#{{ i made her even able to feed on both humans and vampires equally due to sheer rage and cynicism. misanthropy. etc.

[acoldsovereign]

{{ Seeing Chaos' Siren Fu makes me want to try again with vamp!Maiz's design (and add back a lot of the original ideas I had for her verse 😭)

. . . I'm gonna end up drawing a brown vampire lady aren't I?

[skylights422]

Ok, so having binge-read Vanitas no Carte late in the evening/night when I was tired, I have decided I need to write about it before I can focus on any of my other hobby-related duties. If I forget/misremember any details, feel free to let me know!

Let’s go through the Big Stuff one at a time, shall we?

1. Noe, his oath to Ruthven, weird crap with his teacher

Noe is a very good-natured, honest fellow, but also pretty naive. He doesn’t seem to realize fully how bad/scary/etc his teacher is, fondly writing letters to him while everyone else who knows him - including his own grandchild, Louis - hate and/or fear him.

Not a lot has been revealed about Teacher other than he is called the Shapeless One and is enemies with Ruthven, which is a point I find interesting because of how suspicious and manipulative Ruthven is. Is that part of why Teacher hates Ruthven? Is it a moral conflict, a political one, a personal one? I’m hesitant to say its a moral one because honestly they are both incredibly shady and manipulative, cold people from little we’ve seen of them. So then its probably personal and/or political, the nature of which would be far easier to guess if we knew either of their motives more clearly. But I suspect their conflict will eventually become, in someway, central to the plot, and that it might possibly have something to do with the curse/oath put on Noe? I can’t see Teacher being thrilled that the man he hates has control over his pawn. (as he would see it)

And speaking of the oath, why does Ruthven want Noe in a position to obey his command, but only once? Is it a precautionary measure because he knows something about Noe’s position/powers, or does he have a specific event he’s planning on using that command on? This whole time I’ve been thinking the command is going to involve Vanitas some way, and it still very well could, but what if it involves Teacher in some way instead? Will it be used in conjunction with whatever power Ruthven has over Jeanne?

And another thing on Noe, I don’t think he’s come to terms with what happened to Louis as much as he acts, and I definitely think  that even is gong to come back to haunt/cause trouble for him in some bizarre, horrific way. The stakes as a gift were made too significant to not show up again at least symbolically, but also perhaps literally, and I think there’s probably a lot we don’t know about Louis, Teacher, and the exact plans the latter had for the former. Like sure he was studying him because he was a curse-bearer, but was that it? What info did he hope to acquire? What was his conclusion at the end of said experiment? Whatever it was, I think its eventually going to become a Big Deal.

2. Vanitas, his character arc, his deal with Vamp!Vanitas and the blond kid, etc.

We recently got a pretty great Vanitas-Backstory-Centric arc and I have a lot of thoughts/feelings on the matter. Learning about Vanitas’s past somewhat and watching him confront some of it was absolutely fascinating and of course gut-wrenching, but as usual, it left me with a million questions.

First, I’m wondering about the blond boy, ‘no. 71′, who I usually just call Blond Boy or Creepy Kid. For this post lets say BB for short. We know he was a brother to Vanitas, but did they get along? BB seemed fond of Vamp!Vanitas, while we know Vanitas deeply hates her, so there must have been some conflict over that, right? What happened to him vs what does Vanitas think happened to him? Whenever Vanitas thinks of him, he’s accusatory and upset, was that actually how he acted or is that just Vanitas’s guilty conscious talking? I’m inclined to say its a little bit of both, because while I think Vanitas could have been fond of BB, and BB may have at least seemingly ‘died for him’. I can’t see them having had a perfect, conflict free relationship either.

And what was the promise Vanitas made to him? Was it to protect him since they were both in horrible situations, but he failed? Was it to free him? Kill him? Why couldn’t Vanitas keep the promise? It could have been because of what happened to BB, or  because of some interference from Vamp!Vanitas, or because Vanitas couldn’t do it due to some personal failing (too scared, too indecisive, etc.). Each of these options have different, but equally interesting repercussions on Vanitas’s character arc. For example, if it was because BB died for him or was otherwise killed/removed/lost before the promise could be kept, it would emphasize Vanitas’s hate of being/feeling powerless and not in control, while if it was because of Vamp!Vanitas then it would be part of why he hates her so much now. And if it was due to his own failings, it would feed a hatred/fear of failing or not being able to decide, as well as increasing his self-loathing possibly even more than the first two options would.

And then I have like a hundred questions about Vamp!Vanitas. Why did she take in BB and Vanitas? Was there something inherently interesting about them to her? Did she want to free them, or was there an ulterior motive? How did she treat them and how long were they with her? I feel like she must have been cruel and/or manipulative, at least towards Vanitas, for him to hate her so much, but that says nothing about how she treated BB. Also did she actually go around killing red moon vampires at all? Is she really responsible for the curse-bearers or is it a coincidence that her book can cure them? Is she dead or alive? I’ve been assuming dead, since Vanitas took her book and name, but if she’s still kicking and comes back, what would that mean for Vanitas?

And of course I could go on and on about Vanitas’s reaction to everything in the last few chapters, but I’ll save most of that for chapter-reviews and character-specific posts. But basically, the fact that he hates Vamp!Vanitas even more than Morreau, and that it was BB that made him completely freeze up more than seeing his previous abuser in person again, says a ton about how bad things got under Vamp!Vanitas’s care, since that’s when whatever went down with BB went down, and i am worried about my trashy noodle for when he has to face BB directly. (I’ve also been wondering how he’s gong to react to that, will he freeze again? Revert to how he used to talk to him? Something else?)

3. Jeanne

Jeanne is one of the main protagonists I might have the most questions about, especially with the 2-Jeanne’s theory floating about. For starters, I really want to know how she came to be working for Ruthven. Is her service entirely part of the oath? Or was she working for him before that? What exactly was she forced to swear to, and how much does she remember about making the oath? When did she become so attached to Luca?

Of course I’m wondering what the end goal is with her with Vanitas on her side of things as well; for Vanitas the point is more obvious, this shows his misogyny and manipulation and allows for discussion on his perception of ‘love’. But what about for Jeanne? She’s being harassed by some wack human who she has promised to only drink blood from, making her dependent on her harasser. I’d say later it has developed into a way for her to explore feelings of attraction (towards his blood and on their date his faux kindness) as well, but I’m not sure what the conclusion to that might be. I also think it could be compared to how she’s also under Ruthven’s control, possibly leading to an arc about her freeing herself from her oath and from Vanitas? Ironically making her a parallel or possible foil for Vanitas who also has themes of imprisonment/freedom/individuality in his character arc? I think that could be a pretty interesting route to go.

And then there’s the ‘second Jeanne’ theory. We know Jeanne is extremely skilled in combat, offhand I can’t remember if she fought in the war or not, but she has the reputation as the ‘hellfire witch’, which I really want to learn more about. And if the Original Jeanne and Current Jeanne are different people, are their personalities significantly different? And with Jeanne showing up in the ‘past’, which version of Jeanne is Vanitas being saved by? I don’t offhand have any theories about this, but I find the idea has potential and leads to a lot of interesting questions.

Also I really love her interactions with Dominique so far and hope that develops into something or another, or is part of her growing independence/her future grab for free will.

4. The Chasseurs

Between Roland, Olivier, and Astolfo alone, there is quite a bit going on with the Chasseurs. For starters, Roland is a character that interests me a LOT. He’s not your normal ‘indoctrinated cult member who’s beliefs are unwavering to the point of seeming one-dimensional’ character; he changes his beliefs based on evidence, but is a firm believer in himself as a holy messenger. So its not so much the specifics of any one religion he’s attached to, its the idea that he’s doing holy work. But what I’m wondering is what does he want to do with that position? What is he trying to achieve? He’s researching vampires now to get more information, but what does he plan to do once he’s finished? Will he actually fight the other captains and abandon the church, or will he continue to blend in with the others while secretly pursuing his own agenda? I’m looking forward to finding out what his end goal is, because I find him a very interesting (and very intimidating) character.

And then there’s Olivier. I really wonder what his position is, why he became a captain. He was shocked but not angry when Roland said he was questioning that vampires were evil. He mainly seemed concerned with Roland’s well being, making me also wonder what their relationship is like. I’m not sure what to make of him yet, but I’m very intrigued.

Finally, Alstolfo. Is he the only higher up killing humans? Does he have his own agenda? Or is this a secret plot involving the Chasseurs as an organization? I’m not sure which I’d prefer; if it is the organization then I wonder why Roland, who is also a captain, seems aware of it. And if it is just Alstolfo...then I have a dozen questions as to why he’d join an institution all about protecting humans if he wanted to kill them. Perhpas this is a new goal, or there are only specific humans/kinds of humans he wants to kill? There’s been too little of him so far to have any concrete guesses, but I’m looking forward to finding out more.

Final Comments:

I would like to just throw in here how much I love Noe as a character. He’s sweet and naive, but not stupid or slow-witted; he’s a good fighter and quite good at analyzing a situation when he puts his mind to it. And I love his enthusiasm for everything, and how he’s so blunt about speaking his mind/opinions. So often the Naive Character is timid/shy, and seems much younger than they are in a bad way, but not Noe. Noe is just awesome and optimistic and a bit oblivious from leading such a sheltered life until recently.

Also, I didn’t get around to discussing Dominique much in this, but I really really like her and want to see how she comes into the plot more, and learn more about her relationship with Veronica and Teacher.

[ryland-rambles]

Continuation from Earlier - Knock It Off Fairy

This is from an earlier post. Don’t worry because it ends abruptly, I just ran out of steam, but I plan to continue it linear tomorrow, with some bits of backstory sometimes tossed in. I have no idea where its going, which I know Im supposed to have a plot but really Im having fun just writing. Considering I haven’t written consistantly in years, I’m just gonna have fun actually writing in general instead of stressing about a plot. 

Before Lief could protest, Jonah came striding up to her, that dimpled smile catching her attention more. He wasn't her mate, no, but he was gentle and kind and the exact opposite of his brother. The second born, he wasn't the heir to the company and was expected to make his own way by building up his business. The man was smart as a tack and Lyddie well.. she could see a future with him. He had the money, drive, and determination to build his fledgling startup company into a powerhouse and she was certain he would make a very good CEO. 

They had been dating for a little over six months now, another check mark in the very same reason why she hadn't wanted to return home. Her wolf whined at the thought of home, and Lyddie firmly squashed the thought. Her brother's mate had made it abundantly clear she wasn't welcome there any longer. 

And well, her brother was away dealing with pack alliances and other such business so he hadn't been there to protect her. Not that she was really certain he would, he'd been different every since Dad had died. Mom had passed away unexpectedly, and the doctors had later said it was an undiagnosed illness, similar to the Human's version of cancer. As her parents were pair-bonded, her father had passed away within the twenty-four hour mark as usual.

 Bryce had taken up the mantle of Alpha well enough, but he'd been different and distant instead of her usual caring brother. He had mated with the next pack over's female to in order to secure a proper alliance with the other pack. The woman was a witch though, and poor Bryce took every opportunity to be away and deal with proper pack business instead of dealing with his new wife. 

Unfortunately, that left Lyddie alone with the witch in the sprawling house, as most of the pack members who also lived in the house had decided to move out.. mostly because the woman was impossible to live with. When the woman had moved in her sleezy friend, seriously the man gave her the creeps, Lyddie had decided to simply leave. 

She hadn't left the pack, not officially, but she had left the packlands, way back in Montana. Somehow she had ended up here, on the other side of the States, in a bustling city in the middle of New York of all places. There was also a wolf pack nearby, but Lyddie had laid low, not wanting to seek them out. 

She knew she was technically disrespecting the pack, not seeking out the Alpha's permission to be upon his territory. But well, this city she was in was absolutely bursting with people, and surely they would never notice her. So far, they hadn't, in the year she had been away. And well, either her brother hadn't noticed or cared she was gone. 

Maybe that was why, when later that night, after she had bid Lief goodbye, and was driven back to the little apartment they shared, and had a lovely little dinner, when the Human had knelt beside her, opening a box, a little diamond ring shown inside, she had cried and said yes. 

If only she had known what she knew now, that he had been disowned. Maybe if she had known that she would end up working two, sometimes three jobs while Jonah struggled to get the company off the ground, maybe she would have said no. And there was no maybe about it.. she would have said no, if she had known she would be standing in front of their gorgeous house, when his company had finally taken off nearly eight years after starting, and was a booming business, staring at signed divorce papers that his lawyer had personally handed to her. 

Ten years down the drain, ten long miserable years of scrimping, saving, and doing absolutely everything to help the man she loved. Lyddie had held her composure until the lawyer had left, and then called up her best friend, though wasn't able to really speak due to the mix of tears and struggling to control her wolf's howls of agony. Why did their mate want to leave them? Her wolf snarled and paced in circles and begged her to seek him out. 

Lyddie reminded herself fiercely that he wasn't her mate, that he had just been a man that she had fallen completely in love with, and had wanted to make a future with. And so, when Lief pushed open the door, holding ice cream, a sack full of the really expensive steaks, wine, and enough wolfsbane to knock an elephant out, Lyddie had been reminded just why she loved the little fairy.

 He was a brat most days, but he was a genuinely good friend, him and Naim, who he had apparently recruited to help carry the wine. Naim and her weren't close, his attitude and coldness kind of intimated her. She hadn't even known he actually liked her until he wrapped her up in his absolutely massive arms, hugging her tight enough that if she wasn't Carlyn, she'd probably struggle for breath. 

Letting her go, he ruffled her hair gently and said, in that impossibly deep voice of his, "You'll find your mate. He wasn't the right one." And that, somehow, made Lyddie feel better. 

Three hours later, all three of them were terribly drunk. Lyddie wasn't a lightweight, being just under six feet, rather short of a Carlyn, or werewolf as humans called her species, solidly built with dark auburn tendrils, dark chocolate eyes, and rich mocha skin the color of "milk-drenched coffee", as Jonah had always called her. 

The thought of him threatened to sober her up, and she turned her attention back to finishing the bottle in her hand, and studied Lief, who was cheerfully slurring and talking about Christofer. The little fairy was absolutely beautiful, in the way only the ethereal creatures could be. From the white-blonde curls that bounced around his delicate little features, big blue eyes, and skin so pale you could see the blue veins, an equally delicately built body that depending on his mood was either male or female - Lief had unfortunately been born a dual-shifter. 

Though, Lyddie liked his wings best, shimmery fluttery things that were mostly translucent. He had dressed in a simple pair of jeans and tee shirt, same as the other two, and had ditched his boots by the door the same as the others, although Lief had ditched his socks as well, leaving the fact his pretty toes were painted a rather vivid shade of red. 

Christofer was Lief's love, had been in love with the man since the first time he'd tried to pickpocket him nearly six years ago. Unfortunately, the Leirth, or vampire as known by humans, was completely oblivious to the boy's attention and regard. 

Naim thought it was absolutely hilarious, that Lief had ended up working for the man, who had offered the fairy a job. Lyddie just thought it was sad that he both couldn't tell the man he loved that he was both A) the prince of the faeries who had run away from home and had been dragged back a week after Lyddie had been proposed to, and only allowed to leave the Fae homeland if he promised to stay in constant touch. And B) that he was desperately in love with the stoic, serious man who ran a multimillion dollar business. 

Lyddie wasn't sure what he did, something to do with Synthwyne - fake blood for the Leirth who didn't like feeding on live people. 

[princecharmingtobe]

Worldbuilding: Science and Cultural thoughts for D&D/Pathfinder worlds

My friend made this huuuge facebook thread just dumping all their thoughts about how worlds like this might work, and when I said she should share it on tumblr she gave me permission to do it for her. 

Note: Do not try to argue with me about this stuff because I don’t know shit about shit, I’m just copy/pasting.

So giant spiders shouldn't be able to climb on walls or ceilings? That feature only works because small spiders weigh so little. But what if giant spiders constantly used their web for wall and ceiling climbs, like their legs would occasionally touch their buts to reweb them to make them sticky. So spiders with web boots. But also spiders who are super clean because dust makes walls impossible to stick to so they are always cleaning, and a good tell that there are giant spiders in any given cave or dungeon is that it has no dust or grime anywhere?

Also let's talk about ecosystems. Specifically Giant turtle ecosystems. So there's turtles, then the largest natural animal turtles, but then DnD has GIANT turtles, and then dragon turtles, and then Turtle Islands. So what in a Turtle Island (island on the back of it's turtle) Was a natural predator against Leviathans and other giant sea monsters (as it's just about the biggest thing in the ocean) And because of that Dragon turtles would live near it (cause turtles in DnD might not eat other turtles.) And the dragon turtles would eat the sharks and killer whales, which would make the rest of the island safer from normal turtles. So the party could come to this island just INFESTED with turtles, and it would make a fun campaign setting.

Fun fact. In any world where dragons exist, the planet would have to be closer to a larger sun, and have a stronger magnetic field, and far less greenhouse gasses. Proof: For dragons of size to exist in any reasonable population, they would need to eat by the ton. We're talking (conservatively) a rhinoceros worth of food per day. But it could be elephants, Giraffes, etc. So for a population of dragons of size to exist, you would need a LOT more graze animals. Which means you'd need a LOT more grass, possibly grass that grows 5x faster than normal grass. To do that, the grass would need more solar energy. Which would mean a bigger/closer sun, but then the world would be too hot to sustain water, unless it had a stronger magetic field and less greenhouse gasses. So for future reference DM's. The sun is HUGE in the sky. Note a large sun would mean longer days (slightly) and therefore shorter nights (slightly) It would also mean Aurora Borealis and Aurora Southernalis would extend to pretty much everywhere but the equator. So pretty night skys for your DnD worlds.

Elves would have the best Alzheimer's medicine and the most cures for cancer and autoimmune disorders. Elves live a really long time, and the longer one lives the greater one's chances of developing these diseases.

The bronze age of most civilizations would never truly end. In any world where oozes and rust monsters exist, stone and bronze weapons would be seen as a stylistic choice especially for different job types.

In desert civilizations, it is entirely likely that the barter system would rely on clever poetry. In any history where a sphinx is even a possibility, entire civilizations would essentially create riddle and poetry games to teach the younger generations how to survive such creatures. This would eventually effect the barter system, and charisma roles would be based equally upon intelligence and one's ability to discern the riddles given in everyday speech.

It would likely be a major festival event, or an event at children's birthday parties, to set treasure chests on fire. And would be considered a sign of good luck if no one got hurt while the chest was burning. This would start as a habit for combating mimics, but eventually likely develop into cultural rituals that would encompass more people than could ever remotely run into mimics. (I argued against setting them on fire and suggested an archery contest to shoot them instead. Don’t wanna burn up my loot!)

So we all know in real life some holidays start as some pretty dark rituals. It's entirely possible where some cities or cultures that don't have a lot of mages have holidays where they throw copper pieces at one another, especially at people they like. (In a playful way). This is because in cultures that ever had an inquisition in their history would likely have used the throwing money at mages to reveal things like shield spells and stoneskin spells. "revealing a mage trying to hide among people, as most of the best defensive mage spells have some reaction to missile attacks. Even weak ones like throwing copper pieces at it. It would also likely create sayings SUCH AS: "Not every problem is a Mage, you can't just throw money at it to make it go away."

It's entirely probable that it would be considered good luck to pour out honey or jam from a jar when you purchase it or get it as a gift. Historically, in any world where oozes live, it's not only likely, but probable that some king or noble was assassinated by some member of their royal court putting a small glop of an ooze or slime into a glass jar and giving it as a gift. Then the person being assassinated would get eaten from the inside out by said ooze or slime.

It's likely that many cultures would prohibit any "halloween" esque holidays where humans dress up in costume. As it would be too easy for actual monsters to do harm to its citizens under the guise of pretending to wear a costume.

It would likely be good form to pay for any kind of wild game in silver, instead of gold (if it's worth enough to cost that.) This would start as a means of checking for lycanthropes, from both parties (even if silver itself doesn't actually hurt lycanthropes unless it's weaponized.) As in most cultures, no one would want to feed a lycanthrope or give them money to keep living in civilization.

In upscale parties, especially ones hosted by royalty. It is likely that a small blood tithe would be paid by everyone in attendance. This would be an act that would drive younger vampires mad with bloodthirst, and help protect high societies (who are the ones most typically plagued with vampires) from undead infiltration. Also some versions of vampires don't bleed.

Being given a healthy Redwood seed from an elf would be a tremendous gift and a sign of friendship. Redwood and other giant trees would also be more common in any worlds that include elves. As these are the trees most capable to be lived in and on, due to size and strength. And being given a cultivated and healthy redwood seed from an elf would be similar to being given a dowry or the preparation for a house in ones future. Though the value of this gift is technically lost on humans as they don't live long enough to see such a tree grow, to a young elf it would be the equivalency of being given a home for ones future in that country/tribe/nation. And even humans who receive such gifts could use it in tasteful jewelry to prove oneself as elf-friend.

In a world with dragons, scavenger birds would be seen as symbols of peace. Dragons would operate much like large dinosaurs did in our history. And it was common for the predatory dinosaurs to allow scavenger birds to pick food clean from their teeth. This served to feed the bird and protect the dinosaur (or dragon in this case) from disease. So flags with scavenger birds on them would be signs of a nation, army, or individual, coming in peace for mutual benefit. (My addition:  Conversely they may just become associated with dragons themselves and invoke the fear of dragons. A large number of them may mean a dragon is near, and they may even come to be considered bad luck. Also a thought: Certain dragons may not have need of them. A red/gold dragon could potentially burn away any un-ingested food bits, or a black/copper dragon's acid breath might get rid of it?) But that can burn precious fire, which only confident dragons would do regularly. (point)

In a world with dragons, roving caravans would not be made of wood. They would quickly learn to use other materials. Furthermore, mirror shields would be a common defense against dragons, especially in sunny regions as an attempt to blind an attacking dragon while one searched for cover would be most people's only defense (besides not being noticed in the first place.) 

  Whispering someone you know's full name in their ear as a greeting would be very common in a majority of civilizations. This safeguards from all sorts of illusions and shapeshifters. Say "hi" hug or shake hands very closely and whisper their name, to prove you are who you look like and know them the way you do. Anyone who fails to do this would be held in high suspicion. And giving away someone's full name without their consent would be seen as an insulting act of the highest order.

Large ships would likely be painted in special waterproof paint in shades of blue. This would be combative against large ship attacking sea monsters.

Police forces in cities would have dogs specially trained to hunt the smells of things like goblins,hobgoblins, and kobolds. (though for kobolds it would depend on if the local government allowed them to live there or not, some do)   

When traveling in large forests. It is customary to paint large sets of eyes on ones armor clothing and shields. Not only do some snakes spit venom at eyes, but large eyes can scare of predators with only animal level intelligence.

As elves do not often have young. The murder of an elf (even relatively unimportant elves) can bring entire nations to war, and if not, it at minimum can incur feuds that outlast entire human bloodlines as brother/sisters and parents of said elf hunt you and your descendants down.

[bffhreprise]

Entry 248

 The strange melody emanating from the other room was beautiful and probably ancient.  Ariadne had stopped drinking over a minute ago, and was now dancing to her own melody.  She was very fast and equally graceful.  I found her altogether terrifying.  There was no known way to combat her magic if she were to become homicidal, and being Aaliyah’s aunt crushed the faint hope of striking first.  Who would emerge from that door:  the kind healer or the butcher of an army?

 The door slammed open and what shot out of the room was neither healer nor butcher.  The ancientness seemed to have been left behind as this two-thousand-year-old woman giggled, dancing rapidly across the ground.  As she danced, decorations started to cover the wall beyond her as if the house itself was attempting to partake in her joy.  How could someone who could do this be stopped?

 “Boss-man, sir, you should probably get them to the forest.” commented Aaliyah with a smile as she watched her aunt dance.

 “But the sun…” I reminded her.

 “Is setting and won’t even bother her slightly at the moment.  Better hurry.”she insisted.

 James seemed to notice the decorations at last.  He darted to the fairy, staring at her for a fraction of a second before grabbing Ariadne’s hand.  The moment the fairy flew into his pocket, James seemed to tug against Ariadne to no avail as she danced around him.  I moved to help, grabbing Ariadne’s other hand.  We needed to hurry before the house was transformed instead of decorated.  I banished my protections, imagined us heading to the forest together, and projected the image.

 She finally moved.  Despite our speed, a very obvious trail was left in our wake, filled with balloons, streamers, confetti, and other decorations fit for a history museum in their antiquated style.  Knowing the ease with which Ariadne could transform and mend flesh, I could imagine how easily destroying someone would be for her.  The possibilities for aiding and ending life were merely bound by her imagination, an imagination with the past two thousand years of experience to draw upon.  What could my family do if she ever moved against us?

 The moment we stepped into the forest, the fey responded to Ariadne’s presence.  I felt their recognition in the hundreds of images coming to us.  Raine had joined us, smiling and dancing, though keeping an obvious distance from Ariadne.  The forest around us became adorned with decorations not seen in millennia, finely crafted in a way that made them seem grown into being.  Emma could probably make a business out of selling these if she chose to learn the patterns.

 Joining Ariadne’s radiance was a dust-like coating that came to rest across the forest, creating pinpricks of light all around us.  Prisms appeared, casting rainbows in every direction.  Odder yet, my head felt fuzzy, but I felt jubilant.  Some part of me knew that I was being affected by Ariadne’s magic, but I wanted to dance and celebrate with the others.  The fey were here, and my other friends were coming.

 Long wooden tables appeared around us, fully decorated and laden with a tremendous variety of foods.  The fey weren’t even startled, simply grabbing up food while continuing their dance.  They shared with us thoughts of other parties, wild and beautiful.  I stopped resisting my urges and grabbed James for a dance.

,,,^._.^,,,

 “Raine, beat them there.  One of us should witness this.” suggested Aaliyah with a smile.

 I stopped hesitating and dashed after the trio, leaving the others behind.  I followed the trail, carefully examining both the familiar and unusual decorations.  Fighting the icky feeling Ariadne’s magic gave me was a profound happiness, like being dipped into a vat of joy and letting it suffuse me.

 When I arrived in the forest, I felt all of the minds reaching out and let their happiness add to my own.  These beings weren’t bothered by a monster crossing into their realm, they only cared about this moment in which a party was being held.  There was no past or future concerns as they wanted to make the most of the present.  To them, Ariadne was a missing part of their community finally reunited.

 I was slowly dancing in time with the music as I wandered through the mindscapes of place these fey had seen.  The pace of their thoughts elated me.  With hundreds of minds sending images, feelings, and desires to me, things were slightly less slow-pace than normal.  I had time to treasure each one individually before focusing on others.  For the first time, a forest was added to my mental fortress, a place to remember this moment with these wonderful creatures.

 Food appeared sometime later, and I swore to try each and every type as the aromas caught up to my sight.  Some of the fruity drinks were fermented while others seemed to be the most perfect examples of freshly squeezed juice.  There were also several types of milk.  At least, I was fairly certain those were each milk.  I didn’t know the scents well enough to know what the differences were.

 Surprisingly, the animals weren’t running.  I could smell them nearby and occasionally caught sight of them prancing along.  Were they as captivated by this as me?

 Long after the others joined us, I found myself questioning whether or not a monster such as myself had any right to be this happy.  Not one person here seemed to hold my presence against me, despite knowing what I am.  I knew the fey could sense my nature, I felt their knowledge in the thoughts they shared, but they only cared about the joy they felt dancing with me.  Was this really okay?

,,,^._.^,,,

 When I first saw Ariadne, I was excited.  Meeting an elder vampire was a treat that surpassed Papa’s tales of them.  I wasn’t prepared for her magic.  She was literally a radiant being when she chose, and the light burned as keenly as sunlight, making me grateful as ever for Portentia’s presence.

 I felt slightly guilty at making Portentia wait a minute for me to feed, but she didn’t seem to care.  The girl continuously surprised me with her clear raison d’être and nonchalant pride in her role as a hero.  If there were others with power like hers, I doubted they’d be half as humble.

 After thanking Portentia, I lagged behind long enough to touch some of the new decorations, surprised that they weren’t an illusion even as I smelled the natural scents of some.  Power such as this was absurdly useful.

 While I considered the childish uses I’d have for such a gift, I followed the long trail of decorations.  One step was the difference between the real world and a crazy forest of music, light, and gaiety.  Catching scents on the wind, I added a banquet to the list.  I couldn’t begin to comprehend the magic around me.  The barrier around this forest was immense, and the amount of residual energy around me made the outside world seem like a desert compared with this verdant forest.

 In under a minute, I was swept away into the party, high on the merriment even more so than my modest consumption of Portentia’s blood.  The foods were incredible, the drinks were divine, and the company was intense.

 Over the course of a seemingly endless dance, I was kissed by Emma, laughed with Brandon, and danced with… well, everyone!  Seeing Alma act so carefree was bewildering, like meeting a talking dog, thought here might be one of those too in this forest.  Some of the creatures were incredibly similar to humans.  Others seemed all the stranger due to their similarities.  Then there were ones who occasionally resembled a human before becoming something else entirely.  Even as they transformed, the fey danced with complete ease.  Were parties like this once common when the fey roamed the lands?

 Catching a fey’s thoughts about pranking another of its kind, I laughed.  Before I could respond, James appeared with Alma.

 “The sun’s rising.” he warned.

 I sighed and asked “Already?”  Only as I looked around did I realize I had absolutely no clue where I was in relation to the house.  “Which way is the house?  I seem to be a little lost.”

 “That way.” stated Alma as she pointed.  She was still smiling from the night’s merriment and seemed far closer to my age than normal.

 “We need to make sure Ariadne’s aware, or we’d show you.” added James apologetically.

 I doubted Ariadne needed help after what I saw tonight, but I didn’t argue.  Someone was running toward me.

 “I’ll see that she gets there, master.” stated Mila after arriving.  “I don’t believe the fey wish any of us to go.”

 James laughed and said, “Probably not.”  Then he took off with Alma in a blur of motion.

 “Shall we?” asked Mila, gesturing in the same direction Alma had pointed.

 “Yes.  Thank you.” I told her with a smile.  I was very, very thankful to have Mila back with us.

,,,^._.^,,,

 “Sorry to bother you, but did you realize the sun is rising?” questioned James after he arrived with Alma.

 I nodded and said, “Of course, child, I was born far before alarm clocks.  Shouldn’t you make sure the young one… Cosette, was it?  Shouldn’t you make sure she’s indoors?”

 “She is already on her way.  We simply didn’t want anything to happen to you.” insisted Alma.

 I feigned surprise as I looked the two over.  Then I said, “My, my… you seem a bit more lively than last time I met you.  Did you and James have a bit of fun out in the woods?”  With a wink and a smirk, I enjoyed seeing Alma turn bright red.

 “No, we most certainly did not do anything indecent.” she insisted.

 I knew, of course.  I would’ve been able to tell her if she’d be pregnant had they, even ensuring it if she wished to be.  Even after this party the likes of which hadn’t been seen for an age, she underestimated me.

 I sighed and said, “Live a few lifetimes, and you’ll see what is considered decent change over and over.  Aaliyah, make sure everyone gets inside before anything indecent happens.”

 My niece grinned as she told me “Of course, Auntie!”

 With those words, all was well.  The entire world wasn’t a match for my niece’s whims, and her given word was as absolute as her existence.

 I dashed to the house, catching sight of the first rays of dawn, and I smiled.  Seeing my friends again was such a treat that I could die happy on this spot, though I knew I’d be missed.  I hurried inside, already wanting to tell Vito and his brothers of this discovery.  Why hadn’t my niece told me sooner?  Perhaps her fey whimsy was even stronger than I liked to believe.