#It also sort of explains why Selene and Des are like 'we are not a couple' when people ask

[selenelavellan]

Lyrium

Concert AU

previous installment

tagging @feynites for reasons.

TW for Prostitution, Past Mentions of Rape, Alcohol, Drugs, Verbal Abuse, Fire, Guns, Violence

Des finds living in a city to be much more suitable to his tastes.

He sells his bow, first. Even manages to get a bit more for it than it's really worth because it's 'authentic'. More likely to be sold to a collector than anyone around here who would actually use it anyways, he supposes. Suits him fine, he's got no use for anything from his time in the clan.

Selene stays pointedly silent about the single arrow he keeps on the top shelf of their closet.

Their first apartment is a sty. It's old, and it's got mold instead of molding, but it's big enough for the both of them to fit into its one bedroom and cram together on a twin size mattress while they try to figure out what to do with their lives now.

'Endless possibilities' are more daunting than he thought they would be.

Selene gets into the local university, gets a scholarship to get her through her classes, and decides after her first semester that she'd like to be a teacher, preferably for mathematics.

Which is great, for her.

Des still doesn't know quite what he'd like to do himself.

Selene asks him to go to school with her, but he's seen the workload and the stress and the schedule she's required to take with that, and being forced into another niche just feels like making the same mistake over again. So he declines, as politely as he can, and looks for work himself.

When he comes home with three months of his share of rent in his pocket one night, Selene freaks.

“Did you rob a bank?” she squeaks as she holds them up to the light.

“Oh please, like I'd need to.” Des scoffs back.

“Where did you-how did you get this much money?”

“Turns out people will pay really well for a good blowjob in this town.”

Selene immediately drops the bills in her hand to the floor as though they had burned her.

“Des...” she says, very slowly “That's prostitution.”

“I'm familiar with the term, yes.”

“That's illegal.” she hisses.

“That's why it pays in cash,” he shoots back. “No taxes. Smart, right?”

“No. No, it's not. You need to find another line of work.”

“But look at this! If I keep this up, you won't even have to work anymore, you can just focus on school-”

“I don't mind working, Des,” She assures him. “I'd feel better if you did a job that was less...dangerous.”

“There's nothing inherently dangerous about sex, Selene-”

“You don't even have a doctor yet,” She lectures. “How are you going to get tested? How will you stay healthy? What if you get forced into doing something you don't want to do by a pushy customer? What if you get arrested and sent to the templars, and I can't help you?”

“What if I get murdered by a client and left in a ditch somewhere-” he drawls.

“Well, I wasn't going to say it, but...Yeah!” she exclaims, throwing her arms up in the air.

“You're being paranoid.”

“I'm being realistic.”

“So I'll be careful about who I take on, then!”

“And how will you know who the dangerous ones are?”

“I'm good with people, Selene, you know that! I'll be able to tell, just trust me.”

“I trust you, Des, it's other people that we can't trust. You never know what they're capable of-”

“I will know, I've got a sense about these things-”

“You didn't know with Haleir!” she finally yells, shoulders high and tight with her face red as she takes heavy breaths.

Des is silent, his own shoulders dropping as he runs a hand through his hair. “Shit...I didn't...I'm not gonna..”

“I didn't think I would either. No one does, until it happens,” she whispers. She lets out a heavy sigh and drags her hand down her face. “If you're really...if this is really what you want to do Des...I'll support you in your decision. But you have to be smart about it. Get a doctor. Stock up on condoms and whatever else you might need. Don't use your real name, old or new. We'll...we'll do some research, somehow, alright? But give it...” she looks at the pile of money “Give it two months, ok? Try to find something else, see if there's anything else that might work for you, or interest you. If in two months you still really think this is what you want to do, we'll find a way to make it work. Just...don't dive straight into it this early, ok? For me?”

“...I don't know if I can do anything else, Selene.” he admits.

She steps forward, hand gentle on the back of his head as she places a soft kiss to his forehead. “You can do anything you set your mind on Des. It's ok if it takes a little time to get there.”

He breathes.

Closes his eyes and wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him and so, so thankful to not be doing this alone.

“Two months.” he agrees.

“Thank you,” she smiles. He smiles back, nuzzling his face into her neck affectionately. Selenes eyes turn back to the pile of bills on the table. “...just how many blowjobs did you give today?”

“Mm...like...seven, I think?”

She pats him twice on the back before taking a step away. “Right. Go brush your teeth. Use the mouthwash, please. Twice maybe, for good measure.”

“Awww, but Seleeeeeene!” he teases, puckering up his lips.

“Do not!” she warns, snagging a cushion off the couch and holding it between them as he tries to close the gap. He laughs, arms out and fingers wiggling, revealing his plan to tickle her until she succumbs. She yelps and laughs and runs around the couch until he manages to pin her, tickling her up and down her sides until she accidentally kicks him, hard, off of her.

“Ok, ok! I surrender!” He laughs, hands held up while she remains crouched behind the cushion, poised to run again like a cornered animal.

“Go on then.” she says skeptically, watching as he makes his way into the bathroom and brushes his teeth, gargling twice as she asked.

When he steps back into the living room, she's let her hair down from its usual ponytail, relaxed out on the couch with one of her textbooks in her lap. He plops down in its spot, giving just enough time for her to lift the book out of his way as he settles between her legs.

“Comfortable?” She asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Best spot in the house.” He grins back, even as she shakes her head and goes back to her studies.

He supposes he should start looking for another line of work.

Tomorrow.

–

Des tries working at the grocer down the street, first. They don't need any experience, and the customers like his conversations while he's bagging their purchases. The pay is decent, but he's bored.

A manager catches him napping in the back while he's supposed to be helping with inventory, and he ends up fired after only two weeks.

Selenes not thrilled with the news, but doesn't begrudge him for it.

“We knew it would be temporary,” she shrugs “It's not the end of the world.”

He tries a bookstore, next. That one only lasts a few days, his personality apparently far too 'loud' for the environment.

“That's alright,” she says “I'm sure we'll find you someplace else to fit in.”

The florist, the baker, the diner down the street. Something goes wrong at all of them, over the course of his two months given time limit. Selene doesn't say anything when their stated deadline comes and goes.

Des doesn't go back to sex work, anyways.

He does stop in for a drink at a bar near the car shop he just got rejected from, though. Flips through the menus on his prepaid cell phone, until he finds the internet browser and checks the job list site for new postings.

Nothing.

He lets out a groan, and bangs his head once on the counter.

“Something bothering you pal?” Asks a raspy voice from the other side.

Des glances up, and makes eye contact with an older dwarven woman. Dark hair, an amber complexion and a wonderfully pronounced nose sitting on her face.

She looks particularly unimpressed with his own appearance.

That's fair though he thinks, he hadn't worn one of his better outfits for fear of getting grease on it today.

“I'm having trouble making an 'honest living'.” he admits, with air quotes.

“You and half the people in this town,” she notes. “How long you been looking?”

“A little over two months now.”

“That's not too bad. You have to support anyone else?”

“Nah, my roommates got her stuff all sorted. I'm just the mess holding her back.”

“Oh, now there's a winners attitude,” she snorts. “You got a skill set?”

“I'm good with people, taking leadership in a situation, and following instructions.” he lists off mechanically.

“Any of those true?”

“I am good with people.”

She nods. “Can you mix drinks?”

“Sure.”

“Interested in learning how to do it right?”

Des blinks.

Blinks again.

And his face splits into a grin as he rights himself and tries his best to be charming. “I'm always interested in doing it right,” he winks.

She rolls her eyes. “Don't make me regret this. I could use an extra hand around here so I can focus on a personal project. Come around the side of the bar, and we'll see what you can do.”

Des hops up from his chair and happily swings around to stand beside the dwarven woman. He reaches over to finish his drink, and she smacks the back of his hand with a coaster.

“First rule,” she lectures. “No drinking on the job.”

Des pouts, but doesn't argue.

He could really use the work.

–

The bar job ends up sticking. Carina even trusts Des to bartend on his own after a week or so, for a couple hours at a time during the day.

Selene stops in one day when class lets out early, to check in. Des eagerly waves her over to one of the bar stools.

“What'll you have, cutie?” he grins at her.

“Just a water, thanks.”

Des rolls his eyes, and pours her some water over ice, sticking a lime wedge on the edge of her glass just because he can.

“It's nice,” Selene comments as she looks around. “Nicer than I thought it'd be.”

“Thanks, I try to keep a clean house,” Carina pipes up as she walks out of her office, striding towards the pair. “You must be Selene. Des never shuts up about you.”

“Ah...yeah,” Selene stammers, quickly rising from the bar stool and holding out her hand. “I'm-I'm Selene. That's me. Yesseree.”

“Carina,” she introduces as she shakes Selenes hand. “It's a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“You are also a pleasure! I mean-that's not-I mean I'm sure you are, but I wasn't-..I didn't mean like...” Selene groans. “It's...it's nice to meet you, I'll just... be heading on out then.”

“It's fine, it's fine!” Carina laughs. “It's cute. You're more than welcome to stay, if you want.”

“I...” Selene hesitates and looks over at Des. He gives her a knowing grin, and nods in approval. “I'd love to. Thank you.” She finally manages.

Des just smiles and pours each of them a cranberry vodka.

Ah, matchmaking.

It's so nice when things work out.

–

Carina and Selenes relationship continues to develop, with dates and dinners and weird math and science talk that Des can't quite keep up with, but they're both happy so it doesn't bother him.

After Selenes first year of school, she and he move into another apartment complex. One closer to school for her, and walking distance of the bar, for him. No mold this time, and they can even fit a dresser into the bedroom with their bed.

Des is quietly glad that Carina doesn't seem to mind the vague relationship going on between himself and Selene. They're not quite a thing. He's still sleeping with other people (just for fun instead of for money), and she's still dating Carina afterall. When he has company Selene usually crashes at her place or on the couch, and when Selene is at Carinas and he doesn't have company, he just goes out and finds some.

It's not a problem. He just has trouble sleeping alone in a bed, is all.

It's still a little jarring the first time Selene refers to Carina as her girlfriend.

“You're banging my boss,” Des sighs, trying to joke it away “My innocent little elven friend, all grown up.”

“I'm not 'banging' Carina,” Selene argues as she places her mug down on their makeshift coffee table “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

Des blinks. “Seriously? It's been almost a year.”

“We're taking it slow.”

“Like a glacier.”

“We kiss!”

“We kiss,” Des points out. “Seriously? Poor Carina.”

Selene pouts, then slouches back into the couch beside him. “Am I a bad girlfriend?”

“Probably not. If you're not comfortable with her though, you owe it to her to be honest.”

“I am comfortable with her though. I want to have sex with her, I'm just...nervous, maybe?”

Des nods in understanding, turning on the couch to face her and shifting until his legs are crossed in front of him. “Does she know?”

Selene hesitates. “I haven't told her. I think she's figured out that something happened, though. She's brilliant, and she usually knows when I want to stop before I do.”

“You gotta have the talk,” he advises. When Selene just gives him a blank look in return, he continues. “You know, 'the talk'? You two bare your souls, decide where you want to go with the relationship, and potentially declare your love for each other, etcetera, etcetera.”

“You watch way too many rom-coms.”

“I have a lot of free time.” he shrugs.

Selene just shakes her head.

Shakes it some more.

Then lets out a breath and begins to slowly nods.

“You're right,” she admits. “You're right, I've just got to-to own up to it. It's fine! It'll probably go well. Or she'll abandon me forever, and I'll regret this for the rest of my life, but, you know.”

“She's not going to abandon you,” Des assures her. “Carinas crazy for you. Trust me.”

Selene bites down on her bottom lip, and nods. “Ok. Ok. Ok, alright, I can do this.”

“Yes you can.” Des repeats, planting a quick kiss on Selenes cheek. “Go get her girl.”

Selene nods, determinedly rising from the couch and snagging her coat from the back of the couch before heading out of the apartment.

Des stretches out on the couch.

It's good Selene is moving forward, he thinks.

Now if he could just...catch up.

–

Des is right, of course. Carina doesn't abandon Selene after they have the talk, and their relationship gets more serious and they end up having sex for their one year anniversary.

And then Selene finds out what Des has known for years, and sex can be fantastic, and ends up spending more nights at Carinas than in their own shared apartment.

He'd hesitate to call himself 'lonely', since he's got no end of suitors or bed mates. But he misses her. Carina's better at helping her study, so she's barely even home to do that anymore.

He'd hesitate to call himself lonely.

But he can't seem to find a better term for what he's going through, either.

He's pouring an ale for one of the bars regulars one night. A slower night than usual, only one or two patrons in the whole place.

“Hey,” the dwarf sniffs “You got any hobbies?”

Des raises an eyebrow “What sort of hobbies?”

A small, sealed bag is slid across the counter top, towards Des.

He knows what it is as soon as his fingers touch the plastic around the crushed blue mineral. His body knows it, his magic knows it, thrumming beneath his skin.

“First ones free. I like you, kid. You don't water down the drinks here. We appreciate it.”

Des hesitates.

Then he carefully pockets the bag, and tops off the dwarves glass. “And we're always glad to have your patronage.”

He doesn't touch it again until he gets home and empties the tips out of his pockets. The bag falls unceremoniously onto the breakfast bar, and he stares at it for a moment. Tries to talk himself out of it.

Lyrium is dangerous. It's addictive. He hasn't even opened the bag, and his bodies already reacting to the stuff.

It's a bad idea all around.

He leaves it on top of the bar and steps away. Watches a movie, waits for Selene to get home.

Around 3:15am, he gets a text.

Staying at Carinas, sorry. See you tomorrow?

He stares at his phone for a moment, drumming his recently manicured nails against his thigh. His eyes dart up to the blue substance still sitting in its bag.

Waiting.

For him.

K.

It's all he sends, before he stands, and pours the substance out on the counter.

–

Lyrium is a rush.

His skin tingles with his magic, and Des feels like he could float right out of his body. Purple flames lick at his skin, hot and heavy as he grins, and he's happy he feels so happy, he's never felt quite this happy before. This is marvelous, he thinks. It's incredible, why hasn't he done this before? Really, his body feels lit up, and everything feels so sensational and that ache in his shoulder from pulling on a bow so often is finally gone and orgasms are somehow even more intense than usual.

Why isn't everyone doing this?

–

The next morning is awful.

Des discovers that coming down from a Lyrium high is much, much worse than coming down from Elfroot. Less floating to the ground, and more plummeting off of a building.

But he liked the high.

Oh, he liked it a lot.

The next time that dwarf shows up, Des asks him about more.

“Sure pal,” the dwarf grins. “But only the first one's free.”

“Yeah yeah,” Des dismisses “How much is the second?”

He balks at the price.

“I'm a bartender, what makes you think I have that sort of money lying around?” he hisses.

The dwarf rubs at the bottom of his chin. “Alright, alright, I understand. Maybe you're just not cut out for this kinda thing, not everyone can handle it-”

“I can handle it, I just can't afford it.” Des corrects.

The dwarfs face splits into a smile, and Des notices the missing teeth for the first time. “I'm sure we can work somethin' out.”

–

Drug trafficking is probably not on Selenes list of 'honest work', Des knows.

But she's also only home once a week now, so she really doesn't get as much of a say in how he lives his life anymore.

She left him.

It means he doesn't have to pay much for the Lyrium at all, and he always has some on hand. Which is great for him.

Well.

It's great for his addictions, he supposes. It means anytime he gets a craving, there's always something lying around.

He knows he's doing carta work. He knows it's not something he should be involved in, not something anyone would be proud of him for doing. Knows Carina would fire him instantly, if she knew.

But fuck them, right?

–

It gets worse, as time goes on. Selene graduates, gets her bachelors, gets a teaching job and she and Des move into a bigger apartment again. Nicer. Two bedroom, even.

Des hates having a second bedroom, he finds. More space between them. They hardly even cuddle anymore.

At least it gives him privacy for his hobbies.

It takes another year and a half before Selene barges in without knocking.

“Des, d'you mind if I-” she stops, mid-step and mid-sentence in the doorway.

Looks at the used Templar kit spread out on his bed.

“I...have gotten really into the Chant of Light lately?” he tries.

“What the fuck, Des?” she hisses, slamming the door closed behind her. Carinas over, again, because she practically lives here now too.

“It's fine,” he tries to assure her “It's not a big deal.”

“You're doing Lyrium, Des! You're a mage, this could kill you.”

“If it were going to kill me, it would've done so already,” he says, rolling his eyes.

“How-how long have you been doing this?”

“Like 5 years now, Selene.”

“How did-how did I not know?!”

“You've been busy,” he shrugs. “I needed a hobby.”

“This isn't a hobby, Des. It's an addiction.”

“Oh please.”

“How often?”

“What?”

“How often are you using it?”

Des hesitates.

“Just...like, twice a day, that's-”

“Are you kidding me right now?!”

“What do you care?!” he yells. What right does she have to come in, now, and try to tell him he's wrong? She found happiness without him, he can find his own, too. She's the one who left, it's her fault!

Selenes face fills with guilt, and Des realizes too late that he was speaking aloud.

“I...” she swallows. “I'm sorry, Des. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. We can...Ok. Ok, we can fix this, we'll just... You have to stop, you know that, right?”

“So I can go back to being lonely?”

“No. No, I won't forget you again. I didn't mean to leave you alone, Des. I'm sorry. I'll do better.”

Des takes a deep breath, and tries to clear his head.

It's not really her fault.

He probably should have tried to have a talk with her, a long time ago.

“I...” he looks down at the kit on his bed. “I'll try to get better.”

Selene closes the space between them, hugging him tight to her. Instinctively, he returns the embrace. Holds her to him, relaxes into her grip, and lets out tension he didn't realize he had.

“I won't let you go, so don't leave me, ok?” Selene murmurs.

Des nods into her shoulder.

–

Recovery is a bumpy road.

If that bumpy road were full of sinkholes and glass shards and other things constantly trying to kill you.

The first twenty four hours are the worst. Selene sends Carina home as soon as she leaves Des's room. Says he's sick, and she has to attend to him. Carina knows about Selenes background as a healer, and doesn't push the subject, just says to call if she needs anything.

Des ignores the lump in Carinas coat pocket the size of a ring box as she walks past him.

Selene does too, to her credit.

She puts on the TV for background noise, and brews him a fresh cup of tea in the morning after they sleep through the night in her bed. Some detoxifying thing to help him clear out his body. Des feels fine, though. He tells her that, tells her that 'see? Not a big deal.'

But Selene just hums and makes room for him on the couch.

The sweating comes first. He's leaning into Selene, beneath a blanket they picked up at a swap meet years ago, and kicks it off more violently than he means to. He apologizes, but Selene just tells him its ok, and asks if he wants her to turn up the AC.

She does anyways, and it doesn't help.

It actually makes it worse, when an hour later he starts getting cold flashes. Nothing seems to help, not a coat or a sweater, or bundling back up in the blanket. Not even curling up against Selenes whole, unnaturally warm, body.

Nausea hits him next, with dizziness. Selene asks if he needs help, and he snaps at her. Yells that he's not a child, he doesn't need help, and this is all her fault anyways, why'd she have to go and be successful just to prove that he's not, and a whole slew of verbal abuse that he knows she doesn't deserve, but he just can't seem to stop.

Selene just sits there and takes it, and it only makes him angrier. Stop sitting there, stop saying 'its alright', we ran away so you could get away from shit like this and I'm just as bad as they were apparently, and oh god I am a monster, Selene, I'm a demon after all, what have I done, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, please forgive me, please, please, please don't leave.

And she doesn't.

When he's back in his right mind later, he still won't understand why.

But she stays with him. Holds up a barrier around him when his magic starts to loose, keeps his flames contained in a bubble and brings him bottle after bottle of water each time he settles down. Sings to him, tells him stories he's heard a thousand times, and a few that are new. Reminds him of adventures they had as teens, of how much he means to her, of how proud of him she is that he's doing this.

How strong he is for going through with it.

He certainly doesn't feel strong.

After forty eight hours, Selene lets him go to the bathroom alone. She's already flushed the product he told her about while he was sleeping, and he checked and it's definitely gone. Even the bit under his mattress he hadn't mentioned.

The carta isn't going to be thrilled about that. But now's not the time to worry about that, he thinks.

A week later, and Selene lets Des go back to work, under the condition that Carina's there too.

Carina still doesn't ask questions, but agrees to keep an eye on him during his shift just the same.

When the dwarf enters, Des barely spares him a glance.

“Where's the product?” the dwarf grumbles without pre-amble.

“I'm not permitted to serve you anymore.” Des avoids.

“That was a lot of product to have disappear,” the dwarf warns “I can't just let that slide, kid.”

“I can't get it back, so you'll have to let it.” Des shrugs, still not looking up.

The dwarf shakes his head, and snaps his fingers. Two more dwarves come out of the bathrooms, and make their way over. “I liked you kid, I really hate to do this.”

“Do what, precisely?” Carina asks as she steps out of her office, staring down the trio of dwarves.

The dwarf turns to her, presumably to tell her to turn around, but Carinas already got a gun in hand, finger on the trigger. “I don't want any trouble,” she says “So you and yours, go on and get out of here. Consider yourselves banned from this establishment.”

The man sneers, mustache riding up so high Des is surprised it doesn't disappear entirely up his nose, and mutters out “Ale tasted like piss anyways,” he turns to Des, and points a finger as he makes his way out the door “The Carta gets whats theirs. Always.”

Three beats pass as the door swings shut behind them.

Carina sighs, and re-holsters her gun. “What did you go and get mixed up in?”

“Trouble.” Des admits.

Carina nods in a 'yeah, that happens' sort of way. “Try to keep Selene out of it for me, alright?”

“I'll do my best.”

–

Another week passes, and Des is feeling pretty good. Most of his cravings have died down, his body temperature has stabilized, and he feels like he's gotten over a bad flu, for the most part.

He and Selene are looking through some brochures she's gathered for rehabilitation clinics in the area together. She says its better to have the help and not need it, than for him to relapse because they didn't bother.

He's done arguing with her about things for a while, after some of the things he's said and done, so he agrees straightaway.

Then someone knocks at their door.

They both go on edge; Carina has a key, so she wouldn't knock. And they don't really know anyone else.

Selene's the one who answers it, when they knock again.

A dwarven man with a mustache that blends into his beard and missing teeth greets her.

“Hey. Your roommate home?”

“No.” she responds, and immediately tries to close the door. One of the women behind him sticks her steel-plated-boot in between the door and the frame.

Selene tries to close it anyways.

The trio of dwarves push their way into the house, and the man waves to Des as though they were friends.

“Hey kid. Just here to collect.”

“I don't have it,” Des repeats again. “It's gone.”

“Listen kid. I like you, really. I don't want to have to kill you to make an example like the bosses want. Just give me the Lyrium, and we'll be on our way.”

“It's gone,” Selene declares from where she is still holding the door. “I flushed it. You want it back? Go check the sewers and get the hell out of our home.”

The dwarven man seems to consider this a moment. Then he shrugs.

And snaps his fingers.

One of the women swings on Selene, landing a punch directly to the face before she can react. Selene slams into the floor, and Des dashes forward, snagging a knife from the kitchen.

Selene staggers back to her feet, while the dwarven man gives an overly dramatic sigh “I guess two dead bodies'll be better, anyways. Do what you gotta do, right?”

Selene throws a fireball towards the woman who punched her and ducks down low to avoid the next hit. She slams her hand up into the bottom of the dwarfs rib cage, lifting the shorter woman off the ground and uses her magic to force burst her up into the ceiling. She sticks for a moment, before falling into a heap back onto the tile floor.

Des strikes for the dwarven man, but gets blocked by the other woman, nicking her face instead of his throat. She twists his arm, and he lets out a yowl of pain as his knife clatters to the floor. Selene takes advantage of the distraction, and lights a flame sigil beneath the two dwarves. Their rubber soles begin to melt, making it almost impossible for them to move.

Unfortunately, she miscalculated just how many fire codes the owners of this building fudged in the paperwork.

The fire spreads, quickly out of control. Selene and Des exchange a look of silent panic and make a run for it, locking their door on the way out and pulling the fire alarm to warn the other tenants.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Des mutters under his breath as they dart down the stairs, other tenants filing out of their rooms as they go. “I didn't mean to do all this, Selene.”

“I know, Des. Let's just-focus on getting out of here, ok?”

Des nods, and they exit the building, watching as the smoke pours out of their apartments window. Families and neighbors stream out of the building, and Selenes anxiety rises. She snags Des's hand in hers, and pulls him back and out of the crowd.

“We have to leave.”

“Where do you want to go, Carinas?”

“No, I mean we need to leave. Start over again. The carta's not going to leave you alone after all this, we need to find a city that isn't theirs, and fast.”

Des nods, and follows Selene as she makes a casually brisk walk down the street, towards the direction of the docks.

Then something strikes him.

“What about Carina?”

“She's handled The Carta before, they can't hurt her.” She assures him.

“What about you and Carina?”

Selene bites down on her bottom lip, and he sees a flash of regret in her eyes. “It's just...not meant to be. She'll find someone else.”

“She was going to ask you to marry her.” Des says. He's seen the ring, heard her mumbling about proposal speeches during his shift.

“...I know.”

And that's the last time Selene talks to him about it.

She buys them tickets for the ship. Finds out after that it's headed someplace in Fereldan. That's fine though, she assures Des. The Carta doesn't own all of Fereldan.

The boat leaves the dock, and he watches her stare at her cell phone screen, before sending off one final text before chucking it overboard.

He doesn't bother asking who it's for.

Instead he laces his fingers through hers, and places a kiss to the side of her neck.

“I'm sorry.” he whispers.

“I forgive you,” She smiles.

“You and me against the world?” he grins.

She laughs, and neither one of them mention the tears falling down her face. “Yeah. You and me, Des. Always.”

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Colleen Evanson

Directed by: John Aoshima

Storyboard by: Jean-Sebastien Duclos, Kathryn Marusik, Jason Reicher, Fill Marc Sagadraca

Strange.

We start off with the evil laughter of Magica De Spell, and is forcing Lena to use a diamond dagger to cut off Scrooge's Number One Dime off of his necklace while he's sleeping. There's a lot of exposition here; it does explain why Lena is still here, and even mentions a Lunar Eclipse will happen that, according to Magica, will enhance Magica's powers along with the dime. There's going to be a lot of teasing for the finale. She also explains that Lena has to do what she says for her freedom. No mention of the "anything her dark heart desires" this time.

I will say, and this is a constant throughout this episode, that the way she is animated is really cool. She constantly transforms to give us visuals, such as right at the very beginning. and sometimes she even takes up the whole screen, only showing her red, angry eyes staring at Lena. It really shows off the fear that Magica's new character exudes with her presence. She eventually gets caught by Webby, and gets whisked off to the hideout.

Lena rightfully calls out Webby and asks why she was snooping around at night going into Scrooge's room. It turns out that Webby is still creepy when it comes to her obsession with Scrooge, wanting to collect his drool. Lena uses his to her advantage: she says that she has caught her "bug", and Webby is completely delighted.

Webby: (looking like an absolute maniac) I know, we should start with a blood oath! Yeah, BLOOD OATH!

Probably a blessing that Lena gives her a different idea that will help her to her freedom: try to get that Number One Dime! Webby laments that he always keeps it on him, so she can never take a good look at it. However, she decides to a long lecture about every single adventure that Scrooge has ever taken from her self-written book on the life and times of Scrooge McDuck. In that wording, too, in a nice nod to the comics.

Meanwhile, we see the boys doing the “trying to break a world record” cartoon cliche, or at least that what it felt like at first. The twist is that the almanac Louie is using is not actually real, and is pretty much just a way to get Dewey to do Louie's chores. This scene shows anyone who’s watching the reboot for the first time that Louie is the scammer of the three, which will be a little important later.

Louie isn't the only one hiding secrets, as Huey starts acting very suspicious, as if he's hiding something. Something strange is going on.

Scrooge agrees, as he woke up to find nick in his unbreakable Number One Dime necklace, and confronts Mrs. Beakley about it in her only appearance in the whole episode. He has to put the dime in the titular “other bin” while he apparently gets his necklace repaired, and he's also going to try to hunt whatever supernatural creature caused this nick with a crossbow.

Magica overhears this, and goes back to Lena to tell her to ask about the Other Bin. Webby gasps and stands still, Lena elated that she knows about it.

However, it's that she knows about it, but she's afraid of it. The Money Bin is for the money, the Other Bin is where all the bad things are. Despite her fear of it, she pulls out this big map with all the locations she knows where it isn't. Lena then tells her that she overheard that this Number One Dime was put in there, and asks if they can try to find this Other Bin thingy.

Webby says she doesn't know about all of this, because she's afraid. Lena essentially does what Webby did to Dewey in The Spear of Selene. As in, she reminds her that this seems way out of character to just give up finding a room with a bunch of unknown artifacts related to that adventurer! She obliges.

Cutting back to the Huey, Dewey, and Louie plot, we find out just what Huey is hiding: a sasquatch! He was just hanging out on the ceiling, and nobody bothered to look up until now. We get his origin story.

While Huey was looking around in the forest, persumably for some sort of badge, though one is never mentioned, he finds a sasquatch with a thorn in his foot. Because the sasquatch seemed to be as tender as his poor little feet, Huey calls him Tenderfeet. This plot doesn’t even focus on Huey. Instead, it focuses on our lovable little green scam artist.

Tenderfeet puts on one of Louie's jackets, and, noticing that the jacket is getting stretched out due to his large size, Louie wrestles it off of him. Tenderfeet then cries, and motions to Huey and Dewey that Louie is being mean to him. On one hand, Louie actually was being mean to him, but on the other hand, I’m having this sinking feeling this is going to be one of those plots. Louie threatens to rat them out on Scrooge for letting a monster in the house, but Dewey and Huey have their own ways to blackmail him.

Dewey: I'm sure Uncle Scrooge would like to know about that charity he's been donating to for the last three years.

Wait, how long have they been staying at Scrooge's? They only heard of legends of this person before they got to go to his manor. Louie's Kids, the "charity" Dewey's talking about, will get a mention at the very end of the episode, something a lot of the jokes don't get.

We go back to Lena and Webby, who is looking in the Wing of Secrets from Woo-oo. They know this because Webby's book is essentially the strategy guide. Why didn't she use this before, as the map from earlier seemed to imply that she was looking for it? Maybe she just need that motivation from Lena, I guess.

After putting a key into a painting of Scrooge standing by the opening of a bin, the painting turns into a door, leading to the Other Bin.

Webby: We should find the dime in no time!

(enters room with tons of doors)

Lena: You were saying?

After the commercial break, Webby and Lena decide to open a random door. I guess Scrooge decided nobody would figure out that "put the key into the keyhole in the picture" puzzle, and left all of the doors unlocked on the inside.

Oh no, it’s the portal to Unicornland! Quick, close the door before you-know-who shows up! No, it's just a room that has a majestic "Sword-Horse" in it. Did Scrooge have to make this wacky rainbow land just for this one room, or did the unicorn make it?

Much like in Gravity Falls, these “sword horses” are jerks, though it’s a possibility that being stuck in a room in a bin, he most likely has a seething hatred for anyone remotely related to Scrooge.

Magica: Someone's wearing her crazy pants today!

...she doesn't even wear pants. In fact, the only person wearing pants in this whole plot doesn't even appear for the rest of the episode. Webby is still pretty overpowered, but she needs the help of Lena's diamond dagger to counter the Sword-Horse's sword. She questions why Lena has it, and Lena does her amazing distracting abilities to point towards a number on top of the door: 6456.

Webby, with her encyclopedia knowledge of anything Scrooge, figures out that means 6/4/1956, and this is the date Scrooge found the Sword-Horse. This was his prison for the last 60-ish years; no wonder why he's angry. This means that dime must be in room 1877, because that's the year he got the dime. The inconsistency with the dates will be used in this plot.

Meanwhile, we learn that, yes, the Tenderfeet plot IS one of those “Devil In Plain Sight” plots! It’s not the worst Devil In Plain Sight plot, but it’s so generic. Oh, and unlike the unicorn, he talks, but he sure won’t let Huey and Dewey know that. He calls all of his buddies via video chat to have a huge party at the Manor, and has given a group text with all of the “deets”. That never gets addressed again.

Louie tries to, but. Huey even punches Louie in the arm all because Tenderfeet did a pouty face, and this time Louie didsn't deserve it. Even Scrooge tells him to clean up the mess that Gavin made at one point. By the way, this is apparently happening in the middle of the night, judging by the Lena plot, and that never gets addressed. It seems like more proof that this plot was just shoved in there.

Speaking of which, the most noteworthy part of the episode begins. Webby and Lena find Room 1877, and Lena goes in, closing the door before Webby can get in. It turns out to be The Worry Room from the original comics and cartoon, the circular hole caused by Scrooge walking around in circles surrounding a pillow with the Number One Dime on it, completely unguarded. Nobody is around. Could anyone stop Lena from getting the dime, even herself?

We’re getting into major spoiler territory here, and while I usually skip hugely spoilery scenes if I don’t have anything to add, I have a lot to add if I talk about this one. Like before, I’m not try not to give everything away, but I highly recommend watching the episode first.

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Since Webby is nowhere around, Lena just walks up and grabs the dime under constant demands from her shadow Aunt. he shadowy form of Magica envelops Lena’s body for a second, and just by the power of just touching the person holding the dime, she seperates from her.

Magica: With the dime in my hands, nothing will stand in my way!

Except, she doesn’t have the dime, as Lena managed to cup it in her hand. Webby cuts through the door with that diamond dagger, giving more point to the unicorn scene, only to outright find out about Lena's big secret. Before anything can happen, Magica hits her with a spell.

This spell turns her into that doll from the first episode that looks like her previous incarnation. She even uses it as a puppet as a bit of irony, which she outright tells Lena and the audience.

They go so over the edge with this scene, after a certain point, I really wanted to know how Lena will get out of this situation and how Webby can somehow get out of this situation. I’m not kidding, they really go for as much shock value as you can get for a children’s cartoon and then some. Once a point of no return happens, a point of no return so shocking that even I gasped, something unexpected happens that "solves" this plot.

And I mean, unexpected in a "ha ha, you got me, DuckTales 2017, prepare for that Disgusted Dewey" kind of way. I had no reason to believe this episode would pull that card, because I thought DuckTales 2017 was above that. However, the more I thought about it, the more it feels like a great way to lead to a turning point in Lena’s character.

It does give Lena a lot more motivation to actually see her worst fears in action, and they did it in a way that doesn't change anything in the major plot before the finale. I would imagine the twist was used so they could get away with a lot more, too. Again, watch the episode if you see what I mean.

Not speaking of something that adds anything to anything, the Tenderfeet Gavin plot also comes to an end. Louie tells the others that the Tenderfeet is losing his hair, and that without the magic power of the forest, he's done for.

The other two buy it, because let’s face it: we have to end this plot somehow. Scrooge shows up here, crossbow in hand, only for all the nephews to do the "please don't shoot him, he was my friend" cliche. Louie does remind the viewers and Gavin that this was his way of winning in the middle of this. Scrooge never really makes the connection between the dime and this creature, or why the creature would want the dime. More proof that they just shoved a scrapped episode idea in here, along with its nearly complete lack of connection with the A plot.

He then takes his time and decides to go back to the Other Bin to get back his dime. I'm guessing in the middle of looking for that supernatural creature, the necklace either repaired itself, or he sent it to someone. He manages to find Webby and Lena, but he only tells Webby that all she needs to do is ask, not snoop around forbidden bins.

There’s another huge twist at the end, where Lena meets Scrooge and makes an attempt to talk to him. I was thinking the main question of the Lena and Magica arc was “Is Lena going to betray the Ducks as Magica wished, or will she switch sides?”, but the last minute of this episode changes everything about that. You really do wonder how Lena is going to get out of this situation, and this time, there is no cop-out.

How does it stack up?

I’ll be honest: I didn't like this episode at first. It felt like it was just trying to do what JAW$ did, but in an over-the-top way. However, future viewings had me soften up on this. One of my opinions did not change, though: the Gavin plot was something I’d expect out of a generic cartoon from the 80's, and I don't mean DuckTales 87.

I’m going to be the contrarian one and say that I didn't think this episode was as good as JAW$. The great Magica animation, the dime scene, and that last minute saves this episode from being the first Disgusted Dewey. I know a lot of people are going to disagree with this because "ooh, scary scenes!", but this is just my opinion.

Next, the Disney Afternoon fan service continues!

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[feynites]

More Reverse Newly Formed AU!

“Des says he wants a body,” Selene explains to him, two months into the disaster that is her still-as-yet-unclarified presence in his palace. She is sitting in his lap. His Chief Administrator of Minor Settlement Affairs had concluded their meeting early, when Selene arrived, despite her assurances that he could continue. Dirthamen will probably have to reschedule their appointment, but it was a fairly routine update on territory management.

 “I told him he should just figure out how to manifest his own, but he says it is too hard. Which is rich, considering that he has told me that there is no such thing as ‘too hard’, but he is being entirely too whiny about it and says you should make him a body instead. He would not shut up about it until I promised to ask you.”

 Selene wriggles her hands more firmly underneath his robe.

 Dirthamen considers the prospect of a second spirit manifesting a physical form in his territories, and makes his decision.

 “I will have a body created for Des,” he determines. It may be wise to give Selene more physical companions anyway. She seems to enjoy tactile contact a great deal, to the point where he, Fear, and Deceit are not always sufficient to her requirements. Particularly when they are busy with matters of the empire, and the continued dispute between his brother and the other leaders. Mother has been sending increasingly strong-worded messages to him. He suspects she is unhappy that she has not discovered a means past his protections yet, but Dirthamen has been amplifying them quite a bit over the best several years, in preparation for a fiasco of this magnitude.

 Selene sighs, and then shrugs.

 “He has a list of things he would like,” she informs him.

 “He may provide the body crafter with it,” Dirthamen decides, and then considers who he might assign to the task. Fervour will probably be the best choice. They are discreet, easily distracted, and very good at their job. He lifts Selene and deposits her into his chair, excusing himself for a moment to go and send a runner to inform Fervour of their new assignment, and also to find the required Desire Spirit. When he returns to Selene, she pulls him into her own lap instead.

 “I want to go see the city,” she tells him.

 This is not the first time she has made such a request. It has become her most popular one of late, and Dirthamen has found that most of his explanations for why this is a bad idea have fallen flat.

 “It is not secure enough,” he nevertheless reiterates.

 “Well then you should come with me, if you are so worried,” Selene decides.”You and Fear and Deceit. And Des can test out his new body, too. We will all go and look at things and meet people. I want to introduce myself to everyone!”

 This, of course, is the problem. If Selene wished to go to the city simply to see it, and would wear her cloak and not interact with people, then it might be permissible. But instead, she wishes to go and meet people. And Dirthamen cannot help but think that would be disastrous. The palace rumour mill is already talking almost exclusively about her, and the denizens of his population at-large are far less prone to keeping secrets relatively confined.

 “The more people who know about you, the more likely it is that my family will discover the truth about you,” Dirthamen tries to explain, again.

 Selene waves a hand.

 “I am not worried about your family. They are not good people,” she insists.

 “They are dangerous people, and they are powerful people,” Dirthamen replies, not bothering to refute her assessment. It is not incorrect.

 “Like me,” Selene determines.

 This, too, is not wholly incorrect. And yet, it also is.

 “Selene,” Dirthamen says, with enough severity that she meets his gaze, and does not fiddle with the edge of his mask. He considers his options. Options which he has been considering, at length, for some time now. She needs to understand. She needs to be aware of the truth of these circumstances, no matter what detriment it does to her opinion of him.

 “You are powerful. But I have killed many powerful beings, in my life, and of my family I have killed the least,” he explains. “You are powerful enough to cause them fear. But you would never be able to defeat any of us, not as you are now.”

 Selene frowns at him.

 “You do not know how powerful I am,” she says, her tone as serious as his own. “I have never shown any of you the real extent of it. How could you know what I am capable of?”

 Dirthamen inclines his head.

 “The reverse is true as well,” he points out. “You have not seen my strength, nor that of my kin.”

 For a long moment, Selene regards him. The emotions in the air are difficult to parse. Her expression is even more inscrutable. But at length, she lets out a breath, and then settles him back onto his feet. Dirthamen stands, and straightens his robe some. She follows him up.

 “Alright. Show me, then,” she decides.

 It takes Dirthamen a moment to follow her meaning.

 “Show you… my strength?” he surmises.

 Selene nods.

 “Yes. And I will show you mine,” she decides.

 After a moment, Dirthamen glances around the office they are in. It would not be a suitable space for any kind of demonstration. And as he considers it, there would really only be a limited number of places in his territories that would be. Far fewer still that would provide the necessary privacy.

 “I will have to think,” he determines.

 “What about?” Selene asks.

 “Where to do such a thing.”

 “Oh! Well… we could go to my tower,” she suggests, but Dirthamen must shake his head.

 “That is too far,” he admits. “I cannot be away from here for very long. There are too many matters requiring my presence. But, there is a solution. I only must consider it.”

 Selene shrugs, accepting this, and after a few moments acquiesces to leaving him to his contemplation as well. She goes to find Des, to make certain that he is adequately informed of his impending embodiment, and to help him prepare for it as well. This gives Dirthamen time to consider the best options, and the availability of them, and then begin to make the necessary preparations to access one of his old labyrinths. There is a suitable one located outside of the city, which has not yet been dismantled. It should be suitable for the task, given certain aspects of the design, but he cannot commit it to a task like without making some personal modifications to it either. There are some others which might prove more sufficient, but none close enough at hand.

 He sets to work.

 It takes several weeks to modify the labyrinth. Selene protests - but she also listens. She is bored, but the embodiment of her companion distracts her enough that she is willing to be patient. Dirthamen tasks Des with maintaining that level of distraction, which is something that the newly-embodied elf seems adept at. He assigns one of his personal guard as Des’ official mentor, but Des insists that she is ‘boring’ and otherwise inadequate, and at length Dirthamen finds Fear is needed to help keep everything in line so often, that doing so simply becomes the aspect’s primary occupation. It means he has fewer eyes to spare for his brother’s activities, but Falon’Din has chosen to read Dirthamen’s withdrawal as a sign of solidarity, so he is not being as aggressive with him as before.

 Instead, most of his efforts are focused on the rest of the family. Dirthamen would ordinarily feel guilty. But for some reason, he does not. Perhaps he is simply too distracted to dwell upon the matter, in the way that he ordinarily would.

 The modifications to the labyrinth would go much more quickly if he could assign others to the task. But discretion is paramount, and so Dirthamen handles it himself, when his duties allow. He reshapes the wall and takes advantage of several incorporated spatial distortions, and even pursues a few theoretical concepts to promising results, before ultimately putting them aside and focusing on what is needed for this particular venture. A large amount of shielded space, and targets, and sufficient precautions to ensure that their activities are not noteworthy or detrimental to the surrounding environs.

 Dirthamen is not wholly satisfied with his work, but it is suitable by the time he perceives Selene to be reaching some sort of breaking point with the situation.

 “I am going to the city,” she tells him, striding into his office one morning. Des is following behind her, and when Dirthamen looks at him, he simply shrugs.

 Dirthamen looks back at Selene.

 “Not today,” he tells her. “Today, we are going to the arena.”

 Selene opens her mouth, as it to argue, and then pauses. Her brow furrows slightly.

 “What arena?” she asks.

 “The arena I have prepared for our test of strength,” Dirthamen replies.

 This proves to be an acceptable response, because Selene’s expression immediately brightens.

 “It is ready?” she asks him.

 “It is,” he confirms. “I could do more, but it should prove adequate for the time being.”

 “Oooh,” Des says, lighting up as well. “This I have to see! Are you both going to whip out your dragons and measure?”

 Dirthamen blinks.

 “Size is irrelevant,” he explains. “And you cannot come. Only Selene and I will be present, for reasons of safety and security.”

 Des adopts a beseeching - and surprisingly effective - expression, but Dirthamen remains firm on that point. And after a moment, Selene seems to be in agreement with him. Or is perhaps so eager to go somewhere outside of the palace that she does not wish to risk the outing by arguing on behalf of Des. The newly-embodied elf eventually leaves, shutting several doors dramatically behind him and announcing that he is going to the city. Which makes Selene upset, but only for a moment.

 She takes Dirthamen’s arm as he leads her down through the palace corridors, to the eluvian which will bring them to the labyrinth. They earn several polite nods and bows along the way. The palace manager had, initially, appointed Selene the title of ‘honored guest’, but lately that has been amended to ‘consort’. Dirthamen does not suppose it is inaccurate, and any further clarifications on his part would only worsen the situation, so it has been permitted to stand. Many of his followers seem curious of it, but also eager to avoid irritating Selene, and so there have been no repeat instances of violence since her initial arrival.

 Des, he knows, has also been tentatively awarded a designation as ‘consort’. More than one of his advisors has inquired after the situation, but none have so far persisted past Dirthamen’s silent stare in response.

 Selene complains of the crossroads itching her scales, but the trip is only a short one, and then they are through to the labyrinth. Massive walls stretch up above them, capped with a shimmering magical dome. The local wildlife has become drawn to the energies of the place, and in the time since its creation, more than a few plants have begun to encroach upon its outer walls. The effect is visually striking, and it seems to resonate with Selene, who goes uncommonly silent and wide-eyed as she stares at it all.

 “This is it?” she asks.

 “Yes,” Dirthamen confirms.

 “You built this…?”

 “Yes,” he confirms again. “Though, the initial structure was assembled by a construction crew, and many of its functions were designed by craftsmen dedicated to such tasks.”

 Selene is quiet for a long moment. Dirthamen permits it. Watching her as she moves towards the walls, and examines the plants, and searches for something. After a few minutes, he guesses what she might be looking for, and with a raised hand, bids the entryway to appear. The door manifests in a rumbling of shifting tiles, and a brief flare of magic.

 After a moment more, Selene turns and looks at him. For the first time, she seems uncertain not only of their surroundings, but also of Dirthamen himself.

 It is reasonable. The labyrinths do not give off a welcoming atmosphere.

 But it still makes him unaccountably sad.

 “Shall we?” he asks. As more than a formality. If Selene would be willing to set aside the matter, and concede that she does not truly understand her situation, then this would not be necessary.

 She meets his gaze, however, and then nods resolutely.

 “I will show you,” she declares.

 One way or another, Dirthamen supposes that she will.

[selenelavellan]

HWRC Redux Part Five

One Two  Three  Four

Dirthamen, Fear, and Deceit are @feynites

Marriage is a complicated concept.

It comes with all sorts of bells and whistles; promises and vows and obligations laced with expectations. Joining your life with another isn't something to be taken lightly, and Selene is no stranger to the inherent risks in such a venture. Had run off largely to avoid them, really.

Unsurprisingly, it is much harder to explain to a God that you did not mean to marry them, after the fact.

If she were more talented with her words, she thinks, she could do a better job of this. Could explain that, no, she thought they were really just birds, and that while she felt affection for them had not even considered the possibility that accepting a ring she had thought they'd found on a street somewhere would create a marriage bond strong enough to pull someone out of the fade and into her living room.

Dirthamen tries to explain that that is not precisely what happened, but Selene is more preoccupied with bridging one misunderstanding at a time. Asking about lost secrets of magic and math and science can come later.

(Hopefully.)

Somehow she still ends up traveling through a magic mirror (Des right behind her because he adamantly refused to stay at home) and stepping out into a land that Alaris would give his left arm just to know for sure was real.

Something like guilt pulls at the pit of her stomach (it shouldn't be her; she abandoned her culture, her people. Someone else should be doing this, someone with loyalty, someone who deserves to know it wasn't all lost) while she follows someone she used to whisper prayers to during fights with her father or troubles with her studies through a large garden, hand held by an elf who is sometimes a raven that she once tried to keep away from her mothers grave by way of a cedar branch.

Part of her still thinks this is all some elaborate hallucination, or prank.

A quick glance up to find towers and spiraling staircase floating above them, and it becomes harder and harder to dispute the reality of her situation.

“This will be our home,” Dirthamen states, two large doors made from a stone she doesn't recognize opening before him.

It is a castle.

It is....it is an actual, magical, castle. Dark and gleaming, flames of golds and greens burning in torches and chandeliers. Walls covered in murals and mosaics and tall, thin windows to let in precise beams of light over the perfectly polished floors. Fear fluffs their wings slightly from where they are perched on her shoulder, and something in the corner of her eye darts away too quickly for her to catch.

Des looks as though he has just won the lottery on his birthday while being told his favorite holiday is happening twice this year, and that he now has the power to make people orgasm on demand.

Selene feels nauseous.

“Do you like it?” Dirthamen asks, turning to look at her, face hidden beneath a mask.

Selene opens her mouth to answer; 'its very creepy and I'm not sure if you know what haunted means but also almost certainly that' would probably be rude and Gods aren't really known for handling insults well (and she's already got to divorce him, she supposes) so instead she opts for  “It is a very...elegant look.”

He nods, and she supposes that even if it isn't the compliment he wanted, he doesn't seem to have taken offense to it which makes it a win for her.

There is a quick tour then, where Dirthamen points out places and monuments she has never heard of that all sound interesting, but she is still unsure of which questions will and won't offend. She gets strange stares from the people they pass, many dropping to their knees as their group walks past; eyes peeking up from masks and long bangs to stare curiously at her. She's not sure if it's the clothing, the bruise still apparent on her nose, or the hand holding that is doing it, but it only exacerbates the feeling of being misplaced that pervades her, here.

Finally, they pass through a long hall without the presence of others, arriving at another pair of large stone doors that echo the first.

“These will be our chambers,” Dirthamen announces, turning around to face Selene again.

She blinks up at him.

“...Ours?”

He blinks back.

“Typically, those with a marriage bond share a bedroom. Their first night together traditionally involves...some sort of physical reaffirmation to their bond. Often in a way that is sexual in nature.”

Selene nearly chokes on her own spit.

“I-well now, hold on, I never-we're not-I mean I know you say we are but I didn't-That is, I know that you're...” She gestures vaguely to his person with both hands, pulling her grip from Deceits “...you, but that doesn't mean you get to just-just-decide that I'm supposed to-I thought you were birds, I'm not down for bestiality that's a hard no ok, I'm not-no, I mean-no, I mean no!”

“I'll volunteer as tribute,” Des chimes in from behind her, and she has to resist the urge to flick at his ear.

“You are not the one we are bonded to,” Deceit points out in a near sneer before trying to take Selenes hand in back in their own, only for her to pull back from them again. They pout while Fear speaks up. “We would not force you,” They add.

“You..” She laughs incredulously and drags a hand down her face. “You've pulled me away from my home, my work, my life, after lying to me for nearly a month, forced me into a bond I didn't know I was agreeing to and uprooted any sense I had of what I thought was a story versus what was tangible! You followed me to my home and moved in under false pretenses, and while I may not have known what was going on, apparently you all did, and thought that was perfectly fine! You have robbed me of things I thought were truths, were absolutes, were facts of history-not to start in on the fact that apparently our gods have been in hiding and unperturbed by the plight of our people while our lands and lives are taken at the hands of anyone else who sets their sights on them-but thank fuck you're not going to rape me! What a relief! Absolutely, making this one, single concession makes up for the rest of it! What heroes, what princes, what-what-what...UGH!” She throws her arms up in the air, storming off and back down the hall alone, needing space, needing air, needing something, anything familiar and reassuring.

Des hums, hands on his hips as he watches Selene vanish into the shadows.

“She might need more time to adjust there, babe.”

“I can't imagine you are any help in that regard,” Deceit gripes. “Injuring her and trailing where you are unwanted and uninvited.”

“You're going to need my help if you want to keep her around,” Des shrugs. “Clearly, you're no good at this.”

“We were doing just fine before you barged in-”

“From what Selene has told me, you went from choking on a crunch-berry and shedding feathers all over the apartment to announcing you were part of a god and showing up naked in her bed, so, no. I don't think you did as great as you think.”

Deceits shoulders raise in frustration before they storm off, following Selenes path down and out the hall.

Des sighs and pats Dirthamens shoulder consolingly. “Don't worry; Selene'll come around. You're actually her type, if she could calm down long enough to notice.”

Dirthamen nods, slowly. “How could I go about showing her?”

Des looks up, tapping thrice on his bottom lip before they spread into a large, devious grin.

“What do you have to work with?”

–

“Selene,” Deceit calls for the umpteenth time, as she only increases her pace further, taking twists and turns down hallways she didn't see during the tour. They finally snag her wrist when she swings open a door and nearly steps into what appears to be an entirely empty room. Empty of everything; ceiling, floors, walls. Just an empty abyss that stretches out into infinity. Deceit pulls her back before she can fall (or float?) into the room, quickly closing the door behind her. “You should not run off like that,” they warn.

“Why am I here?” She demands.

“Because...” Deceit hesitates. “Because we love you.”

“You don't even know me,” She sighs. “You're...projecting. From isolation, probably.”

“We love you,” Deceit repeats with conviction.

“Dirthamen only met me a few hours ago,” Selene points out. “We've barely had a real conversation. He tells me things and I...”she sighs, hand tearing down her face again. “And I yell at him. That's not love. That's certainly not marriage. Who would want to spend their life doing that?”

“You are upset. We upset you, and I am sorry for that. We did not mean to overwhelm you. We were excited.”

“Yeah, I heard what you were 'excited' for,” She scoffs. “You know, Des really would be a better choice if that's what you're looking for. He'd love to live here, and that sort of thing is right up his alley.”

“I did not mean...we did not bring you here for sexual encounters. You have shared your home with us; we wished to return the favor. That is part of being partners, yes?”

“Yeah,” Selene admits, suddenly sheepish. “Yeah...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...I just don't understand this. Any of it.”

“Ask.”

Selene raises an eyebrow.

“Knowledge is under our purview. If you do not understand something, ask. So long as the answer would not endanger you, we will gladly give it to you.”

Letting out a long breath, Selene nods. She steps towards the walls, and points at a large, glowing symbol. “What is that?”

“It is a rune. Some are enchanted, but this one is more decorative. It means 'now you must endure'. A reminder, for our people, and ourselves.”

“It's writing...?” Selene murmurs, eyes narrowing as she inspects it more closely. “It doesn't look anything like the trade language...”

“It is elvhen. Do you not recognize it?”

“Written elvhen isn't...I mean it's not really a thing. The language itself is largely guarded by our keepers; it's not known. Certainly not fluently.”

“Interesting,” Deceit muses.

“Is that what everyone else here is speaking as well? Elvhen? Like, fully fluent elvhen?”

“Yes,” they say “We learned common to communicate with the outside world, when necessary. To read maps and street signs and translate ideas where magic is less superfluous. Ideas in your world are shared with words and symbols, but here we could share them in concepts; feelings, magical energies, auras. It was an adjustment.”

“Will you teach me?” Selene asks.

Deceit tilts their head. “I could. But there is a quicker way, with our marriage bond. If you are open to it, I could share the knowledge with a simple spell.”

“What sort of spell?”

“It would require a physical link,” They admit, quickly adding “Not a long one. But for language, mouths are often the easiest catalyst for the transfer.”

“Is this some sort of trick to kiss me?” Selene asks, mouth quirking slightly.

“I assure you, my tricks are much more clever than that.”

She snorts.

Turns, and looks back at the rune, finger tracing lightly over the bottom rung of it.

“...alright then.”

She turns around to face them, only to find Deceit already leaning towards her. Their thumb lands gently on her chin, tilting her head down just enough to line up with their own. She swallows, as they begin to close the gap-

and suddenly pull away.

Selene stares in a sort of numb shock while they hold an internal argument of some kind. Finally, Deceits shoulders slump, their fingers lacing through hers as they lead her back out the hall.

“You should come with me,” They sigh, reluctantly walking her down a large staircase and into another hallway, where Des and Fear and Dirthamen are all standing.

Dirthamen shifts awkwardly in his robes as they approach, and Selene looks up at him in curiosity.

“Did something happen?” She asks.

“I wanted to apologize,” He admits. “I did not mean to upset you by bringing you here. I was only...overcome. My judgment is not always the best, when that happens. If we have caused you any discomfort, I apologize for that as well. I do care for you, and even if you do not return my feelings I would very much like for you to stay here with us. I have...” He hesitates, and Des nudges him slightly, gesturing for him to continue. “I have arranged for you to have access to my libraries. All of them, any that you would like. This is the largest of them, and so it was recommended that I start you here. If you desire more specialized subjects, please do not hesitate to ask me. I would very much like for you to be happy, here.”

Two sturdy oak doors open inwards behind him, revealing a space larger than her entire apartment building that is packed full of books. Shelves line each wall, stretching up to the raised ceilings. There are tables and chairs full of elves with scrolls and parchment papers, and only the soft hum of pages flipping pervades the silence of the room.

Her gaze flits from sign to sign, each covered in writing that she can not decipher.

A library larger than she ever dreamed.

And not a single thing in it that she can read.

Dirthamen seems to pick up on her disappointment, at least.

“Do you not like it?”

“It's a great apology,” She assures him “But I uh...I don't read, or speak, elvhen.”

“Oh.”

...

“Kiss me?”

Dirthamens head tilts as she spins around to look at him.

“To do the spell thing,” She explains quickly. “Deceit mentioned it, and I thought-I mean, you don't have to, obviously, I just thought-”

“If you want me to, I have no objections to the matter,” Dirthamen assures her, stepping closer.

“What about...” She taps on the side of her face, indicating towards his mask.

Dirthamen makes a soft 'ah' sound, before removing it.

Selene swallows, her mouth suddenly dry.

His skin is a deep ocean blue, eyes bright in contrast as long dark strands of hair fall across his cheeks without the mask to hold them back. His lips form from nothing, suddenly pale and pink and warm. Plush and pliable as they press to hers, carefully prying her mouth open as she feels the tingle of magic press against her; like a shared breath, from his body to hers, spreading down every inch of her body until her fingertips feel like they are buzzing from the thrill of it. Her eyes drift closed, body relaxed and responsive as she answers him eagerly. Small questions filling her mind along with his knowledge, that she responds to in kind without even meaning to. Four arms wrap around her waist and hips, pulling her close to a still robed body, her own arms wrapping around a long, slender neck without even thinking about it while his magic courses through her, filling her mind, pressing against magical reserves she hadn't even realized existed. Soothing flames from raging infernos to something more akin to bonfires as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

She doesn't even realize how long it has been until she has to pull back to breathe.

Her forehead is pressed to his, eyes half-lidded while she hears an echo of a single thought from him, a word with new meaning and old memories wrapped up between them.

Vhenan.

She clears her throat, less overcome now by her hormones and her body's desires, and takes a small step back. For space to breathe, ostensibly.

“I um...” She swallows, and licks her lips, still tingling with energy. “I'm going to go explore the library now. I...will see you in our room later?”

Dirthamen stares back at her, skin buzzing with motes of lights before nodding.

“I look forward to it.”

[selenelavellan]

Kisses 8 & 9 for Dirthalene plz :D

8. BreathtakingKiss, 9. DistractingKiss 

Frat AU

Dirthamen and Vena belong to @feynites

Aelynthi and Victory belong to @justanartsysideblog

Ana belongs to @lycheemilkart

Selene finds herself dealing with anunexpected problem as the semester finally comes to an end.

Unlike the summer break, when there arestill classes technically being taught that you can take, orinternship opportunities to sign up for, the new years break hasabsolutely nothing going on she can attend. Students are expected totravel home to see their families for holidays and it means a twoweek period where she does not have a place to live, as all the dormsare being cleaned out to make room for the next batch of incomingresidents.

Which is how she finds herself standingin the middle of the quad with her backpack and duffle bag, comparingmotel prices on her phone in an attempt to find something to fit herbudget for room and groceries on her savings, since no school meansno work for her, either.

It is a Problem.

“Selene?” comes a soft, familiarvoice from behind her.

She smiles, spinning on her heel togreet her new boyfriend. “Dirthamen!”

He blinks, and looks at her bags beforea worried expression overtakes his face “Are you leaving?”

“Uhhh....” She hesitates “Sortof?”

“Did something happen? I thought yourgrades were all exemplary this semester.”

“They were! I didn't-I mean, I stillhave my scholarship, I still go to school here and stuff and I'm allsigned up for next semester. I'm not like, permanently leaving. Butuh...they're cleaning out the dorms and things, so I have to be...”she makes a vague gesture “Somewhere else.”

“They did not give you somewhere tostay?” he frowns.

“They suggested I stay with family.Which is, uh. Not really an option. I mean, I guess it technicallyis,but it would make coming back a lot harder. I mean, you know,you've met my father.”

“Yes,” Dirthamen acknowledges ashis frown deepens. “I have.”

Selene shifts awkwardly on her feet,and returns to the list on her phone screen.

“Why don't you stay at the house?”he offers.

Selene blinks. “I'm not a guy. I knowthe 'gender segregation' thing is outdated, but I'm still notsupposed to-”

“We will keep it off the records.”he says with a decisive nod, taking her hand in his.

She blinks, and follows after himwithout another word. It's not often he makes up his mind aboutthings so definitively, so she's found it's easier to just go alongwith it when he does. When he is confident in a decision, he isnearly impossible to budge. She doubts she could make aconvincing enough powerpoint to sway him on this subject, anyways.

He helps her up the stairs and into thehouse with a quick “Selene will be staying with us for the durationof the break,” to Vena as they pass him in the living room. Hegives a quick thumbs up in response which Selene only just barelymanages to see before Dirthamen opens the door to his room for her.

She blinks, watching in dumbfoundedsilence as he rearranges his drawers to empty one out completely.

“You may keep your clothes here, aswell as anything that you would rather I did not see. If you needsomething more secure, I can invest in a safe for you to keep in thecloset. You may also feel free to hang your things in the closet, ofcourse. If you require more space, please do not hesitate to ask andI will find a way to procure it for you.”

Selene blinks again.

You're supposed to say 'Thank You'.Des informs her.

“I feel a bit like our relationshipjust aged several months in the span of about ten minutes,” shesays, trying to break through her nerves with a joke.

Dirthamen just looks at her curiously.

“Because we-the drawer thing is likea 'step' and we're going to be living together and- You know what? Don't worry about it. It's not important. Thank you, for letting mestay with you for break.” she pauses. “You are staying forbreak, right?”

“Yes,” he assures her “My parentshave several business trips planned in the next few weeks, so I haveno plans to return home.”

Selene nods, finally shrugging theduffle bag off of her shoulder. “Cool.”

–

By the end of the first week, they'vefallen into an easy rhythm. Studying in the mornings with breakfastand coffee, walks in the afternoon, hobbies in the evening afterdinner.

Tonights hobby mostly includes videogames with the other members of the house who have chosen to stickaround.

They're playing rounds in a fightinggame on the big screen. Selene defeats Victory, Aelynthi is soundlybeaten by a visiting Ana, Vena just narrowly beaten out by Dirthamen.Aelynthi and Victory disappear soon after they're both out, andSelene gets beaten by Ana after a quick round of rock paper scissors.

Ana and Dirthamen each take their controller in hand for the finalbattle, and Selene gives Vena a playful wink as the match starts. She slides up behind Dirthamen on the floor. Her arms wrap around his waist, andhe jumps, both in and out of game when she places a soft kiss to theback of his ear.

Anas character defeats his for thefirst round.

“That is cheating.” he saysdisapprovingly, but not without a quirk to the side of his mouth.

“All's fair in love and war.”Selene shoots back.

Dirthamen looks over to Venapleadingly, but he just puts his hands up in mock surrender. “Don'tlook at me. I know better than to try to distract Ana when sheactually wants to win. You're on your own, D.”

He just shakes his head, and returnshis attention to the screen while Selene continues her attempts todistract him. Her lips trail up the side of his neck, along his jaw,placing a soft nip to the lobe of his ear just as he lands a killingblow to Ana.

He takes a deep breath as the finalbattle comes up, and Selene switches sides, one hand slidingunderneath the bottom of his sleep shirt. She kisses the length ofhis ear, down his neck, all the way to his collarbone, before Analets out a loud “YES!” and leaps to her feet.

Dirthamen drops his controller, andoffers Ana a sincere congratulations before turning to face Selene.

She gives him a grin and a shrug.

“I care for you very deeply,” sheexplains “But Ana's like my best friend. She wins.”

Dirthamen quirks an eyebrow beforenodding in acceptance. “That is a fair assessment. But it does notabsolve you of your crimes.”

Selene blinks, and Dirthamen stands andmakes his way up the stairs and into his (currently their) room.

“Should I...go after him?” Seleneasks, turning to Vena and Ana, worried that perhaps she went too farand genuinely upset him.

“You should,” Vena nods. “Buthe's not mad.”

She looks at him curiously, but Anajust gestures towards the staircase, and nods for her to go, so shedoes.

She knocks three times on the door,before stepping inside.

“Dirthamen? I'm sorry, I didn't meanto-”

She's cut off as he steps into herfield of vision, lips pressing fiercely to her own. She almost losesher balance with the shock of it, stumbling backwards into the door,slamming it closed with the force of her body.

He pulls back for a moment, asks her ifshe is alright and if this is ok, and she nods, still more than alittle stunned by everything.

He kisses her again, tongue delvinginto her mouth as his hands slide beneath the hem of her own shirt.She shivers at the contact, letting out a low moan at the skin onskin, her own arms wrapping loosely around his neck. Her fingers curlthrough his hair, and he groans, head pressing further against her,kissing her until her head is swimming.

He finally pulls back for air as thesmell of smoke starts to spread from her, placing one last kiss toher cheek before stepping away.

She moves to follow him, but he holds ahand out and informs her he is going to be taking a shower. She'sabout to ask to join him, still stunned and entirely too turned onfrom the kiss, but he closes the bathroom door soundly behind him.

She can hear the water running as sheplops down on the edge of the bed, trying to fully process everythingthat just happened. Her fingers gingerly brush against her bottomlip; still tingly.

Oh, I like him.Des pipes up.

Yeah, Selene thinks. Me too.