#He supports Mali peach rights

[astrxlfinale]

mali's holding the tiniest microphone up to caelus' mouth. she's obviously holding the most important interviews known to mankind. "mr. trailblazer, caelus, sir — can you describe a moment in your career where you felt like ‘I’m him’ ? also, would you like to offer a comment on the dwindling peach yields?"

A-A-A-A-HEM!

Now wasn't Ms.Mali a kind and considerate caster within these moments. Making sure to handle his part, those broad arms remained cross as his jacket clung upon his figure like a proud cape, allowing it to billow amidst refreshing fans that blew within the room.

"To be Him is no easy task. In fact, there's a fine thread of risk of letting arrogance come to override such a time. Sharing these usually have to be amidst whispers of a crowd, of reports stamped across screens, yet here you are. Full of moxie and full damn willing to get it right from the source too no less?" Caelus allows calm to overtake him as a memory comes to mind.

Ah. Now there was a moment that could spark the kindle and rouse the heart. "I'll make it a sweet n' simple one. It's when I grabbed life stuck within the fangs of death and tore it out. Right in the frigid tundra of a planet rising from the struggle tides of history. There was a sinister force that tried turning my head into a personal pin cushion. And y'know what? They succeeded for a time."

"Until it was my burning blood that revitalized the lost Amber of the Architects. That made it realize it was meant to burn and never fall underneath the Eternal Freeze. Thus!" He'd draw that very lance to the mortal plane, a searing surge of flame carefully unveiling it, leaving the firm grip of his hand to secure it.

"Guess you could say the rest is history. Me, the Express gang and the heavy hitters of that land soon made sure a brighter tomorrow was promised. Ol' Qlipoth might've been interested in that too, if ya know what I mean."

That would do on the touch of a Belobog Classic! What follows is a question that's also near and dear to his heart.

A soft sigh spills at the forlorn thought. "It's nothing to take with the ease of heart. In many ways, you'd think it's a more targeted anomaly in how it's just with this realm's peaches in particular. Leaving them to either fade in obscurity or for cataclysms to try annihilating them off this universe's face too soon. They didn't carefully craft and build up their strength, to be both malleable externally, while having an indomitable and tight core just to be lost by disasters." Unable to fully cope with his emotions, a still freed hand would settle upon Mali's shoulder in a form of support. Vigor would burn bright within his eyes as he got lost within her crimson gaze. "Remember. Never let yours be lost either. We walk a wild road, and I'd like to see that it shines like the glimmering, peachy star it's always been."

@ausrache

[mtaptime]

Perfect Trap Aftermath (Drabble?, Ficlet?? Idk what are categories???)

‘Ayla, nonono no please Peach, no’

Aadit burst through the clinic doors.

“—type and screen asap and prepare one of the beds so we can lay the patient face down.” Dr. Xu paused, glanced at Aadit up and down, and continued, “Aadit, come over here and get Ayla’s hair out of the way. I need you to hold her on her side. I can’t have her turning her head that much until we know the layout of the wound. I need to grab the cloth scissors to cut around it and see how bad it is.”

Aadit was already rushing to her side before Dr. Xu had finished, nodding once in acknowledgement.

“Ayla, Angel, please no. Don’t go, stay with me.” He said as he moved her long, thick hair that was now slick with blood out of Xu’s way.

He supported her body as Xu began cutting away the cloth at her right shoulder. Peach, she was so pale. How could this have happened?

“Okay Aadit, you can lay her down, it spared her spine and neck.” Dr. Xu said without looking up. He was still cutting away, but was approaching her left hip. Just how far did the wound go?

Aadit tore his eyes away from the gash across her back and cupped Ayla’s face.

“Angel, please. Hang in there. You have to be okay. Please…don’t leave me alone.”

Her skin was so cool to the touch, it was so cold compared to this morning when—

“Doctor, is there anything that we can do?”

Aadit had been so focused on Ayla that he hadn’t even noticed the two Civil Corps members and the Flying Pig inspector in the corner. Sam was the one who spoke up, but Mali was the one who had blood across her front. She was the one he’d seen carrying Ayla while he was in town, sprinting to the clinic.

All of his fear switched to a barely controlled rage as he rose from Ayla’s side.

“How could you?” His voice was barely louder than a whisper, but made everyone except Dr. Xu freeze.

“It was supposed to be a simple mission. You were supposed to keep her safe.” His voice continued to raise in rage and volume with every word, “We hadn’t even gotten back from the Church and now my wife is lying here with her blood on your hands.”

“Ayla isn’t a soldier or warrior, and yet you’ve put her in danger time and time again. How many times will she put her life at risk? What kind of danger will she be in because of you?”

"And you." Aadit glared down Mali in particular. “Do you have any idea how terrified Ayla was when you took her to the computer ruins?! She showed up at the Tree Farm in the middle of the night, trembling and smelling of smoke. She cried and shook in my arms for an hour before I could get any words out of her. And yet, despite everything, you still asked her to go to the Starlight Island ruins.”

Aadit backed the trio against the clinic door, full fury unleashed. “Stay away from Ayla. If I see any of you near her again…”

Aadit paused, took a deep breath in, and exhaled.

“Leave. My. Family. Alone.”

The three rushed out of the clinic as Dr. Xu placed a hand on Aadit’s shoulder.

“Aadit. You can calm down now. Ayla’s safe, she’s going to be okay.”

All of the rage in Aadit’s body quickly evaporated into a mixture of relief and exhaustion.

Dr. Xu continued. “Despite the blood loss, the wound itself was shallow. She’s stable for now. ”

He collapsed into the chair Phyllis had set beside Ayla’s bed.

“Ayla…”

Aadit’s voice was a whisper as he caressed her cheek. It was a bit warmer now that they had began transfusing blood. Nothing compared to this morning as Minister Lee pronounced them husband and wife.

“I swear…I’ll find a way to keep you safe. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure you survive.”