The Willow Tree

Len stared at the fixed mannequin for a long while before moving the baby so it was cradled in his single arm once more. He then put the mannequin into a sitting position before moving himself to sit sideways in its lap, lacing his head against its shoulder as he leaned on it, his eyes closing as he murmured some. When he heard Sakuda mention that he was Rosaline's kid, his eyes shot open, and in an instant he was up in the tree, on one of the branches, crouched down low, one hand helping keep himself balanced as he crouched there, the other still cradling the doll with care. His red eyes practically glowed from the shady area as he stared down at Sakuda. He said nothing at first. Just stared.

Glancing down at the doll's serene face, Len finally pulled his eyes from Sakuda. "What should we do, baby?" He didn't move at all as he spoke, his eyes slowly making their way back to Sakuda. "I'm getting all excited, and I don't know why."

Feeling a bit confused, Sakuda tilted her head, hands tucking into her elbow creases as she crossed her arms. Her face was one of mere perplexity. She's seen Rosaline speak with her dolls before, so she wondered if that was passed down somehow. Then again, considering Rosaline had an unstable past, she figured that would pass on. With a blink of her eye, she was smiling fondly, recalling a few memories.

Her train of thought was broken when the male shifted, his body lunging for the nearest tree. She took a slight step back, her eyes staring at the male, hands still tucked towards her body. The smile was gone, replaced by a thin line. She didn't know what to make of this section of Rosaline's child. She was saddened by this, and it showed on her face. She should of been there to at least take care of the young hold, especially right after... Sakuda's eyes casted down, listening to the male speaking to his baby.

Len fidgeted in the tree excitedly now. Rocking this way and that. "You think, baby? Would that be appropriate?" He looked like he was getting ready to leap from the tree when his one foot caught his shoelace under the other, causing him to instead, fall out. As he hit the ground, the baby doll came out of his arm, landing on the ground and bouncing towards Sakuda as the blanket unwrapped from it due to the momentum, leaving the wooden doll uncovered on the ground. In an instant, Len stood up, but it was in fact no longer Len. It was Lenore, who immediately shouted out in anger, "LEN!" She quickly moved her hands to zip the sweatshirt up, covering up the skin that had been revealed without even so much as a blush.

Right after she moved forward swiftly, picking the doll up from the ground as she cradled it in both arms, adjusting it so she could grab the blanket from the ground and swaddle the doll once more before sitting. She began rocking the doll, looking down at its face as she sang to it like she had before in her room. "Hush little baby, don't say a word...Mama's gonna kill for you the whole damn world..." Her voice was hushed as she tried to calm the thing, actually hearing crying coming from it, though no one else would.

"Holy--!" Sakuda yelled, stepping quickly towards the male when she saw him falling. Her feet stopped short when she saw the baby roll in her direction, unraveling from the clothe. Saku was speechless, staring down at the wooden baby with slight confusion. Why would he carry a fake child? She knelt down, fixing to pick it up for him, but someone beat her to it, causing Saku to look up, expecting the male.

But no, it was a familiar face. She watched Lenore from her crouched position, eyes analyzing. "Lenore! Is the baby okay," she asked, her tone concerned. Judging by how they both a Ted towards the false infant, she assume it had value to them. With her elbows perched onto her knees, she gave a small smile. "It's good to see you again, by the way."

Lenore was practically swimming in the clothes that had been worn by the man, the belt on the pants barely being able to do its job at keeping them up. That didn't matter to her though. Her eyes moved as she heard Sakuda's voice, her face lifting, showing how distressed it was as she looked back to the baby in her hands, going back to singing, "..And if they don't laugh at our jokes, Mama's gonna stab out their goddamn throats. And if they start to run away, Mama's gonna paint the streets with blood..." She trailed off and looked up to Sakuda once more, staring at her with eyes that hadn't gone to their normal gray, but were still tainted red. "He's crying..." She murmured to the woman with her, her face still showing her distress

Sakuda cautiously approached the woman and knelt beside her, watching as the woman continued to sing. The lyrics weren't the most pleasing thing to hear, so Saku figured that must be the reason why the 'baby' was 'crying'. She glanced up to Lenore's face. "Why don't you try something less gory? Maybe it's the tone your using," she suggested, trying to be helpful and she settled herself near Lenore if she needed Saku's assistance. This wooden child was a new addition to Rosaline's line. She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, beginning to hum something Rose would murmur to Saku when they slept together. Maybe something related to Rosaline could keep the child from crying? Sakuda was clueless in this area, so she simply did what she would with an actual child. It was a bit strange, but she treated it with tenderness.

Lenore's distressed face moved to a look of shock mixed in with that distress, speaking quickly in response to Sakuda's suggestion. "No!" Her voice quieted down after the initial shock as she spoke again, "Mom used to sing it to us..." She pulled the baby close, hugging it gently to her chest as she closed her eyes, "Why won't you stop crying...?" She fell silent as Sakuda began to hum, and her eyes slowly opened back up so she could look at the woman, staring silently. The distress slowly began to fade from her face as it slowly moved into the more relaxed, cold, and stony face that she normally possessed.

Sakuda wasn't surprised at Lenore's out rust. She merely let her gaze falter towards the bundle, her humming consistent. Rosaline was a strange woman indeed, but Sakuda loved her greatly. A small smile appeared, her eyes scanning over the baby's blanket before raising to meet Lenore's gaze. Saku was startled by the blank stare, she paused her humming to ask what was the matter. "You okay, Lenore," she whispered, her brows rose towards her hair line. Was it her humming that made her stop short? Sakuda had a hunch, but wasn't too sure. She was never sure about anything when it came to this territory. This was when she needed things to be explained. However, no one was there to do it anymore, so she awaited Lenore's response.

"I'm fine." Her voice was gentle, but distant, and her face back to normal. She was back to what she normally was, and what she had been when she had Sakuda had first met. Her hand gripped tightly onto the blanket while she let the doll drop gently onto the ground, while she moved the blanket to hold it to herself, revealing the small "L" stitched onto it in the corner. She held it like that a moment before moving herself so her knees were to her chest, and her chin upon her knees. She stared forward a minute before moving her arm to rest in front of her mouth before biting into it so it bled. She leaned her head back slightly then and spoke. "I feel..." She trailed off for a minute before trying again "I feel...Something..."

Sakuda nodded, showing Lenore she heard what the woman said. Watching her carefully, Sakuda noticed that Lenore seemed almost in a phase. With a slight frown, Saku's eyes watched the doll fall to the ground, forgotten about. Sakuda didn't know whether it was a good idea to pick it up or not, so she didn't. Instead, she shifted in her sitting position, crossing her legs and looking at Lenore. She was holding the blanket like it was a lifeline, and Sakuda had a good idea why. Reaching over, Sakuda latter Lenore's shoulder, having a fondness over Lenore, despite their bitter beginning of meeting each other. She offered a questionable gaze. "You don't know feelings, do you," she asked, realizing how much Lenore was like her mother. This brought a sad smile to her face.

Lenore stared forward at Sakuda before stating simply. "I do." She moved herself so that she shifted away from Sakuda slightly, clutching onto the blanket tighter, her already pale knuckles turning even paler. "I feel..." She trailed off again before restarting her sentence, "The feeling that I feel...Is...Sadness..." She seemed to struggle with it, "But I don't know why..." She moved her arm so that she could bite it again, holding it tightly between her teeth. She was entirely confused at what was going on inside her right now, and so she was doing her best at moving those feelings out of thought...Not that it was working well.

Sakuda removed her hand away from Lenore when the girl moved from her. She knew when she pushed boundaries. With a gaze towards the tree, Sakuda found herself lost in thoughts. What was she doing here? Where all these memories were placed, and where her Vampire love's child sat, feeling upset? Sakuda knew fate was pushing her here for a reason. She turned to face Lenore, seeing so much of Rosaline in that girl. It was a sickening feeling. God she missed the woman. She felt stupid and useless. She couldn't even help Rose's child. With a slight sigh of exasperation, Saku reached over, gently touching Lenore's arm. "R... Lenore, stop biting yourself. You might get sick," she told Lenore, cursing herself for almost saying Rose.

Lenore blinked her eyes a couple of times when Sakuda spoke. She didn't shy away from Sakuda's touch this time, but rather moved her eyes to look up at the woman. She slowly removed her teeth from her arms and wiped at her mouth slightly. Her face remained basically blank as she stared at Sakuda, her grip slowly loosening up on her blanket while her body slowly moved itself from its tight position, her legs going back down so that she sat cross-legged, her back straightening slightly. Lenore's eyebrows slowly pulled together before she scowled, saying only two words to Sakuda, "It's okay."

Sakuda nodded softly, bringing her hand away from Lenore and back to her lap, resting there. Her eyes gazed at Lenore's face, observing the change in tension and emotion. With a slight huff, Sakuda sat onto her backside, curling her knees close to her chest to get some space between the two. "As long as you're sure," she said, her tone light as she rested her chin on her knees. Dealing with Lenore is definitely different from Rosaline. She was able to sooth over the confusion and such. Sakuda didn't know much about Lenore, or how she thought. So, Saku just sat there, waiting for a few moments, until a thought came to her. "What was Len doing with Rosaline's mannequin," she asked, eye brows furrowed.

Lenore turned her head away for a minute when Sakuda spoke again. After a few moments she slowly turned her arms over, after laying the blanket carefully in her lap, and reached them over to Sakuda, showing off the scars and new bite mark to her, "I do it all the time...It's fine in small intervals...because of...What's in my blood..." She turned her head away again, her eyes travelling over to where the mannequin sat. She stared at it as she contemplated Sakuda's question. "He was going to bring it home." She fell silent for a few moments before stating with a matter-of-fact tone, "Our aunt...She looks a lot like Mother."

Sakuda cringed mentally at the marks imbedded on Lenore's arm, though her face expressed nothing. She didn't like seeing so many injuries, especially self inflicting. She fingered the chain necklace around her throat, thinking nothing of it as she bit her lip. "I see. I still worry if it hurts or makes you too sick," she told Lenore, following her eyes to look at the mannequin, nodding her head. She tugged on the chain, pulling a charm from under her shirt. When her fingers hit the charm, she glanced down, eyes lighting up in realization. "I should have taken pictures or something," she told Lenore, holding the charm of the necklace. "This was pretty much the last thing she gave me."

Lenore moved her icy gaze to Sakuda's face once more, staring at her before stating simply, "It's fine. Every couple of days, a little bit." She glanced away again as she muttered, "A girl's gotta eat." She looked back to the mannequin before looking to Sakuda again, stating simply. "I know someone who does have pictures, but I doubt you want those. I know I don't." Her voice was flat, though it contained a hint of irritability. She looked at the charm that Sakuda wore around her neck, her hands subconsciously going to the blanket in her lap. "This is mine...Though she didn't really pick it out, Viola did...but technically she gave it to me."

Sakuda clicked her tongue, keeping quiet and letting Lenore explain. It was true, she did need to eat. Sakuda wasn't going to question that, or even try to stop her. Just as long as she wasn't causing drastic injuries. An angry expression crossed her face, figuring out what Lenore meant. A small growl was rumbling in her chest, but she didn't let it out. Instead, she snorted. Saku should have been there; should of broke her out of the Human jail. Sakuda disliked Humans with a vengeance for taking Rosaline away so many times. Sakuda stood up, walking over to the mannequin and staring at it sadly. Hearing Lenore speak again, she shifted, facing the so called child. A smile appeared on her face. "And you love that blanket, don't you," she asked, her tone melting into a fond coo.

Lenore flinched slightly at the sound that Sakuda had made. She herself didn't particularly care for humans...well...MOST humans. There was the one she liked. She glanced away some and added quickly and quietly. "They were just for her file. Nothing bad...Just not the best pictures." She shrugged her shoulders, "They have pictures of me too..." She sighed slightly and looked away from Sakuda, averting her eyes, especially when the woman stood and moved. It wasn't until Sakuda had mentioned the blanket that she looked back to her and nodded slightly, "Because it's from mom..." She moved her eyes away and added quietly, "...And Viola." She frowned slightly, her fingers grabbing tightly onto the blanket, keeping her eyes on the ground.

Sakuda nodded, her smile remaining as she turned her head to look at the mannequin again. With a slight sigh, she shook her head, heading back over to Lenore and kneeling beside her once more. She glanced at the blanket, her hands on her knees. "I wish I had been there to help her," she uttered. One of her hands moved, brushing a lock of hair from Lenore's face. "To help take care of you as well. I really loved your mom. She was the only one I would consider having kids with." Sakuda sighed, hand dropping from Lenore. She gave a sad smile, glancing to the wooden baby doll. With gentle hands, she picked it up, cradling it loosely in her arms. "For some reason, kids seem to like me, despite the fact I was never planning on having any. Though, the idea grew on me after awhile." She shifted her stance, making herself comfortable.

Lenore flinched slightly when Sakuda touched her hair, as well as at her words. She quickly pushed Sakuda's hand away and stood up, "Stop it. I don't want, or need you to be my mother. I already had one." She moved herself away slightly, finding herself feeling rather angry now, though her face didn't show it; it just remained flat and stony like. "And just so you know...I was taken care of just fine. When mom was too depressed or having a fit and couldn't take care of me, Viola took me to her room. She read me stories, and gave me candy. I don't need another mom...I don't want another mom." She fell silent then, her face hard.

Sakuda snorted with humor. "A mother? I cannot fit that status." She watched Lenore move away, and figured she needed her space. "I'm more of that suffocating aunt. I can't handle everything a mother has to do, but I try." She stood, shifting her weight onto one leg. "I don't doubt you were taken well care of. I knew Rosaline; she takes care of what she loves," Sakuda explained, her eyes getting misty. "Are you angry with me, Lenore?" She sighed, tsking herself. She didn't mean to upset the girl; things just started flowing out. Sakuda may have not aged physically wise, but mentally, she felt like an adult. She shouldn't of piled all of that on Lenore. "I'm sorry. You are just easy to talk to," she told her, avoiding the subject that Lenore reminded Sakuda so much of Rosaline.

Lenore stared flatly at Sakuda for a moment before stating, "I don't want an aunt, and I don't want any family. I can take care of myself now." Her voice had grown somewhat softer though her face hadn't moved at all. She visibly flinched when Sakuda said that about her mother, and slowly moved her gaze to the woman's face, noting her eyes. She felt her anger subside rather quickly as she spoke, "I...no." She sighed slightly when she told Sakuda that she wasn't angry with her, because she wasn't...Not anymore anyway. After a moment, she slowly stepped closer to Sakuda and placed a hand on the side of her face, her lips pressed into a thin line, and she said nothing.

Sakuda's lips turned up just a tad, but not saying anything in response to Lenore. She couldn't help but not get offended or upset, which startled and intrigued the young Werewolf. She glanced down at the wooden baby, hearing Lenore say she wasn't angry with Saku. Again, the wolf didn't comment, but held a fond smile. It was weird, having this sort of conversation with someone she didn't expect; but here they were. Sakuda realized that she must be losing a bit of her mind for all of this to be occurring. She huffed a soft laugh, cutting it short when she felt a hand smooth against her cheek. It wasn't warm nor cold, but it was comforting. Saku's bottom lip gave a small quiver, and her cheek leaned into the touch, eyes peeking up at Lenore through her lashes. She refused to get upset like this. "I'm sorry," was all she said.

Lenore blinked slightly in surprise when she noticed Sakuda's lip quiver. Her eyebrows pulled tightly together and she moved her hand so that she could brush her thumb over the woman's lips before moving it back to rest on her cheek. She scowled slightly as she watched Sakuda in slight confusion, especially when she apologized. After a moment, Lenore's face slowly softened up, becoming somewhat less apathetic than it had been the moments before, though it was still rather so. After a moment, she pulled her hand away from Sakuda's face, glancing down at the doll that the woman held. She moved to gently place the blanket over the top of the wooden baby before glancing back up towards Sakuda, not making a sound.

Sakuda cleared her throat, keeping her emotions back. Thought she didn't say anything, she smiled gently at Lenore, her head leaning into the hand that held her face so gently. She saw Lenore's expressions pass her face, wondering what they were even doing like this. Sakuda glanced down at the baby, seeing Lenore place her blanket over it. With a low hum, Sakuda tucked the blanket around the baby, making sure it was properly wrapped before meeting eyes with Lenore. "Len takes care of the baby, right? He looked like he was attached to 'em." Saku gestured to the baby with a lift of her arms, her head looking down to the baby once more. She was silent for a few moments, her lips pressed together in thought.