#Keefe Sencen fanfic

[stargirl-evie]

version where Keefe agrees to stay in Jolies old room after Edaline offers. His eyes get misty when Sophie and her mom walk him in and help him get settled. He cries a little when they leave to let him change and get comfortable. He comes out in these human pajama pants and a black t-shirt and Sophie decides to focus on that and not his slightly red and puffy eyes.

They sit in the couch and Edaline brings them something sweet and a few more bottles of youth. Grady watches from the kitchen with soft, sad eyes.

He thanks her parents and apologizes for all the trouble he’s causing and they wave it away. They say things about how it’s not a problem and that they’re just happy he’s safe and back. He gets a little misty eyed again. After food and only slightly awkward silence, Grady mentions that they should definitely try to sleep. It’s late, and it’ll be easier to talk after some rest.

They go upstairs together and Sophie pushes past her anxiety and grabs his hand as they walk. Neither of them say anything, but he hugs her at the top of the stairs.

She wonders if it’s her awareness of his feelings for her, or if it’s her mutual ones, but she can’t find it in herself to be mad at him. Not when his face is buried in between her neck and shoulder, not when he holds her like he’s trying to make up for everything that happened, not when he stands in front of her looking like a boy. It hits her again that he’s not much older than her, and he’s still incredibly young be elven standards.

She’s sure she’ll be mad again in the morning, or even later tonight, but for now this quite comfort works. She is beyond relieved he’s home with her.

She walks with him to his room. She stands beside him as he gets in the bed and she flicks of the lights for him when she goes to leave.

He calls her. Asks her to stay. She immediately agrees.

She runs downstairs to tell her parents, her dad looks like he’s about to start a very uncomfortable lecture, but her mom cuts in after meeting her eyes and tells her she thinks it’s a great idea.

She runs back to her room to grab some pillows, Ella, and another blanket.

Keefe watches her walk into the room. He’s still laying where she left him, it makes her slightly less worried. His eyes are big, almost childish, and again she can’t help but think he’s just a boy. And he doesn’t deserve to feel like this. She’s mad, but not at him.

He stops her from setting up a spot on the floor near the bed. She’s confused. They fuss about it for a minute before he pulls back the blanket and just says, “please”.

She caves and brings herself to lie down next to him. He’s close, they can feel the heat off each other, and for the first time she’s glad he can’t sense her emotions as much.

They stay like that for a while, on their backs with their respected stuffed animals in their arms. It’s dark, her parents have gone to bed, and they’re both ignoring the quite sniffles coming from both sides of the bed.

After what seems like forever he rolls over to look at her. She turns her head to meet his eyes. “Turn that way” she says, and he does what she asks without question.

Carefully she turns toward his back. She’s anxious again, but confident that this is something they need. She places Ella behind her back and tentatively wraps her arms around Keefes waist.

He tenses for a bit, then let’s out a quite sob. He shakes in her hold for a while, but he never lets go of the grip on her hands.

When he does calm down, he brings their intertwined fingers up, and he presses the back of her hand to his face.

She can’t really call it a kiss, per say, but his skin is warm and his lips are definitely against her skin. She buries her face in his back, and their legs tangle below the fluffy comforter.

They sleep, after days of nightmares and restlessness, they sleep. It’s long, it’s not enough, but it’s peaceful because neither one of them dreams.

The next day will be hard, it’ll be full of hurt and tears and words that are going to sting, but right now, right now and everything that will happen after, it makes it all worth it.

[fitz-avery-vacker]

Waiting Fountain

heyyyy keepblr, i've given into impulsive thoughts and am posting a fic on here! read it if you want to i guess. If you'd rather read it on AO3, here's the link

Waiting Fountain That one day Keefe was left in Atlantis.

Mom looked down at me, gesturing to the fountain while giving me a gentle nudge in the back as she corralled me towards it. “Come on sweetie,” she said. “We’ll only be gone for a little bit.” I nodded, knowing better than to argue as I walked towards the fountain of my own accord. “Okay.” I mumbled, feeling unsure about being left alone by the fountain in a busy city like Atlantis.

But I wouldn’t argue. I would listen, because Mom was being nice about it. She didn’t scream or yell like Dad did. Most of the time. I liked that the most about her. She gave me a small, reassuring smile, as though she was an Empath like Dad was and could tell I was nervous. But she wasn’t, I knew that. But she could still tell I was nervous. I returned the smile, wanting to believe I was brave as she turned her back and walked away, her tall heels clicking against the ground as she rushed to catch up with Dad. Rush isn’t the best term. She looked too elegant to be rushing. But Dad definitely wasn’t waiting for her.

I sat down on the edge of the fountain, watching as they both walked away and faded into the blended crowd. I couldn’t help the frown that formed on my face, though I quickly thought of a joke to cheer myself up and snickered slightly. I felt better as the lump in my chest left me alone.

I was an energetic child, but I wasn’t without my self restraint. Mom and Dad hated it when I tapped my feet against the ground when I was bored, wondering why I wasn’t better controlled. So I’d learned to fidget in other ways. But I liked tapping the most. Mom and Dad weren’t here right now…. So I decided to start tapping my feet. The bundles of crowds didn’t seem to notice the small noise of my feet against the pavement among their own problems.

I waited like I was told, sitting on the edge of the fountain while I waited… and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

The crowds started dwindling little by little, hour by hour.

I started getting worried. Just a little. I wasn’t scared of much. But I can assure you I didn’t necessarily enjoy being left by myself in Atlantis without my home crystal. I thought silently to myself. ‘Mom had only said it was going to be a little while.’ ‘They wouldn’t leave me, right?’

‘They would.’ whispered a tiny voice in the back of my mind. I chose to ignore it, shutting my eyes and forcing the treasonous thoughts of my parents out of my mind.

Seconds melted into minutes that slowly rolled into hours. Endless hours that made my brain scratchy, searching for things to do that wouldn’t draw any attention to my spot. I chose to scratch at the small pale part of skin on my finger. I don’t remember where I got it, but I think it hurt if it left a mark. I asked Mom a little while ago and she said, ‘Why should I remember? If you were being a fool, then you should remember what happened to your finger. Toughen up, sweetie, it’s not that bad.’ I didn’t ask again. She said, ‘It’ll go away soon, just ignore it.’ So I did. I still waited. I started getting tired, but I couldn’t really tell if it was getting dark since the lights in Atlantis are always on. But I wouldn’t sleep. I wouldn’t be able to anyways, not without being at home.

Finally, after a few more hours of waiting, Mom, Dad, and another guy came back. Dad looked annoyed, as if it were an inconvenience to have to come pick me up. But he kept talking with Mystery Dude, and I ignored it. Mom grabbed my hand and led me over to them, where we began going back to get to the surface.

Mom turned to me, her icy blue eyes shining brightly, but some form of… was that pity? I couldn’t tell, I hadn’t manifested yet. But I swear I could feel her remorse. Or pity. Or whatever that gut aching emotion was that made me believe her as she whispered in my ear. Actually, I couldn’t tell if she was whispering or if she was just mouthing the words. She was quiet.

"I’m sorry for forgetting you, Keefe.” she murmured, the wisps of her hair blowing around her face. She tucked a few strands behind her hair with her free hand, cupping my cheek with her other hand. Her hand was warm. It was nice. I leaned into her hand, but she pulled away her hand and I let her. She began walking away again, though grasped my hand and pulled me along with her.

At least she didn’t forget me this time.

[myfairkatiecat]

Everyone is entitled to love or hate a character, but if you’re loving or hating a character for the wrong reasons I’m gonna side eye you. They are the person they are, love or hate them for it but at least get them right smh

[the-way-astray]

Stria had never felt an emotion like this before. It had been burning inside of her ever since she had seen him in the halls. His laughter carrying through the air, his hand raking through his disheveled blonde hair, the smirk directed at the girl he was talking to... all of these things had caught her eye and forced her mind to fixate on this boy. She couldn't help it. The feelings bubbling up in her made her wonder if she'd be able to control herself if she saw him again - she honestly doubted it.

She did, in fact, end up seeing him again. The very next day, she ran into him - quite literally. She turned around a corner only to bump straight into him, the close contact with him making her flush bright red, blood rushing to her cheeks. She stumbled backwards, dropping book she was carrying.

"Oh, hey, sorry," he smirked at her. It seemed to be his favorite expression. "Didn't see you there."

His casualness only made the feeling that much stronger. She ducked her head, trying to desperately to keep all emotion out of her voice as she said, "Didn't see you there either."

He knelt down to pick her book up. "I'm Keefe, by the way. And your name, beautiful?"

"Stria," she introduced herself, her heart beating faster as she met his ice blue eyes.

"Stria," he repeated, smirking yet again. "A pretty name for a pretty girl."

He reached out to hand her the book. As she took it, their fingers brushed, and that was the last straw for her. She started whacking him with the book and she fucking killed him.

BEAUTIFUL. MY SOUL HAS BEEN HEALED. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME KILL HIM TO DEATH WITH A BOOK. I LOVE BOOKS. THE EMOTION IN THIS IS SO GUT-WRENCHING, SO WELL-WRITTEN, SO RAW. I DO FILL UP WITH AN EMOTION EVERY TIME I SEE HIM: PURE, UNADULTERATED RAGE.

[f1gure-skater]

Wait, is Saturday actually three days from now?

Wow, um, I actually didn't plan to be finished so early so I guess I'll just drop the chapter now....

Surprise I guess?

I have a feeling that @myfairkatiecat and @permanently-stressed might like this one

It's got some Sokeefe makeouts, I counted 2 but I might be wrong, who knows. And there's also a little bit extra that I didn't have to put in but Katie got my when I was sleep deprived and convinced me I should do it

So yeah, enjoy!

[alaydabug2]

Finally got thus stupid thing finished 😭

(Keefe pov)

All day, Keefe had been getting a tickle in his throat. He'd been trying to cough out whatever was causing it, but it never budged.

He plopped down onto his bed with a bottle of youth. If he gargled, it might wash it out. After several swigs, something was floating in his mouth. He rushed to his bathroom to spit it out.

He squinted at the thing. It looked like a flower petal. When did he eat a flower? It wasn't anytime recent he was dared to do that. And it definitely wasn't a rose that he ate before.

He shook his head. It was probably just a weird coincidence. He went to go draw.

A couple of days later, another tickle in his throat. Except this time, it was almost painful. It felt like when food went down the wrong pipe.

He hacked it out this time. A couple of bloodied petals ended up in his hands.

What? How was this happening?

He crushed the petals in his hands to hide them from the other people in the crystal hallway. Ro was currently patrolling with Sandor. If he could get to Elwin's office before she came back, that meant he could avoid questions from her.

Keefe changed his course of direction to go against the flow of the foot tragic. He shoved through the people.

He busted through to the doors of the Healing Center. Elwin turned from what he was doing.

"What did you get into this time?" Elwin asked.

Keefe unfurled his shaky fist to reveal the flower petals. Elwin furrowed his brow as he inspected them further.

"Where did this come from?" Elwin asked.

"I coughed it up. This is the second time this week," Keefe explained

"Coughed it up? What do you mean by that?"

"I had a tickle in my throat, kind of like when food is stuck. So I tried to get it loose, and the petals came up. And, no, I didn't eat any flowers before you ask."

Elwin motioned for Keefe to sit on a cott. He flashed several lights around Keefe's body. He paused when he got to the chest. He squinted.

"That's... not good," Elwin muttered. He flashed a few other colors. "I thought that it only affected gnomes."

"Is it the plague?" Keefe asked worriedly.

Elwin shook his head. "No. It's something called Hanakai Disease. I just assumed it only affected gnomes because of the flowers. Apparently not."

"Ok... so how does it spread? Am I contagious?"

Elwin leaned against the counter, brushing the hair from his eyes. "How do I put this gently. It's not contagious, but the way you get it is from... unrequited love."

Keefe felt his face go red. "Unrequited love?"

Elwin nodded with pursed lips. "It starts off with petals, but they slowly bloom into full flowers. They start to choke you and keep you from breathing correctly."

He crossed his arms. "So what can I do about it?"

He sighed. "Well... not much. They only go away until the love is returned. Or... can be taken out in an operation-"

"Then do that!" Keefe interrupted.

Elwin held a hand up. "Let me finish. That also gets rid of the feelings. Permanently."

"Oh. How long would I have until..."

"Depends on how bad you've got it for Sophie. But knowing you, probably about two months, give or take."

Keefe hated that he'd been so blatantly called out. But... he wasn't necessarily wrong. All of that meant he actually had to talk to Sophie. About feelings. Yeah, no, not thrilled about it.

Could he stall on this? He certainly was going to try. But how badly would that end up for him.

Bad. That's how.

He had managed to hide his little Healing Center trip from Ro. But she was getting suspicious. Especially so whenever he was around Sophie.

Apparently, his symptoms got worse whenever he was around her. Found out the hard way when at Havenfeild he couldn't stop coughing. The petals kept on coming. By the time he left, his pockets were stuffed with enough petals for a bouquet.

He flopped back onto his bed when he got home. It was progressing to be more than just the coughing.

Keefe's eyes watered as it felt like his throat was closing off. Ro was in the other room. He couldn't let her know. Not only would he be teased mercilessly for getting litterly lovesick, but she would totally go straight to Sophie and tell on him. He didn't want his confession to be 'Hey I'm dying unless you love me back'.

But, boy, was he panicking now. He couldn't get the breath in.

His door creaked open. He was met with Ro staring at him.

"Hunkyhair, you good?" He shook his head, pointing to his throat. "Are you choking on something?"

Ro made her way to him and slapped him on the back. Hard.

It did the trick, however. With one last hack, a rose bud landed on his carpet. He gasped in glorious air. It sounded like a fish out of water.

Ro bent down to pick it up. She shook the blood off of it.

"Is this... a flower?" She stared dead into his eyes.

Keefe shrugged. Maybe she wouldn't know what Hanakai Disease was.

But off course she did. It couldn't be that easy.

"Oh my gosh," Ro murmured. "You REALLY have it bad for Blondie, don't you."

"Shut up!" Keefe snapped.

She crossed her arm. "Dude your litterly dying, and you STILL want to stall." He rolled his eyes at her. "Fine, your funeral. But when do you plan to tell her."

"Eventually."

She snorted. "Ok. Sure. How long have you had this for, anyway?"

"Over three weeks," he mumbled.

Ro studied her claws. "Yeah, you're a gonner."

Keefe had been dealing with it for a few more weeks. More of the buds were deciding to make its way from hus lungs, causing him issues.

The moment he'd been dreading finally came.

He was drawing at his desk when something lodged in his throat. It was bigger than the others. Absolutely zero oxygen would get through.

He tried to make a noise for help, but nothing. Ro was across the house. No one was there to help.

Tears pricked his eyes. He tried to claw at his throat with no luck. Just when his vision was spotting, there was a knock on his door.

Keefe didn't care who it was anymore. He needed help.

He rushed to open the door. When he did... Sophie was standing there. The lump choking him got bigger.

He tried to gesture what was going on. She didn't seem to be getting the hint.

She placed a hand on his shoulders to steady him. "Hey, you alright?"

Keefe shook his head so hard it hurt. He managed to cough. Blood dripped down his lips. What felt like an entire flower came up into his mouth. He spit some of the petals out onto the ground.

Sophie stepped back in horror.

"Keefe!" She shouted.

She tried to pat on his back to knock it loose, only succeeding it more blood filling his mouth.

His head was clouded with oxygen deprivation. His limbs were growing weak. His legs gave out, and he fell to the ground. Sophie knelt beside him, rolling him onto his side.

Keefe continued to hack up more blood and full roses. She gently rocked him back and forth to ease all the stuff out.

He started to hear sniffles. From what was left of his vision, Sophie was crying above him.

He finally gave into the darkness after one last heave of petals. He was going to die.

At some point, he started to stir awake. How was he alive.

Keefe rolled onto his back, sputtering. He found that his head was resting in Sophie's lap, who was in tears.

"Keefe?" She whispered.

"Foster."

"Are you better now?" She brushed some of the petals off of his shirt.

Hesitantly, he nodded. It didn't feel like anything was left in his lungs. How...?

Sophie leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Keefe's forehead and brushed his sweaty hair back, awnsering hus question. "Good."

[lotusishere]

I want a plot twist that one of Alvars 100 gf he had before to randomly appear and say they’re pregnant.

[kale-of-the-forbidden-cities]

out of context bits from a fanfic I wrote over a year ago

~

"Guys, we found air!" Biana shouted from the other room.

~

"Okay, let me get this straight," Dex clarified. "A coffin is what humans put dead people in, right?"

~

And they had to use these tiny human flashlights to light their way, and they were pretty dim. Too bad somebody killed the only Flasher here, Biana thought grimly.

~

A moment later, Keefe made a noise and stood up triumphantly. "I gave the dude his toe back, and there was a note in his shoe!"

~

Soon Fitz was right next to it, and it hadn't blown up, which was always a good sign.

~

“There’s no way everyone’s fitting in here,” he mumbled.

"Well, we’ve already killed three people…."

"Yeah, but it’d be better if we got the rest of us out of here alive.”

~

“Right, um.” Fitz looked at the car around him. “Any idea how to slow one of these down?”

“We’re already stopped, Fitz, you don’t get any slower.”

~

“How am I supposed to get these things to sit up straight?” Fitz said defensively.

“Maybe they’re all gay,” Marella mused.

~

[permanently-stressed]

me when I woke up today:

(a one shot, to be specific)

[ilikebookssomuch]

So I had this AU idea a while ago and today I finally got around to writing it in class :D

So um. Read. Cry. Enjoy.

*TW implied suicide* read with caution

Gone

By Cricket

Keefe wished Havenfield had normal windows. He figured having floor-to-ceiling windows was nice, but it was making it really hard to break in, especially while levitating. Keefe cursed under his breath, painstakingly removing the panes of glass. When they finally gave way, he rolled inside, the flower petals in Sophie’s rug crushed beneath him. Iggy rattled his cage, reaching tiny hands through the bars. 

“Hey, little guy,” he whispered, tickling Iggy’s chin. “I’ve got something for you.” Keefe pulled a vial of dye out of his pocket. After popping the quark, he opened the cage and poured the elixir into Iggy’s water bowl. The imp gulped down the elixir and released a loud burp. A moment later, his fur turned shades of green-pink-blue-purple with stripes. He looked like a mermaid with wings, and Keefe released a chuckle.

Iggy seemed very pleased and started licking his new fur. Keefe walked over to Sophie’s desk, digging through the drawers until he found a scrap of paper and a pen. He wrote his note quickly, not wanting to leave time to reconsider what he was about to do. When he was finished, he scanned over his work.

To the Mysterious Miss F,

Ugh, I’m already regretting saying this. But this is serious.

 I know that a lot has been happening lately, with your abilities, and my crazy mother. And I’m sorry. But I figured out a way to control myself. I hope you won’t hate me for it. 

This is for the best. 

Love, Keefe.

P.S. I love you, Sophie. Always have. Always will.

Goodbye.

Keefe tucked the note next to Iggy’s cage and then headed to her bathroom. He knew that the Ruewens had a large supply of medicine, and knowing Foster, he could find what he was looking for in her cabinets. 

Bingo. He tucked the vial into his cape pocket and pulled out his Pathfinder, spinning it to a random facet and raising it to the light streaming through the windows. Before he stepped into the shimmering beam, Iggy fluttered to the top of his cage and grabbed his hand, gazing up at Keefe. Iggy’s small hands wrapped around his finger. 

Tears filled Keefe’s eyes, but he blinked them back and said, “Take care of Foster for me, okay?”

Iggy seemed to nod and reluctantly let go of his finger. The last thing Keefe saw as he stepped into the light was Grady opening the door to Sophie's bedroom, eyes widening in surprise. “Keefe? What are you doing here?”

But Keefe was gone. 

He glittered back into existence in a small wheat field in the Forbidden Cities. Keefe glanced around, but he saw no other humans. Good. This would work. 

He pulled out the medicine, reading the small label that said to take a sip every three hours. Ha. Keefe ripped off the label, shoving it in his pocket before opening the bottle. 

He downed the whole vial, collapsing onto the tall yellow grass. 

“Sleep,” was all he was able to croak out as his vision rapidly darkened.

Then everything faded to black.

And he was silent.

Forever.

Ok I know I know I know please don't yell at me. There might be an alternate ending to this, so don't hate me yet :/ (It hurt me to kill off my boy too, jsyk)

Tag list because...why not. @myfairkatiecat because we were going to write this together and I think you'll want to read it. @ham-cheese-toastie because COGNATEEE <33333 @alaydabug2 @permanently-stressed because other fic writers. And my brain is blanking on me, so that's all.

[multi-fandom-lunatic]

All's Fair in Love and War - Keefitz (Angst)

It was dark but it wasn't yet night. Smoke clogged the air and my throat, and fires erupted a few miles away. The once-green grass was a dead brown, sucked from its home in the soil.

Burly creatures with muscles and vengeance in their veins charged with spears and swords. They were monstrous, a sight that would find itself in a nightmare, but now they were here. They were here for me.

It was an accident, how the world went from colossal castles to the crumbling debris before me. The remnants of the buildings mocked me, glinting in the fire, sparkling like they were the same tall, beautiful structures they were before. But they weren't.

I stood up, my limbs aching and my head pounding. It was hard to breathe, hard to see in all the smoke. It enveloped me like an insult and hung over me. I stared down into the expanse, searching for a pair of ice-blue eyes, bright like the eye of a storm. All I could see was fighting, and bones in a heap on the ground.

I don't know how they hadn't caught me yet. I was in a suit, well ironed with a red tie, with blood now spilt over me. My sunglasses had fallen to the ground somewhere. It was too dark, too smoky so that I couldn't see.

Blue eyes caught with my teal ones. But it wasn't the regular Keefe blue that I loved so much. No, this was the ugliest blue ever, the most piercing kind that I felt a million knives stabbing me as I looked into them. It belonged to an ogre.

The crazed creature charged at me, spear in hand and murder in their eyes. I yelled, ducking out of the way, the spear missing me by mere inches. I shivered. I picked up a broken stick from the ground, holding it high as a weapon. That sounds pretty lame, but it was a cool stick, and I was out of options.

The ogre howled, angry that I was still alive, and threw their spear at me. I didn't dodge it this time. No, instead I hit it back with my stick. The ogre looked like they were ready to pounce. But instead, they turned away and ran at something else. I was relieved, my blood finally returning to my cheeks, but then all signs of hope disappeared.

Keefe Sencen, writhing on the ground, surrounded by fire, and a bloodthirsty ogre after his guts. I screamed so loudly my vocal cords could've passed away. I ran to him, summoning my love for him to carry me forward. I landed right in front of him, but it was a moment too late. The spear had pierced his skin.

Blood drenched the dead grass, sinking into the soil. Keefe screeched, breathing hard now that his guts were spilling out. The colour was fading from his cheeks, and his ice-blue eyes were losing their life. I ripped the suit coat off my back and tried to dab away the blood, but more just kept coming. I wanted to take out the spear, in case he got infected, but I did, he'd bleed to death, and there is nothing more terrifying to me than losing Keefe Sencen.

"Just hold on, okay?" I whispered, tears blurring my vision. "Things will work out. Somehow, they always work out."

"Fitz," Keefe croaked out, and it was terrifying, hearing his voice leave him, "I think this time, we're out of luck."

"No!" I yelled. "How can you say that? What about everything we've been through? What about us?" I choked out the last words because the thought of Keefe leaving me alone here was enough for me to throw myself into the fires. The best moments of my life flashed in my head. Keefe and I trying ice cream. Keefe and I cuddling. Keefe and I crying. Keefe and I. That's what it has always been.

And now Keefe's bloody form threatened to strip away the last sliver of sanity I had. I thought I had it so nice because when everything fell apart, they fell back together. That's what Keefe and I were. Falling apart, and falling back together.

But that magnetic reassurance was gone now. All that was there was the cold, harsh reality and warm blood spilling onto me.

"Fitz," Keefe said, tearing up. He reached and grabbed my hand, a gesture too much for him in his state. "I know things don't look too good right now, but please, Fitz, I'm not going to be alive tomorrow, let alone for the next fifteen minutes." I choked at that. He continued. "You have a life, Fitz. You had one before me and you'll have one after. It won't be the same, but please, please, please don't throw it away."

"What don't you understand, Keefe? You are my life!" I screamed. Keefe's eyes widened at that, and a soft smile settled on his face.

"Thank you," Keefe whispered. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm going to miss you so much."

Keefe's breaths were no longer shallow. They were no longer there. The pain left his body, carrying his life force with him. Keefe Sencen was dead.

I screamed so loudly all of the Forbidden Cities must have heard me. Not that there was any of it left. Keefe's blood was on my shirt, his corpse in my hands, and my heart in the grave.

The fires licked at the ground close to me, brightening my path to my inevitable death. I shivered, crawling so I was lying next to Keefe, and I placed a tentative kiss on his cold lips. The fires came close, but I did not resist them. I didn't even ask for help.

It was bright, though it was now night. I stared at the cruel stars, and the cruel world and pondered my cruel fate. I whispered, voice hushed. "We're in this together." As I allowed the flames to swallow Keefe and I whole.

***

aodsufhui;hfsd that's the Keefitz oneshot haha. Here at last. I kinda like actually which is strange because I wrote it in such a rush.

@thesfromhms this one's for you

[stargirl-evie]

“Are you staying or leaving”Keefe x reader

um hello, im Evie and I’m not an experienced writer, but I like imagining scenarios with the characters and stories I like, so I figured I’d try to share them, so maybe you could enjoy them too!

I typically imagine myself in these scenarios so I apologize if the reader presents feminine or is described in any way that might exclude another reader… uh, anyways, basically this is a short one shot/ head cannon/ prompt…? (I’m honestly not sure) about Keefe Sencen meeting and sort of falling for (human) reader while in the forbidden cites. It didn’t really follow the plot or timeline of stellerloon, it’s implied that he’s in the forbidden cities much longer than in the book and that he struggles way more with adapting and it’s probably very ooc…anyways I love Sokeefe but I just though the idea was interesting :]

oh this also isn’t proofread and it’s probably really cringy but yeah, there isn’t enough x reader fics in the Kotlc fandom so I figured I’d try, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome and encouraged :))

…

⭒ …

To put things simply, he was lost, hungry, confused, and currently short on cash. Turns out walking around with the money from his mothers jewelry in his pockets…wasn’t the safest plan. He’d lost a good amount of it, and probably been scammed out of most of it. He’d considered sneaking back to the lost cites to steal borrow some more of mommy-dearest’s stuff, but the idea of getting caught and possibly facing his friends caused him to quickly scratch that plan. Besides, if he could get away with it the fist time, then it would probably be even easier to take some things from one of the fancier human houses he had paced by in his travels.

So here he was, standing outside the biggest house he had seen in the neighborhood, if you could call it that- all the houses were so far apart that of you tried to walk from the first one to the last one, you might need to stop and camp before continuing to the end.

He had planned it all out-making sure to use the weird human invention called a phone- to look up the owners, make sure they weren’t very good people, or that they’d be home that particular night. He could easily levitate to one of the higher windows since no one would be around. The (l/n) family would be in their vacation home, far from here, and no grounds workers or servants would be back until the owners were ready to return.

It would be easy, slip in, grab a few valuable things, maybe some food too, then slip out and continue on his way to London. What he didn’t have a plan for, was you.

His plan had been going smoothly, he was inside and sifting through your mother’s jewelry box, when you walked in.

For a moment you both stared at each other. You, at the seemingly your age and incredibly handsome boy in black jeans and a Batman hoodie that was currently holding a pair of your mothers diamond earrings- and him at a girl, probably a little younger than him, standing in a soft pink nightgown, and holding a metal baseball bat in both hands.

That seemed to snap him out of his initial shock, and quickly throw his hands up so you wouldn’t hit him with it.

Braking your own trance, you pulled the bat back, and demanded, “Who are you? Why are you in my house? How did you even get in? Wha-”

He was quick to back up a bit before interrupting your questions, “I’m Keefe, I swear I’m not here to hurt you, I just needed to make some money real quick,I thought your family was away, I wouldn’t have come if I’d know you’d be home!” He internally smacked himself for his stupid mistake.

“Oh yeah ‘cause that makes it so much better” you said while rolling your eyes and lowering your arms and ignoring the strange feeling you got about him not wanting to be there while you were, even though it made no sense for you to be upset by that. You decided to blame it on the fact that it was 2:47 am and he just happens to have really nice hair.

You pitched your voice lower to mimic his before adding, “I swear I’d only steal from you if I didn’t think you’d be home to catch me (y/n) sorry ‘bout that.” and then swung the bat around to place the head on the floor and lean your weight against it while smirking at him.

His eyebrows shot up, surprised that you were almost joking with him right now, instead of clobbering his head with the bat, like he thought you were about to. He cleared his throat, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I just-actually I don’t know what I was trying to achieve with that..” He brought his arms down to wrap them around himself, before deciding that he probably looked stupid standing in front of you like that. Especially since you seemed so calm.

“Um, I should go,, I don’t, this was a mistake, sorry, I-I should probably go now-God I sound like an idiot right now. No wonder you aren’t scared of me. Not that i wanted you to be, of course i didn’t. Who would want a pretty girl with a weapon to be scared of them? Not that I think you’re pretty. I mean you’re not, not, pretty im just-“

It was time for your to cut him off, “hey! Relax ok, im honestly not sure what your rambling about right now, but you look like you haven’t eaten in days, and im going to ignore the fact that you called me ugly and pretty just now and offer you some food so you stop trying to steal from me.”

He took a step closer to you, confused as to why he was being so unlike himself right and even more confused as to why you were now offering him kindness. He focused on the emotions coming from you, trying to figure out if you were only helping him out of pity, but only finding empathy and a few more frantic vibes.

You shifted under his suddenly intense-and very close (seriously when had he backs you up against your mothers vanity chair)-gaze, the moonlight steaming through the open window highlighted his eyes and you could see in your proximity the striking ice blue and the darker flecks of azure, cobalt, and royal blue. but you shook your head and forced yourself to ignore his stunning eyes to push him back and question why he had gotten so quite and intense.

He apologized and stepped even further back. “ I guess I was trying to see why you were being so nice to me.”

“And you thought the best way was to push the limits of stranger danger and stare into my soul all intensely with your snowstorm eyes?”

You had meant to be teasing him, but the words came out quieter then you meant them to be, and he seemed to pick up on the later half more than the first.

“So… you were staring at my eyes?” There he was, flirty and teasing and giving you a smirk that had your insides doing weird flippy-floppy things they didn’t usually do.

You felt your face get warm, and you prayed to whatever higher powers there might be that your face wasn’t nearly as red as it felt.

Not that it mattered of course.

He gave you another smirk before letting out a laugh that would have the best choir angels embarrassed by their singing abilities. And that had your betraying face warm even more.

“C’mon, let’s get you something to eat before you push me into this mirror” you quickly turned to the door to lead him towards your own room.

He followed you down the long hallway while teasing you about the pink hue that still refused to let up, particularly due do his continued torture.

You grabbed a coat from your closet and pocketed some cash before leading him out the front door.

“So where are we going (n/n)? I didn’t see anything down this way to eat while I was stalki-er, uh, looking up this place.” He cringed at himself for reminding you about the circumstances of your meeting.

You ignored the word slip and the little nickname in favor of describing a little town with plenty of back alley restaurants that you often snuck out to eat at when your parents were actually home.

He caught the shift in your mood when you mentioned your parents and decided to risk asking about it, besides, how much weirder could this first meeting get?

“Sooo…. I’m kinda confused about something.” “Yeah? What’s up?” You slowed slightly to look at him while he spoke, noticing his slight shift in tone.

“Well, you don’t have to answer or anything, since you don’t really know me-”

“Oh wow, uh sorry to interrupt, but it feels like I do, given how easy it is to talk to you, strange that we only meet what? An hour ago?”

He stoped walking completely to stare at you. “Really? Only an hour? Huh it does feel like we’ve know each other longer…”

The both of you fell quite for a moment before walking again, this time with your destination in sight.

“Uh anyways, why are you here, if your parents and staff are away?” He focused on you emotions to make sure he hadn’t seriously overstepped.

“Oh, well, we don’t really agree about much, or anything really. They’re jerks that only care about money and showing off to other people about how perfect they are. My mom is always taking about how young men approach her about leaving her husband because shes so ‘naturally’ beautiful and my dad is always bragging about how incredibly smart he is and how good he is at handling his business. They like to talk about how well they raised me, even though they never spent time with me or did any of the parenting stuff, and they like to parade around like they’re better than everyone when really, they’re miserable together and they’re always doing shady shit behind the scenes of their business. When they said they wanted to go on a cruise around one of their vacation homes I refused to go with them because they’d just ignore me and force me to play along with their stupid charade.”

By now you were standing in front of a tiny Italian restaurant with low lights and tall booths, very warm and inviting, the perfect safe space that just so happened to smell amazing. And Keefe was more than ready to eat whatever smelled so good. Even if it meant more of the god-awful human water.

But he couldn’t help but stop to watch you for a minute. It was insane how easy it felt to be around you, and safe. He had been in the forbidden cities for months and this was the safest he’d felt in a very long time. Everything about you felt like a complement to him. Even your shitty social status obsessed parents were another way you were similar.

You looked at him, and for a moment he wondered if the weird emotional flurry around you meant you felt the same way. “Keefe? We should head inside, and you can tell me about whatever led to you breaking into my house.”

You giggled at him, it was soft and sweet and he absolutely believed that you could bribe any of the councilors to do your bidding if you wanted to with that laugh.

The rest of the night (or rather, incredibly early morning) was spent sharing every detail about both his and your lives, even when he confessed that he was an elf you barely bat an eye, and he could tell that you genuinely didn’t mind that his mom had done all kinds of weird shit to his head.

You shared your own secrets as well, and you marveled at how accepting he was. Everyone and everything faded away, and for a few hours you were simply two teens that could really understand each other, and it was you best either of you had felt in a very long time.

As the sun came up you took him to the roof of a flower shop that had yet to open for the day. Together you sat and shared the desert from the restaurant while you described your passion for drawing, and he described his. Everything just seem perfect and both you and him wished it could last forever.

Of course things could never be that easy, after all, he explained why he was in the forbidden cities, and you understood that he would probably return to his world eventually, but that did nothing to stop the overwhelming desire to kiss him and run away together.

Even as he explained how his empathy worked and you tried to get your emotions in check so he wouldn’t think you were insane for developing such strong feelings in the span of a few hours, nothing could shadow them.

And when he looked at you, even more intensely than that first time he read you in your mothers bedroom, you couldn’t help but feel like he felt the same way.

He leaned forward slightly and you met him halfway, there was a hairs space between you, and you could feel his warm breath, see all the different blues in his eyes, and smell his soft skin…

“Wait Keefe.”

He froze and his eyes opened so wide you almost worried they would crack like real ice.

“Yes (y/n)? Is something wrong? Did I say something or-”

You cut him off before could spiral, trying to make your emotions clear so he wouldn’t worry so much.

“ I have to ask, after everything you’ve said, are you staying or leaving?”

He paused before pulling back and letting out a deeply emotional sigh. “I have to go, there’s still so much I don’t know or understand, and I still haven’t made it to London to look for those people and, wait! What if, and I know this might sound crazy but…”

He trailed off looking afraid to continue. You could feel your heart beating faster than ever before, and you tried to not get your hopes up. Gently, you urged him to continue, especially since these next words could change everything for you.

He said your name in a way that made your soul tingle and your stomach knot, “Would you be willing, to leave with me?”

You stared at each other for a moment, before you closed your eyes and quickly but softly pressed your lips to his. For a moment, your were scared, for a moment, you considered pulling back, for a moment, you thought you read all his teasing and flirting wrong and completely ruined the best night of your life, and then? He was kissing you back. He was wrapping an arm around your waist and cupping his hand around your face. He was blushing and nervous and probably feeling everything you were feeling.But he was kissing you back. And everything felt perfect.

Slowly you pulled apart and he reseted his forehead against yours while closing his eyes.

The two of you sat there, on the roof of the flower shop, bathed in soft light of the rising sun, practically glowing in each other’s arms.

It would be risky, but leaving everything behind for him seemed worth it, not that there was anything really keeping you here. Maybe you were crazy, but leaving with him felt like the best idea you had ever had, and you were not going to give that up.

He could only hope that none of this would put you in to much danger, but he’d do anything to protect you now, and keep you by his side. Maybe he was crazy, or maybe his mom had truly screwed his head on wrong after she messed him up, but this was the best thing that ever happened to him, and he was not about to give that up.

[fitz-avery-vacker]

Decided to post another Keefe POV fic.

I wiped off the top of the box with the back of my hand gently, surprised at the dust that had collected along my skin. Things aren’t normally dusty in my house. My parents like keeping things pristine and clean and shiny and whatnot. 

Apparently not this box. Or whatever was inside. I’d been sent to go ‘fetch it’ (playful use of vocabulary, Mom, thanks) from the 12th floor. Surprisingly low. That’s where they normally shove stuff they’re never gonna use, but I’m normally not allowed on that floor either. Doesn’t mean I haven’t had my fair share of peeks from time to time. 

The box was decently heavy, and cold though that’s a given due to it existing in my house. Aside from that, it was normal. So I hefted it up pretty well despite my very scrawny child body, and returned upstairs to my parents. 

My father scoffed as I walked into the room, sitting up from his chair and standing. Not a hair was out of place, which just heightened my urge to mess it up. He approached me, telekinetically lifting the box out of my hands and setting it aside. He looked down at me, a disappointed scowl set on his face. 

“You’ve got dust all over your clothes,” he said, “whatever will I do with you.” He shook his head and tutted, obviously disappointed with my appearance. He always was. He began to fuss over my clothes, pointing out every small detail that wasn’t as prim and proper as he wanted. Which happened to be every fiber of my being. 

After what felt like my ears were going pointy with age, he reclined and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

“It’s not good, but it’ll have to do. Help your mother with the decorations.” he demanded, gesturing with his hand to the boxes Mom seemed to be drowning in. I approached a bit too eagerly, and she tutted. 

“Control yourself just for a little while, Keefe. Honestly, you must start showing more self restraint before your term begins.” she scolded. I knew what she meant and immediately obeyed, stiffening my body so I wouldn’t move as excitedly as I did before. The Foxfire term began in a few months, and I’d been counting down the days. Anything to get out of this stupid tower. 

“Help me hang up the globes, will you?” she asked, flawlessly using telekinesis to lift a glass sphere out of its box and hanging it on the wall. 

I tried doing the same, but my telekinesis wasn’t strong yet. But I still tried. I cupped my hands underneath it just in case it fell. It wavered in the air but it held strong. I could feel all eyes in the room on me, and heard the scoff from behind my back as my dad disapproved of my lack of control. 

The only surprise I had about this situation was underestimating how close my dad was. I could hear his scoff right in my ear, and it startled me. I flinched, losing my telekinetic hold over the sphere and dropping it. 

It shattered at my feet, the glass shards scattering across the floor as the orb broke.

[myfairkatiecat]

The misunderstanding of how Sophie "didn't realize her feelings for Keefe" in this fandom is wild tbh.

It's not that she had no choice in what she was feeling. It's that she had a crush on Fitz basically from the beginning--one based mostly on looks at first--that slowly developed into more as their relationship became closer. But Sophie had already acknowledged that she had a crush on him from basically the day they met.

That wasn't her first thought when she met Keefe. She noticed he was attractive, sure, but she was used to the suspicious way everyone looked like the epitome of human beauty standards by now. So she didn't view all of her interactions with Keefe through the same lens through which she viewed her interactions with Fitz.

She developed very close relationships with both boys, even just as friends. It's clear from Sophie's actions and behavior around Keefe that she cares about him, is comfortable with him, and their relationship truly is stronger than a lot of her other friendships. Even just as a friendship.

She also devloped a very close friendship with Fitz. It's clear that they trust each other a lot, especially in the earlier books, and their cognate bond only strengthened that. There was clearly something special about their friendship as well. But Sophie saw all of the moments through the lens of her crush.

Love is a choice, but feelings can creep up on you. They really can. If they couldn't, maybe I'd be able to stop having a stupid crush on one of my gay best friends, cause that's seriously going nowhere. Sophie developed feelings for Keefe slowly, while she also had feelings for Fitz. That's part of what was so complicated.

So in Lodestar, when Keefe grabs her hand and feels her "heart emotions," it's not that he's feeling her real emotions, and her head is all filled with Fitz but all of that is just superficial emotions. What's really happening is that he's feeling from her the emotions she has yet to name. When Sophie enhances him, Keefe doesn't need Sophie to acknowledge to herself what the feelings are in order for him to know them.

Are you guys all seriously telling me you've never had a crush on someone that you told yourself wasn't a crush very convincingly for a long time, only to eventually realize that it was definitely a crush for a lot of that tme? Because... that's a normal thing that happens sometimes.

It's not that Fitz was in her head and Keefe was in her heart. Both of them were probably in her heart, because she'd developed close relationships with both of them and began to have romantic feelings for them both. But she hadn't thought about her feelings for Keefe, whereas she spent a lot of time thinking about her feelings for Fitz. That's why Keefe could only tell her feelings for him when he could feel her heart emotions.

She also just... began to lose some of her feelings for Fitz around Legacy, and her feelings for Keefe definitely grew. It doesn't mean her feelings for Fitz were never real, but I can't say I'm surprised that a fifteen-year-old girl ended up changing her mind about what she wanted.

Anyway, I'm not saying it's a plot line you have to like, but I think a lot of people, including a lot of sokeefe shippers, think that the idea was "Fitz was in Sophie's head (she THOUGHT she liked him) but Keefe was in her heart (she ACTUALLY liked him and didn't even realize it!)" and that's just. Not even what happened. That's not the point of the whole head/heart emotions thing at all.

[the-way-astray]

here is a shitty fic i am writing as I type this in your inbox (its 2am hELP)

Stira couldn't believe her parents had wanted Keefe over for dinner. When she told them she had met a boy at school, they took that too literally. When she said "met him," she meant he was in some of her classes and annoying, NOT that they were friends.

Oh well. she had a plan...

A while later, Keefe rang the doorbell, his messy blond hair disheveled, like he'd been in a rush to get here.

"Hi!" He greeted Stria's parents, following them to the dinner table.

Stria got the family (and Keefe) glasses of water before joining them. His was a little.... special.

Her parents asked Keefe where he was from, how school was, and other such questions. Eventually, her parents left to clean up, and Stria took Keefe up to her room. He looked a little pale, and she sweetly asked, "What's wrong?"

"I...I don't feel well," he answered, crumpling to the floor. "What did you do to me?"

"Just a little poison in your drink," she said, noting the horrified expression on his face. He tried to push himself up, but it was like the feeling in his arms was gone. He was completely paralyzed, it felt like.

"You should be feeling some discomfort," Stria mused.

He opened his mouth, making a strangled sound.

The last thing he saw was Stria's confident gaze and she punched him in the nose.

Keefe died

the end :)

beautiful fic . . .

out of character for me to tell my parents this kind of stuff and out of character for my parents to care but oogh

why would i take keefe to my room. i want him to die in the basement

“you should be feeling some discomfort” took me out

ME PUNCHING HIM IS KICKING HIM WHILE HE’S DOWN FOR REAL

“keefe died. the end :)” HELP

in conclusion, this is a masterpiece

[autistic-cat-with-a-book]

Hello there. I have written a story, which I am now sharing with the keepblr fandom. Enjoy it. Please. (It's a slightly alternate ending for Neverseen, if you were curious.) Tagging @permanently-stressed because I've been torturing her with crumbs of this for the whole week, so it's only fitting she gets tagged.

okay bye

Sophie was about to step into the shimmering beam of her pathfinder when she noticed the small yellow crystal in Keefe’s hand. She barely hesitated before grabbing his shoulders and letting the light carry both of them away.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!” Keefe shouted as they reappeared by a lake the color of blood. Tall, foggy mountains surrounded the area, and the whole place gave Sophie the creeps. Nothing good could come of this.

“I could ask you the same thing!” She snapped. “Why are you leaping–illegally– to the Forbidden Cities? Are you seriously going to try to break into an ogre prison?” 

Keefe turned away. “Go home, Sophie.”

“Not unless you explain what’s going on here!”

Keefe opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by three flashes of light. Three dark cloaks with a white eye symbol on the sleeve.

The Neverseen were here.

“Keefe,” Sophie started as the figures slowly walked towards them, “What did you do? What did you do?”

“I…” his voice trailed off.

“How are we going to escape this?” She hissed.

“Simple answer,” said the first figure, throwing back his hood. “You don’t.”

With growing horror, Sophie found the name the voice belonged to. Fintan was here. So were Brant and Alvar. They were trapped.

Fintan held up his hands, a smile spreading across his thin lips. “My, my, Keefe. You’ve really outdone yourself. Sophie is such an excellent addition to our bargain.” His eyes narrowed as he said that last part and a chill went up Sophie’s spine.

What bargain is he talking about? Sophie transmitted.

“She is not part of this deal. Let. Her. Go,” Keefe said, ignoring Sophie’s question.

“Tsk, tsk. If only we could. But now that she’s here, I’d be so sad to see her go,” Fintan said, glee dripping from every word. A small flame flickered to life in Brant’s hand, and Keefe shrank back.

“If you hurt her, I won’t give you the cache!” Sophie heard this but didn’t have time to react before strong invisible arms wrapped around her neck in a chokehold. 

“Keefe,” she gasped hoarsely, “What are you talking about?”

But she has a sinking feeling in her stomach. There are better, safer ways to rescue your mom. You don’t have to trade the cache for this. Please, Keefe. A tear rolled silently down her cheek.

This is the only way, Foster. You wouldn’t be here if you had just gone home!

You know I couldn’t do that.

Fintan ordered Keefe to get the cache, and Sophie watched as Keefe quietly said, “Two twenty-one B Baker Street,” shock and betrayal coursing through her veins.

The cache popped into Keefe's hand, and Alvar immediately grabbed it, tucking it into a concealed pocket on his robe.

How could you? Sophie’s mental question was more sad than angry, but Keefe still didn’t respond.

“Miss Foster, I assume you and Mr. Sencen are communicating telepathically. Much fun as it is to watch you silently struggle, this would go a lot quicker if you would both listen to the terms at hand.” Fintan said, gesturing to Brant.

The scarred elf stepped closer, the heat of the Everblaze in his hand making Sophie sweat. “All you have to do,” he said to Keefe, grabbing Sophie’s monocle pendant and holding it in his fire, “is take this pretty little swan and brand your moonlark. If you do that, we’ll let her go free and you come with us.”

“If not,” Alvar interrupted, “Fintan will start giving Sophie some very painful scars.”

Keefe’s face crumpled and he transmitted, I’m so sorry. I know you’re going to hate me now.

I could never hate you,  she assured him, although she grew less and less sure of that as he took the pendant and stepped up to Sophie.

His ice-blue eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and Sophie tried one last time. “Please, Keefe. Why are you doing this?”

“Last night…I got more memories back,” he whispered. 

“I still don’t understand why you would join them,” she said. Alvar was nearly choking her, and she was getting very lightheaded. 

“You were raised to be the hero. I was raised to be something…else.” He brushed his hand over her necklace. “I wanted you to have this, in case someday–”

“Heartwarming as this is,” Fintan cut in, “We’re running out of time. And patience.” The last word had a deadly undertone and the tears in Keefe’s eyes spilled over as he raised the pendant to Sophie’s face. It was glowing red from the Everblaze. Sophie didn’t want to imagine how much pain it would cause.

But she didn’t have to imagine. 

All of a sudden, Keefe squeezed his eyes closed and pressed the red-hot swan against the side of Sophie’s neck. She screamed, thrashing in Alvar’s arms, but he held her tight. Bright white pain exploded behind her eyes, and she wanted it to take her far, far away.

 To a place where she wouldn’t have to deal with the Neverseen, or the Black Swan, or Keefe.

The white light promised rest.

Calm.

Peace.

But all too soon, she was ripped back to reality. Sophie could feel blisters bubbling up on her skin, and when she opened her eyes, Keefe had dropped the pendant. Smoke was rising from it, and her mind shied away from picturing what her neck looked like. 

Brant still had a sphere of Everblaze floating above his palm, the flames crackling ominously. 

“Okay,” Keefe said, his voice shaky, “I did what you asked. You have the cache. Now please, let Sophie go home.” 

“Oh, did we say anything about letting her go home?” Fintan asked the others with a laugh. “Mr. Sencen, we merely said we would free her. We never specified where she would be released.”

In one fluid motion, Alvar let go of Sophie, pulled out his Pathfinder, and said, “Have fun, you four!” Then raised the crystal to the setting sun and stepped into the beam of light.

While that was happening, Fintan had summoned a ring of fire around himself, Brant, Keefe, and Sophie, and the flames were taller than she was. 

No escape.

It was hard to think through the searing pain, but she was able to stay standing. Keefe held her shoulders and yelled, “You promised!” at the ancient Pyrokinetic.

“Come on,” Fintan scoffed, “Surely you’ve known us long enough to know that we don’t play fair.” With that, Fintan pulled Keefe away from Sophie and Brant took a small cloth out of his cloak. Sophie could smell the stench of the sedative, and she tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. Brant grinned as he pressed the fabric over her nose and mouth, flooding her brain with the sickeningly sweet smell. 

The last thing she saw was Keefe’s anguished face, and his thoughts whispering, It’s for the best, as he and the two pyrokinetics lept away.

Then she collapsed as the ring of fire grew even taller around her.

Heat. So much heat. Her neck, her arms, her back. They were all so, so hot.

 Sophie peeled her eyes open, coughing on the smoke and ash. She managed to sit up on the gritty sand, noting that she wasn’t actually on fire. But the Everblaze was raging all around her, making its way to the mountains in the distance. She guessed that a few hours had passed since–

Nope. She was not going to think about Keefe. Sophie cautiously reached up to feel her neck, then winced as she brushed her fingers over the blisters. That was going to be a permanent scar. 

“Help,” she croaked, pushing herself off of the ground. The lake was nearby, promising cool water, but she didn’t trust the bloodred color. “Help,” she repeated, louder this time. Her throat scratched and her muscles ached and her mouth tasted all kinds of disgusting, but that didn’t stop her. 

Anything, anyone, would be a welcome presence. With the moon high in the sky and the smoke billowing through the air, the whole place was even creepier than it was in the daytime, which was saying a lot. 

She crawled to where Keefe had been standing and noticed… what was that?

Sophie picked up a small glittering bead, noting the way it shimmered in the moonlight. Was this a leaping crystal? Why had he left it–oh. It must have been for her, in case she followed him here. 

Sophie let out a bark of laughter. This would have been useful a few hours ago before she got the sign of the swan branded on her neck. But…what if it wasn’t from Keefe? Maybe it led to a trap. The Neverseen could have left it here, hoping she’d leap right into one of their hideouts. But then why wouldn’t they just take her along with Keefe?

She brought the bead closer, looking for a clue. It seemed pretty ordinary, just an orb of shimmery compacted powder, but there– she saw a tiny, tiny K painted on the side. 

It was from Keefe. Wow. He really thought of everything. 

She held the tiny crystal up to the moonlight, hoping hoping hoping that it would work. A weak beam of light appeared, and Sophie nearly cried in relief. She stepped into the path, concentrating on the warm feathery rush of the leap as her body dissolved. 

She re-formed at the entrance to Havenfield.

Home, home, safe, safe! Her mind cheered. She limped up to her house, every muscle aching. Edaline and Grady were sitting on the enormous couch, and they both leaped up when she pushed the massive doors open. Edaline rushed to give Sophie a hug while Grady said, “What happened to you?”

“I…” her voice trailed off, a lump forming in her throat. “The Neverseen,” she whispered, gently removing herself from her adoptive mom’s embrace. 

“Oh, Sophie,” Edaline said, running a hand over Sophie’s cuts and bruises. She avoided the burn on her nack, and Sophie was hit with a rush of affection for her mom. 

Grady rushed to their extensive medicine cabinet, grabbing an armful of elixirs and balms. Soon enough, Sophie was lying on her bed, and Elwin –in his fuzzy T-rex pajamas– was treating all of her injuries. He thankfully didn’t ask too many questions, instead letting her relax and calm down from the day’s events. 

After Elwin left, Grady and Edaline brought up a cool cloth for her neck and a small vial of shimmery liquid. “It’s somnalene,” Edaline explained. “It’ll help you sleep. You need it.”

“It’s not a sedative, right?” Sophie asked.

“No, kiddo. These are like sparkly eye drops that make you feel very peaceful,” Grady explained, filling the eyedropper and positioning it over Sophie’s eye. 

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Edaline asked, concern clearly written all over her expression.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, Mom.”

Grady squeezed the somnalene into Sophie’s eyes, and immediately little twinkling colored lights appeared in her vision. Shortly after she settled down, her parents left, leaving her with her thoughts– and Iggy’s lawnmower-esque snore. Despite her long–long– day she was asleep in minutes.

The next morning, Sophie somehow managed to get dressed, eat breakfast, and meet with the Collective without collapsing or breaking into a fit of tears. Her neck still throbbed and her back hurt and her heart was broken, but she was going to be okay. 

She was the Moonlark. 

“So,” Mr. Forkle said with a sigh, “Let’s go through this again. Keefe took you to the Neverseen–”

“He didn’t take me, I grabbed onto him as he was leaping away,” Sophie interjected.

“Right. So then the Neverseen forced him to hand over the cache, and made him…” He looked quickly at the burn on her neck, his voice cracking.

Everyone got silent after that. After a moment, Granite continued quietly, “So Fintan, Brant, Alvar, and Keefe all light leaped away while you were sedated and surrounded by Everblaze.”

Grady and Sandor both looked like they wanted to punch something, so Sophie said, “But Keefe didn’t know that would happen! It was my fault.”

Edaline hugged Sophie, whispering, “What happened was not your fault. It never will be, so please don’t blame yourself.”

“I’ll try not to,” she whispered back. 

Sophie straightened up, clearing her throat to prepare for what she was about to say. “Do you think Keefe is….bad?”

“I think Mr. Sencen is confused, and desperate, and afraid. But I do not think he is bad, Miss Foster,” Mr. Forkle assured her. 

“So you think his guilt is making him do this.”

“Yes. He has chosen a difficult path, but I think he knows that what he is doing is incredibly reckless,” Wraith added.

“I wouldn’t be too quick to trust him,” Grady advised from the corner.

“Especially not after–that thing,” Squall said, pointing her frosty fingers at Sophie’s burn.

“What about the cache?” Sophie wondered aloud.

“We’ll deal with that later. For now, there is news I must share with you all.” Mr. Forkle said. 

Sophie's mind flashed through dozens of possibilities, but nothing could have prepared her for what Mr. Forkle said next. 

“Prentice is awake.”