#* ch. caelus. → answered.

[trthfck]

“ we’re not alone down here. ” - For Caelus

⸻ outlast. accepting. ( @soulhound )

𝖗𝖚𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖓. ⸻   gallagher was a good man, from what caelus could tell. then again, his interactions with the metaphorical hellhound have been few and far-between: first helping firefly in the golden hour, and now this. as the other rears his arm back, caelus prepares his lance and shield: if he can take the hits, gallagher can deliver them and keep caelus upright. ( it's moments like this he missed natasha, always willing to throw a healing tonic this way; in a way, they were similar -- there's something to be said about drinks and healing, here. )

" doesn't sound like it, does it? " caelus agrees, shaking his head. his heels dig a little deeper into the ground, and he grits his teeth. these zone memes were driving him crazy, with their mind games and their inability to go down and stay down. he doesn't try to believe he will be able to find the root of them, or get rid of them, but with every one he passes, every one he injures, he believes the family has some explaining to do.

he restrains the urge to look back at gallagher, here; wasn't the bloodhound family part of the overall penaconian structure? or, perhaps, were there so many 'families' that caelus couldn't keep them straight? unconfident in his answer, he withholds the urge to ask what gallagher knows about these things. despite this, their goal is the same: they have to get through these doors, to get the information on the other side.

" you ready? " caelus sighs, and when gallagher gives him the go ahead, the potential energy stored in caelus' heels pushes him forward, lance-and-shield soon to hit well-made wood, imaginary steel:  " LANCE, FORWARD ! "

[heaven-s-black-box]

Live on Air- Self Aware!Jiaoqiu x gn!Our World!Reader

Return to File

Recovery date: December 31st, 2024

Description: i was thinking about a self aware au where the reader and their friends were guessing which hsr character someone was talking about and the part when the group was fangirling over Baizhu I was imagining the reader and their friends doing the exact same thing with Jiaoqiu

Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with @crystalkat6747 researcher, we thank her for her contributions. I have never done a self-aware AU before, I do not have Jiaoqiu but reader in this does.

Word count: 1 045

Back to directory

“Okay, okay,” Y/n laughed.

They were on a call with some friends while slugging through Star Rail events, trying to scrape up enough pulls for the current banner. Dailies were done, thank you simulated universe, and now they were just struggling against combat challenges.

“Can we play some kind of Fuck, Marry, Kill? I’m going crazy here.”

“Fuck, Marry, Kill. Um… Zhongli, Neuvillette, and… I’m out of dragons.”

“Ganyu’s kind of a dragon,” one of  Y/n’s friends suggested.

“I thought Qilins looked kind of like unicorns.”

“Well Zhongli’s part Qilin, right? So she counts here, now answer the question.”

“Uh…”

As Y/n answered, Jiaoqiu began to fan himself in his idle. The red feathers slowly began to ignite.

“Oh, well that’s not good,” he sighed, giving it two hard bats to put it out.

It happened rather frequently lately, and he took it as a sign that they were back. When his fan caught fire randomly, and he felt an urge to explore that he could not ignore, that was when he was sure they were back.

The trailblazers called them Y/n, that was what Caelus called himself for a bit when he couldn't remember his name. This urge to travel seemed to come and go fairly frequently, one minute March 7th would be dealing with fragmentum creatures on Jarilo VI and the next Welt would feel the need to go to Penacony. They insisted it was nothing to worry about, but Jiaoqiu was a busy man and didn’t like this unscratchable itch.

Suddenly he felt relaxed.

He looked around where he stood in Fyxestroll Garden, but there was no one but him. Taking a few steps to the right, he paused to see if he’d be moved back to where he’d been but nothing happened.

With a sigh, he took out his phone and messaged the Astral Express. There was a chat for people who seemed to fall under their control, so that the express crew could pick them up wherever they got left.

Luckily they were in the area and he quickly found himself in the Astral Express’ passenger car being taken back to the Yaoqing. Feixiao would certainly laugh at him for this.

“Jiaoqiu! Come here!” March called as soon as he’d boarded.

“Hello, Miss March, how are you?”

“Good, good.” She, Caelus, and Dan Heng were sitting round the radio with some tools and parts left out. “Come join us.”

“I suppose I can, what are we doing.”

“Shhh,” Caelus hushed, waving for him to sit as he turned up the radio.

It was too staticy to hear anything at first but then Dan Heng adjusted a setting and an unfamiliar voice came through.

“She is… a fire character with a follow up attack-”

“Himeko!” Two voices yelled.

“What! You didn’t even let me finish, it could have been Guinaifen.”

“I don’t think she has a follow up attack though, I don’t think many Honaki Star Rail characters have overlapping characteristics.”

“Whatever, Y/n’s turn.”

“Ooo, what’s a good one.” 

Jiaoqiu found himself leaning forwards in his seat to listen as they spoke. “Okay, this character is a Foxian-”

“Jiaoqiu,” came a cacophony of expectant voices.

“But they just said Foxian! We know plenty of Fox-”

“All I said was they were a Foxian! I didn’t even give you a gender!”

“That’s what I just said,” March exclaimed.

“Oh you wouldn’t shut up about him,” one of Y/n’s friend’s laughed. “He was announced and you said ‘damn he could give me a check up’.”

“I did not!”

The three trailblazers turned to the Foxian whose jaw was slack with surprise and cheeks were turning red. He cleared his throat awkwardly and raised his fan in front of his face, mumbling something about making sure it didn’t catch fire again.

“Yes, you did,” another one of their friends laughed. “Pull up a picture, pull up a picture!”

“Look at his ears, do you think he likes having them scratched?”

Caelus grabbed the fan and pulled it down, revealing a very red Jiaoqiu though he otherwise looked composed.

“Do you like having your ears scratched?” He asked.

“I see no point in giving you an answer, I’m not letting you touch my ears.”

“Damn he’s hot,” a new voice spoke up through the radio.

“He cooks too, king of the male wives,” Y/n said. “And his eyes, oh boy do they stare into your soul.”

March snickered, “King of the male wives.”

Though he may not be able to see anymore, Jiaoqiu turns in the direction he thinks is closest to looking her in the eye and glares. He’s off slightly, looking over her head, but it’s enough because she apologies

“And he’s all mine,” Y/n giggles. “Came home in forty pulls with no guarantee, baby!”

“Who came home, we doing pulls?”

“No, talking about Jiaoqiu.”

“Jiao- Oh damn… Please tell me he’s the new Genshin character.”

“He is not, he’s in Honkai Star Rail. His name is Jiaoqiu and he’s a doctor slash chef.”

“I am not a chef.”

“Actually he isn’t a practicing doctor anymore, very important lore.”

“Might have to start playing Star Rail just for him.”

Dan Heng sighed, “This feels like it’s going to go on for a while, maybe we should stop listening.”

“Ya… it was funny at first but now it’s just kind of awkward.”

“It could certainly be worse,” Jiaoqiu commented. 

He honestly didn’t mind listening to them talk about him, especially as they went on about what drove him as a character. Sure, it was kind of weird… but he’d always thought of them like the Aeons and the Aeons were always watching.

Dan Heng turned off the radio, and Jiaoqiu excused himself to another cabin.

The cabin door had barely clicked shut when his phone chimed and he had it read out the message. It was from Dan Heng, and all it contained was a link to a private stream of them talking.

“And then, his whole goal is to cure Feixiao so that she can ‘cure’ war. I just, that man needs a hug…”

“Are you done?”

“Nope, have I mentioned how much I love playing him? He does all my simulated universe Nihility runs.”

[thebookkeeperslibrary]

Lost Time: Ch. 5

Fandom: Time Warp Trio

Author: The_Bookkeeper_96

Rating: T

Summary: Another summer at Horae Manor begins, but before Joe and Tessa get the chance to train, they are sent out on a mission to explore the magic capital of the universe, Mancika. Rumors of illegal magic conversion spread throughout the city, and Joe and Tessa need to locate those responsible. But after the events of last summer, Joe isn't eager to work with his Aether partner, and the two are struggling more with each other than with their enemies.

Read on AO3

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"Upon further analysis, the bodies of a magician and a mortal differ greatly on a physiological level. Magicians seem to be built with an internal armor to prevent any magic from harming them or worse. It is just a theory, but putting magic in the body of a mortal could result in not only extreme damage to the body but a complete deterioration of the mind as well. More experiments are needed. I also need to obtain a Great Wizard cadaver for further study." - from the recordings of Dr. Jacobi Hyde, Alchemist

"That is a lot of books." Sam blows out a low whistle, his eyes scanning up and down the long rows of bookshelves. He can only see the first row, beyond that, the room is dark and endless. The library at Horae Manor could rival the Library of Congress.

Juniper shrugs, letting her hair fall into her face. "I guess."

"You guess? They must have a copy of every book on Earth in here." He stares at her with wide eyes.

"Earth, Mancika, and every other known world out there." She mutters and walks over to a nearby table where she takes a seat, pulling out a few notebooks as she does.  "Books just never interested me much."

"I'm sorry, what?" Sam raises an eyebrow at her. "I thought you loved learning."

"I do. I just think there's a lot more to learn in the real world than in some books. If you want to nerd out about books with someone, talk to Arwen. She reads all the time. Tessa does too, though she'd never admit to it." Pretending like Sam's not even there, or perhaps hoping he'll leave, June clicks her pen and begins to write in her notebooks, occasionally referencing a book laid out before her.

Sam's not used to being called a nerd by someone he assumed was, well, also a nerd. He'd followed June to the library hoping to have some intelligent conversations with the only other person here who seemed to want to understand more about how all this magic stuff worked. At least he knows where the library is now so he can come in and study on his own if he needed to.

He grabs a random book off the shelf closest to him, A History of the Horae Greats by Petra Abell. He takes a seat across from Juniper, who's quickly flipping through the pages of her notebooks as if searching for something. He glances down at her work. "For someone who's not that into reading, you seem pretty invested in those books. Are those the ones you stole from Caelus last summer?"

She jumps as if she had already forgotten he was there. In the process, she manages to get a paper cut on her finger, dripping bright red blood onto the page. She curses and holds her finger close. Glaring at him, she says, "Maybe."

Sam peers closer, and June responds by shutting the books in his face. "What language is that?" he asks, oblivious to the fact that she is clearly trying to keep them to herself. He only caught a quick glimpse of the writing, but it isn't any language he recognized. In fact, most of it didn't even resemble words, just different shapes and symbols.

"Can't you find somewhere else to read?" she keeps glaring at him, hoping he'll get the hint. "These journals are private."

"Oh, um." He looks around at all the other empty tables. "I guess." He slides his chair away from the table and moves to a new spot farther down. He can still see Juniper from here, but he'd have to shout to talk to her.

Satisfied, June returns to her work. Reluctantly, Sam slips into his book. He's sucked in quicker than he expects. Each chapter seems to be about a different pair of Warp and Aether Wizards, except for one titled The Pair that Never Was that is only one page long. There's even a chapter on Rowena and Cassius. He's tempted to skip ahead and read about them, but the final chapter of the book catches his eye, The Unnamed Pair. If the chapters progress chronologically, that would mean the last chapter is about Joe and Tessa. But that didn't make any sense. How could someone write about them when they had barely begun their training? Who even knew about them yet?

He flips through the pages until he gets to chapter eighty-two, the final chapter. There is only one paragraph.

At this time, the Eighty-Second Pair is rising to power, the youngest wizards to begin training for Greatness. Not much is known about them at this time. Their mentors  (see Chapter Eighty-One: The Twins) are keeping tight-lipped about any and all details. This is understandable given the pair's destiny. No other Great Wizard has faced such a daunting quest as theirs: to preserve or destroy life as we know it.

Sam yelps and shoves the book away from him. No way that's true. How could some random author know so much about Joe and Tessa? But could that explain why they were both acting so weird at dinner? Did Cas and Ro tell them their destiny? He shakes his head to clear his thoughts. He'd have to ask Joe about this later.

"You okay?" June's question catches him off-guard.

"What?" Sam blinks at her, confused by her concern. Didn't she hate him five minutes ago? "I'm fine." He hoped his face looked calmer than he felt.

"You just screamed at a book and threw it away. That's like, the opposite of fine."

He eyes the book on the ground. He gently picks it up and walks back over to June. He places it on the table as gently as if it were a bomb. "That book is magic."

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah. We're at a magic school. Most of the stuff in here is magic."

"No, look." He flips to the chapter that scared him. "There's a chapter in here about Joe and Tessa. It says that they're destined to either "preserve or destroy life as we know it." How could a book possibly know that? How could this author even know about them? They've only been together for a year!"

Despite all of Sam's pointing and practically shoving the book in June's face, she ignores the words before her. "I think you already answered that question. Magic, duh."

He frowns. Sam is a man of science and all this magic stuff just made no sense to him, which was a new sensation. Even time travel was possible in theory and was something he could wrap his head around. He was used to being the smartest kid in the room, already knowing everything that was in the textbook before they even discussed it in class. He could do college-level calculus and even made inventions in his spare time. Magic simply did not fit into his world of ones and zeros.

"Doesn't Joe own a magic book? Why are you so weirded out by this book?" She doesn't look at him when she speaks. She simply toys with the pen in her hand and keeps her focus on her books.

He can't argue with her there.

He looks back at the page and notices a blinking line just below the paragraph about his friends. Like a computer cursor waiting to type out more letters. Is this book being written in real-time?

He slams it shut and places it back on the shelf where he found it. He'd met his weirdness quota for the day.

Forgetting Juniper's earlier protests, Sam takes the seat right across from her again. "How do you deal with all this magic stuff?"

She sighs and sets down her pen, realizing that she's not getting any research done tonight. "I told you last summer, magic is a form of science. Just because you don't understand it, doesn't make it any less real." She fans her arms out around her. "I'm sure there are plenty of books in here that will help you adjust to this new world. Why don't you grab a few to look over?"

Sam glances at the long rows of books, unsure where to start. None of the shelves have any labels to indicate how everything is organized, not that he would understand the subject material anyway. He doubted any of the books would be called "Magic for Dummies" or "So You're a Mortal in a Magic World". Which just means he has to search deep if he wants to find anything helpful.

He gets to his feet and begins to scan the shelves for any books or resources that might help him. He could spend a month in here and still not see everything. He'd have to check and see if there was some sort of cataloging system somewhere. Surely, a library this large would have some way to find specific resources. 

After a few minutes, he returns to the table with four books. Just from looking at the titles, he already has a handful of questions.

Without thinking about it, he starts to fire them off at Juniper, waving and slicing his hands through the air with each question. "So, if there's an entire magical world out there, why are there magic users on Earth? Or are Joe and Tessa the only ones? If they are the only ones, why were they chosen? Can anyone learn to do magic? And if magic is really a science like you say, then it has to abide by the laws of physics. But everything I've seen has broken all of those laws. Unless, of course, magic is operating on a quantum scale, but that just causes even more confusion."

His eyes zero in on hers and frowns, not understanding why she hasn't responded yet.

Juniper blinks, giving Sam a slightly fearful expression. She twists her hair around her fingers. "I didn't think anyone's brain worked that fast. You're kind of unsettling, you know that?"

He falls back in his chair, blushing. Though to be fair, he's hardly the weirder one here. Juniper's the one who talked about magic as if it were part of everyday life. Which, he supposed, it is for him now. And what's with those odd notebooks she keeps hiding from him? Whatever is written inside of them is not "normal".

June drops her hair in front of her eyes. "I can't answer your questions if you ask a hundred of them at the same time."

Sam stills and studies her out of the corner of his eye. Was she really going to help him out of all his confusion?

"It sounds like your main question is how is magic a science?" She peers at him through the thick strands of her dark hair.

He mutely nods, still not sure if she's going to give a sincere response or not. She had proven to only be annoyed by him so far. He'd been bullied enough times at school to know that not all kindness was genuine.

"Okay." She takes a deep breath, pushes her hair back, and leans forward. "Magic follows the most important law: energy can neither be created nor destroyed. All magic is energy conversion. From what I've studied so far, magicians and wizards, real ones, not the kind you hire for a kid's birthday party, are born with an innate connection to the universe that the rest of us don't have. They can take energy from different aspects or elements of the universe, like time or space, and through their bodies convert that into something new. Make sense?"

She spoke with calm conviction, like a professor giving a lecture on their area of expertise. What she said did make sense, but it still left him with a million questions.

"I guess, but to be honest this all sounds like fake science. Like something a person who believes in astrology or energy crystals would say." He scratches his chin and begins to skim through the pages of one of his books, slowly falling into the sense of comfort academic debate gave him. "Am I supposed to believe all of that is real too?"

"Not all of it, but some of it. There are definitely wizards out there who can heal through crystals. Though most of the people who claim to be able to do it on Earth are full of it and are just looking to scam customers. Genuine magic users are rare. Most of them prefer to live in Mancika or one of the other magic kingdoms since they don't have to hide what they are there."

"Have you been to any of those places?" Suddenly, the girls' advanced experience with magic feels intimidating.

June shakes her head. "No, but I've seen pictures and maps. Mancika in particular looks beautiful. It's the current magic capital of the universe, like what Cealus used to be. It's perfectly designed to represent each kind of magic equally.  There are schools for wizards to study and hone their crafts. There's even a stadium there for magical tournaments and fights." She sighs wistfully, staring off at nothing and absentmindedly taps a page in her notebook. The blood from her earlier cut is splattered on the page. "I would love to see it someday."

"Me too," Sam says without thinking. It catches him off-guard, but the more he thinks about it, the more he likes the idea of seeing a magic city in person. He would definitely get all the answers to his questions, and he'd be able to research all sorts of new things too.

"Really?" She looks at him, doubt written all over her face. The statement caught her off-guard too. "No offense, but I think we've already established you're more of a reader than a doer."

"I think everyone learns better when they have a live demonstration."

As if on cue, something crashes to the ground in the rows of bookshelves behind them. A round of groans soon follows.

Sam shrinks back. "What was that?"

"Your live demonstration." Juniper stares down at the spot in the book she was tapping and doesn't hesitate any longer. She hops to her feet and walks towards the sound, quickly disappearing in the tall lines of knowledge.

When she doesn't immediately come back or call out, Sam reluctantly gets to his feet and follows her deeper into the library. Fortunately, or maybe not so much, he's able to catch up to her.

"Are we really doing this?"

"We? I want to know what made that noise. You're cowering behind me like Chicken Little." June shrugs Sam's hands off her shoulders. "Don't think I've forgotten how scared you were last summer."

"You mean when you jumped into a cave because you heard imaginary voices?" he retorts. "I think that's a perfectly reasonable excuse to be afraid."

"I know what I heard," she mumbles under her breath and pushes ahead, away from him.

He stumbles to keep up. "And what do you plan to do when you find whatever made that noise?"

June shrugs. "I don't know? Make sure it's okay? That crash sounded painful."

The suggestion surprises Sam. His immediate reaction had been to run away, but maybe she was right. What if it was a person who made that sound? And what if they were hurt? He moves to walk beside June rather than behind her.

They reach the site of the crash and find a shattered globe and a couple of books on the ground. No blood in sight, but a few more scattered books lay on the ground further down the row.

June pushes on, going further and further down the shelves. "Hello?"

No response.

"Hello?" she tries again. Still no response.

"Maybe whoever did it ran away? We could search inside the library for hours and still not have seen half of it. We can't spend all night in here trying to find whoever made that mess." Sam picks up his pace to catch up to Juniper. "June? Are you listening to me?"

He can see the tension in her jaw, the way her eyes scan the floor, searching for any clues as to where the intruder or beast went. She had made a complete transformation. Where the shy girl who hid behind her hair he was talking to just a few minutes ago? "June?"

She comes to a sudden stop. "Shh. Did you hear that?"

At first, Sam can't hear anything. He waits a few more moments. Still, he doesn't hear any noise. He takes an unsteady step away from June. "I don't hear anything." The intense look in her eyes makes him uneasy.

"There it is again! This way!" She grabs him by the arm and pulls him down another endless row.

Sam's beginning to have flashbacks to the previous summer in Cealus. These rows of books remind him too much of the catacombs under that ancient city, and he wouldn't be surprised if they stumbled upon skeletons in here either. What noise is June hearing?

They fly through the library. Rounding corner after corner, until Sam isn't sure where they are or how to get back to their study table. He lets June drag him to the end of the row before pulling away.

"Stop!" he pants. "Where are we going? And what exactly did you hear?"

June's momentum carries her farther down the path before she comes to a stop. "It was the same voices from last summer. Someone else is in here. We can't let them get away from us. I need to know what they're saying."

"You don't even know what they're saying?"

"I- no. Whatever it is, it isn't English. I need to find them. Stay here if you want." She turns and runs off once more.

"June, wait!" Sam takes off after her.

He quickly loses sight of her, but he can hear footsteps slamming into the floor in the next row over. He takes a sharp left and catches a glimpse of her black hair flying around the corner just ahead of him. He tries his best to catch her, but running was much more Fred's thing than his. Gradually, he begins to slow down.

Just as he's starting to lose hope, he spots Juniper in front of him. She's far away, but she's no longer running. Sam jogs to her. More relieved to stop running than anything else.

"What were you thinking?" he manages to breathe out. "You just left me back there. Who knows how long it would have taken me to find my way out."

He swallows one more gulp of air before noticing that they stopped back at their study table, how still June is, and most importantly, that they are no longer alone.

A man who looks like a Gregorian monk stands over Juniper's notebooks, peering down, but not touching them. Well, 'stands' doesn't really describe it. More like floats over. There is a clear gap between his feet and the floor. And if that wasn't weird enough, Sam could see right through him.

The monk lifts his head, finally noticing the kids. His gaze focuses in on June.

The temperature of the room plummets as a pressure builds behind Sam's eyes, nearly knocking him down. His knees threaten to buckle beneath him, but as much as he wants to, he cannot move. Some invisible force holds him down, and he can't look away from the man.

The man says nothing, merely nods his head, and turns to leave, quickly disappearing among the stacks of books.

Several minutes pass before the pressure in Sam's head fades and he can move again. "Nope," he says, shaking his head rapidly. "No, thank you. No."

He grabs June by the arm and drags her out of the library. She doesn't protest, apparently still under the ghost's spell.

Ghost. That's what it was. No other word for it. Sam had just seen a ghost. Even after all the insane things he, Joe, and Fred had been through and seen together, the confirmation that ghosts exist is just too much for him. He wants nothing to do with it, and he can't let June get caught up in it either. Especially not after the way it looked at her like it knew her. Even if they aren't technically friends, getting her away from that library and the monster inside it is simply the right thing to do.

What is in those notebooks? It must be important because June wasn't letting them out of her sight. But what could be written down that would attract the attention of a ghost? Nothing good, surely.

They make it all the way to the entrance hall before Juniper says anything.

She tears her arm away from Sam. Her mouth is pressed into a thin line, and he can tell she wants to yell at him, but the words just aren't coming to her.

"Why did you do that?" She finally manages to get out. "Now I have to go all the way back to the library to get my notebooks."

"You can't go back." He stares at her with wide eyes. "That ghost-thing was going to hurt us."

"No, he wasn't. He walked- err, floated away." June promptly spins on her heels to head back to the library. "And you heard what he said. I can't just walk away from him."

"What he said? He didn't say anything. What are you talking about?"

She pauses, letting her hair fall into her face. "Well… I guess it isn't so much what he said. I just, know what he wants."

Sam can tell she's lying even without seeing her face, but he's not brave enough to question her about it. If she says she didn't hear the ghost, then she didn't hear the ghost.

"I have to get my books back. Next time you see me studying, please leave me alone."

Sam doesn't even have time to protest as June makes her way out of the entrance hall and back to the library. Well, if June wouldn't listen to him, hopefully, she'd listen to her friends or even Rowena and Cassius. Surely, they would help him. Did they even know they had ghosts living in their mansion?

He nods to himself, deciding to bring it up tomorrow at breakfast to everyone. Until then, he would hide out in his room for the evening. He'd had enough strangeness for one night.

[trthfck]

[ snap ] or ❝ you have such pretty eyes. ❞ // from firefly to caelus

⸻ softer shippy prompts. accepting. ( @vulune , firefly. )

𝖗𝖚𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖓. ⸻  he was aware that the air in penacony was supposed to be perfect, but there was something calm about the gentle breeze pushing over his cheeks, the low light of the perpetual sunset keeping his eyes soft and the glare away from them. but this rooftop, this moment ... it invokes a semblance of nostalgia.  ( was i sweet once? could i be capable of this tenderness? )   he knows he hasn't been here before, but perhaps penacony has taken a moment of his own dream, to sit in quiet silence with a friend, and transplanted it into the greater world. he wouldn't mind if this dream was shared with others, for it is a lovely dream, of course, but he takes a moment to appreciate his dream. something sacred, something soft, something that unlocks a new emotion, a new memory, a new eidolon of being. something that is his.

snap!  goes the sound of something next to him, and his brows raise, turning towards the source of the noise with a shocked expression, only for it to soften back into something kind when he sees firefly with the camera of a phone held in landscape. they share a look together that is one of mutual appreciation: embarrassment across caelus' cheeks, admiration on firefly's. 

you have such pretty eyes.

for a moment, he doesn't realize what she's saying until she's said it, looking a bit dumbfounded in response. caelus has been called a handful of things since awakening on the space station: cute, handsome, boyish. but never pretty. no aspect of him has ever been pretty. instinctively, he reaches up, touching softly just under his right eye, as if the physical contact would help understand why she would say such a thing. they were gold, a bit dull, and not expressive. at least, not until recently: it had been only recently since caelus had started showing proper emotions, being a bit monotone and quiet at the beginnings of their trailblaze. to say his eyes were pretty ... he couldn't stop the blush forming on his cheeks even if he wanted to. his throat clears, a hand rubbing the back of his neck.

" ...thank you, " he smiles, and his eyes sparkle gently, " now-- let me see that photo you took !  i better not look stupid... "

(   a laughter, one that sounds like windchimes, leaves his throat as he reaches for the phone.  )

[trthfck]

[ carry ] — sender carries receiver to bed

⸻ softer shippy prompts. accepting. ( @destdevel )

𝖗𝖚𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖓. ⸻  the fight was tough, the battle barely won. bat in hand, caelus' vision goes from blurry to focused back to blurry. how much blood had he lost to the dreamzone memes? how much longer could he, just outside the dreamscape, hold on?

by the time he focuses on the fact that he isn't dying, he realizes he's being carried: there weren't too many people among the astral express that would have been lingering around, let alone anyone with the strength to carry him. ( dan heng was on the train, welt doing his own investigation, and himeko with march. ) his top, damaged from the splice of the blade almost gutting him, reveals bruised flesh, cold against what appeared to be a piece of metal. groaning, he began to move, only to grow dizzy again at seeing the ground move underneath him without his feet putting in the effort to.

someone was carrying him. but who? his head tilts again, appreciative of the help, and he realizes his voice is weak when he speaks: " hey... i think i can w... " 

in some sort of wretched twist of fate, caelus is unable to complete his sentence, his vision going blurry again, his head falling against the back of his mysterious savior. he hears some noise -- was that a grunt of disapproval, or a chuckle of amusement? -- from the other, and it might otherwise reverberate against a warm chest or back, but caelus finds that this part of his savior, however, is also partially metal. he thinks of svarog, here, and wonders, perhaps, if his savior might be some sort of automated being intended to assist injured guests... but no. the sound of spurs, the bounce of a stride... this person was mortal. human, one might say.

" ... thank you, " he finally says, complacent with being thrown over this stranger's back like a wrapped sack of potatoes. " ... whoever you are. "

[trthfck]

“ i stole these clothes from a … dead body i found. ” to caelus. boothill found a hawaiian shirt

⸻ outlast. accepting. ( @destdevel )

𝖗𝖚𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖓. ⸻  he doesn't really know what he's looking at when boothill comes into view, reconvening after the last mission they took on together.  (  despite himeko's insistence regarding the  I P C  , caelus doesn't trust them, and he wants to know what boothill's vendetta against the corporation is. surely there has to be more to this than is one the surface.  )  it is a . . . garish print, bright orange with yellow flowers sprawled across it. still, tucked against the ranger's usual bottoms, he seems to somehow pull it off. well, in only the way that boothill could.

an amused smirk finds caelus' lips, and he chuckles, his breath leaving him in short bursts, for he was a quiet laugher as it is. it begins to evolve, though, into a genuine laugh, eyes closed and fist raised to his mouth in a piss-poor attempt to stifle his own laughter.

" you know, " he says, shifting his weight to one side, " i think i've heard march say something about clothes like this... what was it... oh, right. you're really serving cunt right now, boothill. "

[trthfck]

“ no sense in pulling a mad dog’s tail. ” ( to any of the trailblazers! ☀️ )

⸻ outlast. accepting. ( @knghted )

𝖗𝖚𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖓. ⸻  caelus would not consider himself a mad dog. he barely would consider himself a dog, if not for the loyal traits he pursued. march had called him a puppy once, when he first joined the express, due to his habit of sticking by her ( and to a lesser extent, dan heng ) as they traversed the strange new worlds of jarilo-VI and the luofu. now that he had come into his own, he spoke more, laughed more, cried more, and most importantly . . . got angry more.

the frustration that sits on his face, on his boyish features, is only silenced by the man standing in front of him. argenti was such a baffling man, at least to caelus. to devote yourself to the concept of beauty was something new to explore for the trailblazer, as frankly, caelus didn't know what he found beautiful, if anything. was beauty something only shown to those deserving of it? or had caelus not been in this world long enough to have his own preferences? was it, like his voice, something he had to learn again?

no sense in pulling a mad dog's tail, argenti says, standing in front of caelus. whatever it was they had been in altercation with had retreated and caelus, ever the protector, tried to pursue it, only to be stopped by the other man's weapon. the idiom made caelus step back, for he originally believed he was the mad dog that argenti was referencing, but as the zone in front of them calmed, the relaxing sound of silence settling in, caelus dismissed his lance, frowning in disapproval.

" they insulted you, " he says, and even though it's a somewhat monotone statement, the intention of inquiry is clear: why are you not doing anything about it? it is protectiveness that tinges his words with a question; he had not known argenti for long, but the offering of self-sacrifice struck a nerve with the trailblazer, reverberating into his chest: was caelus so selfless that he, too, would sacrifice himself in pursuit of his beliefs, or would he prefer the company of those he kept close, locked inside the place where the stellaron exists, corrupting away his very being. " don't you . . . i don't know, want to preserve your honor, or whatever knights like you talk about? it wasn't like that was a small insult either, argenti. they insulted beauty, your beliefs. and still you . . . let them go? do you expect them to come back ? "

sure, the two men had given the antagonists a thrashing, but the job wasn't finished. they were still standing. ( why was he so accustomed to fighting until the other party broke? be it by the mind's broken consciousness or the last breath of death? where did his once-loved mercy go? ) " are. . . " caelus continues, his voice soft, his expression confused. " . . . are you sure this is what you want , argenti  ? "

[trthfck]

@astrcls : 🖤 , from dan heng to caelus. ( accepting! )

attractiveness:

repulsive / hideous / ugly / not attractive / unappealing / not unattractive / meh / no preference / ok / mildly attractive / nice looking / cute / adorable / attractive / pleasant on the eyes / good looking / hot / sexy / beautiful / gorgeous / hot damn / would tap that / perfect / godlike / holy fuck there are no words.

personality:

grating / irritating / frustrating / boring / confusing at best / awkward / unreasonable / psychotic / disturbing / interesting / engaging / affectionate / aggressive / ambitious / anxious / artistic / bad tempered / bossy / charismatic / appealing / unappealing / creative / courageous / dependable / unreliable / unpredictable / predictable / devious / dim / extroverted / introverted / egotistical / gregarious / fabulous / impulsive / intelligent / sympathetic / talkative / up beat / peaceful / calming / badass / flexible.

how likely they would have sex with them:

not if they were the last person on earth and the world was ending / fuck no! / never / no way / not likely / not sure / indifferent / I’m asexual / maybe / probably / it depends / fairly likely / likely / yeah sure / yes / would tap that / hell yes / fuck yes! / wishing that could happen right now / as many times as possible / we are already having sex.

level of friendship:

never in a million years / worst of enemies / enemies / rivals / indifferent / neutral / acquaintance / friendly toward each other / casual friends / friends / good friends / best friends / fuck buddies / bosom buddies / practically the same person / would die for them / true friends / my only friend.

first impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.

current impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.

[trthfck]

𝖗𝖚𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖊𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖓.    ' you mean a lot to me. '   @astrcls 's voice is but a whisper on the wind, an ephemeral thing to match an ephemeral moment. the train car, at aeons-only-know in the morning. the dark circles around his eyes match the steely gaze of the man in front of him, and just for a moment, caelus wonders if perhaps he misheard dan heng.  but the silence that hangs in the air is tempting, and caelus lets it ring just for a bit.  to make this moment belong to the two of them.  he looks down at his hands, cold and corpselike,  and potentially not of the same kind as dan heng's; are they hands that are gentle enough to hold?  the destruction has him by the shoulders, pushes him down the path of the trailblaze : RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN.  and caelus wants nothing more than to break one of his own rules.

he crosses the gap between them,  the hand stained with the path of the destruction reaching out to find the slender fingers of dan heng. somehow, even his hand feels light in caelus' hold. perhaps, in another life, caelus knows how light dan heng could be, can be. perhaps, in another life, dan heng is not a cursed man, and caelus is not a stellaron.

" i shouldn't, "  caelus whispers, and though he has a crescent of a smile on his lips, there is nothing but sorrow in his eyes, a yearning for a rule he has broken, a wish that they did not live in this life, and that caelus was not scared.  his eyes trail down dan heng's face, his neck, his shoulders, his chest. he can't help but wonder if, unlike him, dan heng has a heartbeat.  " i'm a walking time bomb. it would... i don't know, be stupid, i think. to bring you down a road that might end, abruptly.  wouldn't it? "   (  please say no, please say no.  )

[trthfck]

𝖗𝖚𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖊𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖓.  ❝ somethin' on yer mind, stardust? ❞  his eyes flicker open, golden things like stars met with the expression of the foxian , @ghostvixen , before him. he doesn't think they have a care in the world, all things considered, but the members of the astral express are important to him - and that includes spencer, even if they never seem to leave a trail. 

" nothing in particular, " he replies cooly, calmly, as he always does. he is nowhere near as exciteable as his arrow-shooting counterpart, but he has a bit more energy than the infamous " cold dragon young " that hides about the train.  " i've just been having these weird dreams again. it makes it hard to sleep. you caught me dozing off. "

[thebookkeeperslibrary]

Lost Time: Ch. 4

Fandom: Time Warp Trio

Author: The_Bookkeeper_96

Rating: T

Summary: Another summer at Horae Manor begins, but before Joe and Tessa get the chance to train, they are sent out on a mission to explore the magic capital of the universe, Mancika. Rumors of illegal magic conversion spread throughout the city, and Joe and Tessa need to locate those responsible. But after the events of last summer, Joe isn't eager to work with his Aether partner, and the two are struggling more with each other than with their enemies.

A/N: Ayyyy, look who finally decided to update. Been sitting on this one for a while before I realized I was never going to be 100% happy with it. And I finally have wi-fi again! Hopefully it’ll stick around and I’ll actually be able to work on my fics and post more frequently.

Read on AO3

Preview:

"Even the mightiest empires would crumble without a strong foundation to support them." - Mancikan Proverb

Fred stumbles down the hallway after Arwen. "Would you slow down a little? I have to jog to keep up with you."

"You really can't take a hint, can you?" Arwen sighs in defeat and slows her long strides.

"Aw, come on. I thought we ended things on good terms last summer. We're all gonna have to be friends eventually." Fred really didn't understand what was up with these girls. Why did they hate him and his friends so much? Sure, last year had been a little chaotic, but they all made it out alive. He'd been trying to play nice, but they were being so difficult, always acting like they were better than him and his friends.

Then again, Arwen's a Red Sox fan. Maybe Fred shouldn't be trying so hard with her. He glanced at her, trying not to be obvious about it. He likes that Arwen doesn't look like most girls with their pounds of make-up and frilly clothes. Honestly, Arwen looked more like a boy than a girl.

But Fred's smart enough not to say that out loud.

"Look, just show me where this training room is, and I promise I won't bother you. I need someplace to keep in shape for football. Besides, I always listen to my music when I work out anyway."

"I just prefer to train alone."

"You won't even know I'm there. Promise." He puts his hand over his heart and gives her what he hopes is a trusting smile.

Arwen studies him out of the corner of her eye and purses her lips. "Fine. I guess it wouldn't be too terrible if you got in shape and learned how to throw a punch. It would definitely have been useful last summer."

"Get in shape?" Fred's smile drops. "I'm already in shape. I mean, look at me!" He flexes his arms to emphasize his point. Despite his best efforts, there isn't much to see.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Right. Bulging muscles aside, do you know how to fight?"

Fred thinks about the brawls he's had with his brothers and all the times he's wrestled with Joe and Sam. He rarely won against his brothers, but he held his own against Joe and Sam well enough, but he's pretty sure Arwen wouldn't count those as real fights.

"I'll take your silence as a no then." She tries to hide her smug smile, but Fred sees it anyway.

"Fine. I don't know how to actually fight, and maybe I'm not as fit as I should be. I don't suppose you'd be willing to teach me anything?"

Fred knows she's going to laugh at him and say no. After all, all of the girls were pretty far ahead of them when it came to this magic stuff. Besides, they'd been treating him and his friends like annoying younger brothers since they met, and Fred was all too familiar with how those relationships worked out. He didn't need another Mike in his life.

He's about to let the whole thing drop and find some other way to entertain himself tonight, but Arwen surprises him by saying, "Why?"

Fred blinks. The only response he'd been expecting was a 'no'. "Why what?"

"Why do you want to work out with me? Or hang out with me at all?" She stops walking to look him square in the eye. She crosses her arms. "What's your goal here?"

"Uh…" He really didn't know how to answer that. He liked Arwen. Out of the girls, she was the easiest to read. She never seemed like she was hiding anything, even when it came to how she felt about him. He respected that honesty, even if it hurt sometimes. She was also hands-down the toughest of the girls. Fred still couldn't believe she fought a drakon one on one with no weapons or armor. Plus, working out was always better when you had a friend to spot you at the gym. 

"I guess I just enjoy your company." That didn't really explain his feelings, but it was true.

"Even though I'm a Red Sox fan?" Arwen's frown turned into a playful smirk.

"Yes, even though you're a Red Sox fan. It's not your fault you were born in Boston. If you were a New Yorker, I'm sure you'd love the Yankees."

Her gaze drops to the floor. "I don't think my dad would ever let that happen."

"Why?"

She chews her lip. "He's just a really big Red Sox fan. Runs in the family, you see."

"Sure." Fred totally understands that. Everyone in his family is a die-hard Yankees fan. He can't even imagine what they would do to him if he tried rooting for another team.

Arwen starts to move down the hallway again, taking a sharp right into a plain doorway. "All right. I guess I can teach you a thing or two."

"Really?" Even after all that, Fred is still surprised to hear her say it.

"Yes, really. You should come in before I change my mind."

Fred hurries in the room after her, excited to see what kind of cool magical training gear he would be able to use. He could picture fancy machines that would let him work out all parts of his body at once. Or maybe even enchanted armor that fought him in hand-to-hand combat. Would he get to learn how to use weapons? Like Tessa's sabre?

He bursts into the room, more excited than he's ever been to work out.

His excitement plummets as he takes in the gym. He recognizes every piece of equipment here. It's just a normal work-out room, like the one at his regular school back on Earth.

Arwen chuckles from behind him. "You seem disappointed. What were you expecting? This is a training room for non-magic users."

"Well yeah, but, we're still at a magic school. I expected more. I'm pretty sure my brothers have more equipment than this in their bedrooms back home." He walks over to the weights in the corner. The highest dumbbell is only thirty pounds. He sighs, crosses his arms, and leans against the wall.

"The stuff my brothers and I use is better than all this too, but we could always ask Ro and Cas to get us better equipment." She walks over to a large black mat on the side of the room. "They haven't had non-magic people here in a long time. That's why most of this stuff is so outdated."

"What's so special about us then? Why do we get to be here if we can't control time or space?"

"I don't think we're the special ones. Did you see the way Joe and Tess were acting at dinner tonight? Their meeting with Ro and Cas must have been bad, and their future must be bad enough that they're allowed to bring an emotional support team with them."

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad." Fred joins Arwen on the mat where she's already begun to stretch. He does the same.

She shrugs in response. "I just can't help but feel like we have a long summer ahead of us."

They stretch in silence for a few more minutes. Finally, Fred jumps back to his feet. He sways back and forth, like a video game character waiting to strike. "All right, coach. What's first? You gonna teach me how to roundhouse-kick someone? Or do a judo-flip? Oh! How about an ax kick?" With each question, he strikes out at the air, like he's fighting an enemy only he can see.

Arwen shakes her head and remains seated. "How about we start with a simple punch?"

He stills. "A punch? I can throw a punch. I have two older brothers who pick on me all the time."

"Show me how you throw a punch then."

"On you?"

"How about you use the practice dummy that's right behind you instead?" She points over his shoulder to a large black fighting dummy. Like everything else in the room, it's fairly basic and has no arms or legs. The head is also bent at a weird angle, showing its wear.

"Oh, right." Fred blushes and turns to the dummy instead. Of course, Arwen wouldn't want to actually fight him. After seeing what she did to the drake in Caelus, he has to admit, he's kind of relieved.

He hears her get to her feet behind him. She moves to stand directly beside him and faces him. Her eyes do a quick scan up and down his body. Not even remotely in a flirtatious way like he's used to from the girls at school back in Brooklyn. This look is purely analytical. He can tell she's already judging his posture and technique.

"Well? Punch away."

Fred notices Arwen smirking at him from the corner of his eye. He scoffs, ready to show her up. He was insulted that this was all she was asking him to do. His skills were way above this. Throwing a punch was something he'd mastered a long time ago when learning to survive his brothers' torment.

He shifts his weight back on one foot, pulls his elbow far behind his head, pauses for dramatic effect, and then lets loose on the dummy. He strikes it directly in the chest.

And forces himself not to let out a pained cry.

Why did that hurt so much? This dummy was made out of rubber, not concrete. He bites his lip and lowers his fist, hoping that it isn't swelling up as much as it feels like it is. "See?" he manages to get out without too much whimpering. "Punching is easy."

Arwen's hand is covering her mouth. Fred can tell from her shaking that she's trying not to laugh, and failing miserably.

She takes a deep breath before dropping her hand, calming her giggles. "Be honest. How badly does your hand hurt right now?"

"Not at all."

"Really?"

"Yup."

She raises an eyebrow at him, one hand falling to her hip. "If you want me to teach you how to fight, you need to at least respect me enough to be open and honest with me."

"Oh, like you girls have been so open and honest with us?" The comment slips out before Fred can help it. The pain in his hand and annoyance at Arwen for laughing at him makes his words harsher than he means. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's fine." Her face closes off again. Whatever progress they had made towards friendship is gone.

"No, really. I know Joe's been a pain in the ass about all this. Maybe he's just rubbing off on me. I don't think you girls are that bad."

"Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Um…" Fred rubs the back of his neck. "You guys have been coming off as kind of stuck-up. I know you're way ahead of us with all this magic stuff, but it would be nice if you helped us be more like you rather than shutting us down all the time. We have a lot to learn to catch up to you, so why not get us there quicker, and then we can all learn together."

She squints her eyes at him. "That's… unexpectedly thoughtful and smart of you."

"Well, I play a lot of sports. Teamwork is kind of my thing." His hands drop to his sides. "Maybe we all should start fresh. Just forget what happened last summer and move on."

Arwen chuckles and shakes her head. "I think too much happened last summer for that to work, but it's a nice thought. Look, I meant what I said earlier. I want to train with you. It would be really nice to have someone else be the muscle for the group every once in a while, but I also meant it when I said you need to be honest with me. I can't help you otherwise."

"Seems like we need to make a compromise then. You'll quit acting like you're better than me, and I'll be honest next time I break my hand. Deal?" He holds his swollen hand out for her to shake, a grin spreading over his lips.

"Deal." Arwen laughs and grabs his hand, not to shake, but to inspect the damage. She lets out a low whistle. "Damn, you really did a number on yourself."

"Will I live, doc?"

"Only if we amputate it immediately."

The two teens laugh, breaking up the last bits of tension in the room. When they finally manage to settle down, Arwen tells Fred to reposition himself in front of the dummy. He does as he's told and lines up to strike again.

"Freeze." Arwen moves in close to readjust Fred's form.  The scent of her perfume fills his nose. She may look boyish, but she definitely smelled like a girl, and not like the cheap body sprays the girls at school wore. She wore a rich, intoxicating perfume. The kind he imagined supermodels or heiresses wore.

She moves behind him. For the first time, Fred realizes that she is actually taller than him, not by much, but enough for this whole situation to become somewhat embarrassing for him.

"Lower your arm and hold it here." She moves his elbow down. "And twist your heel out. You need to punch with your whole body, not just your arm." She fixes his posture with ease, like she's done this a thousand times before.

"Where did you learn all this anyway?" Fred holds the new position she put him in. He has to admit, it feels a lot more natural this way.

"Well, I have eight older brothers."

"So you had to learn to fight to survive?" He understood that. It was the same thing he had dealt with growing up.

"Not exactly." She continues to make minor adjustments to Fred's stance. "Even though my oldest brother, Ryan, is twice my age, we've always been pretty close. We had our scraps like any siblings, but we never beat up each other just for fun."

Must be nice, Fred thinks to himself.

"I learned to fight because the twins, Riley and Richie, were getting picked on a lot at school. They've always been the pacifist type, so someone had to learn to stand up for them. I took a couple of classes, showed up to their school one day, and put those bullies in their place. My mom was furious," Arwen shrugs, but a gleam in her eye reveals how she really feels about it, "but the twins haven't been picked on since. And it turns out, fighting is really fun. 

"So when Tessa asked me to come to Horae Manor with her, I immediately said yes. A chance to train with warriors and fight magical beasts? How could I say no? Of course, just like you, I was disappointed when I realized that wasn't the case."

"Aside from fighting magical beasts," he adds.

She grins. "Aside from that, yeah. But in order to fight them, you have to do a lot of research. You have to learn about their weaknesses and any special abilities they may have. Fighting people is way easier as long as they can't use magic. Then all the rules change."

He cringes. Studying isn't exactly his favourite pastime. Why can't he learn as he fights his way through the magic world? He'd figure out pretty quickly how to take down any monster. Then he remembers the acid flying out of the drake's mouth, and how it burned through marble and stone. Maybe a little research would help.

"Okay. This is how you should stand when you're about to punch something. Feel it?"

Fred settles into the stance. "I think so."

"You'll definitely feel the difference when you punch the dummy this time. Now, when you're striking out make sure you use your whole body. It adds more momentum and makes the punch way more powerful, but once you make contact, stop your fist and pull it back into you. Watch me."

Arwen stands in the same position as Fred. She pulls her arm back and swings at the dummy, hitting it square in the jaw. She pulls her arm back without any whimpering or hand swelling.

"Now you try." She steps out of the way. "Oh, and don't punch someone in the chest. Focus on the weaker spots like their chin or throat."

Fred stands like he was taught, pulls back, and lets loose. His fist strikes the dummy in the throat this time, and he quickly pulls his hand back in front of him. His hand still hurts, but nowhere near as bad as it did after the first punch.

"Better?" Arwen crosses her arms and smirks at him.

"So much better." Fred smiles back. "What else have you got for me, coach?"