the crow's cackle

("with laughter like that, you'll kill someone.")

It starts with Morgan.

Mother is busy, mother needs help, leave mother alone... Needless uses of her title, needless uses of the word "mother." Dahlia doesn't listen, anyway, and that's not news. It never will be. Dahlia is Dahlia, with red hair and unnaturally red lips that curl into devious smiles and laugh revolting laughs. But most importantly, she never listens, only controls.

She pushes Iris into the garden, where they make flower crowns out of mother's very precious petunias. Dahlia starts laughing - the feeling she gets from breaking the rules is unlike any other.

Morgan stops her brisk pace, chiding words suddenly growing stale on her lips at that horrible sound. The sound is crooked and jagged and horrifying. She can barely look at her daughter, confused at how Iris can stand it - it must be an adult only thing, she notes.

"Goodness gracious, child," she starts, "You'll disturb the spirits with that laugh."

For the first time, Dahlia stops laughing.

Misty hits home next.

Morgan needs to help train new mediums tonight, so Misty decides to watch her twin nieces. They're calm, for the most part, drawing and giggling lightly. Iris seems to be laughing the most, but suddenly an evil sound comes from where they are. Misty gets worried.

As she walks to check, she notices the noise is laughter. Mia suddenly pops out of her room, but Misty insists she can take care of it. With a raised eyebrow, she enters where the twins are, expecting something gruesome, but instead finds them laughing, and the strange sound coming from Dahlia.

"It's not to polite to bother the spirits like that, Dahlia," Misty states, scolding her for reasons even she can't describe.

Dahlia stops laughing again.

Mia notices at a young age, her analytical mind barely processing the disturbing sound.

Dahlia and Iris are packing, as Mia constantly watches them from her window, wondering just what they were packing for. She decided to ask later, and as she turns to leave and stop watching, she hears it. It's horrible, like someone dying and being tortured even further.

Mia wants to throw up.

She simply runs away from it until she can hear it no longer, unable to be near the sound long enough to tell it to go away.

Next is father.

After dropping off Iris at the temple, father had a very important meeting with a new client. This had to do with father's "night-shifts" and how important they were. Dahlia was not allowed in father's office, not unless he invited her in, which he had done only once before. The office was full of old and new weapons and strange looking gloves.

Dahlia was starting to grow restless and wanted to go home, so she ran into her father's office, disobeying orders as per usual.

Valerie ran after her, the two knocking down swords, their father's temper growing. Dahlia started laughing, and the room went silent. A sword fell, making a clean slice down the middle of her father's face, but he only stared at Dahlia.

"Dahlia... stop that noise."

And she did.

Valerie doesn't know what to say when she hears it.

She's grown accustomed to her step-sister's misbehaving, including laughing after or during doing something wrong. She cackles and the sound is awful. It pierces Valerie's eardrums, and she stares at her in disbelief, watching Dahlia dance by.

Then she couldn't take anymore.

"Please stop, Dollie..."

Dahlia scowls.

Terry never said anything.

Even when he had the chance, he was too enamored with her to tell her the truth. He lied and lied and lied about it when she asked him once. He belonged to her, puppet strings and all.

"Hey, Terry, what do you think of my laugh again?"

Oh god. She's asking again. Is she seeing through him?

"I-it's the most beautiful sound ever..."

His answer is rehearsed and terribly acted, but it seems to be enough for the young girl who smiles and starts laughing her vulture's laugh.

A pair of brothers are left speechless in its wake.

The olde one drives her home because goodness, is she a pretty little thing. He can't resist her and her bubbly charms, her candy colored hair and burning eyes. She's alluring, like a siren, with a voice to match.

He decides to drive her home, and she thanks him, all smiles and beauty.

"Thank you for the ride! lt was so nice to meet you!" She says, adding a wink.

The older brother sighs, dreamily. His younger brother sighs at him, and rolls his eyes. Then Dahlia laughs. The sound is horrible and wretched and he can feel his stomach churning...

"It was... no problem, Dahlia," the older brother says, his blue eyes hiding in his glasses. He closes the car window and when they start to drive away, the younger brother raises an eyebrow.

"What... was wrong with her laugh?"

The older brother shrugs. He drives a little faster, trying to get away from her and that laugh.

During a recess of Terry's trial, Diego hears it.

She walks past them, antagonizing Mia and then comes her vicious laughter. Diego's eyes widen and he can feel his body growing so cold it numbs. He almost drops his coffee, but Mia catches it and hands it to him. His hand curls around hers, shaking, and then his grip tightens with each word he says.

"Hey..." he says, catching Dahlia's attention, "With laughter like that, you'll kill someone!"

She laughs some more, "I certainly hope so!" she adds, words happy and proud.

Doug wishes his ears would go numb.

He's laying on the ground, the girl above him and ugh, that laugh. It's so sickening, he swears that's what's about kill him. He tries to run from it, but it's too late.

"You always did have a horrible laugh, you know that?"

"That's what they all say."

Then she laughs. She doesn't stop.

Phoenix was horribly confused.

Dahlia's laugh used to sound like chiming bells and beautiful sunrises. But now... it sounded plain awful, like someone was getting killed.

He decided to ask Ms. Fey about it.

"Has her laugh always sounded like that?"

"As far as I can remember, Mr. Wright."

It wasn't the answer he wanted.

Iris never noticed it as a child.

They were always laughing, and people always used to tell Dahlia to stop laughing. To Iris, it had always been stupid. Why should she stop laughing? It was such a confusing thing, really.

She went to visit her sister a few days before her execution, hoping to find out that the adults were all wrong. They shared stories and smiles, and eventually, they laughed.

Iris stopped to hear Dahlia's laugh.

It was wretched. Disturbing. Awful. Murderous. Terrible. Gruesome. Creepy. Eerie. Those were a few words that could be associated with it. The adults were right. Oh, she wished it would stop.

"What's wrong, Iris?"

Dahlia gave her a saccharine sweet smile.

"Oh! Nothing,"

Iris paid no mind to the laugh after that. She tried to block it out.

She no longer wanted to hear the crow's cackle. Perhaps it was best if no one did anymore.

the brothers are the Gavins, by the way. her father is meant to be shelly de killer.