#Heart of Stone - ch 14

[whispersafterdusk]

Heart of Stone - ch 14

The next day Unsuur woke to his alarm as usual and as he rolled onto his side to sit up the blanket fell away, leaving the heart knot on his wrist in full view; he felt his own heart swell up at the sight of it - he and Dawn were together now. He'd never been happier in his life. It filled him with an energy that propelled him out of bed and through his morning routine in record time, and even the stiff collar on his new jacket didn't dim his mood as he stepped outside and took a deep breath of fresh air; it was clean and still rain-scented, with a healthy underlying hint of drying dirt and the promise of all the flowers that would start showing up later this afternoon. Dawn was going to love it. ((Continued below cut))

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He stopped by briefly on his first patrol; she had been at her fence reading through some mail and had waved and greeted him cheerfully. She had a busy day ahead of her forging whatever robot contraption Qi had designed -- he saw the blueprints and it honestly looked like a toy so he still wasn't sure how it would help build the bridge quicker but trusted that Dawn, Qi, and Heidi knew what they were talking about.

After that it felt like he was gliding through the rest of his morning; today all his usual daydreams kept circling back to Dawn and what the future might hold. Maybe it was too soon to think about THE future but he couldn't help himself -- everything he could picture now had Dawn as part of it too. He'd be deputy, and she'd be the best builder in Sandrock, and everything was only going to get better. Getting lost and winding up here was officially the second-best thing that had ever happened to him.

As he wanted her to have time to eat lunch before they went for their walk he waited until late in the afternoon to go back. She was at a machine that had a large hammer and anvil as its main features, and between her hands was some kind of metal panel that she was ever-so-precisely moving underneath the pounding hammer to curve it bit by bit around the anvil's horn. When he got closer he noticed the thick gloves and could smell heated metal; whatever she was working on must be very hot so he was careful to keep his distance while moving to where she could see him without needing to take her eyes off the machine. She saw him and smiled and finished off the piece in her hands, stepping over to lay it on the corner of the assembly platform before peeling her gloves and safety glasses off.

"Well hello there. Time got away from me," she laughed, fanning her hands at her sides - to cool them down or maybe dry them off, he assumed.

"Hi. Ready for a walk?"

"Definitely. I've been smelling everything all morning and can't wait to see which flowers are making which scents."

He held out his hand and after giving her hands a quick wipe on her pants she took it, falling into step beside him and briefly leaning her head against his arm -- if only he had a third arm on that side so he could hold her hand and also put an arm around her.

Wait... He'd look very weird and people would probably run away from him if he did, so maybe it was better that he had a normal number of arms. Just holding her hand now was fine.

"How's the robot turning out?"

Tipping her head back she partly groaned, partly sighed. "It's proving to be a massive pain in the butt to assemble. It looks stupid and there's a few parts of it - mostly the outer shell - that seems less like a lifter robot and more something meant to be driven into battle. I'll be glad when I'm done with the thing."

Unsuur frowned -- battle? "But, you're not building it for battle. Right?"

"I'M not, no. There's no weapons or anything on it, it's just got a thicker body than I think it needs considering it's just a glorified robot shell that's meant to lift heavy things - like he's sneaking armor into the design. There's obviously some thickness needed to help with structural integrity -- you don't want it crumpling under too much weight or not properly counter-balancing what it's lifting or whatever. But this..."

"Justice and I can keep an eye on how it's being used once you're finished building it," he said.

"Seeing how, um, weird Qi was being about it that's probably a good idea."

"Any idea how much longer it'll take to build it?"

"I've got everything I need for it so...assuming nothing else major comes up I could have it done in a few days." After a moment she grinned up at him. "Then I'll be free to go see that rock stack you mentioned."

"It's really great, I can't wait to show you."

"Speaking of being unable to wait to show something," Dawn said lightly. "I have something new I'd like to show you when we get back."

"Do I get a hint?"

"I turned the rose quartz you gave me into something -- something I'll eventually wear, just not when I'm working so I don't damage or lose it. I'd be pretty upset if I lost it," she added, pouting a little. "But, what I made out of it was inspired by you, so..."

Unsuur blinked at her. "By me? What'd I do?"

"You'll see."

It was a very pleasant walk - not all that different from one of his patrols, to be honest, but it was a hundred times better than a patrol - and while he would have loved to stay out there longer they both had jobs to get back to. When they got back to the workshop he followed her inside and sat down on the couch while she retrieved a wooden box polished to a sheen and with tiny blue flowers and a vine pattern painted across the lid from beneath her bed. Inside was a small collection of jewelry (it was mostly necklaces, hairpins, and combs, including the one she'd made with the opal he'd given her) and he spotted a glint of silver with a hint of pink.

She sat the box on the table and gently lifted out a necklace; hanging at regular intervals on the silvery chain were small rose quartz pieces shaped like little drops. She slipped it around her neck and made certain it was hanging straight then pulled a silver hair comb adorned with more of the rose quartz and tucked it into her hair above her ear, turning her head so he could see it clearly. It was an irregular shape, thicker on one side and tapered and thinned on the other, with a wavy, irregular lower edge sort of like...

It looked sort of like a dripping swipe of paint. -- oh.

She laughed quietly when he realized. "Can you guess what inspired me?"

"I can. That's pretty clever, and now you'll have that little memory you can carry around with you. Maybe I should paint my walls more often now."

Smiling Dawn took the hair comb out and returned it and the necklace to the jewelry box. "I don't know, I kind of like the green in there."

"It is nice," he agreed. When she went to tuck the jewelry box back under the bed he stood up. "I should get back on patrol. I'll be back around with dinner later like always."

"Could you tell Owen he can definitely make this one the last free meal? I'll go personally thank him tomorrow but I won't be nearly as busy with this lifter as I was getting the trusses done."

"I can do that. See you in a little while."

She walked with him to the door and out into the yard, and when they paused to split off to the gate and back to the machines she stood on her tiptoes to give him a little peck on the cheek.

He quickly bent down to return the gesture. "-I'm going to start doing that more often so I don't fall behind."

"I didn't realize it was a competition," Dawn giggled.

"It's not, but if it is, I want to win," Unsuur replied, bending to kiss her again.

"Shoo," she jokingly scolded, blushing bright red as she gently pushed him toward the gate. "I'll see you at dinnertime."

"Later," he said, allowing himself to be moved a few steps before relenting and heading off under his own power. As he crossed the tracks he rubbed his fingers over the knot, smiling to himself, and continued on to quickly duck inside the saloon to talk to Owen; afterward he hurried down the street and took his usual route up toward the temple. Pen was coming down the stairs toward him so he scooted over to give them enough space to pass each other, and was surprised when Pen stepped into his path.

"So...you and the builder, huh? Whole town is talking about it."

Were they? Dang, that was quick. ...though, most of Sandrock had seen them together last night so maybe it shouldn't be a surprise. "Yeah. I'm really happy about it."

Pen wrinkled his nose briefly before forcing a smile. "I'm sure you are, and I'm sure everyone with their little gossip circles were rooting for you both or whatever, but, let me give you some advice buddy: enjoy it while it lasts."

Unsuur stared at him; he'd delivered that advice in much the same way as he always spoke - with that full-of-confidence bravado - but Pen's smile had shifted just enough to look...weird. "What do you mean?"

Pen sighed and looked around, like he was expecting eavesdroppers, then bent toward Unsuur and lowered his voice. "I've personally seen it happen with a dozen girls -- a way better man is going to carry her off and she won't even look back."

"You're wrong," Unsuur blurted out before he was fully aware of his mouth moving. "...you're wrong, she's not like that - we like each other a lot, and she wants to stay here in Sandrock. She told me that way before we became a couple."

"Girls say a lot of things," Pen said, straightening and carelessly waving a hand. "Just trying to keep you from being blindsided when it happens."

"It's not going to happen, but...thanks?" Unsuur said slowly.

Pen pushed passed him and continued down the stairs with a final "don't say I didn't warn you!" called over his shoulder.

Unsuur watched him go; the entire conversation had given him a strange feeling that he couldn't quite name. He didn't believe for an instant that Dawn would run off with someone else (and if Pen wanted to keep thinking that Unsuur couldn't really stop him - thinking incorrect facts wasn't a crime) but the whole thing had felt off. Was Pen jealous? ...that had to be it. Dawn had never liked Pen and he'd never seen her attempt to talk to him, only run away; she was pretty so Pen probably had a crush on her too, AND he knew the man wasn't fond of losing competitions.

Well, now that weird feeling had shifted to feeling a sort of pride in having Pen of all people jealous of him.

Shaking his head and tracing a finger along the wires in the knot he continued up the steps toward the temple.

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Compared to the trusses Dawn got the robot lifter done quickly; it took about a day and a half to craft and assemble it, then she had delivered it to the bridge construction area and Unsuur hung around briefly to watch one of the men piloting it - he didn't think it seemed dangerous and Justice agreed, so they left the men to it and went about their business. A few days after that, when the bridge was "finished," Matilda let them know that an inspector would be arriving from Atara to make certain everything was good with the construction then finally the bridge would be re-opened and things would go back to normal.

This morning Justice was tagging along on Unsuur's usual route; yesterday Unsuur had spotted what he thought was a pack of rockyenarolls trying to establish a den way too close to the Wandering Y so after a quick morning meeting they'd started off from the Corps building and marched along the tracks. The construction crew was already at work and the rest of Sandrock was quiet - hardly anyone else was up this early aside from them and, once they were close enough to spot her, Dawn. Unsuur had planned to wave and keep going, since they had a job to do, but Justice didn't mind standing off at a distance and waiting for a few minutes to give him time to chat with her.

He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and leaned against the fence to glance around the yard; every furnace was running but nothing was on the assembly platform now that the lifter had been moved. "Big plans for today?"

She shook her head. "More of a catch up day -- I've used a ton of metal and materials lately. It bothers me to not have a stock of stuff on hand so I'm taking the day off from commissions and getting some basic stuff restocked. How about you?"

"Justice and I need to chase off a pack of rockyenarolls. They're moving in too close to the ranch and we don't want them hunting Cooper's yakmel."

"It's...not a BIG pack, is it? Not too dangerous?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Not too big - maybe six of them. Nothing we can't handle."

She frowned, crossing her arms. "Yeah...but, be careful. I don't want to see you hurt."

"We'll be careful, promise. Maybe we could go for a ride later? Boulder needs to stretch his legs some."

"If I'm not buried in wire and screws, sure," she answered, smiling at him. "Be safe."

He was able to lean over the fence and give her a one-armed hug then stepped away with a wave and returned to Justice. They continued along the tracks and a sudden movement on the train platform drew Unsuur's eye -- there was a man there, laying on a bench. He was...sleeping, or something, and had rolled over and was balanced precariously on the bench's edge.

"Whoa, do you see that?" Justice asked, tensing beside him.

"He's really close to the tracks..." Unsuur said quietly, staring at the man. If he moved so much as an inch further he'd-

The man's balance tipped too far and he rolled clear off the bench AND the platform, and a split second later the warning blare of the train's whistle sounded. Somehow neither the whistle nor the impact of landing on the track woke the man.

"Train's comin'-" he gasped, breaking into a sprint.

Could he outrun a train? (Was it considered outrunning the train if they were moving toward each other?) His breath burned in his throat and his pulse was roaring in his ears as he raced for the man; when he reached him he didn't bother trying to stop and just let his hands grab whatever they latched on to and used his momentum to hurl them both to the side where they hit the ground and rolled several feet before coming to a stop as the train rolled up to the platform where they'd been only seconds before. It was only then that Unsuur felt a startled huff of air against his neck from the man sprawled under him, and as he crawled off he was greeted by the man's look of sleepy confusion. The hiss of the train's engine drowned out whatever the man tried to say as he slowly sat up and looked around; as the hissing began to taper off he could make out the sound of approaching footsteps and was almost bowled over as Dawn threw herself down beside him, grabbing his arm.

"Are you ok?!"

"Yeah, I'm ok. Maybe a few bruises," he answered, finally looking himself over. His heart was still racing, his jacket sleeve was stained and smeared with dirt, his hip kind of hurt where he'd landed on his ammo pouch (he checked to make sure he hadn't just spilled bullets everywhere but thankfully the pouch had remained closed). His gun was still in its holster and the safety still on as well.

Justice skidded to a halt a few feet away, looking him and the stranger over before letting out a relieved-sounding sigh. "Nice one, buddy. I was, uh, just about to do that..."

"Huh? What's going on?" the man mumbled, rubbing his head and blinking blearily.

Their tumble away from the tracks had left the stranger with a minor scrape on his chin; if he hadn't just saved his life Unsuur would feel a little bad about it.

Dawn turned toward the man with a glare, hands on her hips. "Who exactly are you and why were you on the tracks?!"

The man looked surprised at her glare and sharp tone. "All I remember is... I was feeling sleepy when I got off the train last night, and... Oh, I'm Mint. I was sent here by the Ataran government to inspect a railway bridge." He scooted away on his backside and then stood up, brushing himself off. "Where can I find City Hall? I'm supposed to talk with Mayor Trudy."

Before Unsuur could answer Justice stepped into the space between him, Dawn, and Mint, fixing the inspector with a stern look. "Hold your horses, pal, you're not getting off that easy. I don't care if you're the Deacon of Meidi, here in Sandrock everybody subscribes to a little tenet called 'responsibility.' What if we hadn't shown up? You'd be in the hospital right now, at best."

Mint at least looked a little sheepish at that and rubbed a hand against the back of his neck.

Justice huffed, shaking his head. "Next time you feel like taking a nap check your surroundings! Ask yourself questions like: am I near any heavy machinery? Am I in a den of monsters? Do I smell gas? This line of thinking may save your life one day, 'cause we're not always gonna be there. You got it?"

"Er... I'm sorry, sir. I'll try to be more careful from now on," Mint answered quietly.

"Yeah, you do that," Justice said after another moment or two of stern staring, then he relaxed a bit and shifted to offer Unsuur and Dawn both a hand each to help them up. "All's well that ends well, I guess. Dawn, me and Unsuur need to get after those rockyenarolls, can you do me a solid and take the inspector here to City Hall? I'd feel a lot better if you went along, considering the circumstances," he added with a final warning glare at the man.

Dawn let him help her back to her feet and nodded. "I can do that. Be careful, you two."

Unsuur got up and Justice clapped a hand on his back in approval, then they moved around Mint and started down the tracks again. Behind him he could hear Mint apologizing again and Dawn replying, though Dawn was too quiet for him to hear clearly.

That had been uncomfortably close -- for both of them, to be honest. He hoped he never had to do that again.

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Dawn was busily assembling something new when Unsuur walked by on his way home for lunch; the rockyenarolls had luckily only just started digging out a den and hadn't put up much of a fight when he and Justice went to run them off -- none of them looked pregnant so Unsuur didn't feel too bad scaring them away and denying them a safe home. There were loads of places further out in the Eufala they could settle in, without needing to worry about animal-on-human violence (or vice versa - they were seen as deadly pests more often than not and a lot of the surrounding villages shot them on sight).

"There's the hero of the day," she greeted him, smiling widely but not moving away from the platform.

Being called a hero made him feel a little self-conscious, but also it was a nice feeling too. "Just doing my duty. What are you building now?"

She was smoothly sliding two lengths of bronze pipe together; one was thinner so it would fit inside the other and could be tightened with a bolt threaded through a metal cuff set into the larger one's end. The thinner one was capped with a rubber foot and he could see two more identical pieces sitting nearby, next to an odd-looking gadget about the size of his backpack. From just looking at it Unsuur didn't recognize what it was.

Dawn's smile soured a bit at the question then she shook her head and moved the partially finished whatever-it-was in front of her. "Well, along with almost getting himself killed our bridge inspector also forgot to bring the equipment he needed to inspect the bridge."

Unsuur stared at her. "...I can't tell if you're joking."

"I'm not."

"Oh." Are we sure this guy is the real inspector? Maybe he or Justice should verify that...somehow.

He looked back at the thing on the assembly platform; there was some kind of viewing or measuring machine connected to a wide swivel, that then connected to a tripod made up of the bronze pipes for legs. With the third leg complete Dawn gently laid the device on its side and began attaching the legs to the bottom of the swivel.

"So...then, is this thing what he forgot to bring?"

"Yep," Dawn grunted, grabbing a brass-headed hammer and first tapping the bottom of the rubber foot of the leg in hand then tapping all around the opening the leg fit into. "Qi, somehow, had the needed blueprints sitting around."

"Wow. You built that really quick."

She blushed and smiled up at him again. "Through sheer dumb luck, anyway. I was able to scrounge the rest of what I needed out of the salvage yard in record time with Venti's help. Won't take me long to finish up the last few pieces that go inside, then test all the power connections are working...then try not to beat Mint over the head with it when I go to give it to him," she added dryly.

"You're determined to have me arrest you."

"Maybe I am," she said slyly after a moment, winking at him and reaching for another leg.

Though she'd said it with some confidence her face turned a bright shade of red, and Unsuur's ears felt hot. "Uh... Oh, will you need to do anything else once you finish this? Will the bridge be officially done?"

"It should be, yeah. Can finally put all that behind us," she sighed, sounding relieved. "I don't want to have to do anything like this again." With some more hammer taps she got the remaining legs attached then flipped the device upright and tested the range of the swivel; it moved smoothly and silently, and she nodded in satisfaction. "Shouldn't take me too much longer. Maybe we could make it an evening ride? ...makes me wonder if I should get a horse," she mused after a moment. "When we went out gathering materials back in Atara we had pack horses we borrowed to help haul everything back -- never got to ride them, only lead, but it was really helpful having them carrying the bulk of the weight, and they were so sweet and calm too."

"Boulder is a nice horse. Just don't have any snacks in your pockets or he might try to fit his nose somewhere it doesn't belong. Or pick you up... He did that to Burgess once and I had to pay to replace the pair of pants he tore when Boulder picked him up by the back pocket trying to get at the bag of dried sandberries he was carrying around."

Dawn started laughing; it was such a nice sound, he loved it. "I'm at least much lighter than Burgess so maybe my clothes won't tear but I'll keep that in mind - no snacks."

"I should get home to eat lunch but I'll be back tonight with Boulder," he said, waving as he hurried on toward his house.

Boulder would be happy for a chance to stretch his legs doing something other than patrolling around; he took him out on walks and rides as often as he could (and sometimes Cooper would let him set him loose in the yakmel paddock so he could free-roam for awhile) but he still felt guilty leaving him in the stable so much. Would his saddle comfortably seat two? There'd never really been a reason to think about it before...but he was reasonably certain that two-seater saddles weren't a thing, or at least weren't something he could go out and buy on such short notice.

Dawn was small, at least; she should easily fit behind him, if there wasn't enough space in front of him. He'd need to remember an extra blanket...

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It was much later than he'd intended when he headed back to Dawn's; though it was rare to get thieves in Sandrock he and Justice had spent the rest of the day chasing down a man who had snatched an armload of Arvio's goods and taken off across the as-of-yet-not-open bridge, blowing right passed a startled Mint and his bridge-testing device. Justice had been close enough to actually see the theft and Unsuur had been coming down the stairs from the temple when he heard the shouting. Justice had taken off on his horse with Unsuur hurrying to saddle up Boulder and follow, and then once he'd reached the bridge he could see Justice pursuing not just the one thief but a group of three fleeing on horses on the far end of the bridge.

Logan might be THE famous bandit in this area but there were still plenty of petty bandits that could be found lurking along the trade routes between the outlying villages; they apparently weren't one of the more successful groups, a fact that became all the more apparent as he and Justice quickly caught up and with some creative lassoing took them all off the backs of their horses - the horses looked dangerously skinny and the bandits didn't look that much better off.

They'd tied the bandits up and got them back on the backs of their horses then led the entire group back to town; Justice marched them into the jail cell then started to sort the stolen goods and fill out the intake paperwork while Unsuur led the poor horses over to Cooper's.

Then, finally, he was free to head over to Dawn's.

She was sitting on a stool to the left of her front door, a book open in her lap; though the air still smelled of hot metal she'd changed out of her work clothes and was wearing regular jeans and a simple teal t-shirt, and as he trotted Boulder up to the gate she closed the book with a smile.

"Sorry, Justice and I got caught up in something."

"It's all right. You won't get in trouble if you're here with me and not helping him, will you?"

Unsuur shook his head. "I left at the paperwork step - he doesn't really need my help with that."

Quickly she ducked inside and seemed to trade the book for a small cloth pouch, hurrying over to the gate; Boulder's ears immediately pricked up at her approach, and the horse craned his neck forward to start sniffing at her.

Dawn laughed softly and reached out with her free hand to pat his nose. "I know I said no snacks but in my defense they're not in my pocket." She dumped a small handful of dried sandberries into her palm and held her palm out, flat, for Boulder; the horse quickly slurped up the berries and nosed her fingers looking for more. She emptied the sack into her palm and held her hand out again and Boulder ate the rest just as quickly.

After that run across the bridge and almost passed the old outpost Boulder deserved a treat; Unsuur waited for the horse to confirm for himself that Dawn did not have any more snacks before he maneuvered him around so Dawn could mount up.

"Do you want to sit in front of me or behind me?"

"Um... I think it'll have to be behind," she answered after a moment. "Elsie gave me some really basic riding lessons so I know how I'd get on by myself but my brain is going blank on how to swing my leg over with you there too."

"...would you rather sit in front?"

"I... yeah, kind of."

With that Unsuur slipped off the horse and held the reins, gesturing for Dawn to mount; once she was settled he got on behind her.

Yeah, this wasn't so bad; they both fit rather comfortably on the saddle together and he slid an arm around her waist to help hold her steady as he guided Boulder away from the gate. They set off at an easy trot, passing the oasis and heading for the new bridge. Mint wasn't there this time so he supposed the bridge inspection was done with and they'd hear the official news soon; it was a much calmer ride across this time and once they were over he felt Dawn shift against him, turning her head to look up at Gecko Station.

"Haven't been any signs of the Geeglers returning, has there?"

"Nope. Pen was checking daily for awhile and kept reporting no signs of any kind of life left in the station. He seemed really disappointed he didn't get to fight any of them."

She huffed. "Of course he would be..."

Now that he'd mentioned Pen their conversation from before came to mind, about a 'better man' coming in to carry Dawn off to somewhere better than Sandrock. It hadn't bothered him too much then but now that he was thinking about it again, staring at Gecko Station and thinking of Dawn's brush with death...

"Since it's empty of Geeglers does that mean Justice will open up the ruins soon? Maybe it'll attract people back to town... I saw a lot of interesting things down there, in between fighting for our lives. Lots of iron too - more than enough to build a bridge and then some. If only we'd had easier access to get at it...it would have taken ages to get all the needed scrap across the canyon using the cable cars. But! At least now if anything else big needs to be built or needs repair, it'd be just a short jaunt across Shonash bridge."

She kept talking as he replayed that scene in his mind - of her and Justice falling and the cable snapping. That had been awful, and there were loads more ways to seriously injure oneself in the desert...maybe a better guy wouldn't be the reason Dawn decided to leave: what if she decided it was too dangerous to stay?

"You ok?"

Dawn's voice cut through his train of thought. "Oh, uh. Yeah. Sorry. What did you say?"

She shifted in the saddle to look back at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She frowned at him. "...it's nothing. Just something Pen had said that came to mind."

"That...Pen said? What exactly did he say?" she asked, nose wrinkling.

"You... You still want to stay in Sandrock, right? Despite all the bad stuff that's happened?"

For several moments she stared at him silently, seeming confused by the question. "I- yes, of course I do! Why? Don't tell me Pen is spreading rumors that I'm going to leave?"

Unsuur shook his head. "No. Well, not exactly. Just-" He really, really didn't want to repeat him verbatim right now. "-that you might move on to somewhere way better than here. I know you've already said you wanted to stay in Sandrock so I shouldn't be worrying but--"

Letting out a groan she tipped her face toward the sky. "That stupid meathead... I have no intentions of going anywhere, Unsuur, I promise. I don't even plan on going on vacation! Whatever Pen's said, he's wrong." She turned back around and leaned into his chest, sliding her hand over his where it rested on her hip. "I have a home here, a boyfriend, and a job...pretty much everything I was looking for in life. I'm not giving this up so easily." After a pause she tilted her head back against him, smiling. "Sorry, you're stuck with me."

He smiled and lowered his chin to rest it atop her head, prompting a giggle fit. "Sounds good to me. And, yeah, I really didn't hear what you said."

"I was asking if Justice would open up Gecko Station, and musing on how nice that'd be."

"Oh, yeah. Justice did actually mention something about a final check of the place last week but he said it would have to wait until the bridge was finished. So...now that it's finished, it shouldn't be too long before we go in to make sure it's really safe."

They fell into a comfortable silence; everything was nice and peaceful out this way -- not even the tripions were paying them any attention and were happily sifting through the sand in their own little worlds. Unsuur directed Boulder up the hill and out passed the front of Gecko Station and the old outpost, heading for the open dunes. Far off to their right was the canyon with its impressive view of the rocky walls studded with Old World ruins; sometimes it boggled the mind to consider how big cities must have been back then -- Unsuur had seen single rooms inside ruins that could have comfortably held the entire population of Sandrock.

Of course, big cities meant a lot of people, and the Calamity had wiped out...a lot of people. That wasn't so nice to think about.

"-what are those?" Dawn asked then, bringing him back to the present.

She leaned forward a bit, pointing ahead; Unsuur looked that way and could see a small pack of penskies playing on top of one of the dunes. "Those are penskies. They're friendly -- too friendly, sometimes. Justice calls it 'aggressive affection' I think. Don't ever feed them or you'll get mobbed - they won't hurt you on purpose but being jumped on and licked by a big group of critters with hard heads and sharp claws on their feet isn't fun."

"Noted," she said with a quiet little laugh. "They're cute though!"

"Yeah, they are. I think Grandma Vivi used to sell stuffed animal penskies but the yakmels were more popular. Probably because you could walk out to the ranch to see and pet them but a pensky meant you had to come all the way out here."

He steered Boulder to the left to avoid the dune and penskies and a stretch of sand crowned with a gigantic rib cage bleached white by the sun and pitted and worn down by years of wind came into view - along with an unexpected resident sitting on top of it staring intently in their direction.

"Uh oh..."

Dawn stiffened against him. "Uh oh...what? What's 'uh oh'?"

Whoops. He hadn't meant to say that out loud but at least now she'll see and know about one of the desert's bigger dangers. "Do you see that big rib cage over there?"

"Yes, I- what is that on top of it?"

"That...is a dive buzzard," Unsuur answered. "And they're the most dangerous single creature in this area."

He felt Dawn's hand tighten over his. "It looks big even at this distance -- that thing must be huge."

"That's actually one of the smaller ones."

"What?!" she squeaked, shrinking back against him. "You're kidding!"

Though it was on the "smaller" side for a dive buzzard it was still big enough to make out its details easily: enormous body and wingspan with billowy, hair-like feathers covering its head and gathered into clumps that looked like pigtails on either side of its face. This one had found a pair of goggles somewhere and had them around its neck and was wearing what looked like air or gas tanks on its back; he'd seen them wearing shiny bits of robots and other debris before too.

"I wish I was. They're mean, whether they're big or not. They roam the desert looking for food and consider any place they happen to be at that moment to be their territory. Always be wary of any shadows that pass by overhead -- you might have guessed by their name but they attack by diving down on their targets. The REALLY big ones can snap yakmel spines if they land their dive, and if they miss they'll kick up a big cloud of sand to cover their next try. Usually they don't come this close to town... I need to go get Justice and Pen and we'll drive it off. Or, kill it." Odds were high they'd have to kill it. "Sorry, but we'll have to cut our ride short."

"It's ok, there's always another day."

The ride back into Sandrock was at a quicker pace and luckily Unsuur spotted Pen standing in town square; he trotted Boulder up toward him and stopped a few feet away, slipping down to help Dawn out of the saddle.

"Spotted a dive buzzard-" he started, only for Pen to perk up and slam one fist into his palm.

"FINALLY something almost worthy of my attention! Where?"

"-out passed the old outpost," Unsuur continued. "Have you seen Justice?"

Pen scoffed at that and walked around the other side of Boulder, breaking into a jog and heading for the bridge. "Please, I don't need him! Leave it to me!"

Normally Unsuur would trust to the man's skill - he WAS really good at fighting - but not when it came to dive buzzards. "I should catch up to him. Can you find Justice and tell him where we are?"

Dawn nodded. "I will. Be careful -- and, um, when you're done, how about we have dinner together instead? I'll cook."

"Sure. I'll be back as soon as I can, and I'll be careful, I promise."

Unsuur bent to kiss her cheek as she rose up to kiss his and they almost-but-not-quite met awkwardly in the middle; Dawn's breath was warm against his skin as she laughed softly, then gingerly pressed her lips to his instead.

It was the best feeling in the world. He wanted to do that again but there was a loud 'AHEM' from nearby and Unsuur pulled back to find Miguel standing there, an eyebrow raised.

"Uh... I should go. And find Pen. Like I said I would."

"Y-yeah, don't let me keep you. And sorry, pastor," Dawn added, pressing the back of her hand to her lips, face a bright red. She turned on her heel and rushed off down the street; Justice was usually coming in from the ranch area around this time of day so hopefully she'd run into him quickly.

Unsuur knew his face was also sporting a blush and hurried to hop onto Boulder and head for Shonash bridge again. Boulder let out a grumpy-sounding whinny as his hooves touched the stonework running along the track and Unsuur patted him reassuringly.

"Sorry, I know you don't like walking the same path over and over. It's really not so bad once you're used to it. Lots of time to daydream," he said, leaning in close to the horse's neck and urging him into a faster gallop.

Once more out in front of Gecko Station Unsuur could spot Pen running ahead of him, cutting a direct path for the rib cage where the buzzard was still quite visible sitting and surveying the area. The remaining sunlight glinted off the goggles around its neck as it spotted Pen coming and spread its wings, flapping a few times before taking flight.

That wasn't good -- Pen was technically a smaller target than Unsuur and the horse so the buzzard would probably ignore him in favor of the bigger potential meal. Turning Boulder around he directed him to the side of Gecko Station, hopping off and leading him to a spot where the stairs that lead up to the cable car landing would shield him from any sudden buzzard attacks. "I don't want you getting hurt so wait here until I come back, all right?" He tied the reins loosely to a pipe sticking out of the ground - it hadn't budged at all when he grabbed and pulled on it so it would suffice as an impromptu hitching post for now and the knot wasn't so tight that the horse couldn't yank himself free if he needed to flee.

The sound of an approaching horse reached him as he dashed back out toward the open dunes; Justice was galloping toward him and Unsuur waved at him.

"It's in the air, sheriff!"

"Got it, let me-" Justice called back in a rush, not finishing the sentence and accidentally showering Unsuur with kicked up sand as he abruptly changed Truth's trajectory to run him over toward where Boulder was sheltering.

With Justice warned Unsuur hurried after Pen, keeping one eye on where he was running and one on the skies above.

-------------------------------

The door had barely opened when Dawn threw herself into his arms for a tight hug then just as quickly pulled away, eying him up and down.

"You're ok? No injuries?"

"I'm fine." And that was true - aside from maybe bruising his knees when he'd stumbled he had come out of that buzzard fight unscathed, and so had Pen and Justice too. "It didn't put up much of a fight. Pen punched it a few times when it dove down at us, and Justice and I each shot it once. I don't think we hurt it badly enough that it'll die but after it got shot it did fly away and didn't come back."

"Will it come back later though?"

"I'm not sure. Pen said he'll keep an eye out for it and finish it off. I didn't want to kill it if we didn't have to but Justice said that B3, the sheriff before him, had told stories about how they sometimes even attacked the trains as they came into town so we can't let it stay this close to Sandrock. If that means we have to kill it then...we have to kill it. I was expecting we'd have to but it doesn't mean I like it."

She frowned at that. "I agree about not wanting to kill anything needlessly but nothing about these things sounds pleasant to to coexist with..." Shaking her head Dawn stepped backwards through the doorway and pulled the door open wider; Unsuur could smell potatoes and rice and what he thought was fish, and his stomach growled loudly enough that Dawn heard it. "Come on, it's just about ready," she giggled, gesturing for him to step inside.

The table was already set with plates and silverware and a folded trio of tea towels in the middle, and those delightful smells grew stronger now that he was mere feet away from the stove where he could see two covered pots on the burners and that the oven was on, and sitting on the counter nearby was that little tin timer ticking away steadily. She put a pitcher of chilled water on the table and Unsuur filled both their glasses before downing half of his; his scalp itched with sweat and sand and he was looking forward to cleaning up once he got back home.

Dawn lifted a lid off a pot and stirred its contents briefly - a sweet scent wafted out. "After I found Justice Matilda caught me heading home and said the bridge passed inspection -- not that I expected it would fail, but it was nice to get the official word. She wants to have an opening ceremony for it first thing in the morning."

"Really? That seems kind of short notice."

She laughed and turned off the burner, then moved that pot over to a cold burner. "I guess it is, sort of, but on the other hand I don't see anyone having anything better to do since they've all been watching and waiting for the bridge to be done-" the timer went off then and she jumped slightly, reaching over to turn it off. "-so I bet the whole town shows up."

Out of the oven came two covered pans, one narrow and oblong and the other a rounded square shape; she sat them on folded tea towels on the table and removed the lids to reveal fragrant, poached sandfish in a cloudy broth and a spicy-smelling dish made of cubes of potato and diced leek and peppers. It all smelled really good but he was curious about why there was one tea towel left on the table but two pots on the stove top.

Of those two pots Dawn moved one to the table and the other (the one that had smelled sweet) was left on the cold burner on the back of the stove; inside the one on the table was rice flavored with green flecks of herbs.

"I hope I didn't accidentally make something you don't like."

"You didn't, don't worry. There really aren't any foods I don't like, maybe because my parents made me try everything when I was a baby. No refusing food in their household."

"That sounds familiar," she said, laughing a bit as she gestured for him to serve himself. "Though no amount of feeding them to me has ever made me like raw onions or the green kind of olives."

"I have no idea what an olive even is," he replied, carefully lifting a delicate sandfish filet out of the pan and managing to get it onto his plate without dripping the broth everywhere or breaking the piece apart. "What do they taste like?"

"Disgusting by themselves," Dawn said dryly. "They're salty and briny and bitter, and burn the tip of my tongue. I tried some that had been cured with herbs and garlic once and those were tolerable but the oiliness was kind of a turn off."

They both filled their plates and got to eating; he had no idea what she'd put in the rice but it was amazing - ALL of it was good but he especially liked how simple yet how delicious that rice was. He could definitely see himself eating that alongside a bowl of yellow soup if he could get the recipe and was about to ask her for it when he noticed a calendar hanging on the wall beside the door, with the dates marked through with a single line until today -- the 24th, and it reminded him of something.

"Did you ever get to speak to the Mysterious Man?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, not yet. With everything that's been going on I've missed his visits - I'll hopefully get to see him next month. At the very least I'll have a lot more time to make jewelry, and Amirah has more time as well."

That was right...she had mentioned Amirah the last time too. "What does she need time for?"

Dawn stabbed at a bite of potato. "Well... You know those glaze drips she brought me?" Unsuur nodded. "The kiln she has will harden glaze if it's by itself but not when it's on ceramic pieces. She's tried all sorts of glazes that would supposedly work with lower temperatures but so far she's not had any work properly. She needs an electric kiln - the big, fancy ones you'd find in Walnut Groove or Atara, and those things are expensive even if you're just buying the blueprints. Then, there's me: I need a specific type of furnace that can both reach the super high temperature needed to melt glass while also maintaining a set temperature while I'm working with it. The furnaces I have right now can get hot enough but I don't have precise control over the temperatures... I know Qi could likely design me a furnace but it just so happens that the kiln Amirah needs shares a lot of the components the furnace would need. It'd be easier on everyone if we just buy the blueprint, I build Amirah her kiln, and let Qi alter the blueprint for what I need."

Aha. "So Amirah needs time to sell more, so she can afford to at least buy the blueprint."

She nodded. "Exactly. The plan at the moment is to split the cost, assuming we can convince the Mysterious Man get us a copy. I don't see it being a problem though," she added, tone light and with the barest hint of superiority underlying it. "He and I have worked together before so he knows I'm good for whatever price he sets."

"What about Amirah?"

Dawn slowly inhaled and finally stuck that bite of potato into her mouth, chewing thoroughly and swallowing. "...that might be trickier. He doesn't think very highly of her work even though he's bought a few of her complex, complicated pieces. Those took her days of work each to make so it's not feasible for her to concentrate on making the complex goods, and he thinks her regular work is boring and has told her as much. If it was just Amirah asking him to bring her the kiln blueprints, even if she had the full cost on hand, I don't actually think he'd do so. I don't doubt that he'd do it for me though."

"That seems a bit rude."

"He can be, yeah," she sighed. "But, he's successful, and knows what he's talking about along with having a good eye for what will sell, how well, and when it'll be in demand. It doesn't excuse being outright rude but...sometimes knowing ahead of time that what you're doing isn't going to pay off at that moment can save everyone some headache."

Once the main course was done Dawn moved the empty dishes over to the counter and brought out two clean bowls, then moved that last covered pot from the stove over to the table; she tested its temperature by pressing her bare hands to the sides of the pot and with a satisfied nod lifted the lid to reveal a creamy rice porridge.

"Owen gave me a few ideas on how to make yakmel milk work with this recipe so here's my first attempt."

"It smells nice," Unsuur said as she got a serving spoon and dipped it into the pot.

She gave the spoon a little swirl and quickly lifted it out with a heaping helping of the rice and placed it immediately into the bowl in front of him; for a few seconds it held a lovely rounded shape before slowly spreading out, and there was still some steam rising from it. It reminded him of something he'd had before; maybe his parents had made something like this when he was really little since he didn't remember it clearly but it sure seemed familiar, and homey, and overall had a comforting feeling just from the smell. Dawn handed him a clean spoon and, after testing the temperature with a quick probe of his tongue, he stuck a bite into his mouth.

It was soft, creamy, and delicately sweet, and there wasn't too much of a yakmel funk to it until you swallowed; Dawn was watching for his reaction as he spooned up another bite. "It's good. I like it."

"Phew," she sighed, smiling and taking a bite herself. "--hmm. Aside from the aftertaste it's almost there. It's not right, technically, but it's close."

"What did you do differently than normal?"

"I had to scald it to infuse some sweeter flavors into it. Owen wasn't certain if it'd completely cover up how strong the milk is so he gave me a few different 'recipes' to try, and also suggested using sand date or the sandberry chestnut milks and adjusting the sugar to account for it. I think those would be TOO sweet though, but I'll still give them a try."

"Me too," Unsuur said, smiling and getting a little smile in return.

They finished up and Unsuur helped with dishes, and it wasn't until he'd headed out through her gate that he remembered he'd meant to ask for the savory rice recipe. Oh well -- he'd see her tomorrow in the morning at the bridge ceremony.

It was a nice night out so he decided to take the longer walk home and as he crossed the tracks he spotted Pen standing at the commerce building, leaning against one of the posts of the front overhang; while Pen's pose seemed intended to appear casual there was a stiffness to it, like he was ready to move at a moment's notice. "The dive buzzard didn't come back already, did it?"

It was several seconds before Pen responded. "No, unfortunately... Cowardly featherbag is still nowhere to be seen. More's the pity - I barely felt my heart rate pick up during the battle."

"Oh." So at least he wasn't waiting for Unsuur because they had to head back out into the Eufala. "Then...was there something else over here?"

Pen let out a soft grunt. "If only. I thought I saw a shadow on the horizon but couldn't track down what I might have seen."

Unsuur glanced back the way he'd come; Dawn's workshop was still and dark aside from the soft yellow light coming through the window. "When did you see something?"

"Doesn't matter. Wasn't even a hint or a trace of anything worthwhile. Don't worry your little head over it," Pen grumbled.

...if there was something lurking around Dawn's place, or the salvage yard, that sounded like something to worry about, but if there WAS something dangerous out there Pen would have already gone out to beat it up without bothering to tell anyone first. "...all right then. See ya."

"Hmmph."

Unsuur continued up the road and passed by Miguel sitting on the saloon's upper porch, offering him a wave as he walked by; he was sitting with one leg propped over the other and his arms crossed, relaxed and looking comfortable, and lifted the fingers of a hand from where they curled around his arm in a sort of wave in return. If he was still disappointed in that public display of affection earlier he didn't show it or seem inclined to lecture him about it as he continued on.

Once he reached his doorstep Unsuur paused and vigorously rubbed his hands through his hair to dislodge all the sand, then had to take his jacket off and shake it since he'd done those two things in the wrong order. After he was sufficiently dusted off he took one last look out toward Dawn's -- he really hoped Pen had just been seeing things but it was nice to know that he was keeping an eye out for Dawn's safety too.

Heading inside he tossed his jacket over a chair and began undressing on his way to the bathroom; if there was going to be a ceremony celebrating the bridge tomorrow he should probably fully clean up tonight so he looked his best for Dawn tomorrow. She and Mi-an deserved to be recognized for that crazy amount of work they did in such a short amount of time.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Breath of the Sky Ch 14 (SS meets BotW)

Summary: When Princess Zelda goes to the Spring of Courage to pray, accompanied by her appointed knight, a giant magical cog spitting out a goddess is the last thing she expects, but it is what she gets. Meanwhile, the Spirit Maiden Zelda is trying to figure out what the heck is happening and where her missing chosen hero is.

AO3 link

Chapter 14: A Set Path

The sunlight was being hidden away by the clouds, reminding him strikingly of his days on the Surface a few months ago. It was still warm, almost too warm, but he shivered nonetheless.

Link and Zelda had been given some privacy as they’d walked away from the picnic site, instead standing on a hill overlooking a good portion of the field. In the distance there were many structures, some stone and some wood, some with people and some with strange animals.

“I didn’t think we’d be stuck doing this again,” Link finally commented, feeling Zelda’s fingers interlace with his own.

Zelda sighed solemnly, staring out at the vastness of the land alongside him. “I… didn’t either.”

There was no going home at this point. They both knew it.

“You sure this wasn’t part of your plan?” he asked, glancing at her. Given his earlier accusation, he felt like dirt even asking, but he had to at least have something to cling to.

“I wish it was,” Zelda muttered bitterly. “At least then I’d know what to do.”

Link felt… hopelessly lost. The words of assurance from the captain echoed in his mind, but what good were those assurances when Hylia’s own plan fell through?

Well. It wasn’t like Hylia had been perfect, he thought with maybe a touch too much resentment. He squeezed Zelda’s hand all the more, trying to push that out of his mind. As much as he tried to separate the two, there was no separating them. As much as Zelda insisted she was still the person he knew, that didn’t change the fact that her past was intermingled with something far beyond his comprehension.

That didn’t mean she still hadn’t used him.

What difference does that make? It was for a good reason.

A reason which had failed. But he knew that was his own doing, not Hylia’s.

Link’s gaze drifted back towards the stone pillars, towards the area in the center of the field where the other two sat. His successor and his descendant. The pair were eating quietly, one more eagerly than the other, but both seemed to occasionally remember Link and Zelda were there and would glance in their direction.

He supposed there was no avoiding them now. Not that he minded being near Zellie all that much, but goddesses above sometimes it was just too much hearing about all of it. As for his successor…

“Link, I…” Zelda started to say, her words lost in the wind for a moment. Link looked back at her, heart clenching at the torn look on her face. “I’m sorry. For all of this.”

“Don’t apologize,” he immediately replied. “This isn’t your fault, it’s mine.”

“But it all started with me,” Zelda noted quietly. “It all started with Hylia.”

Link bit his lip. He’d be a hypocrite to argue against her at this point, at least after all he’d said earlier. Goddesses he wished he’d kept silent. He tried a different tactic. “Whoever started it, I’m the one who—”

“Oh, just stop,” Zelda cut in tiredly, releasing his hand and hugging herself. “Please, just—I just—”

“I just wish it wasn’t like this,” Link finished for her, slowly wrapping his arms around her and letting her melt into the reassuring embrace.

They were in the future. The future. They were beholding the fruits of their efforts. Why couldn’t this just be a happy occasion? At least for Zelda – for Link it would’ve been beyond his comprehension, really, overwhelming and amazing and wild and wonderful, but… anything would’ve been better than this sinking realization.

It’s over. It’s finally over.

Zelda’s words, mixed with tears and choking on relief and joy, echoed in his mind. They’d thought it was over.

“What are we going to do?” he asked her.

Zelda shuddered in his hold, burying her face in his chest. “I don’t know. They… they don’t even know if the Triforce still exists.”

Link blanched, pulling away. “What? That was the entire crux of our plan!”

“I know,” Zelda cried. “I know! I don’t understand how—what—they said something about beasts, about those guardian things and the sword—”

“Fi? How’s Fi going to fix this?” Link asked. “Can she—is she even awake? Can she talk?”

He didn’t think she could, honestly – not based on her reaction when he’d held her at the festival. She’d sung, yes, but he should’ve heard her voice. Fi had said she’d go into an eternal slumber for the sole purpose of keeping Demise sealed away.

Maybe that was where they could start, then. Maybe something had happened to Fi.

“We need to talk to them,” Link said firmly, looking back at the pair again. His resolve faltered at the thought of speaking to his successor, as he didn’t really even deserve to, but Zelda’s tears motivated him well enough. If his beloved was floundering, he’d find a solution, because he would never leave her in such a helpless state.

Link’s resolve faded the closer they got to the pair, but it was too late by then. Zellie and the new Hero noticed their approach, watching them. As Link’s steps faltered from shame over his failure, Zelda took the lead, guiding him forward with a gentle hand. When the pair sat across from the other two, the Hero carefully pushed food towards Link.

Everyone stared at each other awkwardly.

“So,” Zelda said, finally taking the lead. “You mentioned guardians and divine beasts would help you fight De—Calamity Ganon. And then… you two would fight him? Right?”

Zellie looked at her Hero and then back at Zelda before nodding.

Link opened his mouth to ask about Fi and then found his voice not cooperating. He looked down, hands balling up his tunic and releasing it in anxious movements.

“And you need help with your powers,” Zelda continued.

The princess visibly wilted, looking down.

Link blinked. “What powers?”

Zellie and the new Hero’s eyes immediately went to him, widened as if he’d spoken some kind of heresy.

“I think she’s supposed to have the magic to seal him away,” Zelda answered hesitantly. “That’s what I’ve gathered, at least?”

The pair switched their horrified gazes to Zelda now. Well… at least Link wasn’t melting under their stares anymore. But why the faces?

“You—you think?” Zellie repeated. “But I—my prayers—”

“Look,” Zelda interrupted. “Let’s get this straight. Whatever prayers you’re saying, or anyone is saying—I’m not hearing them. I’m not—I don’t have that kind of power, to read people’s minds and stuff. And—and whoever you’re praying to, you’re doing it in this era, you know? I’m—we’re from the past.”

“W-well, yes,” Zellie acknowledged a little uncomfortably. But it seemed curiosity got the better of her, her eyes shining. “But—how—what is it like, where you are? Can you sense—I mean, you got here somehow, and—”

“I got here because of Link,” Zelda interrupted before hastily adding, “B-but obviously we were destined to be here, too. I mean—what else are the odds that we learn of the demon king’s survival just as you’re preparing for him? But I—this wasn’t my planning. I don’t know what’s happening. We’re trying to piece it together.”

Link’s gaze drifted towards the Master Sword, and he found himself making eye contact with the Hero wielding it. He quickly looked back at Zellie, who seemed simultaneously worried and fascinated.

“All my life, I’ve… I’ve had to try and teach myself this power,” Zellie said softly, her expression growing despairing, frustrated, before she looked hopefully at Zelda. “If you can… if Your Grace would be so kind as to help me… I…”

“I already promised you I would,” Zelda assured her with a smile. “Knight’s honor.”

Zellie blinked. “Knight’s… honor?”

“Oh. Sorry. Expression,” Zelda chuckled nervously, rubbing her hands together.

“Zelda’s a knight,” Link immediately said. “Not a goddess.”

Well. She was his goddess, but that was beside the point. The point was he knew how much this Your Grace nonsense was bothering her. He’d seen her tolerate it fine with Impa, but that was during her rediscovery of her past. She’d been trying to reconcile it since then, and Farore knew this wasn’t helping.

Zelda sighed at the bemused expressions they were receiving. “I… I am the goddess Hylia reborn. But I… look. I’m just… I was born a human like everyone else. I can barely remember my life as Hylia. I…”

“Why?” the princess asked before catching herself.

Zelda quickly waved off her apology that she was about to splutter. “Because I—Hylia, I mean—was killed. I—Hylia sacrificed herself to seal the calamity away until I could come back to defeat him with Link.”

Here she paused, looking at Link, eyes alight with love, face glowing with pride. Despite his own guilt and shame, Link couldn’t help melting a little at the gaze, smiling at her in return.

“Fascinating,” Zellie whispered.

Zelda and Link lost the girl’s wonder in their own attention to each other before his beloved finally smiled back at the other two. “If we’re going to figure out how to stop the demon king, we’ll need to see everything involved in this plan of yours. And as for your powers… my memories were awakened at the sacred springs. Maybe we could start there?”

It was interesting watching the princess’ reactions to Zelda’s words. She was delighted at first, and ashamed at the end. Clearly, her powers were a point of contention for her.

Link could sympathize. Goddess… he hoped she didn’t feel as he did, but he had a sinking suspicion that was indeed the case. How could she possibly feel such a way? It wasn’t as if her lack of abilities had caused harm yet, right? It couldn’t be any more catastrophic than his own failures – despite the obvious one, he’d also nearly let Zelda die at the hands of Ghirahim. Were it not for Impa in the Earth Temple, all would have been lost due to Link’s ineptitude.

And in the end, what difference did it make?

Link shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. Stop. This isn’t helping.

He looked ahead again and saw the knight staring at him. Abruptly, he felt his cheeks flush and he looked down at his uneaten food. He hesitantly pushed it back towards the knight.

The pair stared at each other again before their gaze drifted to the plate. The knight hesitantly took the food back, eating it.

“Well, if you want to see guardians, I can show you some at the castle,” Zellie said eagerly, rising to her feet. “But the divine beasts reside in their champions’ domains. I can arrange for all of us to travel across Hyrule! It will—we can stop at the springs as well, but—you’ll see all that we have built, all we have prepared for the coming calamity.”

Link and Zelda looked at each other, surprised, before looking back at the princess. “There’s… more to Hyrule?”

Zellie practically glowed with pride. “Why yes, of course! Come, we must hurry, I’ll prepare everything!”

Well… at least they had a plan. Link rose at the same time as the knight, and the two nearly bumped shoulders, making Link stumbled towards Zelda. He was pretty certain he’d fumbled enough conversations today, so perhaps he’d save asking about Fi for later. But as the four walked, it was immediately apparent he was stuck lingering with his successor while Zellie babbled excitedly in the front of the group, nearly holding Zelda hostage with her conversation. Link found that he couldn’t help but stare at the blade, aching for its warmth, for Fi’s voice to echo in his mind and heart.

He felt so incredibly alone seeing her on someone else’s back.

Zelda stopped abruptly. “Oh! I almost forgot. We have to have nicknames, or this is going to get way too confusing. We have a few already – Dove, you’ll go by Cloud, and he’ll go by Champion. Now we just need to figure out me and the princess.”

Cloud? Link tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow at his wife, curious where that nickname had come from. He’d accept it, of course… did this have to do with the cloud barrier? Skyloft? Or was it a joke based on that story at the festival?

He felt a smile pull at his lips. As much as he’d shot down the ideas the princess had brought up about his existence, it was beginning to grow on him. He could at least garner some entertainment from the absolute ignorance surrounding his identity. Besides, he’d promised himself he’d buy into it the next time someone brought it up. It was too funny not to.

Helpfully, he added, “The princess said she’s okay with going by Zellie.”

The knight, Champion, stared at the princess a moment, and though his face was placid as ever, Link could sense some kind of underlying question hidden in it.

“I guess that just leaves me,” Zelda muttered thoughtfully.

“Your Grace… wants a nickname?” Zellie questioned.

“Of course I do!” Zelda answered sincerely. “I mean… we’re going to be friends! I don’t want you addressing me like some distant deity and the like. I may be the spirit maiden, but… I want us to be friends. This isn’t… this isn’t my…”

Zelda faltered, stumbling on words and thoughts, and Link watched her reluctantly. He wasn’t exactly eager to back her up in this instance – she’d spent their entire venture discovering her identity as someone else, and she had been struggling to retain her own self as Zelda since then. He wasn’t going to encourage her taking on a new persona, even if it was just a nickname.

“We’ll figure it out,” he finally cut in quietly just to move the conversation away from it.

Zelda sighed, shrugging, and the princess continued to lead them back to the castle. Link kept up this time, though, so as to avoid looking at Fi any longer. It seemed Champion always remained two steps behind his princess, anyway.

Noticing how the Champion lagged behind, Zelda smiled welcomingly and fell back so she could be in step with him, leaving Zellie and Link in the front. As Link looked around, he found other things to focus on. Like how distinctly open and alive this place felt while simultaneously… lacking something. The more he stared at the world around him, the strangely more apparent it became, and he wasn’t sure why he’d only just noticed it now, or what it meant.

This land of Hyrule was beautiful and vast, stunning beyond all comprehension. But the Surface that Link knew was brimming with something else in the air, the very fabric of the life woven through the land was teeming with magic and energy. Here, it simply… wasn’t. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. It felt like something had been lost while so much had been gained, and it suddenly made him pause. Perhaps this was what was lost when there was no trace of the Triforce, no guidance from Fi, with magic steadily draining from this land.

Link felt all the lonelier for it.

“Hero? Um… C-Cloud?”

Cloud? Oh, yes. That was him. Link looked somewhat reluctantly at the princess, waiting for her to continue. They’d talked so easily earlier, but he’d left that conversation rather abruptly. He hoped he hadn’t seemed too rude. Not that his conversation with Zelda had gone any better, though at least…

Wait. Wait. Had those two… had they been there? If that captain had heard his argument…

Oh goddess.

Despite his own feelings on the matter, the princess’ eyes showed only pity. That solidified his dreaded suspicion, though it simultaneously confused him – given how horribly he’d talked to Zelda, he’d expect disgust or disdain, not whatever it was Zellie was currently conveying.

Despite seeming to be practically overflowing with words to say, the princess faltered in her approach. Instead, she looked down at her clasped hands, wringing them nervously. Link wished he could say something instead, wished that he could maybe figure out if she truly did feel like she was failing because of whatever issue she was having with her powers, but… he could hardly hold on to any kind of assurances for himself; there was little way he could find a way to comfort her.

But Link hated to see her like this. He hated to see anyone he cared about hurting. And by the goddesses, he could see Zelda in every feature of this girl, in her blonde hair, in her intelligent eyes, in her love and pride in her people.

And he could see himself. He could see his sensitivity in her, he could see how the responsibility on her shoulders was crushing her just as his journey had crushed him.

Instinctively, Link reached out, letting his hand rest on her shoulder. Zellie jumped a little, startled, and looked back at him as he smiled at her. Perhaps he didn’t have the words to cheer her up at the moment, but he could at least offer support in other ways.

Zellie let out a soft sigh and smiled. “I can’t wait for you to see Hyrule.”

The words settled in Link’s heart, and he smiled in return. Despite his catastrophic failure, this land had not only survived but grown far beyond his ability to even fathom. And that… that had to mean something, didn’t it? If time and time again Demise had tried to destroy the land, and it had still somehow managed to turn into this, then…

Then maybe it wasn’t such a failure, after all.

XXX

The beauty of the castle gardens was terrifyingly diminished with the howls of anguish and anger coming from the royal horticulturalist as Mipha awkwardly sidled away from the newly tainted silent princess flower bed. She had escorted the Hero of Myth to the others before excusing herself, as she was not at all capable or important enough to be near a goddess, and had sought peace near the fountains in the castle grounds. Given the drama unfolding with other royal attendants trying to calm the woman, Mipha decided it was best to patrol the area.

Seeing Hyrule Castle was always an incredible sight, but the longer she lingered here, the more she ached for home. She missed her baby brother Sidon, she missed her father, she missed the flowing rivers and waterfalls, the diving places and beautiful scenery and mountains. Zora’s Domain was a sprawling city in its own right, but it somehow was far more homely than Castle Town, and it was less stifling than the royal halls. Perhaps it was the open architecture of her home, or perhaps it was the looming responsibility that hung heavily in the air here, a constant reminder of an evil that was coming.

It was no wonder Link had grown to be so quiet and stressed. Mipha would too if she were constantly living here.

The Zora princess leaned against a stone wall, hiding in the shade so she could enjoy the cool a little bit. She would be returning to the Domain tomorrow with her entourage, which was a relief. She would miss Link, but… well… duty came first. For all of them.

Her heart a little heavier, she tried to cheer herself up by finding her guards and attendants, when she instead nearly walked into the path of the goddess Hylia herself, and Mipha bit back a startled yelp as she dove for the nearest bush to hide in. She landed highly unceremoniously, feet in the air as she was caught in branches, hissing as twigs rubbed against her scales, though thankfully they could not cut through them. Mipha wiggled helplessly, at least tucking her feet in as best she could, before she heard gravel crunch and footsteps stop in front of her newfound prison.

When silence prevailed, Mipha turned her gaze as best she could, catching sight of familiar boots. She hesitantly whispered, “L-Link?”

Hands rested around her waist, making her heart speed up far more than it really should have (and oh why did that have to be the case, when they used to be able to laugh and play and push each other and fight as children and never was it so strange or awkward or different), and she was gently lifted out of the bush and placed on the ground. Link’s hold stayed on her as he stared at her, face calm but eyes soft, one cheek sucked in like he was trying desperately not to laugh. Mipha’s eyes looked frantically around them, and she was relieved to see that the rest of the party must have moved forward without him.

“O-oh, I’m—that was so incredibly—I’m very sorry, Link,” Mipha stammered, growing ever more frantic the longer the two of them stood so close to each other. Link’s hands slid off her waist at that, and he took a step back. Mipha cleared her throat and also mirrored the move, giving both of them more breathing room. “W-well. I. Yes. Thank you.”

Link watched her for a while longer, all earlier frazzled energy long gone. He was back to the stoic knight he always seemed to be, or at least most of the time. His eyes caught sight of something, and he reached forward to pluck a leaf out of her jewelry on her head.

Mipha felt herself blush in embarrassment at the reminder of her silly maneuver and even sillier predicament, and she ran her fingers across all her jewelry to ensure she was presentable. Trying to push the matter aside, she asked, “D-did… did everything go well with the goddess?”

Her friend nodded.

“Well, that’s good,” Mipha said with a smile. Then she shifted a little, heart growing heavy once more. “Link, I… I’m going to be leaving tomorrow. I… it was truly wonderful to see you again. I hope, perhaps, we can see each other again soon.”

Another nod was the acknowledgement. Mipha bit back a sigh. She understood, truly. But… well…

There was a way for him to ease up a little. But he had to agree to it.

“I was wondering… before I left… if—if, well…” oh goodness, this shouldn’t be so hard to ask! They used to swim together all the time! “I was going to go for a swim in the moat tonight. Would… would you like to join me?”

Link watched her a moment, and Mipha felt like she could melt into a puddle as he deliberated it. But then he nodded again, and her heart fluttered as a genuine smile pulled at her lips. She gave him a place where they could meet up, and he nodded, continuing along the path where the others had gone.

XXX

To say that he felt sure of anything in his life anymore was little more than a joke. Ever since his wife’s death and the prophecy, King Rhoam had felt like his life had spiraled entirely out of control. He had been an outsider to the royals, marrying into the family, purely there for support of his wife as she ruled the kingdom and served as a religious symbol and leader to their people. Yet her untimely death left him in charge, a man who had not been raised for such a rule, a man who had to do everything in his power to be the steady leader the people looked up to him to be, and to somehow raise his daughter to be just as wise and powerful as her mother.

He was failing, of course. As was Zelda. But Rhoam had continued to persevere, and if pushing his daughter to the breaking point was the way to protect her and help her grow, he’d be the subject of her ire. Despite it all, she had to prevail, even if he was failing.

But by the ancient goddesses, he had never in his life felt so utterly useless and lost. The franticness and demands that Her Grace Hylia had spouted during their conversation rang in his mind like a bell. Words of a mystical Triforce, something that was only remembered through symbolism and threadbare stories, made him feel far more incapable than he thought possible. How could he have failed Hyrule so? The prophecy had spoken of the solution to the Calamity being found under the ground, and the ancient Sheikah tech had been discovered buried in the earth. It had seemed heaven-sent solution, alongside the appearance of the Hero. Rhoam had just needed to get Zelda ready and it would have been fine. But what of the Triforce, then? The goddess seemed downright frantic at his lack of knowledge on the matter, and though she had promised to help Zelda, giving him hope, he still felt like he’d failed catastrophically.

He had to figure this out. A trip to the royal library was in order. To his surprise, the king found his daughter there as well. “Zelda?”

His dearest yelped as she whirled around. “Father! I was just doing some research and preparation. Her Grace, the goddess Hylia, and her Sacred Hero will be accompanying me as I show them the Divine Beasts and—”

The Divine Beasts?! What did that have to do with her training? Feeling his cheeks grow hot, the king interrupted, “You should be focusing on your duty, Zelda, not that of the Champions. Do not waste such prestigious guests’ time. I prayed to Her Grace for your sake.”

Zelda stiffened. “Y-yes, I—I know, Father, I just—they wanted to see them too.”

Oh. Well, then. The king found himself incapable of backtracking after snapping at her, and he felt all the worse for it. “When will you leave?”

“The sooner the better,” his daughter answered, regaining some of her excitement, though it was far more muted. Rhoam truly prayed that Hylia could help his child – the sooner she could discover her powers, the sooner she could be safe, the kingdom could be safe, and maybe… maybe he could attempt to rebuild his relationship with her. “I was thinking tomorrow, perhaps? But I wanted to plan the trip a little first.”

Rhoam agreed that the sooner his daughter could embark on her training the better, but he also felt his heart beat a little faster at the thought of such a quick departure. It wasn’t just his daughter with her appointed knight, a pair who could travel fairly indiscriminately and not attract too much attention outside of towns and villages. The two were safe together. But to include the goddess and her Hero… it felt nearly inappropriate to rush such a journey with them involved. Perhaps he should get the captain of the royal guard and arrange for some kind of escort?

The king left his daughter in peace to prepare, catching movement out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked there was no one there. Filling with anxious energy, he set out to summon the captain and then he could return to his own studies. Perhaps he should save researching about the Triforce for tomorrow… but no. He had to focus on his own duties as much as he pushed Zelda to focus on hers.

The captain of the royal guard came promptly when called for, and he knelt immediately upon entering the sanctum.

“Rise,” Rhoam ordered. “My daughter will be setting out with her knight tomorrow, and Her Grace, the Goddess Hylia, will be accompanying them alongside the Hero of Myth. I want to ensure their security is of paramount importance.”

Captain Abel watched the king a moment, stoic demeanor the spitting image of his son. The boy had come from a fine lineage of knights, and his father was no different. The captain was reliable, and Rhoam waited patiently as the man thought through the process.

“Your Majesty,” he started. “With all due respect, Princess Zelda and Her Grace Hylia are protected by the best Hylian knight in the land and the Hero of Myth and Legend, a warrior created by the goddess for the sole purpose of defeating Ganon. It would be a misuse of resources to send the royal guard, or even a battalion of knights, to go with them. We must stay here and protect you and the royal scientists, as well as their important work on the guardians.”

Ah, and this was where father differed from son. Link was a silent knight, obeying every command given to him. While his father’s loyalty was unquestionable, the man did what he believed was best for Hyrule, and though he would also inevitably follow any command ordered of him, he might offer a rebuttal first. Rhoam appreciated it, as his advice was usually sound.

Such as now. But the king couldn’t help but worry. “Surely we can afford to send at least a few knights, Captain.”

“I will do as Your Majesty commands if you wish it so,” the captain answered with a bow. “Where will they be going?”

“They will be visiting the Divine Beasts, as well as the sacred springs,” Rhoam replied.

Captain Abel remained quiet a moment, considering, and then suggested, “Perhaps we could request the Champions to accompany them? I can think of no finer protection.”

Ah, yes, of course! Although Rhoam had little authority to command certain Champions to act as guards for his daughter, they would be obliged to accompany Hylia, particularly if going to their own domains. Rhoam smiled at the captain. “That is a perfect idea, Captain. Please, summon the Champions to the sanctum. I will make my request to them.”

The royal knight bowed deeply before exiting the sanctum, leaving Rhoam to his thoughts. With the added protection of the Champions, the goddess would be both safe and honored properly. Perhaps it would help his daughter focus a little better too, as she often lost her way when left in charge of an expedition. Nevertheless, Zelda was the commander of the Champions, and it was good for her to travel a bit more with them anyway. Rhoam prayed it was enough. He would research tirelessly on other ways to help, however minimal it might be.

It would be enough. It had to be.

XXX

The sun hung heavily on the horizon as Link and Zelda sat side by side on stone that helped support the highest tower in the castle. After the fairly awkward picnic lunch, the group had gone their separate ways, Champion disappearing entirely upon reentering the castle grounds while Zellie eagerly said she’d plan out their trip and vanished around a corner. Link and Zelda had remained quiet for most of the afternoon, piecing together their resolve while still drawing strength from each other. They had silently grown tired of the confinement of the stone walls and climbed to the highest point of the castle. The air was a touch chillier here, though not nearly clear and relieving enough, but it was still better than being trapped inside.

And Zelda would be lying if she said it wasn’t beautiful.

The scale of the castle was all the more apparent up here, rivaling Skyloft in size, and Castle Town was nearly as large. Beyond the large protective walls of the town was the sprawling green beauty of greater Hyrule, and settlements speckled the area, promising of more to see and more to explore. Zelda could hardly believe it.

Link’s fingers settled over hers as he shifted his hand closer. Zelda glanced over at him, seeing the sunlight sparkle in his eyes as he gazed out in wonder.

This felt like all the times they’d sit together at the edge of Skyloft, having played themselves into exhaustion and silence. Link had always been a quiet one, and Zelda had never had an issue with it, sometimes enjoying the tenderness such silence could bring. She especially appreciated it on days that Groose was particularly loud and annoying.

But looking at her beloved husband right now reminded her of their earlier fight, of his words and the princess’ fears and the king’s request and her own anxieties. She again found herself wondering how she was going to juggle all this, how she could help the princess fight Demise, how they could even defeat him this time. At least with a trip to look at these divine beast things, there was a plan in place. Zelda could work with a plan.

Besides… maybe the springs could hold something for her as well. Maybe… maybe in the past… when she’d been Hylia… surely she’d seen this coming, right?

Right?

Zelda didn’t know what to do. She had no guide. She missed Impa so much it hurt.

At least I have Link with me this time, she thought, though there was a touch of bitterness to it. Of course he was with her this time – it wasn’t like he could escape this wretched fate, either. But honestly… she couldn’t imagine dealing with this with anyone else. As much as she wished Impa was here, she was forever grateful that Link was. If only both of them could accompany her. If only things could make sense.

But never mind that. There was a whole new world to explore. The Surface had been amazingly new and beautiful, and her restored memories had not lessened that. She couldn’t wait to see what the Surface had become now.

She tried to focus on that, tried to reorient her mind to recognizing that this wasn’t just a terrifying preparation for the war to begin anew. It was an adventure, and she would make sure it ended well.

But wait. Someone else had been on their adventure.

Zelda found herself thinking of her own people, of her friends and her father and the other settlers. She hoped and prayed they were alright.

And that they wouldn’t get near the Gate. Surely… surely they wouldn’t. There was no way they could. Groose was injured (Golden Three, she hoped he was doing okay), and no one else dared enter the Sealed Temple.

She hoped the guards she asked for would keep the place safe.

Zelda leaned over, letting her head rest on Link’s shoulder, and her husband settled his head atop hers. Tomorrow was going to be the start of something entirely new, and she was glad they would face it together.

“I love you,” she whispered.

Link turned his head to nuzzle into her hair a little more, and his arm moved to wrap around her. “I love you too.”

XXX

Hyrule Castle hummed with anticipation as the last rays of sunlight seeped out of the sky. Champions genuflected to the king, spoke with their guards and servants, and prepared themselves for the honor of accompanying a deity. The princess of Hyrule sprawled out on her bed, maps and books all over the covers, though they did little benefit as the girl’s head slowly plopped directly on to a book about the history of the Temple of Time, soft snores escaping her. The royal guards protecting the goddess’ quarters grew anxious as no goddess appeared, while two teenagers snuggled high up above the castle, enjoying the clear night sky. The captain of the guard prayed quietly in his quarters, dinner forgotten, as he thought about the trip the next day. The king moved restlessly through the royal library as he tried to find any clues of the Triforce.

Meanwhile, the princess’ appointed knight snuck around the castle walls, looking around the docks before finding a suitable place to strip off his shirt as the Zora princess waved at him.

The water was cold, and Link felt himself involuntarily gasp as he dipped his bare feet into it. Grabbing hold of his resolve, he leapt into the water, knowing the best way to adjust to the temperature was to just take the plunge. He let it invigorate him, startling all the worries of the day out of his mind as he just focused on swimming. Somehow, just floating in the water helped carry his worries away. He always enjoyed it.

Mipha giggled, catching his attention, and he swam over to her, smiling. They hadn’t done this in what felt like years—maybe it actually had been that long. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it until just now.

“Oh Link,” Mipha said happily. “I’m so glad you could join me!”

Link’s smile grew, and the princess took that as a cue to continue.

“King Rhoam asked for me,” she noted, catching his attention. “Alongside all the other Champions. He asked us to accompany you and the princess as she took the goddess Hylia around Hyrule. I could hardly say no to such a request, but—oh, Link, how can I even get near such a being? Surely I’m not worthy of that. Do you think she’ll go in a carriage or something? At least that way she’ll never see me.”

Link stared at her a moment, letting the words flow through him like the water. The king wished the Champions to go with them? That wasn’t unreasonable, but it certainly changed things a little. Mostly for the better, honestly.

Except for Revali. Ugh. Great.

But having Mipha around would be nice. And Princess Zelda would appreciate Chief Urbosa’s company. Not to mention Daruk’s company would be nice. Though… Link wasn’t sure how Hylia or her Hero would take it.

But Mipha’s concerns registered in his mind, and he shook his head. In the solitude of the castle waters, he didn’t have to hide himself, though the paranoia persisted despite being with his friend. He pushed himself to speak freely. “She’s… not what I expected. I don’t think she’ll dislike you, Mipha.”

“Perhaps,” his friend agreed uncertainly, eyes looking at the moonlight dancing on the water.

“Nobody could dislike you,” Link reassured her, swimming a little closer and sinking into the water so he ended up in her line of sight. Mipha giggled at him as the only part of him that was visible above water was from his nose to the top of his head. She dove abruptly, and Link followed suit, the pair smiling at each other as they swam in circles. It almost felt like they were kids again, playing in Zora’s Domain while Link’s father was assigned there. It almost made him forget everything that was happening.

Almost.

Though, now that he had stepped away from the others, now that he was allowed to just have some simple fun and be with a friend, his mind felt much clearer. The usual immense weight on his shoulders felt a little less heavy, even just momentarily. While Hylia herself was still quite the mystery, her Hero was less so. And while Link still felt a little intimidated approaching him or Her Grace, he could at least draw courage from the fact that neither of them hated him.

He hoped the trip would be fruitful for Zelda. He truly did. The poor princess deserved it.

But what else would this trip bring? What could Link possibly contribute to it? Nothing, he supposed, except for his protection, as always. He supposed that was enough.

As Link and Mipha breached the water’s surface, he glanced back at the castle, wondering what this journey would bring. The playful moment was gone, Mipha stilled beside him, and then she said quietly, “The Calamity draws ever nearer… but Link… we have so much going for us. It must all end well, right?”

I don’t know. He truly didn’t. But… he nodded nonetheless. Because Mipha didn’t need to worry, and honestly, Link would do everything in his power to ensure that Calamity Ganon would be defeated. That had always been enough.

“I pray it will,” Mipha continued, before smiling gently at him. “I will strive to improve my fighting abilities in the meantime. I hope Her Grace and the Hero enjoy seeing the Domain—oh! Oh, I must send word to my father! We can’t be unprepared over such a visit!”

And just like that, his friend was in a frenzy, fretting about divine visitors and speaking about how Zora’s Domain should be ready. Link followed her back to the shore, somewhat amused—he was pretty certain there was nothing she could do to alert her father at the moment, but he was no stranger to worrying over everything and nothing in the middle of the night—and the pair snuck back into the castle. Link tried to hide his shivers as he crept along, listening to water drip off them both on the cobblestone.

“Oh, you’re freezing!” Mipha fretted, immediately grabbing him and holding him close. Link felt his heart skip a beat and by the goddesses he wished he didn’t—they’d done this as children; all the Zora had huddled together for warmth when exiting frigid waters. As children they weren’t quite adept and regulating their temperature, and they knew that Link himself was not capable. But it felt—now it was—

Link swallowed, feeling his cheeks warm up far faster than the rest of him, and Mipha froze. The two locked eyes for a moment, and the Zora princess immediately spluttered and stumbled back so quickly she nearly fell into yet another plant. Link reached out automatically, catching her by the wrist, and she hastily said, “I m-must go, I’m so very sorry, Link, good night!”

The young knight watched his friend practically flee indoors, and he felt… he didn’t know. Guilty? Sad? Embarrassed? All three?

He sighed as his gaze drifted upward along the castle. The worries from a moment ago bled out of him easily as anxieties over tomorrow filled the void. He didn’t think he would be sleeping much tonight. But the focus was back on Princess Zelda, where it belonged. He was there to fulfill a duty as well, but it didn’t require attention or scrutiny. He could guard and watch. He could do that.

He found himself wondering if the Hero of Legend would do that as well. He found himself wondering what he was even supposed to do with that Hero.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to do anymore, honestly. And while he no longer held any worry that his predecessor hated him, he certainly had little idea of how to help him. Assuming he even needed help.

It was all just… confusing. If this trip was fruitful in any way, he hoped it would at least make things less confusing.

I suppose I’ll find out, he thought as he followed Mipha’s wet footprints inside the castle, slipping back into the façade of the perfect soldier.

[lovedrunkheadcanons]

SUMMARY: The year was 2014. With the marriage of Satoru Gojo and Hannah Thames made official, the first of its kind, a bridge had finally been established. Relations between the Jujutsu and Western factions practically improved overnight, bringing hope that Ryomen Sukuna would be exorcized at last, but things are never that simple.

(Arranged Marriage Fic) Read on AO3

Ch 1: The Wedding

Ch 2: Meetings and Mishaps

Ch 3: The King of Curses

Ch 4: Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares

Ch 5: The Strongest

Ch 6: The Siren

Ch 7: A Moment of Grace, A Thread of Enlightenment

Ch 8: After the Rain, Earth Hardens

Ch 9: We Are But Flesh and Bone

Ch 10: There Is No Easy Way To Learning

Ch 11: Laborare Est Orare 

Ch 12: Tomoe’s Warning

Ch 13: Fear No Danger To Ensue 

Ch 14: Into The Belly of the Beast

Ch 15: The Only Way Out Is Through (I)

Ch 16: The Only Way Out Is Through (II)

Ch 17: Reconciled

Ch 18: Fighting the Inevitable

Ch 19: Duch and Butch

Ch 20: A Heart to Heart

Ch 21: Life’s Tiny Victories

Ch 22: The Nature of Bees

Ch 23: Great Courage Is Righteous Anger

Ch 24: Kumari’s Appraisal & Armaments

Ch 25: The Road To A Friend’s House Is Never Long

Ch 26: The Harp

Ch 27: Hiding In Plain Sight

Ch 28: A Burden Shared Is A Burden Halved

Ch 29: Resolution

Ch 30: One Flesh (SMUT)

Ch 31: Honeymoon Phase (SMUT)

Ch 32: 夏油 傑

Ch 33: One Trouble Departed, Again Trouble

Ch 34: Sanity(SMUT)

Oneshots

Sticks and Stones

A Girls’ Night Out

津美紀 (Tsumiki)

真希 (Maki)

The Blindfold

Maidenhair Tree (銀杏)

Cheating

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, May 28

Anya: Piano! Xander: Because that's what we used to kill that big demon that one time!Xander: No wait, that-that was a rocket launcher. (turns to Anya) Ahn, what are you talking about? Anya: We should drop a piano on her. Well, it always works for that creepy cartoon rabbit when he's running from that nice man with the speech impediment.

~~Buffy Season 5 Episode #98: "Spiral"~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Come Home To Me (Buffy/Faith, G) by Resplendence_Of_Starlight

Void if ..... (Xander, M, Aladdin xover) by JadeWine

Cool Lips, Cold Stone (Buffy/Faith, T) by bitterxox

Mr. Snuggluffagus (Buffy, Willow, Xander, T) by JadeWine

Cigarettes are meant for two (Spike/Reader, unrated) by WhiteMonsterEnergy

Sunnydale Pawnshop (Xander, T, Evil Dead xover) by samsas

[Chaptered Fiction]

Unicorn Ch. 1 (Buffy/Angel, Buffy/SPike, T) by desicat

Happiest Place Ch. 1-8/8 COMPLETE (Angel/Cordelia, AtS Ensemble,) by julianblackthornspancakes

Where goes the Heart? CH. 1 () by skhwriter

Disease Ch. 3/4 (Buffy/Giles, E) by guin_ramble

Cultivating Chaos Ch. 17 (Ensemble, M) by BunnyQuill

The Boring Stuff: Halloween Ch. 2 (Buffy/Angel, M) by missfiggy

Broken Curses Ch 1-22/22 COMPLETE (Xander, Fanged Four, Same Lawson, E) by Ihatechoosinganame

Shadow Over Hellmouth Ch. 110/252 (Buffy/Tara, Ensemble, ) by Tuxedo_Mark

I hate the way Ch. 15 (Buffy/Giles , E) by DancingAngel0013

In the Company of Witches and Slayers: Ch. 49/200 (Willow/Tara, Ensemble, E) by VladimirHarkonnen (TheLightdancer)

In the Dark of the Night Ch. 11 (Buffy/Spike, M) by norik23

To the Skylark, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, M) by squiddz

See You Yesterday, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, M) by all choseny

Love Bites But So Do I, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, E) by CheekyKitten

Something Lingers, Chapter 25 (Buffy/Spike, E) by goodbyetoyou

Deliverance From Destiny, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Ragini

The Watcher, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, E) by In Mortal

Stranger in her Body, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Desicat

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:Young Robin Wood () by aa-arttss

Artwork:Illustration for elysianholly‛s "The Writing on the Wall" () by isevery0nehereverystoned

Artwork:Tara () by testframboise-aqua

Playlist:A Playlist for Willow () by gothhobbithoe

Playlist:A Playlist for Buffy () by gothhobbithoe

Video: Buffy & Spike | Bad Idea Right? () by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxRCqFji3tA

[Reviews & Recaps]

Real Me (BTVS 5.02) by buffster

Are You Now or Have You Ever Been (ATS 2.02) by buffster

Judgement (ATS 2.01) by buffster

PODCAST: ATS 216 - Epiphany by Another Buffy Podcast

PODCAST: Episode 29 - Enough with the Hecate! (Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered) by The Sunnydale Diaries

[Community Announcements]

Tuesday Prompt: Word of the Day by comment_fic

As a reminder, I have a Buffy/Giles discord server open to people 18 and up! by alexsrousseau

[Fandom Discussions]

hc abt the monks taking insp for dawn from willow? by pzyii

I’ve just realized what I actually find icky about Buffy and Angel. by reality-schmality

I just fucking hate how often the show paints Buffy as being in the wrong. by reality-schmality

You want to know why I love Spike so goddamn much? His redemption arc. by reality-schmality

I love Dawn and I love wondering how the early years might have been different with her involved. by reality-schmality

the fact of the matter is that buffy ends up isolated no matter what the scoobies do by greensaplinggrace

the most frustrating thing about the whole spike situation is that the scoobies act stupid as fucking hell about it. by greensaplinggrace

people in the btvs fandom will act like angel was buffy’s one eternal true best love and nothing else compares by greensaplinggrace

dawn summers, at 14, learned she wasnt originally human and that all of her memories were fake by leechjam

Still thinking about Buffy and Anne helping each other find themselves in Anne. by thechosenthree

ok so like. i watched the episode of buffy where the swim team turns into fish monsters alá chemicals in the steam room and. by girlboydotjpg

Having never been able to finish ats I just learned of this line angel without a soul says to Fred in season 4 of ats by raisedbythetv89

Sometime I get lost wondering if Buffy ever invited Faith to live with her and Joyce. by reality-schmality

coming back for the WIP game: tell me something about Coffeehouse AU that I don’t know by somekindofadeviant

Why do you think Cangel is forced? by thetopher

Cowboy Guy by Al_Bee

What is a line/scene where you realized buffy was an adult? by melaniemoth13

I finished it. by No-Cicada5474

Question about Anya, Buffy and Giles (Season 6 episode 6, All the Way) by technob8b222

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[freesia-writes]

Howzer + Aurelia Ch. 14

Beginning with his shiny days, this story follows Howzer's character arc through some heartwarming romance, action, adventure, yearning, angst, and growth.

Content/Trigger Warnings for Entire Work (individual chapters not labeled): wartime peril, injury, and death; sexual assault up to kissing; relationship passion up to making out and heavy petting; sexual relationship alluded to (smut is posted separately); pregnancy, birthing trauma, and stillbirth (chapters 30-39, can be skipped and still keep up with the story).

Master List of Chapters

Word Count: 1.1k

14. Loss

"Sprint!" shouted Howzer, starting to run up the stairs, but the ground shook with a nearby explosion, throwing him to the side against the wall. The top of the building above the doorway broke in half, falling with a deafening crash and landing on the steps above Howzer. The next shell landed almost on top of them; a blast of heat rippled out with the shockwave as stones and beams tumbled down.

It felt like an eternity before the dust settled. There was nothing but chaos and flames, and Howzer couldn't hear anything past the ringing in his ears. Slowly rising to his feet and getting his bearings, he could see the outline of the stone that had fallen, framed by the orange glow of flames beyond it. It had landed with one end at the top of the steps and the other end smashed up against the building overhead, making a rudimentary roof over the subterranean doorway. If it had been tilted ten degrees in either direction, he would have been crushed instantly.

He took a shaky breath, placing a hand on the rock wall next to him, standing up straight with agonizing slowness, afraid that he might break in half at any moment. He blinked, shaking his head a little bit, and then turned to the doorway behind him, opening it a crack. The stairs continued downward into a basement room, where he heard the worried voices of the Twi'leks.

Suddenly, he remembered Sprint, kicking himself mentally for being so thrown off by the explosion. He shut the door and climbed up the stairs, finding a small opening at the side and squeezing through it. The scene that met his eyes made his stomach drop to his feet in shock and horror. The place had been leveled, with nothing but heaps of rubble remaining. Flames danced here and there, and the heat and smoke hit him like a wall.

A flash of motion caught Howzer's eye, and he turned to see a brother limping out from one of the demolished buildings that was still on fire. He ran to him, putting an arm around him for support and helping him away from the blaze. A fallen wooden beam made a makeshift bench, and Howzer gently helped the clone to sit, trying to ignore the yelp of pain. The man leaned back, head rolling in obvious discomfort.

"Did you see anyone else?" Howzer asked loudly, receiving only a shake of the head in return. "Okay -- wait here, I'll be back." He stood, casting a frantic glance around the clearing. The droids had gone, and the entire crater was lit with flames and devastation. There was no sight of the rest of his squad. He began to search, looking for any signs of white armor, any movement, anything.

This was the part of war that wasn't glorified in the tales told, the part that pierces the soul and separates bone from marrow with unfathomable horror as survival instinct takes over. He found two more brothers, bodies broken and crushed grotesquely, and checked their pulses regardless. He felt a growing sense of dread, continuing to call out amid the piles of rubble, straining to hear any signs of life.

His heart leapt as he spotted a white helmet up ahead, near a partially collapsed building, and he ran as quickly as he could. It felt as though he were underwater, but he pressed on with an urgency. Drawing near, his heart sunk once again at the sickening realization that the helmet had been painted teal green on the sides. He moved toward the building, which had broken down upon itself, and shouted into the darkness.

"Sprint!"

Nothing.

He stood, looking around on the ground for any blood or tracks to give any clue where the helmet's owner was. And then he could have sworn he heard a voice. He whirled around, eyes casting about frantically, checking all the spots he had already checked three times. He felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of his face. Then he heard it again.

It was coming from the side of the building. He discovered another set of stairs, leading down to a doorway much like the one that had protected him. It was covered in chunks of stone and wooden beams, but there were gaps. He bent down, listening intently, and now he was positive: a weak, feeble voice. Someone was under there.

"Help!" he shouted, without really thinking about it, "Anyone! Help!" He felt as though he were breaking apart, which came as a surprise considering how much he had loved to remind people how cool and collected he was in all of his training drills. He began to pull away at the stones, pressing his weight against the larger ones to shift them out of the way. He was simultaneously terrified at the possibility of making them all collapse while also feeling the sense of urgency to get to whoever was down there.

He moved a big beam aside, and the light from the fires streamed in, revealing a small green hand flailing through a criss-crossed beam beneath it. He pushed the beam aside and reached down, finding the little hand and grasping it firmly. Pulling it upward gently, he fished the Twi'lek boy out of the mess, setting him to the side. He was covered in dust and splotches of blood, from his lekku to his bare feet, and he trembled violently.

Howzer dropped to one knee in front of him, placing his hands on either shoulder and staring at him intently. "Where is Sprint?" he asked insistently, trying to get his point across with his hands. The boy shook his head, still crying in panic, and Howzer had to resist the urge to try to shake him out of it. "Where did he go?" he tried again.

The boy continued shaking his head, grimacing in an awful expression of despair, and pointed toward the rubble he had recently been pulled from. Howzer leapt to the beams, pushing with all his might to make a bigger opening. A large rock fell from the side, and half of the pile crumbled away with it. The sudden lack of resistance made Howzer fall to his side as the stairs below suddenly came into focus.

Sprint's body, unmistakable with the teal armor accents, was held in place by the wooden beam that had taken his life. He was frozen in a hunched position, arms out on either side, and the space beneath him was the perfect size and shape for a child. The building had collapsed on both of them, and his last effort had been to bend over the Twi'lek boy and brace against the wall. Howzer realized then that he was shaking uncontrollably, and as his eyes found the nauseating mess of what was left of Sprint's upper body, he felt as though he was going to be sick.

"Trooper!" came a voice from behind him, but Howzer didn't move. The same steps, the same doorway that had saved his life had killed Sprint. He felt as though he should be feeling so much more, but there was nothing but empty, immobilizing shock. A hand on his shoulder jostled him, and the voice repeated, "Trooper! You alright?"

Howzer finally turned to see a clone with maroon-accented armor -- General Windu's battalion. He shook his head, taking a moment to find his voice. "Sprint is dead under there. Two more back over there. There's one more alive, back in the clearing, and this kid's family is back there too." He recited the facts dully, as if they were rote historical facts.

"Scroller? With the broken leg? We got him. Let's get this kid back and we'll get you cleaned up."

Howzer straightened slowly, beckoning to the Twi'lek boy and moving as if in a trance. Picking up Sprint's helmet on the way, he led the child to the stairway, opening the door and showing him the family below, who screamed and cried in relief at the sight of the boy. Howzer returned to the scout, who led him to the LAAT in a nearby clearing. Scroller's leg had been immobilized, and a few helmets were gathered in the corner on the floor.

Howzer took his own helmet off then, placing both his and Sprint's in the pile and mustering all his strength to stand and grab hold of a strap instead of collapsing onto the ground as the ship took off.

.

Next Chapter

[at-thezenith]

from the faery children, ch.14

She remembered Yolan calling to them from outside their cocoon. ‘Are you ready?’ ‘Yes,’ they had said, and Ola had taken Afsara’s hands in hers. The coolness of her palms surprised her, and Afsara looked up to see Ola staring at her, intent. She knew that the coven outside had joined hands, expanding in concentric circles out from the stone, and began to walk around them, humming and singing. She had sung this song, too—entreating Gaia to knot their magic together like roots, drinking from and feeding each other, growing together into one trunk to break from the earth and stretch to the sky, to drop their fruit to the earth and nourish it with their power. It was a promise, made by the faeraks and voiced by the coven, that their partnership would be in service of the earth, to work as one. But Afsara was not paying attention to the song. She was watching Ola. She was feeling something swelling in her chest, like her heart was expanding several sizes, and her blood started to sing with new magic. The smell of the sea and the forest filled her nose, as she felt Ola’s magic probe her own, and her magic folding it into itself, dissolving. The stone beneath her feet seemed to melt away, and in its place was springy grass, then wet sand, then shallow water, then nothingness. Around her the cocoon faded, and in its place was a clifftop, where the wind buffeted her hair, and leaves swirled around them, and Ola’s silver eyes swallowed her whole. Afsara felt herself falling, her only anchor Ola’s hands. And then it all stopped. The stone crashed back into her soles, the rustle of the cocoon’s leaves sounded next to her ear. Ola’s magic was swept away just as the tide from the shore, and Afsara felt suddenly unbalanced with the lack of it. For one moment, she had felt on top of the world, powerful beyond belief, filled with light and magic and love, just as she had been told. And now, nothing.

y'all ever uhhhhhhh repress your emotions too hard and it fucks up one of the most important relationships you'll ever have in your entire life? ola has.

tfc taglist: @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @hydrancheas  @charlesjosephwrites @kosmic-kore @outpost51 @megarywrites

[mikaharuka]

Word Search... In Triplicate

That's right. It seems I started some sort of monster domino effect here, ever since I did my 2x version. Because you see, not only did I do my 2x version and provide 10 words for people to choose from... y'all decided to be overachievers and do all 10 words anyways XD

So it's come back to me... in 3x form, thanks to the trifecta that is @alpaca-clouds, @udaberriwrites, and @mrsmungus. At this point, I'm just waiting for this to roll off the deep end, so here we go XD

-

Words for me (Alex): Sword, Blood, Shiver, Voice, Lock Words for me (Alhaira): Gold, Glass, Jump, Nervous, Call Words for me (Miranda): Wrist, Closet, Dinner, Bridge, Snow

Words for you - Pillow, Trust, Mirror, Fog, Bird, Coffee, Wedding, Return, Terrify, Hidden, Stone, Whisper, Suffocate, Prepare, Garden

-

So, I'm leaving 15 words (all pulled from the Prithvi draft, by the way), and you just choose 5 words from there that work, but I already know that someone will try to do all 15, so... that's on them! Have fun! XD

I'm tagging the three people I know love this game and overachieve on top of that - @alpaca-clouds, @tsunderewatermelon, and @mrsmungus - but also am tagging @udaberriwrites, @lena-hills, @axolotlsupremacyowo, @sliebman10, @0nelittlebirdtoldme, @thememoryofthatday and am leaving the usual open tag for anyone else who is interested. No pressure, of course :)

Everything is from Apricity or the Prithvi draft, as always.

-

Sword - [Midnight Freefall, Apricity Ch 14]

Mike considered the doctor for the first time without the Sword of Damocles hanging over him. Despite the blood red eyes, disheveled appearance, and other inhuman traits, he could finally catch a piece of the “peaceful doctor” the rest of Forks saw… and despite the mild, unstable aura still lingering around him, the man seemed sincere and contrite. He could see the person the Quileute Shifters had come to trust over the centuries.

-

Blood - [Azure Mystique, Apricity Ch 11]

Beau slowly opened his eyes and looked up only to meet blood-red eyes staring back at him, heavily dilated in arousal. The being’s lips were also stained red, glistening against the azure moonlight. He swiped his lips with pale fingers, licking away and gently savoring every drop before smoothly dropping to his knees and gliding over his form. Beau continued staring back in awe, caught in a surreal hypnosis, trembling as an even deeper longing coursed through him. A deeper desire for something. Something even more.

-

Shiver - [Prithvi, Mahabhuta Ch 1 - Draft]

A warmth spread from just above his heart, sending warm shivers through his body. Ah right, that was a thing, wasn’t it? That neat, multicolor, geometric pattern that had been around for a very long time. Hell, he couldn’t remember a time when his skin didn’t carry this beautiful Mandala, this lovely mark that he enjoyed sketching during the occasional free moment in between homework and housework… wait, no. No. No way. That couldn’t be right.

-

Voice - [Amber Maelstrom, Apricity Ch 7]

He spent the past two days recovering at home, yet every time he relaxed, amber eyes trailed hungrily over his skin, burning him in their wake. Every time he moved, cool fingers caressed his hair and traced patterns over his form, prickling his skin under their touch - and that was during the day. At night, a deep voice purred his name, hands splayed themselves possessively across his body, and a tongue intertwined with his own as deliberate fingers dipped dangerously lower. It was a dance that played out until he woke up dazed and feverish, only to be abruptly plunged back into reality. He was no stranger to risqué dreams or musings, but the last two days had been particularly intense, with his mind drifting off rather easily unless he kept an active leash on it. The last thing he needed was for someone to notice his new set of problems

-

Gold - [Cerise Blossom, Apricity Ch 6]

Beau wasn’t stupid - he was clearly attracted to the doctor. It was hardly his first time crushing on someone, but calling this a mere crush almost felt offensive. Those gold eyes had lured him in and kept him entranced while a chain fastened itself around his chest, leaving the man free to pull on said chain however he pleased. 

-

Glass - [Ivory Verglas, Apricity Ch 5]

The moment of zen burst and Beau’s consciousness returned to the scene. The mangled mess of a van was crushed into a pile of junk mere feet from him. Even without his glasses, Beau could see a wide dent deeply imprinted into the van’s door. All the while, shards of glass surrounded him and dark smoke rose above the blurry blue pile of metal. After a moment of near-absolute silence, all hell broke loose. Voices screamed and footsteps pounded around him as Beau felt a hand on his face.

-

Jump - [Prithvi, Mahabhuta Ch 1 - draft]

‘He is here. He has returned here.’ The jumps she made only confused him. Not only was he somehow unable to get a word out to ask about his location, but she didn’t even make sense in what she was saying… and were her eyes somehow even brighter than before? Besides, with all the gossip he heard around town, his curiosity was now piqued. Just how important was this event and this going on? Just who were these people? And what is- ‘He has returned for his Bride.’

-

Nervous - [Platinum Elysium, Apricity Ch 1]

Despite the mild discomfort Beau felt in accepting the gift, a warm feeling bloomed within him. It reminded him of the art notebook his grandmother gifted him on his eighth birthday, just before she passed away. Sure, he was still nervous about living with his dad and awkward stuff would happen, but after seeing his father’s efforts… maybe life in Forks might actually turn out well for him. With a new surge of energy, Beau got out of the car and opened the trunk only for Charlie to pull the bags from beneath his hands.

-

Call - [Midnight Freefall, Apricity Ch 14]

“How should I address you? Edward uses Mike, but Rosalie calls you Michael.” “Either is fine. Most people use Mike, but my parents and Rose call me Michael.” “Very well, Michael.” Figures the vampire would go for his full name. “My apologies. I did not answer your question.” Oh yeah, there was that. Mike nodded at the doctor to continue. “I did traverse the distance on foot.” “How long did it take you to get here? It takes at least four hours by car.” “I suspect you already know the answer.”

-

Wrist - [Jade Challenge, Apricity Ch 8]

“What is this?” “It’s called the Celtic Diamond.” “It certainly looks unique - most knots I’ve seen are standalone.” “This specific knot is a family design. All of us wear the Celtic Diamond somewhere.” Beau recalled Elle’s earrings, Mina’s wrist-band, and the doctor's pendant. “Yeah, I remember something like that. But what does this have to do with me?” “The Celtic Diamond is something we use as… protection of sorts.” “Protection?” Beau sat up, alert and curious. “From what?” “Just protection in general. To be honest, I’d feel much better if you kept this necklace on your person. Maybe even wear it, if you’re comfortable doing so.”

-

Closet - [Obsidian Current, Apricity Ch 10]

Julie led him to the living room, and said “So there’s this video and-” “You want to try something with my hair?” Beau finished. “What else?” Julie left to grab a new hair brush and hair elastics from the closet. “Well, aren’t you prepared?” Beau asked as he took off his glasses and undid his updo. “Of course I am! So anyways, while I was looking up new styles for myself, I came across this really cool Viking style that would totally suit you.” Julie brushed through his hair. “It’s this series of side braids pulled back into a loose ponytail that’s half-up, half-down, and… whoa! Your hair’s almost as long as mine!” She started on a looser braid at the top of his head. “What was I saying? Oh yeah, so this’ll look amazing… if I can pull it off.” “You say that like you haven’t done more complicated stuff,” he said wryly. “Maaaybe…” Julie conceded.

-

Dinner - [Sangria Totality, Apricity Ch 13]

With all this information and all these revelations swimming through his flooded mind, Mike found himself suddenly grateful that he was spending the night at Hoshizuki rather being than stuck at dinner then in a car for hours with his totally-in-the-dark classmates... excepting Angela. He really needed time to process everything and could already feel the exhaustion creeping up behind him. Unfortunately, it seemed like the night was only about to get started for him.

-

Bridge - [Sangria Totality, Apricity Ch 13]

Pink was the first thing he noticed - the pink blooms of the many cherry blossom trees lit by the moon from above and soft lanterns from beneath. The blossoms cast a warm pinkish aura against the rest of the cool blue-green forest and the garden spanning the clearing. The garden itself was an aesthetically pleasing space, with smaller trees, flowers, and stones surrounding a pond with a red bridge spanning across the surface. Small electric lanterns dotted the stone walkways, the bridge, the gazebos, and the rest of the clearing. It was something out of a timeless space.

-

Snow - [Platinum Elysium, Apricity Ch 1]

Evergreen trees towering over the fields; emerald moss climbing over wood fences; powder-white snow lightly dusting the flora; slender icicles hanging from signs and guardrails - it was an otherworldly winter wonderland. Thinking back to his summer visits, he realized that the mystical aura permeated the area year-round. Luscious green foliage, sprawling shamrock vines, vivid reds, oranges, and purples dotting the horizon, blooming brilliantly as they sought the sun’s rays. Images of the winter he saw and the summers he remembered blended together in his mind, sparking something significant deep within, leaving him with a buzzing sense of anticipation.

[sanddusted-wisteria]

A Builder, a Researcher, and a Rooftop, Ch. 14: Hypnagogia

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As soon as the builder got to the roof, blanket and rubber sheet in tow, they could already see that Qi was looking pretty rough. There were deep, dark circles under his eyes, almost looking like a second pair of glasses. He was slouched over his legs, arms crossed on his knees, the only support keeping him from wobbling and collapsing where he sat. His lips were drawn into a thin line, face taut from his sheer determination to stay awake. The dullness in his eyes betrayed his true bleariness.

“Are you…feeling okay?” the builder asked, afraid that forcing him to answer would finally drain the last of his body’s energy.

“I’ll be fine. I calculated that the effects of the caffeine from my last cup of tea should last for another 2 hours or so.”

The builder put their free hand on their hip. “…When was the last time you slept?”

“Approximately 50 hours ago.”

“What.”

“I was busy finishing the diagram you requested at the expedited rate we agreed on,” he said nonchalantly. “The extra data disks helped immensely, but I needed to forego some sleep in order for my mind to make breakthroughs at a faster rate. It’s ready, by the way. Should be in your mailbox in the morning.”

The builder felt a stone sink to their stomach. “W-When you said you could get it done two days faster…this was what you meant?!”

“Of course. How else did you think I could logically get a diagram done faster?”

They glanced away. “I…I didn’t think you’d be killing yourself to do it…”

“Well, I’m happy to report that I am still very much alive. You needn’t worry about me.”

“I should!” they shouted. “Pulling this many all-nighters isn’t good, Qi!”

They suddenly remembered the large roll under their arm. With a flick of their wrists, they unfurled both layers at once right next to Qi, causing him to flinch. With the blanket spread out, they flopped down. “Come on, lie down,” they said.

“Is this some underhanded tactic to make me sleep?” he grumbled, but laid down regardless.

“Mostly to prevent you from rolling off the roof, but if you sleep, you sleep, I guess.”

Qi only let out an indistinct mumble, and took his glasses off to rub at his puffy eyes.

“Y’know, if you’re all done with my diagram…why the hell are you here? You can sleep now, right?”

“I only got the diagram done a few hours ago. If I went to sleep, there would be no way for me to inform you that I’d be missing tonight. You would make the considerable walk over here and be confounded, then forced to make the walk back. That’s at least a 50-minute effort. Better that I be here to avoid the confusion.”

The builder let out a loud sigh. “Not this again… Why do you always do this to yourself?” they said, hoping the sharpness in their voice came off more pleading than accusatory. “You skip eating, you skip sleeping, you drink so much caffeine that it’s honestly a miracle that you’re still alive…and all just to stargaze or add even more work to your load or something. And why—” Their breath hitched as they felt a twist in their heart. “—why do you only do it when I’m involved somehow…?”

The instant the words left their mouth, the twist in their heart turned to ice, and they clamped their lips shut. Light, what a terrible thing for them to say. Were they really selfish enough to pretend like Qi was doing all of this just for their sake? Like they were the sole reason he would willingly put his well-being on the line? Were the ridiculous feelings building inside them for the past several weeks finally starting to rot their rationality away?

Qi sighed, somehow sounding even more exhausted than he looked. “Time.”

They frowned. “Huh?”

Qi lazily turned his eyes upward. “Think about it. Both of us are professionals that are critical to the well-being of society and work at the highest level. Time is our most precious resource. It determines how much we’re able to get done. How productive we can be. And yet…I take time away from you for all sorts of…frivolous matters.”

The builder’s brow only furrowed deeper. “You think…you’re wasting my time?”

“Yes,” Qi muttered. “Not only these nights, but also the food and the tea…and everything else. You invest so much of your time into these…trivialities. The least I can do in exchange is invest my own time for your sake.”

The builder felt their stomach sink. “‘Trivialities…’ Qi, I wanted to do those things for you. We don’t need to make it so…transactional.” They swallowed. “I…I care about you, you know? I don’t need you to ‘pay’ me every time I do something nice.”

Qi’s gaze flickered behind them. “But the—”

“It’s not like the telescope anymore,” they sighed. “That was months ago. I’ve already forgiven you for that. We’re in a different place now. Metaphorically.”

Qi was silent. His tired eyes cast downward.

The builder huffed. “Qi. Look at me. Listen.”

His gaze—dark within and without—met theirs again. They ignored the flutter in their chest and pressed on.

“You are not wasting my time. You never have. You never will.”

Qi’s gaze intensified as much as he could make it through the weariness. “You mean it?”

The builder nodded, a faint smile on their lips. “Of course.”

Qi kept steady for a moment, scrutinizing them. Then he relaxed, everything from eyes to shoulders to arms releasing their tension all at once. “That…is reassuring,” he murmured. Using what was definitely the last of his energy, he turned back to the stars. “I wish I could convey…just how much.” His voice trailed off into nothingness.

A minute passed. Or maybe twenty. The builder stared blankly up at the sky.

After some time soaking in the silence, they turned their head over towards Qi, only to be met with closed eyes. His head was tilted slack. Slow, steady breaths passed his slightly-parted lips.

They couldn’t help but smile softly at the peaceful look on his face. Finally.

They got up and gently folded their half of the blanket over Qi, making sure he’d be nice and cozy. They could go without it tonight.

Their gaze lingered a little longer, running over Qi’s sleeping form, illuminated by the soft moonlight. Their heart beat harder and faster, thudding in their eardrums. A part of them desperately urged them to move, growing more insistent by the second. But it wasn’t pushing them towards home.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the last bastion of resistance in their mind keeping them rooted in place crumbled away.

They leaned down, careful not to jostle him, and gently pressed their lips to his forehead.

“Good night, Qi,” they whispered as they pulled away. And then they left, heart racing and cheeks warm.

------------

Another day of hard work, as usual.

Qi was at his workbench, carefully sketching out the diagram for his latest design: a retractable set of treaded wheels for the in-progress Gungam Mobile Suit Mark III. If his calculations were correct (and they were), the Suit would be able to gain 200% extra mobility on more fluid sand surfaces without compromising the Suit’s iconic, stylish look.

As he finished writing down the materials list, the front door of the research center opened. Looking over, he saw the builder enter, bright and energetic as always. Qi felt his mood lighten. Excellent! The builder would be able to flawlessly construct the parts in a timely manner.

He thought he would move to pick up the diagram to show them, but his body simply turned towards them, his arms relaxed and slightly open.

The builder didn’t say a word, the smile on their face never faltering. They drew towards him and wrapped their arms tight around his waist. He instinctively pulled them in, savoring the warmth and the closeness. They laughed as he leaned deeper into their touch, the lovely sound reverberating through his entire being. He felt his face pull into a smile. It was always so easy to smile around the builder, wasn’t it? His talented, wonderful, and—

Wait, what?!

------------

Qi woke up to the sun beating down on his face. It was uncomfortably warm. At any other time, Qi would be asking himself how on earth he ended up falling asleep on the roof, wrapped up in the builder’s blanket, but right now he was still trying to parse what he’d seen just a moment ago. Or rather “seen,” he supposed. Dreams only simulate visual stimuli.

He unrolled himself from the blanket and slipped his glasses back on, relieved to feel the fresh air hit his body. He made no move to sit up, staring flat on his back up at the now bright blue sky. His mind was whirring. Never before had he had a dream quite like that. He could dream pretty vividly sometimes, but they all had fairly consistent elements. He ran through the list of significant ones from this dream in his head, determined to pick it apart.

The part where he was working: A given.

He was always working, after all.

Drawing up a diagram that he hasn’t thought up yet: Fairly frequent.

In fact, this was how he got a lot of his diagram ideas.

People showing up: Rare.

He hardly interacted with most people, and that was reflected in his dreams. Usually people who appear in his dreams have recently bothered him for one reason or another.

The builder showing up: Very rare.

Occasionally they appear, asking questions about a diagram or one of the many scientific concepts they have yet to understand. Perhaps a product of his mind attempting to work through a complex problem.

The builder…embracing him: ???

The builder never did anything so physically intimate with him before. They respected his personal space, which he appreciated.

Qi reciprocating the embrace: ???????

What on Earth would have driven him to do such a thing? Surely he would have protested, at least. But why…why did he enjoy it so much in the dream? Why did the builder elicit such a euphoric response in his dream-self? And for Science’s sake, why was his heart rate speeding up now that he was thinking about it?!

Qi smacked his forehead. Ugh. What the hell was happening to him? This was just the latest in the series of weird bodily sensations that started about a month or two ago, but somehow exponentially more severe than the rest. His heart rate was up without any obvious stress or physical effort, his mind was spinning faster than a centrifuge, and he wasn’t sure if the heat in his cheeks was coming from the sun or within. A new research idea: Figure out the cause behind these unusual physiological effects. Priority 1, since he could already tell that this was going to interfere with his other work.

He dropped his arm back onto the blanket. Oh, right. Their blanket. He should probably give it back. But seeing the builder now was…a bad idea. Why? Because it would interfere with his…newly found research topic. Of course.

He rolled the blanket and the rubber sheet up into a bundle. He could leave it near the door, so they could pick it up the next time they came over. And they would come over again. He knew that for a fact. The thought sent a shock through somewhere deep in his torso. He placed a hand over where it appeared to be.

Hm. He really needed to get to the bottom of this.

Qi went downstairs and opened his door. He quickly pulled out a spare chair, set the rolled-up blanket down on top, then turned around and headed back out.

Time to pay Dr. Fang a visit. If he was coming down with some kind of novel disease, he would know.

As he made his way down the street, a tiny part of him couldn't help but wonder: would it be better if this was a disease, or if it wasn’t?

His stomach churned at the thought. Because if it wasn’t…he was a little afraid of what it could truly be.

------------

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[cherokeegal1975]

Unexpected Cargo, Ch. 1 Part 2 by Meriah Smith (author's note below as well)

Johnny's heart sank. A royal visit in the middle of nowhere couldn't be good news. Out h ere, the king could get away with murder and worse without polite society knowing any wiser.

Laughing and gaming with cards or dice, they would sometimes try to torment him by offering him food or water then denying it. After the second time, Johnny just ignored them, laid down and tried to rest as the night cooled uncomfortably.

He didn't know how long he lay there, shivering as the temperature continued to drop as the sun set. His only company was a single bored guard that glanced frequently at the others gaming with longing.

Sometime later, he heard his guard say with a nasty chuckle, "Have a drink!"

Johnny opened his eyes then rolled out of the way barely in time to avoid being urinated on. The guards all laughed at him and cheered his antagonist as he put his private parts back into his loos-fitting grey pants. They laughed again when Johnny doubled over in pain as he lay on his side, biting back a cry as his lower belly cramped up. They mysterious attacks never lasted long, but they left him sweating and sick to his stomach. So far, he managed to avoid vomiting and was grateful to be spared that indignity at least.

He didn't know how he was going to escape in his current condition, but he was determined to try as soon as the opportunity presented itself. He attempted to make himself comfortable on the sand again, trying not to shiver, willing his stomach to settle and struggling to ignore the increasing ache in his limbs from being tied up for so long.

Then to everyone's surprise, came a sweet singing voice with unintelligible words drifted in from the dark. It was haunting, achingly beautiful and filled with such longing that tears formed in Johnny's eyes. "Oh please, Goddess no!" he thought desperately. "Fly away Little Girl!"

Even a few of the royal guards started to sniffle quietly; it would take a heart of stone to not be moved by her song. Their leader barked an order at some of his underlings to go and find the singer and bring her back to him.

A soft almost inaudible scuffling came up from behind him, followed by a tugging sensation at his wrists. He smiled in the dark and didn't know whether to praise or reprimand Little Girl and Goldie for coming up with this plan. Fear ripped through him at the idea of them being killed before he got the chance.

Goldie continued to gnaw as fast as she could though the tough ropes at his wrists from inside of his left sleeve, so the guards wouldn't spot her. It was a good thing that Johnny's sleeves were so loose fitting, because Goldie was the size of a small domestic cat. In about thirty seconds her sharp front teeth made short work of the rough hemp rope an then she scrambled silently to chew through the rope binding his feet while hiding inside his loose pants leg.

Author's note: Sorry, I have to stop here. It would be so much easier if Tumblr would stop giving me error messages every time I copy and paste sections of my manuscript. I'm out of time anyway. I think I got over enthusiastic about this idea in any case. So, I'll try out sending links again and seeing if I can have better results than last time I tried that.

This book is one year's worth of work and it took me four years to complete it because I had to drop the project for a while, but I came back to it early because I had a really bad toothache and needed a distraction from my pain. Didn't stop me from hurting, but it helped me to deal with it while I waited for days until my dentist appointment finally happened. I was in agony around chapter 14 and 15 and quite likely a ways after that. Writing helped, but anyone who's ever had a bad toothache will know what I'm talking about. Having to wait days to get if fixed was awful.

So, next time, just links. That will save me some time and effort. DeviantART is safe enough. Been there for years with no issues.

To get you started, here's the link to Chapter 1:

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 1 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

And yes, that's my illustration. Not the best, but hey, not terrible either. I wasn't going for hyper realistic anyway.

Could anyone else see this as a beginning of an anime mini series?

Links to the next chapter are in the description of the post, as well as a link to where it can be purchased on Amazon.

[thememecrown]

Let's explain about Songxue, someone was confused and I'm sorry for that 🫂

Someone told me "I can't decide to vote, I need to know more", in the meantime thanks for the long anonymous question where you explained your discomfort .SO LET'S GO AND CLARIFY THE POINTS

Angst with a happy ending (ch.10) : One forced to be the third wheel and another understands that he feels something. This is a small excerpt "He couldn't hide the hatred, but he looked at her eyes and found a peace that not even his old flame had made him feel, Xue Yang was a demon for him, one of the worst breed. But then why did his were his eyes as human as his? Why did his heart scream for him to listen to him?"

Omegavese au modern (ch.12): I'm just saying: Alpha Song Lan - Omega(ex beta) Xue Yang Prepare a stone for Wen Chao(ex alpha) Beta :)

Au modern Christmas (ch.5): Wei Wuxian stole Song Lan's gifts as a joke, Lan Wangji, confused, to burn the gifts in the fireplace and think they were trash. (my best friend told me this story, it made me laugh… So yup, it will become a Christmas movie. Only instead of a kiss under the grapefruit, Song Lan wanted to share a candy cane… Xue Yang understood VERY wrong)

Dark Song Lan (Ch. 10): Let us remember that Xue Yang is killed by Song Lan after… Well Song Lan never became a shadow puppet, he finds out about Xiao's suicide. Well, our Song Lan has some different ideas :D (I was inspired by the song "The Host of Seraphim") I don't know if you have read "How much do you sell your soul for, one of his smiles?" Wei Wuxian x Nie Mingjue. Well, it's going to be worse :D

Sweet sweet 🧁(ch.13) : Song Lan is an educator who takes the most desperate and irrecoverable cases, he may not have a bakery but he has a shelter for abandoned animals… and Xue Yang has a strange passion for sweets :D WE WILL HAVE DIABETES AT THE MAXIMUM

Angst with feelings (ch. 14) (AU modern) Xue Yang ends up in a judicial psychiatric hospital, after having killed his entire family (I have twenty pages written on all the disorders and specifications, don't worry, we won't go into too much) but no one knows the reason for the gesture. Song Lan was a guest :D

I hope that clarified things for you, then remember ships rotate and return.🫂 So even if a plot is not chosen now, it will be chosen soon or maybe if it doesn't leave my fucking brain

Like the one shot between Jin Guangyao and Nie Mingjue, nothing sexual but guys it's juicy. Might come out tonight after the "Crossed Hearts: Between Clash and Affection" update, depends on whether I feel like making coffee or not 👀

[theart2rock]

Vor 40 Jahren - November 1983

Ich möchte mir vornehmen, jeden Monat 40 Jahre zurückschauen und einen kurzen Rückblick zu machen. Dabei auch einmal über den Tellerrand der Rockmusik zu schauen. Events - 05. November - In Bern nehmen 50'000 Menschen an einer Friedensdemonstration teil - 09. November - The Blue Guitar von Michael Tippett wird zum ersten Mal im Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena aufgeführt. - 09. November - In Amsterdam wird der Vorstandschef von Heineken, Alfred Heineken uns sein Fahrer entführt, nach drei Wochen kommen sie wieder frei - 10. November - In Las Vegas kündet Microsoft Windows 1.0 an. - 12. November - Duran Duran starten ihre Sing Blue Silver Welttournee in Australien. - 12. November - Die Fraggles kommen zum ersten Mal am TV - 14. November - In Deutschland wird die erste Tempo 30 Zone eingerichtet - 26. November - Metal Health von Quiet Riot kommen auf Platz 1 der US Charts, es ist das erste Heavy Metal Album welches auf die 1 kommt. - 26. November - Bei einem Raubüberfall in London Heathrow werden 6800 Goldbarren und drei Tonnen Diamanten geklaut, der bisher grösste Raub in der britischen Geschichte. - 28. November - Die Compilation "Now" wird zum ersten Mal veröffentlicht. Wichtige Veröffentlichungen - What A Feelin' - Irene Cara - Have You Ever Been In Love - Leo Sayer - Hearts And Bones - Paul Simon - Strip - Adam Ant - Undercover - The Rolling Stones - Play Dirty - Girlschool - The Revölution By Night - Blue Öyster Cult - Rebel Yell - Billy Idol - First Offense - Corey Hart - 90125 - Yes - Beauty Stab - ABC - Touch - Eurythmics - It's About Time - John Denver - Walk Into Light - Ian Anderson - Seven And The Ragged Tiger - Duran Duran - Under A Blood Red Sky - U2 - Back To Back - Status Quo - Nocturne - Siouxsie And The Banshee - You Broke My Heart In 17 Places - Tracey Ullman - Into The Unkown - Bad Religion - Cloak And Dagger - Witchfynde - The Politics Of Dancing - Re-Flex Schweizer Hitparade Platz 1 Single Charts - Karma Chameleon - Culture Club Schweizer Hitparade Platz 1 Album Charts - Soundtrack - Flashdance Schweizer Interpreten in den CH-Charts - Amore Mio Sei Sempre Tu - Dorados US Billboard Single Charts - Islands In The Stream - Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton - All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie US Billboard Album Charts - Synchronicity - The Police - Metal Health - Quiet Riot UK Single Charts - Uptown Girl - Billy Joel UK Album Charts - Colour By Numbers - Culture Club - Can't Slow Down - Lionel Richie Happy Birthday - 02. November - Andreas Bourani - 07. November - Forrest Kline (Hellogoodbye) - 08. November - Mark Harle (V) - 16. November - Fallon Bowman (Kittie) - 22. November - Corey King Beaulieu Farewell - 01. November - Anthony von Hoboken (Musikwissenschaftler) - 15. November - John Grimaldi (Argent) - 19. November - Tom Evans (Badfinger Lesen Sie den ganzen Artikel

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, October 22 - Wednesday, October 23

Veruca : You have a cage? Oz : Don't you? Veruca : Uh, yeah. Has a little wheel with a plastic ball And a cute little bell in it. God! Somebody's domesticated the hell out of you. Oz : It's my choice. I don't wanna hurt anybody. Veruca : Maybe. Or maybe you just don't wanna admit what happened to you. Maybe you just wanna pretend like you're a regular guy. (She walks over to him.) Oz : Well, I am. I'm only a wolf 3 nights a month. Veruca : Or you're a wolf all the time and this human face is just your disguise. You ever think about that, Oz?

~~Buffy Episode #62: "Wild at Heart"~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

To Keep Her Warm (Buffy/Angel, G) by badly_knitted

Family Vacation (Buffy/Spike, T) by veronyxk84

Ravening (Cordelia Chase/Darla, E) by evesock

Wicked Dreams (Spike/Angelus, E) by MadeInGold

Obligatory Halloween Ficlet (Ensemble, G) by Bacner

Questions (Buffy/Giles, T) by The_Crazy_Knight

Divine Comedy in the House of Flies: Bonus Chapter (Darla/The Master, E) by CoffeeHunt

A Well-rounded Diet (Buffy/Spike, G) by Sweetbutnutty

[Chaptered Fiction]

MRS. SUMMERS Ch. 1-2/? (Joyce/OC, E) by KNZ1

Tainted Love Ch. 1-6/6 (COMPLETE) (Buffy/Giles, E) by Removes_and_Cleans_Glasses_00

The Neighbor's Point of View, Chapter 140 (Buffy/Spike, G) by the_big_bad

Unholy Matrimony, Chapter 14 (Buffy/Spike, E) by CheekyKitten

Something Lost Something Found, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Safire

Perfect Clarity, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Ragini

Downfall, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, T) by EllieRose101

reciprocity, Chapter 9-10 (Buffy/Spike, E) by HappyWhenItRains

Champion Of War, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Desicat

Enchanted Dawn, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, T) by VeroNyxK84

(Buffy, G, Lilo & Stitch xover) by JoeB

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:Angel () by nineinchnals

Artwork:The Hero of Three Faces AtS Comic (Spike) by paulgadzikowski

Video: Drusilla | Happy House () by ceoazula

[Reviews & Recaps]

PODCAST: Episode 46 - Sweaty Baguettes and Vibrator Stones (Helpless) by The Sunnydale Diaries

PODCAST: Episode 79: Goodbye Iowa by Gym Was Cancelled

[Community Announcements]

Buffering the Vampire Slayer to Return by bufferingcast

Tuesday Prompts: Candy & Sweets by comment_fic

[Fandom Discussions]

The way the whole Jasmine arc in AtS is a warped and twisted version of the Jesus story makes me sick by violettathepiratequeen

i’m glad everyone hates joss whedon now but the unfortunate side effect is that now everyone blames everything they don’t like about the buffyverse on him. by moistvonlipwig

Spike tells Glory that the Key is the host of The Price is Right, which means he must watch the show by aphony-cree

Spike and Harmony by Joan the Vampire Slayer

What If: Cordelia was a cat? by nightshade

Buffy going to Spike’s crypt after AR by silvermoon

Were teenage girls into James Spader in 1997? by WerdNerd88

The Gentlemen by Personal_Reward_60

why does a vampire get “punished” with a soul by hatchbackkk

Just watched the show for the first time by featuretragic

Buffy's choice of desert attire in "Intervention" still bothers me. by lazydivey

Is Angel a hypocrite/selective in who he chooses to 'redeem'? by brwitch

Innocence by rozzarunner

Xander is not that bad of a character. by Legitimate_Heron_696

Joining Buffy in it’s final season by authenticriver

RIP Mrs. Calendar by Exact_Pipe9225

Feeling down? Have some Willow! by Tuomas90

Why couldn't Buffy capture and lock Angelus up? by foreseethefuture

Where is Spike’s leather coat now? by authenticriver

Dream of a place called home - AtS season 5 episode 16 by Technical_Juice_6959

S6 rant by txn120

Which promo group do you prefer ? by Cailly_Brard7

Amy by lmeyer64

Set mistake in Chosen? by Tuxedo_Mark

First time Season 1 finale: Holy hell! by Tuomas90

When do we get to see Spuffy in the comics? by user230224

Coolest demon design in both Buffy/Angel by Personal_Reward_60

Why did the show start using those sounds? by Tsole96

Willow by Stevegreghouse

comic question by brian5mbv

finding out he came out as gay in s6 is so funny by hatchbackkk

What are some moments that frustrate you simply because a character's point of view is ignored by PristineSituation498

BUNNIES by moses616

Annoyed at Willow (Second time watch - early s6) by 29CF

they always talk about hell and demons but i wonder what angels/heaven or even God is like in the buffyverse by hatchbackkk

Buffy & Willow are the only characters that never get unlikeable in my opinion by hatchbackkk

Buffy S6 money troubles by Important_Moment_301

Does any Buffy episode get a Bingo? by MonsterTournament

Plans for oz by wolfotwindsor

now that i think of it, what was he doing in the alley during Buffy & Faith’s fight? by hatchbackkk

S2E01 - They almost kissed!!!! Eeeep! - And more Willow cuteness by Tuomas90

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: The Case for Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Cordelia Chase, an Unexpectedly Inspirational Mean Girl by Paste Magazine

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[nikkicollections]

Secret Shop M-Z - Top Scoring

Tip: use CTRL+F to search for the suit you're looking for

Magical Notes

Bowknot Bell [necklace]: 4 CH, 2 CR

Cat's Tail Baton [left handheld]: 2 CR

Maneki-Neko

Fate Cat Ring Bell [leglet]: 30 CH, 5 CR, 1 SA

Vigorous Bowknot [hair ornament]: 2 CH

Maple Diary

Lord Fox [foreground]: 1 CR

Melody of Stars

Star Road Stockings [hosiery]: 16 CH

Mint and Coco

Sweet Wrapper [coat]: 6 CH

Sandwich Biscuit [shoes]: 2 CH

Movie Night

Rare Happiness [left handheld]: 8 CH

Nekomata

Resolution and Reason [ear]: 22 CH, 6 CR, 2 SA

Demon Cat's Tail [tail]: 1 SA

Nightmare Angel

Silver Snow Wings [wing]: 35 CH, 10 CR, 3 SA

Oath of Honor

Invincible Trip [shoes]: 1 CR

Glorious Light [background]: 1 SA

Peony Pavilion

Flower Beauty [makeup]: 2 CH

Green Flower Crown [hair ornament]: 2 CH

Sunshine in the Yard [background]: 2 CH

Perfect Hunter

Super Dimension Guide [dress]: 2 CH

Prey Mark [necklace]: 2 CH

Mechanical Gun [right handheld]: 2 CH

A Hundred Percent Hunter [waist decoration]: 2 CH, 1 CR

Squirrel's Tail [tail]: 8 CH, 5 CR

Rabbit and Camellias

Rabbits Love Poems [necklace]: 1 CR

Return to Autumn

Fragrant Steps [shoes]: 1 CR

Hat Band and Tassel [necklace]: 1 CR

Illusory Smoke and Cloud [brooch]: 1 CR

Full of Aromatic Flowers [ground]: 4 CH

Rose Oath

Rosy Puzzle [ground]: 2 CH, 2 CR

Singing Phoenix

Rich Makeup [makeup]: 4 CH, 1 CR

Butterfly Chaplet [hairpin]: 10 CH, 5 CR

Snow Stone Tusk

Horn of Rebellion [veil]: 14 CH, 4 CR

Eye of Truth [face accessory]: 6 CH

Snowland Shepherd

Quaint Hunting Suit [coat]: 2 CH

Snowland Shepherd [dress]: 2 CH

Aurora Light [top]: 2 CH

Long Night [hosiery]: 4 CH, 1 CR

Sense of Earth [ear]: 20 CH, 2 CR, 1 SA

Warm Ray [skin]: 134 CH, 23 CR, 5 SA

Song of Night Sky

Song of Belief [gloves]: 14 CH

Steel Lily

Lily Stockings [hosiery]: 2 CH

Sweet Superstar

Sugar Heart Bullet [shoes]: 2 CH, 1 CR

Tender Puppy

Shiny Golden Bracelet [right hand ornament]: 16 CH, 1 CR

The Decisive Moment

Auspicious Mongkhon [hairpin]: 10 CH, 7 CR

Indomitable Will [gloves]: 2 CH

Tune at Dawn

Coronate for Love [coat]: 1 CR

Tune at Dawn [gloves]: 2 CH

Stopped Clock [brooch]: 10 CH, 4 CR

Ultimate of the Way

Asura Edge [left handheld]: 2 CH

Air Breaker [waist decoration]: 4 CH

Voice of Heart

Sealed Wish [right handheld]: 2 CH

Volt Ciel

Multi-Schema [shoes]: 2 CH

Glider Wings [ear]: 22 CH, 3 CR

Imaginary Phantom [ear]: 22 CH, 6 CR, 1 SA

Hifi Supervision [left handheld]: 8 CH, 1 CR

Sonic Wave Beam [waist decoration]: 6 CH, 1 CR

Neon Glasses [face accessory]: 4 CH, 1 CR, 1 SA

Integrated Light [tattoo]: 14 CH, 3 CR

War in Winter

Pride of North [necklace]: 2 CH

War on Ruins

Headphones [hair ornament]: 2 CH, 1 CR

Headphones (customized) [hair ornament]: 14 CH, 1 CR, 1 SA

Suspension's Wings [brooch]: 2 CH

Hologram (customized) [foreground]: 2 CH

Wine Wanderer

Vagrant Straw Hat [coat]: 6 CH

Ganghood Story [leglet]: 4 CH, 2 CR

Adventure Story [hosiery]: 6 CH, 1 CR

Light Geta [shoes]: 22 CH, 1 CR, 1 SA

Spell of Fairy Cat [hairpin]: 46 CH, 7 CR, 1 SA

Witch Hecate

Samsara Obsession [head ornament]: 2 CH

Rose Perfume [ground]: 4 CH, 1 CR

[sergeantsporks]

Gilded Family

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

Ch 277/?: New Mission

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6 , Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17,  Ch 18, Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26

In which none of the previous golden guards or wittebro died, actually, they're all fine and living happily together as one big dysfunctional family

Ao3

Phoenix stared at the ceiling of Cherry’s bedroom, barely able to make out wooden planks in the darkness. “I never checked back.”

“Mrgh?”

“On the orphanage. After I joined the coven. I knew it burned down, but I never checked to see what happened to the people there.”

Cherry grunted. “Why would you? From what I saw, it didn’t seem like anyone there really cared about you. Even the adults who were supposed to watch out for you didn’t notice you were gone.”

Even away from Petro, that sick, rotting feeling hadn’t left Phoenix’s stomach. “I just… I didn’t even think about them, not once. Not even Victoria. Even though she…”

“You didn’t know. You didn’t remember. She wasn’t that nice to you, either, not until the end. Of course you didn't think about her.”

“Still.” Phoenix scratched at the infected wounds on his arms, his heart thudding in his chest. “They died, for what? Because they knew me? Because I lived there? It’s not like they cared about me, it’s not like they would have gone looking for me, but… but they died because of me.”

“Phoenix, that’s not—”

“And I didn’t even check on them. They all died, and it was my fault, and I couldn’t even bother to—”

“Phoenix. It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask for Belos to take you away, and you certainly didn’t ask for Petro to burn down your orphanage. You didn’t do anything to cause their deaths, and there was nothing you could have done to save them.”

“Still.” Phoenix turned to lie on his side, facing away from Cherry’s bed. “I was happy it burned down. Even knowing people might have gotten hurt or killed, I was glad to see it go.” It had seemed right at the time, but thinking about how gleeful he’d been to know that there was no way he’d ever go back made Phoenix feel sick to his stomach now. He hadn’t become the golden guard yet; it had just been him that felt that way, just Phoenix. He curled up in a ball, closing his eyes. “I wish I’d found out the cost sooner.”

“Don’t lie about the scar that’ll leave.”

Phoenix stared down at Petro as he slowly turned to stone. His eyes burned through the slits in his mask, glaring at Phoenix.

“Tell him family gave it to him. Let him know that your family isn’t your friend, and they’ll cut you deeper than any enemy.”

The stone made it past Petro’s face, and the guard finally went silent, frozen in an angry half-lunge. Phoenix tried to reach out towards him, to see if he would pass right through, but his arm wouldn’t move.

The eyes of the statue glowed magenta, and Phoenix dangled a golden guard over the edge of a bridge. The guard clawed at his hands, their feet desperately kicking to find the edge of the bridge with no success.

“Don’t—”

“You want to know what happened to our family so badly?” Belos’ voice snarled from somewhere around Phoenix, “Why don’t you pay them a visit?”

Phoenix tried to stop himself, tried to hold on, or pull the guard back to safety, but one by one, his fingers uncurled from the golden guard’s cloak, and they fell. Phoenix fell, too, the world rushing past him in a blur of darkness until he stepped delicately over the broken form of the previous guard. Just a little further, and he’d be at the garden. With the betrayal of this golden guard, he needed to seed a new batch and start their growing process.

A bloody, broken hand swiped at his cloak as he passed. “Hahhhh,” the golden guard croaked, “Haaaaaaaaahhhhh…”

Phoenix kicked at their hand.

“Disgusting,” a voice hissed. Somehow, it belonged to both Belos and Phoenix, stitching the two together inseparably.

And Phoenix stared at the darkness of Cherry’s ceiling again, his body still numb from sleep and one arm under his head. He blinked, once, twice, trying to shake off the twisting, disoriented feeling of being someone else, like he’d stepped into another’s body and then been yanked back to his. His skin felt too small, and his body felt too strong, despite the aches and pains.

Slowly, carefully, he managed to drag one hand up to his face, rubbing one eye. “Mrgh,” he mumbled, stretching his other arm out. Stabbing pins and needles shot up his arm, half-asleep from being trapped under his head. “Cherry?”

No answer.

Phoenix sat up, gingerly touching his arms.

They came away wet.

“Sh—” Phoenix rolled out of bed, fumbling for a light. “Cherry, something’s—are you okay, are you—” His hand brushed a paper on the counter, and a light flared up, blinding him. Phoenix stumbled away, tripping over his own feet and landing on his back.

His heart pounded in his chest, and something viscous oozed down his arm at each throb.

“Ack—” Phoenix pulled his sleeve up. The bandages around his arms were stained green, and cursed mud burbled out between the cracks, sliming down his arms. “Ngh—stop it, stop it—”

He looked to see if he’d woken Cherry up, but his bed sat empty, the blankets folded neatly back.

“Cherry…”

For a moment, Phoenix stared at his own hands, and the empty bed. Did I…

He shook himself. No. No, right? Right. Cherry had just stepped out. He was fine. He was fine. Phoenix hauled himself up, half-stumbling into the hallway. A light glowed down the way in Sam’s lab, and Phoenix headed towards it, pressing his hands against his bubbling wounds.

“You don’t actually know where the lab is, do you? You just want us to think you do.”

Phoenix flattened himself against the wall outside of the lab, holding his breath.

“What makes you say that?”

“You knew we wouldn’t let you go, even for that location. You set them an unreasonable demand so that you weren’t in any danger of actually having to give that information.”

Petro chuckled. “And why would I pretend to have information only to demand things I can’t get? Why would I pretend to hold information that could land me in hot water if you found out I didn’t have it? It’s not like you bleeding hearts need an incentive to keep me alive. I don’t need to trick you.”

“Because you like to see people sweat,” Cherry answered evenly and immediately, “Because you want to see us go crazy wondering if it’s worth the risk. Because unstable, sweating people make mistakes when they handle prisoners. Moments of weakness result in looser bonds and distracted guards.”

“Aw, you’ve been thinking of me, Cherry Bomb! Am I in your head? It’s only fair, you got into mine.”

“I just don’t understand. All you have to do is promise not to kill Phoenix, and they’d let you go. You wouldn’t even have to stay here, you could go anywhere! Why are you trading your freedom for the illusion of revenge that you can’t get?”

“Okay, I promise I won’t kill Phoenix. Now let me out.”

“No. I don’t trust you.”

“Awwwwwwwwww, but I’m going to change! I’m going to be different! I’m gonna give him a big old hug and apologize for that time I tried to kill him! What, don’t you believe all of the painfully earnest things you said about becoming a better person and starting over?”

“I do. I just don’t think you’ve taken it to heart.”

“I don’t think you have either. You know people can’t change. Not really.”

“I have.”

Petro laughed. “No, you haven’t, Cherry Bomb!”

“Quit calling me that.”

“Or what? Gonna shove an explosive potion down my throat? Do it. I dare you. I know you want to. That’d shut me up, right? That would save your precious little Phoenix from me forever.”

“No. That’s not something I want. That’s not who I am.”

“Awwwwwwwwww, come on, Cherry Bomb, you’re a fighter. I could tell in the mindscape when you threw me into my own memories. You’re not like Phoenix, he fights like someone who wants the battle to end in a knockout. You’re a killer. You’re a direwolf pretending to be a lapdog, but you can’t hide your teeth. You’re just like me, and you don’t want anyone to know it.”

Phoenix heard the creak of wood, like Cherry had pushed on Petro’s chair. “I’m nothing like you,” Cherry snarled, “I changed. I got better.”

“Did you? ‘Coz you look awfully close to ripping my throat out right about now.”

The thud of chair legs hitting the floor echoed out of the room. “You’re just trying to rile me up so that I’ll do something stupid. You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know everything about you. Your whole life, summed up in ten pages of loopy handwriting. I read it. I read that whole journal. I know what you’ve done.”

Phoenix winced as Cherry made a sound like a squeaky toy. Don’t listen to him.

“The journal—”

“That your lab rat has. How long do you think before his curiosity gets the better of him and he reads your entry? How long before he knows? Before he tells everyone? Before your whole family knows that you’re just like me? Do you think they’ll still trust you? Irredeemable monsters, am I right?”

“I’ve changed.” Cherry’s voice cracked.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does! They know who I am now, they know—it won’t matter. It doesn’t matter. I’ve changed, everyone here has changed, they know what it’s like. It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.”

“Are you willing to risk that? I can help you out, Cherry. I can tell you where it is. You just have to do one thing for me.”

“I’m not letting you out. And I’m not killing Phoenix for you.”

“For this information? I wouldn’t demand such a high price. Nah, just a little information trade. I’ll tell you where the book is if you tell me how Belos died.”

“How does that help you?”

“Ehhhhhh, call it closure. Call it denial until I have more information. Some kind of sentiment. Whatever makes you more likely to tell me. It doesn’t cost you anything.”

“That I know of.”

“Careful, your cynical cutthroat soldier is showing.”

“I’ll find out. Tell me where the book is.”

“After you tell me what happened to Belos.”

“No. I’ll keep my word. I don’t know if you’ll keep yours.”

“Yeah, actually, I believe that. Anyway, Sam took it with him. He’s probably sleeping with it like a teddy bear. Hey, if you let me out, I could—”

“No.”

“I’ll behave.”

“No you won’t. But you could. You can change, Petro. I promise you, you can change. For real.”

“Quit wasting your breath. Or do you want everyone to find out what you’ve done, Cherry Bomb?”

Cherry inhaled sharply, then stormed out, closing the door with a quiet click. He blinked at Phoenix.

“Um—” Phoenix started, but Cherry put a finger to his lips, gesturing at the door behind him. He stalked back to his room, and started to pace. “Don’t know how far Petro can hear,” he mumbled, “Phoenix, how much of that did you—”

“Belos died because the Collector flicked him into a wall so hard he fell apart,” Phoenix interrupted, rubbing his arms, “You can keep your end of the deal.”

“Oh.” Cherry twisted his shirt in his hands, somehow seeming much smaller and younger than usual, like a kid caught sneaking out. “Thanks. I…”

“Do you really think Petro can change?”

“I have to think it. If he can’t change, then…” Cherry kept twisting his shirt. “Phoenix, about what happened in there—about the book—”

“You’re going to steal it?”

“I… yeah. I’ll put it back, I really will, I just… need to rip my pages out, first.”

“That’s not less sneaky.”

“I know. I just…” Cherry buried his face in his hands with a groan. “I don’t know what else to do.” He started pacing again, his shoulders heaving. “I mean, of course Mom and Dad know what happened, and I’m pretty sure Mole does, too, and none of them will tell anyone if I don’t want them to, but anyone could pick up that book and just read it! And I don’t want it around by the time Jason gets back, titan knows that he’ll just pick it up and read it because he reads everything, and then Jason will know, and Jason can’t know, so I’ve got to get it now and just pull those pages out. Please, please, please, please, Phoenix, don’t tell Sam, please don’t—”

Phoenix grabbed Cherry’s shoulders. His arms had stopped oozing at least, thank titan. One problem at a time. “Cherry. Take a deep breath.”

Cherry inhaled sharply.

“You’re going to be okay. They love you, and that’s not going to change.”

“They don’t know everything.”

“They don’t have to. And they know that they don’t know everything. And they love you anyway.”

Cherry just shook his head. “They’re going to hate me,” he whispered, “They’re going to hate me if they find out what I’ve done. Who I used to be.”

Okay. The practical approach wasn’t going to work here. “I’ll help you steal it.”

“What?”

“I will help you steal it,” Phoenix repeated, “I won’t read it. I’ll just help you get the book, and you can pull your pages out.”

“Why? You don’t like the idea.”

“Hey, don’t look a gift ratworm in the mouth. You thought going into Petro’s mind was dangerous, but you did it anyway to help me. Let me help you back.”

Cherry eyed him up and down. “That’s all it is?” His eyes caught on Phoenix’s arms, still stained by his outburst. “Titan, Phoenix—”

“Don’t tell Evelyn.”

“No. No, Mom told me you promised. No heroics. It comes out, right now.”

“No—” Phoenix moved between Cherry and the door. “It’s not just getting worse, Cherry, I think I’m seeing his memories in my dreams!”

“Not better. Definitely not better. That’s concerning, Phoenix. Weird dreams are the number one symptom of a magical problem.”

“It was already happening, I just didn’t realize it. It’s not new, it’s not worse.” Phoenix held his hands up. “What if it can help me find the last Grimwalker?!”

Cherry froze.

“I think you’re right. Petro doesn’t know where the garden is. So the only person that does is in a puddle of goop at the head. If I’m seeing his memories, then maybe… just for a little bit, Cherry. I’ll help you get the book. Just don’t tell Evelyn, she’ll cut it out immediately, and we’ll lose this chance.”

Cherry considered that for a long moment, then held up one finger. “One week. And if I think it’s getting even worse, I’m telling her immediately.”

“Deal,” Phoenix replied swiftly. He wouldn’t get a better offer from Cherry. If he was being honest, he was a little shocked he’d gotten this long.

Muted orange light glowed dully in the window. The house would wake up soon.

“Do you think Petro will tell? Tell Sam, I mean.”

“Beans.” Cherry tugged on his own ponytail with a groan. “I didn’t think of that. Do you think we can keep him out of the lab? No, okay, stupid thought, there is no force on the isles that will separate Sam from his lab, right, he will definitely go into the lab.”

“Don’t panic. Sam mentioned wanting to gag Petro. Maybe he will?”

“Yeah. Maybe he will.” Cherry took a deep breath, smoothing his hair down. “Okay. Okay, I’ve got this. Normal post-apocalyptic day. Normal post-apocalyptic chores. Everything is fine.” He headed for the door.

“Cherry?”

“Yeah?”

“I think maybe you shouldn’t talk to Petro anymore.”

“I know what he’s going through right now; I can help him. I’m going to get through to him.”

“Maybe, but I’m worried he’s going to get to you first. He knows how to push your buttons, and he will push them again and again until you slip up.”

It had only taken Petro one conversation to send him spiraling and start trading information. What would happen if Cherry kept talking to him?

“And what about you? He’s pretty good at getting under your skin, too.”

Phoenix rubbed his arms. “I don’t want to be around him, either. And if I can help it, I won’t be.”

“We can’t tie him up forever. We’re going to have to deal with him eventually.”

“And we will. But right now, you have enough to deal with. You don’t need ‘fixing Petro’ on your plate, too.”

Cherry rubbed his face. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right. I’ll try to stay away from him for now.”

Phoenix waited for Cherry to go, then headed down the hallway to Mole’s room. He knocked on the door, but Mole didn’t come to the door. “Mole?” he called, “It’s Phoenix. I just want to talk.”

He heard a scuffling noise, and when he opened the door, Mole was out the window and headed towards the garden.

“Okay,” Phoenix said out loud, “Still mad at me. Got it.” He climbed out the window himself, jogging lightly after the smaller grimwalker. “Mole, I’m sorry—” the garden gate wouldn’t open. The door stuck to the frame, welded shut by a fire glyph. Phoenix had never realized that he used the glyphs. “…How are you planning on getting out?”

Mole didn’t even turn to look at him, just aggressively ripped weeds out of the earth and tossed them in a big pile.

“I’m sorry, Mole. I know you miss him. I do, too.”

A weed still clinging to a dirt clod smacked into the fence right in front of where Phoenix’s face was, showering him with soil.

“That’s not fair.”

Mole sniffed, scrubbing at his face with dirt-stained hands. Phoenix sighed, sitting on the ground outside of the garden, back against the fence.

“I know Jason was the only one who really understood you. And I bet it’s been difficult for you now that he’s gone.” Phoenix twisted blades of grass between his fingers. “I had to send him away. To keep him safe. And maybe there was another way I could have done that, but at the time, I didn’t know what else to do. If I hadn’t, he’d have been captured by the Collector, too, and he would have gotten hurt.” Phoenix braided and unbraided the strands in his hands. “Or maybe he would have been able to talk the Collector down.” He chuckled. “He probably would have been able to talk the Collector down.”

Phoenix’s heart started to ache in his chest, and his hands shredded the blades of grass between his fingers, separating the leaf from the stem. “And then we wouldn’t have had to run. And I wouldn’t have left King behind.” He tied the stem into knots. “Or maybe I didn’t have to run whether Jason was there or not. Maybe I could have just stayed.” Phoenix pinched the bridge of his nose. “What am I saying? Mole, the point is, I’m sorry. If there was something I could have done to bring him back with me, I would have. And I know it’s harder for you than it is for me, so I just… if you need something, let me know somehow? I know I’m not Jason, but… I can try to understand.”

Mole heaved a shuddering breath. But when Phoenix twisted around to check on him, he was calm, pulling up weeds with careful precision instead of tearing them out wildly.

“Okay. Thanks for listening.” Phoenix stood up, gingerly touching the lumps of bandages on his arms. They were dripping again, leaving cursed mud behind on the garden fence. Phoenix retreated to the safety of the house before Mole could see, ducking into the kitchen. Outside, Mole examined the fence with a frown, rubbing his fingers together.

“Ah. Great.”

“What’s great?”

Phoenix jumped, whirling around in a panicked spin and pointing a nonexistent staff at the Grimwalker standing by the stove. The grimwalker watched him completely unphased, scrambling eggs with his left hand. His other arm was missing from the elbow down, and burn scars covered his face and remaining arm, even burning away a chunk of his hair.

“Uh. Hi.”

“Frank.”

“What?”

“My name. It’s Frankenstein, Frank for short.”

“Oh. Phoenix.”

“Nah, these are griffin eggs. Cooking phoenix eggs? Total nightmare.” Frank gestured to himself. “What do you think happened to my arm and face? You’re a couple of degrees off on the stovetop and WHOOSH, up in flames. Nearly burned the house down last week.”

“Should you… be cooking?”

Frank shook his head sadly. “No one else is brave enough after what happened to me. Tragic, really, but I am an excellent cook, so maybe it’s for the best.”

Phoenix eyed him and the stove. That did not sound like normal stove behavior. And where on the isles had they gotten phoenix eggs at a time like this?!

Frank glanced at him, and his serious face split into a wide grin. “I’m messing with you, my arm’s been gone for years.”

“Oh. And…” Phoenix gestured to his face.

“Who do you think gave me those?” Frank grabbed the handle of the pan, shaking it vigorously and tossing the eggs up in the air. “Makes cookie pan burns feel like nothing, I will give him that. Hey, if you’re going to lurk around, could you make some toast? I’d do both, but…” he waved his stump arm. “Lost it to the toaster.”

Phoenix raised one eyebrow at him. “Did you, now? Was this back at the emperor’s coven, then?”

“Haha. Sorry, I have one joke. Would you mind, though?”

Phoenix retrieved bread from its box in the pantry and the toaster, two metal grilles hinged together and attached to a metal disc.  “How does this…?”

“Fire glyphs. Mom usually uses a spell, but you can use glyphs to power it, too. Here, let me show you. Take this for a second. If you let them burn, my legacy will be forever tarnished and I must sacrifice my other arm to the cooking gods in atonement. No pressure.”

Frank handed Phoenix his spatula and pushed him to the stove. He grabbed a notepad and a pencil and sketched a fire glyph, tearing the sheet off. “Like this.” He tucked a piece of bread in-between the grilles and slapped the fire glyph down on the metal disc. Frank jumped backwards to avoid the column of fire that rose up, superheating the disc and the grill. Once the flames died down, he gingerly flipped the top grille off with a pair of tongs and removed the toasted bread.

“Ta-da!” Frank tossed the bread on a plate. “Spatula, please.”

Phoenix handed it to him, eying the toaster. “That seems… safe.”

“I am not supposed to use it without supervision.” Frank pointed up.

Phoenix looked at the ceiling to see a black mark burned in the paint over where the toaster sat. “…Ah. Not a joke?”

“Not a joke, that’s been there for a yearish and my toaster privileges have been revoked the same amount of time. Don’t draw your fire glyphs too big and you’ll do fine.”

Phoenix nodded. He traced the imprint of the fire glyph Frank had left on the next page of the notepad, pressing his own pen down hard enough to leave a dent on the next page.

“Sooooo… Frank…” Phoenix slapped the glyph on the disk and jumped back, wrinkling his nose at the wave of heat. “I’m trying to find a grimwalker.”

Frank gestured at himself.

“I don’t think so. But maybe you can help me? I’m looking for someone that…”

Slowly uncurling his fingers, watching the fear in the guard’s eyes as they fell

A broken, trembling hand reaching towards him

“Phoenix?”

“Um…” Phoenix slowly reached up to his arms, covering the bandages with his hands to hide the bubbling mud oozing out from the bandages. “Never mind, I… I’ve got to go.”

Phoenix bolted from the kitchen before Frank could say anything else, leaning against the wall outside. “Hah. Okay. Okay, you’re okay.” He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “You’re okay.” He tugged on his sleeves to make sure they covered the stained bandages, squared his shoulders, and headed to Sam’s lab.

Get the journal

Maybe find out which Grimwalker that was in the dream

Figure out where Belos’ “garden” is

Get this infection out of my arm.

Another deep breath.

This is all going to work out.

It has to.

[dumfanting]

Same Heart ch 14: The Bad Batch

AO3 Link

Rating: M mature

Warnings: description of injury

Word Count: 3259

This is another chapter I wrote by accident! Honest, I only meant to jot down some notes but I blinked and four hours had passed and this was written. Another happy accident I suppose!

F! Reader/ Echo (and Fives)

A long time has passed between your last conversation with Kix and where you are now.

You are aboard the Marauder, the ship used by Clone Force 99, and currently traveling through hyperspace. You’re in your bunk, and the curtain is drawn. A short time ago, when you had heard the transmission from Cody in which he said that he and Rex needed The Batch for a mission, your heart sank into your gut. You had tried to look calm and unaffected as you excused yourself into the bunks, but the glance Hunter had shot you made it clear that he knew something was wrong. Thankfully he hadn’t followed you right away, instead needing to respond to Cody.

In the semi-darkness of your curtained off bunk, you slip the glowing stone, which you’ve still never taken off except for showering, out from its hiding place under your under armor. The metal wires you had used to wrap the crystal into a pendant have tarnished and become slightly misshapen, but you ignore this and instead watch the purple-blue colors it projects onto the durasteel wall, trying to calm yourself down. You’ve been with the batch for a while now, and although the rest are typically understanding, Crosshair, the sniper, would jump at the opportunity to see you rattled and try to provoke you. You don’t know what his problem is with you, but you won’t give him the satisfaction of getting a rise out of you. Not today. It takes some time, but you are eventually able to slow your breathing back to normal.

After a few minutes, the stone has done its job, and so you tuck it back into your under armor against your chest and out of sight. You draw your bunks' privacy curtain back and swing your legs out, accidentally kicking someone in the process. You quickly get to your feet and mumble an apology before trying to walk past them. Hunter, because of course it’s Hunter, firmly grips your shoulder and stops you from moving any farther. He says your name.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, a touch of concern peeking out from his gruff expression. You sigh; there is no point lying to him, he can always tell by your heartbeat or hormones if you were being dishonest. Although, you may be able to evade the question.

“I’ll be fine Sarge, it’s nothing for you to worry about,” you say, trying to stay casual. No luck. He frowns at you, releases your shoulder and closes the door to the bunk area.

“You’re a part of this team now, whether you believe it or not, so if something is bothering you it’s going to bother me,” he says, stern but not uncaring, and watching you carefully. You sigh again and sit back down onto your bunk. You hold your head in your hands and take a second to gather your thoughts before speaking.

“Sorry, Hunter. You think I’d know by now that nothing gets past you,” you say, chuckling a little. Hunter's expression softens, which encourages you to continue. “It’s just that I haven’t seen any of the regs, apart from Cody, in a very long time, especially Rex.”

“Is there a problem between you two?” Hunter asks, frowning again.

“No, not really,” you say as you shift your eyes away from him.

“Not really?” Hunter says skeptically.

“It’s just that…” you trail off before pausing to take a deep breath. “I’ve never told you the real reason I took this job, have I?”

Hunter shakes his head.

“Well, you already know that I was a medic for the regs first, but I’d gotten, um, intimately close with two who died. Killed in action,” you say as you unconsciously roll up your left sleeve and idly rub your thumb along the domino tattoo on your forearm. You’d gotten it a few weeks after taking this assignment with the guys, but the ink is still sharp and clear. Five dots on the upper half, three dots on the lower, in black and white ink with a few bright green highlights.

“Is that what that’s about?” Hunter asks, gesturing to your arm.

��Yeah. They called themselves the Domino Squad. They were the only two left from their batch. Then just the one, then, well,” you say, pausing to clear the growing lump out of your throat.

“I didn’t expect to wind up with the second man, but we were both grieving over the first and it just kinda happened,” you continue with a sad, wistful smile. Hunter nods and waits for you to keep speaking. “I’d see their faces everywhere I looked. When a man died in the field and I wasn’t able to save him, it was like losing them all over again, and I tried for so long to fight through it, but I-“ you say, talking quickly and on the verge of losing your composure.

Before that happens, Hunter holds up a hand and reminds you to breathe. Once you have, you speak again; “I couldn’t take it anymore. I was going to leave, but then Kix told me about this squad. Said you might be just the thing I needed. I think he was right. You’re so… different,” you say quietly. Understanding crosses Hunter’s features, and after a pointed look from him and a nod from you, he moves and sits beside you. He says your name.

“I can’t imagine what that must have been like, I’m sorry,” he says. You kind of shrug and say it wasn’t his fault. After a second, he speaks again. “Alright, so I understand all that, but what does it have to do with Rex?” he asks. You take a moment to compose yourself again, willing away the grief and anger you always feel when remembering this.

“He watched the second man die. We have very different opinions on why it happened. I haven’t seen him since F-“ you stop yourself, then clear your throat. “Since that day,” you finish. “So you could say there’s some baggage.” You get to your feet and pull your sleeve back down. “But,” you say, back to business, “I won’t let my personal feelings get in the way of the mission, sir,” you say as Hunter also stands back up. Without waiting for him to say anything else, you open the bunk area door and head towards the cockpit. Hunter follows, and Tech announces after a few quiet minutes that they will be leaving hyperspace shortly. You return to your bunk, alone, and strap your upper kit back on.

Due to an extremely rare miscalculation by Tech, the Marauder is unable to properly reduce speed before landing. The ship barely manages not to crash onto the air strip where you all have been summoned, instead screeching to a halt on its landing gear, thanks to the excess momentum. As people scatter out of the way outside, inside the ship, Wrecker hoots and hollers as you all finally come to a stop. The stop is abrupt, and hard, so you’re glad everyone has helmets on, otherwise their smacked heads would have to be treated, delaying whatever this mission is.

Despite the ringing in your ears, you can faintly hear Rex and Cody speaking from outside of the ship, and when the hatch is opened, your hands start to tremble, ever so slightly. You catch Hunter glance at you, but you just shrug and he leads everyone out of the ship. Tech, Crosshair, and Wrecker follow, and you’re able to disembark unnoticed, thanks to everyone being distracted by how loud, and large, to be frank, Wrecker is.

Hunter and Cody grip each other’s forearms with a firm nod, and then Hunter introduces the squad to the others nearby. As he does, they each remove their helmets. “You may already know our medic,” he says, looking back at you before saying your name. You can see the surprise on Rex’s face, and hesitate briefly before also taking off your own helmet. Kix and Jesse are standing a little ways behind him, and Jesse looks just as startled as Rex does. Kix meanwhile, nods at you and you return the gesture, trying to calm your pounding heart.

The squad takes a minute or two to somewhat brag about the mission from Yalbec Prime you all had just completed, and you watch, amused, from the back of the group, before a gunship arrives, obviously waiting to take you all elsewhere. You slip your helmet back on and climb into the ship, thanking Wrecker as he gives you a small boost to do so.

A good chunk of time has passed within the gunship in silence. You half expect Kix or Jesse or maybe even Rex to approach you, but when that doesn't happen, you can’t decide if you feel relieved or slightly annoyed. You are fully annoyed however, when you catch Crosshair staring down his nose at Jesse. The sniper makes a snarky comment about how you all don’t usually work with ‘regs’, and you step forward to stop the fight you sense coming after he flicks a toothpick into Jesse's chest, but Cody does that for you by getting everyone’s attention and distracting them with the mission briefing.

He details how this is going to be an information retrieval operation, with the target being a Separatist cyber center. Rex then steps in to briefly outline his suspicions that the Separatists are somehow using his own plans and attacks against him. Getting the needed information from the cyber center will either confirm or disprove his suspicions.

Just as the ship prepares for landing, it’s suddenly shot down, sending it careening toward the ground. If the landing in the Marauder earlier was rough, this crash put that to shame. Once the smoke begins to clear, you follow the others out of the wreckage, coughing as you do. You glance behind you once you’re outside and see that the cockpit has been obliterated, taking the clone pilot with it, and you grit your teeth, cursing. You don’t have any time to think about this further, however, as Kix is shouting that Cody has been trapped under the destroyed ship. Adrenaline starts to pump into your veins and you quickly make your way over to the rest of the group. Wrecker has lifted the entire ship off of the downed Commander, then he throws it to one side just before retrieving him, walking away as what’s left of the ship explodes.

Once Wrecker sets Cody onto the ground, you run over to him, right next to Kix, and begin scanning him for injuries. There’s a sizable gash across his forehead that’s bleeding freely, and Kix’s scan reveals that Cody has internal injuries. Just as you turn to take your medpack off of your back, you hear the sudden sound of blaster fire. Whether it was the explosion or the ship being shot down that drew attention to you all was irrelevant; a battalion of droids was quickly approaching, and shooting without pause. Hunter comms directly into your helmet and tells you to stay with the Commander, he and the rest of the squad would handle this.

You catch Kix’s attention and shout that you both need to get Cody out of there as more blaster bolts begin to fly overhead. The two of you are able to carry him to a somewhat sheltered spot near the sidewall of the gorge you had crashed into. Kix holds Cody’s head and neck as stable as he can, while you quickly dig through your medpack to get what you needed for the cut on his forehead. As you work, a stray bolt screeches past you, forcing you to draw your own blaster and fire back. You take out the droid that had been shooting at the three of you, and about three more behind it, then quickly focus back on finishing the stitching of Cody’s wound. “Since when can you shoot like that?” Kix says incredulously. You’re now applying a bacta patch to a smaller cut on Cody’s cheek, so you don’t hear this or see his dropped jaw.

Now that you have done all that you can for Cody, you tell Kix to stay where he is and rush over to where Rex and Jesse are watching Clone Force 99 do what they do best. You keep your blaster at the ready, fully prepared to shoot any of the droids that get too close, but you don't need to bother. Hunter throws electro-pulse grenades into the air, and Crosshair shoots them down into the approaching throng, where the resulting explosion deactivates many of the droids. After they take out the majority of the regular droids this way, you can see larger, spider-like machines approaching and scream out a warning to the squad. Wrecker moves a large piece of the crashed ship’s hull that he was using as a shield for the others out of the way, and the four of them split off to individually attack.

You glance over at Rex and Jesse and can’t help but smirk. You didn’t need to see their faces to know they were gawking. The three of you watch as the remaining droids are destroyed, then you jog halfway over as they are returning, and immediately look them over for injuries. Of course, there are none, but you’d be damned if you didn’t check and something slipped by you. Not again. Hunter and Tech don’t really acknowledge what you're doing, and Crosshair shrugs you off. Before you can get a good look at Wrecker, he laughs loudly and announces that there isn’t a scratch on him. He’s not wrong, so you clap his shoulder a few times, barely able to reach it, then run back to Cody and Kix, who has managed to stabilize Cody enough that he can walk, with the two of you assisting. The three of you return to where the others are, and Hunter says that you all need to keep moving, as there are bound to be more clankers headed your way.

The gunship had crashed just before the sun began to set, so when you all finally stop to make camp for the night, it has been dark for a few hours. You’ve been glued to Cody’s side the entire time the group was walking, but Kix insisted you both take a break and eat something, so you reluctantly joined the others around the fire, leaving Cody with Rex for the time being.

There’s a somewhat tense silence as you quickly eat the ration bar you kept in one of your pockets. You’re sitting a little ways off on your own, but not too far from the others. Hunter sits down next to you, asking how you’re doing. You take a swig from your canteen before you respond, needing a second to think.

“I’m… okay. For now. Being able to focus on Cody has helped. I guess the scar on his face is different enough that treating him isn’t bothering me,” you say with a shrug.

“I saw you take out a few of those stray droids back there, your aim is getting better,” he says after nodding.

“Tell him that,” you say sarcastically, jerking your head toward Crosshair, who said something neither of you can hear, which starts another fight. Hunter shakes his head and stands just as Wrecker lifts Jesse into the air, Tech awkwardly telling everyone to stop while standing off to the side.

Hunter makes his way over and breaks it up before things get out of hand. As he does, you get to your feet and meet Kix where he’s been watching everything. “How’s he holding up?” you ask, looking over at Cody. Before Kix can answer you, Rex stands and walks quickly back to the head of the group, getting everyone’s attention.

“Kix,” he says, “I’ve called in an evac for Cody, go with him.” Kix nods once, then walks over to Cody, who is barely able to sit up. After a moment of thought, Rex says your name, getting your attention, and tells you to go with Kix.

“Respectfully sir, no,” you say, taking Rex by surprise. “I don’t think it’s wise to leave you all without a medic,” you say, explaining yourself.

“My knowledge should be sufficient in your absence,” Tech says, looking over at you. You’re about to speak again when Crosshair cuts you off.

“We were fine without you before, we don’t need you here,” he says with a smirk. Hunter turns to say something to Crosshair, but you hold up your hands, stopping him. You look back at Rex, who still seems taken aback by all of this, and tell him that you’ll go with Kix, if that’s his order. He nods at you, and you walk over to Kix and Cody, barely able to keep your fisted hands from trembling as you go.

“What’s his problem?” Kix asks, obviously irritated, as you stand by.

“He’s an asshole,” you say flippantly, and the subject is dropped.

After another hour or so, the medical evacuation shuttle arrives. Once Cody is properly stabilized, and the shuttle takes off, Kix tells you that there isn’t much more that can be done for him. You make your way to an empty seat and sit back with a groan, worn out from the long day. A familiar, deep voice calls your name, as as you glance around you’re surprised to see that Bortuse is on board.

“What are you doing here?” you both ask in unison. Bortuse sits next to you and laughs, the deep rumble making you feel nostalgic, and you can’t help but smile at him. You really have missed the guy.

“I’m posted at Anaxes for now, and was told to accompany the shuttle for a pick up,” he explains. He takes a moment to look you up and down. As he does, you realize just how much time has passed when you also look him over. His Montrals have grown a fair bit longer, and the medium blue of their stripes has darkened to a deep sapphire color. He looks tired, like everyone does lately, but appears to be in good spirits. Sitting next to him in your red and black armor, which is a drastic change from the tunic and leggings you wore back on Coruscant, you’re acutely aware of how much you’ve changed too.

“How has the reassignment been?” Bortuse asks softly. As he does, you notice that Kix has been sitting on his other side, passively listening to everything you’ve said. You know what Bortuse is really asking, and can’t help but sigh softly.

“I’m doing better. It helps, not having to see their ghosts all day everyday. But it’s still hard. When I can’t sleep at night, my mind always goes back to them,” you say quietly. With a few quick movements, you remove your gauntlet and roll up your under armor sleeve on your left arm, showing them the domino tattoo. “They’ve never left. They probably never will,” you say quietly before putting everything back into place.

“We’ve missed having you around, you know,” Kix says softly.

Bortuse nods. “You really were one of our best,” he says. “Have you thought about coming back?” he asks.

Kix leans forward enough to look at you when you respond.

“I have,” you admit. “But as tough as the squad can be, I truly feel like I’m supposed to be with them. Maybe it’s the will of the Force or something, I can’t really explain it,” you say. Before either of them can say anything else, an announcement over the PA speakers tells everyone that the ship is coming back down for a landing, abruptly ending the conversation.

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[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 14: Back to Basics (De-Aged)

AO3

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The constant attention after her temporary death was a little stifling. Adrien was good about not overwhelming her. He’d seen her take bad hits before and he knew (from personal experience) that the cure would bring the two of them back to normal. No, despite being there in person as she died, Adrien was not drowning her in attention. She was thankful.

Her family, despite her constant reassurances however, did not get the memo. That she was okay. That she would be okay. Now and in future attacks. No, instead they constantly blew up her phone. ESPECIALLY during akuma attacks. Which was one of the only times she didn’t even have her phone on her. But whatever. One good thing did come from her temporary death though. She was talking to her dad. Like, actually talking. The bonding kind of talking. He wouldn’t talk to her about hero stuff (though she imagined he also wanted to forget about her “death” seeing as it was the third time he’d seen the dead body of one of his children). No, instead they got to know each other. She asked about Bridgette, which led to her finding out about his fiance- Selina Kyle. Marinette was really looking forward to meeting her, hopefully next time she took a portal to Gotham.

They also talked about Marinette’s designs- Uncle Jagged, MDC, how the company started, where she wanted to go with the company. Most of their conversations stayed at the surface level of getting to know you, but they were definitely getting closer. Though, she thought that if he’d just talked to her about hero work already (or took her on another patrol), their bonding would happen more naturally. Less like twenty questions. Her brothers, though…

Her brothers were constantly asking questions about how she was, how she felt, if she was safe, if she was sure they couldn’t convince her to leave Paris. It was a lot. But still nice. Nice to know that they cared so much, even if her death was only temporary (as she’d tried to remind them a million times).

The whole “dying painfully and then being resurrected after the battle” thing also led to her and Adrien making a lot of plans. Different ideas and things to do in case of certain akumas, types of attacks, deaths, just a LOT of contingency plans. She’d filled Alfred in on some of the plans, since several involved that half of her family or running to Gotham. But she didn’t tell her brothers. Or her dad. No need to worry or stress them out more than they already were. So she moved on. For several weeks. An entire month passed without Hawkmoth using a nightmare inducing akuma. It was nice. --- Adrien Agreste was not having a good day. It wasn’t really anyone’s fault though. Well, okay that’s a lie. It was definitely his fault. He’d thought after his crazy declaration in Gotham, asking Mari out would be easy. Simple. It was not. All the times he’d said she was “just a friend” were definitely coming back to haunt him. Every single time he tried to ask her out, something happened. An akuma attack. Marinette fell. Emergency photoshoot. Mari dropped all of her stuff and was almost late to class. Lila got someone to confront Marinette about something. He suddenly had an extra fencing lesson with Kagami.

But no more. No. Even though today hasn’t exactly gone as planned (overslept, late for photoshoot which made him extra late for school, got permission to eat at school but forgot to bring his food and then Mari left lunch instead of staying because her brother called so he didn’t even get to see her, forgot his science homework- yeah, bad day) it would be better. Because now he’s walking over to Mari’s and he’s going to ask her out if it’s the last- The shrill blaring of the akuma alarm breaks him out of his thoughts. Really? Now? Groaning, he darts into an alley.

“I blame you.” He deadpans to Plagg, glaring at the kwami’s maniacal laughter.

“Sure kid, sure. You know Pigtails is crazy ‘bout you. Doesn’t mean anything that you can’t ask her out.” He says once his laughter dies down.

“I hope you’re right.” Adrien mumbles. “Plagg, claws out!” He smirks as he’s transformed, feeling a lightness he hasn’t felt all day. He immediately uses his staff to launch himself onto the roof, taking in his surroundings. No crazy weather. No giant stone monster or baby. Nothing flying around. Nothing looks out of the ordinary. Frowning, he retracts his staff to call Ladybug. It rings, but she doesn’t answer.

“Hey Bugaboo. Where should we meet? I don’t see anything unusual. Call me back.” He hands up and decides his best bet is to patrol around, keep an eye out for anything unusual. Just as he starts to think that maybe it was a false alarm, a red blob flies at him. He blinks.

“Chat! Follow me!” Tikki directs, whirling around and zooming away. Adrien’s heart sinks. Please let her be okay. I can’t watch her die again. Please. The words go on a cycle in his head as he runs behind Tikki, too worried to ask. He frowns when she dips down into an alley where someone- not Mari- is waiting.

“What’s going on?” He asks, completely confused.

“The akuma was able to get to Marinette before she could transform.” Tikki explains and Adrien frowns.

“Marinette? Are you- that’s Marinette?” He asks in bewilderment. The girl standing in front of him couldn’t be older than three.

“Unfortunately. The akuma can de-age people.” Tikki says with a sigh.

“Oh gosh, okay. Hi, I’m Chat Noir!” Adrien says, squatting down so that he’s eye level. He extends a hand, smiling at the girl.

“Kitty!” She giggles, throwing her arms around him.

“Oh, uh, hi.” He says, putting his arms around her and picking her up. He turns to Tikki.

“So is this one of those “take her to Mr. Wayne until the fight is over because she can’t be Ladybug right now” situations? Or a “hide her until this is all over” situation? We had  a lot of plans. De-aging was not one of them.” Adrien asks.

“Take her to Mr. Wayne. This akuma is sneaky and we can’t risk Marinette revealing her identity.” Tikki says.

“What?” Adrien asks. How could a baby Mari reveal her identity?

“Adri, wanna cookie please.” Mari says with a pout. His jaw drops and she giggles, patting his face. “Silly kitty!”

“She still knows?” He asks, his voice jumping an octave as he panics. How much did she know? Did she still know everything about the other kwami and the other heroes and- oh god, her dad is Batman. Oh this could be bad. Very bad.

“Okay, nevermind that, where are the glasses? I’ve got to get her out of here before someone hears her tell everyone’s secrets.” Adrien says, suddenly understanding the entire situation.

“Here go!” Mari says, pulling glasses out of her purse. Adrien takes them with a forced smile and merges Plagg and Kaalki. Though the akuma didn’t appear to be deadly, it was going to be a long battle for just one person. Especially since this akuma was actually good at hiding. He makes the portal and steps through, scoffing at the immediate defensive stances from her brothers.

“I’ve been here before.” He reminds them, letting his transformation fall.

“Who’s the kid?” Jason asks, going back to his breakfast when he deems Adrien not a threat. Adrien grimaces.

“So, yeah about that...um, Plagg will explain.” He says, slipping the ring onto Mari’s finger and taking the earrings. Time to get out of this mess. --- Bruce blinks as Adrien leaves as quickly as he came, no explanation. Only a ring of light. He glances at the little girl and frowns. Based on pictures he’d seen, he’d guess the girl was Marinette. But his daughter was a teenager. Which meant this little girl couldn’t be Marinette. But then who-

“Daddy!” She squeals, finally looking at him with her bright eyes. She runs up to him and raises her arms. He blinks, unsure of what she wants. She huffs. “Up.” She demands. He picks her up, eyebrows furrowed as she squeezes him tightly.

“Marinette?” He asks, still confused. A loud cackling draws his attention to the tiny floating black cat at the other end of the table. Of course.

“Pigtails is gonna freak about this later.” He says with a snort.

“And you are?” Bruce asks, wary of the creature. It was definitely not hostile, Adrien did leave it here. But he was still uncertain of its intentions.

“Plagg. The black ca kwami. Akuma back in Paris hit her and you all are her safe house. If she’s unable to fight as Ladybug, someone is supposed to bring her here. The kid or her, if she can still use a Miraculous.” Plagg explains, glancing around. “Say, you got any cheese?” He adds, and just like that, the kwami is off-supposedly to find cheese in the kitchen.

“So- how does she know you if she’s this little? She’s gotta be like, three.” Dick asks with a frown. “You just met.”

“Cause I’m Batman!” Marinette says, mimicking his voice. Jason snorts.

“Sure Pixie, and I’m Ladybug.” He says, reaching over and ruffling her hair.

“No, I am!” She pouts, crossing her arms. “You can’t be, you’re Red Hood.” She adds. Tim- who had been silently sipping coffee- spits over the entire table.

“Good job Drake. Now breakfast is ruined for everyone.” Damian sneers.

“She knows! But she’s tiny! She shouldn’t-” Tim rants.

“It’s magic, Drake.” Damian says, cutting him off. “I am unsure of what you expect. Now, since breakfast is ruined, I will be taking Titus on a walk.” He adds, standing up and starting to leave. Bruce is barely able to stop Marinette from falling as she leaps from his lap and rushes to Damian.

“Can I come?” She asks with a wide smile. Damian hesitates, glancing at him. Bruce shrugs. “Can I come, please?” Marinette adds, sticking out her lip in a pout.

“Tt. I suppose you can come with.” He says with pursed lips. Marinette squeals, grabbing Damian’s hand and tugging him along. The sound of a camera shutter makes Bruce whirl around to see- of course. Dick had his phone out and was taking picture after picture, a wide smile on his face as the two walked away, Marinette babbling on about how cool superheroes are as they walk.

“Who would’ve thought we’d be able to get pictures of baby Mari with us!” He says cheerfully, looking down at his phone. Bruce stills. He could have pictures with one of his kids, as a baby. He glances over at Tim, trying to figure out a way to ask that wouldn’t be too weird. Was the request too weird?

“Don’t worry, B. Already on it.” Tim says, shaking his phone. “Got several pictures of your little hug situation.” He adds. Bruce nods. Still…

“Everyone in the parlor in five minutes. Make sure Alfred comes too. I’ll go get Damian and Marinette.” Bruce says, standing from the table.

“For what?” Jason asks, visually bristling at the orders. Though their relationship was getting better, it was still rocky. And it likely would be for years.

“A family picture.” Bruce says simply. They’d have to take another when Marinette is herself, but he wasn’t about to miss this opportunity. --- Damian Wayne was many things. A former member of the League of Assassins. The current, (and in his unbiased opinion, best) Robin, an animal lover, a brother and a son. He also enjoyed drawing, occasionally painting too. What he was not, was a babysitter. He did not enjoy small children. They often cried for no reason, talked too much and smelled odd. His sister, luckily, did not smell odd. Nor had she cried. She was, however, babbling incoherently. And smiling. Nonstop. It was odd, but not awful. Looking down at the small girl, he was suddenly struck with the awful memory of her death. Of the sword that- no. She was fine. She may be a toddler now, but she was still fine.

“And then, Chat was a bad guy.” She says as he tunes back into her words. He frowns. That’s odd.

“What do you mean?” He asks, sure he misheard her.

“Chat! His suit turned bad and the moon went boom!” She exclaims, gesturing with her hands to mimic an explosion. Why was there no footage of this?

“That sounds like a very bad dream.” He leads, certain that it was just one of her fears. He knew Marinette struggled with anxiety and doubted herself as a hero. Surely that’s all she was referring to. She shakes her head.

“Nu-uh. Not a dream.” She denies, frowning. He starts to ask for clarification, to try and help, when she squeals and runs forward, wrapping her tiny arms around Titus. Damian sighs. It was useless to attempt to have an actual discussion with her right now anyway. Perhaps later they could revisit the topic.

“Careful, Titus.” Damian says, slightly concerned for how the large dog would react to Marinette. He had never really been around small children before, and while he was nice, some dogs just disliked children. Not that Damian blamed them. Instead of knocking her down or growling at her though, Titus nuzzles into her. Gently pushing her along as they walk around the gardens. Damian feels his lip quirk up in a smile. Pulling his phone out, he takes a quick picture, certain Marinette would like to see it later. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Father walking towards them swiftly.

“Father.” He acknowledges.

“Damian. We’re going to take some pictures together before she turns back.” Father says, glancing at Marinette who was giggling against Titus. She turns and notices the two talking, her smile growing even wider.

“Daddy!” She cheers, running forward and jumping into Father’s arms. Damian quirks an eyebrow at the uncharacteristically large smile on his father’s face. It was odd, but he also knew that his father regretted losing so much time with both him and Marinette. The others it was to be expected, but to not even have that time with his own blood children….

“Did you have fun with Damian, sweetheart?” He asks, and Damian blinks at the surprisingly soft tone. Very odd. He suddenly couldn’t wait for Marinette to turn back. He did not care for the sudden changes in his father.

“Yup! Dami showed me the flowers and the trees and Titus is so silly!” She rambles, nearly whacking Father in the face as she gestures wildly. Damian barely holds back a snort as he watches them.

“I’m so glad you had fun. Can we go inside now, there’s some things we want to do before you go back to Paris.” He explains. Marinette frowns, a pout replacing her large smile.

“I don’t wanna.” She whines, and Damian is shocked to see tears. Actual tears.

“Why don’t you want to go home?” Father asks, and the look on his face makes it obvious. He’s thrown.

“Tired.” She says, laying her head on Father’s shoulder. “Akumas are bad.” She adds.

“We’re going to help Marinette. You won’t be alone anymore. You and Chat Noir will both have help. We’ll figure this out.” Father assures her, holding her.

“Perhaps we could continue this conversation later, Father. You wanted to take pictures and there is no guarantee how long she will be...young.” Damian points out, making a mental note to also bring up the ‘Chat was bad’ scenario later.

“Er, yes. Let’s go. Come on honey, it’s okay. You’re still here.” Father says, turning and walking towards the house, quietly reassuring Marinette until she starts smiling again. While seeing his older sister younger than him was entertaining, Damian much preferred older Marinette. She had a better handle on her emotions. And though he would never admit it to her face, was also much more bearable in conversation. --- Jason was not fond of family pictures. Hell, he wasn’t fond of most things that involved family bonding. He’d been around more since they discovered Marinette, but that was mostly to make sure that Bruce didn’t fuck it up too badly. The kid was the most emotionally available one he had. She could do more than brood. And Jason was not about to let Bruce mess that up by being an asshole. So, sure, he’d been around more. But that didn’t mean he had to be in a family picture.

“I don’t wanna.” He argues, glaring at Dick who was trying to get him to come stand next to him. Dick, Alfred and Replacement were all coming up with poses will B got Demon Spawn and Pixie to come back inside. Jason wanted no part of any of it.

“Master Jason, this is a unique opportunity.” Alfred chastises. Jason rolls his eyes.

“I’ll join when he finds another kid.” He mumbles, trying not to sound too bitter. He wasn’t mad at Marinette, not at all. But being Bruce Wayne’s kid was a fucking recipe for disaster. Three of them had died (and come back). All of them were a vigilante or hero of some sort. None of them had a normal life. So as nice as it could be, being a kid of the Bruce Wayne, it was also a bit of a curse.

“Jay!” Marinette squeals, practically throwing herself from Bruce’s arms as they walk into the room. Jason lunges forward, catching her.

“Shit, Pix, you just about fell.” He swears, eyes wide as she giggles uncontrollably.

“Language.” Dick calls. Jason narrows his eyes, about to argue, when Marinette shifts in his arms. Oh yeah. She’s kind of tiny right now. Probably shouldn’t say anything too bad.

“Daddy says we’re gonna take pictures!” She says, grinning widely. Jason winces. Damnit Bruce.

“Really? Well, I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun.” He says, preparing to put her down so that he can dip out.

“We have to get a picture of just the kids too! Daddy says we’ll take more another day, but we gotta hurry.” She rambles, struggling in his arms to be let down. He sets her down, taken aback by how strong she is as she grabs his hand and tugs him behind the couch. Standing right next to Dick. Of fucking course.

“Pix, I don’t-” He tries to say.

“Nope. Picture time!” She cheers, running back to Bruce. Jason shakes his head. Of fucking course the Pixie was gonna get him to do some stupid shit he didn’t want to do. Of course. --- Alfred glances at the new pictures on the wall as he walks down to the kitchen. It had been a few days since Miss Marinette had left. A few days since he was able to see a genuine smile on Master Bruce’s face. The family had managed to get dozens of pictures and videos on that day, including a picture with himself, Master Bruce and the children. Glancing at the picture of just the children, all laughing and cuddled up on the couch, Alfred smiles. It was nice to have these pictures, pictures with genuine joy on his family’s face. Even if it happened because of a villain attack.

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