#DAWN&THISTLE -> 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝘆 . 《 interaction 》

[chaos--mode]

@freakarus continued from here.

Dawn has tried, okay? She has tried, rather desperately and aggressively, to be chill. Normal. Composed. Like, understanding, and patient, and- and-

And she fucking sucks at it.

But it's hard, right, give her a fucking break. Because she knows. She's got this big secret eating holes into her chest, tugging at the strings of her heart and plucking at the tendons like she's a pretty, resilient string instrument and not an absolute mess of a person. Because Dawn has known that her and Eddie are special, intertwined, since she was a kid, and he's just...

Ugh.

He's so damn oblivious, sometimes. Cause he's too nice, too approachable. And everyone else falls for it, is helpless against it, why wouldn't they be? And Eddie - the sweet, loveable idiot - has absolutely no idea. Not a damn clue in that wildly pretty head of his.

And it's driving Dawn fucking insane. Pushing at every last button she has cause she just can't take it anymore. And, like, okay, maybe she snaps a little. Can you really blame her?

Of course Eddie has no idea what she means. He never does, is always so infuriatingly innocent, clueless.

"You know that she was flirting with you, right?" is what Dawn settles on after a few moments of tense silence, both hands white knuckling the strap of her messenger bag, jaw working as she tries to breathe through her frustration. Her eyes flick over to the girl's back for a second, lips twitching into a sneer, before she schools it back into what she hopes is a look of friendly concern for Eddie. "Sort of desperate, honestly," she adds under her breath, and then, again to him, "But like, it was nothing, right? Totally one-sided on her part?"

And if Dawn sounds maybe a little desperate now, hopeful and grasping at anything to ease her fears, well. She has a secret.

[chaos--mode]

Thistle smiles, and it's a sharp, slow thing that stretches across their features. It doesn't mean to be unsettling or off-putting, it's just sort of its natural state. It could live a thousand years in a mortal body and it still wouldn't change its inherent inhumanity.

❝ Well, ❞ it starts, finally putting the book and thread down so that it can focus the entirety of its attention on Lydia. ❝ Many people refer to me as The Entity, but those who know me personally call me Thistle. I prefer the latter. ❞

Head tilts to one side and then the other, allowing the glow of its energy to fade for just a moment. The violet glow of their eyes fades back to natural green before Thistle fronts again.

❝ The best classification you have for what I am is an Eldritch being ; something from beyond The Veil. ❞

❝ I'll start with the first one — what are you if you're not Dawn?? ❞ The entity that seemed to be just below the surface of the girl in front of her, was it something that possessed her from the other side or something there that had always been? She knew that possession typically meant that an entity took over an entire host but she didn't know if this was the same situation. The way this thing inside of Dawn made it sound, they were two special parts that transformed into a completely unique whole.

[chaos--mode]

@wakenwitch embraced the chaos: No. The world's still the same as it ever was: the weak get taken. (For Dawn)

Dawn sighs, twirling a piece of loose thread on her shirt between her fingers. She can't exactly disagree considering her, well, other half. Then again, Dawn isn't weak, and Thistle didn't take her.

So, y'know ; Phoebe is wrong.

Dawn shakes her head, silver-grey glow flaring bright around her pupil. ❝ That's just an excuse to avoid culpability. Ever heard the meek shall inherit the Earth? ❞

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞. ( always accepting! )

[chaos--mode]

CLOSED STARTER.

Dawn doesn't know many other witches, outside of her coven. She's met some, of course ; friends of her family, visitors to her Elders over the years. But she's never really gotten to talk to them, or be friends with them.

So, she's maybe been a little... overzealous with @wakenwitch.

❝ I could never figure out the whole, like, teleportation shtick. ❞ She makes some nonsensical flourish with her hands as she speaks, best way she can figure to physically show what she means. ❝ It's like I stick whenever I try, like there's this tether wrapped around my waist or something. ❞

[chaos--mode]

@malka-lisitsa continued from here.

❝ Definitely she is, yes. ❞ ( Dawn isn't 100% sure who they're talking about, but there's no way she's gonna drop the joke. ) ❝ Witchery is all just, like, catastrophic-levels of charisma and flashy sleight of hand. ❞

[chaos--mode]

It's almost like a dance, the meandering way that Dawn circles around Fever. It's playful, fun, meaningless. She's just restless. And, well ; she knows that it's somewhat unsettling. That's half the fun of it.

Flickering eyes snap to art-covered skin as Fever pulls up his sleeve. It's something that both creatures are fascinated by. To cover yourself in artwork, to exchange beauty for pain in such a literal, honest way ; it's visceral. Such an exact interpretation of the old adage, ' beauty is pain '.

But then Fever catches their gaze, violet blaze of their eyes sparking again as he does. Something in Thistle is intrigued by the eye contact, and it tilts its head, curious. Its steps falter until, slowly, it comes to stand in front of him, immobile, hands still clasped behind its back.

It's almost as if Thistle is studying him, desperately trying to know more, to read into his mind and know what he experiences. ❝ What do you think it is? ❞

THE ROCKSTAR HOLDS BACK A ROLL of his eyes, instead, he shifts in his seat, and pulls up his sleeves inch by inch revealing a SMATTERING of tattoos. These, he was proud of, a display of colors like a PEACOCK with its feathers. The parts of himself that Fever can control the image of, a distraction from the HORROR that was his scars and his face.

She starts to circle him, and he has to sit a little taller. Back straightens like he's in school, being judged by a professor he can't remember the name of and looks at him DISAPPROVINGLY all the same. A part of him wants to tell her to stop.

Instead, Fever's jaw tilts, and when he can, he catches her gaze. Regarding her with almost the same sort of interest that she was holding herself.

❝ Sometimes it's fast, like a heartbeat. ❞

He remembers the first time he'd heard it. It had been shortly after the accident, and the boy had been laying in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep ( and FAILING ). There was a low sound filling his ears, a familiar sound even in its strangeness. It made his heart ache in a way he couldn't EXPLAIN.

❝ Other times, I barely notice it's there. Slow, quiet. Like it's dormant. ❞

[chaos--mode]

@starbeambully embraced the chaos : “ I better think twice? Buddy I don’t even think once. ” (dawn&thistle)

There's a dry, near condescending chuckle that echoes from her throat. Silver and purple mix, both Dawn and Thistle in something of a mood.

❝ Well that's not a very good habit. ❞ She steps forward, reaching up with one hand to tap a crooked finger against Dolph's temple. ❝ You really got nothin' going on up there? ❞

shut up. i have the talking stick. ( always accepting! )

[chaos--mode]

@delrcy embraced the chaos : “Those tricks won't work on me.” ( @ dawn ! )

Head tilts to one side and then the other, eyes not yet lit with silver not violet. Both Thistle and Dawn watch Jack ( if it even is Jack that looks back at them ) with a sweeping stare of unassuming green. They smile, slow and sharp, teeth bared like something of a threat.

❝ Won't they? ❞ Two flashes of light, first a faded purple and then silvery-gray, glow in the colour of their iris. It's the purple that shines brightest, though, as Thistle pulls at the Threads around them, casts a shadow around their form and the illusion of eyes ( so very many eyes ) crowning their head like a halo.

❝ You don't scare easily, then. What fun. ❞

BALDUR'S GATE 3 SENTENCE MEMES. ( always accepting! )

[chaos--mode]

@delrcy embraced the chaos : “It’s not exactly a common affliction.” ( @ dawn ! )

Dawn can't help but laugh. A mean, sudden, sharp kind of laugh that curls her upper lip into something of a sneer. What an absolute understatement, she thinks. Possession is one thing, right ( demons are always such a goddamned pain ) , but Dawn and Thistle... well. They're a whole other ballgame. Not even on the same like, plane of existence ( literally ) .

❝ It's definitely not. ❞ She smiles, crooked and sharp, just dripping with condescension. ❝ Where'd you figure that one out? Must've taken a ton of critical thinking. ❞

Thistle ruffles, displeased with Dawn's casual cruelty, the ease with which she drips mean into her words. Eyes flash between silver and purple, but they're not really fighting. It's just a warning, cautious suggestion to ease up.

BALDUR'S GATE 3 SENTENCE MEMES. ( always accepting! )

[chaos--mode]

This is the part where Thistle takes center stage. Because Dawn's anger flashes in the depths of their mind, the safety of inside, a cracking whip that's as dangerous as it is loud. So it wrangles her as best it can as their eyes shift. Faded purple starts to bleed into their iris until Dawn's silvery-gray has been completely swallowed up.

Thistle lets Daryl speak, lets him finish airing his frustrations even as Dawn huffs and internally rolls her eyes. He's being such a brat, she thinks, projects at Thistle like a petulant child ( get bent I am NOT ) sulking when they've been put in a timeout. It ignores her, simply fixes Daryl with a calm, almost eerily neutral stare, the only indication of any kind of emotion lying in the curious tilt of their head.

The voice is different now, when it's just Thistle that speaks. It isn't Dawn's voice simply layered with something distinctly other ; it's entirely other in and of itself.

❝ Everyone is useful, in some way or another. ❞ It may sound philosophical, but Thistle means it literally. People have a tendency to find uses for themselves, even the ones that may want to purposefully remain useless. ❝ But that isn't what we meant. ❞

It isn't going to tell him the truth. Not yet, at least. There is time yet, and Thistle still believes ( despite Dawn's many, many protests ) that Ren will— and should— be the one to convince him. Instead, it bends down to pick up one of the fallen flowers, delicate in the way it grips the clipped stem, and straightens to hold the bloom between them.

❝ We like having you here, ❞ it says with a voice that's just a touch less other. As much as it can manage, at least. ❝ There is more to strength than physicality and usefulness. ❞

Now, Daryl might let the young witches and other children here dote on him with their excitability and precocious nature, but Thistle isn't delusional ; it knows to be careful, cautious, with its movements. To telegraph, move slowly, make it clear what it intends to do. So it does just that as it moves to slide the nightshade flower into his hair, nestled just a little higher than his ear so that it falls properly into place instead of sliding to the ground with the slightest movement.

And then, because they actually didn't know that last part, and Dawn and Thistle feel bad both, ❝ And maybe we can help you with your search, if you'd tell us more about it. ❞

     her expression falls all at once, giving way to what seems to be shock. confusion. daryl doesn't know why she would be at all confused— he believes the way he and ren clash to be quite clear to those around them, dawn included. but either that's not actually the case, or dawn is simply realizing that she's done something daryl finds to be unsavory.

     her backpedaling is met with a stern look and a soft, indignant huff, though the sudden strange layering of dawn's voice does cause his skin to prickle. he's still not used to that. to any of this, really. it all feels completely unnatural ( but then again, so did the dead beginning to walk at the beginning of the outbreak ).

     ‘ yeah? that why you want me t'stick around so bad? 'cause i'm strong?— 'cause i'm useful t'you? ’     a scoff puffs out through his teeth. truthfully, he doesn't exactly know why he's here. why dawn had some kind of vision about him and sent ren off to redirect his course toward this settlement. he's beginning to wonder if it was worth it to come when he could be spending this valuable time looking for rick.

     ‘ you know i was lookin' for somethin' when you found me? wouldn't say no to goin' back out there and finishin' what i started. s'plenty other strong people out there. why don't you find one'a them? the fuck you need me around for? ’

[chaos--mode]

@hcrrorbabes embraced the chaos : ❛ i could be good at things that you don't really wanna do. and you're obviously really great at a whole bunch of stuff that I don't know how to do, you know? ❜ Eddie waves a hand as he talks, avoiding looking at Dawn directly.

Dawn has dealt with, well, a lot. Demonic beings, vengeful Furies, a totally oblivious Fate witch... And then, well, there's the Eldritch Entity that's literally fused to her Fate Thread, intertwined with her being as if they're one and the same. Which, well, they sort of are.

But she's not really used to whatever Eddie is. Backyard dealings, trickster alchemy and unsanctioned ferrying. Still, she likes his... chaotic approach. The Entity agrees, slithers forward in their mind to communicate as much, eyes flashing a faded lilac as it offers him an approving grin.

Dawn still holds the reins, though, and their eyes settle to a faded silvery-green after a moment. She stretches The Entity's grin into a saccharine smile, head tilting slowly to one side as silver glow appraises the self-taught witch before her.

❝Are you suggesting we work together?❞ she asks, tone even and icy.

She isn't inherently against the idea (kinda likes it, actually), but she's curious to see how he validates the suggestion. Likes to watch people squirm, sometimes.

&. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. ( always accepting! )

[chaos--mode]

"Do you always stare awkwardly or is this a special occasion?"

(For whomst ever would like to reply <3)

Dawn cocks her head to the side. She hadn't meant to stare, but there's something....

❝There's something strange, about you,❞ she says, sidestepping the question altogether. She ignores the nagging pulse that echoes don't be rude in the back of her mind. ❝What's wrong with you?❞

[chaos--mode]

@shadowedvales embraced the chaos : ❛ i'm really sorry you feel that way. ❜ / for dawn?

Dawn can't help the scoff that bubbles up from her throat at the comment.

❝Well I'm not.❞ Teeth practically bared as she speaks, maybe a touch too mean considering, but she can't help it. Can never help it, really.

She feels a bit bad, a moment later. Well, not Dawn, but The Entity. It needles at the back of their shared mind, stubborn and insistent. She lets out a long, harsh breath, eyes fluttering closed, but doesn't fight it in the end.

❝Apologies,❞ it says through Dawn's gritted teeth. Fingers flex as nails scratch along shared skin, both minds anxious, now. ❝We simply aren't used to working alongside others. We are a work in progress, so to speak.❞

It tries to smile, to make the other feel more at ease, but Dawn is still upset. She twists their mouth into a grimace, something halfway between grin and sneer.

&. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. ( always accepting! )

[chaos--mode]

This is fun, Dawn thinks as the someone-just-South-of-human parries with her. Like, verbally. They're not actually sword fighting ; that'd just be weird.

And again, right, Dawn should be careful here. Thistle is already starting to stir, its Dawn's-doing-something-stupid alarm bells going off, but it's too late. She's already having fun with this, and she isn't going to let her little brain companion ruin it.

Besides, she reasons, how dangerous can this non-human really be, if she's still just sparring with her words and not some horrible, terrifying supernatural power? ( Famous last words, truly. )

❝ Who ever said I had an issue? Maybe I'm just curious. ❞ She clicks her tongue and giggles, a little too high-pitched to be anything other than decidedly manic. ❝ I dunno, though, maybe you're just all bark, no bite. ❞

( Stop playing with fire, you absolute nitwit. )

That was the problem, this was NICE for Katherine. She hadn't been aggressive yet. That counts- not that anyone who didnt know her knew that.

"Oh I'm sure I have anything a cult could offer, already down to a science." You know like controlling other people, that's so much easier with compulsion- maybe she SHOULD start a cult. Wouldn't have to worry about them ever rebelling if she just pre-compelled them not to.

"So besides the fact that you spent too much time chanting beetlejuice in a dark bathroom mirror, what is your issue? And why did you feel the need to make it mine?"

[chaos--mode]

@miercolaes embraced the chaos : you’ll be sorry for it , & so shall i , perhaps . (for dawn)

There aren't many things that scare Dawn. Sort of comes with the territory, right, when you're something of an Eldritch being yourself. Threats were a daily occurrence, anyway. So Wednesday being all cryptic and unnerving? Just another day, really.

"I warn you beforehand," Dawn continues after the other, lips stretching into a saccharine grin as she Frankenstein's the lines together, "I’m not afraid of these pretty atoms."

↪ 𝑪𝑼𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑶𝑹'𝑺 𝑷𝑰𝑪𝑲𝑺. a series of sentence starters from a collection of gothic short stories. ( always accepting! )

[chaos--mode]

@miercolaes embraced the chaos : “ If you can’t run away from your problems, you’re not running fast enough. ” for dawn my beloved

It's sort of a strange thing to say, Dawn thinks. Her problems are a bit wound around her, after all. Can't really run from Fate, can you?

"Well, I guess if your problems aren't twined with your soul, you could probably manage," she quips, tiny voice in the back of her head cutting in as if it has any right.

I am Not the problem in this situation. (Dawn elects to ignore The Entity's little addition)

"There isn't really any running from that. Trust me, I've tried."

shut up. i have the talking stick. ( always accepting! )