#// so very 'my muse-centered' right now–– i do apologise;;;;;;; IT WILL GEt bETTer once he has calmed the fuck down sdafjknbm

[narasnooze]

He was being irrational. He had just left someone he, for a moment, at least, had thought had something to do with this. Of course, he couldn't yet disregard the possibility, but right now... Right now what was more important, to him, was Mirai. He had to know the girl was safe.

Trees flashed by, becoming fewer and fewer the closer he came to the edge of the forest. Once out of it, and passing houses of his clan, Shikamaru didn't glance towards them to see if there was any signs of Hidan's visit there, because Mirai wasn't supposed to be at home. She wasn't at home, she was at the academy. She was with Shino, and Iruka. Hidan didn't know. He didn't know about her. But what if he did? Someone could have told him. His accomplice. He must have had one. Obito. ...No, it made no sense. Kakuzu? Shikamaru's head was pounding painfully and he could hear his blood rush in his ears.

Reaching the school, completely unaware if the Uchiha was following him or not, Shikamaru went straight for Mirai's classroom and slid open the door without caring to knock. "Mirai–" She wasn't there. The teacher watched him in surprise but then put her book down and walked over to the door, hushing the other kids and asked him to step out to talk to her. "Where is she? Where!"

"She's resting in the school nurse's office, Nara-san. She wasn't feeling so well... She–– Is everything alright?"

Shikamaru had quickly walked down the hall without giving the woman an answer. Again, not bothering to knock, Shikamaru entered the nurses room and found it empty. The window was open. The sheer curtain was flowing in the wind. A bloodstain could be seen on the window's frame.

"No.. no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.."

Shikamaru bent over, clutching his chest and made the most dreadful, heart crushing groan of pain. He felt sick, he couldn't breathe. He hurled, nearly throwing up.

Shikamaru was immediately thinking the worst had happened. The absolute worst. However, outside, on the school's grounds, a black haired girl, with fiery red eyes was loudly scolding another student for bullying someone. She had her hand bandaged, blood having seeped through it in her palm where she had taked a hold of the window before jumping out of the nurse's room earlier after having spotted the bully and the victim.

Shikamaru heard nothing of this. His fear and worry blocking every sound and logic around him while he tried to force his body to move to continue his hurried search for her. He couldn't let this panic attack win over him now. He couldn't let his pathetic self be a hindrance right now. He had to find her... He must find her, save her...

He allowed himself to be caught by the shadows. Even if he didn’t, where the hell would he go anyway? Kakashi? Sure as hell not Naruto. The only one who orchestrated this whole thing for Obito to give back for the damage he’s done; regardless of whether it was his doing or not. Oh, that’s right… Obito couldn’t turn this mission over to anyone else anyway. Whether he liked it or not.

All the Uchiha could do was wait and watch just to see what Shikamaru’s next step was going to be. Was he going to use this time to interrogate him right here right now? Knock him unconscious and hand him in? Obito’s curiosity was growing desperate for what may or may not become of him. This was his second chance at life on the line and he would hate for it to be ruined by this immortal bastard.

Still in the hold of the shadows, eyes continued to train themselves on the Nara who was just a little more than a few feet away from him. Watching and studying their facial expressions to draw any sort of clue as to what he was thinking, but coming to the same dead end of being guilty.

Then there was this look. A familiar look. One he knows of personally all too well. He had something worth protecting. Someone. Obito has had that once and lost her to the hands of his teammate, whom he has long forgiven. But Shikamaru had an enemy. An enemy that was once part of the Akatsuki. He and his loved ones had a bright flashing target on their backs and that was far worse than he could ever imagine.

In mere moments the Shinobi was left there standing at the crime scene partially confused but most of all worried. This feeling began to dig up old emotions of his own that he thought he had shoved aside in some random ditch. Guess not. If it was really gone, Obito wouldn’t find a reason to use it right now.

The drive to kill to protect what’s not yet lost.

With clutched fists, nails digging through his gloves leaving light crescents into his palm, Obito walked over to the bush and picked out the thorn fabric that once belonged to an Akatsuki cloak.

❝ This cycle will not bleed nor repeat into another clan or generation… ❞ Spoken from a broken experienced spirit. It was a vow, an oath, that he must uphold no matter the cost.

Slipping the fabric into his pocket, Obito decided not to linger any longer and catch up with his client to make sure everything was ok. Of course, not before he left a shadow clone or two behind to continue investigating. // @narasnooze

[randomoranges]

last year [hahaha chuis tellement drôle], i was having a conversation with a friend and we were like omg teddy’s aesthetic is totally like boudoir! so then i went down the rabbit hole of looking at photos for inspiration and found this one and i was like oh my lord this is such a teddy thing but i left it at that.

then this morning i was like wow amazing an idea that can go with the image!!!! so i decided to make the super wrong and traced art and spent too many hours on it bcs obvs tracing only takes minutes. 

then as i was making the not actually art i kept thinking of the idea from this morning but it didn’t work as well so i thought of something else and merged the two ideas together.

it feels like i spent the entire day on this haha

and then i realised there is also still a reference to michel tremblay hidden in this without even trying. 

there are so many - layers - hahaha to this. 

it’s nsfw. ish. 

Veils

 Edward’s relieved when he makes it to the club. He hasn’t been able to come in a few weeks time, due to work, a conference and the likes and he’s looking forward to sitting back and unwinding. He also hasn’t seen Teddy since his last visit and he finds himself hoping they’ll be able to catch up before, during, after, or post-show. He tries to will his cheeks not to warm too much at the thought of the other person, but it’s a little bit hard to do.

They’ve been – well, seeing each other is not the right term for it, but Edward has rather liked the few times they’ve slept together so far and that one memorable brunch the day after. Yet, there’s nothing official between them and Edward really isn’t sure if he wants a relationship at the moment. Still, the sex has proven to be good and the company better yet. He likes to think they’re at least friends, but they haven’t really seen each other outside of the bedroom or the club.

 He pushes the door open to the club and he’s first surprised to see a – bouncer type person at the door. He wonders if this is a new norm and what could have prompted the change from the usual cheery fellow who greets the patrons, but his musings are cut short when he’s spoken to.

 “Invitation?” The burly type asks and Edward is taken aback for a moment.

 “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know – is there a private event here tonight?” He never bothers to check the website for the schedule and usually just pops in when he feels like it, but this, is new.

 “Yes. Invitation only. Come back later.” The man says curt and to the point. Edward doesn’t want to cause any trouble and feels like this man won’t hesitate to escort him out if needed, so he’s about to apologise and leave, when Paul appears seemingly out of nowhere and comes to his rescue.

 “He’s good, Bruno; he’s a regular and the boss has him on the list.” Paul says as he claps Bruno on the back. Bruno doesn’t seem pleased by the gesture, but Paul seems oblivious to it all.

 Edward has no idea who the boss is and what list Paul is talking about, but if it means he gets to enjoy the private event, he won’t necessarily complain or mind.

 Bruno grunts and reiterates something about the list, but when Paul insists, he’s escorted inside by the bartender and brought over to coat check.

 “I’m glad you’re here; Teddy’s put me on door duty until you arrived.” Paul says as a way of explanation that does nothing to clear up the many questions Edward has.

 “How did any of you know I was coming? And what’s this private event all about?”

 “You come here often enough; they figured maybe you’d drop by today. As for the event; it’s something a little different – a once in a lifetime performance, really, so you’re very lucky to have stopped by! Very selective and very VIP, if you catch my drift. You’ll see in a bit,” Paul grins, mischievous as ever and Edward wonders what exactly he’s stepped into, but the curiosity in him only keeps growing. “Oh, you’ll have to check in your phone as well. No recordings whatsoever; performer’s request.”

 Edward notices the little locker type add-on in the coat-check and fishes out his phone. He hands it over to the person in charge of the check-in and he’s given back a key. At least, he tells himself, no one should abscond with his phone.

 “Anyways, now that you’re here, I suggest you grab a seat. Bon show!”

 And with that, Paul is gone and Edward makes his way to the heart of the club to find a seat. The atmosphere is muted and the sitting capacity has been reduced to a third. Most of the spots are already filled, but he manages to find himself a seat at the far back. The tables have been dressed in dark velvet tablecloths and each have a trim of sparkly jewels that shine when the lights hit them. It’s quite different from the usual decor and Edward wonders if this is some new event the club is trying out. In all the time he’s been attending, he’s never even heard of such an event. He looks around for a pamphlet or poster of sorts that might give him a clue, but there’s nothing of the sorts.

 Therefore, he patiently waits for the show to start and takes in the other carefully chosen guests around him. He recognises a few other familiar faces he’s seen over his many visits, but other than that, everyone seems as equally unknowing as he does and he wonder what the criteria was to be part of the audience.

 Finally, the lights are dimed down and a hush falls over the gathered crowd. Edward expects the usual introduction to follow suit, but instead, the room fills with sultry jazz music of sorts. It starts a little slow and picks up as the curtains part to reveal a figure, back to the crowd, illuminated softly, standing on center stage.

 As the light grows stronger and the figure starts moving, liquid movements that make it seem effortless and easy, despite the stiletto heels, Edward takes in the multiple layers of fabric that are draped elegantly and expertly over the figure and that play to create different effects when they hit the light. They almost seem like veils of sorts, all in the palest of colours, maybe even white, and that shimmer when the person moves.

 It takes Edward a while for his mind to fully register what it is he’s seeing, as the music keeps playing and the person on stage keeps moving, dancing and performing. This is different from what Club 1642 usually puts on, but he’s intrigued and enthralled and doesn’t mind the change.

 Finally, it’s when they turn around that Edward gasps as he recognises exactly who it is. The tattoo might be partially covered by fabric, but he’s traced every branch and ever petal with delicate fingers and pressed hot kisses to every curve of the vine. His hands have carded, as well as tugged, on those curls numerous times now and he knows the feel of those lips on every inch of his body.

 Still, he forgets how to breathe for a moment, ever still, and drinks in the sight before him.

 Teddy stands before them all, as they take ownership of the stage, stepping from one place to the other, the lights following them, as they wrap their wrists around the first layer of veils and make it twirl around them. The veil, embedded with subtle crystals, shimmers and shines for a moment, before Teddy whirls around as the pace of the music picks up and the veil is then let go of and flutters for a moment, before falling, motionless, to the floor by their feet.

 For as long as they have known each other, for as many times as they have spoken; late night conversations and early morning murmurs, Edward had never known that Teddy performed.

 But – he supposes there are still secrets about him that Teddy doesn’t know either.

 Regardless, Edward is left breathless as Teddy continues their dance of many veils and he finds himself mesmerized and captured by the performance. He’s surprised that even though the dance could be considered seductive or provocative and sensual, what with the veils that Teddy keeps shedding, Edward instead finds that the performance is more than that.

 There is something immensely personal in the movements; private even and it feels as though Teddy is shedding more than just veils. It’s as if the layers represent insecurities and their relationship with each one is different, based on the movement and the way Teddy discards the veil.

 It’s – vulnerable, if that’s even possible. Teddy is slowly laying themselves bare, not only figuratively, but emotionally as well – exposing themselves; revealing themselves as they truly are and Edward’s heart stammers in his chest as the performance continues.

 He also thinks there’s sadness to it. He feels it in the music, but also in the movements; how Teddy caresses the fabric for a moment, before ripping it away. There’s been betrayal here, deep hurt they’ve never really healed from and Edward wonders who could have wronged this wonderful person. What pains have they suffered through that he doesn’t know of?

 He wonders briefly if Teddy would mind if they found out he’s been here – assisted this anguished cry. This does really feel like a private performance and he would hate for his friend to feel embarrassed that he’d assisted. Even if “the boss” had put him on the list, he hopes he hasn’t crossed some line, but he figures he can worry about that later.

 The music’s pace keeps picking up as the layers are discarded and Edward holds his breath as Teddy’s movements become sharper still, as they fight with their veils. The effects of the lights and the crystals only help create the image of a whirlwind – of an angry snowstorm as the snow falls and then rises again by the wind. He thinks of blizzards and snow squalls and his vision being impaired as the snow seems to fall from every which corner and direction.

 For a moment, it seems as though the veils will threaten to overcome Teddy; as if they will lose their fight against the fabric – against the demons they keep close to their heart and deal with, but finally, the music crescendos. They wrap themselves in their last veil and come to a halt, back to the spot where they had started from. The veil undulates and flutters once more, somehow teasing and yet covering, never revealing, and Teddy looks heavenward, arms outstretched, one last plea to be helped or saved – reaching out for something or – someone and they hold their pose for a moment longer, hold it for the audience to feel the final cry and the final tug, before the lights slowly fade out.

 A fallen angel, he thinks. Cast out.

 It takes him a moment – it takes them all a moment, but soon the silence that followed the end of the performance is broken by loud applause. Edward doesn’t even realise it, but he’s on his feet and someone to his left whistles. He needs to blink tears out of his eyes and he wishes he could go somewhere quiet to process the art he’s just witnessed.

 He’s still not sure he’s fully understood everything he’s just seen, but he has newfound respect for his friend.

 A member of the staff comes out some time later, once the raucous applause has died down, and tells them that they’ll take a short break before their regularly scheduled shows will begin. The audience is invited to sit, or have a drink, as they set up the room.

 Edward finds himself moving away from his table, not really sure if he wants to stay for the second, public part of the evening, or if he wants to leave, but his mind tells him that he needs to find Teddy. He has no idea if the other wants to see him, but he figures he can at least try. Therefore, he makes his way towards backstage and thinks he’ll start over there. He realises he still doesn’t know what his friend does exactly at the club, but he knows they work backstage. If anything, based on his own experience, Teddy should be surrounded by people, trying to keep the adrenaline high of performing for as long as possible, basking in their praise.

 He doesn’t know if they’ll let him in the back, but by the time he makes his way there, he’s granted passage with little to no explanation other than “Teddy” and “my friend”. He hasn’t been in this part of the club often, if ever, and it takes him a moment to adjust himself. It brings him back to other times – to before, but he has no time to properly reflect; another thing he can do later. Instead, he walks on and hopes he’ll find someone who’ll be able to tell him where he can find Teddy.

 He follows the sound of voices and as they grow louder, he figures he’s getting to the heart of backstage and sure enough, he ends up finding Teddy, wearing a bathrobe of sorts over the last of the veils, surrounded by a few of the usual performers who are clearly there to congratulate them.

 Edward lingers back, unsure if he should interrupt this moment or not, but then Teddy spots him and their face breaks out into a wide smile. “Édouard!” They say and they seem both pleased and surprised to see him, so he takes that as a good sign. He takes a cautious step forward and Teddy thanks the gaggle of people around them, before coming up to join him. “I was hoping you would be here tonight!” They say, bright smile on their face like always and Edward wonders if he didn’t image the previous sadness and sorrow from the performance. It had felt too raw to be staged and he wants to ask about it, but the words don’t come out right.

 “A coincidence, really; I didn’t know you performed? Had I known, I would have brought you some flowers,” He feels a little empty handed and maybe even a little rude, but honestly, he hadn’t known and therefore, cannot be blamed.  

 Teddy laughs and leans in a little in his space, “Oh, never like the girls here and not often. I mean, this was the first time I hit the stage in over a decade – if not more! And as for the rest, it’s why I kept this a secret – I wanted everyone here to experience the performance as it was – no expectations, no flowers.”

 It does explain why Edward had never seen Teddy perform before, but it still leaves a plethora of questions. He settles for “Are you okay, though? The performance – it was – amazing, but – you looked as though – as though you’ve dealt with a lot – as if it was almost autobiographical, in a sense.” At that, Teddy’s smile turns softer. They reach out for his hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

 “Don’t worry about me, Sugar; I’m fine, honest. I’m better than I was before – sometimes it catches up and I need to – let it all out; evacuate it out of my system and this helps, but I promise I’m okay.”

 “So it was – personal then?”

 Teddy nods and there’s a flicker of sadness that flashes in their green eyes and Edward regrets bringing it up or even insisting, “Hey, d’you wanna get some air?” He thinks of the cigarettes he keeps carrying around whenever he comes to the club, if only to give himself an excuse to steal away into the night with Teddy – to bask in their presence and hear them go off on some tale. He doesn’t know how much time they have before they need to get to work, but he has nothing to lose in asking.

 “I have a better idea; want to come back to mine? I’m not working – my assistant is taking over for the night,” They say when they see Edward’s question bubbling at his lips. “It’ll be quieter.” They add and motion to the noisy gaggle of people in all stages of dress getting ready for the next segment of the show. Edward files the tidbit of information regarding the fact that Teddy has an assistant, but he’ll ask about that another time as well.

 Instead, he nods. The short answer to their question is yes. Edward will go anywhere Teddy wants to bring him to and he’s come to like Teddy’s cosy little apartment filled with photos and knick-knacks of every sorts. Teddy grins and tells him to meet him out front, while they grab their things.

 Edward uses the time he waits for Teddy to retrieve his phone from coat-check and then exits, letting the cool spring air help sort his thoughts. He feels like there’s always a lot to process and he seldom gives himself the time to do so.

 He’s not angry or upset that Teddy performs. In fact, if anything, he feels that it gives them something in common, but it had been surprising. Then, there had been the nature of the performance as well as the method used. He still sees the way the shimmering fabric had teased glimpses of skin he had caressed before and that he’d willingly caress again, but he wonders if it’s appropriate to have such thoughts considering the – topic of the dance.

 “Sorry for the wait, shall we?”

 Edward blinks and looks away from the lamppost he’d been staring at. He nods and notices that Teddy’s wearing one of their long coats over their clothes. He can’t help but smile, amused, considering the evening is pleasant and the coat seems unnecessary, but he knows that Teddy seems to be perpetually cold, which is surprising considering the state of undress they had been in, moments before. They fall in step as they head towards Teddy’s apartment. It’s thankfully not far from here and he’d been surprised by its proximity to the club, the first time he’d gone back to it with Teddy. Teddy had told him that they hated commuting and that at four in the morning, they wanted to get home sooner rather than later.

 It’s not even midnight now and as they walk quietly towards the apartment, Edward feels an itching to take hold of Teddy’s hand and twine their fingers together. It’s not the first time he’s felt this way and he’s not sure whether or not he wants to do it out of a sense of offered comfort or as some type of – romantic gesture, but he manages to keep his hands to himself until they make it to the apartment.

 “Do you mind if I use your washroom?” Edward asks once they’re in. Teddy doesn’t bother turning the lights on, but nods and points in the direction of where the washroom is, even if Edward knows. He removes his shoes and locks himself in the small room for a moment, letting the light come to life and illuminate his reflection in the mirror.

 The reflection blinks and its familiarity helps ground him for a moment. He feels a little wrong footed all of a sudden and he wonders if it has anything to do with the performance, what it could have meant, and the incessant pull he always feels when he’s around Teddy. He splashes some cold water on his face and after waiting another moment; he steps out and goes to find his friend.

 The apartment is still and quiet and Edward pads softly towards the bedroom. It’s the only other logical place where Teddy can be and it normally is where they go when they’re here. He’s about to announce himself when he enters, but stops short due to the sight that greets him. He even steps back, as though the scene before him requires more room to exist and he makes sure he’s by the threshold of the door, before he dares to look again.

 Teddy sits on the ledge of their large bedroom window, dressed in nothing but that last veil from the show, illuminated by soft moonlight that drifts in from outside as well as the lampposts that decorate the street. The curtains haven’t been shut and so Teddy looks almost ethereal as they sit, seemingly lost in their own thoughts, as the light bathes them softly. The gentle light makes the fabric look nearly completely transparent, safe for where it is bunched together and Edward’s breath catches at the sight of it all.

 “You’re beautiful,” He says without thinking and his words break the tranquil moment in which Teddy had been basking in. They look up and offer a welcoming smile, before motioning for him to join them.

 Edward walks over to the window, as if in a trance, and finds himself standing beside Teddy by the time he reaches them. Teddy takes his hands and places a kiss to each as Edward’s heart fights to beat out of his chest.

 “You’re entirely too kind,” They say, before looking back out to the street and the parked cars, the lampposts and their yellow muted light.

 They stand close, Edward able to feel the heat radiating off Teddy’s frame, as they take in the scenery and Edward dares to reach for the fabric that covers Teddy’s body. He yearns to tug it off, to worship, and kiss every inch of their body and chase away any doubts and past pain from their soul. He wants to bring them to bed, hold them close as he whispers sweet nothings to them, until they fall asleep with the notion that they are – loved.

 “May I?” He asks as he wraps a piece of the veil around his fingers, feeling the rugged texture beneath them. Teddy tilts their head in his direction and they wait for clarification as to what it is Edward wants to do. “May I remove your last veil?” He asks again and holds his breath, hoping he’s read everything correctly from the moment the performance had started to this very second.

 “Please,” Teddy says, their voice a bare whisper, nearly trembling and breaking.

 Edward turns them around so that they’re both standing in the window’s light and before he removes the veil, he cups Teddy’s face in his hand and gently caresses their cheek. He feels Teddy lean into the contact and he sees the unshed tears that shimmer in their eyes. He presses a soft kiss to their forehead and after a moment, he lets his hand fall to their shoulder at the first junction of the fabric.

 He doesn’t need to tug very hard, seeing as the veil is merely draped over Teddy’s body, but he’s still ever so gentle as he slowly removes it and never looks away from Teddy’s face. He wants them to know that it’s okay – that whatever it is that happened before – that whatever it is they’re doing now, Edward will do his best to take care of them – that he cares for them and that they’re not alone.

 The fabric comes apart easily and slides softly and quickly off Teddy’s body, pooling at their feet, much like all the other veils beforehand, until Teddy is left bare, bathed only by the late night light. Edward looks – really looks at them and Teddy lets him, maybe for the first time even.

 “You’re beautiful,” He repeats again, for they are and there aren’t enough words to describe the way it is that he feels in this present moment, but Teddy might understand, for they close the distance between them and pull them in for a kiss.

 Edward places one arm around Teddy’s bare waist and another goes to the nap of their neck, as he moulds their lips together. This, thankfully, is a language they are both fluent in and this is something he can do.

 “Let me take care of you,” He murmurs in their ear when they pull away, sometime later. Teddy looks at him, bright eyes and kiss swollen lips and they hesitate for a moment, before they nod, trusting him completely.

 Edward is gentle with them and it’s different from the times beforehand. It feels more like an act of love than an act of sex and he wonders if Teddy notices. He knows there isn’t much of a difference, in the grand scheme of things, but – Edward feels the shift in the way he holds Teddy close and the way they respond to his every touch. He thinks it’s in the little things – the soft, lingering kisses, the lack of urgency to their movements and the way Teddy looks at him, open and caring and still trusting.

 It might even be in the moments that come afterwards; when they twine their legs together and Teddy furrows their face in the crook of Edward’s neck. When Edward rubs their back and lets Teddy slowly come apart in his arms, no questions asked, or the way Teddy resurfaces, lifetimes later, with a gentle smile and a soft thanks.

 He’s not sure though and this development is new, but Edward feels that it all has to do with something about the veils. He wonders what would have happened had he not shown up tonight and if there hadn’t been some great cosmic pull that had lead him there – not only tonight, but on the very first night he’d visited. He also thinks of his own veils – the ones he keeps close to his own heart and the demons he still hasn’t fully faced yet.

 He knows he eventually has to, but as he looks at Teddy’s quiet, tranquil slumbering face, he wonders if he’ll ever be strong enough to do what they did. He supposes that that to will have to wait for a later time and for now he focuses instead on getting some rest as well.

 FIN

[enixamyram]

Curious Archer Christmas Chapter 4

So I apologise. Saying I'd post one chapter a day was probably not the smartest thing I've said since I have to deal with work and my own Christmas preparations. In fact I almost separated this chapter into several to make up for it but I have all the other chapters all planned out already and don't want to give any of them up. So I'm just gonna post when I can - some might be posted a couple in one day and it'll definitely go over the 25th but hey, it just means I'm making Christmas last longer!

If things really get messed up, I will finish it over New Years but it will be in between my other stories which I will be started up again as promised. So Thanks to everyone for clinging on and I apologise for the false hope XD

  “So what kind of presents do you normally get your parents?” Alice asked suddenly, scrunching her napkin into a ball and dropping it onto her plate.

  The question seemed to have come out of nowhere and the pair sitting opposite her looked up. They were momentarily confused as to why she was asking them of all people before remembering that Alice hardly had the most normal of upbringings, nor that many people she was comfortable talking to with. And on top of that, she didn't exactly have a normal parent in all the realms either… But then, thinking about it, neither did any of them. Maybe that was why she was asking them the question.

  “You don't mind me asking, do you?” Alice asked, very conscious of the hesitation.

  “Of course not.” Ella said quickly. “I mean, I don't really know what I would have gotten my parents, but Lucy got me a few things over the years. Though I doubt that's what you're looking for.” She smiled knowingly. “Thinking of a gift for your father?”

  “Yeah,” Alice admitted.

  Ella glanced at Henry who frowned as he thought it over. “Well, it's Rogers so... Well, there's a whole load of stuff you could get him, to be honest.”

  “Yeah but... Nothing I’ve seen seems right.” Alice mumbled, looking down at her plate. Robin and her mother had already listed an endless number of things she knew her papa would like well enough, but despite that, Alice still knew none of it was good enough. It was their first Christmas, ever! She wanted to make sure she did it right for both of them.

  “Lucy once told me she always knew the perfect gift for everyone, but only when she saw it.” Ella offered. “So maybe you just haven't seen the right thing yet?”

  “But what if I don't see it in time?” Alice asked.

  “I'm sure you will.” Ella said softly.

  Henry suddenly clicked his fingers, grinning at the two of them. “Here's an idea. Why don't you and the other girls have a big shopping day out of town together? You can all help each other with buying gifts and you might have better luck if you go somewhere outside your comfort zone.”

  “That sounds like a great idea!” Ella gasped excitedly. “I don’t think many of us have had a chance to leave since the Realms were united. What do you say, Alice?”

  “Yeah, that’d be good.” Alice nodded, feeling incredibly relieved to be offered any kind of help. She’d been thinking about presents for her papa and Robin ever since she Robin mentioned her aunt asking about what she wanted a couple days ago. While there were a number of things she would have loved to get them both, she was limited by both money and what was actually available to her. Storybrooke and the United Realms were all lovely, but even they were limited, especially as they didn’t have any proper shopping centers like Alice remembered from back in Hyperion Heights during the curse.

  “It's settled! I'll call Tiana and Regina.” Ella said, already reaching into her purse for her phone.

  “Hey, maybe Snow and Emma would like to join too?” Henry offered.

  “Perfect! It'll be a full day with everyone together!”

C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S

  “How... The hell… Did we lose... Everyone?!” Robin shouted, looking around the crowded mall where there were no familiar faces with her, apart from that of Alice standing by her side.

C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S

Earlier, With Lucy and Ella:

  “It’s a shame Tiana couldn’t come.” Lucy noted sadly.

  “Yeah, but being a Co-Queen of the realms as well as running a food truck can keep you pretty busy.” Ella nodded, only half joking.

  The two of them were trailing behind the rest of the small group, with only a few small select bags between them. Unlike Emma and Hope, who were both weighed down with a ridiculous amount of shopping on either arm, neither Ella, nor Lucy were very big on spending money, even as gifts for their loved ones. Much like back in the Enchanted Forest, they had gotten one thing for each person they shopped for, and none of it was too expensive because there didn’t seem much point in throwing money away needlessly.

  So far it had been a good day for everyone. They had all managed at least a bit of shopping done and in between that, they had spared time for a fast food meal with good laughs all around, even after Zelena nearly got into a fist brawl with a stubborn woman who had tried to take her chair while she was momentarily in the bathroom. Regina attempted to play peacemaker along with Emma to defuse the situation, but after the woman physically spat on Regina’s silk blouse, Emma surprised everyone by cutting things short with a fist to the woman’s face. It had been a good blow – Ella was particularly impressed by her mother in law – but good blow or not, it didn’t stop them from being asked to leave the restaurant.

  “Still… I miss spending time with her.” Lucy said sadly, sighing and looking down at her feet. “We used to see so much of her back in the Enchanted Forest, and she was the only Queen back then. Now we’re lucky to catch up once every couple of weeks.”

  “I know, sweetie,” Ella said, reaching around to rest an arm on her shoulders.

  Lucy slouched slightly, leaning against her mother for support. She didn’t want to let anything ruin their good day, and tried to force a smile back on her face but it looked as fake as it felt and she knew her mother could see right through her. Lucy had long since accepted that changes were a part of life, but she still hated people drifting apart. Especially when they were her friends she was drifting apart from.

  For her part, Ella knew what Lucy was feeling. She sometimes missed having Sabine as a roommate and she even more missed every day meet ups with the Queen, inviting her round to their home or spending a night or two at her castle for celebrations like Lucy’s birthday. But things had changed. Not only was she Queen of an unstable new Realm, but she was also struggling to keep The Rollin Bayou going as well – especially with places like Granny’s now her biggest competition. Sometimes Ella regretted leaving her work there, especially since she had been the co-founded it. But after reuniting with Henry and Lucy, Ella had decided it was time to follow her own dreams for a change and working in a food van just wasn’t one of them.

  But more than her own sadness over losing the closeness she used to have with her old friend, Ella was worried about Lucy’s disappointment over it. Her poor baby no doubt missed her godmother greatly. And while Ella was already planning to invite Tiana round to their home for New Year’s, she knew that would do little to cheer Lucy up right now. And Ella didn’t want her daughter to spend the long ride home in misery.

  They passed a nearby store and the sight of it gave Ella a sudden idea. It was probably dumb, but hey, being silly was always the best kind of fun and she was sure it would cheer Lucy up.

  “Hey! Guys! We’ll be right back!” Ella called, not pausing to see if they heard her – which they did not – before grabbing Lucy’s arm and dragging her towards the same store.

  “Where are we going?” Lucy blinked, letting herself be pulled along.

  “In here.” Ella said, pulling Lucy through the entrance.

  It turned out to be a shoe store. One that was practically deserted, except for a single young woman being assisted by one of two employees while the other stood by the counter, looking incredibly bored. The same employee seemed to grow bored of hanging around and moved to begin sorting through the men’s shelf just as they entered the store. When she caught sight of them from the corner of her eye, she quickly replaced her bored expression with a friendly smile instead, though it was one that still looked more sleepy than anything else. Ella gave an acknowledging half hearted wave before steering away from her and taking Lucy towards the women’s section in the far corner.

  “Why here?” Lucy asked, following her mother to a stop, far away from the other people in the room.

  “Because, we need to see if it fits!” Ella said dramatically, dropping her bags to the floor and picking up a white sandal with a short heel in Lucy’s size.

  Lucy blinked before realizing where her mother was going with it. She burst out laughing at the sheer idea, drawing attention from the employee and customer across the room, but ignored them both as she quickly dropped onto a nearby stool. Kicking off her trainer, she let her mother dramatically try and squeeze the shoe on, purposely twisting it left and right so it appeared to be a struggle.

  “Hmm,” Ella mused. “Guess this means you’re not Cinderella then.”

  “Well what about you?” Lucy jumped forward, taking the shoe and swapping places so she was kneeling in front of her mother. Naturally the shoe was far too small for her mother’s feet, but Lucy made a big play of pretending to try and put it on, then stood back and sighed dramatically. “Guess that means you’re not Cinderella either. You must be a step sister.”

  “I don’t think so!” Ella laughed. “You must have the wrong slipper.”

  “How many glass slippers are lying around?” Lucy challenged, all thoughts of Tiana wiped from her mind as she and her mother tried on several different shoes, pretending each was the glass slipper and purposely making sure none of them would fit.

  “Um…” Came a voice. “Can I help you ladies find a pair in your size?”

  Ella and Lucy, who were laughing too hard to notice her approach, looked up to find an employee standing over them. She eyed the mess of shoes the two of them had made and there was a definite distain in the way she was glancing back at them.

  “Uh…” Ella said, fighting her giggles. “Yeah, sorry. We’ve changed our minds.” Lucy quickly gathered the shoes, putting them back on the racks and shelves, albeit in a slight mess and out of order, some a few spaces apart from their pairs.

  Once everything was at least off of the floor, they hurried from the store before they could be scolded any further, still giggling about it as they did. And with both their moods back up, they happily moved to rejoin their friends…

  Only to find they were nowhere to be seen.

  “Where’d they all go?” Lucy blinked, looking around. “I thought they were going to wait for us.”

  “Oh great.” Ella mumbled.

  “What happened?” Lucy asked, still looking at the crowds buzzing past.

  “They must have wandered off without us. I thought they heard me…” Ella said, biting the inside corner of her mouth.

  “So what do we do?” Lucy asked. “We can’t get home without them!”

  Ella paused to think it over, glancing down towards her purse before shrugging. “Not much else to it about it. We’ll wander round and try and find them but if not then we’ll just call a taxi for a ride home. It can drop us off just a little away from the border and we can walk the rest of the way.”

  “What if the driver asks why we want to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere?” Lucy asked.

  Ella shrugged. “I’m sure we can act a convincing lie. So what do you think; camping close by or cabin home in the middle of nowhere?”

*C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S*

At The Same Time With Emma and Hope…

  Leading the group across the crowded floor, Hope and Emma were showing just the slightest struggle at holding onto all the bags in their arms. They were both pressed down on with the multi coloured plastic bags that were beginning to leave red marks along their skin where the weight of it all was close to bruising. But despite the heaviness of it all and the weariness that kept trying to get to them, neither woman let that slow them down. The shops in Storybrooke only had so much for them, so when Henry had suggested they rent the mini bus and drive to the next town over to do their shopping in a proper full out centre, the two of them jumped at the chance.

  “How much time do we have left?” Hope asked, while still craning her neck in order to look at the stores lining up along their sides, watching out for anything they may have missed during their original walk through.

  “Well we should probably think about heading back soon, so think of any places you want to go and we’ll head there quick while we have the chance.” Emma explained, walking a little faster to keep up with Hope’s enthusiastic pace.

  “Well, let’s go to the second floor then!” Hope said, breaking into a fast walk that was a small step away from being a light jog. “I think I remember a cute little beauty parlor we never went in close by.”

  “A beauty parlor, huh?” Emma teased, still moving to keep up. “Since when have you been so conscious about that kind of stuff?”

  Hope blushed slightly and shrugged, stepping onto the escalator before finally coming to a short pause. “I dunno. Just felt like a change.”

  “Oh sure,” Emma grinned, standing a step behind her. “Nothing to do with a cute boy coming through town sometime this month?”

  “Mum!” Hope complained, blushing even harder and hurrying off the escalator and onto the second floor.

  Emma laughed as she followed her, knowing very well what boy Hope had in mind. She’d been crushing on him ever since they had met at the beginning of last year and while he didn’t officially live in the United Realms, he had family there which meant he visited often enough. Killian didn’t know about Hope’s crush yet, and neither were very eager to tell him. Emma was pretty sure he’d try a ‘papa bear’ act and had already planned out the ways she would shut him down before he got started.

  Inside the store, Hope buzzed up and down the walls, glancing in at all the items on sale. She’d never been overly into these kinds of things, even while all her friends started to midway through school. Hope was much more interested in perfecting her swords skills. The closest she ever came to caring about her looks was her hair. Out of everything, Hope’s long dark blonde/light brown hair was her proudest feature and she took care of it better than anything else she knew. A couple kids had tried teasing her about it, but her short temper mixed with her swordsmanship abilities meant the teasing didn’t last for very long.

  But as Emma had already guessed, that was something that had changed drastically after Hope met with a certain young man. She didn’t think she’d ever find someone she’d like after her nasty break up with Melody a while back, but that had most definitely changed. Now Hope wondered why she was ever even thinking of the possibility of never moving on… Not that she’d managed to have a proper conversation with him yet. Each time he visited, half the town surrounded him and Hope wasn’t about to make a fool of herself with an audience watching.

  “Find anything you like?” Emma asked, tucking her phone back into her bag. She’d texted Killian to see how his ‘guys evening’ was going with Henry, Rogers and David and was amused to hear that Snow and Red had accidentally crashed the party.

  “This!” Hope said excitedly, pointing towards a whole make up kit. It was a head sized box, black with purple lining, and the picture posted above showed it held everything one woman might need. And maybe a little extra… Or rather, a lot extra… And at a steep price too…

  Emma pressed her lips together and watched Hope’s eager, wide eyed expression as she looked back at her. She was so excited, normally something she only got whenever she learned a new technique from one of her many teachers back in Storybrooke. And like all other times, Emma found it near impossible to actually say no to her. From the moment she had been born, everyone – including Emma herself – knew that she would always be wrapped around her baby girl’s little finger. Not that Killian was any better, at least.

  “Sure. Go for it. Think of it as an early Christmas present!” Emma said, adding the last part to make herself feel better more than anything.

  “Thanks, mum! You’re the best!” Hope beamed, rushing to grab a box from beside the display and taking it straight to the cashier.

  The makeup box used the last of Emma’s money. She double checked but there was nothing but a couple pennies left. Guess that really was the sign that it was time to end the day then. At least they’d managed to get most of their present shopping done with, and the rest could easily be done back in Storybrooke.

  “Okay, come on, time to call it a day.” Emma said, leading Hope back outside, their bags rustling and bouncing as they walked.

  “Can we grab something to eat before we go?” Hope asked. “Like Chinese takeout or something?”

  “We just had lunch.” Emma snorted, walking without pause or thought.

  “But I’m still hungry.” Hope moaned, stomping her feet slightly in the start of a tantrum.

  “Come on, Hope. I don’t have any money left for food.” Emma sighed. “What if I text your dad so he has something ready as soon as we walk through the door?”

  “Yeah, I guess that’d be okay.” Hope sighed, the paused and glanced over her shoulder. “Uh… Mum… Where are the others?”

  Emma looked around and froze. “Oh shiiii-uger.”

  “Shit.” Hope said for her.

  “Language.” Emma scolded, but didn’t sound angry as she pulled out her phone and tried calling Regina. She held the phone to her ear and waited only for the ringing to cut short. She must have her phone off… Emma tried calling Ella and Alice, but neither answered their phones either. She tried twice more when suddenly her phone began to flash red in the corner, warning her about the low battery. Emma bit back a curse. Maybe she shouldn’t have texted Killian so much throughout the day.

  “Anything?” Hope pressed, putting her bags down at her feet when they grew too heavy to hold.

  “No…” Emma mumbled, sighing and glancing around at the crowds. “My phones gonna die soon.”

  “So what do we do? My feet hurt. I don’t want to have wander around anymore, mum.” Hope complained, wincing and rubbing at the aching along her arms.

  Emma hummed before sending one last text to Regina, Ella and Alice. “I’ll tell the others we headed home ahead of them.” She stopped short of hitting send. “Oh… We can’t. We don’t have a ride. Robin’s got the keys to the mini bus.”

  “Can’t you break into it?” Hope asked, thinking back to the stories she’d always been told of her mother’s life before Storybrooke.

  “Well yeah but then everyone else would be stuck.” Emma groaned, putting her own bags down. They really were getting too heavy to hold.

  And now Hope was getting too tired to keep standing around and began moaning loudly. “Then call a taxi.”

  “Hope, we don’t have any money. And even if we did, we can’t get a normal taxi to drop us off all the way back home.” Emma groaned. “Maybe I can call- Shit!” She said, forgetting about her language rule and swearing aloud as her phone officially died. “And now we can’t even call your dad for a ride.”

  “So what are we going to do?” Hope asked, feeling a rise of panic.

  Emma breathed deeply and reached down, picking her bags back up. “Guess we walk it.”

  “Walk?! The whole way?! It’ll take ages to get back home!” Hope shouted, drawing nearby attention.

  A quick glare from Emma sent them back walking before she turned back to her daughter, trying to keep the frustration from her tone. “Hope. It won’t be that long. And we don’t have any other choice. We don’t have a phone or money, so unless you want to hang around here until closing or walk around in circles looking for the others, we’re just going to have to suck it up and head back on foot.”

  Hope looked appalled at the idea, but when Emma started walking around her and down towards the closest lift, she had no choice but to gather her own bags and rush after her or otherwise be left behind. She was not looking forward to the long walk home, especially with so many bags weighing them down the whole time and while wearing a pair of shoes that looked lovely, but were new and therefore starting to pinch at her heels. But in the end it was as her mother said; they had little choice in the matter.

*C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S*

Meanwhile with Regina and Zelena…

  What had started out as such a good day was quickly becoming a disaster.

  After Ella and Lucy had disappeared on them, Emma and Hope had run off somewhere right after and hadn’t even bothered attempting to come back for whatever reason. When Regina checked her phone to see if either pair had called her, she found she had forgotten to switch it back on after switching it off to stop the constant buzz from Snow with pictures of the ‘boy’s day’ she had accidentally crashed.

  And now Zelena had gone and disappeared on them as well!

  What happened to simple communication?! A quick, ‘I’ll be right back,’ wouldn’t kill anyone!

  Regina paused, trying to take a moment to spot where Zelena had gone off. She had only just disappeared so she had to be close by somewhere, right? Regina had just spoken to her a second ago and without magic she couldn’t get away that fast, right? Neither Robin, nor Alice seemed to have noticed and just as Regina was about to grab their attention to keep from losing the as well, she caught sight of a fluff of red hair off to the side.

  “Zelena!” Regina called, rushing over and grabbing her arm before she could disappear again. “Where the hell did you go?!”

  “I was trying to find Ella and Lucy,” Zelena said, shrugging her off. “But I swear, the place is even more crowded than when we arrived!”

  “Well come on. We need to catch up with Robin and Alice before we lose-” She trailed off when she turned to find the younger girls had already vanished into the rest of the crowds. “-Them…” She finished weakly.

  “Where’d they go?” Zelena asked.

  “I don’t know!” Regina snapped. “I was too busy looking for you!”

  “Hey, don’t blame me. I was trying to help find the others.” Zelena scowled.

  “Well why couldn’t you have told us you were before running off like that?!” Regina demanded.

  “Oh well I’m so sorry for trying!” Zelena snapped.

  “Alright, enough!” Regina waved her hands between them, stopping the argument. “We don’t have time for this. We have to find everyone. Now come on.”

  Letting her sister take the lead, Zelena followed Regina down back into the crowd and along the first floor of the shopping centre. They rushed as best as they could, nudging past the people who got in their way but making sure not to get separated from one another again. It wouldn’t do to find the others if they still lost one another in the process and had to start their searches all over again.

  But despite their best efforts, the two of them were unable to find anyone else and after a couple hours of endless searching, they were finally running out of options and places to check. They tried finding someone to make an announcement over the loud speakers like they saw in movies, but the only woman who had the slightest bit of control of that sort of thing didn’t appear to want to be of any help, claiming that unless a child was involved then there was nothing to be done about it, otherwise everyone would use them as a phone service for lost friends. And she didn’t seem any more inclined to help then after Zelena began throwing insults at her – several involving a number of choice swear words – finally having to be dragged away by Regina, still kicking and screaming like a child.

   “Okay, well now what do we do?!” Zelena snapped, sulking over the way Regina kept her from telling that ugly cow what she really thought of her stupid rules. She wished Emma was still around. She’d like to see another display of her earlier aggression back when they were having lunch. “We could wander around this place all day and not find them in this crowd! For all we know, they could have all gone home already and left us here.”

  “Zelena, you are not helping!” Regina snapped back, stalking slightly ahead in her frustration.

  “Well neither are you! You’re just running around like a headless chicken!”

  Regina came to a sharp stop and started to retort, only to stop herself short, forcing herself to breathe deeply and calm herself down instead. Zelena was right about that much, as much as it pained Regina to admit. She couldn’t help anyone by running around in a huff, or getting more annoyed with the situation, especially as there really was nothing to do about it. They should have planned for this better, but since it was their first real time leaving the United Realms in such a big group for a day trip, none of them had even though twice about the possibilities of getting lost and separated.

  When Regina continued to hover silently for a moment, Zelena stepped up beside her and shrugged. “So what do we do now? Keep looking for them or head home?”

  “I don’t want to just leave them here.” Regina said instantly.

  “Well we can’t help them by staying.” Zelena said. “If we go home, we can give them a call or use a spell to find out where they are.”

  “True…” Regina mumbled, chewing her lip before sighing and nodding. “Okay. Let’s head home. We’ll have to call a ride since Robin has the keys. We can get them to drop off at the gas station closest to the town line then walk the rest of the way.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Zelena nodded, eagerly to be back in her comfort zone. The paused; “How are we going to call for a ride exactly?”

  Regina rolled her eyes. “We have phones, don’t we?”

  Zelena snorted. “I meant, who do we call? I don’t know any cab numbers off by heart and I’m pretty sure it’s been a while since you had to call for one either.”

  “Well then we’ll ask someone.” Regina said, not in the mood for Zelena’s negativity. “I’m sure there will be something in a place like this.”

  “Whatever. Let’s just find out whoever we need to call and head to the closest gas station. It’s the on down Bradfield, so it shouldn’t take too long to get to by car.” Zelena said, following Regina back towards the crowd, searching the people for a friendly face – and secretly hoping they’d accidentally discover the others at the same time.

  “No,” Regina said suddenly. “We head towards Preston Way, down passed the crossroads and to that gas station.”

  “Crossroad? We never passed any crossroad. We went over the bridge and-”

  “What car did you ride in?! There were no bridges on the way here.”

  The two had come to another stop and were glaring at each other. People passed by and shot them curious looks but no one paused to see what happened next and after a moment people stopped staring and began avoiding looking at them altogether, like they were afraid of being caught in the tension that was rapidly building between the two young women.

  “This is going to be a long trip home.” Regina grumbled after a long silence.

  “If we even get home.” Zelena retorted irritably.

*C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S*

Finally, Back With Alice and Robin…

  Robin sighed, sitting back on the bench and glaring at her phone like it was the small silver devices fault that she couldn’t get through to everyone. Shortly after they had begun looking for the others, she had received a text from Ella, checking that she and Alice were okay and letting them know she and Lucy had made it home safe. Ella was trying to contact everyone else as well, but had so far only been able to get through to the two of them. She promised they would keep trying, but they had already sent Henry and Chad out to find Regina and Zelena, so hopefully they'd be able to track them two down before something happened to the now magic-less witches.

  “You okay?” Alice asked, moving to sit beside her, placing their shopping bags at their feet.

  “Yes,” Robin sighed, reaching up and rubbing her head. “Ella and Lucy are home safe, and I trust Emma can take care of herself and Hope just fine. But where the hell did mum and aunt Regina get to? They were right behind us when we were passing the sports shop and then just disappeared! You’d think they would have paid better attention to where they were going of all people.”

  “Maybe they went to look for Emma and Ella? Or got pushed away by the crowds?” Alice suggested.

  “There’s not that big a crowd,” Robin insisted bitterly. She knew the people from Storybrooke weren’t as used to the hustle and bustle that Margot had experienced in her travels, but come on! This was a light gathering at most, yet they all acted so stunned when they walked through the doors that morning. Sighing again, Robin rubbed the last of the headache from her temples and slouched down slightly. “So what do we do? Hang around waiting for them all day?” Robin groaned, finally pocketing her phone.

  Alice glanced around at the crowd still fussing past them in a rush to finish off their own shopping. When they had first gotten here, Alice had been a little nervous at just how intense it was as much as everyone else, and had clung onto Robin’s hand for the first few stops. But gradually she began to relax, finding more courage and browsing the shops without hesitating until she felt just like everyone else. But sitting down, looking up at them all, knowing some of the friends were lost in amongst the crowd, it was suddenly intimidating all over again.

  “Maybe we should head home.” Alice suggested finally.

  “Now?” Robin blinked.

  “Yeah,” Alice said. “I mean I know you’re worried, but we both know everyone can handle themselves and it’s getting late. Plus, we have a better chance figuring out what to do when we’re back home.” She glanced around helplessly. “I’m feeling pretty useless just sitting here waiting for them.”

  Robin thought it over for a moment before nodding. She stood up and clapped her hands together. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m not sitting here all day when they’re all probably back home anyway.”

  Alice smiled and stood, grabbing the bags she had dropped. “It was fun until everyone started disappearing.” She noted as they began walking for the car park.

  “Yeah, did you get everything you wanted?” Robin asked.

  “Pretty much,” Alice said, then cringed. “But I still don’t think the present for papa is right. What I got him is nice enough,” She said, referring to the wallet she had gotten with a pirate anchor on the front cover. “But it isn’t the perfect gift I was hoping for.”

  “Well there’s still time to do some more shopping before Christmas day.” Robin noted.

  “I guess…”

  Robin could tell Alice wasn’t convinced. She was putting far too much pressure on herself to get the most perfect present for her dad. And if she kept it up, she was just going to end up so disappointed.

  “Come on.” Robin said, nudging Alice gently, trying to cheer her up. “I’ll make up some hot chocolate when we get back.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Alice said, forcing a smile and trying to appear like she was more cheerful than she really was.

  It seemed there was nothing else Robin could do for her. At least not while they were out and about like this. Once they got back home, it would be easier to make her forget about her problems but until then, they still had to put up with a long drive, and it was hard enough getting here, what with Alice’s travel sickness.

  They had discovered, while driving to Storybrooke back when they were looking or help against WishRumple, that Alice was very weak to motion sickness. She could last for short journeys, but the longer it took, the more uncomfortable and unhappy she became and if the trip was a really long one then she would be physically sick. And it was made even worse by the fact that Robin had been driving on the way to the centre and therefore unable to comfort her, instead having to leave that to Emma and Ella. And to make matters even worse, now they would be going home with just the two of them so there was no one else to comfort her at all.

  As they approached the mini bus they had rented to get their group here – now no longer really needed since losing half said group – Robin glanced nervously back at Alice, seeing her face paling at just the sight of the vehicle. If nothing else, then at least they knew Robin could take all the back way roads in order to get home. It would take twice as long, but they would avoid all other traffic and they could make as many stops as needed this time round. And even just a brief five minute stop seemed to help Alice’s stomach settle somewhat.

  “You ready?” Robin asked, climbing inside and dumping their bags on all the empty seats available to them.

  “Yeah,” Alice nodded, slouching in her seat beside Robin. She really was ready to just be home.

  “We’ll make it nice as easy as I can.” Robin promised, starting the vehicle and pulling out of the parking space.

*C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S*

  “I’m really sorry.” Alice breathed, leaning heavily against Robin as they wandered through a wooded area into a small cottage like town; searching for a place they could get a drink of water.

  “Stop apologizing.” Robin insisted, giving her a one arm hug. “It’s fine. I like it. We’re making a good day last longer!”

  Alice smiled sadly at her and took a deep breath through her nose, already feeling a little more at ease. She suffered the sickness badly, but it didn’t take very long of being out on her own two feet for the feeling to start passing.

  The town they had wandering into was on one of the most deserted roads home. It was something close to run down, like the kind of place that didn’t appear to get very many visitors passing through it. Robin could tell, not only because it had a lingering old feel to it – what with all the buildings faded colours of grey and brown and a series of crocked fences and overgrown weeded gardens, like they didn’t care to keep up appearances any more – but she and Alice couldn’t help but notice that almost everyone they passed glanced their way. When they all looked up at them, they watched the pair wander by for just enough time to almost be awkward. Only when they were all but on top of them did each person finally give them a slightly suspicious – yet still friendly – smile before turning back to their daily tasks and leaving the girls be.

  It was not the brightest of places but Alice saw it as being very quaint and simple. She almost found the little houses and cobbled stone roads cute, and liked how everything matched so perfectly, even with the smoky smell drifting from the chimneys. The only problem was that everything was so neat and tidy and similar, that it took Alice and Robin a moment before they found somewhere to rest.

  They nearly walked right past the only place in town before realizing that while it looked like someone’s home, it had actually been remodeled so that the first floor was a cozy little café. There was a tied off area to the stairs where the owners no doubt lived, but their living room and dining room had been combined into one with a series of tables chairs and even a sofa by the window, and a counter had been set up in front of the door that led into the kitchen. There were also a series of trinkets spread out across the side for sale, mostly things with the town’s name on and nothing of interest but Alice was oddly fascinated, wandering over and looking at everything while they waited to be served.

  Just as Alice began to finger a square gold and silver keychain, the kitchen door swung open and an older woman appeared holding a bottle of polish in one hand and a yellow rag in the other. She jumped at the sight of them but quickly put on her best smile and rushed to the counter.

  “Oh, hello, ladies!” The woman said immediately, standing straight and beaming at them as she dropped her cleaning rag onto the bench behind her. “What can I do for you?”

  “Can we get some water?” Robin asked politely.

  “Of course!” The woman turned and ducked under the counter, opening a mini fridge and pulling out a plastic bottle.

  “Anything else?” The woman asked brightly.

  Alice accepted the bottle while Robin debated whether or not she should pick up a coke for herself while they were here. But before Alice could take her first sip, she paused as something caught her eyes. It was sitting on a hanger in front of her on the edge of the counter top. She reached out and picked up the object, holding it carefully between her fingers. Most of the counter items were just a series of ugly looking pens, pads, key rings and an endless line of sweets and chocolates that Robin would have happily gorged on if not for the fact that she did a quick double take on the outrageous prices for them.

  But in amongst the rest of the tacky items, there was something that stood out as actually quite nice and unique. It was that, that Alice picked up and she found herself staring down at it in awe.

  “You like that?” Robin asked.

  “It’s perfect.” Alice breathed, looking up at Robin. “This is it. Papa will love it!”

  “That too, please.” Robin nodded.

  “Of course!” The woman smiled, ringing it all up.

  Alice pressed her lips together and looked at Robin, smiling softly. “You ever think some things happen for a reason?”

  Robin was about to snort at the idea, rolling her eyes for emphasis but stopped herself short. She glanced from the item in her hand back up to Alice’s wide eyed expression. And she found herself thinking back to all the events that led to their first meeting, and then all the meetings they had after that – including the one they had when they were cursed.

  Yeah. Maybe Robin did believe all things happened for a reason.

  Later, she just wished she could figure out what the reason was for Zelena and Regina getting lost and drifting five hours further away from home than when they started.

Fun fact, this little "cottage run down town" and the cafe inside someone's home was inspired by somewhere I went on my last holiday. It was cute but it clearly didn't get many visitors and the stuff the cafe was selling was pretty naff but I like the idea of Alice finding her perfect gift there. The gift will be revealed later btw ;)

[devsash]

Unexpected Meetings - Part 5

A collaboration with @thebiganvil​ and @tindomielsilverthorn​

(Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 6 / Part 7)

Back at Memorial Park, Late afternoon

Forosuul watched as his beloved wife walked away from the strange Ren'dorei. He stayed hidden, not wishing to worry her. He'd gone out into Elwynn earlier to find her after his business in Stormwind was complete and had found her talking to this void elf. He'd hung back, observing events, and followed them back to the city. When the void elf had moved on Niquisse, he had nearly intervened, but seeing Tindomiel handle the situation had made him think better of it. Now here she had apparently become instant friends with the man. She is uncannily good at that, he mused. He was still the Patriarch, however, and he had to assess potential threats to his House.

Forosuul came out of hiding, walking up behind the seated Ren'dorei slowly. As he got closer, he unfurled his wings, allowing their tattered shadows to fall over the brooding elf.

Mehe still had a few stalks of peaceblooms in hand when the ominous shadow fell across him. He tensed at once, his sorting forgotten. "What do you want?" he asked in a steady voice.

Forosuul folded his wings back once more, making his way to one side of the Ren'dorei, careful not to get too close. "Normally, you understand, if someone threatened a member of my House, I would just deal with them. However, my wife seems to like you, so you get a chance to explain yourself to me."

Mehe turned his head to regard the demon hunter. "You must be Forosuul then," he said before returning his attention to his herbs. "I have no quarrel with you or yours." He examined the crinkling petals on one of the blossoms carefully before setting it down with a shake of his head.

Furrowing his brow, Forosuul said, "Niquisse is one of mine. May I assume that your quarrel with the girl is ended?"

Mehe shrugged indifferently. "As long as she doesn't hurt my mate, I don't give a damn about her." He examined another flower before carefully placing it in his pouch.

Forosuul emitted a deep rumbling chuckle from his throat, like the sound of distant thunder passing over a grave, and said, "That child wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Hmm." Mehe continued his sorting, pointedly ignoring the demon hunter. "Don't you have Felsworn or some shit to hunt down?"

Forosuul barked out a laugh, letting it ring out over the park. "Gods, no, boy! I am the Patriarch of a Great House.  I have other people do that for me." Saying so, he grinned wide at the void elf.

"Congratulations," Mehe said sardonically, throwing him an unimpressed glance. "Now, will you please stop harassing people who are minding their own damn business?"

Scowling, Forosuul replied, "People minding their own business do not accost fragile young women in broad daylight in a tailoring shop." Turning towards the void elf, he folded his arms over his chest. "The only person acting with any hostile intent today, bandu, is you." He regarded the Ren'dorei evenly for a moment, then added, "Your attitude is unhealthy."

"So says the man trying to intimidate me with the shadow of his damn wings." Mehe held one white flower up, closing an eye as he examined it. "And as a matter of fact, I didn't 'accost' her. Didn't even bloody touch her."

Arching an eyebrow, Forosuul replied, "You might want to look up the meaning of 'accost'.  And yes, I did intimidate you. You earned it. Your belligerence is puzzling. No one has done you ill today, quite the reverse, actually. Is this just stupid pride I am seeing, or are you simply deluded?"

"Someone's doing me an ill today. In fact, he's doing it right now instead of leaving me alone."

"If you think this is 'ill' you need a better perspective."

Mehe let out an exasperated sigh, lowering his flowers. "What the bloody hell do you want from me? I've already said I don't care about your girl and yet you're still here."

"I was under the impression you spoke my language.  I asked for an explanation."

"An explanation about what?"

Looking at the Ren'dorei slightly incredulously, Forosuul let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Gods, you are just....thick, aren't you?" Speaking very slowly with exaggerated care, Forosuul continued, "Explain. Your. Behavior. Towards. The. Girl. You dimwit."

Mehe raised an eyebrow. "Are we calling each other names now, oh most amazing Patriarch? How incredibly mature of you. Still, I don't believe I owe you any sort of explanation, oh wonder of wonders. Now will you leave me alone? Please?"

"I call people by the names they earn. And since you are not grasping the reality of your situation on your own, I will explain it to you as simply as I am able." Gesturing around, Forosuul went on, "Look around. You stand on the edge of a precipice. And in case the symbolism is lost on you, that is both literally and figuratively true. The sole reason your blood remains running through your veins instead of over these cliffs is because my wife seemed to like you. That will, however, only take you so far. If you threaten a member of my House, you gods damn well owe me an explanation of your behavior!" As he spoke his wings had unfurled once more and his voice rose with every sentence. Finally he bellowed, "Now, out with it!"

Tindomiel, having dropped the skins off, made her way back through the park. Her intention was to sit beneath the trees and rest for a while. Niqi and Anas were busy with a customer, she would check back on them later.

As she rounded the corner, she spied them. Her husband and Mehe, the body language of the two men leaving little to the imagination. She bolted over. "Mother Moon, Forosuul! What in the fel are you doing?"

"No need to shout, your Gracefulness. I can hear you just fine." Mehe glanced at Tindomiel, giving her a nod in greeting. "Your husband seems to think I was threatening your girl despite me neither saying a single word nor laying hands on her."

Tindomiel looked to Forosuul, waiting for an answer. Regarding his wife, Forosuul took a deep breath and said, "You were there, Tindo, Niquisse was frightened out of her mind."

"I was. Did you think I failed to notice?" She softened. "My love, if you are here, that means you watched us. Breathe, please. I know why he did what he did."

"Have you really spoken to this little turd? He is an insufferable jackass." Tindomiel sighed at him. "I asked him to explain himself, that's it. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. It's like talking to your father!"

Tindomiel turned to Mehe, concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Is he all right?" Forosuul asked incredulously.

"I believe he's quite fine, your Worshipfulness." Mehe gathered the rest of his flowers and stood. "But he's had enough and he's going to find somewhere more peaceful to work."

Forosuul simply looked at Tindomiel with an expression that said, see?

She gave Forosuul the look of STOP before moving towards Mehe. "Mehe, I am sorry. I hadn't had a chance to speak with him. He is doing exactly as you did, albeit, in his way. Please, forgive us for our behavior."

"You cannot be serious."

She whipped around towards her husband. "Foro, please. Stop. It's all right, really. Will you trust me?"

Gritting his teeth, Forosuul visibly calmed himself and took a deep, relaxing breath. "Very well."

She laid a hand on Forosuul's arm and it began to softly glow. Pale silver and golden energy flowed into him.

Mehe's eyes narrowed at the sight but he refrained from commenting on it. Instead, he stepped back onto the ground, straightening his clothes. "You've nothing to apologise for, Tindo," he said, inclining his head.

"Still, I feel I should,” she offered gently. Forosuul just sneered.

"Hmm." Mehe arched an eyebrow at the demon hunter before shaking his head, still exasperated. "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

"Mehe? Will I still be speaking with you? Will you still allow me to teach you to speak Common?" She asked, her voice hopeful. "I do not wish for my husband's enthusiasm to mar our friendship." Forosuul grunted.

Mehe nodded curtly at Tindomiel. He glanced at Forosuul, noting how easy it had seemed to stir the demon hunter's ire. Forosuul regarded the Ren'dorei flatly. With that, all of Tindomiel’s energy seemed to leave her. He face went blank and she sat down without a word, tears silently rolling down her cheeks.

Sighing, Forosuul lowered himself down to sit next to his wife. He wrapped his scaly arms around her and placed his forehead against her temple, murmuring soothing words to her.

Mehe blinked in surprise. "What's wrong?" Had he upset her again? His tendrils curled as he took a half step closer.

Forosuul raises his hand, palm outward towards his wife's friend, keeping him at bay. "She'll be all right. She just took in too much."

Mehe halted at once, his gaze drawn to the talons on the demon hunter's fingertips. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked, his own taloned finger still folded out of sight into his palm.

Forosuul's hand folded until it a single finger pointed at the void elf. "Stay there, breathe deep, and calm yourself."

Mehe nodded. He glanced away from Tindomiel's infuriating husband towards the sea, allowing himself to gradually slip into the deep focus he usually reserved for the Void with practised ease. The whispers came as they always did when his mind was this quiet, but he ignored them. Like the autumn leaves drifting harmlessly from a tree, they could not hurt him and he remained unaffected.

Forosuul watched him for a moment, arching a long eyebrow at how quickly the Ren'dorei was able to center himself. Without preamble, he asked, "Have you ever studied under the Pandaren?"

"No," Mehe replied simply.

"Hmm.  Impressive nonetheless."

Tindomiel's voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "Foro?"

'Yes, my nightingale. I'm here."

"I'm so tired..."

"I know, my love, I'm so sorry. I should not have let it go so far."

She sank into him, closing her eyes.

"You should get her someplace she can rest." Mehe glanced towards him.

Gathering his wife up in his arms, Forosuul stood. Casting a baleful final glance at the Ren'dorei, he turned and walked away.

Mehe watched them silently before pocketing his herbs and retracing his steps towards the Mage Quarter.

[runawaykanine-blog]

Heheeey guys it's ya boi...

I know I'm super inactive on Tumblr but, that's hopefully gonna change!

I've made a pretty big decision (for me, anyway) due to a recent event and I only hope I can stay true to my word and keep up with what I have planned. Keep in mind I have a VERY busy schedule and very poor mental health at the moment so if I do end up slipping from activity here, please feel free to hop into my inbox and remind me to come back/continue!

Okay, now for some explanations ~ (may be a bit negative, apologies for that)

So for the past...I'm gonna say two weeks? I have been in a completely HORRIBLE state of mind. I've been suffering with this deep sense of loneliness, depression and anxiety that I just cannot find a source for. Recent attempts to get in contact with my psychiatrist have proven fruitless for unknown reasons, which has only worsened my condition.

I have also had a bit of a flu and, most recently, my cycle has started, and all of this kind of put me in a very unstable, dangerously low mood. Overall, not a very good situation at all, and on top of school, college and social interaction, I have been suffering through what I can only describe as hell incarnate.

I had been taking some time off school last week due to this, which, honestly, didn't really help.

Two days ago, I decided to go back for a day so I wouldn't miss my part-time college course, which is important if I want to go to the university I want.

All in all, it was an absolutely shit day. I will not go into detail. But it made my mood about ten times worse and even more unstable. I was a mess, I was crying, I wanted to go home, yadda yadda.

To try and calm myself down I decided to talk to some friends on Discord, but once I'd opened the app I saw that some old drama concerning an old muse of mine has resurfaced, and I snapped. I lashed out at someone I care about, for no rational reason, and that hurt them, understandably so. I only realised what I had said and how aggressively I had said it after I had calmed down, and I attempted to apologise but it was too late. The damage was done.

This only worsened my mood as I had lost somebody I care very deeply about due to my own stupidity and instability, and there was no excuse for how I acted. I sought advice from some other friends of mine, and we agreed that maybe I should take a break from the RP community for a while until I feel better, to avoid these situations happening again and for the good of me and my RP partners.

But, after thinking longer about my decision, I've changed it slightly, and hopefully for the better. Roleplay is one of the few things in life that I still find joy in and I realised that if I forced myself to quit, I would become even more miserable, lonely and depressed, with even less to do. Giving up roleplay may not sound like much to someone else, but for me, it's a very big deal. It's one of the very few fun, leisurely activities I actually have time for anymore and one of the main ways I keep in contact with my friends. So I became very paranoid and scared by the idea of quitting, even for a few months.

So, instead of quitting altogether,

I've decided to put one of my muses to rest for a while. The one that the drama had centered around. He has...caused me a lot of mental problems for a long time due to his past with other muses, which is why I got so upset and snapped in the first place. I have gotten very attached and I think TOO attached to the muse in question, to the point where I become defensive, abusive and downright horrible when anything negative is said about him. I fully realise this and the guilt and regret I feel about my actions are undeniable. I have hurt people and I realise this, and I cannot stand myself because of it.

So. I think that if I focus more on other muses instead of him, I will be able to distance myself from him. Which is why I have decided that, instead of removing myself entirely from this community, I will be focusing solely on my muse for Roden and keeping up with activity on his blog, instead of restricting myself to Discord where it is all too easy to just switch to another muse at a moments notice. I also have no discernable traumas or emotional problems attached to Roden, so I think only roleplaying him will be good for me and my mood.

For the good of myself and, hopefully, for those around me, I hope my decision is the right one and I thank you all endlessly for your support and can only offer my deepest apologies for how I've been acting. There is no excuse for my hostility and I hope that from now on I will have more self control and power over my own emotions, as I will be making an effort to train myself to do so.

Thank you all, everyone who is reading, and please have a lovely night. Tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully it will bring new experiences my way.