floriography [ stories five ]

dark lullaby || two

[ idk why i made that the title chalk it up to me being over dramatic lmao

stay safe,
lew. ]

———————

Harry didn't expect to be drawn of his mother's office by Chase shrieking her head off.

But it happened, and it was such a rare occurrence that he quickly made his way to the source of the sound. She was standing in the open doorway, looking like she was a step away from a breakdown.

As soon as she noticed Harry, she attached herself to his side and told him, "It's back and it needs to go away, why won't it go away?"

"What's back, Chase?" He asked in the most soothing voice he could manage, putting his arm around her. "Are you drunk? Let's get you some—"

"Harry. You gotta listen to me, man. That thing out there is dangerous and I can't be around it. I'm terrified and I might throw up—"

Chase hardly ever got like this. And never when Harry was around. He let go of her to pull his stele out, and drew a Mark across the scarred part of her upper back, visible because like always, Chase wore the bare minimum: a sports bra and gym shorts. It was one he learned from his parents, who picked it up while they were away in New York. Fearless.

Her anxious babble stopped. Steadily, she told Harry, "There's a warlock kid out there and I'm definitely gonna need more to drink to be able to handle this."

It was at that point he texted Logan, then got Chase settled in a chair in the entryway. "If there is a child out there, Downworlder or not, I'm going to bring them inside. It's much too cold to leave them outside."

"I'm not touching the kid. You can't make me do it, dude."

"You don't have to. Logan's on his way, he might be bringing Ezra and Lewis with him. Stay here."

She curled up further in the chair and gave him a thumbs up, which he figured was as close to an affirmation as he was going to get.

And sure enough, there was a small child, no older than two or three, sitting on the steps. A blanket was wrapped around them, and the poor dear was still shivering.

Harry took a couple steps closer, and it wasn't until he was sitting next to the child that he realized that wasn't a blanket. A set of ragged, dirty wings curved around their little body to block some of the wind, while inhumanly blue eyes peered at him.

——

It definitely counted as an adventure, getting everyone to the Institute.

Logan had driven to the bar, so he drove Ezra and Ronnie, picking up a sulking Lewis a few blocks away. He drove over the speed limit, getting back in record time.

When the three Shadowhunters and the warlock made it inside, they were greeted by Chase, the Mark fading on her back. "Harry's upstairs. Giving the little parasite a bath."

"What?" Lewis asked. "Parasite?"

Logan set his hand on her shoulder, offering one of his normal smiles. "We got a text that said you were having a situation over here. What's going on?"

Her face paled, the rune fading further. "Uh... maybe can I just talk to you?"

Ezra started to say something, but Logan held his hand out. "Sure, Chase. Guys, give the— give Ronnie a tour, then see if you can find Harry."

Everyone set off, and Chase let Logan lead her into the kitchen. She immediately went into the pantry and came up with a bottle of rum from behind a set of dusty pots and pans.

She didn't bother finding a glass, just took a drink directly from the bottle. Then, when Logan didn't accept the bottle, she sighed and said, "It's a long story, my dude. Remember when I wouldn't tell you guys what went down the year I went to Australia?"

"You and Ezra wouldn't even tell us where you went," he recalled, leaning against a counter. "But, yeah."

"I met a guy there." She took another drink, refusing to even look at Logan. "And... uh... he wasn't a good guy. Or even a guy at all. And then— bam! A baby. That I kinda hid from everyone. But I gave her up for adoption when..."

"...when you saw the warlock mark," he guessed, reaching out and taking the bottle from her. Once it was safely on the counter, he pulled her in for a hug.

She curled into his chest, eyes closed tightly, but it was unclear if it was because she was holding back tears or remembering what had happened. "Her ears were like a cat's. Right on top of her head. I'm such a fuckin' failure, Logan. I shoulda been able to tell it was a demon and then I wouldn't have had to go through that."

"You're not a failure," he murmured, but otherwise just stayed silent. Comforting Chase was a new one for him, but he'd done this much too often for Lewis in the past to be too annoyed.

——

Upstairs, Harry was having to improvise.

None of the clothes he'd looked through were small enough to fit the toddler he was currently carrying around wrapped in a towel. Finally, he dug a shirt out of Chase's closet, one that hadn't seen the light of day in years, and cut two slits in the back of it. Still, it was way too big on her, but better than a towel.

The kid stayed pretty well silent, sniffling just a bit as she leaned against Harry. The only real reaction she gave was when they took a look in Lewis' old room, and she saw his ragged teddy bear up on a shelf. Then, she whined and reached for it. Harry definitely didn't enjoy giving away something of Lewis', definitely not.

It was right outside that room where Ezra and Ronnie found them. Lewis had disappeared somewhere, which was pretty normal. Ronnie reached out and took the child from Harry, who was just surprised that those two were walking around with someone like him.

Ronnie snapped his fingers, and in a quick, violet flash of light, a stack of clothes appeared in Ezra's hands. In a gentle tone, he told the little girl, "You're safe. No one here will hurt you, little one."

She drew the teddy bear closer, chewing on its ear as she took a moment to think. Then, she yawned and curled further against Ronnie, clearly feeling safe enough to sleep.

He smiled, kissing the top of her head before looking over at Ezra. "Where's your room? We'll get some clothes sorted out for her, let her take a nap, and then we'll decide what's going to happen."

—————————

[ okie dokie pet three will end up being:
- deciding what to go with the child
- harry figuring out why the fuck an adult warlock is in his institute
- idk what else i'm tired