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ramblingsofamadman25 · 2 years ago

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Chapter 8: You Pretty Thing

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45283270/chapters/115141717

In his mind, Corvus thought tonight had gone over dreadfully well! He was ecstatic to be able to speak with other people again, and the young Sinclair boy had a sharp wit the few times he’d spoken up during their dinner. Gomez had played the perfect host, Morticia kept the conversation flowing, even Pugsley and Pubert made for good entertainment. Aside from the slight hiccup he’d had when Esther had spoken to him, it was a mission accomplished in his book. Though he’d taken a lot of his fun for the night from watching the end of the table where the two young women kept talking like old friends, Wednesday in particular looked to be enjoying herself while she spoke with the werewolf, listening to every word like it was the last thing she’d hear. As a Keeper, he could respect her skill for observation.

As was his nightly routine, he’d gone to his room following dinner to unwind and take in the quiet of his own space, maybe meditate a little, and Rue napped on the end of his bed in a little ball as the sounds of purring and gentle chirps soothed his soul. Just as he had finished the first page in his journal entry for the day there came a sharp knock at his door, and Wednesday burst into the room with Thing crawling behind her on the floor. Her eyes were cold and hard like a criminal, posture perfect as she demanded to know about Esther.

“Don’t spare a single detail, Enid relayed to me she can’t transform on the full moon even at her age, and already asked for my assistance.”

Corvus openly stared at the psychic as her dark eyes glared daggers into his own, Thing creeping up her shoulder slowly in what he guessed was an attempt at intimidation. After the busy day he’d had filled with dinner preparations and socializing like he hadn’t in a decade or more he wanted nothing in the world like he wanted to relax and write out his jumbled thoughts in the leatherbound journal, maybe enjoy a few cigarettes he’d rolled from a new blue moss that grew near the caves.

“I will not be asking so politely twice, cousin. Your behavior out there was strange and I demand answers as to why.” Wednesday crossed her arms and waited, he groaned and motioned for her to take a seat on the end of his bed next to Rue.Corvus began to dig through one of the drawers on the right side of his desk before pulling out two letters that were simply addressed “Keeper.”

The first was in a yellowed envelope, yet the ink was sparkly orange. The second looked more like a bill, plain white with blank ink.

“Enid and Esther both sent letters to me, about a week apart, with their own ideas of what the alliance might agree upon that would benefit both families.” Corvus held up the first letter and allowed his dark eyes to peruse the soft paper and neat cursive, honored that someone had remembered the old way to introduce themselves to a Keeper. It wasn’t common practice anymore, but it was traditional to use paper that was at least 50 years old and a colored ink that the person felt represented the situation. Orange was an odd choice in his eye, but he wouldn’t begrudge the girl for having a different taste to his.

“What did Enid say?” Wednesday asked, less demanding and more inquisitive now. She reached out a hand like she was waiting for him to hand it to her, but he smiled and shook his head.

“I won’t let you read this one, there’s some sensitive information you probably don’t know yet, but her basic idea was that in exchange for helping her to ‘wolf out,’ the Addams family would receive full access to the pack library for 72 hours.” A fair exchange in his mind, 72 hours was just enough to make sure they learned plenty from the werewolves without giving them time to get into the deeper secrets.

“And what did her mother write that had you so obviously upset earlier?”

His eyes darkened as his gaze flicked over to the plain white office paper that was still much too bright. Esther Sinclair had many things to say in her letter. Most of all what a disappointment Enid had turned out to be for not just her family, but the entire pack and their reputation as well. It took him a moment to calm himself and take a deep breath, focusing on the gentle requiem of magic within his veins, listening to it thrum and sing beneath the skin.

“She demanded that we either adopt Enid as an Addams,” another deep breath as he gripped his leg, “or clean her up quietly.” His voice was even and flat, the best he could manage at the moment. Wednesday’s eyes widened with shock and he saw the gears in her mind shifting into overdrive.

“Esther Sinclair asked you to kill Enid?” she clarified.

“Yes.”

_________

A simple one word reply was all it took to have her stunned and made the psychic narrow her eyes at the wall. The raven’s reading on her cousin screamed his emotions back to her, no matter how stoic his face was. Rage. Indignation. Sorrow.

Wednesday almost couldn’t believe her luck, but at least now she’d have an excuse when she ripped the crone’s still beating heart from her body and served it to Asmodeus for a treat. Corvus didn’t look to be quite as healthy or young as he had earlier, and now she could see again that his face was so thin that it scared even her a bit, the dark eyes swirled with anger and his shoulders were sagged as he rubbed his face with both hands. He looked so tired then, so worn.

If Wednesday really had been paying attention, there were signs to his age everywhere in the house from the vintage bottles of alcohol to the perfect attention to the land she’d seen earlier that day. But this was the first time he appeared old to her. The same way one might stumble upon a fae and see the centuries reflected in their hearts.

She stopped to consider for a moment while Rue woke up and chirruped to the sound of them talking and then prowled across the bed to lie in Wednesday’s lap. Once her own heart rate had settled a bit, Wednesday scratched the fur between the gryphowl’s ears and looked back to him.

“What are our options?” She was quiet and watched as Corvus took a drag from the strange rolling paper and let out a breath of teal smoke.

“Wait for the right moment to tell Enid. Regardless of how the Sinclair pack makes out with this deal, she is my priority here as she contacted me first with the proper procedure. Not only that though, her entire pack must have agreed to Esther’s terms and that sits on my chest heavier than a boulder. Addams don’t kill in cold blood, our entire family history speaks to that, and I will not have it sullied on the assumption of ignorant hounds.”

“I agree.” Wednesday nodded and stood, picking Rue up with her before she passed the mass of soft fur and feathers to the Keeper.

“Get some rest for now, and breathe not a word of this to the rest of the family. I will see that woman publicly shamed and humiliated as a tale for future generations. And as much as I love your father,” Corvus sighed, “he would not take the insult in stride and is known to be quite impatient.”

“I will be seeing Enid tomorrow, we’ve made plans to go rooting around through the library to find a solution.”

“Excellent. Let me know what you find or if you need any assistance,” he nodded. Relief. “It makes me glad that you two are getting along already.”

“I would like the key to your personal journals, if that is alright with you.” She crossed her hands in front of her as he dug through another drawer and pulled out a single white rune with Fehu carved into it in deep scarlet.

“Just press this to any lock you find and it will allow access, it’s my personal master key.”

Wednesday nodded in thanks and said a quick goodnight before she snuck her way back out into the hall and up the stairs to her room. Thing remained on her shoulder as she took a seat at her own desk with a few questions still buzzing around in the front of her mind. The pen and paper within the desk were more handy in that moment than she would have thought they ever would be as she began to write down information she needed to gather before moving forward with any plots.

Who is the Sinclair pack’s leader? Is there anyone in the family who might know more? More pressing than that, is it possible to force a transformation outside of the full moon? The last one weighed on her like a bullet-proof vest. The new moon had been just the previous night, and it would be a small chunk of time before the next full one. At the bottom of the page, in smaller font, she wrote one last question. Who is Enid Sinclair?

Now that the words were free from rattling around in her brain like a jar full of thumbtacks, Wednesday was able to take a breath and ease the tension from her brow. She sat there for a minute longer before getting ready for bed and tucking into the soft black comforter. The quiet calls of nocturnal monstrosities and the sound of wind soon caressed her into sleep, even as she could sense the rest of the family still awake in the living room.

_________

For the first time in what feels like years, Enid finally slept through the whole night without waking up. She’d changed before bed but still wore the dark blazer tight around her shoulders like a security blanket, rubbing her hands over the soft fabric, and allowing the mint smell to clear her head and send shivers down her spine. Golden sunlight filtered in through the windows that drew beams of light in tight rectangles on the floor. With a long and loud stretch, Enid could feel her joints cracking and settling back into place before she groaned one last time and settled into the comfy bed.

After about ten minutes, the sad song of a mourning dove finally grabbed her consciousness and dragged it back to the waking world. The smell of coffee wafted in from around the frame of the door, so thick and delicious she could almost see the caramel ribbons floating through the air to her nose like in an old cartoon.

The blonde took a little time to grab a new outfit from the wardrobe, patting it as she walked to the bathroom to change and get ready for the day. Simpler today, she was given a lavender long sleeve shirt with a low collar, white jeans, and the orange hiking boots once again.

“Enid, Malachi!” Esther shouted from down the hall.

“Coming mom!” she yelled back. With one last look in the mirror she ruffled her hair and wrinkled her nose with a smile and headed out to the kitchen.

“There you finally are, you couldn’t have woken up a bit earlier than this dear?” her mom’s eyebrow arched like a gymnast. Not wanting to start an argument this early, Enid apologized and walked in with her eyes to the floor.

Her parents sat at the small table with mugs in their hand, though her dad’s cup did read ‘oatmeal’ along the side, which was funny to only her probably. Enid poured a cup for herself from the slightly outdated coffee pot on the counter that sputtered every few seconds, then sat down on the opposite side of her mother at the tail of the table.

The coffee was hot, strong, and slightly burnt, but it gave her a little jolt to clear more of the fog in her mind as she took a sip and tasted the bitterness. I wonder if they left some sugar here for us? Malachi walked in a moment later and sat down next to their dad without saying anything, his eyes glazed over and his own hair messed at odd angles.

“You know I love you all so much, and that I only want what’s best for you.” Her mom used that phrase a lot, usually with a strained smile and shaking hands. “But right now we need to do what’s best for the family, all of us, especially you dear,” she gestured with her cup to Enid.

“It’s early Esther, please just say what you mean,” her dad grumbled through his coffee.

“We need to be on their good side, especially that…lovely little Wednesday. The Addams have lawyers that could protect the pack for generations, and trading partners around the world.”

“Yeah, on the black market if you listened to Gomez last night,” Enid added.

“It doesn’t matter where the business comes from, the pack needs money. Since you,” she glared at her daughter, “have cost us so much in treatments and consults.”

“I didn’t even want to go to those stupid appointments! You made me!”

“Either way dear, your condition was the pack’s responsibility. Now you need to pay that forward by making them trust you.” The two women held a short staring contest across the table, both angry, and both wanting to be away from the other. Enid gave first and growled a bit as she took a sip of the coffee again. This time the bitterness seemed almost fitting as she swallowed it, kinda like her pride.

“I’m not taking advantage of them, if that’s what you’re asking. Wednesday and I really hit it off last night, without you needing to stick your nose in it,” she scoffed.

“ENID SINCLAIR!” The older wolf rose from her seat and slammed her hands down on the table. Enid only shrugged and looked away as her mom’s claws popped and scratched the surface of the table, about half as long and sharp as her own painted ones. With a huff the older wolf sat down and pinched the bridge of her nose. Malachi shifted in his seat and tried to catch her eye, almost saying You okay? She nodded and his focus went back to the salt shaker he’d been fiddling with in his lap.

“Please Enid, just for once do something worthwhile for the pack other than hunting squirrels and rabbits,” she sighed. A small pang of guilt stuck into her chest at that, and she stared down into her cup. Awkward silence turned the air into jelly and her dad shifted in his seat with a cough.

“Are we going to the Addams’ place now or later?” Enid’s voice was soft.

“Corvus said they would have food for every meal we wanted to have with them,” her dad cut in.

“Yes, fine, we’ll go now. Go get anything else you need and get in the truck,” Esther finished and quickly stood to put her cup in the sink.

A few minutes later, their parents were sitting in the cabin of the truck while Enid and her older brother were on the back with their legs hung off the edge of the flat bed as they rolled down the dirt road, bouncing up and down while the truck rolled over each bump. She couldn’t hear what her parents were saying over the roar of the engine, but she guessed by her mom’s flying hands that she was on another rant about how much of a let down she was.

“Hey,” Malachi said, tapping on her arm. Even though he was almost six years older than her, he held himself so small he could almost pass as the younger of them both. Their gaze met and she sighed like a dramatic teenager.

“What Mal?”

“Don’t antagonize her E, it’s just gonna make everything worse.” Malachi’s blue eyes shot to the cabin and then went back to staring at the ground. “You don’t know what she really wants.”

“Make what worse?” She rolled her eyes, “she’s always this bad.”

__________

Wednesday was in the kitchen making her second americano of the day when the wolves pulled up the driveway. Most of her family was still asleep and resting like corpses in bed on account of the fact that they were near nocturnal creatures most nights, she’d grown up in a family where sleeping until past noon was the norm. The Sinclair’s arriving this early meant their family chose not to subscribe to the same ideology.

The only other person she’d seen awake this early in the day had been Corvus, and he had left the house about 2 hours ago with a bandolier of knives strapped around his chest and a tool belt around his waist, stating that he had duties to attend to on the northern edge of the property regarding some Urayuli.

She stepped outside to greet them in a pair of black docs, dark jeans, and a gray mock neck top with sleeves that almost covered her thumbs. Her hair had been returned to the usual twin braids that rested on each shoulder. While they piled out of the vehicle, Wednesday stepped up to the truck.

“I’m afraid nobody else on the premises is awake yet, aside from my cousin. He should return within the hour. He took the appetite of werewolves into account and there are omelet ingredients as well as sausages waiting in the kitchen.”

“How thoughtful! We’ll have to thank him when he gets back!” Wednesday had to temper the hot steel in her chest before looking at the overly chipper woman.

“Where’d he go so early?” Enid asked as she stepped up in front of the raven. Once again Wednesday was taken back by the girl, knowing what she needed to tell her but doubting she could do so without eviscerating her mother like a wild beast.

“Trouble with one of the more intelligent creatures on the land, he didn’t elaborate beyond saying he may find himself covered in either blood or ash if it went wrong.”

Murray and Esther shared a strange look before the man shrugged and was leading the charge towards the kitchen. She nodded to them as they passed, and then tilted her head for Enid to follow her.

“I’m heading to the stables to check on Asmodeus if you’d like to join me.”

“Oh my god, yes! I wanna scratch his big face and see if he purrs!” she beamed.

“If not from that, I did hear him purring yesterday after a fresh kill,” Wednesday quipped as she started down the dusty road to the stables.

“I’d really prefer not to get covered in blood this early, but I want to hear that purr so bad!” __________

As soon as they reached the stables, Enid couldn’t even try to stop herself as she squealed and ran straight up to the huge horses locked behind doors with dark iron bars. Each one came closer and sniffed the air from around her as she came up in front and almost reached her hand inside before Wednesday’s own hand was wrapped around her wrist like a snake and pulled her away slowly.

“While ordinarily I’d enjoy watching someone lose a few fingers or even a hand, I would prefer that you didn’t.” The psychic’s onyx eyes peered into her with a silent demand.

“What do you mean? Horses are gentle, they don't bite that hard.”

“Perhaps not a normal horse, no. But remember where you are and smell the air, what scent comes from their stalls?” Enid took a step closer to the mare in front of her and took a deep breath in, then had to cover her nose and move a few feet away. It smelled like carrion and death, it reminded her of wandering the forest around the compound back home and finding an old carcass.

“That’s so gross, who feeds a horse meat?” Her nose wrinkled and Wednesday deadpanned.

“They originate from an old Greek myth, and have a penchant for violence I can appreciate,” she smirked before it turned into a full on psychotic grin and she held up a finger to beckon Enid to follow. They walked down a short concrete ramp with heavy wooden doors at the bottom, and the werewolf’s sensitive hearing could make out the sounds of growling and mixed snores coming from inside. “This is where my cousin keeps the more dangerous of his domesticated pets. Again, don’t get too close to the bars.”

“Man-eating horses aren’t dangerous enough for you guys?” She joked.

“Not by half.”

Her blue eyes flew open wide and she nodded before Wednesday pressed a stone to the lock and the doors swung open with a long and high squeak for them. The smell of meat was still there, but more like the candles she kept at home. Fresh beef, pork, chicken, and the acidic smell of…cat? Ew.

The blonde poked her head just inside and looked at each cage, most of them were too dark to see what was inside, but towards the end on the right she could hear a low mewling while a black paw batted at the bars. Wednesday walked into the room a few steps before she realized that Enid wasn’t following, and stopped to wait for her.

Something inside Enid, deep inside her bones and chest, was telling her to stop and leave right now. Dangerous predators, even to a werewolf, were locked up inside here. The smell of murky water and seaweed hit her from the cage straight to the right and had her hair standing on end.

“Are you coming or not?” Wednesday huffed.

“Um, yeah. Give me a sec here, can you see if the cage on the right has something looking at me?” The goth rolled her eyes and stepped up to the bars without even waiting and then came back to wave Enid out. She nodded and followed, barely keeping a whine from escaping as she looked inside again.

“There’s just a nixie. Scared of pretty women?” Enid knew she was being teased, but didn’t want to really miss out on a shot of coming out without actually coming out to her.

“Pretty women? Yes. Pretty women that don’t like the way a wolf smells and can drown me? Double yes.” Pretty gothic psychics who like creepy things? Triple yes.

“I’ll file that away for future reference,” Wednesday hummed.

“Huh?” Enid’s blush returned to her ears as she realized that the cold feeling had returned to her mind before she had answered.

“Nothing. Come see, she’s all locked up tight and is quite incapable of drowning you.”

While that was true, it didn’t settle the feeling in her chest all that much. The nixie was crouched at the edge of a deep pool that spanned all but a small landing near the cage door, hands on the bars as she batted her eyelashes at the pair and blew a kiss. Her hair was an ice cold blue that easily matched her paper white skin, sharp ears almost wrapped around the back side of her head, and a grin of needle-like teeth popped onto the fae’s face as they got closer.

Enid decided to not linger there any longer, taking hold of Wednesday’s wrist this time and pulling them both to the center of the large room. They both stood there for a moment, looking around at the large creatures as they slept inside their cages, and she felt the cold touch against her mind once again.

“Come, I’ll introduce you,” Wednesday relented as Enid released her grip. Her black boots were clunky and big, but each step on the stone floor was almost silent as she moved towards the end cage Enid had seen before.

Asmodeus was curled up in a ball against the bars of his cage as they approached, and stood once he looked up to see Wednesday there. His large black head rubbed against the bars and a deep purr echoed around the room when the shorter woman reached out with her fingers and rubbed a spot between his eyes. Enid melted at the purr and held up a hand of her own as her friend nodded, and began rubbing just behind the velvety soft ears.

Most of the time she’d seen Wednesday so far, it was with no expression at all or a slightly manic one. But now Enid noticed as the psychic’s eyes softened at just the edges and one corner of her mouth twitched upward. She took the time to look over and really look at the girl, making sure to take note of each little twitch and shift of her body language as she continued to absolutely pamper the large black cat with stoic love.

They stayed there for a while, even going into the cage and lying against Asmodeus’ large back as she chuffed and purred while Wednesday pulled small bits of sausage wrapped in a paper towel from her pocket and hand fed him. When those pitch black eyes met her own and she held up a hand with a piece of sausage in it for Enid to feed him as well, she decided nothing could make this day go bad.

__________

They were almost back to the house, kicking up dust from the road and chatting about their old schools when Corvus came stomping over the hill just to their right. Enid smiled and waved to him as wide as she could to get his attention, but her face fell when she saw his white linen shirt had a dark red spot that trailed down the sleeve on his right arm.

Wednesday stopped in her tracks and waited with her hands folded in front of her, Enid fidgeting to stay still just to her right. She was worried, and who could blame her, family members appearing from the plains covered in blood wasn’t a normal thing for the Sinclair’s unless a full moon was coming up.

But as he got closer, she became more scared of him than for him. The leather strap across his chest was empty, dark soot covered his fingers, his normally tied back hair was loose and blowing in the wind like a funeral shroud, and a single large tooth was clutched in his right hand so tight the knuckles were white. But even Wednesday took a sharp breath in when he was close enough to finally see his eyes.

The tar pits she’d gotten a little used to were gone, it was like the blackness had drained from his actual eyes into circles of black surrounding them and left behind glowing green irises filled with anger. He didn’t say a word, just motioned for them to follow once he reached the road and stalked back to the house ahead of them.

“Are you okay?” Enid asked, moving a bit closer.

“Yes. Gather everyone in the library and lock the doors Wednesday.”

“As you command, cousin.” Her tone was back to the regular flatness.

“Wait, what’s going on? I get that you’re psychic and all, but I can’t read minds!” Panic was rising in her chest and her breathing came shallower.

“Someone’s broken into my land and killed my Urayuli. I’m going on a hunt.”

#wednesday #wednesday fanfic #wenclair au #wenclair #ao3 #ao3 update #fanfiction #fanfic

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ramblingsofamadman25 · 2 years ago

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Chapter 7: Me and You, Together

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45283270/chapters/114749254

Entry from the journal of Corvus Addams, Volume 9, page 263:

There has been an update in the circumstances surrounding the Sinclair family and it has left me consumed by rage. It has been a week since receiving correspondence to the young member of the pack, and her mother has dared to write a letter of her own as a follow up with horrendous implications. I would put it to words, but every attempt has left my hands trembling and fury like a bonfire in my throat. I’ve attempted to write down my thoughts three separate times now but tore out each page because I could not make my own penmanship legible to even the most skilled elementary school teachers.

I refuse to respond to her, it would not fit an Addams to deign to lower myself to her level.

For the time being, I will remain silent as a lamb. But that is only because I want this to go well for Enid’s sake, the poor pup has enough on her mind to fret over. If the old bitch dares to utter her “suggestions” to the family I will do nothing to protect her. In fact, I’ll more than likely join in on Gomez’s probable attempts to dismember her.

Damn the packs and their toxicity. If I could I would go back in time and prevent the moronic idea of alphas and betas from spreading. Ever since then the packs have all become intolerable aside from the rare exception.

I need a drink

_________________

She should curse Corvus for not warning her that the other family would have enchanted furniture. She could curse herself for not assuming such a thing as well. Wednesday had no way of preparing herself for the walking beam of moonlight that was Enid as she had stepped out of the truck, nor to prepare for the way that might affect her strategy. The goal was to take center stage, not play as a support character to the Heroine. The snug cream sweater along with her pale skin almost made her glow in the darkness of the night, even after coming inside the small gold fibers shone against the candle light. She’d only done sharp eyeliner for makeup, and the natural gravity was pulling Wednesday in fast.

When they’d first entered the house she couldn’t even take her eyes off of the brilliant platinum hair as it swayed and bobbed while Enid walked. Her blue eyes had been so wide with awe that it was almost…cute? What in Dante’s Nine Hells is happening to me?

“Alright everyone! Take a seat! I didn’t spend all day torturing my wrists just for this to go cold!” Corvus called over the din of chatter. Everyone began to move towards the table and take their seats, the Addams’ taking one side and the Sinclair’s on the other, with Corvus sat at the head near the tall windows. The conversations continued, Enid had been regaling her with tales of misadventure and strange secret society parties from her days at Nevermore for a while now and fell silent as they sat across from each other near the end.

“Soooo, where did you go to school?” The blonde asked.

“I attended a total of 13 schools before graduation, each of them has passed from my memory for the most part,.” A basket of soft rolls was being passed around the table, and her father stood to dish out large chunks of roast to each plate, aside from Wednesday’s own.

“That’s cool I guess, ever make any friends?”

“Friends are a liability and a weakness, I have no weaknesses.”

“That’s actually like one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard before. A werewolf friend wouldn’t be a weakness though, would it?” Enid grinned. The raven thought about that for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of the statement, before she relented with a nod.

“I suppose not, so long as they could protect themselves.”

“No need to worry about that,” she cooed as her colorful nails stretched into long and wicked claws. The wolf lifted one like a needle and used it to skewer a roll from the basket with a wink. “I haven’t been in too many fights, but I’ve never even been scratched.” The pride was evident in her smirk.

“A shame really, scars can be quite enticing,” Wednesday muttered and mirrored her expression. A blush painted the other woman’s ears, but she said nothing more as she began to dig into the portion of roast and mashed potatoes on her plate.

Meat was not Wednesday's first choice for sustenance, it left her feeling greasy and her mind addled, so she had taken nothing more from the table than the honeyed carrots and salad. She’d have to discuss vegetarian options with Corvus later, she’d forgotten to mention it to him before now. An oversight caused by her time spent focusing on the library and her own scheming.

Most of the talking had died down by this point, to her pleasure, as the group seemed to become enveloped by the meal. Compliments of all nature poured forth for Corvus’ skill in the kitchen, most from Enid herself about how 'stupid good' it was.

The wine decanter continued to float overhead as it filled each glass before it settled next to Corvus with a dull thud. He spoke in a hushed voice with her father, who sat at his right hand, and both of them snickered at something. Esther and her mother now had a tense silence between them, and she noticed as the tall Addams’ dark eyes settled on the wolf with a sickeningly sweet smile. Pubert and Pugsley were too busy playing the knife game with Thing to eat. Both of the Sinclair men ate like they’d been starved for weeks, Murray using his napkin to remove the gravy from his beard.

“Wednesday darling, how’s your book coming along?” Morticia asks with a smile.

“Well as ever mother, though I admit to having frustrations at my lack of inspiration lately.”

“Oooo, what kind of book is it?” Enid asks.

“It’s a mystery series I’ve spent a great deal of time on. But no publicist will take it without some form of ‘normal’ interaction.”

“If it’s inspiration you need, you should look into the journals of Arthur Addams, he was alive during the time that Jack the Ripper prowled the streets of London and was obsessed with finding the man,” Corvus offered through a mouthful of potato. “His illustrations look a bit rough, but his deductive skills were unmatched at the time and his dictation is clear and concise as a eulogy.”

“I’ll have to look into it, thank you.”

Before much longer everyone sat back with full stomachs as the wine poured faster and her father broke out a bottle of Glenmorangie whiskey from beneath the table, pouring it into glasses that the keeper floated over from the bar with a simple wave as a rune appeared.

“So I know it’s a normal thing for like, more magical groups, but what does a Keeper do?” Enid poses. All eyes fall on the man at the head of the table as he takes a sip of wine and sets it down with a breath.

“It’s more complicated than we tend to like talking about, so I’ll just give a sort of brief synopsis. Keepers do as their name implies, we keep and guard the knowledge of the people we have sworn ourselves to. Some of us work for factions or guilds, many hide themselves within universities, but most stick to their family,” he smiles and nods to Gomez and Morticia, “in a family of psychics and witches, I find myself surrounded with all manner of dangerous material and secrets.”

“They also all live like insanely long,” Pugsley added.

“That we do, for a myriad of reasons,” he wiggles his hand a bit. “My life is prolonged by feeding off the energy of decay, an ability I inherited from my father and his family.”

“Family is so important, isn’t it?” Esther asked with a wide smile. His head never shifted her way, but Wednesday could feel his attention sharpen and focus on her as he gripped the stem of the wine glass. Enid shifted in her own seat as well and stared at the table as she picked at her nails and said nothing. A breeze blew through the room on phantom wings and set the chandelier to spinning while the candle’s flame flickered and waved. An Addams always looked half-dead, but her cousin's face had gone from pale and gaunt to downright gray and skeletal as he turned to Enid’s mother.

“Indeed. They are the most important thing in my life, each and every one in their unique way,” at this he stared through the woman, “surely a mother would agree?”

Wednesday could almost taste the fear in her eyes, it was delectable.

“Of course,” her voice just above a whisper, still smiling. And just like that the strange spell that had overtaken Corvus vanished as he smiled and clapped his hands together.

“Excellent! I hope you all saved room for dessert, I made a lemon tart with lavender whipped cream on top! Hopefully you all enjoy it as much as I do!”

___________

After everyone had finished eating, and their parents agreed to a quick meeting in the conference room, Enid had started feeling a bit restless. Sitting and doing nothing inside had been killing her for the last hour and she couldn’t take it much longer, so she’d decided to go outside to admire the glowing garden just beyond the windows. The cold air nipped at her face and hands as she kneeled down to a section of beautiful pink flowers that shimmered with tiny red pin pricks along the petals. Her nose might not be as strong as most werewolves because she still hadn’t shifted, but it was much stronger than a regular person’s, and the scent of moonlight and clear water swam through her mind.

“I would prefer they were black dahlias instead, but to each their own I suppose,” Wednesday’s voice cut through the quiet of the night. She stood just behind Enid by about five feet, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her slacks as far as they could go.

“Did you follow me out here?” she giggled.

“Perhaps. You’re intriguing to me, you seem to be less confused about why we're here than everyone other than my cousin,” Wednesday offered her hand, and Enid took it before standing up and dusting off her knees before they continued to walk down the line of plants as the blonde kicked her feet up in front of her with each step.

“Well, you’re interesting to me too,” she admitted, “every time you look at me for too long it feels like my brain gets dipped in ice water.”

“Shocking yet pleasant?”

“Bingo,” Enid smiled over her shoulder.

“I’m afraid that may be due to my gifts as a psychic. I am not particularly…skilled at social obligations.” Enid stopped at the end of the garden to sit on a stone bench that faced the small lake before them, and Wednesday took a seat next to her.

“So you can read people’s minds?” the blonde woman asks with her eyes blown wide.

“Not yet, or at least not effectively. What I do is more like skimming the page of a book that allows me some insight as to what the person I’m reading is feeling. I get impressions such as anger, sorrow, dread, or disgust, but no actual thoughts, to my own disappointment.”

“So like…psychic emojis?” she smiled.

“Refer to my reading like that again and I’ll have to resort to drastic measures.”

The young wolf grinned wider at that and bumped her leg into Wednesday’s. The two of them sat silently with their shoulders just inches apart as they stared out at the water while it reflected the sliver of moonlight. Enid crossed her arms against the chill wind and rubbed her shoulders for a little warmth, looking up at the night sky.

“Can you tell what I’m feeling right now?” she asked as she glanced at the goth. Wednesday’s eyes went blank for a moment again as she looked back at her, the same cold feeling pressing against Enid’s mind, then stared at the water.

“You’re anxious, and uncomfortable. If you wish I can leave you to your thoughts,” before Enid could even say anything the short woman had started to stand. She reached out and placed a hand on the dark fabric of the psychic’s arm before she could make her exit.

“No, it’s not you I promise,” Enid sighed. “Anxiety is just the beginning of this stupid mess.”

“To what do you refer?”

Enid is frozen to the spot for a minute before her breathing exercises allow her shoulders to relax. What would the heiress think if she came clean? Would she judge her as too weak to be a friend after all? There’s no way Wednesday would laugh in her face like her pack did, right?

“Can I tell you something, and have you promise not to mention it to the rest of your family until I do?”

“Of course, my Uncle Fester has confessed a litany of crimes to me over the years. This shouldn’t be any more difficult than that.”

“Okay…so,” here we go, “I’m not exactly a full on werewolf yet.” Enid’s hands return to picking at her nails.

“I’m going to need more than that, I’m afraid,” Wednesday looks at her with confusion written all over her face.

“I’ve never shifted into my wolf before. Most pups do it for the first time when they’re like 13 or 14, but the genetic lottery skipped me I guess,” she held out a hand in front of them to extend the claws again and took a swipe at the empty air before she smiled nice and wide to show off her elongated canines. “That’s all I’ve got.”

A look of understanding crossed Wednesday’s eyebrows as they knit together and she worried her bottom lip. Enid sat in the quiet and waited for her to say something back as another cold gust made her shiver.

“You were the one who wrote to Corvus then.”

“Yup, and now we’re all here in the middle of absolutely nowhere because the longer it takes, the smaller my chance gets.”

“If it makes you feel any better, my own gift causes me to have minor seizures if I touch the wrong thing. It’s an inconvenience I’ll be living with until they finally put me in the ground.”

“I’m sorry, what?” They both look at each other again and Enid honestly couldn’t tell what she had meant by that.

“Psychics are prone to visions,” she breathes, “at times I can glimpse the past or future, but due to my negative disposition to the world they come on violently and without warning.”

“And give you seizures?” Enid clarified.

“The more intense one’s do, yes. When they began it was a battle to convince my parents to not take me to the hospital every time I touched the older relics or artifacts we keep at home.”

“Wow, okay then. That actually makes me feel a little bit better,” she huffed out.

“Still, that does not explain your discomfort.”

“It’s just cold out, that’s all. I’m from California and this pup was made for warm weather.” She wrapped her arms more tightly around herself and drew her legs up to her chest.

“I thought werewolves had a naturally high body temperature?” Wednesday asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Only after, well you know.”

“I see. Well, the cold doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Here,” she took off the black blazer and placed it around the blonde’s shoulders, it fit her like a glove, “I wouldn’t want to be a rude host and allow you to become sick.”

The jacket smelled like spearmint and mixed with the vanilla she was covered in herself. The extra layer helped, but the blush plastered across her ears and face also warmed her as she mumbled a thanks and pulled the lapels tight around her frame. The odd pair sat together and appreciated all the sounds the night had to offer, somewhere in the distance Enid heard the rustling of branches and quiet calls of the nocturnal creatures she’d been warned about.

“I’ll help you.” Wednesday didn’t even breathe or blink, but her voice carried into the dark.

“What?”

“I will help you find the solution to whatever is stopping you from ‘shifting,’ as you put it. For the moment I’ll remain quiet, but I suspect your mother has some other motive for being here other than helping you.” Enid shifted on the bench and tilted her head.

“Why do you think that?”

“She’s wearing some kind of ward, it blocks my abilities and more than likely my mother’s as well. And Corvus has been nothing but jovial since we arrived, the mood change during dinner tells me something else is going on.”

“Oh my god, of course she is,” she pinched the bridge of her nose, “we’ll burn that bridge when we cross it.”

“I won’t be doing it for free, of course. There’s not many werewolves in the Addams family tree, so I’ll need some more private information from you about pack life and the like for documentation later on.”

“Easy enough I guess,” Enid shrugged. Wednesday stood from the bench with all the grace of a cat, looking at her over the pale shoulder.

“Do we have a deal then?” The blonde popped up to her feet and took a deep breath, then held out her hand.

“Deal, just you and me, Willa.” Wednesday reached out and grabbed the hand in her own, avoiding the brightly painted nails.

“You and I,” she corrected.

“Close enough,” the smile Enid was shooting her was bright like the sun and almost blinded Wednesday, but her dark eyes never left the pooling ocean of Enid’s own.

___________

Not too long after their little bargain had been struck, all of the elder members of each family exited the conference room with pleased smiles, except for Corvus, who appeared to be doing an impression of Wednesday’s own stoic expression. Her father continued to spin whatever web of a story he’d been telling to Malachi, who nodded and grunted to confirm that he was still listening.

Thing had orders to listen in on the conversation had in the conference room and relate any key details later tonight, so she didn’t need to ask her parents what was discussed. Everyone stood and walked the Sinclair’s to the truck outside in a large huddle, with Pubert tucked into their mother’s hip as she followed near the back.

Once the majority of goodbye’s were said, she was left standing in front of Enid with no clue what to say, and on instinct reached for her psychic power to read the blonde. The moment the raven’s eyes were beginning to cloud, and the cold feeling returned to her mind, Enid held a finger up with a small smirk, waggling it in her face.

“Uh uh, no cheating on this one.”

“It’s not cheating, it’s an advantage. That would be like asking you not to use your claws to win a fight,” her eyebrows were knit together like a sweater, both offended at the insinuation she needed to cheat and that the girl had read her so easily.

“But this isn’t a fight. Just tell me the first thing that comes to your head!”

“I…I suppose…enjoyed speaking with you tonight,” she tried. The words coming out of her mouth felt strange when arranged like that, but something in her chest slackened as she nodded after a moment. Enid grinned like a devil and pulled her dark jacket off, extending back to Wednesday.

“I had a better time than I thought I would because of you, thanks for letting me borrow this.” Those cerulean eyes stared at the jacket for a second, and with a huff she pushed it an inch closer to the goth.

Wednesday considered for a second, and then pushed the dark coat back. This is about enjoying myself, isn’t it?

“Keep it, I doubt the wardrobe will care much. We wouldn’t want you to catch death from the cold, would we?” And, for the first time in near a decade and a half, Wednesday blinked at her. The pale skin around Enid’s neck and ears turned crimson as her breath caught in her throat.

“Y-yeah, you’re totally right. So don’t want to die from the cold, yeah. Thanks, um, thank you. See you tomorrow?” She was speaking like an auctioneer, her eyes shooting all over the place. Wednesday smiled at that, it was good to know her father’s charm hadn’t totally skipped over her.

“Tomorrow it is.”

“Cool, um bye,” she squeaked as she jumped into the cabin.

____________

As the truck roared to life, Enid and her family rolled down the driveway and back to the old house with the headlights cutting through the darkness in front of them in tight circles. She could almost feel the anxiety waving off of her mom, but both her dad and Malachi looked full, happy, and almost excited. Things were looking up, for her at the very least.

A gentle smile crossed her face as she lifted the jacket up to her nose, and the mint and vanilla filled her head with a warm giddiness.

__________

Wednesday waited for half of an hour before she went into Corvus’s room, which she felt was appropriate given the circumstances. She did not want to catch her cousin without having time for him to wind down from the dinner before she questioned him. The heavy wooden door creaked as she opened it, Thing following close on her heels, and the keeper was sat at his desk with a glorious black fountain pen in one hand and a strange cigarette that smelled of moss in the other.

“Enid told me her side, but you are going to explain why you distrust Esther Sinclair to me now.” Her voice was just above a whisper, but she put the authority of her standing in the family behind every word.

“Ohhhh lovely,” He leaned back in the chair and rubbed his hands over his eyes, taking a long drag from the cigarette clasped between two fingers. “Where do you want me to start?”

#wenclair #wednesday fanfic #wenclair au #fanfic #fanfiction #wednesday

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ramblingsofamadman25 · 2 years ago

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Chapter 6: Me and the Devil

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45283270/chapters/114432703

Wednesday exited her room looking like a different person, she was all sinister grin and the eyes of a cat that had just caught its prey. Dressed in a pantsuit the color of night with a white linen halter top and black heels that shimmered in the low lighting, her nails had been done by Thing so each digit ended in short white claws. Except for the pointer and middle fingers, those had been left short. While the white was a necessary pop of shading against the dark of the pantsuit, it did feel strange to Wednesday to have the color against her skin somewhere other than her socks or collar. Her hair had been tied into a single braid draped over her right shoulder rather than the typical twins she sported. Tonight the girl who acted on impulse and suspicion would be taken over by a woman who schemed and observed. It's always best to play to one's strengths, after all, and nobody knew what was coming their way.

If the library couldn't offer any insights for now, then she'd drag the truth out by its nails and pin it to her investigation board like a butterfly by interrogating the Sinclair pack themselves..

She could still smell the roast in the other room, and pick up on Corvus singing along to Les Misérables, though it was muffled. The jacket felt a bit off, and she grabbed the lapels before tightening them against her shoulders until the pressure satisfied her. The jacket was a bit loose all over actually, which was strange because all the other outfits the wardrobe had offered fit like they were custom ordered. Her heels snapped against the floor and all the way down the stairs.

Morticia and Gomez had been setting the table, and dark eyes met as they both observed their daughter, knowing in a way only someone who understood Wednesday Addams to her very core could know that something new was emerging tonight, for the first time the black dahlia had bloomed. The heads of the family matched Wednesday's smile and approached arm-in-arm.

"You look good enough for a funeral my darling devil." The older dove had her free hand pressed against her collarbone.

"Thank you mother, you look as daunting as always. Father, I like the new tie," the raven's eyebrow quirked up as she pointed her chin to Gomez's chest. He was wearing a tie so black it seemed like a void was sitting on his torso.

"Ah! It was a gift from your mother," his eyes drew up to his wife's, "she always gets me the nicest things."

"Only the best for Mon amour. It's called Vanta black, finding it was arduous but clearly very rewarding," her hand ran down his chest and grabbed hold of the tie, and pulled Gomez into a gentle kiss. Wednesday's nose wrinkled and she took a step away from them, searching for the rest of the family. Pugsley and Pubert were helping Corvus dish all of the food into serving platters and made her cousin look like he might have an aneurysm from how they kept almost knocking things off the counter.

"While watching you two be nauseating is possibly the only thing I'd want to be doing less right now, I'm afraid I must extricate myself from your presence. Someone has to be responsible for your two other children, and I'll be caught in an amusement park before I allow them to disgrace us in front of the keeper."

"They'll be fine Wednesday," the older woman said with a sleepy grin, still looking at her husband, "why don't you go see if Corvus needs anything before dinner?"

"Fine," she huffed. The heels clicked against the stone tiles of the floor as Wednesday left her parents to continue making puppy eyes at each other in the living room, and she found herself having to stop and start walking a couple times to get used to the sound. It was normal for her to move silently, like a whisper at moonrise, and the clicking grated on her ears in a glorious way she decided she could get used to. Especially when she entered the kitchen and the noise had alerted her brothers to her approach and they both looked her way as she entered, a subtle yet effective way to command attention. Pugsley looked the same as the night before, still in his suit, but Pubert had changed into a pinstripe suit similar to the one their father wore with a maroon tie.

"Who died?" Pugsley asked. "You look like someone died."

"Nobody, yet."

"You look pretty!" Pubert was still a child, so she could excuse that comment for now.

"Thank you, Pubert. If I owned a time machine, I would think I used it in my sleep to ensure I was never born by strangling our father."

"You could just say dad's old suit makes him look nice," Pugsley rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Why would I do that? Pubert is fully aware of my meaning." At this the youngest Addams nodded his head furiously and smiled. "See?"

"He's still a kid though, it takes years to learn how to speak Wednesday."

"And yet he's picked it up faster than you by about a decade," her eyebrow shot up. He threw his hands into the air in mock surrender and continued scooping what looked like mashed potatoes into a large serving bowl molded to look like a leaf. Corvus had been leaning against the counter for the entire exchange, his black eyes flitted back and forth between speakers before settling on her. "Mother sent me to see if you need anything before dinner begins."

"Well then, you're in luck. I have absolutely nothing left to do! Now we just wait for them to pull up and play the good hosts," he crossed his arms and stood tall, "I want you on your best behavior, all of you. Bickering is fine, but keep all weapons sheathed and hidden until they move first, do you hear me?" All three siblings nodded, and Pubert pulled a dagger out of the inside of his jacket.

"Is this okay?" the boy held it out to their cousin. Corvus picked it up out of the tiny hands and placed the tip against one finger while spinning it around and appraising the weapon with inky eyes tracing every line.

"It's fine, but needs a good sharpening. Have Lurch or your father help you later tonight, okay?" Corvus held it by the tip and presented the grip to Pubert.

"Okay!" and the dagger found its home once again.

"Wednesday, why don't you take over while I go change? We can greet the Sinclair's together and bring them inside." With that he dried his hands and threw the towel over his shoulder. On the way out of the kitchen Corvus clapped her brothers on the shoulder and winked at her.

"Happy to," she turned to Pubert. "Go tell our parents to make sure the table is actually set by the time everyone is here," and then to Pugsley, "finish up here and then go fetch some of father's whiskey. I'm sure he'll be willing to share, and I'm more than certain everyone else will be happy he was generous enough to bring it along." Both of them looked at each other, then at Wednesday, and moved to act out her orders.

"Is it just me or is she more bossy than normal today?" Pugsley whispered as Pubert ran out of the room, which earned him a giggle and a nod.

"I heard that."

"And I'm almost unkillable," he grinned. "You can't scare me anymore just because you like to do it." It was true, and annoying. Pugsley's gift had been known almost since he was born and had grown in strength every year since then. By this point it had become tradition to attempt to murder the young giant every year as a birthday surprise. Last year the manticore venom had done little more than leave him with a migraine.

"There's a very fine line between nearly immortal and immortal, perhaps after dinner we can get everyone in a line and take our turns until one of us discovers where that line ends." At this what little color was in his cheeks drained away. He didn't have any more ammo to throw her way it seemed.

Enid had screamed when the wardrobe opened itself while she had been sorting through the clothes she'd brought with her on the bed. Mostly 'cause it scared her by creaking like it was straight out of a horror movie, but also a little bit because she was still groggy from the nap. Inside of the dark cabinet, resting on a wooden hanger, was a cream sweater that had small flecks of golden colored thread woven into it that caught the light and shimmered, along with a pair of insulated black jeans and orange hiking boots.

"Um, thank you. I really like it," she whispered. The left door swung back and forth like it was saying 'you're welcome' before it closed again and the wardrobe became as still as…well, a wardrobe, she guessed. During her much needed nap the sun had set and made way for the tiniest sliver of a moon she'd seen in a long time. A silver scratch against the night sky. But it wasn't alone, this far out into the country and away from people the sky wasn't dark at all. Tiny pinprick stars decorated everything, and the orange and deep purple of the Milky Way waltzed and spun around each other in a breathtaking amber glow like a new couple finding their rhythm. "Oh wow, I would do anything to see that every night."

While she had some time before leaving for dinner, she was going to be a bit rushed if she didn't hurry up and start getting herself ready.

Fearing the wardrobe might have eyes somewhere because it was CLEARLY alive, she decided to change behind the curtain of the canopy. Enid might have been a bit cold before, the autumn air wasn't totally sealed from getting in through her window after all, but as the sweater settled around her body it was almost instantly chased away with warmth and the scent of vanilla. It's like getting a hug from a cotton candy cloud!

Her smile was almost tattooed onto her face with how wide it was, and she hugged her arms around her torso and took a deep breath before flopping back onto the mattress once again. For maybe the first time in her entire life it felt like she was getting spoiled, sure she was kinda guilty about it, but the giddiness overcame everything else and she sighed.

And then the thoughts began to blend together back behind her eyes.

If she was planning on admitting everything to the Addams like Corvus asked her to, it would be better to get it out of the way on the first night rather than keep everyone else in suspense. Though something tells her that the goth from earlier would prefer that. Maybe Enid would tell just her for now then, try and make a new real friend for the first time since she graduated highschool. She was sure the shorter woman would love keeping a secret from her family if her first impression of her was right.

With her thoughts jumbling together and just making a mess of any rational thought as she remembered the short yet intimidating girl, looking at her like she could see right into her soul, her head might as well have been thrown into cold water as Malachi knocked on her door sharp and hard. A moment later he peeked his head in and gestured for her to hurry.

"Right! I'm coming, sorry!"

After being at the old house, the family home just seemed kinda unfair in her opinion. The plants growing around both in the lawn and in neat gardens made it look like an old school fantasy witch lived here and was doing really well for themselves. Massive windows, some of them stained glass, and a gothic steeple of a roof just tied the rest up in a neat little bundle and sent it on its way. The front door was actually under a small overhang on the side where the flatbed still rumbled. Standing to the right side was a massive and disturbing man that looked like Frankenstein's Monster without the stitches. On the left was Corvus, in a dark emerald vest and slacks, his inky black eyes watching them all at once.

And opening the door for them was Wednesday, the shadows practically curled and blended into her hair and outfit, save for the small starlike points of her nails in the darkness. She looked like a goddess of the night. Guarded by her family of darklings. Annnd that needs to stop before I just start writing poetry or something.

Wednesday stepped away from the tall frame towards Enid and her family, each step that clicked on the stone beneath her heels sounded like a thunderclap to the blonde's ears.

"It's my pleasure to welcome you to the family home, we'll be having dinner in the living room. Should you need anything," she turned around and nodded at the two men behind her, "either Lurch, Corvus, or myself will be rolling in our graves at the opportunity to aid and abet you."

"Thank you for your hospitality Wednesday, you're such a polite girl!" Esther laughed. Nobody else did.

"I understand the sentiment, but do not appreciate the tone. I am a full grown woman Mrs. Sinclair, and would prefer to be treated as an equal rather than like a child," her mom gasped and looked up to her dad. Enid's eyes bulged out of her sockets with a soft laugh. "And I thought my mother was condescending. Your children must find you ever so endearing." Enid couldn't bear it anymore, and she had to use both hands to stifle a full on belly laugh at the last second.

Wednesday turned her head and looked at the wolf, her eyes almost seemed to glaze over for a second, before she turned on her toes and began to strut inside the massive cabin. For just the smallest moment, it had felt like someone had pressed a cold compress to Enid's head.

The group entered together and were immediately struck with the smell of long-roasted meat, honeyed carrots, garlic, and the lingering scent of baked bread. Without even looking over at her brother she could tell his mouth was salivating like an anxious puppy, his stomach was louder than he ever was. Her eyes wandered around the kitchen they had entered at first, mouth slightly agape at the display of wealth before her, and it only dropped further the more she looked around. All of the appliances were brand new and every wall was covered in drying herbs and leaves of every color. It was darker than she had thought it would be, lit only by small wall sconces with dim amber light bulbs and a large chandelier overhead she could glimpse through the doorway in the living room.

"Wow, I thought the old house made you guys look rich. Where did you get the money to build this place?" Enid thought out loud.

"It's actually all mine," Corvus' voice was hushed so that it didn't echo around the room. "I started writing in my spare time in the late 60's when I was bored. The cold war wasn't exactly kicking into gear and the reserve was almost tending itself by that point."

"Oh, you're an author? What books did you write?"

"They aren't in my name, I just started dropping them off to an old colleague of mine to be published one day. The first book was about a telekinetic girl I met a long time ago, though some editing had to be done to keep the true events secret. It hit the market in either, 74 or 75 I believe? The deal was that he gets 40% of the profits for himself, as well as movie rights, and in return the other 60% goes to me so I can invest in things like this." While Corvus was explaining, Wednesday had been walking near her and leaned in.

"His books are all under the name Stephen King," she muttered.

"Wait, as in the actual Stephen King? Like, creepy clowns and walking till you die Stephen King?"

"Yes actually, I'm surprised you know about The Long Walk though. I didn't take you for the type."

"We read 'It' in my English class back at Nevermore, and I liked it enough to check out a couple other of his books."

"Fascinating."

"Wait, do you think I can get his autograph or something?"

"It's entirely possible that Corvus giving you an autograph would incite either a spell of some nefarious nature or curse you, I wouldn't recommend it."

Enid wasn't sure when the two of them had stopped or when the rest of the group had moved on without them, but the small goth beside her caught on first and motioned for her to follow before she moved to follow the rest of Enid's family into the living room.

Lavish as lavish can be, it looked like they had stepped right into a murder mystery movie! A long table with a white cloth edged in black lace, a candelabra, food laid out on platters like thanksgiving, a floating bottle of wine. The rest of the Addams family approached and began introducing themselves as soon as Enid had crossed into the towering room.

A few minutes later and off to one side Esther and Morticia had already started up a conversation, though she could tell by the way her mom's eyes kept darting down that she found the tall woman's skin-tight black dress a bit inappropriate. Gomez was telling a wild story to her dad and brother with his hands gesturing back and forth in a frenzy of flying cigar ash as the small log still smoked between his fingers. The boy from earlier, Pugsley, was pulling chairs out from the table, and a boy with a mustache WHAT? was nearby helping his brother. Corvus stood near the bar and watched it all.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" Enid turned her head to the shorter woman.

"Well, what are your thoughts?"

"A bit drab for my taste, if I'm honest," she joked.

"I imagine so, everything I've seen you in today has a spotlight of color like a nuclear bomb somewhere." Enid smiled and looked down at the orange boots, wiggling the toes in a crisscross.

"Better than getting heat stroke in the dead of winter from all that black." This time Wednesday smirked, but it was more like a very small twitch on the corner of her lip.

"I think you and I are going to get along just fine."

"Ditto."

#wednesday fanfic #wenclair au #wenclair #fanfic

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ramblingsofamadman25 · 2 years ago

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Ch 5: Tell Me More

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14200223/6/A-New-Alliance

Entry from the journal of Corvus Addams, Volume 9, page 247:

Today I received a letter from one Enid Sinclair, a young woman belonging to the Sinclair Pack that resides near the Pacific Ocean. I was surprised, but not entirely unaware of their bloodline. According to the poor girl, she remained a crescent moon to this day at the age of 20. The letter dictated her grief and struggle with her inner animal, and asked for help in finding some form of remedy to this condition. I must admit that I was intrigued to read that the change still hadn't occurred for the young wolf yet, but she wouldn't be the first to never experience it at all, and certainly won't be the last.

I must admit I'm curious though, surely the answer can be found in one of the gargantuan texts resting beneath my very feet, yet I find myself getting lost in the library lately. At some point I managed to aggravate the damnable room and now it keeps putting the tome I'm searching for in a new place to get back at me. Petty, but I can't argue with the effectiveness. For the time being I will give it some space to calm down and allow the inquisitive young minds of the family to patrol the stacks in my stead.

May their luck be far greater than mine this last month.

Fucking library.

The Adams group had disappeared from sight after crossing the cattle guard so they could 'be prepared' for Enid and her family's arrival for dinner together. Esther, her sweet mommy dearest, hadn't shut up about how much the entire place creeped her out. It had taken 30 minutes of a strained look and a long winded rant before her mom had finally gotten it all out of her system and just left for the room for her and her dad. Since the blonde genuinely couldn't think of anything to say, well aware she'd be shushed if she tried to defend it at all, she chose to follow in her father's well worn path and kept her mouth shut. The simple fact was that Esther didn't care, and she couldn't. Anyone with a mom like her could understand, if you ever did anything wrong once, then you did everything wrong for eternity after that. She'd tried arguing with her mother, setting boundaries, even flat out ignoring the yappy old wolf before. Not that it ever worked. As long as she stayed quiet around her mom it would be okay, but her shoulders fell with a heavy sigh, and she began unpacking. But there's really no avoiding her this time, I'm the reason we're here in the first place.

Enid still hadn't wolfed out yet, and the closer her 25th birthday became, the lower her chances dropped each day of being able to shift at all. One sunny afternoon she'd walked across the pack territory to visit with her Aunt Viv and just started offloading all of her anxieties in flowing piles of nonsense words and sobbing into the older woman's arms.

"I'm always going to be the runt, the screwup. Why is it taking so long, why can't I be like the rest of you?" she'd cried against her Aunt's maroon sweater.

"Everything happens when it's supposed to kiddo, don't worry about it so much. Your wolf will have wrinkles before we even get to see her," Viv had smirked back. That had made Enid laugh for the first time that week. Viv was Esther's sister, but the two couldn't be more different if they tried. Where her Aunt could make a comment about appearance, it was to make fun of Esther in the way you would make a face after a pun. Esther was like the schoolyard bully who could just look at someone and start picking on their deepest insecurities.

The alliance had technically been her Aunt's idea, because only a house as old as the Addams might have some idea on how to help her, or the resources to try at the least. Enid had been given very specific instructions to follow when she'd written to Corvus, following the procedure she'd been told and addressing the Keeper with all the respect she could put into words. His response had come fast and with welcoming, open arms. He agreed to the meeting and offered to host as well, saying this way any and all ingredients or rituals they might need would be ready or at least achievable. However, he refused to explain the reasoning behind the partnership to his own family, that was the one condition. He explained something about having dog-eared a page on accident, but she couldn't make sense of it really. So a Sinclair would have to own up and inform the dark-eyed Addams family themselves.

She'd been surprised when her mom didn't immediately spill her guts about Enid being a disappointment to the first person she saw. Normally that was like her favorite hobby. The thought made her temper flare, and anger like a storm roiled beneath her skin, thunder echoed in the hollows of her chest, and her blue eyes became alive with electricity.

She was so sick of being treated like this, like a package delivered to the wrong house, with nothing but her inside. Esther had decided long ago to forget that package in the attic, funnily enough the attic actually was Enid's bedroom. Despite their house holding two extra bedrooms on the first floor. Out of sight, out of mind. The anger quieted and was replaced by a silent, weary acceptance.

Her room in the Addams old house was really pretty though, so there was that. Each wall was painted in a deep lapis lazuli that reminded her of the Nightshade library somehow, the dark hardwood floors creaked beneath each step and were highlighted by the soft golden light of a small chandelier overhead. But the bed, ohhh the bed. Enid would steal it and take it home if she could. It stood central to the large room with a commanding sense. A large four poster bed frame carved out of mahogany, with thin white curtains hung between each poster and swaying in an invisible breeze, draped across the bed was a thick comforter stitched with twisting shades of red and golden trim. Nightstands of the same wood stood guard on either side of the bed, and on the opposite wall was a tall wardrobe that rested near the door. Every time she tried to put her clothes inside, it would spit them back out like a poltergeist was ransacking the place. Rude.

Enid decided to give up for now, her screaming shoulders and pounding head from the drive demanded she took a nap, and how nice did that sound when you were in a comfy bed with the smell of nutmeg, apples, and cinnamon floating down the hall from where Corvus had set a simmer pot on top of the woodstove? Because to her it sounded like heaven. Next door she could hear Malachi fighting with his own wardrobe, and smirked at the long stream of Greek curses he shouted after a loud bang.

She'd just rest for a minute, close her eyes and fall away into a nice little nap before she had another panic attack from the Addams heir looking at her like an amusing new toy. Her eyes closed, and darkness came quickly as the chandelier candles went out with a swinging breeze. I wish my house was like this, I could get used to it.

And with that, her consciousness drifted off into another world, where everything was okay, and she never felt unwanted.

Meanwhile, on the Addams section of territory, Wednesday had ensconced herself into the library once again. She was browsing the selection of journals more than doing any specific research, the stacks of books reminded her of home, and her fingers traced the spine of each journal as her eyes scanned and processed the names of her forebears. Three entire bookshelves were taken up by journals from each of the Keepers previous to Corvus, lining the back wall in soft leather and the smell of sage that clung to everything out here. All of the journals Corvus had already finished sat behind the glass of a locked cabinet, bound in hardback with coffee brown fabric, his name was filigreed down the spine as well, but each volume also had a large number near the top. So far he'd put near 8 of them down here, and each was thick as a thesaurus. Perhaps later she would ask his permission to read the first volume, something to do in her spare time while they weren't busy. Picking the lock would have been easy enough as long as it wasn't enchanted, but it seemed a sort of invasion of privacy she didn't find exhilarating as she typically would. Corvus was family, and he was powerful, so she left well enough alone, for now.

The library reminded her of the one inside Oxford University, she'd toured once when considering attending college before she had decided no author worth their salt needed to attend classes in a language they were already proficient in.

Thing crawled along the shelves nearby, keeping pace with Wednesday in case she needed anything from him. The decayed fingers drummed against the wood and created a sort of staccato rhythm that her mind followed, thoughts coming and going from her mind with each tap tap tip tap as she entered a half trance and allowed her mind to open to the room at large. That was until Thing tripped over himself and smacked into the shelf below. The homunculus' nails must have been getting a bit long, she'd allow him time to tend to that before dinner tonight so that he appeared presentable, as presentable as a severed hand could be at least. The easy quiet continued around them, above her head the raven could hear heavy footsteps clunking across the floor one level up, and she decided to leave for now, with any luck she'd get Corvus to open his case and get into the nitty gritty of her family before tomorrow morning.

"Thing, let's return to the room and get dressed. For now I can't do much here other than sort by name, I need to know which family members either were werewolves or were partnered to one before I can make any ground on this." A thumb went into the air and thudded against the shelf in agreement before he jumped down and scampered across the floor behind her. The door closed behind them with a low click, and Wednesday took a deep breath. Why are we here, what do these predators want? And why won't Corvus say anything?

The rest of the family home was bustling and alive, furniture pushed itself to the sides to make room for a large dining table that descended from the rafters, already draped in white with black lace edging it. The smell of venison and a dozen herbal spices wafted through the rafters, and poking her head down the hallway she could spot Corvus in the kitchen with a black apron tied around his waist as his knife sailed through the air and diced onions, garlic, celery, and fresh parsley. Floating just next to his head was a bottle of red wine in a decanter that swirled in hypnotic and easy spirals.

A moment later her and Thing were climbing the stairs to the second floor, almost being barreled down by Pugsley as he ran past with a "Sorry!" before he jumped down the last flight of stairs to climb along all the floating furniture. Wednesday entered her room and sat down at the temporary desk before her, glancing at the clock to estimate her remaining time to get ready. 4:17, she had about two hours before dinner. Just enough time to write her observations down and try connecting some dots about the odd situation both families now found themselves in.

It had been troubling her for a few weeks now, leading up to this day. It just didn't make sense, what could one of the most common forms of outcast want with the infamous Addams? Their circles crossed on very few occasions, she'd only ever met Malachi once at a dinner party when she was 10. A marriage proposal then? But that's not how her family operated, and almost everyone knew it. An Addams never disgraced themselves by marrying for politics or power, their love ran deep and true like the Mississippi River. It couldn't be for financial aid, she'd done the research and discovered the whole pack lived on 20 acres outside of San Francisco and contributed to a construction business under the same name.

So why? What do you want? Her mind flashed back to the blonde, Enid, and how she had seemed less on edge than her relatives. Wednesday had taken note of all their behavior, and the only other suspicion she harbored was toward the mother, who had kept glancing at Corvus like he might say something he shouldn't whenever he spoke to Enid. There was something clouding the other woman from her psychic reading though, possibly a talisman or charm of some kind, the aura around her was too powerful to be a spell.

The same question hadn't been sitting on her parent's mind as heavily as it did her own, they seemed more than happy to welcome any newcomers to the Addams fold so long as it strengthened the family.

"No matter what they wish for, we'll get what we desire first," her father had said, "because they called on us, we have all the leverage. Before they know it we'll be toasting in respect of a new companion and sharing in the profits of their business. Never work for what you can take, my little viper," he'd winked and all she could do was roll her eyes.

Credit where it was due, Gomez had made deals with actual demons before and had seemed to get the better of them. She was not of the mind for business, but exchanging his singing voice for a more charismatic charm seemed more than fair to her. Aside from his incessant cat wailing while he showered and recited french opera that the family now was forced to endure.

Her thoughts began to do a tail spin before she wrenched them back together in neat rows, now was not the time to allow her thoughts to wander like that. Whatever happened tonight, she would be getting some answers. It didn't matter if she had to take wolfsbane to someone's nose and force the truth out.

From one of the nightstands she could hear Thing begin to clip and buff his nails, the gentle scraping in the quiet room was murder, and she savored in the unease that grasped her shoulders. But then her eyes shot open and a wretched grin exploded on her face. But what if I make it more interesting than that? What if I just have some fun and see where that leads me? No overthinking or rules, pure reaction versus action, I'd have a real challenge for once.

#wenclair au #wednesday fanfic #wenclair #fanfic

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ramblingsofamadman25 · 2 years ago

Text

Chapter 4: Little Tells

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14200223/5/A-New-Alliance

Chapter 4: Little Tells

After she’d been waiting for about 20 minutes with her brother and cousin, Wednesday could feel Asmodeus become more alert. The large shoulder muscles tensed beneath her, and emerald eyes began to dart around the clearing they had been waiting in as he sniffed the air. A creature of this size and strength considered few things as potential threats, and it didn’t take excellent deductive reasoning skills, which she had, to comprehend that he’d scented the approaching werewolves. She told Pugsley she’d be back after a fashion, and directed Asmodeus into the trees surrounding them on all sides. The raven’s first concern was on spotting the Sinclair pack before they spotted her, to learn whatever little she could. But the terrifying dark beast she rode had other ideas, and was soon stalking a strange deer with three pairs of antlers under the cover of the darkened forest. His maw was soon stained red, and once he’d pulled the carcass near the edge of the tree line Wednesday clambered off of his back to kneel in the foliage and watch.

A red sedan soon approached from further down the road, kicking up a dust cloud behind it that settled as fast as it had been stirred. There you are. A wicked grin tugged her cheeks upward as her vision narrowed in on her prey.

She could spot them all from here, the balding man in the driver seat who looked like his patience was wearing thin, the woman beside him fussing and waving her hands as she talked, the man in the seat behind her who might have just been asleep with his eyes open, and the woman next to him whom Wednesday could tell was resisting the urge to deafen herself. Asmodeus shifted behind her where he rested in the greenery, causing the leaves of her cover to rustle and shift. They could have spotted me, time to move.

With the bounder resting on the ground, it was easy to swing onto his back. All it took was Wednesday placing a hand on his shoulder and a weak telepathic connection with the beast before he was lumbering through the clustered trunks and hanging leaves back toward Corvus and Pugsley. Within minutes they exited just behind where the Sinclair family had parked their rental.

Wednesday had a natural gift for observation, it wasn’t something to brag about or spread around but it remained true nonetheless, and the development of her psychic abilities had only served to strengthen this gift. But now, as blue eyes met black, she could tell she would have dived head first into a inky black pool without checking how deep it was first. The blonde in front of her stood in stark, delectable silence as her eyes clouded over for a moment, and it was clear to the raven that all thought had taken a temporary vacation, but Wednesday couldn’t piece together why. Was she somehow psychic as well and having a vision? Could werewolves be psychic? I imagine it’s much simpler to space out for a few minutes rather than having a seizure with every vision. But then again, where would the fun in that be?

Enid wore a knit lavender sweater, pants white enough to convince fresh snow it was dirty, and pink hiking boots. Where does someone even find shoes that atrocious? Her blonde hair parted down the center and cascaded in golden waves to just below her collarbone.

A long and awkward silence stretched for what felt like hours as she met the blue eyes and Wednesday allowed a creeping sliver of her conscious mind to slip away from her body while she tried to read the impression of the other woman’s thoughts. Her mother had trained her years ago with her own psychic power, the skill took some careful practice and an artful disposition to do this without invading another person’s mind and crossing a boundary of privacy one could not forget. When Morticia had invaded Wednesday’s mind to get her acquainted with the sensation, it had sent shivers down her back, and not in an entertaining way like how adrenaline made her blood run even colder. It had felt like a small person had been walking through the cloud of her thoughts and was drying them out like a dishrag, she’d been exhausted afterwards.

Her ability sought out only the surface of someone’s thoughts so she could read their emotions, and the moment her spectral hand brushed the maelstrom swirling around Enid's head Wednesday’s own eyes widened. Her hand was still held out in greeting. Extreme attraction, panic, wonder, anxiety. She smirked and lowered her hand to her side, then took a step closer to the blonde bomb of colors before her. Dark eyes caught a detail they had missed before, the young wolf’s nails had been painted into a veritable grayscale rainbow.

“Enid!” Esther whispered. The mother’s eyes were narrow, eyebrows almost fist fighting one another with how close they came, a fist clenched at her side, and her jaw clenched, which caused a vein to appear on her neck.

“Huh?” Enid’s eyes were still clouded over, yet she still turned to the older woman. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I uh, have a bad habit of doing that.” The shining blue eyes turned downwards to stare at the ground as a dusting of pink graced her face and ears. Something in Wednesday resented that the woman before he had been chastised, and Esther Sinclair had just earned a spot somewhere in the middle of her list.

“I don’t mind, but if you space out like that every time someone introduces themselves it is going to be a daunting task to get to know you,” another step closer, “we’re all here to make friends, aren’t we?” the raven’s eyebrow shot up. And like that the cloud was gone, the maelstrom settled into strong winds. Not quite calm yet, nor put together per se, but aware and cognizant of her behavior. Enid took in a deep breath, her entire frame expanding and shrinking with the effort she put into it before turning back to Wednesday. Once the cloud had cleared even Wednesday had to admit that Enid’s eyes were a haunting shade of blue. Deep, chilling, and curious.

“You’re right!” A nod, and she held out her hand with a near blinding smile, though she had to keep her hand much closer to her body now that Wednesday had closed the distance between them. “It’s nice to meet you Wednesday!” The shorter girl took her hand and shook it once, then folded her hands behind her back again and nodded, her lips pursed. Her voice reminds me of autumn rain, before another thought followed, what?

“I’m so sorry about my little space case here, we’ve talked about this before but it never seems to stick,” Esther leaned in and offered her hand as well, with a facsimile of the smile Enid wore. Her smile could be compared to a lawyer's promise, utter bullshit. Wednesday did not take the offered hand into her own.

“I can sympathize with being berated by an overbearing mother well into your young adult life,” Wednesday whispered. Still so close to Enid, nobody else could hear what she said, but Enid covering her mouth as her eyes bulged and a smile danced through them might have given something away. Amusement, scandal.

“If I can interrupt you all for a moment,” Corvus called from the group of men nearby, “the old house is down a bit of rough road, so I’ll be taking you over on the back of the truck until I can get the bison to stamp it down again.” Forced socialization broken, Enid and Esther went to grab their bags and placed them on the bed of the truck next to Murray and Malachi’s. Of course, Enid’s suitcase had a glittering pink hard shell on it. As the other family began to climb their way onto the high flatbed, Wednesday threw herself back up into Asmodeus’ saddle. She’d taken note on how Corvus had managed to mount his beast of a horse last night and copied the movement, why she hadn’t thought of it earlier was beyond her. The bounder didn’t even notice her weight on his back, and the powerful tail wove through the air like a black mamba waiting to strike. The dark energy of her power dissipated as she released the reading and urged Asmodeus to follow the truck from behind.

Pugsley operated the vehicle and followed the path carved through the mystic forest they had only just entered, traversed for years by Corvus and visiting Addams. Birds of every color and shape darted through the tall evergreens overhead, some with trails of fire or electricity lagging behind them. Daunting pines reached up to the gray sky with prying dark needles for fingers and left the forest floor even more shaded. Mushrooms, moss, mycelium, and various shrubs decorated every square inch available and turned the darkness into a macabre painting of green and natural death. Just off to the right and up ahead of the road the skeleton of a massive beast teamed with bioluminescent moss and insects of every kind. It reminded Wednesday of an oxen, if an oxen could have six legs ending in thick claws, fangs, and be at least twice her height.

The smell of earth, pine, and electricity sang together in beatific harmonies around them all, and Corvus took a deep breath in, permeating his soul with the scent and a horrendous grin as he leaned against the cabin of the truck and watched behind them.

Nobody spoke much during the trip, they were all stunned in awe at their surroundings and could never find the words. It was horrendous, it was beautiful, it was life, it was death. It was a perfect balance of all things that live and die. Pugsley and Wednesday delighted in seeing the forest on a cloudy day when all the shadows could bend and shift and in turn stretch their awful imaginations; but Enid could only wonder how beautiful it would be on a sunny day, when light would bounce and reflect off the shining bugs surrounding the road, when the flowers bloomed and shared their scent to the spring breeze and cool moss.

At one point though, Enid did wave in an attempt to grab Wednesday’s attention. When the raven noticed, Enid placed her flat hand against her chin and brought her hand forward. ‘Thanks’. The still-young psychic wasn’t sure what to say or do, so she nodded once again, faster this time, and kept her eyes on Enid’s. The engine continued to rumble into the quiet around them, even that seeming muffled amongst the silent passing of monsters and wonders alike in the background. At one point they had to stop the truck and wait as a small herd of bison with thick ashen fur that sparked and crackled while they thundered across the road in front of them. A few calves followed behind and bumped into each other.

“I could stay here my entire life and never grow tired of it,” Wednesday breathed.

“Me too, it’s like I’m living inside an old school fantasy book right now,” Enid’s eyes were soft and brimming with crystal clear tears. Her smile was gentle like death’s kiss.

“I’ve been here for around 150 years now, and I can tell you it never grows old. This is my life’s work, and I would live to see it thrive and grow,” Corvus’ voice was just above a whisper, hands hanging on to the center of his vest as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

“Don’t you mean die?” Enid’s voice rang through the veil.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t you mean you’d die to see it grow?”

“Nei, lítill úlfur. Dying is easy, killing is easy, but living is much harder. If you can live for something, and its end breaks your heart so truly that you perish as well, that is to show true love.” Enid leaned back onto the hay bale she was perched on, eyebrows knit together with a slight pout. Wednesday didn’t need to do a reading on the werewolf to understand that she had been perplexed by this mindset. Not many people outside the Addams family did, and rarely did they agree on the methodology.

Before much longer they approached an old cattle guard set deep into the dark soil, where the road dropped into a small valley of sorts beyond that, where instead of moss, thick grass the color of luck grew waist high and swayed in the cool breeze. Buildings scattered the area with opposing colors and architecture, one looked like a barn walled with rusty tin panels and a padlock around the large door knobs, another was a dark wood shed with racks of drying pelts outside, one more looked like a chicken coop made out of concrete with stained glass windows. Near the head of the valley sat a long, slender building constructed of large dark bricks and a log roof that hosted a second floor littered with windows.

Asmodeus might have lost focus a few times on their way up the drive, and tried to divert to creeping through the grass, and Wednesday might have allowed it so they could sneak ahead and jump out to scare her brother with the face of a snarling beast and the bounder she rode on. But that’s nobody's business but hers.

Corvus explained each building as they passed them, the tin building held an armory and tool shed in one, the shed was used for dressing animals either for ritual practice or dinner, and the concrete coop contained a swarm of frenzied pixies inside that grandmama insisted made her cooking taste better. The old house was used less often now, but he’d made sure to clear out any spirits before they had arrived by giving them free reign of the forest for now. It became apparent in short order where Corvus kept all of his witchcraft supplies though.

The porch had been turned into a drying room for various plants and herbs. The kitchen held a large wood stove with a cauldron on top, still simmering with something that suffused the air with cinnamon and apple. Candles decorated every window on the first floor. But the living room had been left alone in large part, and held only a couch from the 80’s, a record player tucked into the corner, and a high back leather chair nestled between two bookcases.

“It just keeps getting better here!” Enid squeaked before plopping into the chair with her legs tucked beneath her. Pugsley was spinning around while staring at the crown molding running along the ceiling from room to room.

“Oh it’s lovely, thank you Corvus,” Esther smiled and placed a hand on her collarbone, her nose creased with a small wrinkle that Wednesday almost didn’t notice though. Corvus paid it no mind and flopped onto the couch with one leg crossed over the other.

“As Wednesday said, we’re all here to make friends. The hall stretches to the number of rooms needed, and at the end of the hall there’s a bathroom that’s enchanted so you can’t walk in on each other. There’s a pantry inside the kitchen with food, but meals will also be served in the family home each day during negotiations or if I feel like getting creative, which is often,” he winked at Esther, the black cesspools must have unsettled the hag though, because she flinched back into her husband’s chest. “Feel free to wander and explore, but always be back by sundown. This is the Addams reserve after all,” another terrible smile, “we have an entire catalog on all the eerie beasties we keep here.” With this he pointed to the book resting on the floor next to Enid’s chair. She reached down and picked it up, opening to a random page.

“I’m totally reading this whole thing,” her face had paled in several shades. Inside a charcoal drawing of a slender human-like creature with black clawed fingers and rows of razor sharp teeth glowered at the reader, a splash of red decorated its face and arms as it hunched above a tourist. On the opposing page it was filled with notes and titled WENDIGO.

“Let me know when you finish, I could use a good bedtime story to unsettle my nerves,” the raven had walked over and was looking over Enid’s shoulder at the page as well. Murray and Malachi shared a look, but were apparent advocates for the right to silence. Heaving a sigh, Corvus stood and brushed off his slacks before he walked back into the doorway, motioning for his cousins to follow.

“We’ll be hosting dinner at the family home tonight, I trust you can get yourselves settled in?” Murray nodded before his wife could respond and Corvus smirked. “Good, the truck is yours to use. We’ll be having an old recipe for elk roast I unearthed in the archive, so I do hope you come.” The keeper’s face stretched into a wide grin. Perhaps a bit too wide? Yes. Effective at once again spooking Enid’s mother? Also yes.

#wenclair au #wednesday fanfic #wenclair #fanfic #new story

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