#LOTS of OCs

[deoxysacid]

marketable hgss timeskip plushies

[tinycoded360]

Future Ghost Chapter 1

Note: I decided to post the first chapter so people can decide if they like it or not (Granted, I think my writing gets better in the future chapters; I got too excited and started rushing the idea. XD)

Danny materialized in the middle of a bustling spaceport, his body tingling from the effects of Desiree's magic. Danny was lucky he wasn’t in his ghost form, otherwise he’d stick out like a sore thumb. He ducked behind some cargo containers. He blinked in confusion at the strange ships and alien races surrounding him.

"Where am I?" he muttered, turning in a circle. The architecture and technology looked far more advanced than anything in Amity Park. A nearby display screen caught his eye - stardate 2266.8. "The future?!" Danny gasped. Desiree had sent him centuries into the future with his flippant wish for a 'space adventure.' He was stranded, centuries away from his family and friends.

"Congratulations, Danny Fenton," Desiree's voice echoed in his head, accompanied by her sinister laugh. "You wished for a space adventure, and so it shall be!"

Panic surged through him, followed by an odd sense of exhilaration. If he couldn't return home, perhaps he could make the best of it here. And maybe Clockwork would take pity on him and help him back. Or maybe he could gather enough resources to create a ghost portal, get access to the zone, and demand Clockwork to help him get home. But Danny felt no need to rush. After all, with time travel, he could just pop back in at the correct time, maybe moments after he made that wish. For now Danny wanted to go to space.

Danny was excited by what he saw after exploring his new time period and observing the future humans. There were actual aliens walking about! Danny had an idea of what he wanted to do.

Danny turned invisible and intangible, phasing into a computer terminal. His technopathic powers made quick work of creating a fake ID for "Danny Fenton, 18, Human." A few more keystrokes planted his credentials into Starfleet's database. Even though he was only fifteen, he created a fake ID, fudging his age to appear eighteen so that he could become an ensign in Starfleet Academy. The fear of being discovered ate at him, but his desire for adventure pushed him forward. And he would finally be able to live his dream. He’d be in space in no time!

Moments later, Danny walked confidently up to a recruitment station in a cadet's uniform.

"Ensign Danny Fenton reporting for duty," he announced with a grin. He was Starfleet's newest engineering crewman on the USS Enterprise. At least he could see the galaxy while he figured out how to get back home.

Danny took a deep breath as he stepped onto the transporter pad, his Starfleet-issued duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He was beaming aboard the Enterprise for the first time.

As the transporter beam enveloped him, Danny felt a spike of anxiety. He was about to live among humans 24/7 with no privacy. Concealing his ghost powers would be a constant challenge. Materializing in the Enterprise's transporter room, Danny was greeted by a stern-looking Vulcan officer.

"Welcome aboard, Ensign Fenton," the officer said in a monotone voice. "I am Commander Spock. Please follow me to engineering."

Danny nodded, gripping the strap of his bag tightly. He was glad he saw some other aliens before Mr. Spock. He had time to get his awe under control, but he still felt giddy at meeting a new alien. He tried his best to hide his awe and stop staring. As he followed Spock through the pristine white corridors, Danny took in everything with wide eyes. Crew members of various species walked briskly about their duties, not sparing the new ensign a second glance.

The ship hummed with energy, almost like a living being. Danny could feel the thrum of the warp core reverberating through the decks.

Arriving at main engineering, Spock introduced Danny to Montgomery Scott, the chief engineer.

"Nice to meet ye, laddie!" the jovial Scot said, pumping Danny's hand enthusiastically. "Let's get ye settled in, shall we?"

Over the next few hours, Scotty showed Danny around engineering, familiarizing him with the Enterprise's systems. Danny committed everything to memory, knowing he'd have to prove himself useful. By the end of the day, Danny was exhausted but excited. He was looking forward to his time here. Even though he was a C student back home, he was smart and able to make sense of the future technology. Danny was smart. He just didn't have time to study or do homework with all the ghost-fighting back home. But now it felt like he could take a break from all that.

Chapter 2

[roseshewrites]

BEING DADS WON! It only took a month idk. God. So for the long wait, here's 7,418 words of Alastor and Lucifer being Dads. Mostly Alastor because the idea of him being a girl dad is just ughhhh 🥰😘😘 please ~

Brought to you by several original characters, and "I don't know how to write long fics in order" and "Here's an out of context ending from my extended Male Pregnancy radioapple AU and I hope it makes sense but it probably doesn't."

QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:

Who got pregnant with who?

LUCIFER, and they were twins.

HOW?

He's a hermaphrodite idk what to tell you.

WHAT ARE THEIR DAD NAMES?

Lucifer is dad

Alastor is pops

SUMMARY!

Melody Hartfelt-Morningstar has noticed her pops has been distant lately, and wants to know why.

Melody stood in the kitchen doorway, shifting from foot to foot. In all her sixteen years, she knew her pops only made Jambalaya on one day of the year, and that it was really important to him; but he tended to get a bit sentimental and snippy (more than usual) and you were in for a fifty-fifty chance of loving to sarcastic if you happened to bug him. 

But the video camera she was holding in her hands was seriously busted and she needed help. Like, on the level of thirty thousand subscribers waiting on another family vlog update that she was -never- late on.

Taking a deep breath, staring at his back as he mixed away at a bubbling, delicious smelling concoction at the stove, she said, "Pops." 

No answer. 

She sighed. "Pops. Poppa." 

Back still turned, still clattering around, now chopping something up, probably shrimp. 

"Pop," she said again, "POPSICLE." 

He slammed a knife down on the counter and whirled around, snapping, "WHAT, Melody!" 

She gave him a sheepish smile, holding up her busted camera. "I need a new one." 

He sighed, seeming to ease up a little, thank god. "Can't you ask your dad? I am busy." 

"No," she wandered over to scoop up a spoon and pop a steaming hot slice of sausage into her mouth, expertly dodging a swift hand slap which caught her elbow instead. She said around a hot mouthful, "I want you to do it." 

"What happened to this one I made you?" 

"Harmony. She dropped it." 

That was a lie. Her sister, in a fit of rage during another of their fights, had actually thrown it at the wall so hard that the screen had shattered and now hung despondently attached by just a sad little wire. She wasn't about to mention that dent in the wall either, which she had carefully covered with a poster. 

There was a flash of green, and her pops handed her the newly fixed up camera, commencing his cooking. Melody leaned against the island counter in front of the stove, hopping up and watched him silently, fiddling with the camera, "Blutooth capabilities, pop?" 

He cast her a sharp red eyed glance. "Do I look like I care about that?" 

"Yes," she flashed him a sweet little grin, "Pleeeese." 

When he had refixed it, she did a little happy kick with her feet. "Yay. Thank you."  

Melody lost no time turning on the camera, pointing it at her pop's head and pressing Record. She watched him through the little screen. Red hair, black streaks at the end, the ears on top of his head turning back a little when she said, "So..jambalaya. Grandmom's death day?"

"Yes, dear." 

"Tell me 'bout her." 

 "She had a sense of humor." 

"Really? Like how?" 

"Well...." 

Her pops whirled around again, a glint in his eyes, taking in how she was pointing the camera straight at his face, and she didn't have time to react before his hand closed over the lense and shut the little screen with a neat snap. 

"She used to do things like this!!" 

Her foot was pulled, and she fell off the counter, screeching. 

"The paain! The disrespect!!" She had swiftly opened the camera again and wallowed on the floor pretending to cry in agony while her pops dug a toe into her armpit making her giggle. 

"Go bother your dad or something. Scoot." 

"This is what I know- ow- about Grand mom," she relented, holding the camera above her face and zooming in on her pop's unamused eyes, "Her name was Eleanor. She had dark skin. Curly dark hair. Curly hair that I have," she added, "She had a sense of humor. And was an excellent cook. That's all. Sixteen years of life in this existence and that's all I know about her."

"Bon Diyè, Melody..."

"See," she zoomed in further, "You stopped teaching me that Haitian stuff a long time ago. Like when I turned ten. How come? But I still know that meant 'good Heavens' which means you've become QUITE exasperated with me-" 

"Exasperated would be an understatement-" 

"-So are you gonna teach me more Haitian Creole? Or more French?" 

"This minute, I'd like to teach you a lesson for bugging the stew out of me when I desire some peace and quiet!"

"Your southern is showing. Why do we bother the stew out of things? What's more, why do we bless each other's hearts when we really mean 'fuck you?' 

"Language." 

"But I have so many questions." 

Finally she got bored of trying to pull more answers out of her pops and got to her feet, dusting off her ripped jeans and shaking her head so her blond curly hair fell back around her cheeks instead of nesting up. 

"Fine whatever. We don't talk about shit in this house anymore."

She thought she saw her pops tensing a bit at that statement but it could have been her imagination. Camera pointed at her conversed feet, she left, ignoring her pops voice going, "Mels.." 

Nah, too late, if he wanted to apologize for being distant, whatever. She'd leave him alone. 

She managed to zone in on her twin in the living room. Finding Harmony wasn't hard; all you had to do was detect which area of the house Metallica or Blink-182 was vibrating the walls. When she walked in though, she was greeted by such a silly sight that she immediately grinned and held up her camera again, her sour mood lifted for now. 

There was her dark haired twin sitting criss cross on the coffee table, leaning forward and wielding a tube of black lipstick which she was currently using on their dad, who had abandoned his usual white suit for an all-black getup. 

"Stretch your lips out," she was telling him, "Like really, or the lipstick will cake up." 

Lucifer obeyed her, going, "I think that's called SMILING. Oh hey!" He caught a glimpse of Melody in the doorway. "Hey Mels. Check it out. Am I cool yet?" He flashed a peace sign, duck-facing his half-madeup lips at her camera.

Melody zoomed in on her dad's pale, black makeup-covered face, and yelled "Yeah-heaah!!! The coolest!!" 

It really did look amazing. Harmony had done a smoky eye on him and it really brought out the crimson color of his eyes.

"Are those false lashes?" 

Melody walked behind him to cam-focus on her twin now, who, true to her edgy punk nature, gave her sister the bird.

"You betcha. Oh Harms, stop. Give me that," he added to his other daughter, who was silently waving at him impatiently to finish her project. 

He swooped the lipstick up and finished it, peering into a mirror popping his lips a couple times for good measure. Melody saw him frown in the mirror he was holding up, locking eyes with her reflection behind him. 

"Hey you good, kiddo?" 

Melody shrugged, looking away from her dad's eyes in the mirror and accidentally locked eyes with her twin instead who gave her a quizzical 'what's up?' expression, her dark brows raising. 

"Nothing," she replied to Harmony's silent question, then, "-I mean yeah I'm good," she answered her dad. "So good. I'm so good right now." 

"Uh-huh." 

Lucifer shut the large compact mirror with a snap and leaned around, "Cause that's the face of someone having a really good time." 

She stuck her tongue out at him and he retaliated by grabbing at it. She dodged his hand, smiling despite herself.

"Don't get cheeky." 

Just then, a familiar radio-tinged voice fell into the already loud metal-music filled room saying, "Dinner is ready. Oh my ears, what is this noise!"

"Aren't Charlie and Vaggie supposed to be coming by?" Harmony hopped up from her seat at the coffee table, plopping several tubes of makeup into a nearby container, "And that noise is Metallica. Dad likes it. Don't you, dad?" 

"I can tolerate it. And I don't know, they mentioned coming by, but my feelings won't be hurt if they don't. They're so busy lately.." 

Melody edged back as her family made their way to the door where her pops was standing, and she was trying to make her way toward the hallway and then her room when she realized they were the only two left in the living room. 

She pointed her camera at him. God, he seemed annoyed.

"Come eat," he said, then, "Ugh!" She watched him through the camera as he reached to hit the power button on the CD player by the door, then he repeated, "Melody, dinner is ready. And will you put that blasted camera down for one minute?"

"I'm not hungry. And no. It's my eyeballs."

"Well you don't need eyes to eat." 

"I'm. Not. Hungry." 

"Young lady, what is your problem!" 

"I don't have one," she snapped, "And you do. You have all the problems and you won't talk about them. You won't even talk about the good memories. You won't talk about HER. Why?!" 

"That's none of your concern." 

"Fine," she snapped her camera shut and began to stalk off, "I bet Eleanor Hartfelt just loooooves who her son became! What a gentleman! He only cooks her favorite food once a year, and the rest of the time he acts like she bloody never existed!!"

She heard her dad rushing back in to defuse whatever it was, heard pops' exclamation of frustration and her sister piping in, but Melody paid no attention to any of it and just yanked through the first door she came to, shutting it behind her. 

 

Upon closer examination she was actually in her sister's room, but it didn't matter anyway. She just curled up on a dark purple blanket and grabbed the nearest stuffed animal and pressed her face into some pillows, silently listening. She heard footsteps and her dad's voice, muffled through the door and directed at his husband. 

"No. Nuh-uh leave her alone you'll just make it worse." 

Melody dug her face further into the pillow and waited till she heard receding footsteps before she sat up, her sister's dragon plushie still in her arms and hugged it, staring blankly at the wall. 

It wasn't fair, not at all. 

Pops used to be so open with stuff. Melody remembered sitting in his lap, pressing her ears to his chest just to feel his heartbeat while he stroked her hair and sang to her in that musical language she had grown to love. Even now she struggled to remember it. She tried to sing some of it to herself now, but she got tongue tied and gave up. 

She sat there for a while. Till hell's sun began to set and cast orange and red gleaming beams through the slats in the blinds and eventually gave way to blue and black darkness; the door opened softly and her sister entered, sitting on her own bed and sliding neatly to sit beside her twin, putting her arms around her. 

"Don't sit in the dark, Mels. That's my job." 

Melody sniffed. Now that her twin was close, she felt near close to bawling. They laid back on the bed in each others arms and Melody clung to her, plushie and all, and finally let loose with it. 

"I'm sorry I broke your camera," Harmony whispered. 

"It's not- about- that," Melody sob laughed as her sister settled closer to her, arms all the way around her. 

"I know." 

When Melody's gross sobs had ebbed till she hiccupped, Harmony said, "Why's it bother you so bad?" 

"I don't know. Pops used to do all this stuff. Like talk to us in Haitian Creole, and sing, and now it just seems...it seems like all he does is push us away. The older we get. I don't understand it." 

"I think maybe he wants us to be more independent. Like he was. Maybe. I dunno, I'm just guessing." 

"That's the thing, he never talked about being our age," Melody whispered, "You think it was that bad?" 

"Dunno. We might never know." 

"But I wanna know. I want to know all the things." 

A little bit later there was a soft knock on the door and their dad entered, dressed down in his pajamas and bathrobe and leaned down to smooch the two sleepy sisters on their cheeks. 

"Good night, girlies. You okay, Mels?" 

"Yeah dad. Love you." 

Melody reached out one arm to make him come closer and he gave her a hug from over Harmony's hug, giving her an extra kiss on her forehead. 

"Love you too ducky. Sleep good." 

He ruffled both their hair, Harmony protesting this, and left, softly shutting the door behind him.

But Melody couldn't sleep. Long after her dark haired twin had melted into the covers and began snoring, she stared at the dark ceiling with light pangs of anxiety squeezing her heart. Maybe she had overreacted just a tad. She had really pushed pops today, and on a hard day of the year for him, too. Maybe he just hadn't wanted think or talk about certain things today, and that was certainly valid- she'd more or less forced a reaction out of him. Even if it was a negative one. 

Maybe she should just go and apologize. Her pops was a night owl; he was probably still bumping around in his office. 

Sliding off the bed careful not to disturb her sleeping sister, Melody untied her converse shoes and slid out of them, replacing them with a pair of mismatched fuzzy socks and tiptoed down the hallway, past the kitchen, and down toward her parents' end of the house.

Well, Pops studio was dark, but their bedroom lights were still on. She was just about to knock on the halfway cracked door when the conversation from within floated out and made her freeze. 

..."Not *like* that, Lucifer, I just.."

.."Can't just admit that you've been really distant lately?" 

Oh shit, she'd been about to walk in on them bickering. Well, no...she frowned. It was more like a low-voiced intense discussion. Huh. It was rare that she heard them talking to each other like this. Curious, she settled on the wall opposite the open door and leaned in, ears perked. 

"That's besides the point. It is like she's not happy until she gets me angry with her." 

"Because she *misses* you, Alastor. She wants your attention. You know she's always been a pops girl. Whenever things got bad, she wanted you. Not me."

Her pops chuckled slightly. "Yes. Every skinned knee...every nightmare." 

"Then when she got picked on at school, and that one bad friend breakup," Dad offered. 

"Yes, I know." 

"So are you gonna talk about why you're pushing her off like this? I mean, I don't think Harm cares all that much. She's pretty much aloof anyway, but Mels.." 

"She feels her emotions differently." 

"Yup. Just like you." 

"She is smart. Stubborn..." 

"Well," Dad mumbled, "Stubborn is both of us; but smart? Especially the tech stuff? That's all you." 

Melody grinned. Yeah, pops had done his fair share of teaching her all the ins and outs of radios. From taking them apart and putting them back together again, how they worked, what made them tick. She'd taken that knowledge a step further and carried it on to her passion for cameras and video. 

She supposed she hadn't really needed pop's help this evening. She'd simply *wanted* it. Wanted him. His time and attention, like her dad had been saying. She could have easily fixed that camera herself. 

Pops sighed, a radio-infested sound that coated downward into something more human sounding. 

"I'll talk to her tomorrow." 

"Thank you." 

Their conversation continued on to other topics that coasted out the door. Melody listened to the rustling and clicking of lights turning off, of them getting ready for bed and murmuring to each other in that tone of voice couples use when it's just the two of them. 

Sneaking back to her sister's room again, Melody changed into a pair of one of Harmony's purple pajamas and slid into bed beside her sister, snuggling close with her and shutting her eyes, willing her slightly buzzing mind to silence itself till it gave way to a drifting sleepy mood. 

Maybe things would be better tomorrow. She hoped so. With that thought in mind, she threw an arm around her twin and also a pile of plushies and allowed herself to go off to dream land.

~ 

"Ugh." 

Melody sat at the kitchen table, frowning at the gadget in front of her. It was a miniature working phonograph, complete with a vinyl record that currently sat amongst a pile of teeny tiny screws, and spare wooden paneling. She was fiddling with the wires inside, her fingers fumbling slightly and she held her hands up and waved them frustratedly as her sister walked in, dark hair nested, and a just-woke-up look on her face. 

Harmony stopped, stared at Melody for a hilariously awkward amount of time then waved her arms similarly in a mocking way with her face deadpan. 

"Shut up," Mel grinned. 

"No coffee?," Harmony had gone to the coffee station by the microwave, "You *suck.*" 

"I drank it all." 

Dad walked in, let the blinds in the windows up and commenced to making waffles while Harmony fixed another pot of extra-strong coffee -("Since my *sister* is too *busy*")- all in all, just a regular Saturday morning for the Hartfelt-Morningstars. Melody was whining, "It's not riiiight..." While Dad plunked a plate of waffles and a cup of orange juice at her place. 

"Trinkets away, ducky. Eat up. You didn't eat dinner last night." 

"In a minutttte," Melody muttered, attempting to connect the wires that were wacky in the little system, then when they sparked at her fingers she exclaimed, "Ah, God-DAMMIT!" 

"Hey," Dad said seriously, "Don't take my father's name in vain." 

She stared at him with an incredulous look, nursing her smarting fingers. 

"Kidding," he added. "Joking. Drink your orange juice. Eat your waffles." - he patted her head and walked off. 

"Drink my waffles, eat my orange juice. Got it," she yelled at his retreating back and heard his answering peals of laughter, then the sounds of him greeting his husband- "Mornin' deer. Get a load of that kid in there." 

Melody had never quite figured out if they called each other 'deer' or 'dear.' Maybe the terms were interchangeable. What if they just said it, and mentally interpreted as the situation saw fit? They did all have deer ears, minus Dad.

Maybe she'd never figure her parents out. 

When her pops walked in, she side eyed his profile while she continued ignoring her waffles in favor of her phonograph. He didn't *seem* upset, or anything, just his usual silent morning self digging into the refrigerator for his normal leftover venison, tossing it into a pan to heat it up. He did walk over to examine what she was doing and offer a helpful suggestion or two.

"That wire with this one, and that may work..what is it for?" 

Melody did as he said and replied, "Present for Lux. Bye sis," she added as Harmony wapped her on top of the head on her way out the kitchen door, presumably to either draw or write the day away in her room.

"Mm. He's coming by today." 

"Shit!" She looked up at him, "It's not finished!" 

-"How about this.." 

He sat beside her, "I'll help you with it. You're not going to touch your food till it's finished, I'm assuming." 

She shook her head, "I'm not doing shit till it's done." 

"I figured as much. And after you've finished your breakfast-" 

She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped at his stern look. 

"-After. You have. Eaten," he reiterated, "I've got something to show you. And I'd like to..have a talk with you. You're not in trouble," he added, his red eyes glinting with amusement at her sight pained look. 

"I'm really not?" 

She had thought for sure she would be. On the other hand, his retaliations for what he deemed unnecessary backtalk were usually pretty quick and dad had been able to get him to let that one go the night before.

"No, darling. So give the thing here let me show you."  

He walked her through it. Every wire and attachment that connected to the power device she had made with her own magic began to make sense as he showed her what thing could go where. 

"Where did it go wrong the first time?" 

"Well, it *was* working. But the wires burnt out from the power - the battery thing I made." 

"Might have been just a tad potent. Try easing some power out of it and see where that takes you." 

Eventually she was able to fit everything back together correctly under pops instruction and wolfed down some waffles while he put in the last screw and set the little phonograph on the table. She watched as he slid the vinyl record neatly on and set the needle, flipping the power switch. 

Mouth full of waffle, she waited with bated breath as the turntable rotated, filling the room with a tiny record crackle, then.. 

She raised her arms in triumph as music played, a little instrumental beginning to a song in one of her favorite movies. 

"Well, that's that," her pops left the table to continue heating up his own food, Melody doing a happy dance in her seat and then proceeding to take her dishes to the sink while he ate his venison and remarked, "It plays the one song?" 

"For now." 

She scooped the phonograph up and placed it on the counter, summoning up a little box and a bow, "I'm gonna program more for it though. I know he might not like Labyrinth as much as me." 

"Lux always did like his Hensen films." 

"Poppa.." 

Finished tying the little box up, she leaned on the counter and crossed her fuzzy pajama covered arms, glancing at him, "I'm sorry about last night.." 

In that moment, he seemed so enigmatic. His hair was barely brushed, and he was still wearing his red bathrobe, but he still managed to put so..put together. Tall, and strong, his posture always so straight and confident; and there was that unreadable expression in his crimson eyes that gleamed in the orange morning light that fell in from the open window while he absorbed her apology. 

"I think I should be instead," he said gently. Sometimes he could be spastic, the radio in his voice hiding everything- but it was dimmed down to a barely discernible crackle now. Sometimes it reminded Melody that her pops could actually have been human once. "You wanted to learn more about her, right? About Eleanor- my mother?" 

Melody nodded. "I didn't know her. But I feel like...like I miss her." 

"Come on," he put an arm around her shoulder. "Let's go, darling. And I'll tell you about her."  

~

It had been awhile since Melody had been in her pop's bayou dimension; the bit of her parents' bedroom that drifted off into a soft blue lit wood, surrounded all around by a cascade of wildlife noises and bugs trilling. They walked away, feet crunching on twigs and leaves. The air smelled humid but sweet, like flora and fauna heated and promising a beautiful sunlit day.

"Does it ever end?" Melody said curiously. 

"I don't know. I can walk for an hour and there's no sign of a barrier. I think over the years it may have grown, somehow. Let's stop. Here is good." 

There was no hint that they were actually still in her parents bedroom. This place was a little world on its own. It seemed like, if she squinted her eyes, she could see the shadows of frolicking deer in the vast foggy distance but when she tried to get a closer look there was nothing.  

They had stopped at a forked path amongst the trees, which her pops was looking at with a slightly amused expression. "And," he added, "No matter how I've tried to escape this path right here it always loops me right back. I do wonder about that." 

He beckoned her over and had a seat on a nearby fallen tree, and Melody obeyed and plopped down next to him, wiggling her toes and continuing to eye her bayou surroundings inquisitively. 

"Imagine," her pops said, "A kitchen table. Small. The year is nineteen-ten. We had electric lights at this time, but mother lit a kerosene lamp for me in the dark evening. 'Let's play a game,' she said. 'It's One, Two, Three.' Do you remember that one?" 

"Un, Deux, Troi," Melody recited, smiling. 

"French," her pops said. "My turn. Uno, Dos, Tres." 

"Spanish. That was too easy. Y'all really had nothing to do before the internet, huh?" 

He chuckled. "There's more to that. She taught me extensively whatever languages she knew. Lullabies. Nursery rhymes. On nights my...father...if that's what you could call him- passed out drunk, those were our nights. Lessons, and games, and drawing practice. Sometimes calligraphy." 

"Tell me what she looked like." 

"You know what she looked like!" 

"I wanna hear it again." 

With his words, he painted her a picture of a woman whose name was Eleanor. A woman with kind, intelligent dark eyes and an easy smile, curly dark hair, and a penchant for soft silly chaos. When his father wasn't around, pops said, she became this person for him. He td her all this not to idolize her memory or color the picture of her as if she could do no wrong; but to remember that she was human, that she existed, and did make mistakes just like everybody else. 

Like how she could have left pops father when the drinking got bad, could have spirited the two of them away, and lived elsewhere, even on the streets, when his father became more and more manipulative and violent. Perhaps she hadn't wanted that life for her boy and that was understandable; pops said he just didn't know if she even thought of it.

If she did, she didn't tell him, maybe to save him from the agony of such an important decision. Still, through the pain of what pops had gone through she stayed a shining light of hope for him till he was grown and able to begin a life of his own. 

"I had to think back," he said, "To the reality that there were not many options for single women of color in those days attempting to raise a mixed child. I was blinded to that fact in my young adulthood. Call it pride, or whatever you like...but our relationship was strained when she passed. I pushed her away. I was angry with her. Or misplaced. I was angry with my life, and she was my nearest outlet. So on I went without her." 

"You still feel bad about it?" 

Melody scooted closer and leaned her head on his arm. Just to be near him. She wasn't sure if he was sad, or just reflective; maybe both. She liked the warmth of his bathrobe on her cheek though, and the sleepy early-morning sounds echoing around them. There was nothing like this in hell. It was so peaceful. 

"Sometimes," he admitted. 

"Is that why..is that why you ..ah shoot," she tried to blink away the sudden burning in her eyes. She squinted, trying to blurr away the tears but they leaked down her cheeks anyhow. Dammit, she hated crying.

"Is that why I've been distant?" He finished for her softly. 

She sniffled and nodded. 

"I'm sorry," she blurted. "I didn't know. I didn't understand any of it. And that's why I lashed out. I thought you were just being mean, or- or I don't know. It never occurred to me you could have. Real feelings or something. Which in retrospect is fucking dumb," she was full out clinging to his arm now, her eyes making his shoulder wet because her face was pressed into his arm.

"Oh, Melody, no.." 

She felt him shift so his arms were around her, her face in his chest, and she reflexively put her arms around him too, inconsolably sobbing. 

"My behavior isn't your fault, do you understand me? It never is." 

He rocked her like she was little and she let him, clinging to him and drinking in his nearness. She couldn't remember the last time he had held her like this, or who must have said first that she must be too old for things like this. 

But she wasn't, she realized. She wasn't too old to be loved by a parent. She was sixteen. That wasn't an adult yet. 

"I could tell you more about her," he said. "But I think you'd like to hear her instead. Would you like to hear her voice?" 

Melody sniffed, hiccuping a little then withdrew to look up at him, "You can do that?" 

"With my radio. Yes. I don't often." 

She settled back down into his arms and listened while his radio scrolled around sounding just like it was changing stations as he struggled a bit to find what must be a very deep memory because the static went on for awhile. 

Finally, Melody's breath caught in her throat when the beautiful human woman's voice drifted into the humid bayou air seeming both near and far all at once. She was singing. 

"Dodo, ti titit manman l

Dodo, ti titit papa l

Si li pa dodo, krab la va manje l.." 

 

When the song had gone on and faded faded off into nothingness because that's where his memory stopped, her pops translated for her. 

"Sleep, little mother's sleep

Sleep, little father's sleep

If they don't sleep, the crab will eat.." 

Melody couldn't help a small giggle. 

"The crab will eat? It will eat me if I don't sleep? Who tells their kid that?" 

"It sounds better in the patwa, I promise." 

"Pat-wuh?" 

"Patwa. Haitian Creole." 

"Oh." 

They sat there for another few moments, Melody digging her face into her pop's chest. His heartbeat in her ear. Strong, warm. He stroked her hair and hummed while leftover tears from her most current crying sesh leaked from her eyes. 

"Poppa. I love you." 

He kissed the top of her head. 

"I love you too, cherimwen. My dear." 

She smiled silently. 

Eventually they rose to walk back to the real part of their house, Melody casting one last glance back to that forked path behind them before they went. 

"What about that road?" 

"Hmm. I suppose..it used to mean something darker to me. I always likened my journey through life to this. An unwinnable series of events. Whether left or right, it seemed each choice took me somewhere increasingly...malicious." 

"And now?"

"Now?.." They reached the wooden floorboards of her parents soft orange hell's early morning sunlit room, Melody blinking at the sudden contrast, "I can leave that behind. No more choices, except to love your dad, you, and your sister." 

"Huh. You're welcome, I guess." 

He laughed, his radio crackling cheerfully. 

~ 

"UNCLE LUX!!" 

Melody flew into the tall man's arms, causing him to go "-Oof- Hey, hey, short stuff!" 

Lux was already there when Melody walked out. 

He was absolutely one of her favorite people in hell. 

It had taken her approximately an entire decade of life to figure out that Lux actually shared zero biological connection with her pops or dad, that he was in fact nobody's brother down here whatsoever- a point Harmony made to drive home and tease Melody about whenever, and however possible. 

"He looks nothing like us, dodo brain, why are you so surprised about this!" 

Well, it was a little bit like learning that your parent has a name besides 'mom' or 'dad', or that your favorite teacher actually leaves school to go home or grocery shopping. Because for as long as she could remember, the angel with wolf ears and dark hair had been a fixture in her family. There were times he got lost mentally and forgot to come around, but he always did get back to them eventually. Melody had learned to expect that undercurrent of both chaos and melancholy with him. It was just another aspect to his person, like his loud sense of fashion or how his emotional presence made her think of times long past. 

"I'm not so short anymore," she frowned up at him. 

"Nah. Last time I saw you, you were this tall," he held a hand about a foot above her head, "You're shrinking. What's up?" 

"With any luck, she and her sister both will get my height, and none of Lucifer's, or lack thereof," pops said from the doorway, jauntily leaning as he fixed his bow tie. He'd stayed behind to shower and dress for the day. 

"Hardee-harr," Dad said from over by the stove where he was fixing hot chocolate for Lux, "I've only had eighteen years of short jokes." 

"Sorry, darling, you make it so easy. Look, you're blushing already!" 

"And I'm gagging already," Lux rolled his eyes and took a seat at the table. 

Just to drive a point home pops snuck behind his husband to give him a pert smack on the rear and grinned when Dad objected "You're gonna make me spill this shit-!" He was interrupted by his husband dipping him into a kiss.

"POPS please," Melody vocalized, scrunching her eyes shut. "Eww-uhh."

"Yes pops. Please," Lux muttered. 

"So sorry. I thought you ordered breakfast and a show. Greetings, Lux!" 

The wolf man eyed pops outstretched hand warily, "After seeing all that I think I can greet you from here. Not wanting to touch you just this minute. Sorry." 

"You're not sorry in the least, " pops returned cheerfully, who had abandoned his now properly ruffled looking blond co-parent to have a seat.

"You're right," Lux returned. "Not a sorry bone in my body. Lucifer, yah sure you want to spend the rest of your eternity with this one? Not too late to back out, you know..." 

"Hmm.." 

Melody's dad was leaning against the counter, pretending to consider the options. "Well, we're one pregnancy and two children into it now.." 

"Plus seventeen years of marriage," pops offered. 

"Eighteen and a half years together, give or take-" 

"-It's not like we don't all share a last name."

"Yeah, you're right, you can take them all off my hands. Please and thank you," dad decided, pushing a mug off hot chocolate to Lux. 

"No worries. I'll come to retrieve you in the dead of night. If the radio demon intervenes I'll send him up to Heaven. Let them deal with him for awhile. Speaking of two children, where's the other one?" 

While dad vocalized that Harmony was most likely in her room lost in her own little world (Lux responding that that's a wonderful place to be and didn't wish to disturb her), Melody phased out of the conversation to fixate on the little box on the counter, grabbing it up, while also ignoring the topics which had turned to a bunch of blah-blah things surely invented for older men to catch up with each other and also bore the tears out of impatient teenagers. 

She hung around while Harmony finally showed up, and greeted Lux herself. 

"Barbara art?" She asked him. Not a hi, hello, just straight to the point. That was Harms.

"Barbara art," Lux agreed, reaching behind him to pull out a portfolio binder, which Harmony received with an excited grin and hopped to sit up on the counter and lost no time perusing. He'd learned a long time ago that if he didn't bring his best friend with him on his visits, he damn sure better bring her latest sketches otherwise he'd never hear the end of it from the darker haired twin who ate, drank and breathed visual art. 

"How is dear Barbara nowadays?" Pops asked while his husband dragged a chair over to sit beside him. Melody smiled at the sight of her dad promptly using pops lap as a footrest, and the resulting 'really?' Looking stare he got from the radio demon. 

"Good. On vacay with the wife again." 

Melody immediately ran over to look at vacation pictures when Lux pulled out his phone to show them. He was really close with Barbara, so of course he received constant updates. 

"Stop crushing on Barb's wife," Harmony said from atop the counter. "It's getting weird." 

"You're weird," Melody shot back, her cheeks flaming up just a little. Okay, so she was more than a little bit enthralled with Sunny, so what? People got crushes all the time. 

"It's okay," Lux said, letting Mels scroll through pictures and videos, watching her smile at the proceeding sight of the happy couple, "Barb said to me once 'I think Melody is a little bit in love with my wife.' " 

"Ahh!! Oh nooo," Melody cringed. "What'd she say after that? Was she mad? Pops STOP IT ISN'T FUNNY" 

The radio demon was snickering. Dad smacked at him, which only made him wheeze a little. 

"No!" Lux was laughing. "She looked at me real serious and said, 'Bitch, I don't blame her. Me too!' " 

God, Melody missed her. 

She watched over his shoulder while he texted his friend. 

•Mels and family say hi.• 

His phone dinged with a response. 

[Barb] •Alastor behaving himself?• 

Both Melody and Lux looked up at the table across them, where Mel's pops was bugging the piss out of his husband again. 

Lux glanced at Melody, who shook her head and mimicked taking a picture. 

The angel nodded, and promptly snapped a photo, sending it on to Barbara and captioned it,

•No.• 

Then as an afterthought, 

•Never, actually.• 

[Barb]•😂🤣 Is he trying to stick his finger in Lucifer's ear?? Save that poor man.•

When Lux had packed up his stuff, he said his goodbye's to all family members, shaking hands with Lucifer and hugging both girls while threatening pops with eternal torment if he made any of them upset. 

"That's a given," Pops responded. "This one here is always upset at something," giving Melody's ear a playful tug. 

"Ow!" 

"See?" He grinned. "Even as a baby she cried for ages..." 

"Don't remind me," Lucifer shuddered. "The great colic incident of twenty-four. Ugh." 

"Want me to rip apart his soul for you?" Lux said conversationally, draping his bag over his shoulder as he prepared to head out the door. 

"Yes," Melody grinned. 

As Lux waved a last goodbye to them all and headed out the door, Melody's attention was brought again to the little box she'd been holding this entire time. 

"Ah shit! Shit, Lux!!" 

She snatched the door open and ran after him, calling his name again to get his attention. 

"I forgot," she panted, catching up to him, "Here," she handed him the box, "I was waiting- I don't know. Till everyone got done talking, or.." 

Well really, she'd been wanting a chance to simply have Lux all to herself. Selfishly maybe...and Melody, as loud as she could be, enjoyed one on one time with her favorite people. And the idea of giving him the phonograph in front of just everyone, for some weird reason, made her cringe inside especially with everyone laughing irreverently. The gift she'd just worked so hard on with pops help was less than irreverent; it was downright special and deserved that treatment, she thought. 

She watched, grinning, as he opened it, his blue eyes lighting up as he examined the intricate little phonograph. 

"Ah, it's beautiful!" 

"It actually works," she told him. Put the needle on and press the switch!" 

He did so, marveling at the vinyl record crackling, then smiling as the opening score to Labyrinth drifted up to meet their ears. 

It's only forever..

Not long at all..

"I'll program more for you," she babbled, "There's a whole lot I can do, if you don't like that one much. It's only the one song-" 

But he had swooped her up in a hug, and she laughed when he said "You don't have to do more I promise! This is magical. I absolutely love it." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, Mels. You did good!" 

"Thanks!" She stood back. "Hey, Lux..?" 

Her question lingered uncertainly. 

"Yeah?" 

She meant to ask a lot of questions, speaking of those. Starting with why old phonographs and radios made her think of both Lux and pops, or why their friendship seemed rife with both affection, and a begrudging willingness to get along; a tension she wasn't unaware of. Maybe there was a hint of respect too, for the other. 

"I just...I dunno." 

Maybe for once she shouldn't ask all the questions ever. And maybe there were complex things about adult relationships she'd never understand. And maybe that was all right. 

"Nothing I guess. I love you." 

The understanding look that came over his face surprised her, but he thankfully didn't push it.

"Love you too, kiddo. Bye." 

"Bye." 

No, she thought as she went back inside where her family was now cleaning the kitchen together, maybe there were things she was never meant to know. But she knew enough. That's what mattered. 

~ 

"How did it go? The talk?" 

Lucifer was sitting on the edge of their bed, taking his boots off and unbuttoning his collar. 

Alastor sat next to him and said, "It went well. More than that, I think. The little one's growing up. Both of them." 

He reached to help Lucifer with his shirt, giving himself to admire his husband's neck and shoulders and the little dip that formed his clavicle. 

"Hey now," Lucifer said. "Don't be starting something-" 

Alastor had pulled him close and had tugged them both down, smilingly wrapping Lucifer up in his arms and pressing his face into Luce's sweet smelling neck. 

"I'm not," he murmured there. 

He just wanted his angel near him.  

Thankfully, Lucifer let him just hold him. Alastor had trouble admitting it at first, a long time ago in the beginning of their relationship, that he just loved nonsensical skin to skin contact. Loved the feeling of Lucifer's bare back under his fingers and the way he just melded comfortably into being cuddled. 

"You're being quiet," Lucifer said. "What's up?" 

"I walked to my path again." 

He had. After everyone had gone their separate ways and Lucifer was in the shower, Alastor had wandered on a whim in his bare feet into the bayou again. Drinking up the warm, woodsy scent of home. A home he'd shared brief memories of with his daughter today.

 The moon had risen on his dimension and turned everything, including his white shirt- yes white, not red for once- a glowing ethereal blur color. He'd taken this trip many times. Sometimes out of sadness, sometimes for a reminder of something he couldn't quite place, and now to satisfy a slight curiousness.

Yet as he'd suspected, in the clearing he'd taken Melody to that morning there sat a grouping of familiar trees, a series of non growing and unchanging bushes, and that fallen stump he'd sat upon with her to tell her about Eleanor. His mother. But where the dirt forked path should be, there was nothing whatsoever but a fresh cropping of softly waving grass. 

"Well how about that," he had muttered. "What do you know." 

He'd immediately turned about and gone back to Lucifer, unable to tell how he was feeling, or moreover, *should* feel about this change. 

Lucifer simply pulled him closer and played with the hair at the back of his neck as they laid in silence. 

Alastor trusted that Lucifer surely must know...that this path of his- this devil's forked road that started off so dark and uncertain in his human youth and had taken on so many shades in the decades to come, meant more to him than he could explain. It was an almost abstract concept that, for once, left him unable to paint with words. But he saw the hues of it in his mind. 

The last color of it: golden, like the blood that beat with Lucifer's heart. 

Today, the path had breathed its last color to the winds. 

Alastor trusted that when Lucifer said, "What does that mean?" He understood anyway. He also trusted that when he said, 

"Nothing at all, dear," in his airy way, that Lucifer knew. 

Somehow..

That it meant everything. 

[tethysresort]

Swallows at Dusk and Dawn

Summary: It is winter at the castle by the lake. The survivors of the siege of the stockade recover, Haleth makes friends, and Caranthir begins courting a certain elvish trader. As winter deepens, Haleth makes choices and the People of Haleth arise.

A TRSB 2024 story! Check it out here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58921111/chapters/150191104

And the adorable complete art is HERE by stayindraw! (Thank you so much for letting me write for your art, I had a marvelous time!)

Art rating: G

Fic rating: T (for the themes of grief and memories of the dead, not graphic, no major AO3 warnings apply)

Relationships: Haleth and Caranthir, Caranthir and Caranthir's Wife, Haleth and Caranthir's Wife

Characters: Haleth, Caranthir, Caranthir's Wife (eventually his wife), Haldan, a whole group of OCs

Word count: 10k words

@tolkienrsb, @stayindraw

[lucid-cups]

draw your cups go

here ya go, one fresh Charhelz Cuphead Lucifer Calix Animi

couldn't be bothered to give him a shirt, and his fur kinda counts as pants, right-? anyways, fun fact time! - His first name is Charhelz, but due to living with Kettle, who never learned his first name, he just gets called Cuphead. And hey, it worked when he signed the devils contract, so it must be good for something, right? - You may have noticed one of his last names is Lucifer. that's because of how angelic naming standards go, such as the Calix Animi bloodline, or in this case, the Lucifer bloodline. Cuphead is the son of Belphegor Lucifer, who is the brother of the devil - He is normally cup shaped in Eternity-verse, i just can't draw him like that 😅 - Human form is 11'2 (fathers genes), and Animi form is 3'7 - He's not aware of who either of his parents are, and is even less aware that his dad is one of the seven sins - He has a grand total of 4 siblings, and is the oldest of a set of triplets, the others being Mugman and Andraya (oc). He has one younger sister, Sweetea (oc), and an older one, Winella (oc) - He is currently 50 years old, has had two partners before, one of which being Bendy, who he was engaged to for a short period of time before the wedding was canceled - He has two adopted children, Ivory (oc) and Emily (also oc). He's also the father of one biological child, Tintenbecher (oc, shortened to Tint/Tinten). he is currently unaware of the whereabouts of Tinten. - All his close family is dead as far as he is aware, and the rest he has never met and has no interest in meeting that's all i got for now lmao, enjoy

[tabbycalliber]

Doin another drawing poll!

[delicateartisantrash]

Chapter Drop: Gladiators of Kaon, ch 6

New chapter released! :3 enjoy lovelies

[ivyprism]

Skelesona Siblings: Revamp (Info Dump)

Warning: There are none, I think. Fighting and Flirting maybe?

Serenity - Hydrangea's Older Sister

Personality: Serenity is compassionate and caring and occasionally goes to extremes. After a few bad relationships, she is not looking for romance and attempts to educate her younger sister. She jealously protects her sister and will go to war against anyone who mistreats her siblings. She takes extra care of things and virtually raised her brothers after their parents died (depending on the AU). She looked after her and introduced her to metal music, which she still appreciates now! She dislikes people and considers herself an introvert. She is very nice and friendly.

Appearance: She has red eyes and a scar on her right eye. She has red ecto-hair. She also has a pierced tongue and a butterfly tattoo on her left shoulder. She's 5'3". Her ecto body is slightly chubby! She wears glasses but prefers contacts.

Josiah - Kayden's Twin Brother (and Hydrangea's Older Brother)

Personality: Josiah is a vigilant and overprotective older brother. He tends after Hydrangea and has exposed her to some anime she adores. He also showed her several video games she adores. On the exterior, he looks like a gigantic ruffian. He might be gruff and unpleasant to her friends, although he means well. He has delivered the shovel talk to any of her siblings' partners. He is primarily preoccupied with his work, yet he can and will help his sisters when they need it. He keeps up with a lot of things and is really kind-hearted. He calls Hydrangea once a month to make sure she is doing fine.

Appearance: He has light blue eyes. He is 6'1". He has freckles. His ecto body is blue as well! He is very muscular compared to his older sister and younger sister. He, like his sisters, wears glasses.

Kayden - Josiah's Twin Brother (and Hydrangea's Older Brother)

Personality: Kayden is significantly more aggressive and protective than his twin sibling. He is a huge flirt and goes out much more than Josiah does. He will go to fight with his brothers' crushes so that they can demonstrate their worth. He is both strong and good-hearted. Hydrangea adores him, and she comes to cry on his shoulder while he consoles her. He has a fighting spirit when it comes to conflict, unlike Josiah. He is the first to challenge Serenity. He is in frequent communication with his younger sister. He is very good at fighting and isn't hesitant to.

Appearance: He is identical to Josiah. He has light blue eyes. His ecto body is slightly more muscular than his brother's. He's about 6'2". He, unlike his siblings, doesn't wear glasses.

Christine - Hydrangea's Little Sister

Personality: As a 14-year-old, she has time to grow as a person. She is kind and courteous, yet she can also quite cheeky! She has a nice temper, but when she becomes enraged, she goes dead silent. She admires Hydrangea and is skilled at expressing herself. She is an extremely curious person, however she often gets herself into problems. She can be harsh and a bit straightforward. She's clumsy in some interactions and doesn't exactly know how to socialize all that well, but she tries her hardest. She is sometimes scared of the future.

Appearance: She's a 5'1 1/2" skeleton who looks like Hydrangea. She has purple eyes. She is on the chubby side but looks like a normal healthy 14-year-old. She, like her siblings, has glasses.

Cora - Hydrangea's Little Sister

Personality: Cora is ten years old, so she has lots of time to learn and develop her personality. She is curious and astute. She is quite bashful and avoids eye contact. Her older siblings serve as role models for her. She has an excellent temper and never loses it when situations become hot. She is an extrovert who exudes confidence. She is outgoing and greets everyone she encounters. She regularly practices utilizing her magic and has some control over it. She is a major cartoon enthusiast and frequently paints. She is way too sweet for this world, and her siblings would sacrifice their lives for her.

Appearance: She's 4'5"! She has purple eyes. She doesn't have glasses, unlike most of her family.

--------

[lyranova]

Can we have more interactions between Alister and some other next gens? How does he get along with his peers!!

Hiya anon! Of course I can, I’ll admit this ended up focusing on Alistar and a couple of other Next Gen’s and then it turned into an Alikari fic towards the end 😅. So if you have a specific OC Next Gen that you want Alistar to interact with please let me know 🥺💕, and I hope you enjoy! Btw the links below are of the outfits some OC’s wore, and if anyone wants to put what their Next Gen would wear to a ball below please feel free to add them 😁💕!

Leon and Cyra belong to @thoughtfullyrainynightmare , Avalinia and Nymphadora belong to @koneko-pi , Hikari Einar and Hana belong to @eme-eleff , Cory belongs to @hybridanafrost and Vivi Dusk and Sirius belong to @loosesodamarble !

Word Count: 2,676

Warnings: None

Alistar, Hikari, Miku, Kito, Kya, Hana, Einar, Ezio

———

Alistar quietly walked to the ballroom. Earlier that week his father, William Vangeance, had told him that there was going to be a ball for all of the Magic Knight squad children, the Captain’s Children, and for the other royal and noble kids from the Suit kingdoms. Along with Hino. Alistar had scoffed for a moment, knowing there had to be an ulterior motive for this ball, and he was proven right.

The reason for the ball was for the relations between all the kingdoms to be repaired or to begin. If their children got along and made connections with each other, maybe in the future they could become close allies. That was King Augustus’s theory anyway.

Alistar rubbed the back of his neck. He liked being able to catch up with his friends from other squads at events like this, but at the same time he hated having to go to events like this, mostly because of the stares people gave him when he walked into the room. It made him self-conscious

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he stood in front of the oak doors. He cleared his throat, straightened his suit jacket, made sure his normally messy white hair was still parted to the side like it was supposed to be before he opened the doors.

As soon as he opened the door soft, sweet music floated in the air past him. People were laughing, talking, and dancing happily. He had to admit, it had been a while since he had seen everyone look so relaxed and cheerful. Everyone had been stressed out about taking the Magic Knight exams and going on missions that they really hadn’t been able to let loose. Alistar nearly chuckled, maybe he was wrong, maybe the real reason the adults had come up with this ball was just for their kids to have fun.

He quickly looked over and saw the Black Bulls standing around being their usual selves. They were loud, joyous, and of course chaotic. The Faust siblings and Corduroy tried to get the others to calm down, but that wasn’t an easy task.

Alistar walked over to the drinks, grabbed a glass, and moved to lean against the wall beside the table. He noticed all of his friends and peers were there, except for one: Hikari Yami.

She was supposed to be there with her squad and siblings since she was their Vice-Captain and the oldest but she wasn’t. Maybe she was running late? Or maybe she was sick? No, her siblings would have told him she was sick. As he got lost in his thoughts he felt someone come to stand beside him, he turned and smiled.

“ Hello Leon,” Alistar greeted the oldest Vermillion warmly.

“ Hello Alistar,” Leon greeted warmly before he took a sip of his drink. “ Quite the party our parents decided to throw for us isn’t it?”

“ It is. But our parents weren’t the only ones who set this up, there are kids from Heart, Spade, Diamond, and Hino as well.” Alistar pointed out as he saw the Grinberryall and Deomine children standing and talking amongst each other, Leon nodded in agreement.

“ I hear you’re on the short list to become Vice-Captain of the Crimson Lions,” Alistar said after a moment, he noticed a small smile appear on his friend's face and he shrugged a bit.

“ I’ve heard that as well, although I’m not sure how true that is.” Leon admitted softly, and Alistar patted his shoulder.

“ I’m pretty confident that it’s true, and before you say something like ‘I don’t know if I’ve earned it’ or ‘I don’t deserve it, someone else does’ I’m going to tell you right now that you’ve worked hard and that you have earned it.” Alistar said quickly and with his signature smile, Leon scoffed and shook his head.

“ We’ll see, but I think I’ll keep my expectations in check though, just to be safe.” Leon admitted as he took another sip of his drink. “ Where’s Hikari? Shouldn’t she be here with the rest of her squad?”

“ I don’t know, everyone else is here except for her, I’m hoping she’s alright.” He muttered softly, his voice full of worry, Leon patted his friend's shoulder.

“ I’m sure she’s just running late, there’s no need to worry.” Leon said warmly and before Alistar could respond two of their other friends walked up to them.

“ Good evening Alistar, Leon!” Avalinia Silva, daughter of Nozel Silva, said cheerfully as she walked up to the two. They smiled warmly and greeted her happily.

“ Good evening Leon, Alistar.” Nymphadora Silva, daughter of Nozel Silva and sister to Avalinia, said more calmly.

One could easily tell that Nymphadora was here at the ball out of a sense of duty, whereas Ava was here to have fun and because she truly enjoyed these kinds of events.

“ Wow you really look like a Prince Charming tonight Alistar!” Avalinia said with a bright smile, Alistar’s face suddenly went red as Leon chuckled from beside him.

“ O-Oh, thank you Avalinia.” They all turned as Nymphadora scoffed.

“ If father were to hear you say that, he would think you were flirting with Alistar.” She said with a small grin at the mental image of their father glaring at the young men. The two visibly shuddered as they also got a mental image of Nozel glaring at them.

“ I didn’t mean it like that Nymph! I meant it in a general and friendly way, and if you would have let me finish I was going to say the same thing to Leon.” Ava said with a pout, causing her sister to laugh.

Alistar suddenly felt someone pull on the hem of his jacket, he turned and looked down slightly to see the young Vivian Faust standing there. He smiled and bent over a little to be more eye level with the young girl.

“ Good evening Vivi, you look very lovely tonight.” He said warmly and the young girl nodded.

“ Thank you, my Aunt Discordia provided the fabric for the dress and my mother sewed it.” Vivian explained matter of factly as she smoothed out the front of her dress. “ May I ask my flower knight for a favor?” She suddenly asked and he frowned a bit but nodded.

“ Of course you can, Vivi.”

“ Can you make me some Pelargonium peltatum please?” She asked, and Alistar nodded before he looked around, in order to make her those flowers he would need a pot of dirt. When he turned back to face Vivi he saw her holding out a pot for him, he laughed, she was always very well prepared.

Alistar grabbed the pot and used his World Plant Magic to make her the flowers before handing it back to her. Vivian suddenly grabbed a handful of the Ivy Geranium and began to make a small bracelet with it.

“ Here, the flowers mean ‘your hand for the next dance’, so after you dance with Hikari you can dance with me.” Vivian said as she placed the flowers around Alistar’s wrist and the young man blushed a bit and rubbed the back of his neck.

“ Of course Vivi,” He agreed and the young girl tilted her head a bit.

“ Are you burdened by my asking you to dance? Or is it my brothers glaring at you that has you feeling awkward?” She asked and Alistar looked over Vivian’s shoulder and saw Dusk and Sirius glaring at him, he smiled and shook his head before patting her hair.

“ I don’t feel burdened Vivi, and your brothers glaring at me isn’t making me awkward at all.” Alistar said with a small laugh, and Vivian looked at him seriously.

“ You’re a bad liar,” She told him bluntly before a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. “ but that’s what makes you a great knight.” The smile disappeared from her face before she turned around and walked back towards her family and squad. Alistar stood back up and noticed Avalinia and Nymphadora had walked away to go see their other friends, Leon smirked at his friend.

“ And you wonder why you’re so popular amongst people.” Leon said with a chuckle, and Alistar snorted.

“ Last I checked you were the one with the biggest fanclub.” Alistar said with a chuckle, which caused Leon to shake his head.

Suddenly the ballroom doors opened and in walked Hikari Yami, Alistar turned to look and his eyes widened and a bright red blush appeared on his cheeks.

She was wearing a beautiful floor length black dress with a slit on the side, the fabric had beautiful designs of flowers native to Hino printed on it, and the top of the bodice as well as the sleeves were also made to look like leaves and flowers from Hino. She had her dark hair swept to one side of her face and she wore simple yet beautiful jewelry designed with blue gems to look like roses.

She looked absolutely beautiful.

“ Looks like your bodyguard’s arrived, which means I can leave you alone to go mingle and dance with Avalinia and Cyra as I promised.” Leon said before he walked away, Alistar nodded numbly at him but his eyes never left Hikari.

“ Sorry I’m late, my dad was being a pain about the dress. He said it was ‘too revealing’ and that maybe it would be better if I stayed home, luckily my mom set him straight.” Hikari explained as she walked up to Alistar, she frowned when he didn’t respond. “ Hey are you okay? You can’t already be that tired.”

“ O-Oh sorry I was just thinking,” Alistar said quickly as he shook his head to get his thoughts in order. “ Honestly I’m surprised Captain Yami let you out of the Hideout in that dress.”

“ Yeah well he didn’t have much of a choice when my mom told him how it was unfair to let Einar and Hana come to the ball and not me, she also pointed out that I’m not a little kid anymore so I can go out wearing whatever I want, while also pointing out that someone needed to keep the brats in line at this party.” Hikari said with a shake of her head as she watched her squad. “ Speaking of, have they been behaving themselves?”

“ I think so, they’re acting as they normally do.” Alistar explained with a shrug and Hikari nodded before turning back to look at Alistar.

“ You look nice, you know how to dress to impress,” Hikari said with a grin as she looked him up and down. “ Although I’m not a big fan of the hairstyle.”

“ Why? What’s wrong with it?” Alistar asked as his hand reached up towards his hair, he thought he looked nicer with his hair out of his face, it made him look more mature and more like a noble.

“ There isn’t anything wrong with it, it’s just that…I like your messy hair more in your face is all.” She muttered with a grin before grabbing a glass of water and taking a sip. Alistar rubbed the back of his neck a bit awkwardly.

“ You don’t clean up too bad yourself, I half expected you to show up wearing your everyday clothes.” Alistar joked with a chuckle, he didn’t dare tell her his true thoughts, that she was the most beautiful woman in the room and that she looked breathtaking. So instead he decided to joke as he usually did. Hikari rolled her eyes and playfully shoved his shoulder.

“ Believe me I thought about it, but my mom and Hana said I had to look nice in order to give off a good impression to these nobles and royals. But I don’t really care what they think about me, they can like me as I am or just not like me at all.” She said with a shrug before putting her glass down and grabbing Alistar’s hand. “ C’mon let’s go dance!”

“ W-Wait Hikari!” Alistar tried to say but she ignored him and dragged him to the dance floor.

“ What? Scared I’m gonna step all over your toes?” She asked jokingly as the two stood in the center of the dance floor, Alistar snorted and shook his head.

“ Of course I am, the last time you and I danced I think you broke at least two or three of my toes.” Alistar joked, causing the woman to glare at him.

Hikari was as graceful as her mother on the battlefield, but on the dance floor? She was as graceful as her father was when he danced.

She placed her hand in his and her other hand on his shoulder, Alistar held her hand in his before placing his other on the small of her back. He cleared his throat and tried to hide the blush on his cheeks, if the two were any closer he worried that Hikari might be able to hear his heart beating in his chest.

The two moved and glided across the dance floor. This was one of the few times Hikari let him lead, since he was a slightly better dancer and knew more of the steps, but there were times when she would switch things up and take the lead.

Alistar stared at her as she looked down at her feet, concentrating on the steps and movements. The way she was dressed, the way the warm light shone on her face, and the way she smiled in joy as she made the right step. It made his heart melt and oddly made him want to kiss her right there and then but he shook his head, no, now wasn’t the time to get swept away by his feelings for her.

He liked her, and she was oblivious to it. Much like her dad was to her mother’s feelings. And Alistar wanted it to stay that way, at least for a little longer.

Suddenly a loud boom rang out through the room, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and turn their heads in that direction. It was the Black Bulls, as everyone had expected, apparently a few of the kids grew bored and decided to have a sparring match in the middle of the ball.

“ Seriously? Sorry Alistar, you’ll have to excuse me for a moment.” Hikari muttered, and just like that her serious Vice-Captain look appeared on her face as she made her way over to the group.

“ What do you brats think you’re doing? We’re supposed to be on our best behavior right now and you guys are acting up. This is why I can’t take you kids anywhere. Do you really want everyone to think we’re a crazy and chaotic squad?!” Hikari shouted loudly as all the Black Bulls knelt in front of her, just like they would when their dad was scolding them.

Alistar began to suppress his laughter, if no one knew better they would think it was Captain Yami Sukehiro himself standing in front of these kids. When she was serious and wanted the Black Bulls to fall in line she turned into the spitting image of Captain Yami but with the face of her mother Charlotte.

“ Vice-Captain Hikari is a little scary isn’t she?” Corduroy Swing, son of Magna Swing, said with a sheepish laugh as he came to stand beside Alistar, and on his other side stood a pale faced Ezio Roulacase, son of Finral Roulacase.

“ ‘A little scary’? Try a lot scary! When she gets like this I swear it's like she becomes her father!” Ezio said, and suddenly Hikari turned to look at them.

“ Hey Boy Scout, Taxi Jr. Get your asses over here!” Hikari shouted sternly, and both boys instantly nodded and ran over. Hikari began to scold Cory about how he shouldn’t have taken his eyes off of them, and that Ezio needed to control himself and stop flirting with every pretty girl he saw!

As Alistar watched this he suddenly couldn’t help himself, he suddenly burst out laughing, causing everyone to stare at him in confusion.

———

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

[pirate-of-the-southern-isles]

Fanfic's snippet - How Hans became a pirate, part III

First part here

Second part here

Hans is telling the story of what the hell is he doing here to Anna and Elsa after three years of the events portrayed and from his own perspective, mind you.

After Layla and Bernard managed to get into a huge fight – both verbal and physical – and Bernard called him “a lice-lad” for the first time, he didn’t even know why – it was a time to go.

“Catch!” Layla threw him one of the bags with gold and ordered to run as fast as he can. So he ran, not even feeling the pain of glass splinters in his feet. It wasn’t so bad – for as far as they ran out of the castle. The floor inside were even and hard, or covered in soft carpets. The soil of the Southern Isles was, on the other hand, really treacherous and sharp, especially with no shoes on. He didn’t have them. He didn’t have anything but the pyjamas. There was no time to change.

“Dinghy!” she yelled, when they’ve finally managed to slide off the black rocks and not kill themselves doing that. He almost sprained his ankle five times before he reached the shore. She basically seated him onto a bench and pushed the boat to the water herself, then she jumped in and grabbed paddles.

“Move it, newbie!” she ordered, throwing him one of them. It snapped him out of this weird, frenzy state he fell into when he saw from a distance how the flames consume the badly shattered castle, which prided itself to be “impossible to capture”.

There were a lot of other boats around, filled with pirates going back to their vessels. Everyone was screaming, calling to one another. No one was chasing them. There was only a sound of fire and people’s cries behind him. He didn’t know if those were voices of pirates or just of simple people thrown out of their beds, like he was.

Now he saw more clearly. On the sea near the main Isle there were not one but a few different ships of various sizes, but every one of them had a Jolly Rogers on their masts, every one had at least a line of cannons and was fully ready to use them. Every once in a while there was a boom – apparently, the powder hasn’t run out yet. Its smell was pervading the whole world around, managed to dull even the odour of the salt. He was feeling like his eardrums were about to burst. There was a sack with a stolen gold at his lap. Layla had three around her. Not to much, given the size of the freshly robbed treasury, but when they will sell all the other stuff… but where to sell it?! It was obvious that those things were stolen! It was probably easy to identify from where! They will find them, he will be taken home, he will be sent home again…

“Hey! Don’t panic!” Despite the darkness of a moonless night from one side and the smoke from another, she saw his face clearly. “You are starting your new life, lad! Look! See that one there?! She’s ours! Now, row with those arms!”.

The ship was close now. There were reflections of fire on the sea, giving impression like they were entering Hell. But they reached the bank – he was pretty strong after long years of fencing trainings and manure-shoveling, but his shoulders were still begging mercy – and someone threw them a ladder.

It was the first time he set foot on the “Morning Star”. There was the crew all around him, screaming cheerfully and drunk with victory. Because victory was obvious, fair and square. He could hardly believe it. Some pirate band just robbed the Southern Isles to the last penny. Of course, yes, the main treasury was still almost full, because, well, they didn’t have much time and sacks and Bernard managed to steal them some… but taken the damages into account, his father will have to spend a small fortune to repair it all.

Something slammed right next to him. Involuntarily, he jumped out of the way, but it was just one of the yards, pulling down the sail. The ship kicked. Someone at the wheel started to spin it. Someone else started yelling orders, but he had absolutely no clue what those meant. His heart was pounding, he could hear mainly some high-pitched peep and a white noise. His eyes were watering. His whole body hurt. And, he had to admit, he was terrified half to death.

Someone tugged on his wrist, he almost fell over.

“Come, catch those halyards and pull! I’ll be right back with ya!”

He has absolutely no idea what he was supposed to be pulling, but, fortunately, someone just sticked it into his hands.

“Come on, lad, on three! One, two, three!”

Having no better idea, he pulled. He felt a sudden pain in his palms – but he didn’t let go. Those pirates before him didn’t let go either, so he didn’t want to look weak. Looking weak was always dangerous, and if it was dangerous at home, then on the pirate ship, among some thugs, it was probably deadly.

There was quite a few of “one, two, three”s. Every time he thought he was losing a piece of a skin, but the ship was slowly turning around, heading for the sea. Hans felt a wind on his neck and saw it in the sails. They were leaving.

He looked back. Flames left on the land, smaller by the minute. There was still a long time till dawn. The other ships vanished somewhere in the darkness. There was no moon. They were going into the night. On stranger tides. All of his life was disappearing behind the stern.

When the last sail was set, the crew cheered. One of them jumped, the other one showed around his newly acquired treasures, two of them started dancing so hard they crashed into the other two and the three who were stealing the tapestry – he didn’t know their names by then – pulled out the instruments and started to play. The whole ship was having a great time. And he was just standing there, not knowing what he is supposed to do. Layla promised she will be back soon, but she was nowhere to be seen. Was he supposed to just remain standing? Maybe he should sit? Cheer with them or stay silent, not drawing attention?

“Hey, lad, and who may ye be?” finally, the pirate who yelled “one, two, three” noticed him. He had a beard, a striped shirt with no sleeves and a big belly. Oh, and an eye-patch.

“Me… Hans” he responded, barely remembering his own name. “My name is Hans.”

“Are you a hostage?”

“What? No!” he gasped; is it possible that Layla took him only as that?! If so, well, she is up for a great disappointment. He was sure no one is going to pay for him. And as far as he knew, hostages with no hope for a ransom were usually up for a gruesome end… He suddenly felt sick.

“So what, a new crewmate?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Eh, nevermind. Look here, lad!” he showed him his own bag, filled to the fullest… yes, it was definitely one of his sisters-in-law jewelery. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Yes… and… where did you find it?” he asked carefully; it wasn’t like he had some big feelings towards the wives of his brothers. Usually he just treated them with some slight sympathy. And he pitied them on behalf of joining this so-called-family, because he know best it is no joy, no honour and no profit. But he would prefer them to not be hurt. In the end, there was no animosity between them. Most of them hated the Southern Isles as much as he did.

“From one of the bedrooms, where else?”

“And… the owner?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t bump into anyone, why?”

“No reason”. He felt a little better now… well, a little little. “So… where are we heading?”.

“Wherever our captains commands, of course! Oy, mates!” He yelled to his friends, hoisting up his plunder. “Hurray for captain Rogers!”

The crew yelled with all the might. Hans could see both men and women, different ages, various shapes, sizes and colours. The darkness of the night was lit up only by small, iron lanterns, so it was hard to tell exactly how many of them there is.

 The pirate laughed resoundingly.

“Cheer up, lad! Name’s Raivis. Are you from there? Some village?”

“I… me…” What was he supposed to say? I am a thirteenth prince, well, I was, before they disowned me, I ran away because I couldn’t stand them anymore”?! “Yes, I am from the Isles” He hoped it will be enough for now.

“Look at you, lad, so scared! Is it your first time seeing the battle?”

“This kind, yes”. He preferred not to mention Arendelle just now.

“Oh, of course. Here, take a sip!” Raivis reached somewhere next to them. Other pirate was just pouring something into wooden cups. It has a strong scent of citruses. New colleague took two, for him and for himself. Hans took it, but it was like he didn’t know what is he expected to do. “Well, lad? Here is for the health of the captain!”

Not seeing any other way, Hans raised the cup and tasted the grog for the first time. He barely stopped himself from spitting it out immediately.

“So, how did you get here?” It seemed like Raivis was going to keep his interview, right after he swallowed all of his shot in one gulp. “Wait, let me guess! You are looking for adventure! You have it in your eyes, lad, yes, I’ve seen it before. So, seven seas, adventures, glory and unforgettable story, aye?”

“Ah, Raivis, you really ain’t the brightest”. Suddenly right next to him appeared a woman with a really mean smile. She wore two braids, tied diagonally on her head, and a velvety tunic. Probably expensive. But he could safely assume that for her – it was free. “I can tell right away. He is running away from something!”

Oh damn.

“So, lad? The holy matrimony was just too tiring, or maybe there was some small fight with your old ones?”

Boy, you have no idea.

“Hans!”

He turned around immediately. At the doors between two sets of stairs, where on the “Black Sheep” one could find a galley and for the “Morning Star” it was a where captain’s cabin was located, stood Layla.

“Come, my father wants to see you.”

[sunset-peril]

Here we go! A 20K word story for your weekend enjoyment. I tried to remove all the typos from the original publication, and I changed a few things around. Let me know if typos/inconsistencies exist.

Technically a sequel to Trial of the Zora Armor, but I think it can be (at least mostly) read without reading Armor first.

[byz-was-here]

For the sake of my sanity, I'm making a timeline and overview of my Sea Nomads of Aqua Manga AU here. The post that inspired this whole mess can be found here (thanks to @crystaltoa)

General premise is that a group of Agori with living ships manage to survive on Aqua Manga after the shattering, and eventually encounter the Island of Mata Nui and its matoran inhabitants. Butterfly effect ensues.

Ficlets:

(Ao3 Link)

Out of the Mists of Avalon

A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky

The Aged Aged Man

Size and Tears

Speak Roughly to Your Boy

A Sea Dirge

[kenziedrawz]

oooh you wanna ask me about my chaotic little pjsk canon divergent au don't you? you wanna do it so much...

please.

but yeah anyways it's basically a bunch of random cards thrown into a high school setting because it's silly Tsukasa and Saki are basically the only 'normal' people there it's so fun and stupid and I already put them on an island-

[cutiemarkofcain]

An assortment of my OCs from my rickorty series, A Tale Told By a Morty. Mostly the villains and villain adjacent characters.

The color schemes for their clothes aren't necessarily accurate; I was doing a Halloween thing.

[lablass-2882]

The Son’s of Clones

Part 2 of my crazy crack au plan.

This came together a lot faster than I thought it would......Huh......

Anyway,

Second verse is same as the first. Except for Leo and Rosh, all of these fine gentlemen are the biological sons of Clone troopers. They are all currently soldiers in the Rebellion and have various roles.  

Most of them are in the crackfic I am writing, and I will drop a link below. 

Starting from left to right.

Lieutenant Arrow Fett. Code name Trigger. Like Tally and Nyx, Arrow's biological dad was a clone trooper from the 212th. Arrow grew up in a fairly typical village and had next to no clue who or what his dad was.... until the Empire came knocking. With his world turned upside down overnight, Arrow did the only thing he could think of, pick up his dad's sniper rifle and defend his home. This landed him in a holding cell alongside Gregor, of all people. Who immediately recognized him as a clone kid and practically kidnapped him when the Rebellion busted him out. He's been with the Rebellion ever since. 

Quirks

Amazing shot

Resident conspiracy theorist

Adjusting to being a big brother.

Twig Fett. Code name Due 2. Twig is Branch's twin brother and the son of a clone from the 501st. Like his sister, Twig is half Twi'lek and a stellar pilot. Unlike his sister, Twig isn't one for the spotlight and tends to just "vibe out" in the corner. Honestly, if it wasn't for his sister, Twig really wouldn't be in the Rebellion. When the Empire attacked their home, Twig wanted to run and hide with the rest of his family. But when Branch got captured, Twig went on a one-man mission to save his twin. He ran head first into Numa along the way.... who then later brought back to the Rebellion, and the rest was history. 

Quirks

A bit of a Quiet boy

Loves to cook

Is the accountant behind Branch's betting ring.

Max'sym Fett, or Max for short. Code Name: Fett (He could be more creative.) Max is the biological son of Dogma and a Mirialan woman. Raised in a strict but loving household. Max ran away from home to join the Rebellion after a few of his uncles paid Dogma a visit. Despite what his dad said, Max just felt like he had to help his family, regardless of the consequences. Dogma and Max haven't spoken since. He gets along pretty well with his mom tho.  

Quirks

Gets nervous really quickly. 

He is a Jack of all trades but most work as a mechanic.

Total mama's boy. 

Mako Ikaika Code name Bonito. Mako is one of the oldest of the Clone kiddos and the one who started it all. Mako's Bio dad was the medic for the Wolfpack who spent a wonderfully drunk night with a Zabark spice smuggler. They went their separate ways in the morning and never spoke to each other again. Fast forward to post-Order 66, and Wolffe needs help. This weird Zabark lady demands to talk with his long-dead medic about caring for their son. One very loud argument later, and Wolffe found himself the proud dad of one Mako. Things just exoculated from there. Wolffe deserted the GAR, ran into Rex, and found himself in the outer rim with a bunch of other clone deserters and one small child. Eventually, the group found an old abandoned base from the old republic and decided to make it their home. Wolffe named it "The Den," and Botta-bing botta-boom; the Clone Rebellion had a home base in the outer rim. Most of the Squad Kiddo end up at The Den at some point.

Quirks

Team medic

He is a strong voice. Like STRONG.

Takes after his grandpa Plo

Leo? Code name: Leo. Leo claims their full name is need-to-know, and no one needs to know right now. Yeah, the others don't fully get it, either. No one fully knows where or when Leo showed up in the fulcrum unit he just was just there one day. He works mainly as a code breaker and hacker for different fulcrum teams. Never really settling down with any one group or unit. That was until he met Nyx and Fae. Those two looked at this skinny loner and said, "Oh, we're so keeping him." Within a week, Leo was forcibly adopted by half of the clone units and glared at by the rest. He's not complaining tho. 

Quirks

Hacker voice "I'm in."

Lives off of coffee and Cheetos. 

Secretly loves and respects the entire clone unit but will never admit to it in a million years. 

Rosh Okoye. Code name: Usizo. Rosh is a bit of an odd duck in the clone unit. His family worked as healers, doctors, and medics in different refugee camps through the outer rim but never really crossed paths with the GAR or the Rebellion. That was until Mako showed up at one of the camps. Mako may have gotten a little (cough, cough, a lot) turned around while on a recovery mission. He completed the task, but it would take the squad another two or three days to pick him up. So, he decided to work while he waited; helping Rosh and his family out in the clinic. The two became best buddies, and by the time the squad swung back around to pick Mako up, Rosh decided to tag along. He figured that the Rebellion could always use another medic. 

Quirks

Tall Boy. Like very, very tall.

A bit of an airhead. He spaces out from time to time.

Love spicy food.

And! Now I am done. 

Good lord..... that was a lot.  

Anyway, I hope that you like the boys. And the girls. I plan on drawing them more here soon-ish...... but I need to recharge the old batteries before I do that.  

I should have a new chapter up for the fic here soon too. It's like 90% written, just needs some editing.

 Night Y'all. 

[wreywrites]

Tiger Shark

Part 2: The Sea

Chapter 6

There is grass all around. In front of me is the cornucopia, to my left, the boy from Eleven, to my right, the boy from Six. I can just see Mako on the far side of the cornucopia, not quite blocked by its imposing bulk. He gives me a tiny nod.

There are hills in the distance. I want to look around more, see what is behind me, but the sixty-second countdown has already started, and I cannot afford to lose focus. I shift my weight, ready myself to run, force myself to block out all the other tributes, all the distractions.

I take a deep breath. I am the Tiger Shark of District Four.

The cannon sounds.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

I am not the first to the cornucopia, but I am the biggest. I physically throw someone out of my way to get to the small cluster of spears in the back. All around is chaos. Shouting, screaming, clanging metal. Something warm splatters my face as I pull one backpack on, already reaching for a second. Someone yanks a spear out of my hand. Luckily I look before stabbing; it is Mako. He stabs the spear into the girl from Five and grabs the backpack she was going for. I hurl a spear at Farroe, who is standing in the opening of the cornucopia, blocking our way out. The spear sinks into his chest, knocks him backwards.

Mako and I run. On our way past Farroe, I yank the spear from his body. I finally see what was behind me. A long stretch of grass, and in the distance are trees. We sprint for the trees, away from the chaos of the cornucopia.

We are nearly to the trees when something hisses past my shoulder. I don’t slow to consider the implications, but as soon as I reach a tree big enough, I duck behind it, gasping for breath. To my left, Mako has done the same thing. He has the other five spears and tosses me one. An arrow hisses between our trees.

“We know you’re in there, Four!” Tychus shouts.

“Then come get us!” I shout back.

Peeking around my tree, I see him start toward us, but he only gets a few steps when Andromeda, who is a fair distance back toward the cornucopia, screams, “Tychus!”

He whips around, and I risk leaning a little farther out to see what is happening. Back at the cornucopia, a pair of tributes are rummaging through the weapons. We are too far away to be able to tell who they are, but they are each wearing one of the large, brightly-colored backpacks like Mako and I have.

Tychus swears and sprints toward the cornucopia, but before he or Andromeda can get anywhere near it, the other pair clear out, running in the opposite direction toward the low hills on the far side of the arena.

The cannon sounds. Five booms echo around the arena before it falls silent.

“That’s not as many as I would have liked,” Mako says.

“True, but I’d rather have it be five and know about it than have seven and be dead.”

He nods, and we push farther into the trees.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

We walk in more or less a straight line until the sun is directly overheard, its light filtering down through the trees to dapple the forest floor. We stop to take stock of our backpacks. Mako stands guard as I unpack them and sort our treasure trove. There are two small tins that contain five matches each, a tarp sleeping bag, three cannisters of water, three extra pairs of socks, a roll of gauze, a tiny fishing kit, a long coil of rope, a blanket, two boxes of water-purifying tablets and instructions for use, two bags of beef jerky, two bags of raisins, a pair of night-vision glasses, and a six-inch knife.

“Not a bad haul,” I say, taking a small sip of water. I’d hate to drink it all before we found a reliable source.

Mako nods and takes a sip from one of the other bottles. I divide the spoils, making sure each bag has some food, a water bottle, a tin of matches, and a fishhook, then dividing the rest as it fits.

Mako sits next to me, our backs against a large tree, and says, “So, where’s the water?”

“Not sure. There has to be some, somewhere, but I don’t know… I don’t know if it’s going to be deeper in the trees, or out in the plain somewhere, or…” I stop.

Mako and I look at each other and say at the same time, “The hills.”

This means going back. Back through the trees, which could be hiding all seventeen of the other remaining tributes, just waiting to kill us. Back across the grassy plain and the cornucopia, where there is sure to be more food, more weapons, more supplies, but just as sure to be at least some of the stronger tributes.

In the end, we decide to go back to the edge of the trees and follow them around the middle of the arena as far as they will take us. We each take another sip of water, then Mako puts one backpack on his back and the other on his chest and takes four of the spears. I take the third backpack and a spear in each hand, and we have taken no more than two steps back the way we came when a silvery parachute drifts down in front of us. Mako opens the little box to find a pair of cream cheese rolls.

He smiles. “Guess that means we’re going the right way,” and tucks the box and its delicious cargo into my backpack. “We’ll save those for supper.”

“Sounds good to me. You want to take the lead?”

Now that we have a plan, we progress quickly through the trees. When we reach the line between trees and grass, I notice that we are closer to the hills than we should have been.

“Must not have followed our trail exactly,” I glance at Mako with a grin.

He smiles ruefully. “Guess not. But I’m not complaining, we’re closer than we thought we’d be.”

We each have another sip of water, then trade loads so I carry two backpacks and four spears, and Mako takes the rest. It works well. Even the larger burden is quite bearable, though it leaves whoever is carrying it vulnerable, since four spears is too many to wield in any useful fashion. But the other has a spear in each hand and only one backpack, allowing them the mobility to fight. Having all six spears isn’t necessary, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave any of them in the cornucopia, and I’m certainly not going to leave a trail of weapons now.

We walk along the tree line all afternoon. Just before the sun dips below the horizon, we retreat a little way into the trees and find a large bramble patch to camp in. We end up crawling into the middle so as to break as few branches as possible and minimize the possibility of another tribute stumbling across our trail. We decide not to risk a fire.

No sooner have we settled in the middle of the bramble patch than the Capitol anthem plays. With some creative neck craning, I can see the projection of the pictures of the dead tributes. Farroe, the girl from Three, both from Five, and the boy from Six. This also means, I realize, that the only deaths today happened during the bloodbath.

Mako volunteers to take the first watch. I don’t argue, and get out the sleeping bag. It has gotten chilly since sunset. Mako takes the blanket and wraps it around his shoulders, nibbling one of the cream cheese rolls. I have a piece of jerky and my roll, then curl up and fall asleep almost instantly.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

I wake to a hand pressed over my mouth. Mako’s face is hovering over mine, wearing the night-vision glasses, a finger pressed to his lips. I nod, and he removes his hand from my face, then points out of our bramble patch to the right. I can see shapes moving, three or four tributes, but I have no idea which ones. They walk within twenty yards of our bramble patch, talking quietly, though I cannot make out what they are saying, and then disappear off to the left. They seem to have the same plan as us, except in the opposite direction. This makes me question the wisdom of going to the hills, but water runs downhill. If there is anywhere to find it, I still think that is our best bet.

I am wide awake after the encounter with the others, so after many long minutes of sitting silent and still to make sure they are gone, I trade Mako the sleeping bag for the blanket. He hands me the glasses and is quickly asleep.

I put the glasses on and look around. Mako would have been able to see exactly which tributes walked by. Not only that, but he would have seen them coming long before he could have otherwise. I wouldn’t have seen them until they were nearly on top of us had he not pointed them out.

I let Mako sleep the next morning. He took more than his share of the watch, so it is the least I can do.

Mako wakes with a start when the sun is a fair distance above the horizon. Judging from the sun, it is perhaps nine in the morning, though I have no real way of knowing that. It can be whatever time the Gamemakers want it to be in the arena. We re-pack our belongings, crawl out of the brambles, and continue along the tree line. By noon, we have run out of trees to follow. We decide to brave the grass; the hills are so close.

After perhaps another hour, we reach the top of the first of the hills and stop short. “I think we found the water,” Mako says.

~~~                               ~~~                               ~~~

In front of us, glittering in the sunlight, is a broad river. On the far side are more, taller hills, and to the left is the tallest of them all. But as I look at it, I realize it is not a hill at all, but the enormous face of a dam. The river here is the water that has run out of the spillway into this valley, and there, far off to the right and deep into the trees, is where the river runs into the rest of the arena. Part of me wants to climb to the top of the dam. It is the highest ground to be had, but I also know how exposed we would be up there.

Mako points out a small patch of trees at the base of the dam on this side. “Probably as good a place as any.”

I agree, so we set off again, but not before drinking the last of our water and refilling all three bottles from the river, dropping a tablet in each to make sure they have as much time as we can give them. The instructions say half an hour, and without a watch, it’s difficult to tell. We decide it is better to be overcautious.

It is nearly dark when we reach the tree patch. We unpack what we need for the night, and I have just tucked myself into the sleeping bag when another parachute drifts down to our camp. This one contains a pair of cinnamon rolls that we immediately eat. The anthem plays as we finish licking our fingers.

“I don’t remember hearing any cannons today,” I say.

Mako shakes his head. “Me neither.”

Sure enough, there are no pictures after the anthem. “Slow day,” I say with a smile.

Mako snorts. “Let’s enjoy it while it lasts.”

****

****

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