#And then after about 30 minutes of silence Husk realizes something is up

[sicklymadscientist]

Feverish Angel Dust resting on his favorite pillow.

[sweetchup]

The Hard Path

Type: Oc Story request

Word Count: 4K words

Warnings: Past abuse and PTSD

Author Note: I know I’ve been gone for a while. Not really any excuse except school has been beating me up. I hope @lelewright1234 likes her OC request.

“Oh, Great Gods from above. The ones that protect us and our families every day…”

Leah kicks the man to her right and attempts to escape. Though it was proven to be futile as she was preceded to be thrown back into the harsh muddy ground.

“Please accept this child as a worthy sacrifice…”

“No, let me go! Stop!” She shouts as the men forcibly drag her up the wet stone staircase to the altar, “Please anyone! Help me!”

Leah’s pleas and cries fall on deaf ears. She couldn’t tell if it was the sound of the downpouring rain drowning her out or if the citizens chose to ignore her. Though, she soon believed it was the later as the citizens from her village began chanting in unison with the great priest.

“Wang-go, Monster of destruction and creation. Please accept this child as your sacrifice and new holder.”

The great priest holds up a ruby dagger he took from his pocket. As he showed it off to the crowd, they roared with excitement. Though as soon as he lifts up his palm they fall into a deadly silence. Taking one last look at Leah, he swings the dagger above his head before plunging it into—

“Leah!”

Leah is startled awake and pants heavily. She realized she wasn’t there. She wasn’t back at her village.

“G-Gon.” The curly haired girl chokes out. Gon gives her a concerned look as he proceeds to sit down next to her. Leah tries to say something else in response but stops short of answering when a cold feeling hits her clammy forehead. Very startled, she looks up to see Killua on the other side of her pressing a cold water bottle to her forehead.

“What are you doing startling us like that, idiot?” Killua says jokingly. Though his face didn’t reflect that as he looked at her serious and slightly concerned.

“Startled you?” Leah slowly repeats mumbling. Using a napkin from the dinner they had a while ago, she attempts to wipe some of the cold clammy sweat from her forehead. Ever so slowly she seemed to be coming back to reality. She wasn’t back in her wicked village. No, she was on a blimp with Killua and Gon going to York New City. She wasn’t some sort of kid anymore, she was a hunter learning Nen.

“Yeah, you kind of started to fight in your sleep while mumbling something and all of a sudden a gigantic storm started to form.” Gon explains sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh. I’m sorry about that.” Leah apologies, though  it comes out almost robotically. Unconsciously, she traces her chest over where her heart was, the whole reason she got chosen for her “gift”. Killua and Gon look at each other concerned before Killua lets out a soft sigh. Leah feels Killua ruffle her puffy hair making her look at him.

“Don’t apologize idiot. It’s not your fault you have some ancient disaster god or whatever in you.”

“I know you are right Killua. But still—“

“If you’re thinking of saying something about how you should have been able to control your powers better, don’t. Remember Gon and I are Hunters. Leah, we aren’t going to go down that easily.”

“Yeah!” Gon shouts, finally back in an enthusiastic mood. “Plus you’re our friend Leah. I don’t think you would ever hurt us.”

Killua and Leah blink together before Leah breaks let’s out a small giggle and Killua lets out a sigh.

“W-what? What did I say?”

“I swear you’re an idiot sometimes.”

“Hey! No I’m not!”

“Yes you are! After you went and fought Hisoka, you might actually be counted as a mega idiot.”

“I—“

“Killua. Gon.” Leah interrupts, grabbing the two’s attention. Giving them both  a warm smile, she ever so gently says. “Thank you. Thank you very much”

Both burst out into a bright red blush with Gon letting out a cheeky laugh and Killua mumbling something unheard under his breath.

The cute moment is disturbed however, as all of a sudden a crackling sound comes over the intercom and the pilot's voice is heard throughout the blimp.

“Thank you for joining Blimps-RS for this trip. In about 15 minutes we will be landing in York New City. Please remain seated and remember to fly safe with Blim—“

“Hey guys look at this!” Leah looks over to Gon’s loud call and her eyes widen. Her and Killua scramble over to the window. Looking down the three wowed at the great lights of the city. Leah had never ever seen a city so gorgeous before. She had only heard in books at how magical cities were but she had never imagined, nor dreamed such a sight as this one.

Ever so slightly Leah smiles to herself. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be that bad.

“Ok so you remember what to do right?” Killua says for what felt like the 108th time in a row. Leah lets out an exaggerated sigh as she repeats what she had been saying for the last 20 minutes.

“I have to disappear for 2 hours around town while you guys help Kurapika with the phantom troupe. If I get into any trouble make sure to call Leorio. I also will make sure I don’t converse with any strange people because they will only have bad intentions for me.” Leah repeats, sassily imitating Killua’s voice at the end.

“Killua. I think Leah gets it. Let’s go.” Kurapika says, dragging Killua out of the restaurant.

“You better stay out of trouble, you hear me!” Killua shouts one more time before he disappears out of sight. Leah sticks her tongue out towards him in response before shaking her head. Here she was thinking this trip to get some video games would be fun but all she has been doing is being forced to hide from these “phantom troupe” people while the others go on a manhunt to try and kill them. She didn’t even have a moment to spare to check if there were any special books up for auction.

As she was grumbling to herself in misery about her bad luck, she feels a hand on her shoulder. Looking up she sees that Leorio hasn’t left with the others yet. Watching closely, she sees him reach into his pocket and take out some cash.

“Hey Leah. I know things haven’t been great for you, having to hide for most of the time on this trip. Why don’t you go buy something nice on this trip? Maybe a souvenir or something?”

Leah hesitantly grabs the money from him, “Are you sure? You don’t have to give this to me. I have a hunter license just like you and can use some of that money.”

“True but think of this cash as my thank you for being the only sane person on this trip.” Leorio says, slightly grumbling in self misery at the end.

“Okay then. But don’t think of asking for anything back later. I’m not giving you a single cent~” Leah teases out to the tall man. Leorio only shakes his head before leaving the restaurant to catch up with the others.

“Bye leorio. Stay safe!” Leah shouts out before quickly turning back to the cash in her hand. Counting it, she realizes she has more than enough to get a new needed book. Now just the question was where could she find one. Letting the thought sink in, she leaves the restaurant and begins to walk around the streets of York New.

She knew any new book would solve her thirst of knowledge, but it would be much more convenient if she found one about her powers. The books explaining her village gods and the chosen ones to hold them are few and far to find. Especially hers,.... Wang-go.

Wang-go, The god of destruction and Creation. Originally locked away by his brothers and sisters who feared him. He was locked up for centuries on end until eventually the chains that kept him trapped down began to slowly snap and break. Fearing for the worse, the people of her village offered the gods a vessel to lock him in. A woman with a type of heart defect, a husk empty heart. Now, per tradition, anyone who is born with a husk heart bears the burden of having Wang-go sealed away in them.

Herself was the most recent holder with the last being almost 6 generations ago. This makes the information Leah seeks few and far between. However,...

Sneakily smiling to herself. Leah searches through the auction menu. In no ways is she giving up. She will be able to master her powers and not just a little bit, no, she will figure out a way to perfect them.

“There you are..” Leah eyes a specific item on the auction menu. Zaviers’ ancient artifacts and wonders. On the menu, the store had just auctioned off a scroll yesterday that was only just 30 kilometers away from her village. So there is a high enough chance that the store had a book or artifact about her village gods.

Now all she need is to get there and search those shelves.

“Damn it…” Leah sighs, slightly frustrated. An hour had gone by being in this store and there was still nothing about her gods. “All I need is one book about Wang-go, just one book.”

“Wang-go huh~?”

Leah freezes up as someone blows on the shell of her ear. The next thing Leah knows, she is half away across the room and feeling slightly nauseous. She thanked her stars for practicing her teleportation power recently.

“Oh~ how exciting. You never do fail to amaze me, don’t you, Lele?”

“Hisoka…” Leah mumbles angrily under her breath. This wasn’t good, she remembered Gon and Killua mentioning to her that they found out he’s part of the troupe. Plus after seeing him fighting in the arena against Gon, she doubts she can stand a chance against his Bungee gum. Shifting her feet slightly, she gets into a readied stance, ready to bolt out of there when she has a chance.

“Now, now, I’m not looking to fight you. I’m actually here to ask for your help.”

“Help? Not a chance. Give me one good reason I should help someone like you.”

Hisoka let’s out a chuckle as he pulls a clear bag out from behind his back. He twirled them around with his bungee gum as he waits for Leah’s response.

“Wait a minute…T-those are…”

“Wang-go scrolls? Why yes they are, Lele.”

“How in the world did you get your grubby han—“

“Now, now~ I’m on a tight schedule. How about we chit chat more about this…” Hisoka takes the bag back into his hand before waving it around. Making it disappear in a cloud of smoke like magic, “... later~.”

Leah pauses for a moment, taking in her options before sighing. “Fine. But, I swear to god if any of this plan has to do with hurting any of my friends I’m out, you hear me?”

“Crystal~”

“Okay… so I know I agreed to help. But, why the heck is Illumi here as well?” Leah groans, scooching more into the corner of the backseat of the car. Hisoka lets out a small chuckle from the passenger seat but he chooses not to respond and continues to toy with his cards.

“Chrollo paid me some money for a Job and I need to pick up the rest in person.” Illumi says, his bug like eyes trained on the road ahead. Does this man just not blink?

Leah just decided the best option would be to ignore Illumi’s presence for now. Looking out the car window, she decides to somehow entertain herself by watching the little water droplets racing down the transparent surface. It was strange, the rain in New York. Mostly due to the fact that the city bordered a Desert.

Letting out a sigh, Leah thinks of the possible scenarios as to why Hisoka would need her. Well, she actually didn’t exactly need to guess why, she knew that he needed her for her powers. It was actually more for what. She just— Suddenly she feels her phone go off in her pocket.

Hesitantly, she sneaks a glance at the two men sitting in the front and sees them occupied in a conversation. Leah, determining it was safe enough, unlocks her phone. She bites her lip as she opens the missed messages from Killua.

From: Killua Hey where are you? The plan fell through.

From: Killua Get back here as soon as possible.

Leah blinks and knits her brows in confusion. What is Killua talking about? They planned to track the base to tail a specific member. How did that fall through?

Sent: Leah

What do you mean it fell through?

Leah’s blood ran cold as she read the next message.

From: Killua

The troope has already left York New. Kurapika also got a message from Hisoka saying that their partnership is over with.

Sent: Leah

Killua. Hisoka hasn’t left, I’m with him right now.

Before Leah could see what Killua could send back, a card splits the screen in half. Flinching she drops the phone on the car floor, watching it glitch and fizz out.

“Now. Now, Lele~. Let's pay attention to the situation at hand shall we.” Hisoka tells the young girl with a smile. Leah lets out a shaky breath and decides the best option would be to not test her luck for now. Fighting Hisoka right now would be a bad option especially with Illumi here as well to back him up if need be. Watching carefully, she observes as they drive through the maze-like outskirts of the city. After a couple of turns, they come to a stop in front of a train station.

Looking around confused, Leah mutters out “Why are we here?”

Illumi and Hisoka both ignore her again as they get out of the car. Hisoka comes around to the back doors to let her out.

“Hisoka! I’m serious. Tell me why we are here?”

Hisoka stares at Leah as she glares back at him. Somehow seeming to contemplate his answer, he finally says. “You're a gift.”

“Excuse me?” Leah stutters out as Hisoka grabs onto her wrist, pulling her out of the car. Hisoka begins to explain as he forces her to walk with them into the station.

“You’re a smart girl aren’t you? I’m sure you can understand this quite well. The boss has found out that I’ve had some connection with the chain user. So I’ve lost some… trust… with him per say.”

Illumi signals to Hisoka to go through a specific doorway, causing the three of you to enter an empty hallway with hardly any people. Even with the lack of people, Hisoka doesn’t relax his grip against Leah’s wrist as they continue to walk.

“I thought I was at a loss you see. I had lost the boss’ trust and lost a chance in getting so close to fighting him. But then I remember, your cute little face—“

“Don’t call me cute you narsistik clown.” Leah snaps back as the three of them return to a crowded area. Though after a quick look around, Leah realizes they are back outside yet this time on steel platforms with many trains coming to and from.

“Some just don’t know how to take a compliment.” Hisoka laughs unbothered by the girl’s offhand insult. He just continued on with his task of yanking Leah onto one of the train cars. “It’s just I remembered the Boss being so disappointed when he couldn’t find the chosen ones from the tribal areas of Aruni. Thankfully, I realized quickly that since I knew you are one of those chosen ones, the boss will surely find you interesting and in return, hopefully forgive me.”

Catching Leah off guard, Hisoka suddenly harshly pushes her into one of the private train cars before closing the door.

“Hey Hisoka!” Leah yells, stumbling up rather quickly from being thrown on the ground and tugs at the door handle. Though she curses under her breath as soon as she finds out it is locked shut, “Open this up righ—“

“A Child?”

A shiver goes up Leah’s spine as she hears a male’s voice from behind her. In a flash, maybe due to her instincts or maybe her training, she leaps to the other end of the cabin. With a hammering heartbeat, she observes the black haired male in the same room as her. The train car was not that large, so it gave her a rather good glimpse at him. Some being the cross-like tattoo on his forehead or the crystal blue earrings poking out from the tufts of his hair.

“Oh my. How interesting.” The man seemed to marvel at something and take a step closer. “What sort of power is going on with your hands?”

Quickly, Leah takes a short glance around and gasps as she sees her hands glowing and sparkling. She wanted to practically bang her head on the wall for making a stupid mistake as to activate her powers.

“Oh I see.” Leah takes a step back from the man as he continues to approach, “That’s not a Nen ability is it? I guess Hisoka wasn’t bluffing this time around.”

Ever so suddenly, the man pauses his approaching movements and instead takes a seat at one of the booth chairs. Gesturing to the seat across from him, he unnervingly smiles and says “Please, take a seat.”

Leah breath and heart stutters in unison. There was nothing friendly about that man's smile. It was like staring at the teeth of a poisonous viper, ready to sink its teeth in and go for the kill. Taking a gulp to hopefully moisten her dry throat, she knows she has to force herself to move. That man was not asking her to take a seat, it was an order. Cautiously she makes her way and sits down from across the man.

A thick silence enters the room as the man pours himself and Leah some tea. He takes a light sip of his tea but Leah doesn’t copy his movements. She can only stare at the hot dark black water in front of her. Even with her throat as dry as sand, she doesn’t attempt to drink it.

The man opens his mouth to speak but a loud whistle cuts him off. The main lights of the cabin suddenly shut off and the train begins to slow chug forward, now leaving the station. Leah turns to look frantic out the window.

“I need to go.” She breathes out, her heart beating faster the further they get away from the train station.

“Pardon?”

“My friends. They are still in York New City. I can’t—“

The man lets out a chuckle causing Leah to pause. Crap, what was she thinking. She can’t let her emotions get carried away. This isn’t some normal person she is conversing with, it’s the leader of the phantom troupe. A person with a class A bounty on his head.

The man takes another sip of his tea, finishing it off, before looking back at Leah. “I’m going to ask you some questions. Answer them if you can.”

Leah slowly nods her head. She knew she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“First, What’s your name?”

“Leah.” Her voice cracks a little as she speaks causing an uncomfortable feeling in her throat. In order to sort the discomfort, she grabs her cup of tea and takes a sip. Surprisingly, the man waits patiently before asking another question.

“What’s your god?”

Hesitant, she decides to answer it simply and vaguely. “Wang-go”

“Ah, The God of destruction and creation. Though most considered him to be a Monster due to him being predicted to look as a ugly mix of boar, man and crane.”

“How do you know that?” Leah speaks out. Such information was only known by city elders and holders such as herself. The man ponders for a little, taking a quick glance at the desert scenery that has come to view now that they have left the city, before getting up and grabbing something. Coming back, he places the bag down and takes out a scroll.

“Though I can’t read your native language, I had a native translate bits and pieces of it to me a long time ago.” He seemed to skip over the obvious part of slaughter some to get the scrolls, but Leah decided to not press into that topic.

“Do you know what’s in these scrolls, Leah?” Leah shivers. The way her name rolled off his tongue like they were old time friends was extremely disturbing to her.

“I’d have to read them. I was never allowed to look through them.”

“I see. Then, who taught you your powers? I heard they had to be trained and practiced over many years to use on command.”

“Well, I do have a book that I got a while ago…” Leah pauses for a second. She was in a tough spot. If she revealed that she hasn’t mastered her powers, she could be considered useless and killed. Though, she could also be let go instead. Was it a good idea to take that risk though…

“I see, so you're not well versed in your abilities yet.” Leah freezes. This was going horribly for her right now. She in no way was stupid or trying to make it obvious in her hesitation, it was just this man always seemed to somehow be one step ahead of her.

Being extremely on guard, Leah watches as the man leans his hand over to her. He strangely extends his pinky out to her. She gives him a confused look as a sudden lightning strike flashes on both of them.

“How about we make a deal, Leah.”

“A deal…?”

“I will allow you to use all of the scrolls and books I have to help you gain your powers.” The man pauses for a second and a serious look comes onto his face, “However, in exchange you will become the troope’s temporarily new number 11 and I will personally be in charge of observing your progress.”

Knowing she has no choice, Leah reaches over to agree but stops short when he speaks up again.

“I want your honest commitment. Not to force this on you.”

“Why? Won’t you just kill me if I don’t agree?”

The man hums in agreement, “Usually I would but in this case it would be such a waste to kill you. As well as the fact that it would be an honest nuisance if you agreed and tried to escape every chance you got. So it would be beneficial if you agreed willingly.”

Leah thinks for a moment. She knew the right choice was to go back with Gon and Killua as well as the rest. It was so obvious, they were her friends. Yet,... why couldn’t she just do so.

“Leah! Stay here! Killua and I can take care of this.”

“Idiot. You have to be careful, you aren’t as strong as us yet.”

“Don’t worry Leah. I’ll make sure to retrieve those idiots, just stay here and read a book.”

“Trust me, Leah. I don’t want you to come. You aren’t fast enough yet to go against the troope. You’ll just end up being an easy target.”

Oh… she knew why. She was just tired of being left behind again and again. She wanted to prove she was just as strong as her friends. She wanted to join them on their adventures as well.

Gon…. Killua….Leorio. And Kurapika. I’m sorry but… I can't continue to be left behind anymore.

“I-I. I accept.” Leah says, hesitatingly connecting her pinky with his. She shivers at his strangly cold hands touching hers. Even more strangely, like out of a movie or book, thunder and lightning crashes throughout the sky in that moment

“Excellent. I realized I haven’t formally introduced myself. My name is Chrollo Lucilfer but you can just call me boss.”

Standing up from his seat, he gestures for Leah to get up as well which she does as well. Lightly, Chrollo places a hand on her shoulder and begins to lead her out of the private train car. “I say we go introduce you to the other members.”

“Of course…

...Boss.”

[quixol]

9/2/2019 - 5/25/2020: QuixolMC Changelog #28

My, my, it’s been ages since our last changelog. Where has the time gone?

Truth is, this post should have been uploaded a looooooooooooong time ago. Sadly, many of the staff of Quixol have been on an extended hiatus- leaving us with nobody left to type up these changelog posts for us, let alone work on new things... Read more on this here.

With the long hiatus behind us, there’s still some loose ends from our update to minecraft 1.14.4 that need tying up... such as releasing this post so you all know everything that was actually changed. Yeah, it’s pretty bad that we let it simmer for that long, but hopefully you’ve all gotten the hang of things without it.

With this changelog, we’d like to issue a special reminder that every “change” listed here is not necessarily something that happened recently- they can often be weeks, if not months old. After categorizing the changes into some main groups, we order them by chronological order, and provide a date as well so you can be sure of when a change was made. Hopefully this helps you get an idea of what you’ve missed, or if a certain “change” you just now noticed has actually been around for a while.

It should also be mentioned that the vast majority of the changes in this changelog are things that were changed in the huge 1.14.4 update we did.

For example, we released the sprawling new Chroma Park, our new party + games area. We also added some new datapacks, as well as updated our existing ones- you can check out all of the up-to-date info on the custom crafting recipes as well as the mob loot tables here and here.

There are numerous other changes and additions, but that’s what the rest of this post is for! Take a look below if you’d like to know more about all of the changes that have taken place in the past ~8 months (ouch).

-----

Key:

+ Feature added - Feature removed % Feature changed/bug fix ^ Feature updated (usually plugin updates) # Comment (for… comments.)

Notable changes from 9/2/2019 - 5/25/2020:

- Gameplay -

+ [10/01/19] Added new LWC protection flags: HopperIn and HopperOut. Accessible via  /lwc flag + [11/12/19] Updated server to Minecraft 1.14.4 % [11/12/19] The spawn limits for “ambient” mobs was reduced from 15 -> 8 # This setting only affects the mob cap of bats % [11/12/19] Shulker boxes dropped on the ground now despawn after 30 minutes instead of the 5 minutes used by all other items # This is to hopefully avoid issues where players break their shulker box and leave it behind without realizing until it despawns + [11/13/19] Factions will now prevent players from interacting with some new 1.14 blocks (barrels, lecterns, blast furnaces, smokers, grindstone, campfires, berry bushes, new potted flowers) on faction land if they are not a part of the faction + [11/13/19] The following blocks can now be locked with lwc: barrel, blast furnace, smoker, lectern. Barrels are locked when placing them by default, similar to chests + [11/13/19] Players can now use the /rtp or /wild command from anywhere they wish in the world. It costs 1000 shells to use and has a cooldown of 24 hours # New players may still use the random teleport button at the spawn’s info center for free % [11/13/19] Changes to Miner job # % Fixed nether bricks mining not giving payment % [11/13/19] Additions/Changes to Builder job # + All new stair types (stone, granite, polished granite, diorite, polished diorite, andesite, polished andesite, smooth sandstone, smooth red sandstone, smooth quartz, mossy cobblestone, mossy stone brick, red nether brick, end stone brick): inc/exp: 1.5 # + All new slab types (stone, granite, polished granite, diorite, polished diorite, andesite, polished andesite, cut sandstone, cut red sandstone, smooth sandstone, smooth red sandstone, smooth quartz, mossy cobblestone, mossy stone brick, end stone brick, red nether brick): inc: 0.8, exp: 1.2 # + All new wall types (stone brick, mossy stone brick, granite, diorite, andesite, sandstone, red sandstone, brick, nether brick, red nether brick, end stone brick, prismarine): inc/exp: 1.5 # % Fixed nether bricks not giving payment # + Barrel: inc: 1.5, exp: 1.0 # + Bell: inc/exp: 1.5 # + Lantern: inc/exp: 0.8 # - Removed payment for redstone lamp % [11/13/19] Additions to Engineer job # + Redstone lamp: inc: 1.0, exp: 2.0 % [11/13/19] Additions/Changes to Farmer job # % Payment for taming ocelot changed to payment for taming Cat # + Breed Cat: inc: 4, exp: 5 # + Break Bamboo: inc/exp: 0.2 # + Place Bamboo: inc/exp: 1.0 # + Collect Berries: inc/exp: 0.5 # + Collect bonemeal from composter: inc/exp: 1.5 % [11/13/19] Additions/Changes to Hunter job # % Payment for taming ocelot changed to payment for taming Cat # - Evoker: inc: 30 -> 25, exp: 50 -> 35 # + Pillager: inc/exp: 15 # + Ravager: inc: 30, exp: 40 % [11/13/19] Additions to Crafter job # + All new stair types (See previous list): inc: 2.5, exp: 3.0 # [11/13/19] Changes to Enchanter job(?) potentially. # All the config options for specific enchantments were removed... idk what this means in practice. Maybe you get paid a flat rate based on material enchanted? + [11/13/19] Silence Mobs 1.0.0 (Datapack) # Available for all players to take advantage of. Simply name a mob "silence me" (with a nametag) to make it completely silent! # Credit: https://vanillatweaks.net/picker/datapacks/ ^ [11/13/19] QuixolMC Datapack -> 1.1 # + Added crafting recipes for all coral blocks. Crafted using 2x2 of coral plants or coral fans. Recipe unlocked when holding coral/coral fans. # + Added universal dyeing crafting recipes! You can re-dye most dyeable blocks/items in the game now. # + Also added un-dyeing certain blocks/items- namely glass, glass panes, and terracotta. Simply use the dyed block/item + an ice block to remove the dye. # # All universal dyeing recipes unlocked when holding either the item in question or a dye. # + Added new crafting recipe for black dye. Can now be crafted from 3 charcoal + 1 flint. Unlocked when picking up charcoal # + Added new crafting recipe for un-crafting quartz blocks back into quartz items. Unlocked when picking up quartz block # - Removed crafting recipe for totem of undying. Reasoning: item is much more readily available now due to the introduction of village raids # + Added a new advancement for picking up a spawner. I don't remember making this? # Credit for coral block crafting & universal dyeing: https://vanillatweaks.net/picker/datapacks/ ^ [11/13/19] Mob Heads Datapack -> 1.2 # % Structure of loot table files changed. The "minecraft" namespaced loot tables now make direct calls to "vanilla" namespaced loot tables with the vanilla loot tables inside. # - All "mini" and "head" text removed from item names. The name of the item is now simply the name of the mob, and other identifying text if it is a head of a mob variant. # % Updated skin of Salmon head # + New mob head: Cat. Has 11 variants. 14% head drop, +2% per looting lvl # + Cave Spider: 0.001% -> 0.002% base head drop # - Evoker: 100% -> 14% base head drop, 0% -> 2% per looting lvl # + New mob head: Fox. 1.8% head drop, +0.4% per looting lvl # - Husk: 3% -> 1.25% base head drop, 1% -> 0.25% per looting lvl # - Illusioner: 100% -> 14% base head drop, 0% -> 2% per looting lvl # + Iron Golem: 2% -> 5.5%, 1% -> 1.5% per looting lvl # + New mob head: Panda. 1.8% base head drop, +0.4% per looting lvl # - Phantom: 10% -> 5% base head drop # + New mob head: Pillager. 3.5% base head drop, +0.5% per looting lvl # + Rabbit: 3% -> 5% per looting lvl # + New mob head: Ravager. 14% base head drop, +2% per looting lvl # + Slime: 0.05% -> 0.5% base head drop # - Stray: 5% -> 4% base head drop, 5% -> 2% per looting lvl # + New mob head: Trader Llama. Has 4 variants. 29% base head drop, +7% per looting lvl # - Vex: 10% -> 2% base head drop # + Villager: 0.5% -> 100% base head drop. Now has 15 variants. # - Vindicator: 20% -> 5.5% base head drop, 5% -> 1.5% per looting lvl # + New mob head: Wandering Trader. 100% base head drop # + Witch: +0.1% -> +0.5% per looting lvl # % Zombie Villager: 4% -> 9% base head drop. Now has 15 variants instead of previous 6. # Credit for original datapack (w/ some modifications by Vivian): https://vanillatweaks.net/picker/datapacks/ + [11/13/19] Re-added sitting in "chairs". Right click on stair blocks w/ a sign on it to sit. - [11/13/19] Removed ability to /lay. Sadly it was broken in 1.14.4 :( + [11/14/19] Added /playersearch command, a replacement for the /dox and /ddox commands. Can be used by scout players and up % [11/14/19] Namehistory script now handles "legacy players" (players returning after major updates) with more grace and consistency + [11/14/19] Rewrote /aliases command; it is now /alias <user|nick>, and allows you to look up either past usernames or past nicknames of a player % [11/14/19] /playersearch will now run /alias user as well as /alias nick ^ [11/14/19] QuantumChat 1.0.0 introduced! # "QuantumChat" is a full re-code of the original qChat script. It took months of work to get it to where it is now! "qchat" is no more, QuantumChat is the new face of Quixol's chat plugin! # The re-code mainly focused on improving performance, cleaning up code, and many QoL improvements. # There were plans to add many more new features with this release, but sadly we simply ran out of time. These new features will have to come later. # Read more about the changes in “Technical / Bug fixes” section ^ [11/15/19] Updated mcMMO to version 2.1.107 # This is a rehauled version of mcMMO, revived from the ashes by its original author! The plugin now has a lot of polish, some new abilities, and plenty of bug fixes. % [11/15/19] mcMMO: Fixed bug of mobs' names appearing as hearts in death messages + [11/15/19] mcMMO messages now make use of hover text frequently- try hovering over the messages in chat! % [11/15/19] Many skills' abilities now unlock after a few levels instead of immediately at level 0 now. # Many, many more changes took place in this version... too many to list! % [11/15/19] mcMMO: Rebalanced mcmmo experience for some skills: # Alchemy: # + Stage 3 potion: 120 -> 180 xp # - Stage 4 potion: 450 -> 400 xp # + Stage 5 potion: 0 -> 60 xp # # Fishing: # - Cod: 800 -> 200 xp # + Tropical Fish: -> 800 -> 10000 xp # + Pufferfish: 800 -> 2400 xp # # Woodcutting: # + Mushroom stems: 80 xp # # Herbalism: # + Berries: 300 xp # + Seagrass: 10 xp # + Kelp: 3 xp # + Coral: literally too many to include in this: https://elixi.re/i/vel9mz5i.png # + Beetroot: 50 xp # - Grass: 10 -> 8 xp # - Tall Grass: 50 -> 30 xp # + Bamboo: 10 xp # + Cornflower: 150 xp # + Lily of the Valley: 150 xp # + Wither rose: 150 xp # # Mining: # + Coral blocks: https://elixi.re/i/gbz8p2c5.png # + Magma block: 30 xp # + Emerald ore: 1000 -> 2400 xp # - End bricks: 200 -> 50 xp # - Endstone: 150 -> 100 xp # - Packed ice: 50 -> 30 xp # + Blue ice: 30 xp # + Quartz ore: 100 -> 150 xp # + Misc new stuff: https://elixi.re/i/2xio0wo9.png # # Taming: # + Llama: 1200 xp # + Parrot: 1100 xp # + Cat: 500 xp # + Fox: 1000 xp # + Panda: 1000 xp # # Combat exp multipliers: # - Enderman: 1 -> 0.5 # + Ender dragon: 0 -> 1.0 # + Wither: 0 -> 1.0 # + Witch: 0 -> 0.1 # - Guardian: 3 -> 1.0 # + Mooshroom: 1 -> 1.2 # + Drowned: 1 # + Dolphin: 1.3 # + Phantom: 4 # + Cat: 1 # + Fox: 1 # + Panda: 1 # + Pillager: 2 # + Ravager: 4 # + Trader llama: 1 # + Wandering trader: 1 % [11/15/19] mcMMO: Changes to ability unlock tiers. # There are too many changes to summarize. # Some of this was modified by us; others is defaults of mcmmo. we tried to keep our old behavior wherever possible, but... % [11/15/19] mcMMO: Even more changes to abilities. # Once again, it's too difficult to summarize them all here. % [11/15/19] Rebalanced Alchemy Potion Unlock Tiers # Potion of Slow Falling: Tier 2 -> 1 # Potion of Haste: Tier 2 -> 3 # Potion of Dullness: Tier 2 -> 3 # Potion of Absorption: Tier 3 -> 4 # Potion of Health Boost: Tier 4 -> 8 # Potion of Hunger: Tier 4 -> 5 # Potion of Saturation: Tier 6 -> 5 # Potion of Blindness: Tier 5 -> 6% Change to Alchemy Ingredients # Potion of Haste: Carrot -> Clock + [11/15/19] QuixolMC Public Beta 1.14.4: Released! % [11/15/19] Updated randomtp sign at the spawn to give any player a one-time use free /rtp command. For new players % [11/21/19] mcMMO: Enabled Diminished Returns again % [11/21/19] mcMMO: Nerfed combat xp from endermen further. 0.5 -> 0.25 % [11/21/19] mcMMO: ability ready message should appear in chat again + [1/30/20] mcMMO: You can now crack Infested Stone Bricks with Block Cracker % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Block Cracker will now correctly crack stone_bricks during Berserk again + [1/30/20] mcMMO: Activating Berserk on a soft block (glass, snow, dirts) will break that material right away instead of only breaking subsequent blocks hit by the player + [1/30/20] mcMMO: Berserk will now break glass and glass pane blocks + [1/30/20] mcMMO: Hitting glass with berserk readied will activate it + [1/30/20] mcMMO: Added Lily_Of_The_Valley to the Bonus Drops list % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Archery's Skill Shot bonus damage is now multiplicative instead of additive (nerfing early game skill shot ranks) % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Sweet Berry Bush's default Herbalism XP is now 50 instead of 300 % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Big changes to fishing loot: # % Finding loot now gives more or less xp, dependent on the rarity of the item fished (prev. always gave 200 xp) # # % Rarities of certain items were changed: # % Lapis Lazuli: common -> uncommon # % Iron Ingot: uncommon -> rare # % Gold Ingot: uncommon -> rare # % Amount of items received changed for a few loot items: # - Diamonds: 5 -> 3 # - Lapis Lazuli: 20 -> 8 # - Iron Ingot: 5 -> 4 # - Gold Ingot: 5 -> 4 # # % Certain items were removed from loot table: # - All hoes (wooden, stone, golden, iron, diamond) # - Blaze rod # - Ghast tear # # % Many new items added to possible loot: # + Stick (2), common # + Tripwire hook, common # + Bowl, common # + Lily pad, common # + Leather, common # + Rotten flesh, common # + String, common # + Bone, common # + Water bottle, common # + Ink sac (8), uncommon # + Nautilus shell, uncommon # + Book, uncommon # + Fishing rod, uncommon # + Name tag, rare # + Wet sponge (8), epic # + Heart of the sea, legendary # # % Certain enchantments can now be obtained on items from fishing loot: # + Curse of Vanishing # + Curse of Binding # + Luck of the Sea # + Lure # + Mending # # - Removed infinity from possible fishing loot enchantments # This is because possibility to fish up mending + infinity bow % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Small tweaks to loot from "shake" ability as well

- Server Builds / Locations -

- [10/01/19] Removed various buttons/signs from the grove, as the minigames there were broken anyway % [11/14/19] Reset most of the chunks in the end! The main end island and some of the surrounding islands were spared, as were a few player builds, but everything else has been reset # With this in mind, please be considerate of other players when exploring or building in the end. You should only need one elytra, and collecting multiple at a time is frowned upon unless you're specifically getting them for players you know who need one and don't have one yet # Also, remember that the materials inside of end cities are all craftable (including shulker shells from the shulkers thanks to our datapack), so you don't need to demolish end cities to get those items! - [11/14/19] Removed the following server warps: adventurehouse, bog, equinox, florida, ravine % [11/14/19] Renamed all warps leading to the world protos as "protos:<warpname>" to differentiate them from warps located in our primary world, ghalea + [11/15/19] Added new warp: /warp ChromaPark, our new party and games area! # Features five distinct zones with their own themes! + [11/15/19] Added updated warp: /warp Minigames, now leads to games lobby in Chroma Park + [11/15/19] Updated version of server minigame: Connect Four at Chroma Park (Sunset Lane) + [11/15/19] Updated version of server minigame: Squishu at Chroma Park (Sunset Lane) + [11/15/19] Updated version of server minigame: Spleef at Chroma Park (Wild West) + [11/15/19] New arena/warzone: Banker Brawls at Chroma Park (Wild West) + [11/15/19] Updated version of server minigame: Slappy Salmon at Chroma Park (Hydro Zone) + [11/15/19] Updated version of server minigame: Sheep Pit at Chroma Park (Verdant Vale) + [11/15/19] New server minigame: Chicken Roulette at Chroma Park (Verdant Vale) + [11/15/19] New server minigame: MushGolf at Chroma Park (Verdant Vale) + [11/15/19] New server minigame: Lava Fishing at Chroma Park (Synth Zone) % [11/15/19] Updated warp signs at Orsus to lead to Chroma Park + the new minigames lobby + [11/18/19] Set up droppers underneath Chroma Park dancefloor to dispense items automatically during parties

- Technical / Bug fixes -

% [10/01/19] Fixed bug where shulker bullets would explode instantly # [10/18/19] Server's hardware and location has changed. % [10/18/19] QuixolMC now runs on a very modern Ryzen CPU with a cpu benchmark score of 20,000+, as well as NVMe SSD storage. (This is a good thing) % [10/18/19] QuixolMC is now hosted in Utah, so players from Europe will have higher ping now. Players in Australia or elsewhere across the pacific may notice slightly improved ping. Players in the Americas may notice slight changes as well. - [10/18/19] Major loss of coreprotect data. All old coreprotect data is gone + [11/12/19] Enabled “per-player mob spawns” setting % [11/12/19] Reverted “count all mobs for spawning” setting to use vanilla behavior # "Per player mob spawns" means that the mob cap is no longer global; it is now per player. Or, at the very least, determined based on the amount of chunks loaded within your "region" of surrounding chunks (essentially all chunks that are connected together, so it could cover multiple players potentially). This requires more testing! # "All mobs count for mob spawning" means counting even mobs that are not considered "natural" (ie spawner mobs) to the mob cap. By changing to this we are effectively restoring vanilla behavior here. The old system caused some problems and wasn't really worth it in the end. % [11/12/19] Experience orbs now only merge up to a value of 1000 xp % [11/12/19] Chunks are scheduled to unload more frequently now - [11/13/19] Removed the annoying "registered furnace" / "registered brewing stand" messages caused by Jobs plugin % [11/14/19] You are now kicked from your faction after 1000 days of inactivity instead of 365. This is to basically "disable" the feature since it seems a bit buggy currently. % [11/14/19] Fixed bug which prevented players from viewing their own biography if they could not view other players' bios + [11/14/19] /bio age now accepts "minor", "underage", and "adult" in addition to integer arguments # Big list of QuantumChat 1.0.0 changes % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Fixed issue where if you sent a message in a channel you had previously toggled, it did not use the channel prefix color when un-toggling % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Improved link handler regex greatly; links in chat should be clickable 98% of the time now % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Fixed QuantumChat not processing certain pronouns discord users had set % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Doing "@all" will no longer notify everyone, only "@\everyone" and "@\here" work now % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: If a player who is muted sends a private message to someone, the receiver is now warned that the sender is muted & informed on how to ignore them % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Fixed inconsistency with /msg formatting from the ordinary chat formatting  + [11/14/19] QuantumChat: You can now send sound notifs to someone by "@" mentioning them in a private message % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: quantumMessage() function will now remove any newline characters from incoming messages % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: quantumMessage() function now handles cases where a player attempts to chat in a channel they do not have permission to use % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Fixed issue where a player's message in the discord channel may not get sent to orchid if the first result of quantumDeliver() is blocked % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Using "&r" will now reset the color/formatting to the default color of the channel/source you are in instead of always "&f" % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: /qchat command changed to /qc. Still has /qchat as an alias though  - [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Removed the blacklist GUI. It was taking up space and basically unused % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Fixed textual inconsistencies in /qc ignore  + [11/14/19] QuantumChat: /ch list was completely rewritten. It now displays whether or not a channel is toggled, as well as current chat channel  + [11/14/19] QuantumChat: /ch list will now display if the player currently has private messages toggled off  + [11/14/19] QuantumChat: /ch list now displays a message to factionless players informing them they need to be in a faction to use faction channels  - [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Removed /ch toggle list, as it is now replaced by /ch list % [11/14/19] QuantumChat: Fixed a mistake that allowed quick messages to be sent to the discord channel while orchid was disabled if someone used an alias for the channel (/ch d, etc.)  + [11/14/19] QuantumChat: The console can now send private messages to players through /msg . Just for fun :) % [11/14/19] Changed gamerule spectatorsGenerateChunks to true in all worlds # This is due to a 1.14.4 bug in which this gamerule causes chunks to not even load for spectator players, even if they're pre-existing chunks + [11/14/19] You can now make shops from barrels + [11/14/19] Interacting with shops now makes a sound - [11/15/19] Disabled Orchid (our Discord bot) for now due to being inoperational. # DiscordSRV (Quixibot) now handles minecraft to discord bridge % [12/25/19] Fixed bug where player can become stuck in sneaking mode when changing dimensions % [12/25/19] Fixed bug where block breaking animation did not show for other players % [1/22/20] Fixed a dupe glitch with tnt % [1/22/20] Fixed a dupe glitch with redstone dust % [1/22/20] Fix a client crash relating to invalid color nbt data (banners, sheep, etc) % [1/22/20] Fix bug where items get stuck in mid-air in certain circumstances (most noticeable w/ saplings, apples, sticks falling from decaying leaves) % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Improved behavior for mob health bars % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Mobs will now only reward Dodge XP a certain amount of times % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Fixed dupe bugs % [1/30/20] mcMMO: "tool ready" msg no longer sent to chat % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Superability interaction, ability off, & ability refreshed messages now sent to chat % [1/30/20] mcMMO: Fixed excavation loot unlock levels % [2/11/20] Fixed issue where muted players could not read or send /mail # Could be reverted if abused.

- Plugin / Software Updates -

^ [10/01/19] Updated server .jar: Paper 1.13.2 b643 -> Paper 1.13.2 b648 ^ [10/01/19] LWCX -> 2.2.2-b92 ^ [10/18/19] Updated server .jar: Paper 1.13.2 b648 -> Paper 1.13.2 b651 ^ [11/12/19] Updated server .jar: Paper 1.13.2 b651 -> Paper 1.14.4 b226 - [11/13/19] Removed Bookshelves plugin ^ [11/13/19] PerWorldInventory -> 2.3.1 ^ [11/13/19] AreaShop -> 2.6.0-b299 ^ [11/13/19] CoreProtect -> 2.17.5 ^ [11/13/19] Mineable Spawners -> 2.0.8 + [11/13/19] WildernessTP 2.13 ^ [11/13/19] Jobs -> 4.14.3 ^ [11/13/19] Craftbook 3.10.1-b4538 ^ [11/14/19] DiscordSRV -> 1.18.1 - [11/14/19] Uninstalled RandomTeleport (replaced w/ wildernesstp) ^ [11/14/19] Namehistory -> 4.0.0 # Major rewrite of the codebase occurred in this version, focus on performance, code cleanliness, & utility for other scripts ^ [11/14/19] Biography -> 1.8.0 ^ [11/14/19] Easyalias -> 1.8.2 ^ [11/14/19] Faction Extras -> 1.0.4 ^ [11/14/19] Playtime -> 0.6.1 ^ [11/14/19] Pronouns -> 2.7.3 - [11/14/19] Uninstalled Orchid (for now) ^ [11/14/19] QuantumChat 1.0.0 introduced ^ [11/14/19] QuickShop -> 2.4.7 ^ [11/15/19] mcMMO -> 2.1.107 ^ [12/10/19] ViaVersion -> 2.2.0 + [12/10/19] QuixolMC now supports 1.15 clients! ^ [12/25/19] Paper 1.14.4 b226 -> Paper 1.14.4 b237 ^ [12/25/19] ViaVersion -> 2.2.2 + [12/25/19] QuixolMC now supports 1.15.1 clients! ^ [1/22/20] Paper 1.14.4 b237 -> Paper 1.14.4 b242 ^ [1/22/20] ViaVersion -> 2.2.3 + [1/22/20] QuixolMC now supports 1.15.2 clients! ^ [1/30/20] Paper 1.14.4 b242 -> Paper 1.14.4 b243 ^ [1/30/20] mcMMO -> 2.1.114

List of known bugs/issues:

! New players can sometimes get stuck in the beginning room of the tutorial ! The “mobs” section of the statistics counts how many times you’ve been killed by another player for some reason. It will not show how many times you have killed other players, however ! mcMMO: Sometimes, when you are killed by a mob you recently hurt, the death message just says you were killed by [a bunch of hearts]. (This is rarer since the update, but can still happen) ! mcMMO: You don’t get alchemy exp for making slow falling potions ! mcMMO: mcMMO’s messages, either party messages or about abilities, sometimes send at incorrect times, or even send to incorrect players ! Factions: Certain faction permissions are buggy or not intuitive ! PerWorldInventory: Player inventories saved in 1.11 - 1.12 (in the world Protos) may have shulker box data corrupted. undyed shulker boxes turn into purple shulker boxes, and any items inside shulker boxes may lose all of their NBT data. ! Quickshop: When making a quickshop into a double chest, then breaking it to make two single chests, it still thinks the shop is there, regardless of whether its told to be deleted with commands or manually broken in survival. ! Viaversion: 1.15.2 client may experience “ghost blocks” while mining very quickly, or, more frequently, after explosions occur. This is actually a vanilla bug, but it won’t occur if you’re on the server with a 1.14.4 client. ! Viaversion: Client may crash while typing book. Technically a vanilla bug, but exacerbated by viaversion. See here. ! Viaversion: 1.15.2 client will display all statistics in the “items” and “mobs” sections incorrectly/jumbled. It is an issue on the client-end, the server still tracks player statistics properly

Things to come:

• Update to 1.15.2 • New/updated Chroma Park games • Releasing more custom advancements • Fixing more bugs?

last changelog post (#27)

about changelogs

-----

That about wraps up this changelog- and what a lengthy log it was!

As stated before, most of the changes you saw in this post were a result of the ambitious 1.14.4 update we did in November last year. So, most of this stuff isn’t new by any measure- the most recent change on this list is already 3 months old.

Possibly the most ambitious, and most impressive, of these changes is Chroma Park. It took ~2 months of work from well over a dozen people to make the build you see today! It’s the designated “party area”, as well as home to several hand-crafted minigames that you can play for yourself at any time. Go check it out sometime! /warp ChromaPark

There were numerous other changes made, but one that might pique your interest is the large scale mcMMO update. Last year, mcMMO’s original developer returned from a long hiatus to overhaul the whole plugin- we tried to explain some of what’s changed, but honestly it’s a bit difficult to even summarize. You can take a look at some of the changes in mcMMO’s own “changelog” if you’re curious, however keep in mind that some of the information on this site is either outdated or does not apply to QuixolMC.

We apologize again for taking so long to publish this changelog... It really didn’t need to take as long as it did. But, better late than never, yeah? Hopefully the information is still useful to folks, even if it is “old news”.

We’d give an update on things on our end, but... I’m sure you’ve probably heard enough doom and gloom about hyperinfective viruses as it is. So, instead, we just want to wish you all good health. Things are scary out there, so make sure to stay inside- not just for your own health, but for everybody around you. Quixol will always be here for you!

See you again soon. 💙

[smut-camren]

Trademark Girl

Original Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7870202/1/Trademark-Girl

Summary: And by the powers that be, Camila Cabello was so attracted to Lauren Jauregui. That long black hair, punk clothes and a dark secret could only make her want her more.

Camila Cabelo had a very strict routine schedule that she adhered to in nearly all aspects of her life. Using the bathroom was one of them. Every day at precisely 12:30, ten minutes before her lunch period, she excused herself to the restroom and always went to the least used one in the school for the best privacy.

Except, that fateful Monday, somebody else occupied her bathroom. (Her bathroom, because she'd claimed it as such. She was Camila Cabello. She could do those things. Besides, nobody else was ever in here anyway…)

Camila opened the door, humming softly to herself as she did.

The sweet hum abruptly cut off as she looked up to see the last person she'd expected.

"L-Lauren?" Startled, and mildly alarmed, Camila's hand went up to her chest to calm the spike in her heart rate. Yes, Lauren Jauregui had always caused a reaction a bit like this in the brunette, but with her new look, Camila couldn't help but be, well, shocked every time she saw her.

And if she was honest with herself, she really liked the black hair. A lot. And the clothes. She admired them because of their rebelliously artistic nature, of course, nothing more…

The punk girl was leaning against the far wall, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched in that consistent expression of apathetic acknowledgment.

"Sup, Cabello," came the cool, slow response. Lauren had the voice of an angel. Be damned how many of those disgusting cancer sticks she'd begun to power through over the summer, one of which she currently held between two long, slender fingers, her sexy husk would never, ever diminish to anything below seductive.

Okay, yes, Camila admitted to herself that her admiration of Lauren Jauregui had always been a bit more than friendly. Camila Cabello was open to all genders, she knew this, and it took one look at the black haired goddess before her to prove that.

She'd never tell Lauren that, but still. Sometimes Camila couldn't help but get a little weak in the knees whenever Lauren spoke to her. Or looked at her. God help her if the girl actually touched her. Camila hated how much of an effect Lauren's mere presence could have on her, even after all this time.

Camila straightened up as she realized she'd been staring and Lauren’s other eyebrow had hiked up next to its companion at her blank silence.

But alas, no matter how tempting Lauren could look, Camila wholeheartedly disapproved of cigarettes, especially on school grounds.

"Lauren, while I have no idea of why you've decided to invade the bathroom that I normally come to during third break to relieve myself-" Though after seeing the gorgeous girl, a different kind of relief was in mind, "-I must insist that you do not smoke on school grounds, or anywhere for that matter. Cigarettes are horrible for you, and your voice is already at the perfect husk with your tremulous alto and continued smoking could ruin-"

She was interrupted by Lauren's soft, husky chuckle. Pink lips curled up at the corners as the punk girl shook her head, apparently amused.

Indignant, Camila frowned and crossed her arms and ignored the little tingles that raced across her skin at the sound of that breathy laugh.

"What, pray tell, is so funny about cancer in a stick?" Camila huffed.

"In less than thirty seconds, I've got you rambling, Cabello. You're just too easy," Lauren smiled. Or smirked. Camila could never really tell with that particular expression.

Smug, but sincerely amused.

Camila both loathed and longed for that expression. She pressed her knees together and ignored the familiar rush that went through her every time she had an-an altercation with Lauren.

Camila also didn't really know how to respond to that. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, and when Lauren's smile became undoubtedly a sneer, she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, enjoy your lung cancer and the hole in your throat, Lauren. Honestly, as if I don't have to worry about you enough after-"

Camila cut herself off. Too much, no?

Lauren's eyebrows went up for what felt like the hundredth time at those words, almost as if in disbelief. She shifted off the wall, her leather black vest with all its chains and clinking things rustling over the ribbed black tank top she wore. Or maybe the rustling came from some of the trinkets Camila couldn't identify on her black cargo pants that were stuffed into boots laced impossibly tight.

"You worry about me, Camila?"

Goddamn it, focus, Camila. Yes, her clothes are sexy. Yes, her voice is like sex incarnate. Focus! That crush on her was supposed to be long gone, right?

Uh, no. Obviously not.

Camila didn't say anything. She didn't trust her voice.

It didn't help that Lauren was still very much in shape, and the tone in her arms was just as delicious as it had always been as she lazily flicked ash off the tip of her cigarette into the sink, causing the red bandana around her arm to flex. This invited Camila to scowl at the desecration of her bathroom before the black haired girl took a long drag from it.

When she exhaled, Camila was reminded sharply of a dragon. Like the stream of smoke of the beast slowly stirring awake, ready to breathe fire at a moment's notice. Green eyes stared deep into Camila's, piercing through her.

"Don't you worry about me, Camila. I'll be just fine."

The cigarette was dropped carelessly to the tiled floor and stomped out by an unforgiving boot. The only thing that might have stopped Camila's outrage was the sound of her name falling from those perfect lips.

Camila realized then that Lauren was deliberately trying to get a rise out of her. Her hackles rose, and she could see the mirth twinkling in those striking green eyes.

"Lauren Jauregui, that is not sanitary. The janitor has to clean up every mess in this school and does not need you adding to it with your disgusting habits of which are dangerous both to you and me-and God, how can you stand the smell in here?" Camila waved at the stench that permeated the entire room.

Lauren's staccato laugh made her belly twist with longing, and with an undeniable since of indignity.

"What are you doing here, Cabello? Don't you have to go potty? You always do this time of day, don't you?"

Lauren Jauregui knew how to push every damned button that Camila Cabello had.

"I did, but the smell of your toxic cigarettes has made the need leave me. Pick that up," Camila ground out through clenched teeth. Go potty? How old did she think Camila was, five? "And how do you know I always go to the bathroom at this time of day?" Camila narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"You've gone to the bathroom at the same time every day for three years," Lauren snorted. "Don't act like I shouldn't know that. Go, if you have to. I'm not stopping you." The black haired girl waved her hand dismissively at the many stalls, which only riled Camila up some more.

"No, your littering is! Lauren, pick that mess up!" Camila reiterated when Lauren made no move to do so, only took another step forward, and then a few more, until Camila's body tensed as it normally did when Lauren got closer.

She could never explain why it did that. Her muscles always knotted up in, what? Fear? No, it was more like excitement.

She could see the amusement in Lauren's eyes, and that infuriating smirk graced her pretty mouth again.

"Make me."

It was a simple challenge.

It was also one that Camila could obviously not win. She could never win with Lauren, not for the life of her.

I hate you, Lauren Jauregui, Camila thought as she scowled and Lauren's eyes kept on twinkling and twinkling and-

"Fine, I'll get it myself," Camila snapped before stomping into the handicapped stall like a petulant child to grab some toilet paper. She didn't miss the way Lauren's eyes flashed, as if disappointed that Camila had given up so easily. It reminded Camila of the way they used to flash in freshman year, when Lauren's insults clearly did not affect the brunette, and it gave the singer a small sense of satisfaction to see it again.

As Camila turned around, however, she saw Lauren stepping into the stall behind her and pulling the door shut. She snapped the lock into place and her gaze was intense enough to cause Lauren to stutter.

"L-Lauren? What are you-"

"You said you worry about me, Camila."

Camila stopped talking, fisting the toilet paper tightly in her hands. Instinctively, she knew something was happening. The air crackled with their energy as Lauren stood blocking the doorway, her voice like a spark dancing through it.

"Yes, I did," Camila responded slowly, confused and wary as Lauren took one step forward, her heavy boots clunking.

"Did you mean that?" The tremor in Lauren's voice was so quiet that only Camila's well trained ears could catch it. Her heart suddenly went out to the girl. What must Lauren be feeling? She must have changed so dramatically for a reason. Camila would bet money that the girl thought no one cared about her…

Well, screw that. Camila cared about Lauren. She'd cared about her for a long, long time, whether the Jauregui girl would accept it or not. She did.

"Yes, Lauren. I did. I don't say anything if I don't mean it," Camila said firmly, looking straight into those stunning eyes.

Lauren's scoff was infuriating, though.

"Bullshit."

"Lauren, language-"

"Bull. Shit. Camila," Lauren growled, her eyes flashing. Camila tensed, both aroused and unnerved. Lauren could be very scary when she wanted to be. Which seemed to be all the time to Camila.

"You can't worry about someone if you don't care about them, and you can't care about them if you don't know them. And you don't know anything about me, Camila, so stop pretending like you give a shit about me. All you want is for me to come back to your precious little Glee club and you and I both know it."

Lauren moved forward the entire time she talked, like a lioness stalking after its prey, backing it into a corner. Camila ended up hitting the wall as Lauren bore down on her, tall and beautiful and breathtaking.

And now I'm wet. Perfect. Just perfect. Now really isn't the time, hormones, Camila thought. If only Lauren's voice wasn't so enticing.

"That's not true," Camila shook her head.

"Isn't it?" Lauren hissed like an agitated cobra, glaring down at Camila. They were close enough that Camila could feel the other girl's body heat. It made her squirm.

"No, it's not!" Camila snapped back, feeling her body react to Lauren's presence. Everything would be so much easier if I only liked boys, Camila thought. And if Lauren weren't so sexy, especially when angered.

"I do know things about you. You think no one cares when so many people do, Lauren. And even if nobody else did, I still would," Camila said with conviction.

Lauren was unimpressed. Green eyes rolled in perfectly shaped cages while Aphrodite sculpted cheekbones rose in a scowl.

"Name three things you know about me that you'd have to really get me to know, Cabello."

There was no hesitation.

"I know you read a multitude of books in different genres but you favor old classics such as Grapes of Wrath, Pride and Prejudice, and also have a well worn copy of the Art of War because you feel the need to invest yourself into things that matter like the Dust Bowl and old age political romance, and how to keep yourself defended because you've been treated so badly your entire life. I know you listened to music that fits your new persona before you even portrayed this persona, like Metallica, Green Day, A Day to Remember, Brand New and Apocalyptica because they sang about things you could relate to as opposed to pop genres, although Apocalyptica's instrumental style always appealed to your more abstract senses."

Lauren looked a bit dumbstruck.

But the last part was the kicker.

"And I know you picked on me out of a deep sense of repressive self hatred because your parents fostered your need to change into someone prettier rather than loved you unconditionally, no matter what, and I was the only loser you could take it out on."

Lauren's face screwed up in anguish that was replaced rapidly with a furious sense of panic.

"Enough. Enough. I didn't ask you for my fucking life story, Camila. Anybody could guess that stuff. But let's say you're right. You still don't know me because I'm one of those people with a deep, dark secret that no one knows about and would make you hate me," Lauren growled, clenching her fists.

Camila was disturbed at how much it turned her on to see Lauren angry, but also at how much it turned her on when the downfallen moral girl cursed.

"I don't believe that," Camila whispered. "I will care about you no matter what. I'm not like everybody else." She refused to confirm Lauren's misguided beliefs. Her words were true. Whether as a friend or someone she really wanted to kiss, Camila would never let Lauren down.

She could never do that to her. She absolutely refused.

Lauren sneered in her face and then Camila yelped as the black haired girl slammed her palms into the wall on either side of her face, trapping her. Camila wriggled with nerves and arousal.

Lauren was too. Fucking. Sexy.

"You really think so, Camila? Do you honestly believe that? No matter what my dirty secret could be?" Lauren murmured her mouth lowered to the brunette's ear.

Camila didn't know how to take the sudden turn of events. Her heart pounded in her chest. All she knew was that whatever was making Lauren act this way, she wanted it to keep doing so. As long as Lauren stayed this close and continued whispering in her ear like a lover.

"Yes," Camila breathed.

What secret could Lauren possibly have that could make her so sure that Camila would hate her? She really, really wanted to know. So much that it was driving her insane.

There was a long pause, in which she could feel those strong arms flexing next to her face. She felt the urge to press her face into one and run her nose from the tendons in her wrist to the muscles of her bicep.

"Then prove it."

With those words, Lauren pressed their bodies together. That strong, lean frame pinned Camila to the wall and she keened before she could help herself, felt Lauren shudder at her noise. Breasts against breasts, Lauren panting quietly into her neck with hot breath, her crotch pressed to…

What the fuck was that?

"Lauren," Camila squeaked.

No.

No.

No.

No freakin' way.

"Are you wearing a strap on?" Camila gasped. "Is that your secret? Oh my god, I finally get it! All these years, no wonder you drew all those pornographic pictures on the wall! No wonder you obsessively attacked me on a daily basis! Talk about repression. Oh, Lauren, I get it, I really do and it's okay-"

"It's not a strap on."

Camila abruptly stopped talking. What a rare thing to happen.

The bulge pressed through Lauren's cargo pants seemed a lot more, well…Real. Camila could feel Lauren pressed into every crook of her body, but most intimately pressing into the softness of her core through her skirt.

"Lauren?"

"You heard me. It's not fake. That-what you're feeling…That's my secret. And it's not just a bunch of Christian lesbian repression. It's a whole lot more than just that," Lauren whispered into her pulse point, soft pink lips brushing Camila’s tender skin in a way that made her shiver.

Okay, now no freakin' way.

"You're telling me that's a real, flesh and blood penis?" Camila suddenly felt as if she was being played. "Oh, bull! Your dramatic little joke isn't going to work, Lauren, so if you're through messing with me for today-"

"You-you don't believe me? You think-after all this time of thinking that I could tell you of all people and you're just going to tell me you don't believe me and leave? No. Fuck that."

Lauren took one step back, looking disgusted with herself and irritated with Camila as she muttered under her breath. "Like I'd lie or joke about that…Little…I'll show you little…"

Camila was alarmed as Lauren grasped at her belt buckle, unsnapped it and before Camila could even say stop (as if), the punk girl was pushing her pants low on her hips and revealing a pair of low cut red and black boy shorts.

Of which contained a very sizable, undeniable bulge.

To say Camila was shocked would be an obvious understatement.

"Need more proof, huh? Tell me I'm lying now. Look me in the eye and tell me it's not real. Then look me in the eye and tell me you still care about me."

Camila managed to peel her eyes from that glaring, obvious erection in Lauren's underwear at the sound of the girl’s voice cracking over the word care.

Camila Cabello had a bleeding heart. Screw being shocked when there was a pretty girl with gorgeous eyes shining with tears.

"Lauren, I…I don't know what to say…"

"Yeah. That's what I thought. So don't go around telling me you worry about me and because it's crap, Cabello. It's complete crap."

Lauren Jauregui has a penis, her mind said. Lauren Jauregui has a penis, her heart said. Lauren Jauregui has a penis! Her body said.

They all had very different reactions.

What the fuckity fuck, her mind said. Wow, that explains everything, her heart said. I want to sit on it, her body said.

Wait, what?

And by the powers that be, Camila Cabello was so attracted to Lauren Jauregui. That black hair, punk clothes and a freaking penis could only make her want her more.

Damn it. All.

Camila felt her folds getting slicker than necessary at this new revelation and she felt her breath hitch.

Deliberately, she stared straight into Lauren's eyes and not at that distracting bulge.

"Lauren Jauregui, I still care about you. That, between your legs? It doesn't change anything. In fact, all it does is explain everything. You, being a hermaphrodite, or whatever you may be, does not affect how I feel about you."

Lies, you just flooded your panties. The only thing that changed was how your fantasies play out.

"Your genitals don't dictate whether or not I worry about you as a friend, as a person, Lauren."

But whatever attraction she had was overruled by the need to reassure Lauren that she did, indeed, care.

Lauren stared at her. The disbelief was obvious on her face. She fisted her hands, swallowing hard. Her eyes darted from Camila's sincere brown doe eyes to her plush lips. Her jaw locked. The look was not missed by Camila, whose breath hitched slightly in response.

"You cannot be serious."

"But I am."

"I have a dick, Camila! A real, throbbing, seven and a half inch cock! Not a vagina! How can you-God, how can you not hate me?"

It was as if Lauren couldn't accept it. Her voice was breaking. And so was Camila's heart.

Seven and a half inches though. What a lovely, magical number. And it was throbbing? Mm.

Focus, Camila.

"I could never hate you, Lauren."

Camila wasn't sure what about that particular statement did it, but it did. Lauren's eyes turned to cold steel. She postured up, rolled her shoulders, tossed her head to the side and cracked her neck before straightening it back up.

Camila almost came.

"If you don't hate me now, you will after this."

And she lunged, like a lioness pouncing on her prey.

Lauren captured her mouth in a hungry kiss, hands cupping the sides of her face firmly, but not controlling. Camila's eyes went wide, and then screwed shut as Lauren pushed them back into the wall and redid their earlier position until their bodies were fitted together, and that real bulge ground into Camila's most intimate area.

She was kissing Lauren Jauregui. Lauren Jauregui.

Lauren Jauregui who had a penis.

Lauren Jauregui, who wanted her.

She'd wanted this since the first day they'd met. The fact that Lauren wanted her back? It sealed everything for Camila. How could she ever fight it?

This thought caused the brunette to moan helplessly as she gripped Lauren's wrists, lost in the feel of a silky mouth pressed to hers. It stayed like that, a heady press of lips, until Lauren realized that Camila was kissing her back and joyously went to kiss her deeper.

Camila allowed Lauren's eager tongue to part her lips and dart inside to stroke along her own reverently. She groaned and couldn't help but note that unlike Shawn's monstrous height, Lauren was the perfect height to kiss. All she had to do was tilt her head slightly up and to the side and bliss occurred.

Lauren's mouth tasted like strawberries and cigarettes. Like poisoned fruit. Ironically, Camila thought of Eve biting into the apple in the garden of Eden before she fell from grace. What a painfully accurate idea.

Lauren kissed her without pause, and rocked her hips every time Camila made a noise. When the girl released her own moan of pleasure, Camila's hips moved to meet her rocking, to meet that warm, insistent erection pressed into her.

Lauren suddenly pulled back, making Camila whine a little as their lips parted with a smack.

"You want this, don't you?"

Camila blushed, and blinked a few times.

"I wouldn't have kissed you back if I didn't want to. I've always found you attractive Lauren-"

"I just showed you that I have a dick and kissed you without asking first, yet you still want this?" Lauren was almost clarifying beyond need, her eyes narrowed and demanding.

"Are you trying to make me say I hate you?" Camila gawked, cheeks red at the predatory gleam in Lauren's eyes.

"You're into some kinky shit, aren't you?"

The indignant look on her face made Lauren smirk that trademark smirk. Before Camila could protest, they were kissing again, so of course any protest she had died into a small little moan that made Lauren purr. Camila's hands went up to Lauren's head to pull off that ridiculous beanie with the pin on it of a bright yellow smiley face so that she could run her fingers through silky black locks. The texture made her fingers tingle.

Lauren's own arm dropped to Camila's lower back and wrapped around her, pulling her even closer. Camila groaned as Lauren began to rock into her, humping her core, separated only by the thin layer of their underwear.

Camila knew without a doubt she could kiss Lauren forever and never grow tired of it. It was like kissing passion incarnate, and her belly roiled with pleasure with every second they stayed connected.

Lauren pulled back to bury her face into the brunette's neck, kissing, licking and sucking, no doubt leaving marks. Camila moaned again, dizzy and beyond turned on, but before she could register what was happening, Lauren was pushing her sweater up over her taut stomach, running her hands all over it and feeling the muscles quiver. Camila shuddered at the feel of those smooth palms. She had a sensitive tummy and Lauren had the most delicious touch.

"Lift your arms, Camila."

It came out as an order, but it was more of a question, a request for permission. Camila hesitated, but the lust of finally being able to get into this with Lauren Jauregui overwhelmed her and she obeyed. Lauren looked delighted as she yanked it over her head.

Starbursts of gold and emerald traced the swell of her breasts in her simple, white lace bra. Lauren's eyes on her made her hotter than it should have.

"Goddamn, Camila. All this time, you've been hiding those under your godforsaken animal sweaters?"

Camila shivered, yearning for Lauren's touch. The compliment made her cheeks flush and her chest heave a bit. She wanted to know what it would feel like to be gripped in those strong hands, squeezed, and massaged.

"You know, they look even better without the bra in the way," she breathed, pushing her chest out enough to entice Lauren's already hungry eyes.

A low growl met her words.

"Yeah? Let's find out," Lauren smirked, and Camila’s insides sizzled at the expression. It promised debauchery and the touch of intimacy.

She unclasped the offending garment and tossed it on the floor with Camila's…Delightful…Animal sweater.

Lauren moaned, literally moaned at the sight of Camila's breasts in all their naked glory. She pressed her washboard abs into Camila at the sight, making the singer wriggle as her clit brushed against those perfect abdominals with amazing pressure.

"You have amazing tits," Lauren muttered before diving in and latching onto her little brown left nipple for dear life. She squeezed them both as she kissed and licked all over them, making Camila a writhing, hot mess. Her nipple was stiff and swollen when Lauren finally released it, but not without the nick of teeth across it. Camila hissed in pleasure.

"Oh, you like teeth, huh? Figures you'd be into something like that," Lauren chuckled before giving the other breast the same treatment.

"Like what?" Camila huffed dizzily, only semi-aware that she was being mildly mocked.

"Something dirty," Lauren groaned in between her breasts as she began sucking and biting to leave a hickey. She wanted to leave her mark all over this pretty golden skin.

Camila moaned in response and Lauren shivered. She could feel herself soaking through her panties, and it was more than embarrassing.

"Fuck, Camila, I can feel how wet you are. Did I- Is that because of me? Did I make you that hot?" Lauren sounded unbelievably smug for someone so disbelieving.

"Yes," Camila admitted, blushing now.

"You really are kinky. Finding out a girl has a dick only gets you going, doesn't freak you out. You like being bitten and you're willing to let me go as far as I want in a bathroom stall? Dirty girl, Camz, dirty girl…"

Camila discovered quickly that she liked when Lauren talked to her like that.

"Keep talking," she pleaded as Lauren kissed and nipped at her neck some more, leaving more marks. She let out a little yip of pleasure when Lauren rocked her stomach into her, pressed into her panties and began to grind into her. Her little clit twitched with every brush.

"Oh, yeah? You like dirty talk too? Jeez, what don't you like baby?" Lauren murmured, the sneer evident in her voice.

Camila's head was swimming as Lauren's mouth pressed into her again. She was slowly beginning to lose it under the touch of the ethereal being lavishing the inside of her mouth with a tongue as strong as all of her other muscles.

"Touch me," Camila whimpered. She couldn't fight it anymore; she didn't care how or why, as long as Lauren did something to soothe the ache that was rapidly becoming unbearable between her thighs.

Lauren paused. For a long moment, Camila feared she'd gone too far as Lauren breathed her toxic, intoxicating breath into the corner of her mouth.

"I am touching you, Camila," Lauren murmured against her mouth, pressing her hands to Camila's lovely breasts and squeezing. Camila fought not to let her eyes roll back.

"You know what I mean," Camila replied, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"Yeah. I do know what you mean. And I'm not going to," Lauren said, and took a step back.

Not going to? Um, excuse me, no, that's not how that works.

"You're not going to?" Camila gawked and Lauren's condescending expression both infuriated and thrilled her.

"No, I'm not."

"Are you kidding me? You can't just-just kiss someone out of their mind and touch their chest and not follow through. You’re-you’re a tease, Lauren."

Camila realized her mistake immediately as emerald eyes darkened dangerously. Camila knew she was out of line, and it was unfair to accuse Lauren of something because maybe she wasn't comfortable going further, or whatever reason she stopped.

But a pitiful part of her was unquestionably turned on by the flash of anger in those gorgeous eyes.

"I'm a tease? Are you fucking kidding me?" Lauren practically snarled. "You walk around in those short, tight skirts all day, showing off that ass that everybody knows you worked hard to make look that good, and I can't tell you how many times I've seen you flash your hot little panties when you lean over to get a drink of water from the fountain. You've been teasing me for years, Cabello."

"L-Lauren, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Get on your knees."

Camila, once again, gawked like a fish out of water. Her mouth opened and closed in disbelief, outrage, and of course, the ever present ache that shot through her pussy.

"Excuse me?"

"Get on your knees, Camila. You say you're sorry? You say you don't care that I have a dick? Well now you're going to prove it to me. You obviously want it if you're so pissed that you'd dare call me the tease just because I wouldn't touch you. And let me get to second base so easily," Lauren sneered.

Camila stared hard at Lauren for a long moment, fiddling nervously with her skirt. Lauren's words always had a way of stinging brutally with just the right amount of truth to make you bend to her will.

If she really was a fallen Greek angel, she could write the poems of the gods to bring the world to its knees, and speak them in that seductive, haunting voice to truly hold absolute power.

But even if that wasn't the case, it was more than enough to bring Camila to her knees. She sank down slowly, half glaring, half staring in admiration at Lauren's perfect, pretty face.

"Jesus, Camz, look at you. You're actually doing it. Do you know how long I've wanted to see you like that? To finally get you where you belong," Lauren breathed and stepped forward, until her huge erection was centimeters from Rachel's nose.

"Lauren," Camila ground out through clenched teeth, feeling her own indignation return at those words. She almost stood back up, until Lauren put a hand on the back of her head and tenderly stroked her soft brown locks.

She practically turned into a squirming, purring kitten on the spot. It didn't hurt that submitting to the other girl completely also made her cunt ache.

Wow, I really am some kind of fucked up, Camila acknowledged silently to herself. The yearning in her loins kept her from getting upset at that thought.

"Do it, Camila. I know you want to see it. See if I really am telling you the truth. I know a part of you still doesn't really believe me, really get it. Go ahead. If you don't like it, stuff me back in my underwear and we'll be on our merry way. But considering your current track record, I don't see that happening anymore," Lauren murmured in that voice like burning silk, her smoky tone enticing Camila forward.

And somehow, Lauren Jauregui always read her like an open book. She did want to see it, to confirm what Lauren was saying entirely. With trembling hands and a stomach flipping nervously, she reached out and put a hand over the bulge, squeezed gently. Lauren's quiet rumble, so quiet that Camila almost missed it, spurred her on.

She hooked her fingers into the waistband of those sexy boy shorts and tugged determinedly, desperate to see what had actually made Lauren Jauregui want her, Camila Cabello, of all people. (No, Camila did not honestly believe that Lauren could actually want her without the all consuming need of a penis. It was a thought she was hopelessly trying to ignore.)

She revealed Lauren inch by tantalizing inch as she tugged her underwear down around her thighs, starting with a bulbous, weeping pink head.

Why was everything about Lauren so pink?

Camila was overwhelmed by how turned on she was, seeing such a private, erotic part of Lauren that no one else had ever gotten to see.

"It's so big," she gasped, staring unabashedly. Seven and a half, indeed. She was a Jauregui, so of course she wouldn't be caught with anything average.

Lauren, who had been looking uncertain, smirked instantly, all shyness or insecurity gone with one statement, which made Camila roll her eyes.

"I regret saying that considering what it's going to do to your ego," Camila mumbled, but continued looking in awe anyway. It was just so…Pretty. Just like Lauren, which figured.

It looked smooth, and soft textured but so stiff, almost painful. She could see one long, thick vein running along the underside of it. She imagined running her tongue along it, wondered what kind of sound Lauren would make if she did.

"Can I touch it?" Camila inquired, already reaching out an eager hand.

"Yes," Lauren hissed, almost like a duh. Camila felt a thrill of power rush through her at the way Lauren's knees nearly buckled and her eyes rolled back as soon as her tiny hand wrapped around the length. Camila gave her a gentle squeeze, reveling in the feel of rock hard flesh against her palm.

"So hard, Lauren…Why are you so hard?"

Camila couldn't resist moving her hand. She wanted to touch Lauren some more. A lot more. The older girl wasn't the only repressed one in this school. Camila had been having sexual fantasies about her for years, healthy or not, they'd been there.

They were just altered a bit.

She tugged lightly and Lauren let out a little grunt that made Camila's pussy clench.

"That's what you do to me, Camila. I told you just having it wasn't my only secret. God, how do you not hate me knowing all this?" Lauren's head lolled back and she stared at the ceiling as if it had the answers.

No, that just would not do.

"Look at me," Camila said. "Look at me," she insisted with a harder tug on Lauren's dick, inviting a low growl that had her belly getting all knotted up. Dark green eyes met her own, and she shivered. Lauren looked so hungry.

"Because you're Lauren Jauregui, and I've been attracted to you since the day I met you. So attracted to you not just by your looks, but by your intelligence, your collected demeanor and this badass look you've adopted turns. Me. On," Camila admitted and each tug on the last three words was hard enough to make Lauren's eyes nearly cross. "As if I could be upset that you would be attracted to me…"

"Fucking-easy, Camila. Your hand's not wet or anything," Lauren panted, though her protest was a little pointless considering how she kept bucking into Camila’s palm, trying to fuck her hand as if it were her-

Camila's thighs clenched.

"Sorry."

"You know how you can get my dick wet, though, right?" Lauren murmured as Camila shifted on her knees.

Camila should have seen that coming.

"Lauren Jauregui, if this is your way of requesting a blow job-"

"C'mon, Camz. I wanted you to prove that you really are sorry for calling me a tease…" Lauren's voice was needling, but instead of being irritated, her semi-plea only made Camila want to do it.

Yes, she really, really wanted to see if Lauren tasted as good as she looked. Not to mention she wanted to test out her lack of gag reflex. The thought of sucking the girl made her clit throb.

"Fine, but if I do this, you have to stop with your whole 'poor me, hate me' attitude. I always thought you had more dignity than that Lauren," Camila bargained, and before Lauren could snap out the retort so obviously lingering in the scowl of her lips, the brunette leaned forward and swiped her tongue over the head of her cock.

The taste of salt and some kind of fruit tickled Camila’s taste buds. A peculiar taste that she wanted to try more of. Not to mention the little kick of Lauren's hips at the simplest of touches from her tongue.

Camila latched her mouth onto Lauren's tip, sucking her into her mouth.

"F-Fu-" Lauren shuddered as Camila began to tease her head, before hesitantly sucking an inch of her deeper into her mouth.

Camila found herself thoroughly enjoying Lauren's little hisses and whimpers, and began to bob her head slowly, taking more of her length into her mouth with each return of her head. She sucked and slurped for show, and also to get more of Lauren's taste into her mouth.

""F-Fuck-Suck it, Camila, fucking suck my dick. Feels so good, ugh!"

Lauren's hands flew to her hair, her grip bordering on painful as she clutched a handful of it. Camila smirked a bit, proud of herself. Not many could say that they'd made Lauren Jauregui lose it like that.

Every moan and grunt from Lauren was amazing. She wanted more of them. "Mm," Camila moaned softly as she sucked Lauren deeper, halfway in before deciding to test out her gag reflex. She swallowed all of her in the next bob of her head, sucking her entire length into the back of her throat.

No choking.

Only Lauren's strangled cry that made her impossibly wet, along with the feeling of having her mouth full of Lauren. She swallowed around the older girl repeatedly, hands on the girl's hips to steady them as her lips pressed to the base of her dick.

"Shit, shit, shit-" Lauren couldn't even say anything but swears. Camila knew instinctively if she held her there in the back of her warm throat any longer that the girl would blow her load. She glanced up with coy eyes and saw Lauren staring down at her in awe. Camila's cheeks were hollowed out and her lips were swollen as they stayed wrapped around Lauren.

She released the girl before that face could screw up in the bliss of orgasm.

"You taste so good, Laur," Camila whispered as she released her with a wet pop before kissing down to her hilt and tentatively nuzzling into her balls.

Camila was enjoying this way too much to feel demeaned by it, though she probably should have.

She was unsure of how this part of Lauren would taste, but she was delighted at how neat they looked. Even, and large but not too large, enough to make her clit throb. They were heavy and swollen, but uniform. Perfect, like the rest of her.

They tasted good, too, like Lauren's dick. Only when she lovingly suckled on them Lauren released a high pitched yelp.

"You-you're really licking my balls, right now, Camz? Such a slut, fuck, you want to suck on them, don't you? Suck on my nuts, Camila. Do it, baby, do it…"

Okay, yes. Camila definitely should have felt demeaned at that point.

But Lauren's domineering attitude mixed with her submissive, helpless need for Camila to just not stop overruled it.

Plus…She was right. Camila was kinky, and it turned her on to be belittled like that.

"Stop. Stop," Lauren hissed after a little while of this, pushing Camila's head away. For a second, Camila thought she'd done something wrong.

"You're gonna make me cum if you don't stop. And I'm not finished with you yet. Not by a long shot," Lauren grunted and tugged lightly on Camila's hair, urging her to stand.

Camila happily and a little smugly crawled back up Lauren's body and kissed her, letting Lauren taste her own precum. They kissed deeply, moaning together until Lauren pushed her back.

"How far will you let me go, Camila?" Lauren whispered in that lovely husky voice. "Tell me what I can and can't do, but just so you know, I want to do everything. I can't hide that from you. I won't hide anything from you anymore."

Camila paused. This was an important decision. How far was she willing to let Lauren go?

The answer was without a doubt, all the way. As far as she wanted. She just needed Lauren so badly. The ache in her walls was becoming unbearable. She was soaking through her panties.

"You can do whatever you want to me, Lauren," Camila breathed back. She watched Lauren's eyes spark with pleasure.

She kissed her once more before reaching out to yank down the rest of Camila's clothes, pulling them over one shoe and restlessly leaving her underwear hanging off of her ankles.

"Turn around and bend over. Hands on the wall," Lauren ordered. Camila hesitated, locked her eyes with Lauren's.

She realized she had no choice. She'd do whatever Lauren said to be touched. She yearned at the thought of what Lauren would do when she obeyed.

So she did. She turned around, bent over and exposed her lovely apple shaped ass to Lauren's roaming eyes, the dripping slit of her pussy. Her arms trembled as she pressed her palms to the cold bathroom wall.

"Uh, fuck. You're creaming all over yourself and I've barely even touched you there, Camz," Lauren let out a guttural moan. "Do I really do that to you? I've got to get a taste of that pussy."

Camila's ears burned at the words, but her eyes flew wide and she squealed when Lauren pushed her legs apart and pressed her tongue against her. She struggled to see over her shoulder, to see that pink head work between her legs.

Then it was all a blur as Lauren's warm, wet magical tongue swiped through her folds, swirled her helpless clit in circles, then pushed inside of her.

The thought of what Lauren was doing, just the thought of someone having their mouth on Camila down there made her walls clench tightly.

"Lauren!" she cried, digging her fingers into the tile to steady herself, though it was useless.

"Like that?" Lauren mumbled. Then she suckled on Camila's nub, pulling it out from its protective hood with nothing but the suction of her soft, warm lips.

"Ugh, Laur-Lauren-"

Okay. New favorite thing. Having her clit sucked on was too good. Camila came, just a little at the feeling.

"Did you just…?"

Lauren pulled back to stare at a shaking, disheveled Camila. Big, brown eyes stared over golden shoulders at her. Lauren could feel that sweet girl cum all over her chin. She licked her lips to get more of the heady taste and arched an eyebrow as Camila nodded feebly.

"A little, yeah…"

Lauren growled.

"I can't get enough of your taste, Camila. I can't get enough of you being so submissive for me. You'd do anything just to get me to touch you, wouldn't you? You want me to fuck you, don't you, baby?"

Camila's spine bowed inward slightly, and she nodded, ashamed and aroused beyond belief. Lauren placed a hand on her lower back, possessively. The feel of it nearly drove her insane.

"I need you to touch me Lauren. I've needed you to touch me since I walked in and saw you, since the first damn day that I saw you."

"All this time, you've wanted me too? All this time I could have had you…" Lauren shook her head in disbelief. "Don't you worry, Camz. I'm going to take care of that neglected pussy real soon."

Camila felt Lauren press the tip of her dick against her entrance. She keened. Lauren grabbed a hold of her painfully stiff cock and she struggled not to let her eyes cross as she slid it over the brunette's folds. Her jeans hung low on her hips.

"Mmf," Camila whimpered when the bulbous head bumped her swollen clit.

Lauren's head lolled back, because she could barely stand just how good the girl's outsides felt on her dick; slick and warm and so, so soft. What would her insides feel like?

She looked down and growled at the sight of her cock splitting Camila's pussy lips, running all over her.

"You want me to fuck you?"

"Yes, Lauren. How many times do I have to say it?" Camila gasped brokenly, pushing her hips back.

"Just one more time," Lauren teased her, though she could barely stand not to ram herself into Camila right then and there. It was a game of power. It had always been a game of power between them.

Lauren loved when she was winning. And right now, with Camila bent over, pleading to be fucked by her?

Definitely winning.

"Fuck me," Camikla hissed, beyond exasperated and frustrated and saturated between her legs.

"As you wish."

Lauren positioned herself and then pushed, swift and deep, penetrating Lauren's tight hole. She thought she might die before she could even get into the hilt, her cock singing with bliss at the velveteen walls that gripped her so well.

Camila's cry almost did her in.

"Yes, yes!" she panted. Camila felt full, stretched. She was no stranger to the feeling; she'd actively played with toys ordered online (without her father's knowledge) but they were much smaller, and she'd trained her pussy with exercises to keep it tight.

Lauren was big, and the slight pain of being stretched by her only made it feel that much better.

"So tight..." Lauren hissed as she slowly began to thrust, in and out, mesmerized by the sight of her cock pushing in and out of that wet, pink pussy. She hissed every time her cock slid past ridged walls, being gripped and slowly embraced, as if Camila's insides were curiously getting to know her.

"Fucking take it Camila. Take my dick. All of it. Look at you, baby. Soaking my dick in your cum. You're already close, aren't you? I can feel you squeezing me, baby. It turns you on, doesn't it? To be fucked like the whore you are in a bathroom stall?"

Lauren's words lit the fire in her belly. She thrust back onto her cock and whimpered when it hit every nerve of her walls.

"Faster," Camila whimpered as Lauren hit something inside of her. It felt so good, her toes curled. Lauren was filling her up so well. She couldn't take how good it had begun to feel. Lauren's cock was too big to miss a single spot. She mewled as her walls clamped when the older girl bucked forward.

"Yeah, Camz? Feels good, baby?" Lauren smirked that trademark smirk, running her hands over Camila's sweaty, tensing back.

"Mhm…" Camila nodded, only further turned on by Lauren's words. The desperation of it only made it better.

Lauren picked up the pace. She was overwhelmed by the need to make Camila climax, to feel those walls spasm around her dick, feel Camila completely come apart around her.

The brunette cried out helplessly as Lauren began to pound her, rapidly sinking in and out of her pussy. Lauren was getting in so deep, as if trying to push her very soul into Camila, taking her like it was her job.

"So close," Camila whimpered, her legs shaking. She could feel it building, the tingling her walls reaching a fever pitch.

"That's it, Camila. Be a good girl and cum all over my dick. Just like the desperate slut you are. The one that bends over for girls with dicks because that's how desperate she is to be filled," Lauren hissed, bending over to whisper the words against a flushed, heated cheek.

Camila let out a long, loud moan as Lauren’s hand flew to her clit and circled the swollen nub. Her insides overheated, clenched and clawed for purchase on the soft, excess skin of Lauren's cock and the rigid flesh impaling her over and over.

Lauren groaned into her ear, and couldn't stop her knees from buckling. She wrapped her arms around Camila's waist, overwhelmed by the sensation of Camila quaking around her in orgasm as they fell back and her ass hit the floor with a painful thud.

"Fuck. Fuck,” Camila panted, her head falling back onto Lauren's shoulder, exposing her sweaty throat as her walls continued to flutter with the aftershocks of a wonderful orgasm.

"Just did," Lauren chuckled breathlessly, arms wrapped around the petite girl sitting on her lap.

They sat there for a while, regaining their breath. Lauren grunted in pleasure when Camila suddenly rocked her hips though.

"Yeah, you did. Now it's my turn to fuck you, Jauregui."

Startled enough so that she couldn't protest, she felt Camila lift off of her cock, exposing her painfully hard erection to the cool air. It glistened with Camila's fluid, and looking at it made Lauren even dizzier than she already was.

"What are you-"

Camila turned around and promptly sat right back down on her dick, encasing her in that blissful grip of her cunt once more. Her ass sat flush to Lauren's thighs and the girl yelped and bucked up.

"Feels good?" Camila cooed, mocking the girl's earlier words. Lauren's broken, weak nod and the grimace in her brow made Camila shudder. She pushed up the girl's tank top and braced her palms against her abs, delighting in the feel of them clenching.

"Camila," Lauren groaned as the brunette began to ride her, slowly at first before picking up speed. Lauren reached out for that amazing ass, squeezing it in her hands and loving the feel of the firm cheeks as Camila rose and fell on her shaft. She slapped one, then the other, Camila bucking both times at the sting against her flesh. "Ride me, Camz. Just like that. Bounce on my dick. Fuck."

Lauren's muttering of words caused Camila to do as she wanted; she lifted up high till she could do nothing but squeeze Lauren's tip, felt her walls cling to it in panic at the thought of pulling out completely before she slammed back down hard, sending Lauren's head slamming back into the floor. Every nerve in her cock was turned on and enjoying the feel of slick, tight heat. It was all so slippery and warm.

"Like that, Laur? This what you want? You want me to ride you like this? Gosh, and you say I'm the slut."

Camila could see why Lauren loved to hold that power over her. She could feel it racing up her spine. To see Lauren Jauregui beneath her like this, helpless to her body, wanting and needing her. She watched Lauren's eyes flicker from her face to her breasts that bounced up and down. She got off on the feel of them slapping her chest.

It was incredible.

"What would you do if I stopped right now, Lauren? You'd probably cry, wouldn't you? You wouldn't be able to stand it if I left you right now, hard and helpless. I already got to cum, but you'd be left here waiting to burst without a warm pussy around to milk you for your load. It'd kill you," Camila panted.

Lauren's eyes rolled back. Her hips surged up again and again to meet Camila's. She cried out, knowing their roles had been switched, both loving and hating it.

"I think you're the slut for my pussy, aren't you, Laur? You'd do anything to stay inside me right now, wouldn't you? You'd have done anything, all these years just to be able to fuck me, huh?"

"Yes," Lauren admitted, shameless. "Don't ever stop, Camila. Please. I need you so much," she sobbed, working her dick up higher, deeper into that beautiful girl above her.

Camila shuddered at the admission, feeling herself getting closer.

"Was it always me, Lauren? Or are you just a slut for every girl in the school? You'd stick your cock into anything, right?" Camila panted, though these words made her heart ache.

Lauren was the only one she fantasized about as she did. The only one who could make her feel the way she did. And even though she knew she wasn't the only one for Lauren's desires, that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"No. Fuck no, Camila. It's only you. It's always been you. God, always you, only you!" Lauren gasped brokenly, their hips moving in a sloppy rhythm, beginning to lose pace as they neared orgasm.

As if Camila could question her feelings…As if she knew...

"That's my secret Camila, that's the one that could make you hate me. Not the dick you're riding, but the fact that you're the only girl I've ever wanted in this run down town. You're the only one I could ever look at and want more with. It was always you, just you. That's my secret."

Camila's eyes widened and her heart raced even harder than it already was. Was that even possible?

Lauren braced her feet flat on the floor, locked her legs and then lifted up on the tips of her toes to fuck Camila. The brunette yelped as she was flung forward, her arms tucking against Lauren's body and her face propelling right up next to her. She grasped at the collar of her shirt, shocked by the power in Lauren's hips though she really shouldn't have been, knowing how strong the lean girl was.

"God, Lauren! Yes! Do it, finish me. Cum, Lauren. I want you to cum inside me!" Camila moaned brokenly against Lauren's lips. She was possessed by the need to be that close to the other girl. Both of them were.

It was these words that finally sent them over the edge. How could Lauren ever deny such a request? Her hips rutted up into the girl she'd yearned for since the day they'd met; she spurted. Warm, thick ropes painted Camila's insides as the brunette came around her again, milking her cock well. She was trying to spill her very soul into the girl. She felt an extra spurt shoot from her tip at the look of ecstasy on Camila's face.

Lauren clutched at her sides, almost passing out from how good it felt as their mouths pressed hungrily together, moaning and mumbling with tiny hip jerks to prolong the bliss.

"So good, Camila…You're so beautiful, Camz, so beautiful…" Lauren mumbled into the top of Camila's head, the smaller girl's face buried into her neck as they rested. "Only one…Only one," she whispered softly as Camila's breathing mellowed out.

"The only one I ever wanted."

Five minutes later and well past Camila's lunch break, they were all cleaned and freshened up. Well, as fresh as they could be.

Lauren stood at the sink, washing her hands and smile-smirking to herself as Camila fixed her hair in the mirror next to her.

"Where do we go from here, Lauren?" Camila said as she turned off the faucet and began to dry her hands.

The brunette honestly didn't know. Her emotions were all over the place. What did she want from Lauren? Their fornication was highly inappropriate and definitely not what Camila would have wanted for a first time with the girl she'd been wanting for so long, but god it had been so worth it, to hear Lauren's admission and the orgasm…Ugh, the orgasms.

Lauren Jauregui having a dick was most definitely okay by Camila Cabello.

But what would they do? Did Lauren really mean what she'd said? Would she even want to talk to Camila now, or was it all bullshit to get into her pants?

Camila thought she might be sick at the thought. She couldn't handle that. She couldn't handle being used by Lauren like that.

It would be her own fault, though-she'd let it get that far, wanted it to get that far. But God, she wanted Lauren to keep wanting her.

She wanted Lauren to want her so much that it was clearly beyond purely physical, and Camila knew that, and she was terrified, and oh Christ she couldn't breathe-

"Camila. Camila, hey. Look at me."

Camila's panic was written all over her face. She blinked rapidly, surprised when Lauren cupped her cheeks.

"I can see you freaking out. Stop it. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere. I can't, won't run away from you anymore. Calm down. I'm right here."

Camila slowly relaxed and leaned into the touch.

And as beautiful as Lauren was when she was cocky and sexy, in control and full of her Jauregui swagger, Camila knew she would give all of that up if it meant Lauren would look at her the way she was looking at her right then.

"Lauren," she whispered, and swooned when the older girl gave her that trademark expression though she could finally see the infinite softness in it. Lauren leaned in and pressed a sweet, tender kiss right between her eyes.

Camila Cabello absolutely melted.

"I don't know what we do now. I know what I want to do. I've known that for a long time," Lauren murmured against her forehead, and wrapped one arm around Camila, tentatively pulling her close to her body so their eyes were close, the connection intimate.

Lauren had turned on her charm, and by God, Camikla could not resist it. Holy shit, she was a sucker for this more than she was for her swag. She truly was a romantic at heart.

"What do you want to do, Lauren?" Camila inquired.

"I want to take you out on a date. I want to hold your hand and tell you all the emotional shit that I'm trying very hard to smother right now to keep from running from you like I usually do. I want you to keep looking at me like you really do care before you realize the secrets I've told you are just too much and you leave and never look back at me again."

Camila's breath caught in her throat. Lauren's eyes were shining. It had been a long time since she had seen Lauren cry.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not going to stop caring about you, Lauren," she whispered.

"Till you let me take you out on a proper date, since we did this way out of order because I'm an idiot and know it's easier to give into my lust for you than my l-feelings for you."

Excuse me, finish that word please. That one with the L. Yeah, you know the one.

Lauren looked terrified at her slip, but Camila kissed her softly on the mouth.

"Yes, we did this ridiculously out of order and I will be preparing a power point displaying why we really shouldn't have had sex in this disgusting high school bathroom and how big of a waste it was for our first time-"

"Wasn't a waste to me, and by the way you were moaning, I don't think you really believe that," Lauren smirked, eyebrow hiking up in that cocky manner.

Yes, it still made Camila indignant beyond belief.

But now it also charmed the hell out of her.

"Sex with you could never be a waste to me, Camila. No time spent with you ever could be. I don't care how, when, or why it happened, because if it's you, Camz, it's going to be special to me. No matter what."

Dead. That's it. Lauren Jauregui has officially killed her.

Lost for words and floundering at the genuine smile on Lauren's face, she struggled to speak.

"Yes, w-well…You will still be making up for the inappropriateness of this by taking me on a proper date, Lauren," Camila huffed, crossing her arms.

"Okay. Cool. Friday at eight good with you?" Lauren said nonchalantly, leaning against the sink.

Stupid punk attitude and apathetic coolness. Distracting Camila.

"Yes. Sounds delightful. And you're not getting out of that power point, either."

Take that, you smug Jauregui!

"Even if I tell you that we had an English test last block and completely missed it because I was too busy making you scream my name?"

"Wha-Shit!"

Camila bolted for the door, even though it was 3:15 and school had already been let out and there was no humanly possible way besides a time machine to make up for skipping the entire last bit of the day.

Lauren just laughed.

"See you next time, Camila!" she called, reaching for a cigarette in her pocket despite how tacky and douche-baggy she thought it was to smoke after sex, especially sex with the girl she'd been in love with for three years after exposing her biggest secret that she had a dick and in fact only wanted said girl and no one else.

Fucking sue her, her emotions were running haywire and that whole Play it cool, Lauren act was wearing off fast. She needed a cigarette.

A moment later, Camila's head popped back in the door and Lauren guiltily jerked her hand away from her pocket.

"Oh, and if I recall, you were the one screaming my name there at the end, Lauren."

Lauren just smiled that smile.

[ecotone99]

[MF]The Man

"Those sirens never get old. They never stop and probably won't. They haven't stopped since my earliest memory. The only constant thing in this life we share. No one knows what happened before but that doesn't matter. They left us with this ground. Desolate and infertile. Nothing grows. The sky filled with grey and white tones. While there are night and day, we never see where the light comes from. The clerics' talk of stories of this bright entity in blue colored skies covering fields of green. Structures that put what we have to shame. Spires that broke the sky. Machines that made machines. And then conflict. One not ever seen before. The cause of all this despair. But we have thrived and discovered our past before the great desolation. Tools, materials, knowledge, and worst of all, weapons. We have little but we live on. We suffer loss but we can't stop. That would be the end of the last precious thing we have. Our lives."

The man downed the last gulp of his drink. Continuing spitting the bullshit the barkeep has heard before. The past this, the past that. That couldn't be changed and he knew that. They both did however one was sober and the other drunk of the alchest from the past. How ironic the barkeep thought. He asked if the man needed anything else before he left to clean the tables. The man couldn't even speak. He left and began to clean the few tables he crafted. Crude yet sturdy, like the barkeep. The creator does so in his own image. He gets caught up listening to another patrons' conversation before he realizes the man at the bar was reaching over the counter. The barkeep speaks up, "Can I help you with that?" The man looks over and pulls a bone shiv from his sleeve while rummaging his other. It's a common tool for most people so it wasn't surprising. As he pulled the shiv out, the man shouted to stay away. The few others that were in there looked on.

Being threatened by a drunk wasn't new. And it will happen again. They tried to talk him down but he wasn't listening. He said he needed it to pay a debt. The barkeep didn't care but he kept quiet. The others keep talking. Finally, the barkeep spoke up. "Let me help so you don't make a mess." The man fell off his seat and threatened the barkeep, barely keeping his words together, "Stay away, you don't need to get hurt over this." The barkeep didn't care. He slowly stepped to the back of the bar and went to where he kept the payments for his services. He bent over to open the container. The barkeep began to stand and realized the man had moved almost on top of him behind the bar. He hadn't realized how tall this man was till now. He looked down on the barkeep, "Where is it?!" The keeper didn't answer. Again the man said, "Where is it!!" He lunged forward. The barkeep was ready. He stood as he came close. In the blink of an eye, the man's hand was gone. It landed on the bar counter. The man screamed in agony, collapsed, and crawled away from the barkeep clutching his now handless arm. The barkeep spoke in a thunderous tone, "Leave or I'll take an ear so you'll listen!" The man, who must have sobered up, stood and fled into the night.

"Everybody out," the barkeep shouted. They listened and left as he asked. No one would disrespect one of the few people who can make alchest. When they left, he stood there, thinking. He hadn't used it in almost 30 years. The glow of his Ion blade caused a slight purple hue to bounce around the room. He stared at the blade that sat on the counter. It was about a meter in length, had an ornate metal handguard, and a matte grey metal blade. It was edged with an unknown material that allowed the weapon to produce the ionized edge. No ordinary man could obtain such a weapon, however.

A tear fell from the barkeep's face as he poured himself a drink. He looked to the bottom of the glass. Looked out through the space in front of him and drank. Another vow broken. Survived through triumph, broken by experience. It all flooded back. The men who died next to him, the men who caused this. The men he killed. He broke down. It was all so close to being forgotten. He threw his glass against the wall. He could barely live with himself let alone in this fucked up place we have to call home. He sobbed for a good time. He finally composed himself, realizing he has to live on for those he lost, just long enough to walk to his room in the back of the bar and find the bed.

He began the next day like any other; by picking up the mess from last night. Lucky for him the blade didn't cause any blood to drop from the man's stub. Blood is hard to remove from wood. So like most days, he finishes quickly. Swept the floor, straightened the counter, organized tables, and the like. And again, like most of those days, he's alone. Thinking. "What's the point?" he says to himself, almost remorseful. Like he betrayed his friend. But nevermind that, today's another day, and he must move on.

He soon found himself alone again. Frozen. Like that day. He never liked that day. The commander kept reminding everyone. “They want your homes, they want your wives, and they want your land. They will take it if we don't stop them”. The things he did to protect what was his. He remembers the screams he heard. Almost Like a symphony when it's mixed with the slashing of weapons and the ripping of flesh as the raid occurred. He remembers watching his fellow soldier strike down a family with nothing but a blank stare. He became an empty husk of a man.

Then, it was his ceremonious turn to spill blood and he saw his offering. A man, trying to escape. He chased him through the house, but he was too slow for a trained soldier. He grabbed the man. The man was speaking a different language. He ignited his ion blade… they never did bleed when he used that. The man went limp and slumped to the floor, falling over a table and knocking it over. There was a surprise underneath. A boy, maybe 7. The soldier the barkeep was did not know what he just did. He looked at his hands, not knowing he had this dangerous potential. He became a man he didn't want to. He looked at the boy and lit his blade one more time.

The barkeep is knocked out of his trance. “Shit”, he said to himself. It's almost dusk and the bar was ready to be open. “How long had past?” He kept muttering obscenities to himself, cursing he let his day go away again. This happened often to him. Losing time. Nevermind that, there was something more pressing: the patrons. He opened the bar and not long after the place began to fill. More than usual. It was nice not to be alone. Drinks were being poured, conversations being made. Of course like any night, someone ruined the night and he was a familiar man. This time he wasn’t alone.

The handless man from the other night had come back looking for revenge and thought he could do so through his friends. Some patrons left. The strong ones stayed and gave them no mind. He waited at the bar counter. The handless man came up and started to heckle the barkeep. What an arrogant man he was. The other men that were with him lined the counter next to the handless man. The 3 of them stayed quiet, just like the barkeep. Finally, after a few minutes of annoyance, the barkeep answered him, “Back again?” The handless man was back for what he was the first time he was here. This time he also wanted his hand. Well, the barkeep was not going to let that happen. He laughed slightly. The man was annoyed with that answer and grabbed the barkeep but the neck, demanding that he surrender the vault. The barkeep could barely get words out. The other patrons noticed and one had stepped up. This one sat in the corner all night and kept to himself. Interesting. The lonely man grabbed the handless man's shoulder, “I think it's best you let him go.” The handless man looked back and threw his hand away and nodded to his friends.

The handless man let go. “Well, this is great,” the barkeep said to himself. The handless man let the barkeep go only because the lonely man had used his own blade against his friends. “Are you fucking kidding me,” the man shouted as he watched his friend catch the blade with his chest. The first man fell. The barkeep smashed a glass over the head of the handless man knocking him down. The others ran after they saw the barkeep ignite his ion blade from behind the counter. He followed them with curses as they returned to their holes.

Everyone looked on as if they never saw him before. At least not like this. The lonely man grabbed the handless man, “I’ve been looking for this one for a while now.” He’s a bounty hunter apparently. The bounty hunter apologized for what he did and offered money or help to pick up the mess but the barkeep declined. The bounty hunter left without a noise after that. And that was it. Like any other night. All this action and it was over along with the night. This was not the chaos he was used to. Like other nights, he was off to bed.

The next morning was different. He was woken by a knock at his door. It was the bounty hunter. “What the fuck?” he whispered.

“What do you want”

“I was hoping to ask a few questions as a follow up for what happened last night”

“I thought you're type wasn’t interested in details?”

“I'm no ordinary bounty hunter, I guess.”

The barkeep let him in. They took a table. The barkeep offered a drink. The hunter nodded and accepted it.

“What is it you want to know?”

“When did you first see him here?”

“3 days ago. He came in by himself. He tried to steal from me so i defended himself.”

“I'm assuming you took his hand?”

The barkeep nodded.

“And you let him go?” the hunter said

“Yes. I had no idea he was a bounty or that hunters even came this way. The local gangs have had a hold out here for a while now”

“Not anymore,” he said plainly.

There was silence for a moment as the hunter wrote.

“Now I have a few more questions for you and then we’ll be done” He flipped his notebook. “

“Where did you get the blade?”

“Why does that matter?”

“I’m curious,” said the hunter almost demanding

“Do I have to ask you to leave”

“No. we all saw what happened that night. I'm the only one brave enough to ask about it.”

The barkeep kept quiet for a moment. The hunter was a patient man. As if he waited his whole life for something.

“I'm a soldier or at least was one” the barkeep finally said.

“The Unification?”

The barkeep hung his head, “Yes.”

“Any good stories?”

The barkeep paused, “None that anyone would hear.”

Another long moment passes with both of them silent.

The barkeep spoke first for once. Maybe because he believed the hunter was someone who finally understood, “How about you?”

What do you mean?” the hunter said almost surprised

“What's your story? You're a bounty hunter with an impressive weapon, and you don’t hide it as I do. You were in a righteous war or something?”

“No…,” he said softly, “I made this one myself actually. But my profession has a story.”

The barkeep sat ready to listen like he had his other patrons.

“It was a long time ago. I'll never forget. It was my birthday. My mother had passed before I was even old enough to know her. It was just me and my father. He had gotten me a device that I could use to discover and listen to these random signals that exist invisibly in the air. It helped me find tools and equipment to make my weapon…”

The barkeep kept listening and offered to get the hunter another drink. The hunter, again, nodded.

The hunter took a long sip and continued, “... He tried his best and that's all that mattered. But that day is one I won't forget. We heard a loud bang nearby and my dad told me to hide. He was a soldier so he was always cautious since he had his war and knew how to handle himself. I hid and as soon as I did he came running through the door. Soon after another set of legs entered. They were armored. He was screaming saying to leave us alone and not to hurt anyone.”

The barkeep got up and went for his own drink. His first in years. He felt like it for once in his life. He couldn’t remember the last time he wanted to do something. He poured himself a tall glass while the hunter talked. He sat and pondered and let the words of the hunter go through his head. Not hearing anything. Finally, he took his sip.

The hunter continued, “Then a faint glow appeared and a hissing noise. That man killed my father in cold blood. He fell out of the man's hands and knocked the table I was under over. The man looked down at me. He was frozen. Like he didn’t know what he just did.”

The barkeep nodded not listening to what was being said.

“You. You killed him”

The barkeep stopped mid-sip.

“What did you say?”

“You remember, don’t you? That day. I remember your face. Do you remember mine?”

The barkeep was frozen

“Frozen again? How can you feel when you act like a monster?”

The barkeep put his glass down, wiped his face, and looked at the boy. He remembered alright. Every bit of his face.

“You look like your father.”

“You shut the fuck up!!” he screamed as a tear ran down his face.

“I'm sorry but…”

“No…” The boy shouted, “...you don’t get to say that. Not after what you did. With no remorse”

The barkeep was calm. Almost like he was in this position before.

The barkeep said sternly, “Well what are you going to do, boy? You're the man now. You found your last bounty and you're going to cry? Yes I killed him and I gave up the blade after that day but I will do what I must to defend myself.”

The barkeep[ ignited his blade. It was redder this time, from all the use of the blade.

“The same color as I remember,” the boy said, pulling his blade out. It was black. As dark as a moonless sky. A never-ending blackness that was the boy's heart.

The barkeep walked around the counter and the boy stood up. They faced each other and prepared themselves. The boy is a vengeful mess. The soldier, ready for whatever fate was planning. They raised their weapons ready to end the years of pain for whoever won and lost.

They stepped forward and swung. A slash, ripped flesh, and a dropped weapon.

“I'm sorry.” the man said.

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