clawdeen was truly sorry. She didn't want to keep blocking her out, and she'd be a hypocrite if she tried to well up her emotions. So instead she let them pool out, and Clawdeen did the same. Venus closed her eyes as Clawdeen finally shared her ever-guarded inner self.
She saw the struggles of growing up in a family full of wolves, all eager for the spotlight. There wasn't room to try and be considerate to the others because they weren't going to be considerate toward you. You had to act fast, grab onto what you wanted and mark it as yours. The moment you try to be sweet or gentle and give up what you desired for another, the others would take advantage of it. Venus saw how Clawdeen had witnessed this happen to Clawdia, her older and much more timid sister. So Clawdeen had found her passion and guarded it, made it her own. Venus would have thought it a rough life if she hadn't also known how Clawdeen felt about it. To Clawdeen it was just a regular part of life, no more significant than any other challenge. What was harder was reminding herself that she didn't need to be so aggressive or forceful outside of the family. Venus had heard of this, but being able to actually see it through Clawdeen's eyes and emotion let her really understand it and Clawdeen. Now it was time to show her side.
Clawdeen felt immensely relieved by Venus's forgiveness, and she was eager to investigate what she should have paid attention to from the start. The first thing Clawdeen found was passion, passion as powerful as her own yet completely different from hers. Venus loved the world's natural beauty and she wanted to share that wonder with everyone. But she also felt great sorrow as humans and monsters alike took advantage of it, never stopping to admire or consider. And for what? A moment's convenience? A second saved? She didn't enjoy standing for hours passing out flyers. She didn't find picking through trash every other day fun. But if she didn't do it, who would? With that passion came challenges. Clawdeen was used to her passion for fashion being met with enthusiasm and encouraging support. It was rattling to realize how differently Venus's passion was met. Countless days after countless days monsters scoffed, rolled their eyes, ignored, and avoided her. All small hurts that are easy to overlook on their own, but eventually it rubbed raw. Even the people Venus considered friends went silent when she began to rant. Not listening, just tolerating. It made Venus feel like a constat weed to those around her, but it was against he better judgement to let the subject rest. Venus had to defend what was left of nature, but there was nothing to defend the defender. Clawdeen understood now what cord she had struck, and she made a mental note to herself to growl at the next monster to roll their eyes at being told to take a second and put a can in the recycling.
A loud and startling ringing brought them both back to the present. Clawdeen flipped out her phone to see Howleen's face on the screen. "You ghouls comin' or what? It's time to go!"
"We'll be right there," Venus told her. "You ready Clawdeen?"
"Lets go do this thing."
"Oh, good," Howleen said, "you worked it out. Hey, how much longer will you be stuck like this?"
"Frankie said we should have it all fixed by the end of the day," Clawdeen said.
"Aw man," Howleen pouted. "I liked having Venus for an older sister."
Clawdeen rolled her eyes as Venus held back laughter. "Love you too sis." They shut off the phone and ran out of the forest feeling ready to challenge whatever the day would throw at them.
I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did writing it. No promises on when the next update is, but reviews always boost moral. The seeemingly missing section on the fassion cerfufle is covered in Lagoonafire's story, which will most likely be next.
Till Next Time,
RainStorm