Louise Hardy

Character Post 69: Louise Hardy

Louise Hardy was the first child and only daughter of Philippa Hackney and her husband Pierre Hardy.  Premature twins followed, and Philippa insisted enough was enough. When Louise was seven, her parents parted amicably, and Pierre married Brooke, who shared his desire for a large family. Louise and her brothers lived with Pierre and Brook and a growing number of half-siblings, but spent holidays with Philippa who unexpectedly provided them with a stepfather named Baz. Baz came complete with a horse and a goat, and Louise and the twins liked him. The situation was quite acceptable to everyone until the twins hit adolescence and developed a disturbing talent. 
Philippa, never especially maternal, left it to Baz to sort out. Certainly their father couldn't, because he was human and they were, as Philippa termed it, a little bit pisky. Although Baz got the twins into line, he declined to deal with Louise. She was two years older, but her talents didn't manifest until she was nearly sixteen. She went to her mother, as Baz insisted, but Philippa simply told her to go back to Baz. It was probably fortunate Louise lived with the human side of the family most of the time.
By the time she was thirty-three her teenaged problems were well behind her.  She had her own mail order herb business, and her own home. She was still in occasional touch with her mother and stepfather, and rather more frequent touch with her father's family, but the people she knew best were the wayward twins. They were peculiar and unnerving, but they were her brothers, so when she saw someone who looked like a younger version of Baz at a music festival it was the twins she called to verify her opinion. This innocent act embroiled her and the twins in a mystery that had its roots over twenty-five years before.

Louise Hardy was an interesting character to write. She had an odd upbringing which led her to be self-sufficient. Being a little bit pisky was at once a joy and a frustration. What, exactly, did it even mean?