A Most Unlikely Family

[A Spooky Witch 156]

As she sits in her chair, Poppy taps the table in her room; the light form the fireplace flickering over her paper as she scribbles an outline of three figures (later to be kept white for coloring). Poppy pushed her curly white hair form her face and huffed, her green eyes scanning the picture for any imperfections. She sat back in her chair and put down her ink pen, looking at the picture thoughtfully.

 

The three figures were sitting together in the middle of the woods, a large mountain scaling the background and a mess of trees in the foreground. On the left was Poppy herself, running after what looks to be a feral cat with an expression of happiness, frustration, and adventure on her face. On the right and a little in the middle would be Pherak (or Battou as most would know him) and Lilith, sitting next to one another. Pherak would be seen in his usual brown robes, the hood down around his shoulders, and that snarky smirk he's known for plastered on his face. Lilith, sitting next to him, is seen laughing with her mouth open wide, a single sharpened canine seen as it poked out from under her lip, her hand resting on Pherak's leg. 

 

Poppy stares at the picture for a time, her face straight, then finally cracks a smile as she thought about where it all began.

 

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In the month of Malin's Welcome, 1443, Poppy wandered around the city of New Malinor as a bright and bubbly 8 year old looking for adventure in the most unlikely of places. There she met a guard that would have an impact of her sense of trust, Ramza. Poppy met Ramza when she was sitting on the rail of the bridge heading to Haelun'or, looking over her shoulder as she scribbled sloppily in her notebook wondering what she was drawing, and they became fast friends. 

 

As Poppy became more familiar with the city around her, she also became more aware about how her situation was to be kept secret. Poppy listened to people talk, saying that orphaned children belong in a house with others, with strange people. She blanched at the thought and whenever someone asked about her home and her mother, she lied. Poppy didn't want to be sent away to live with a strange person, she still was confident that her mother would come to get her from her errands and she couldn't just leave.

 

She said she would be back to get her soon...

 

Months went by before Poppy finally knew her mother wasn't coming to get her. She had already taken it upon herself to going to the underside of the docks every night on the beach, pull in her little makeshift lines for fish to eat, curl up in the sun-warmed sand, and go to sleep. Poppy knew she was safe, no one ever went under the docks...

 

When another few months went by, Poppy met Prishe, then soon after a boy named Eren, two Mali teens who took a shining to her (mostly Prishe, that girl adored the white haired craze-ball). Together the kids went almost anywhere they could get into, not excluding the now ruined city of Haelun'or and it's labyrinth like library.

 

One day when Poppy was waiting for Prishe and Eren to show up, two tall men, Gravelords Nimdravur and Vinzakra, walked by with the Druid Elorna, as Poppy watched, one stopped in front of her, Vinzakra, and knelt down. 

"Do you want to go on an adventure?" The man asked, his voice low and gravely.

Poppy immediately brightened and said yes, following the three back into New Malinor until they reached the back where Haelun'or was. The same man knelt down and asked her to go into the little valley to pick some flowers, she scrambled down the hill and did so. When Poppy came back, Elorna seemed uneasy, but she thought nothing of it as she held up the little bundle of flowers to Vinzakra proudly. The next thing Poppy knew, there was a bolt in her throat and a sword in her stomach...

 

Of course she woke up in the Cloud Temple some time later, disoriented and confused about where and why she was there. Though Poppy doesn't remember the incident clearly, she still to this day has nightmares of the Wraiths, though with no idea why or who they are.

 

Upon returning to Malinor, Poppy knew everyone's face; being around the area gives you a certain apt for remembering faces. As she was sitting under a tree, she looked up, seeing a tall figure standing over her in dark brown robes. At first Poppy was alarmed, by now she had become more wary of strangers; but.. as the man knelt down before her, she felt at ease. She looked at the man and yanked on his hood to look at his face. It was kind, though she could tell there was hardness behind his gentle mask. The man smiled at her, complimenting on her drawing. She was surprised, and almost drawn in by his almost parental pull. 

 

Poppy was intrigued, she hadn't felt this was since her mother had left; and she didn't want to let it go. So as the months went by, Poppy would spy the man wandering around New Malinor and she would go up to him, just to talk (sometimes to give him a flower or something), and it became the norm. Whenever she saw him or the other way around, one would sneak up on the other, just like a game. Not soon after, she learned his name; Battou. 

 

When Poppy turned 10, she went to the city of Abresi with Battou for a little trip. When they reached the square, there was a skirmish going on and Battou stepped in to help, then learning about his power using the black mist (or necromancy as she later found out it was called). When the fight escalated and a guard hit Battou, Poppy ran to his aid, but was stopped by a holy man. A few moments later, a man who knew fire evocation stepped forward and was about to strike Battou with fire until Poppy threw a book, hitting him smack in the face. Directing his anger at her, he threw a fireball towards her. Battou jumped in front of the fireball and took the blow, saving Poppy's life. After being escorted from the city, Poppy searched for Battou back in Malinor the next day, his injured self had been taken away to get medical treatment, and she came upon him later that day and found out from him that he had died later that day because of his injuries. Feeling guilty, Poppy was determined to make it up to him, but he wouldn't have it. he said he wanted to protect her and that he wasn't sorry he did it either.

 

This sparked a bond between them, and the more time Poppy spent around Battou, the more she wanted to stay. One afternoon in 1445, Poppy was standing by the gate by herself, waiting for either Eren, Prishe, or Battou to show up, when a man approached her, asking her why she was alone in the city. Poppy was used to lying, and she simply said her mother was on an errand going to the human lands and that she was told to wait for her. But this time was different, the man kept asking questions, asking to speak to her mother at their home. Poppy went into a mental panic, no one had kept asking questions like that before and she didn't know what to do, when out of nowhere, Battou stepped forward behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder and saying "I'm watching over her until her mother returns, she is with me."

 

Poppy was surprised, she never thought someone would help her like that. So she nodded and pointed at Battou, "Yeah what he said." She replied almost comically, looking up at him with thankful eyes. When the man was satisfied that she wasn't alone and had left, Battou had knelt down starting up the usual chatter when Poppy stopped him. "I was lying." She said shamefully, having never admitted it before she didn't think it was bad until she said it aloud; she never wanted anyone to know. "I don't have a house, and my haelun won't come back." The surprise on Battou's face was obvious, but it was replaced with a look of... understanding? Pity? He stood up, then knelt back down, offering her a piggyback ride; which she gladly accepted. After some talking, Battou offered her to come stay with him. Poppy was more than excited to, she would have a home finally, a warm bed and someone to keep her safe. She, not surprisingly, accepted.

 

After about a year of living with Battou, she was more than accustomed to the... strangeness that surrounded Battou, and started to call him her father. Poppy came to learn about his abilities as a necromancer and shrugged it off as if it was just like any other kind of magic. She once even fought with a corpse while Battou controlled it, so that she could learn to defend herself and keep other from touching her in a fight. Needless to say it ended up with a corpse falling on her (not to mention it was oozing from the holes she poked in it with her knife) and a stinking Poppy rushing to the bath. Poppy also started to meet people that Battou knew and was acquainted with. One in particular that stood out was a dark elf woman named Lilith, who seemed to have had a liking to Battou (at least to Poppy's eyes anyway). She would stride about with Cordal, her companion Dread Night whom protected her until his last soul bound breath. Poppy grew attached to both of them, and she was heart broken to see Lilith devastated by her loss. Poppy assured her that Battou and herself were there for her, as a family, and wouldn't allow her to be lonely anymore.

 

Lilith came to assume the role of Poppy's mother not soon afterwards and Battou and Lilith became good friends, working as a pair to watch over Poppy and one another.

 

 

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Poppy got up from her chair and held up the picture to the firelight. It was colored in with different inks, some blended to make more than just the normal colors, and marveled at the good amount of detail she put into this picture. She frowned and sat back down, grabbing her quill and scribbling on the bottom of the drawing. Satisfied with her work, Poppy grabbed her satchel and left her room to go to Conclave, leaving the picture on the table.

 

The caption of the drawing: "A Most Unlikely Family~"

[Watyll 1104]

((Cordal was included: I feel special.))

[Desires 295]

((It was a very beautiful read. <3 ))

[Birdwhisperer 1174]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.