Easter Sunday had...a lot of hitches.
Mrs Barclay's lasted 'boyfriend' had left. That made the foster mother even more angry than usual. Though she still took it out on Lilac.
Lilac was drawing in a tiny corner of the room. She'd been drawing the same thing she had for two days- a black pegasus.
Seeing her drawing instead of actually listening, Mrs Barclay stormed up. Lilac flinched away, holding journal close to her chest.
"Now you listen here, you little rat!" Mrs Barclay snapped. Lilac was freaking out, but she refused to cower from this woman. "You stay under my house, you follow my rules! Bedtime was at eight o'clock! It's well past nine!"
"I don't care!" Lilac screamed at her. "You're not my mother!"
"Your mother lost her mind!" Mrs Barclay raged back. "Just like that lunatic sister of hers!"
Lilac growled. She ran out of the house before she could bite Mrs Barclay's ear off. With her dragon teeth, that was an actual worry.
==CR==
Lilac was hiding in the park, under the same tree she'd been at whenever I came to town.
Hamil flew up to me. He hugged my neck, chittering all about the past day. How he'd heard my call. He ignored it to watch Lilac. He admitted she'd had a nightmare, that it had turned into a black pegasus made out of sand. Lilac had been despondent all day, so much so that when no eggs could be found she wasn't affected.
She still believed though.
She was so miserable, she'd lost so much.
Yet she still believed.
In me.
"Thank you, Hamil." My feet touched the ground.
The Earth tried to fight against me, to fill me with the negative emotions as it had before. With a clench of my teeth, I held on.
Anderson's show no submission. With the earth or anyone.
"For watching my niece." My hand came up to the cherub, brushing his slackjaw. "You have no idea how much I'm grateful."
Not staying for his reply, I walked up behind the tree.
Lilac was sketching. She was more of a painter, so her sketching was an odd sight.
Until I saw what she was sketching.
Me.
Or rather, me as a Pegasus.
It was hard to tell, as she had done it black and white. You could see the dark of my fur, with the silver of my mane.
If I didn't know better, I'd say she was drawing the Nightmare she had created last night.
"You shouldn't be out this late." I chided. "Especially alone."
Lilac didn't flinch. She kept sketching, not even looking up at me. "Only my mom tells me what to do."
"Well, I consider myself your Guardian, so I have more authority than your mother. If she can't watch you, the closest relative should. That being me." I argued, trying to keep the air light. "Though I have to say that woman is gorgeous."
"She has your face, Auntie." Lilac remarked dryly.
"And whose decision was that? Her's. She copied her face onto mine. If I look cute, it's her fault." I joked, though the tone fell flat.
Lilac wouldn't look at me. She did pause in her coloring.
"Kid." I spoke up. "Kid I need you to look at me- please."
Lilac did. Slowly. Peering over the bangs she always had brushed over the side of her face. Honestly she had all the makings of an emo if she joined the Dark Side.
But she saw me.
Saw her aunt.
Believed in her aunt.
"Where's your mom?" I asked. My voice far kinder than it had been for a long time.
Lilac sniffled, putting on a brave face. "She lost custody. Something about a psychotic break." She sniffled again, wiping her nose on her jacket sleeve. "We've been here seven months. Seven months without my mom unless those- those people say it's okay to see her! I've only seen her seven times. Seven! Today was going to be eight but apparently stupid Mrs Barclays didn't think I could handle it!"
"Kid..."
"And where were you?!" Lilac snapped at me. "Where were you, Auntie?! Mom's been so sad since you- you died! Can't you come back?! They'd let Mom come back if you came back!"
"Kid it's not that simple-"
"SHUT UP!" Lilac screamed at me, stomping her foot in the dirt. Her dark blue eyes went serpentine, and I swear I saw smoke come out of her nose. "SHUT UP! JUST- JUST FIX MOM!" She started to sob now. The smoke vanished, the eyes too. Instead there were tears coming down her cheeks that changed to steam. "...I wanna go Home. I can't go Home without Mom and she won't go Home without you."
Taking a deep breath, I waited to see if that was all she had to say. When it was clear she was just gonna start crying I flew up to her. That was when I pulled her close for a lackluster hug.
My niece buried her face in my cameo dress. She was making it wet with tears, but I didn't particularly care for the dress.
"I miss you, Auntie." Lilac sobbed.
Her broken voice caused me to fall to my knees, hugging her whole body into mine. "I know, kid, I know. I missed you too. So much. Even when I couldn't remember you, I still had to see you." My hand brushed down on her back. She shuddered in her sobs. "I'm an awful Guardian, aren't I? This is supposed to be Morgue's shtick."
But Lilac kept sobbing.
She didn't pull away.
I think...right now...it didn't matter to Lipac who I was. Just that I was there.
'What a sap.' I thought, running my fingers through her hair. 'Geez. Can't you be a heartless monster like your aunt? It would save me a lot of trouble.'
There was a noise.
I pulled out an arrow from the quiver, aiming it towards my opponent. The arrow changed in color, changing from gold to a darkened purple. Lilac squeaked behind me.
Pitch stood there.
A legion of Nightmares behind him.
Pitch sneered victoriously at us. "One of the last two Lights."
Lilac cowered behind me. She held tightly to the edge of my dress. I kept my arrow steady on him. Because anybody that scared my niece must've been ready to die.
He took a step forward, so I let loose a purple arrow into his chest. He caught it before it could mark.
"That was a warning. The next won't be." I warned.
Pitch grinned wide, showing off his fangs. Lilac's dragon smile had more pointed teeth. "Such devotion, to a creature who only knows how to spread pain."
"So you should be afraid for your kneecaps right now." I remarked.
"She can't protect you." Pitch told Lilac.
I fired another purple arrow at his leg. Pitch grunted in pain when it hit. 'Oooh that's a useful new trick.' The area around his knee became purple before he tore out the arrow.
"Talk to my niece again- and I'll make you suffer." I warned him, docking another purple arrow.
"Niece?" Pitch repeated with interest. Lilac curled up behind my back. "What a development."
"I used to be afraid of my past." I admitted. "Afraid that I would be just as worse as you, before. It made me so scared to even have my teeth, my memories." I grinned at Pitch, making it wide to show off teeth. I'm sure my purple eyes-and they had to be purple, because I was me- were glinting with crazed intent. "Turns out I was wrong. I'm not as bad as you." I grabbed an arrow, pulling it back. "I'm worse."
The purple arrow loosed. Pitch grabbed it, missing the three I fired right after. He yelled in pain.
"I've killed more people in my lifetime, Pitch, than there are years in your life." I warned him. He glared up at me, eyes of amber-but not the right kind of amber. Her amber was like gold or whiskey or Sandy's sand- going wide at my revelation. "So when I say don't talk to my niece or you'll suffer, I mean it. Because I have killed things more powerful than a dethroned Nightmare King."
With that I wrapped my arm around Lilac's body, pulling her close to me.
"Kid hold on!" I shouted. Lilac's hands wrapped around me in a hug. I teleported us out of there.
==CR==
We landed in the Bennett's front yard.
Lilac blinked in confusion. "That was...weird flying."
"That was angel flying." I explained, going up towards the window. "Like, from Supernatural. Teleporting. Or it's like...I don't know. Morgue does the science explanations. And magic ones."
The dragon snickered. "I like angel flying."
"You would. Morgue's kid." I snorted, messing with her hair. "Don't get used to it. I'm not an auntie-taxi."
She giggled.
"Shut up."
She continued to giggle.
"You know what? Forget it. You're worse than your mother." I scolded.
"No I'm not." Lilac giggled.
"Yes you are. Morgue laughs at everything. Just...every single thing. Like a hyena." I explained. Lilac continued to laugh. "Whatever."
Up at Jamie's window, Jack was bringing a snow bunny to life. He set it off to hop around Jamie's room.
Lilac gasped. "Auntie can you do stuff like that?"
"No...I've got cherubs."
"What's a cherub?" Lilac asked, fave squinted up in confusion.
I blinked. "Hamil." The cherub floated out of my hair, flying to the awed Lilac. "There. Cherub."
"This is so cute!" She squeaked. She held Hamil in her hands. "You are so cute!"
Hamil puffed his chest. My eyes rolled.
"Auntie, can we go see?" Lilac asked. She pointed up to Jamie's window. Hamil chittered the same thing.
'Damn...she's perfected the puppy eyes.'
"Whatever." My arm stretched out. Lilac latched onto into. Hamil flew to my shoulder, chittering.
"What's he saying?" Lilac asked as we flew to the window.
"You don't speak Squirrel?" I asked, gawking. Lilac shook her head. "You disgrace. Everyone in our family can speak squirrel."
"But there's only three of us."
"Still applies." I argued, lowering Lilac in front of the window. It was snowing inside now. Hamil pushed the window open so we could hear.
"Snow?" Jamie asked. Jack was floating over the desk, not noticing us at the window. "Jack Frost?" He whispered.
Jack tensed. "Did he just say-?"
Jamie sat up on his bed. "Jack Frost."
Lilac pulled on my dress sleeve. I leaned down. "Auntie, he's floating."
"He can do that. Hush."
"It's good he is. He's not wearing shoes."
"Kid, hush."
"He said it again. He said-" Jack was practically hyperventilating in disbelief. "You said."
The boy turned around. His jaw dropped, his eyes went wide. "Jack Frost."
"That's right! But-but that's me! Jack Frost! That's my name! You said my name!" Jack cheered, not getting the point. "Wait, can you hear me?" I thunked my head on the window pane. "Can you... Can you see me?" Another thunk. "He sees me. He sees me!" "Auntie you'll give yourself a bump."
"You just made it snow."
"I know!"
"In my room."
"I know!"
"You're real?"
"Yeah! Who do you think brings you all the blizzards and snow days, and you remember when you went flying on that sled the other day?!" Jack asked.
"That was you?" Jamie gawked.
"That was me!"
"Cool!" I'm counting that as a pun.
"Right?!"
"But what about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy I mean-" Jamie asked.
"Real-real-real! Every one of us is real!" Jack answered. "And-and Cupid too."
"I knew it!"
His mom's voice came from downstairs. Hamil squeaked, hiding in my hair. "Jamie, who are you talking to?"
"Um...Jack Frost." Jamie called back.
The mom laughed as she replied. "...okay."
'If Lilac has said that to Morgue, not only would Morgue believe her, she'd ask to join.' I found myself smirking. 'Nosy bitch.'
"Can we go do things now?" I asked, leaning in from the window.
Jack cheered. "Cupid he can see me!"
"Great! Let's go." I deadpanned.
"Hey Mister Frost!" Lilac leaned in. She waved her hand to the pale spirit.
Jack's eyes widened. "You see me too?" Lilac nodded. Jack laughed in delight.
Jamie gasped. "You're Cupid!" 'Oh joy. Now he can see me too.' "You look like Legolas!"
"That was the idea."
There was a loud crack of thunder. Lilac squealed, hugging my side. My hands went to my bow and a purple arrow.
A familiar sleigh could be heard up the road. Grinning, I began to slide down the roof. "Hey Lilac, wanna meet Santa?" Lilac was sliding down behind me-not very well.
==CR==
AN: Finally home and it. Is. GOOD!
Thanks to EzraKeyleyKane, vXxBlackRabbitxXv, for favoriting
Thanks to EzraKeyleyKane, vXxBlackRabbitxXv, for following