One On One- daz and lacuna;

[daz]

━━━━━━━━━ ｌａｒｋ ;;


________before the princess got the chance to leave the castle, a rather unexpected visitor had made himself known. it was a skinny boy that lark didn't recognize, a bit shorter than him and proving to be noticeably weak. according to the kid, he'd limped to the nearest available place that could potentially help him. he'd gotten scratched up rather significantly, claiming to have taken a great tumble from a tall tree. lark had hidden a smirk at that, shaking his head. whenever anyone else attempted to climb around in his forest, it rarely turned out well for them.
________juniper had allowed the kid in, insisting that she was more than willing to help him out of his predicament. the moment jafar's daughter spotted him, she'd thrown a fit. turns out she was an even bigger brat than juniper could've ever been; she'd stomped her foot, demanding the boy was no good and posed a potential threat to the two villainous children. apparently he was peter pan's son, going by the name of "jazz," which was short for jasper. he had pissed off jafar's daughter the previous day, calling her out on robbing a marketplace and then insulted her for her parentage. the villain had quite the bone to pick with the do-gooder, demanding that juniper leave him be and let him sort out his own wounds. but the princess had refused, allowing jazz to stay for however long he needed to heal and get back on his feet. lark found he didn't trust the boy too much, instead avoiding him and doing what he could to not speak with him. although, they did have a brief encounter where they simply... stared at one another? it was rather odd, and presently gave the dark fairy chills. there was just something supremely off about peter pan's son, but that was likely only caused by his overbearing trust issues. none of the other three individuals had given him a reason to feel that way, it was primarily apart of his nature. but he was in too deep already, and leaving them all behind would be stupid. this was his first time encountering anyone remotely good who sort of... liked him? it was like a miraculous change he wasn't opposed to, no matter how unusual it was. lark would remain there, and continue to take advantage of the now two goods who weren't summoning guards to haul him away.
________in the time that juniper had left the castle to visit a nearby village, lark had accomplished a fair amount of things. after a bit of effort, he managed to get a proper conversation started with jafar's daughter. it took some effort, as she was refusing to emerge from her hiding spot in the attic, but he managed by convincing her that jazz was nowhere near them. the two shared a few words, and sometime during it she revealed her name to him. evidently, it was roya. when she asked what his was, he simply responded with a "none of your concern" and let that finish it. while they chatted, they had explored farther into the castle. roya had dragged him into the room with the paintings, where he informed her he'd already seen it. although, she got to "introduce" him to her mother. she filled him in on the backstory her family had, including a great deal of information the prince hadn't even been aware of. he figured he knew everything, as being the son of the ruler of all things evil had its benefits. maleficent was informed of everything, and ultimately so was he. learning that jafar had essentially been the reason roya's mum was killed was rather heart-wrenching, and he'd given her an awkward shoulder pat for comfort's sake. he normally wasn't one to show much sympathy towards others, but roya proved to be an exception. she was a villain's kid, so she could understand him a bit better than juniper. they'd grown up in the same shadows, being forced to live up to a parent with demonic intentions. from what little lark now knew of roya, they seemed to agree on much. however, he had yet to let on he respected her for escaping her father's clutches. it was admittedly... embarrassing. he was a prince, after all, and insinuating that he disliked his mother's educational approaches was far too risky. he constantly felt like she was breathing done his neck, even when she was all the way back in his hometown. if he spoke out of line, she would be the first to know about it. so, lark led a guarded lifestyle.
________roya had marched back up to the attic the moment jazz intervened, sparking an awkward talk with lark. the boy was far more difficult to learn from than juniper, as the princess was more like an open book. jazz's story was only accessible through lock and key, and the dark fairy had yet to dig either of those things up. for the time being, peter pan's son would remain a mystery. they spoke of insignificant things, lark leaning against a wall in a hallway and jazz carefully watching him. the brunette had a bag of fairy dust, which foolishly had gone unused when jazz had attempted to scale a few trees. it had resulted in his arm being placed in a makeshift sling, and several of his wounds were patched by bandages. although, their time together wasn't given the opportunity to bud into anything major, as that was when the princess decided to return home. she had rather angrily approached the boys, explaining that a couple of fairies had apparently cursed her. now, she could hardly prevent herself from speaking the truth. careless insults would fly from her lips, and immediately afterwards she'd show regret. so, among everyone she selected to approach about it, she'd gone for lark. he wasn't given much of an option in the matter, as she had hounded him until he finally caved. if she wouldn't hush, then yes, he'd help her. the word tasted foul on his tongue, nevertheless he willingly followed her to the library to seek out a reserve spell for the curse.
________lark couldn't keep a faint grin off of his pale face as juniper ranted, violently petting poor etselle. the cat had come with them into the library, settling into the princess's lap in the hopes of offering comfort. so far, it didn't seem to be working out too well. june had a pattern going where she'd sit down, then stand up, sit down again, then proceed to stand up again to pace; all the while, she was ranting about the good fairies and their unfortunate house placement. "i'm a different species of fairy," he explained, not caring whether or not the princess was even listening to him, "we tend to be taller, and possess horns. although, despite the fact i am a "tree," i don't have wings. every pro comes with a con, i guess." he scratched behind one of his pointed ears, wrinkling his brow as he positioned what had to be the twentieth book he'd flipped through under his chocolate gaze. although lark was a master of spells, he had far more extensive knowledge for forming curses. actually reversing them took a fair amount of extra effort, so he was primarily skilled in creating the chaos rather than fixing it.
________the dark fairy closed his eyes, huffing impatiently as june continued to yammer behind him. she was extremely distracting, and attempting to block out all the noise she was making had become significantly challenging. the moment she became philosophical with a candle, he turned on her. "oh my God, do you ever stop talking?" lark gestured towards the book he was currently scanning, giving her an "are you actually kidding me right now?" face. "i'm trying to help you. can't you do anything other than complain? i mean, oh, i don't know, you could be helping me? or is that too much work for her majesty?" he teased, smirking at her affectionately. however, he quickly changed it to more of an awkward scowl. he hadn't realized it, but he was going weirdly soft around her. it was extremely out of character for him to show any measure of kindness to goods, but apparently juniper had become an unwilling exception.

[vixen;]

Juniper
Juniper had sat back down on the seat, petting Etselle. She was becoming more irritated by Lark and the curse. She sat for a few moments before getting up again. She pulled a ladder to the shelf Lark had pulled most of the books from. She began to climb up the ladder, trying to reach a book. She ran her index finger down the spines of the books, the tip of her finger coated in dust. No one seemed to have read these books in a long while. Juniper pulled three books off the shelf, climbing down the ladder. She jumped off the last foot, landing with a soft thud. She set the pile of books on a table before picking the book on the top of the pile. She sat back down, next to Etselle. The white cat let out a annoyed meow, jumping off the sofa, the tom cat rubbed against the legs of the cushioned bench, it purred softly. Juniper looked away from the book, glancing a curious glance at the kitten. Juniper uses her foot, nudging the kitten. Etselle hissed at Juniper's shoe, pouncing onto it. Juniper jumped back in surprise from the kitten. Juniper set the book down, then pulled the cat off her shoe. She set Etselle back on the ground, ignoring the cat as she went back to reading the book.

She looked up as Lark read the page. She smirked before going back to reading the book, she turned a page, reading the book. Juniper stood up again, walking back to the ladder, this time she climb higher, standing on the top of the ladder. Its wooden frame creaked as Juniper reached over to grab a book. She leaned on the book shelf, grabbed the book she wanted and climbed back down. She set the book on the pile, before going back to reading the one she was previously reading. She ran her finger along the lightly tanned pages. She frowned at every spot with the ink smudge. For a royal library, the books were not well taken care of. Which was a surprise, this castle was used for summer vacations, or winter trips, but everything within the castle walls was clean, neat, orderly. Everywhere expect the library was well taken care of. This was Juniper's area, her space, not even her father dared to enter the library. Juniper knew every inch of the library. Want a book about adventure, right corner, third bookcase, fifth shelf from the top. And Juniper would know that, she had arranged where the books went. The servants weren't thrilled when Juniper told them she wanted to redesign the entire library.

"The best books are on the higher shelf, Nameless. And I am helping." Juniper looked back at the book, reading the next page. "Wait. You don't have wings?" She asked, a bit surprised. "Your mother has wings, odd that you don't." Juniper went back to reading, the book held close to her face as she read the page. "At least the horns look nice, you should try to be more open." Juniper looked up from the book as the words left her mouth. She turned red, biting her lip as she turned another page, before looking back at Lark. She turned another page, stopping as she read something over. "Here. This might be something." She walked over to Lark, holding the book to a page. She pointed at the words. "Would this reverse the spell?" She asked, the words weren't familiar to Juniper, and she wasn't going to ask what they said, at this point she was terrified of what she might say. At least with her mouth shut, no further damage could be done. "Why do I even let you stay here? You're annoying, and Evil. Why do I even like you?" Juniper froze, having wanted to ask if there was a way to outlast the spell instead of reverse it, this was worse, Juniper was blushing, turning red as she walked away from Lark, she sat down on the sofa, grabbing another book, she opened it to a randomly selected page, staring at the words, though she wasn't reading any of it. Juniper was horrified, she was blushing, embarrassed and was now just trying to quiet.

Etselle walked back to Juniper, meowing loudly. Juniper picked the little cat up, wanting to disappear from the room. She held the white cat to her, picking up a book again, she flipped through the pages, reading each page. A flame on a candle nearby Juniper went out, Juniper picked up another candle, using its flame to relight the candle that had gone out. Juniper set the candle back down, then stood up, knocking Etselle to the floor. Etselle darted out of the library, Juniper frowned as she watched the cat run out of the library. "Sorry" Juniper muttered before beginning to pace again. "Uh. Nameless." Juniper began to talk. "Never mind." She said quickly, not wanting to embarrass herself any farther. She sat down again, tapping her foot on the floor. She stopped tapping her foot and stood up again. She walked around the sofa before laying down on it this time. She sat up, then stood up again. Juniper picked up a book, opening to a random page. She shut the book, the noise was loud as the book shut. She set the book on the table, then went back to the sofa.

"Just for the record. You aren't a tree. You're more of two children standing on one of the kids' shoulders, with a tall hat on." Juniper muttered. "Also. You should open up more, you'll never prove to anyone that, even though you kill people, you aren't as bad as they think." She went back to reading the book, now reading the book and not just staring at it. Etselle walked back to the library, going to Lark instead of Juniper, the cat having figured out that little to no comfort would be coming from Juniper as the girl continued to move around. The tom cat meowed as it pushed it's head against Lark's boot. The kitten purred softly, moving between Lark's left and right foot. Etselle jumped onto a table close to Lark, he meowed, wanting attention from anyone that was willing to give him attention.

[daz]

━━━━━━━━━ ｌａｒｋ ;;


________lark squinted impatiently at the princess, watching as she proceeded to busy herself with retrieving books from the top shelves. he felt the sudden dire need to smack himself in the face with one of the harder covers, in the hopes that in doing so it would numb his aggravation. his temper was his worst quality, and his patience was wearing thin. this was a curse he doubted he'd ever do, as it seemed to make him suffer more than the one enduring it. her relentless need to speak her mind was not only an inconvenience for her, but for him. there were certain things he'd wanted to learn about her, but others that should've never been voiced. when he first approached june, he hadn't expected any of what he'd gotten thus far. it was one adventure after another, and her goody-two-shoes lifestyle had yet to stop any of it from happening.
________juniper continued on with her dizzying pattern, never able to get comfortable in a singular position. she continued to rise to her feet, snatching book after book from the harder to reach places in the shelves. she would settle back in her chair, then two seconds later be back up and working again. at least she was now making an effort to assist him, rather than pointlessly playing with an eager etselle. the kitten was just like any other cat out there, only around for the attention and free food. lark's opinion on it had yet to change, as its presence still irritated him greatly. it was likely stupid, but he felt oddly victorious whenever it hissed at june. at least he wasn't the only one experiencing complications when it came to the bloody kitten's rotten attitude.
________the dark fairy rolled his eyes at juniper's initial comment, returning to the books. it couldn't have been that shocking he didn't have wings, especially considering the tight clothes he wore. there was definitely no concealing a gigantic pair of wings underneath his skintight tank. he wasn't wearing his cloak either, so her surprise felt humorously stupid. it was a rather personal topic for him to discuss, so expanding on it wasn't apart of the plan. but, juniper had more to say. she lightly complimented his horns for being "nice," then automatically followed it with an indication that he ought to be more open. lark froze up, staring at her in utter silence as she assessed the words that had come from her mouth. he knew it was the curse talking, but that was only more proof towards its genuineness. she couldn't tell lies, nor could she hold her tongue when an opinion surfaced. what she said was brutally true, whether he liked it or not.
________"birth defect," he suddenly spat, avoiding her gaze. "i don't have wings due to a birth defect. there. i'm open as wide as a book. happy now, princess?" lark practically ripped a page from the novel he was currently peering into, his strength overbearing as his ferocity swelled. why was he helping her anyways? she was a good princess. she deserved to learn how to care for herself every once in a while, and not have to depend on others for everything. he didn't want to hand the reverse spell to her on a silver platter, although he knew that was exactly what he'd end up doing anyway. her thoughts were frustrating, but lark wasn't completely... cruel. although chaotic, she was like a damsel in distress. he was no hero, but he was the only one out of the trio who knew anything about magic. what she was dealing with wasn't meant to wear off, and leaving her to that sort of torture made his kinder consciousness feel unusually guilty. why was he being so nice to her? lark made no sense.
________revisiting the memory of his birth defect was a rather touchy subject. not nearly as much as his name, but enough to strike a nerve. he didn't enjoy discussing most of his childhood, as it was primarily dark and dreary. his memories were clouded over by maleficent and her constant, demented shadow. any and all influences that made lark the person he was had come from his mother, as his father was infrequently around. he was a warlock with commitment issues, and rarely was present to witness any of lark's "big leaps into adulthood." he was an evil man who also had quite the temper, and in an argument with a pregnant maleficent, he'd cast a nasty and irreversible curse on her. it was much like the demented "gift" maleficent had given sleeping beauty, it was just before he was born. he was to be born a troubled child, and be without the rightful wings of a fairy. when he came to be, it was exactly as said by his father. he had no wings, simply two scars where they should've been. they'd already attached themselves to his body when in the womb, but due to the curse they'd been ripped away before he could ever surface. to this day, the scars remain, a haunting and final memory of his dad. that man hadn't loved his son, nor his wife. he abandoned them, and to this day his whereabouts remain unknown. lark had no interest in finding out either, or else he suspected he'd kill the man who cost him his ability to fly.
________lark glanced up from the book he was reading when juniper made her way up to his side, shoving another one in his face. she directed his attention to a few words near the bottom of a page, glancing up at him as she awaited a response. "if you count a foreign cooking recipe as a reverse spell, we have a lot more work to do on you..." he said, shaking his head. "no. keep looking. there's bound to be something around here. this library has everything."
________the brunette was more startled by this statement than the other, his eyebrow quirking questionably. "excuse me?" yes, he was evil. yes, he was annoying. none of those things came as a surprise to him, as they were what he heard everyday. but what came after that? juniper liked him? his nose wrinkled in disgust, and he diverted his attention as quickly as june scurried away from his side. the female was blushing like crazy as she returned to her chair, burying herself in the book. lark, without a doubt, wouldn't be returning her oddly kindhearted remark. it was a nice gesture, even with it being influenced by the curse, but he had yet to start feeling the same. he didn't... like her. yeah. he didn't. at all. she got on his nerves with her prickly, completely stereotypical good guy persona. he was evil, she was good. they were both heirs to polar opposite thrones. they weren't supposed to get along... right?
________neither of them communicated for a while after that, lark busying himself with his work and juniper scolding etselle. the cat had finally scrammed, rather ticked because the princess wasn't giving it its desired attention. june summoned him to attention at another point, but it didn't last long as she hurriedly changed her mind. she had begun to call him "nameless" some time ago, and he wasn't certain how he felt about it. it was probably better than "maleficent's son," but he couldn't help but wish he could hear... lark. would it really hurt if he finally got to enjoy the pleasant ring of his name from someone else's lips, anyone other than his mum? yes. too risky. too dangerous. not enough trust, and too many bad factors. stop thinking this way, lark. she's the good princess. daughter to cinderella. you're being far too gullible.
________"horns as a hat, huh? that'd be quite the fashion statement. it's a bad omen. you don't want your children looking like that." lark wasn't really paying attention to juniper anymore, getting slightly sick of her and her unpredictable statements. "also, shut up. i am as bad as they think i am. why can't you get that through your head? i'm evil, princess. it's not that difficult to comprehend!" lark had yet to call juniper by her actual name, as if it were poison on his tongue. it felt wrong that he knew it, and how it echoed in his brain whenever he saw her. june. it was a lovely name. he hated it. he hated her, and the odd things she made him feel. "and do you ever stop talking, because i'm starting to think you don't."
________etselle appeared out of nowhere, suddenly having returned in the hopes of gaining more affection. it meowed bitterly, rubbing itself all along lark's boots. he scowled at the purring animal, sidestepping away from it. if it didn't stop, its white fur would get all stuck on his ebony clothing. there was nothing worse than white reeking havoc on black. however, before he was given the opportunity to kick it away, it leaped up on the table and began mewling even louder. lark had to physically restrain himself, dropping the book he'd been paging through with great caution. he would've liked to squash the incompetent animal beneath the hefty cover, but he refrained. with a heavy heart, as well as a great amount of hesitation, he reached out and gave the cat a defiant scratch behind its ear. the scratch led to light stroking, and eventually he was full-on petting etselle. although, his facial expression was cold, and what you would define as "done."
________lark returned his attention to the books after a while, having surprisingly cooled down a great deal just by rubbing etselle. he would never voice that, but it was true. good thing he wasn't under the influence of the curse, or else he would be spouting all kinds of peculiar things. including his odd thoughts about juniper, and how he couldn't be certain why he was helping her, let alone staying in the summer palace in the first place. the flower method was beginning to sound less and less likely, and the whole "solving the puzzle" nonsense had been a lie to justify his actions. now he was confused, and he despised feeling out of control under any circumstance. juniper didn't even realize it, but she had the steering wheel, and she was driving him absolutely mad.
________"wait, i think... i think i found it!" the dark fairy emitted an excited little noise, likely the dorkiest and most childish thing he'd yet to do. he was a rather classy prince, so anytime you could pry some bits of realism from him was miraculous. "the only way to test my theory is if i perform it, so..." he peered up from the pages of his current novel, gesturing towards her with one of his gloved hands. "may i?'

[vixen;]

Juniper
Juniper flipped through the pages of the book, ignoring Etselle whenever the kitten began the meow. She would simply nude the kitten with her foot, receiving a hiss or annoyed meow as the kitten went to search for attention. Juniper set the book down opening another. She flipped through the pages, trying to find whatever looked like a reverse spell, she stopped, ready to give up and ask if she could just outlast the curse. Juniper frowned as Etselle came back into the library. Juniper continued to ignore the cat, forcing it to go to Lark for attention.

Juniper looked up from the book as Lark began to pet the kitten, she smiled as she watched them. Juniper picked the book up as Lark stopped petting the kitten. She set the book down, closing it. She stood up, walking over to him. She stood silently, trying to at least stop the flow of embarrassing comments that came to from her mouth. She stood beside Lark, keeping her distance from the fairy. She looked at the book, trying to see the spell. She gave up, knowing she wouldn't understand a word of it. Juniper picked up an angry Etselle. Juniper set the cat down on the floor, more than ready to have the spell reversed. She felt the urge to talk, the curse working as it should. "Do it." Juniper said, her voice a mix between seriousness and restraint as she struggled to hold back the thought. She put her hand over her mouth, she bit the inside of her cheek, not wanting to talk.

"I'm sorry about you not being born with wings, I'd like to know what happened, beside the birth defect, but that's to personal, and I've only known you for about a week now. That's way too soon to ask personal questions. Right now, I'm just happy that you found the cure, thank Heavens you didn't laugh in my face and walk away the moment I asked you to help. I thought you would, but you didn't." Juniper stopped, taking a breath. "And I hate this curse more than anything, you're horns really do look nice. And you aren't as evil as you think, because if you were, you'd have killed me by now, and you wouldn't be helping me." Juniper stopped talking, she bit her lip, now angry at the fairies that had cursed her. She had just thrown all of her thoughts out there. Juniper sighed, no thoughts were left. "Just, do the reversal spell. Please."

Juniper had begun to pace, kicking Etselle as she did. She picked the kitten up, rapidly apologizing. She set the cat down on the sofa, Etselle looking as though he'd was being smothered with love. And by Juniper's sudden squeeze-the-cat-you-just-kicked act of love, he probably was. Poor thing. As soon as he was set down Etselle ran out of the library, hitting the wall instead of running out of the library. Juniper frowned at the cat. "Idiot." She muttered going back to Lark. "I didn't mean to kick him." Juniper sat down on the sofa again. "Reverse the curse. Now. Please." Juniper snapped. She stood up, walked around the sofa and sat back down. She frowned, staring at the wall. Juniper stood up again, walking over to the ladder, turning around. "Reverse the curse. Do it." She sat back down on the sofa, flustered and annoyed. She looked over at Lark, forcing a frown.

Juniper lay on the sofa, her hand over her face. "I hate this." She muttered, Etselle walked back into the room, meowing as he jumped onto the sofa, purring as he lay on Juniper. Juniper moved her hand from her face, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the cat. "Shoo." Juniper snapped at the cat, trying to get it to leave. Etselle yawned, tiny teeth visible. Juniper laughed at the little kitten, rubbing its head. "Good, stupid cat. And annoying fairy." Juniper muttered.

[daz]

━━━━━━━━━ ｌａｒｋ ;;


________lark nodded his head at june's response, readying himself to attempt the reversal spell. it was seconds before he could cast it, the first word right on the tip of his tongue, when the princess suddenly bombarded him with a mouthful of words to take in. he nearly dropped the book out of shock, legitimately finding himself bewildered by everything she'd said. so, for starters, she had a genuine interest in learning more about him? that was rather new, as he was extremely used to people shunning him until they forgot he existed. having anyone take the slightest bit of interest in him and his backstory was sadly bizarre, unheard of, and kind of... nice? at least it meant that the entire world didn't hate him, especially if someone like the princess found him acceptable enough to be intrigued by. then, there was her thankfulness. she was grateful he hadn't turned her down when she'd requested his help, which undoubtedly did prove that there was an ounce of goodness in him. he'd had the option to brutally murder her from the very beginning, and realistically could do so at any given moment. yet, thus far, he had yet to even insinuate that he wanted to. among all of the people he would hope to kill, he should've had someone like juniper at the top of his list. but she was somewhere near the bottom instead, and he doubted that would be changing anytime soon. surprisingly, she hadn't given him a reason to. she'd been rather accepting, and her initial terror when they'd first met had gradually died away.
________juniper, unbelievably, had all the more to say. she went on to discuss how much she hated the curse she was under, and then once again insinuate she liked his horns. lark reached up to self-consciously brush one of the ebony horns, his forefinger sliding across its stiff base. the princess thought they were nice. why did he appreciate that? perhaps because he was rarely served any compliments, not even from his own mum. actually receiving one was quite the experience, despite its insignificance to anyone else. the prince prided himself in his intriguing bodily attributes, considering they were the lone ones he had been permitted to keep. he despised knowing he could've had wings to match, constantly reminded of their original presence whenever he looked into the mirror from behind, but what he did manage to scrape by with was great. it caused him to stand out in massive crowds, with his massive horns, incredible height, and noticeably pointed ears. lark was like a majestic and great beast, and few could even decipher he was meant to be a mere fairy.
________the princess finally finished all that she intended to say, the continuous flow of unexpected words coming to an abrupt and satisfactory end. she, once again, requested he hurry and reverse the horrible curse. although, he was still too busy attempting to mull over what she'd uttered. whether he ought to thank her, or allow the weirdly structured compliments to pass as if they hadn't happened. then, he questioned whether he should take what she'd said to heart. she wanted him to open up, and push past his stubborn doors. if he did so, she would learn far more about him than he was sure he was comfortable with. he still hated to trust her, and with information as sensitive as the topic they were on? yeah, it was a bit much. but she was right, they'd been in contact with one another for around the span of a week. lark knew everything there was to be known about roya and juniper, and had grasped some stuff here and there about jazz. but none of the group knew a thing about lark, asides from the fact he was maleficent's dastardly son. he had horns, he had powers, he didn't care for animals or good people, and he really liked the color black. there was little depth to him, when in all actuality there was plenty more for them to learn. it just would take him opening his mouth, getting some courage, and then spouting the honest to goodness truth. was he ready for that sort of commitment?
________while he thought, juniper had done a lot of maneuvering about. she went from beside him, all the way back to her chair. she slumped down in it, knocking etselle away whenever he'd returned for more petting. after some time, however, she managed to cool off enough to the point where she accepted his need for affection. it left etselle a purring mass of fluff, and june a tiredly giggly mess. throughout the entire process, she had repeated the words "reverse the curse" on multiple occasions. however, lark had yet to move towards doing so. he could hardly keep a smile off his paled face, laughing one of his more genuine laughs. "awe, must i? watching you struggle is such fun, though." he teased her, before plucking the book off the table he'd sat it on. "alright, fine. but hold still, will you? you're doing too much moving about." then, he proceeded to recite the words under his breath. he extended his arm forward as well, allowing trickles of green magic to tumble carelessly onto the ground. once he was finished speaking, he focused his attention on his desired target. normally, he didn't have to go through any of this. he could just think the curse, vaguely point out who he hoped to strike with it, and then he was finished. but with new things, especially reversal spells, it took a bit more effort.
________the green ooze which commonly crept from his hands upon use of magic sprang to life, surging towards juniper. it swirled around her tediously for a few moments, before sinking into her skin and dissolving like lotion. after allowing it to completely settle in, lark smiled lightly, his eyelids hooded. "that ought to do it. how do you feel?" he asked, wanting to ensure that what he'd done had actually worked.
________the brunette stuck the books he'd surfaced back into their original homes, aligning all of the covers in the order he'd found them in. as he did so, a found himself speaking without thinking. it was like the waiting had become too much, and at last he had someone to discuss real matters with. "we have only known one another for a week, but... i know so much about you. it's likely due to the fact you're more open than any book i've ever read, so it's not too surprising. but either way, with what you said... it isn't unusual you'd be curious as to why exactly i have no wings. my mum has them, after all. since i have her horns, and her ears, and just the fact i'm a fairy, it only makes sense i'd have wings too." lark faltered for a brief second, as if he realized what he was fixing to do and wanted to stop himself before it was too late. except, it was too late. he'd dived in, and there wasn't any resurfacing until he'd gotten it all off his chest.
________etselle was purring loudly in the background, for whatever reason giving him chills. they were rather noticeable, as his arms were bare without his cloak shielding them from view. the sensation of unfamiliarity he got from attempting to talk about himself was horrid, and just went to show how he'd never actually done it. he was the sort of person who observed and educated himself on others as he pleased, but rarely gave off much concerning himself due to trust issues. his mother had urged him to live the life of someone who saw the world as their enemy, and that everyone was out to get him. thus far, he'd had no troubles in doing exactly that. but presently, as he spoke to juniper, he found this was the perfect chance for him to lighten the load. he could unleash some bottled up stress, and somehow he didn't worry the princess would go blabbing about it where she shouldn't. his secrets were safe with her, so long as he wanted it that way. her goodness was showing.
________"my mother married a bitter warlock, as they seemed to get along quite nicely in the beginning. there wasn't much genuine love, however. i believe most of it was just their demented share of opinions, and how they both agreed that everyone was the scum beneath their shoes. he proposed, she agreed, and thus they married. fast forward a couple of years, and my mum is pregnant with me. my father and her got into a petty quarrel, and it's according to my understanding that he became dangerous. sometime during it, he cast this sort of... "gift" on maleficent. it was, of course, actually a curse. her child, although a fairy, was to be born without wings. the baby was also meant to be "troubled," as my mum put it, and have many irreversible issues." lark sheepishly gestured towards himself, averting his chocolate brown gaze. "as you can tell, that was exactly what happened." the dark fairy found himself hesitating ounce more, but managed to pull through in knowing he'd already dug the hole. what was the harm in continuing to dig?
________the brunette turned around a tad, facing the bookshelf. he reached behind him, tugging his slim-fitted tank top upwards so that it would reveal his back. his spine was rather prominent, as he was underfed and generally struggled in taking care of himself. he also had a variety of bruises, likely caused from times where he'd gotten into physical scuffles with guards, or rammed into branches of trees. either way, they were the things which made lark himself. however, around his spine, in the general vicinity of his shoulder blades, sat two particularly large scars. they were rectangular, slightly red, and a bit patchy in certain areas. "the curse was performed so far on in my mother's pregnancy, i had already developed wings. they were ripped from my body before i could ever emerge. the scars are still there, and they've sort of... grown with me. i still have extra muscles in my back that were intended to move them about, but they're useless now." he shrugged his shoulders, allowing his tank to slide into the place again. "i haven't a clue what it would've been like to have them, but i don't tend to think on it too much. can't miss what you never had."

[vixen;]

Juniper
Juniper looked nervously at the green smoke as it got closer to her. Etselle hissed at the smoke, darting away from it and Juniper. She looked at the cat, then back at the smoke. She flinched as it touched her skin, expecting it to sting, burn or do something painful. Her expectations were not met as the smoke did nothing more than lay over her skin. She looked down at her arms, smiling as she looked back at Lark. Her smile faded as she listened to Lark. She stood up, walking up to him. She stopped, then walked back to the sofa. Juniper nudged Etselle with her foot, looking down at the cat. She listened to what Lark was saying, she looked down at Etselle, looking back at Lark as lifted his tank top. Juniper blushed, looking at the scars.

She stood up, walking over to Lark. She stopped a few feet away from him, leaning on a table. The curse was gone, she didn't have to say anything. Nothing was forcing her to speak anymore, and Juniper didn't speak, she stood there silently, watching him as he finished talking. She felt sorry for the prince, he was right. You can't miss what you never had. Why was she feeling sorry for him? He had powers, horns, and was like a tree. Those were almost nothing compared to wings. The ability to fly, the thought of it made Juniper smile, she looked back at Lark, her smile disappearing. She picked up Etselle as the cat began wailing, wanting more attention. She pet the cat, looking at Lark.

"I'm sorry about your wings. It would have been great to fly." Juniper set Etselle down on the table. Juniper looked back at Lark. "Thank you for helping me, and reversing the curse. I hope you don't ever use that spell." She picked up Etselle again, holding the cat like a baby. Etselle hissed, biting Juniper's thumb, chewing on the princess's thumb. She pulled her hand away from the cat, receiving another hiss as she did. Juniper glared at Etselle, rubbing the kitten's head still. "Nameless. You should get a pet. It doesn't have to be a cat, but a pet. Like a fish." Juniper smiled at him, sitting on the sofa again. "Keep it in a bowl, train it to do tricks. Be a smart little fish. Put wheels on bowl, take it for a walk. It'd be adorable." Juniper laughed at her comment, smiling at him still. She looked back at Etselle, frowning as the kitten hissed again. "You're a brat You'd eat that fish, wouldn't you?" She smiled at the kitten, rubbing its stomach as it hissed at her.

Juniper looked back at Lark, she fixed the front of her dress, brushing the cat hair off of her dress. She set the cat on the floor, smiling again as Etselle darted out of the library. "So, you are kind of an open book. Or at least, beginning to open up. Nameless, you know every little detail about me, do you?" Juniper stood up again. "Then you know my name, you know it isn't princess. It's Juniper, or June. Just don't call me princess, okay?" She asked, sitting back down. She crossed her legs, looking at him. "I suppose you're going to leave now. I mean, you're work is done. And you're welcomed to stay here, you have free range over the palace. You know that." Juniper got up to leave. She stopped as she saw the stack of books. "I should put those away." She mumbled, she grabbed the first book from the stack, climbed up the ladder. Juniper slid the book into its spot, then looked down at Lark. "Hey, Tree. Hand me that book, please." She pointed at the pile of books on one of the tables.

[daz]

━━━━━━━━━ ｌａｒｋ ;;


________lark wasn't certain what sort of reaction he was hoping to receive from the princess, but the one he got managed to startle him quite a bit. he wasn't used to discussing his personal background in the first place, but then stacking a shy display of sympathy directly on top of it? it was unreal. his mum had informed him that nobody cared enough about him to listen to those things, and that he ought to not trust anyone with the information anyways; particularly goods, as no kindhearted individual could be entrusted with such knowledge. it wasn't supposed to be juniper's business, but there he stood. he was disobeying his mother, and for that he was terrified. he feared the consequences of her finding out, despite the fact she likely never would. but he could feel her phantom breath down his exposed neck, and it refused to let him be.
________"i wasn't asking for you to feel sorry about me," the dark fairy commented, his voice accidentally spiteful. "of course it would've been outstanding to fly. why else do you suppose i learned to climb trees? to give myself the illusion that i could fly. i wasn't asking for sympathy points because of my foolish father's past mistakes, i was simply..." he paused, as if uncertain of the reason he'd told her himself. why did he do that again? "... simply opening up for once." he smirked. "you're welcome."
________juniper's persistent thankfulness was a mind-numbing process for him to endure, as his villainous existence had practically become intolerant to assisting others. it was like he had an invisible repellent around him, sending off wavelengths that informed anyone in need to stay away. he wasn't used to getting a thank you for his actions, as they were usually harmful rather than helpful. lark had no clue why he was willingly presenting himself to juniper in these ways, but he couldn't seem to stop. he got going, and it refused to cease. at last, he had a person to actually communicate with. maybe being an open book wasn't as bad as maleficent made it out to be? although that statement initially sounded ridiculous, who knows? lark had always been fully conscious of his two sides, one being instinct, and the other being actual lark. instinct told him to reign hell on whoever was available, while his legitimate self begged that he would leave them be. unfortunately, instinct had a common habit of taking over before common sense could change his mind. maybe common sense was juniper, and now he had a physical person to tell him when he was being stupidly evil. did he want that at all? there were too many unanswered questions, causing his head to spin. being good was hard work. how did juniper do it every day?
________lark would've liked to knock the childishly innocent expression right off of june, but he restrained himself. he grabbed his left wrist, being his dominant hand, squeezing it tightly. how could a person be this... ridiculous? but something about her gentle sincerity made him smile, his crater of a dimple making a pleasant appearance. "a pet, huh?" he pretended to think it over, as if he could see himself with something like a fish as his belonging. he found himself laughing at her "put wheels on the bowl" comment, burying his face in his hands to muffle the shockingly joyous sound. "you're hopeless. wheels on a fish bowl? if i'm to walk everywhere with a bloody fish, no one would ever be scared of me ever again." the dark fairy continued to chuckle, moving his face from his hands. "it's like, oh no! there's maleficent's son! but, don't worry... he's got a fish. means he's a pretty sensible guy."
________the brunette quickly killed his brief moment of hysterics, realizing how much of an absolute idiot he must've resembled. maleficent had told him that displays of such a tender emotion was representative of weakness, and only humans were weak. he was a fairy, so weakness wasn't an option. due to this, he was quick to change his pace. he cleared his throat, just in time to witness etselle fleeing the library for the hundredth time that evening. cats were such peculiar creatures, never satisfied and constantly in a state of hyperactivity. lark had every reason to dislike such a creature, for once preferring the incompetence of a villager over something like etselle.
________"i wouldn't say beginning to open up, no... don't expect this to be a regular thing. i don't tend to talk about myself. i'm more of a watcher, not a talker," he huffed, before the princess continued to speak. she wished for him to call her by her actual name, which was, without a doubt, going to be extensively difficult. she was the good princess, and that was all he wanted her to be. calling her juniper was like accepting she was becoming less of an ally, and more of a friend. the heir to the evil throne didn't deserve, need, or want companionship. being a lone wolf in a field of many had its benefits, and he wasn't positive he was ready to take the leap of faith into anything new. but, realistically, he should've thought of that before running off with juniper in the first place. her presence screamed adventure, and he was still having to play catch up. it was about time that lark admitted it: he was enjoying his time with the princess. it sent him home feeling like he'd had a day well-spent, as he was actually doing what he loved. he was learning about others, not harming them. although that went against everything he was ever taught, it was a lot less emotionally damaging. in fact, it was sort of fun.
________the princess went to put the books she'd scanned back in their homes, just as lark had done a few moments ago, having to climb the ladder to reach them. he begrudgingly assisted her, hauling the stack of novels over to her. he used his rather impressive strength to hoist them up to her all at once, allowing her to pluck one at a time until they were each returned to their stations.
________"my mum isn't expecting me back today," he mumbled rather shyly, peering up at the female before him. on the ladder, she had become taller than him. although, his horns made it partially even, "so i don't really have to go anywhere, princ- i mean... um... juniper." he finished his sentence rather firmly, as if saying her name took a great amount of force. "also, don't call me tree. we've already established i resemble two kids, plus a hat, more than i do a tree. let's stick to nameless, shall we?" he teased lightly, his lips quirking.
________it had become night rather quickly, and the moon was just beginning to settle into the horizon. the palace became rather creepy at night, meaning it was the perfect opportunity for lark to do his usual "lurking". he had begun a pattern, where he would return to the castle every morning. he would seek out roya or juniper, and converse with them until they decided to be productive. he would then wander aimlessly, exploring the never-ending hallways, somehow managing to discover something new daily. on rare occasions, he would even speak with jazz. peter pan's boy had made himself rather at home since joining the trio, and would attempt to tag along wherever lark went in the summer palace. the dark fairy didn't always appreciate the company, but he accepted it after he realized attempting to shake off the boy was impossible. in fact, they'd bonded a bit over jazz's possession of pixie dust. the younger male had offered him a go with it when roya and juniper were out once, so jazz had essentially shown lark how to fly without the need of wings. he was an okay kid.
________in lark's pattern, he normally would disappear without saying goodbye once night fell. however, this time around, he didn't want to. maleficent hadn't insisted he return, and he still had no existing curfew. he could remain in the palace, and perhaps even sleep on its rooftop. that, or a nearby tree. either way, he had plans of sticking around. he potentially could even rummage about in the kitchen, as it had, as usual, been several days since he'd eaten. caring for himself was a must, especially if he ever intended to live long enough to inherit his mother's evil throne. "have you anymore plans to get yourself in trouble, p- juniper?"

[vixen;]

Juniper
Juniper laughed again as he talked about the fish bowl on wheels. She hated admitting it, but his laugh wasn't so bad, neither was a genuine smile. She didn't expect him to laugh, in fact, she was just trying to annoy him more, but the laugh had been a better reaction. Juniper looked at him as the laughing suddenly stopped, she was curious about what caused his sudden change in mood. She found it was him, no one had entered the room, Etselle hadn't done anything, and June hadn't spoke since the fish bowl joke. Why had he stopped? June didn't know, and wasn't going to question it. She looked over at Lark, wanting him to smile and laugh again.

"Nameless. You should laugh more. And I don't have any plans to get myself in trouble. But, there's always time. Well, not anymore, it's getting late." Juniper climbed down the ladder after putting the books away. "Also, if you tend to watch more than talk. That makes you a stalker. Nameless are you a stalker?" June teased, she smiled at him, then walked to the sofa. She sat down before looking back at him. "I didn't ask you to be an open book, just to talk about some stuff. Just a little. Seems fair, you know everything about me. I should at least know a small bit about you. I know why you don't have wings." She smiled at him again. A piece of hair fell in front of her eyes, June frowned, pushing it back. "This piece of hair. It always falls in my face. All the time. I should just cut all this hair off, put mud in it, turn it black. Walk around villages, with my pet fish. On a bowl with wheels." June laughed as she finished the sentence.

"Honestly, you should get a pet. Oh, you can have a parrot, let it sit on your shoulder, teach it how to talk." June smiled wider, putting her hand over her mouth. "You could teach it how to recite curses. That would be so cute. Can't you just see it!? You're walking down the road, someone is coming towards you, it's cold outside, you really don't want to talk, so instead, the parrot. Listen to me, the parrot says the curse, the person turns and runs, because who expects to see a parrot about to curse them?"

June stood up, walking through the library. "Come on Nameless. We're going to the kitchen. You need food, and a tan." Juniper called back to him as she walked to the doors of the library. She leaned against the frame of the door, running her hand along the dark wood of the door. "Nameless. Let's go, or else I'll just let you be hungry. I doubt you can cook." June ran a hand through her messy blonde hair, pulling a leaf out of her hair. She held the leaf in her hand before letting it fall to the floor. Must have been from her misadventure to the nearby village.

She slipped her shoe off, letting it fall to the floor. She looked down at her shoe, wiggling her toes, June sighed, reaching down to pet her shoe back on. Juniper walked back to Lark, leaning against a shelf. "Come on Nameless, hurry." She took his hand, holding his wrist as she began to pull. She looked back at him, sliding down to the floor. "Nameless, you are heavy. Please move." She laughed, trying to pull him. "Nameless. Move." She said, pulling him a small bit. "Nameless." She laughed, trying to move. "Forget it, I'll just leave the food outside the kitchen, hopefully Etselle won't beat you to it." She smiled, then walked back to the sofa. She looked at Lark, then tilted her head. "So, what else does this closed book have to not share?"

"Come on, No Name. Don't you have any deep dark secret that you're just dying to share? Because if not I'm going to start filling in the gaps." Juniper smiled wickedly, looking at Lark. "You like to knit bright pink sweaters, then when you're alone, you put them on and walk around while petting Etselle. Then you like to take your pet fish for a walk. The two of you walk down the shore just a sunset, the waves are gently washing onto the shore, the fish bumps into the side of the bowl, you look down at the love of your life, your eyes sparkle as you stare at the fish." Juniper laughed again. "And in more of your spare time, you like to dig holes in random places."

Juniper moved until hr feet where tucked under her legs. She fixed the dress, then looked back at Lark. "So, Nameless. You also have a fiery passion for writing poetry." Juniper paused. "Of all things beauty. She was it. Her, my pet fish." Juniper said dramatically. She went into a fit of laughter before stopping. "Okay. Time to be serious." Juniper sat up straight in the chair. "To summarize. You have no name. Yet you love to knit bright pink sweaters while walking your pet fish down the shore after that, you dig holes in very strange places."

She lay in the chair, the furniture creaking. Juniper put her hand over her mouth, laughing loudly. "I'm sorry." She spoke through the laughing. "It's so perfect." She said, grinning from ear to ear. "Don't forget, every weekend you have your horns polished. After that, you have little bows placed in them. Purple bows." Juniper erupted into laughter again. "Oh, I love it. Too good."Juniper stopped laughing, her expression more concerned now. "But really, you should eat more. You don't have to be tan. Just take care of yourself. Please. For me?" June asked, smiling softly at him.

[daz]

━━━━━━━━━ ｌａｒｋ ;;


________lark momentarily froze up at juniper's abrupt comment, rather startled by it. for a second, it almost seemed like the curse she'd been under had never even lifted. she kept speaking her mind, and it was so unlike her. normally, she kept all of these unlawful opinions in that bustling heads of hers. in the week that he'd known her, she had hardly given off a single thought she held concerning him. but now, she spouted them left and right. they were like bullets being inserted into his gut, driving deep into his soul and burying itself there until he could pry it free. it wasn't that she was hurting his feelings or anything, as that was something only a child would think. lark was no child. he was practically a grown man, on the verge of hitting his twenties, so none of those petty thoughts ever ran past his mind. instead, it was how abnormal everything had suddenly become. it felt like just yesterday he had still been a cruel, terrifying beast to the entire land. no one wanted to be in his presence, as they figured they'd get cursed and ultimately die. now, he had three people who didn't think so in the slightest. he'd entered this scenario baring the figment from his imagination that "oh, this won't last. i'll kill them off eventually, then they'll be of no concern. i simply wish to learn a few things here and there. that's it, though." lark could only shake his head at that now, as he knew how hilariously inaccurate it had become. currently, he had no interest whatsoever in murdering any of the three palace inhabitants. the word made him want to physically gag, but they were more than allies. his mum could never ever, ever, ever find out that lark had formed... friends. were they people he could rely on? sure, maybe so. were they people he could talk about anything with? there were limits, but those boundaries were becoming slimmer and slimmer as time went on. things were escalating quickly, and he wasn't certain that he was prepared for such a wild ride. and that statement was coming from the prince of absolute disaster, so it meant something if he felt utterly stunned by anything unfolding with a significant twist.
________"i dislike my laugh," the dark fairy admitted, rubbing the back of his neck thoughtlessly. why was he telling her that? his mum could be heard cackling now, desperately gripping her stomach as she shouted in his face. she'd call him an absolute idiot, and a total pansy at that. her words of "nobody cares about you, and your emotions" echoed about in his brain, causing him to visibly cringe. his only concern should've been to kill or be killed, not whether he could form a companionship. but, nevertheless, against his and his mother's wishes, there he stood. he lingered willingly in the library, easily having the option to leave if he wished. juniper had offered that to him, but he'd denied it in the hopes of getting to stick around. the summer palace was becoming a more relaxed secondary home, and he didn't exactly hate that. it didn't hurt to have more options that expanded past tree, or crappy hammock bed.
________lark made brief eye contact with the princess as she climbed down the ladder, turning to ask him whether he was a stalker. truth be told, that sounded about right. in the beginning of their week together, she'd caught him staring at her on multiple occasions. when he attempted to blow it off, she would shake her head. she'd seen him, and there was no reversing that curse. although embarrassing, he would emerge and stay by her side. lark preferred hanging around roya most of the time, as the wicked girl made him feel less homesick and more at ease. sometimes he felt he could become more himself around jafar's daughter, as she had a more common understanding with why he made certain decisions. she didn't even have to be filled in on much, she just could hear "maleficent's son" and want to give him a rueful pat on the shoulder. but he got an entirely different sort of vibe from juniper, who easily treated him as some foreigner who'd accidentally happened upon her household. she spoke to him in such a way, he got a peculiar feeling in his heart. he failed to realize that that was known as kindness.
________"i'm not a stalker," he grumbled, verbally expressing his impatience with the girl and her relentless show of generosity towards him. for whatever reason, he refused to overcome their destiny to despise one another. considering their parents and their ongoing feud, as well as their opposite thrones, they ought to have never even met. but here they stood, holding a rather sensible conversation in the library of june's summer palace. lark wasn't dressed in shackles, juniper wasn't wearing a mask of hate, and they were... kind of okay. one of them wasn't lying dead on the floor, which one could consider an accomplishment for someone of lark's position. the princess had witnessed his cruelty firsthand, and new full-well that he had an unwilling drive to periodically kill the innocent. she likely didn't have a clue that this was instinct, and not actually him, but apart of the dark fairy began to question whether she was solving his puzzle too. she could see directly through him, if only he'd allow it. perhaps if he wasn't so stubbornly pessimistic, it would work. she was clearly intrigued to know more about him, and she was anxious to continue turning his pages. lark had essentially finished her story already, so now it was her turn to devour his. knowing her, she was sure to cling to every last word.
________juniper's laughter was contagious, even in spite of her sense of humor being cheesy garbage. something about her own giggles made lark spark a tender grin, but he was fighting it. it was almost as though he felt he didn't deserve the happiness juniper was feeling, so instead he shunned it. whenever a faint smile began to form, his dimple reappearing, he'd scramble to shoot it down. the princess had found herself back in her comfy chair, nuzzled into the cushions with her blonde hair falling in her face. she was awfully attractive. he'd known that ever since they met, but something about the heart-to-heart aspect of their situation made her all the more sightly.
________lark, quite literally, face-planted. attractiveness flying out the window, he hid his weak little grin. "i thought the fish bowl thing was your worst idea yet. a bloody parrot? you're going to turn me into a walking circus, juniper. no pets." he stated this firmly, as if this was a serious debate they were having, and he had to convince her that him taking responsibility over a pet was the worst idea possible. "i foresee myself accidentally killing it before i teach it a damn thing. it's not happening, sorry to crush all of your eternal hopes and dreams. although thoughtful, not today, love."
________the brunette watched as june stood up, suddenly deciding they ought to be legitimately productive for the remainder of the night. she intended to feed him, which was... odd. his stomach released an excited noise, but his mind could only find room to protest. trusting her with making his food felt unnatural. he normally attempted to feed himself, scavenging what he could from trees or villages. although, recently, he'd had to avoid entering any of the leftover marketplaces. they'd adorned every tree within a fifty mile radius in wanted posters, all of which with his photograph on it. he'd always been a wanted man, but the rewards had increased after the mass killings which went on the day he met juniper. he'd completely trashed a market when making that valiant getaway, thus causing going in and out of them a huge hazard. if he tried again, he figured he wouldn't be as lucky. he'd likely get snatched up by the horns, much like a bull, and reined in like the animal he was. real lark felt sort of guilty, but instinctive lark said his guilt was weak.
________"i... i don't know, june..." lark replied rather stiffly, not budging from the safety of the bookshelves. he remained pushed against them, still where he'd been when he'd passed the books up to her. when she came up to him, he hadn't expected the sudden physical contact. her warm hand intertwined with his, and she began to pull. her words weren't even registering in his brain, however, as all he could think about was that they were touching. he hadn't been too eager to poke at her ever since they made it to the summer palace, so this served as a reminder for the day they first met. he'd been awfully careful with her sensitive body, and through her mere hand he could still sense the petite aspects of her feminine physique. he was rather gigantic in comparison to her, and their hands were noticeably different in size. his was, of course, larger. however, in spite of even that, they managed to fit together better than he'd imagined. he wanted to gag again... these thoughts were poison, and they were tainting his sinister mind. he'd have to up and murder someone before he felt cleansed again. lark could never face his mum after this, or else he'd be positive she knew of their encounter.
________he ignored her laughter, substituting the noise with a low growl. it emerged from the back of his throat, eventually coming out through his clenched teeth. "alright, seriously, lay off. i don't want your stupid food." but juniper had already carried on, her sporadic behavior continuing as she, once again, returned to her chair. her words were laced with sincerity, yet also influenced by humor and giddiness. he desperately wanted to remain the quiet, seemingly emotionless void. but there was something about her... he couldn't prevent himself from falling under her spell. well, more accurately said: her curse. it came out of nowhere, it seemed. one moment lark looked as though he were hating his life, the next he was smiling almost sympathetically, and the next... he'd quite frankly lost it. juniper attempting to paint a picture of what sort of person she saw lark as was hysterical to him, especially since it was now occurring to him how little she actually knew. her predictions were so far off, they were laughable. it brought tears to his eyes, to a point where he was gasping for air as he laughed. lark had one of those laughs that was impossible to miss, or to falsely bestow upon another. it belonged to him, there wasn't a doubt there. such a happy noise being emitted by such a sour boy was a bit odd, but his laugh suited him. it was extremely obnoxious, boisterous, and full of a kiddish life he was normally not allowed to show. it was all of his pent up happiness plunged into one single sound, and it was a sure pleasure to listen to. even the faint giggles he had as the laughter died away were great, his fingers rapidly rubbing the tears he'd shed away. the two had been laughing like school children, and it could've quite possibly been the cutest thing anyone could've ever witnessed. no one had to know a thing about them as actual people, all you had to see was a boy and a girl... two friends having a hearty, well-deserved laugh.
________the dark fairy approached juniper wordlessly, hesitating for a moment before offering his hand. it was like all of the wickedness in him had temporarily vanished, and his mum's phantom breath could be forgotten for a few moments more. "i don't like pets. i don't know the first thing about knitting, nor do i care for any shade of pink. the last thing to become the love of my life would be fish, by the way," he giggled, a tiny twinkle in his eye. he hardly even recognized what he was doing. conversing pleasantly with the enemy was a sin! a punishable offense! he was like a criminal, and she was the hero. but they were clicking alright in that moment, and lark wasn't fighting it off. friends couldn't be that awful, could they? "digging holes is a waste of time," he continued, mentally ticking off the things they'd discussed. "poetry is ridiculous. i don't wear bows, and especially not purple ones..." he hesitated, covering his chocolate brown eyes with his free hand. "my horns do get the occasional polish, though. okay? it takes work to have horns look this good!"
________lark was allowing many new things to take place. he was letting june lead them to the kitchen, where she would inevitably feed him. she was forcing that much on him, and he felt like attempting to argue with her would be like arguing with maleficent herself. impossible, risky, and stupid. lark was also opening his book a bit further, allowing his crinkled pages to unfold dramatically before him. it had been a while since he was a real person, and had allowed himself to unravel like this. the good princess brought out the best in the evil prince.
________"i like watching the sky, because the world is gigantic and creates such bizarre formations. i like learning about other people. i enjoy freedom, and passing between the good and evil borders as if they don't even exist. i don't hate good people, either. not really. because one side of me tells me i should, and the other tells me i shouldn't. side one is my mum, side two is... well, i like to think myself." he huffed slightly, shaking his head thoughtfully. "pointless adventures are fun. climbing trees is nice, because it helps me forget about a lot. not just that i don't have wings, but the fact that maleficent controls every move that i make like a puppeteer. being in the trees lets me choose my own path, and that feels free." he paused again, squinting at the ground and scrunching up his nose. "i'm terrified of trusting others. i'm scared that i'll never be important for a... a, um... good... good reason. i'm always scared that i'm going to be obtained, even when here. i'm a fidgety mess who can't pick a side. i think emotions are a weakness." his frown deepened. "i really, really hate myself a lot." a weak smile replaced the frown. "but at least i'm not in love with a bloody fish on wheels."

[vixen;]

Juniper
Juniper had sat up as he seemed to rant on about himself. She was amazed, a few sentences and this book had cracked right open. Juniper listened intently, her focus solely on Lark. She had thought a few times about getting a word in, only to have Lark continue talking, she half expected him to stop talking mid sentence, every time he continued Juniper took it as a small victory. She smiled at him again, though it didn't fade as he talked, though silence threatened to seep into the conversation. Juniper fixed her hair, running her hand over her face as she pushed her hair back. Unexpected; that was a good way to sum it up. This was unexpected. A week ago Juniper never would have imagine that she, the heir to the Good throne, would be talking to him, the heir to the Evil throne, Maleficence's own son. His mother wanted her and her mother dead. D-E-A-D. Fast forward a few days and she was talking, no, listening to the heir of Evil talk about himself. The way he spoke, how he invaded her personal space, to be fair, she invaded his as well. It was like he was doing this for the first time. Juniper had many occasions on where a whole room full of people were focused on her, willing focused on her.

Juniper silently took his hand as he held it out to her, his hand dwarfed hers, though it fit. She could almost sense the magic coursing through him, the muscles in him. It was shocking. She looked at their hands for a brief moment, like time itself was frozen, Juniper gave a small shake of her head, then looked up at Lark. She led him to the kitchen, listening as he talked, she let each word fill the silence as they walked to the kitchen. She pushed the door open, walking through. A white blur darted past her, brushing against June's leg. The young princess let out a small scream, almost jumping onto Lark. She had pushed against, backing herself out of the kitchen. Juniper looked down the hall, watching as Etselle ran down the hallway. Juniper held her head in hands, letting her hands fall from her face. She had dropped Lark's hand in the process of her tiny fit of Etselle caused fear. Juniper pushed the kitchen door open, looking around for any other white furred terrors. She scanned the room, smiling nervously as she walked to the pantry. Juniper got a few things out of the pantry, she walked back to the table, set down the ingredients. The princess walked over to the wood pile, grabbing a log off the top of the pile, she set it in the oven's furnace before getting a match to light the oven. She grabbed a mixing bowl, then began to add the ingredients.

Juniper sat on the table, mixing together the ingredients. She looked over at Lark as he finished talking, she let the silence fill the air for a moment. She set the bowl down, putting more force into than she expected to. She moved back in surprise, then looked at Lark. "You hate yourself? Why on earth would you, you of all people, hate yourself?" Juniper voice had an edge of it, a snap almost. She walked over to Lark, her expression more annoyed than angry. "Listen to me." Juniper stared up at Lark, she could feel her face getting hotter as she blushed. "In this world. You. You have to be you're own biggest supporter." June stare had lost it's edge, now she looked up at him with a supportive expression. She looked at his shoulder. Strange. Well, June is strange. Anyways. How close they were seemed to snap into place. "Personal space. Sorry." She walked back to the end of the table, just a moment ago she had stood within a foot of Lark, but now there was close to ten feet between them.

Juniper found a spoon and began to stir the mixture of who-knows-what-this-was-going-to-be, she set the bowl down, confident that it was mixed well enough. June looked back at Lark. "So, you like the sky. How about at night, still like it then?" She asked, turning her back to him, she rummaged through the cabinets, trying to find a pan. She grabbed a pan that fitted what she wanted. Setting the pan on the table, she looked back at Lark. "Your mother didn't choose this for you. You did. You're here on free will. Not your mother's. And as far as emotion being meaningless. I don't know what to tell you. Nameless. Emotions serve a propose, if they didn't, you wouldn't have them." June set the pan down, going over to Lark. She took his hand in hers again, holding it to where he could see their hands. "See. Right now, you're not angry. You're not upset, or sad. But if I were to slap you, right now, no warning. What would you feel? Mad, embarrassed, you'd hate me maybe. Hate, being embarrassed, getting mad. Those are emotions. You use them everyday."

June dropped Lark's hand, walking away from him with ease, as though it meant nothing. Really, she was nervous, and she had begun to blush. "The feeling of being obtained, no matter what, that's fear. Fear is an emotion. Emotion. And I promise you as long as you are here, and as long as I am in charge, you will not be imprisoned. I'd say trust me, but you made it clear that you don't even trust the air you breathe." She looked down at the pan. "This goes in the oven." June now spoke in a worried, rushed voice. She set the pan in the oven, closing the door. She turned to face Lark again, this time looking past him as a certain kitten appeared. "You." Juniper forced a frown, walking over to the kitten. She smiled as she picked up the kitten. She held the animal like it was a baby, its stomach facing upwards as Juniper walked over to her 'spot', setting the kitten on the table as she sat on the table beside Etselle. The kitten meowed, multiple times, which then turned into a wailing as Juniper continued to ignore the cat. Finally the snow white kitten climbed onto Juniper's lap, pawing at her dress. June finally pet the cat, running her hand down the length of its body. The wailing turned into a purr as Etselle lay down. "Now you want to be loved, what happened to that life time of running away from me?" June teased the kitten, her smile widening.