Very interesting foreshadowing, knowing what happens in this dynasty. You write with foreboding, and it works very, very well.
I almost like the fact that I failed, because it gives me a whole new way to look at my screenshots. Thanks!
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Even with the small things that immensely bothered Samhain, he still had a career to complete so he wouldn't be the one to bring in a bitter end.
Thankfully, his grandmother was possibly rotten, but a masterful alchemist with the right recipe.
Because of her, Samhain was on fire!
Other than his worries, things were very peachy for Samhain. He was an excellent martial artist, with a profession he excelled at and a family he adored. He might have even briefly mistaken his life for normal.
The Drudge family had their own dysfunction that was close to irreparable. Sheila was getting older, nearly in her 90's by the time her Marco James graduated, and it was clear that the troubles in her family were affecting her.
At first, it seemed that she might have been going senile or blind, as she intended to surprise Marco at his graduation when he was able to see her in plain sight. However, she was still clear on other issues.
She knew that her father was very young at heart, and wasn't beneath a simple game of catch or tag. Sheila was a touch excitable, and Heath with a bit of the whimsy that his mum had throughout her life, but instead of the childish nature of the family diluting itself even further, it was apparent that it returned even harder.
Alhena liked her toybox...
...But Marco loved it far more.
“Mister, you clean up these toys before Samhain whoops your rear for it,” said Sheila, “I love you, but I'm too old for this...”
The stare in his eyes was always very blank. In fact, Marco James just wanted to ignore his mother. She always sat him down and had some very serious chats with him about finding love, and how much she wanted to live to see him committed in some way, and preferably with someone who lit him up from his nose to his toes, hopefully in the same way that Screwtape always did for Sheila.
“...And these are Alhena's toys anyways.
You're the one too old for this!” Sheila continued.
“No mum, auntie Vega says I can't get married anyways!” he exclaimed.
“Just get engaged like dad and I?”
“Not worth it.”
Sheila was too much of a hopeless romantic to understand her son. She wanted to be there to see him happy, but the possibility that her Marco was too stubborn to mature and move beyond the uncertainty of toys and introvertedness, things that pained even him. She had an idea of who could save him from those woes, but that person was young and protected by an army of grey.
Heath could always make the pain go away, even for a bit.
It turned out that Sheila and Heath weren't the only Bull couple. Heath's twin sister, Kate, and Screwtape were just friends. They both made that clear to each other, but the rest of the household got a little suspicious once they got word of Screwtape's bank records; check after check was addressed to Kate for a hefty amount of simoleons each week. Vega and Samhain bit their fingernails over what shady dealings Screwtape got himself into with Kate. What sort of crazy scheme did seemingly-innocuous Screwtape get himself into?
When he told the truth, it was something far more mundane.
Soon after Clarissa's death, he started to feel lonely without someone special to share hot tubs and movies with, and to do his special activities in those settings with. Heath was particularly strong and with military connections, and Screwtape wisely didn't get between him and Sheila. He didn't want a serious encounter either; just a friend who was up for a movie (dry foreign dramas, of course) and Screwtape's ways to enjoy it. Heath's younger sister, Meghan, was Screwtape's trustworthy line cook, and she told him that her older sister was a perfect fit.
The two of them went out to a movie, and nine months later, Screwtape got word of the consequence.
The bald, grey, adorable consequence.
That was Carisa, their daughter. As tasteless as it was to almost name her after Screwtape's late wife, he knew that he had to support her, even if was just the impersonal signing of checks each week. Of course, Vega was thrilled over being a grandmother again. She always wanted more.
And from that point on, Screwtape thought hard about the consequences of putting himself where he didn't belong. It wasn't the first time.
As it turned out, Carisa wasn't as much of a worry as what went on between Sheila and Heath when they weren't looking at each other with fluttering eyelids.
“You can't just keep everything a secret,” said Heath.
“But things are just fine!”
Heath straightened out his back, the stern Brandt eyes showing their true sternness. “I'd like to hear the truth,” he muttered. Sheila sighed and prepared the story.
“It's Marco, and I think the rest of that bunch too,” she said, “They just hate Marco, and it's too bad, because I think he'd be much happier if they could work their magic and find him a soulmate. And he's just sitting there in the nursery with those stuffed rabbits talking about how much he hates marriage! He's not a happy kid, cueball, and no one can step in to help him. And I don't think I have the time to.”
“If he's anything like you, he'll find a way. It might just be a phase,” he said, “My dad said that he'd never settle down, but he ended up with three kids and a permanent home. Things can happen.”
As Sheila went home, joints aching and the wrinkles on her face still multiplying, she wanted to see it happen. She wanted to see someone make Marco James Drudge light up; his grey eyes electrified, and his heart threatening to pound out of his chest. It wasn't even family destiny dominating Sheila's mind; she couldn't stand to see her wonderful son not live up to his potential, even if his best shot at reaching that potential still had 15 or so years left to mature.
In the end, she envied the Ironstars and their perfect children, especially when it came time for Alhena's birthday. She was joyful and a natural around crowds, smiling as Marco nervously lent a couple of his fingers to Alhena for her to hold on to while he helped her blow out the candles.
He set her down, with no time to waste. It was a double celebration.
Alhena would have many more birthdays, but it was the last one for Rebecca. She knew that she would still be awesome as an old lady, but she had to make a wish to make sure that it was a little more awesome.
“I wish, I wish for a nice yellow dress!” she said.
Samhain was mortified. “You know not to say that out loud, so you don't...”
“...jinx it.”
He had a better dress waiting for her in the dresser, and some new clothes for Alhena too.
Samhain always loved his daughter, but he noticed something curious about her mouth as she stood at the mirror while Beck brushed Alhena's hair into a headband. He fell in love with Beck for many reasons, but he adored her mouth. The bow of her upper lip combined with the unique pout of her lower lip created what he thought was her best feature, and it was quite clear that Alhena had the same feature.
But as Alhena grooved out to her favorite roots music, Samhain couldn't help but notice the small wound at the bottom of her lower lip, enough for her tongue to slip through. It was actually quite disturbing.
Meanwhile, Beck and Sheila struck up a conversation in the old nursery.
“Can you believe that Samhain is worried about Ally's mouth? Honestly, I can't believe that he doesn't know about the unique gene in my family! I mean, my older brother has the same gap and he turned out just fine. And I had it as a child and I'm fab today,” said Beck.
“Isn't it nice that all you have to worry about is a little deformity on your kid? I have to spend my last days worrying if my son will ever be happy because all you and your family does is refuse to help him.”
“What are we supposed to do? It's your kid.”
Sheila started to cry a tiny bit. At 91, she spent all that time feeling powerless in her own extended family. Her only good relationship was arranged by grey hands, and as much as she loved Heath, she still wondered what would have been different if she was Screwtape's wife. She even envied Beck; as mortal as she was, she shared a bed with an Ironstar and maybe just a tiny bit of power, even if it was just commands whispered in Samhain's ear.
“I don't have enough power for that. Not even enough time at this point,” Sheila said.
“Even then, Sam said that Marco is just a disturbed young man who shouldn't even touch our family! Why even change him? He's not exactly a 10."
“So that's what he thinks, huh?” asked Sheila, “You better be glad that I don't have the time to lash out at that.”
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I love the Clay mouth, I really do (heck, I was legitimately mad with my last attempt with the Graves because Gwen didn't get the mouth!), but I knew that it would cause some horrendous deformities for Alhena during her childhood years. She was otherwise adorable with her big eyes and cute expressions, but seeing her tongue constantly poking through her lower lip got distracting.
And that, kids, is why you must be careful when dealing with Harwood's genes.
Alhena grew out of her deformity just fine, by the way.
