#Peidyn

[catt-nuevenor]

Story Setting - Peyton and Peidyn

"Best behaviour, alright?"

"Yes, Peyton/Peidyn," Lars and Louis/Leila drone.

"I mean it, no shenanigans, no fights. The pair of you should be setting a good example, not a cautionary tale."

My little one giggles from their spot on my lap as we watch on.

"I don't want to hear from Eylmer and Joyce that you've been less than perfect guests."

"Yes, Fæder/Módor."

Peyton/Peidyn sighs, a wry smile hidden behind their palm. "Off with the lot of you, before I change my mind."

My little one gives me a parting hug before accepting a piggyback from Louis/Leila.

"Be good!" I call after the three of them.

"We will!"

As the front door closes, and the yipping giggles and laughter filters in from outside, Peyton/Peidyn takes the seat beside mine, propping their chin up on the heel of their hand.

"Remind me, when was it that I adopted those two?"

I rest my hand on their shoulder, my fingers immediately finding stiffening muscle and tension. "About a week after they first walked through your door. They'll be fine."

Peyton/Peidyn huffs, then they smile. "Kicking the children out of the house for the night? For all the stress, it's worth it." They gather up the hand that rests on my shoulder, and brush their lips over my knuckles. "Shall we get started?"

Our meal is simple; vegetable stew with barley, freshly baked bread, and a quart of cider to share. Simple, and yet it is so much more than it has rights to be. We work together in a constant flow, our currents entwining then parting as we tease and encourage one another with small touches and glances. When Peyton/Peidyn asks me to taste the stew, they find an excuse to brush their thumb over my hip bone, their warm arm across my lower back, barely touching but still a pressure against my skin.

We eat at the table by candlelight, our faces smudged in shadow, our eyes aglow. Peyton/Peidyn sits beside me, as always, their arm skimming mine as they lift the spoon to their lips.

---

Extrovert

We leave the chores for the morning, stacking our things in the sink and brushing away any flour that clings to our clothes or hair.

"Should we change?" I ask.

"No, we'll pass Myrna's scrutiny." Peyton/Peidyn cups my jaw and kisses my cheek to prove it. "You could draped in a whole sack of flour and still be stunning."

I bat them playfully away. "Flatterer."

We leave the lodging house, hiding the key behind a loose brick in the wall for the others. The night is cool, but pleasant, the stars above twinkling down as we make our way across the Ash bridge and towards the thrum of music.

The dance has already spilled out into the market square, the musicians arranged upon the back of a hay-cart, the folk of the town a twirl below.

Peyton/Peidyn waves and nods to their cousins, and we both send our greetings to Ana/Abe and Erda when we spy them stood outside the shop.

"There's always a greater chance for injury when you mix drink with dancing," the old cunning woman had pronounced a few days ago. From first glance, it seems injury and accident have been avoided thus far. Long may that continue.

Peyton/Peidyn and I step up to the edge of the fray.

Panic flares within me when I feel their hand leave mine, but it is banished when I catch the gleam of their smile. Their locks of red and rust sweep low as they bow to me, their grey eyes gold in lantern light when they look up, and when they speak it is with the purr of storm and promise that makes my Feorh sore.

"Dance with me?"

And truly, what can I do, but let their tide carry me on?

---

Introvert

The night is ours, so we bask in it, in each other. Chores are sweetened by kisses, the washing by their arms around my waist, their breath upon my neck. When all is tidy, we sit before the fire, wrapped around one another, and share the warmth.

"This is enough," Peyton/Peidyn whispers.

"Hmm?"

"This. You, me, this." They tighten their embrace for a moment and kiss my neck. "It's enough, isn't it?"

"It is," I reply, pressing my lips to the hollow of their throat, their pulse rising to greet me as I linger. "It is."

---

Image courtesy of Annie Spratt on Unsplash

[seventies70s]

Been absolutely hooked on @catt-nuevenor ‘s Myrk Mire and I go insane, absolutely feral for Peidyn like you have no idea.

Also my MC and his lil girl. They hunt and fish and stuff

[phanosis]

Anadora looked up to the creature Peidyn had jokingly called a shrieker, and for a terrible moment believed the worst whispers of her nature. "What are you?" She asked the approaching figure, one hand still rooting around in her satchel, fingers closing upon the cool surface of the cylindrical container she kept hidden there. The woman gave a strange smile. "More like you all than you realise, but not quite entirely." ( cit. @catt-nuevenor )

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to hunt down some weird creatures with A! By the way, is it just me or does A probably have any interesting relatives in the family tree? Not only are their eyes quite peculiar, but they are the only ones among the main cast who immediately understand K's true intentions and nature. I have some theories…

[catt-nuevenor]

Location Change

Right, quick update on the stories. I'm currently on my final read through before submission on the fixed narrative story. Hopefully I'll be sending it off to literary agents within the month.

That means more and more of my brain is tip-toeing its way back to Myrk Mire, and it's had some thoughts.

I don't really consider them spoilers, but treat this as a soft warning for story content.

As you may recall, I want the story of Myrk Mire to be 100% cannon with the fixed narrative story, this presents certain problems I didn't have to contemplate in the previous iteration of the story or characters. Previously you were able to pick the genders of the romantic interests and for those choices to have rather large implications for the continuing narrative. I still want to give folks that choice, but, it means I have eight characters to integrate instead of four.

Let's have a quick refresher:

Previously:

Peyton (M) or Peidyn (F)

Anadora (F) or Abelyn (M)

Louis (M) or Leila (F)

Kelda (F) or Keldan (M)

New Characters:

Plehtin (M) and Pursa (F) Starling, cousins.

Anadora (F) and Abjalin (M) Webja, siblings born roughly seven months apart.

Leiz (M) and Leila (F) Fyls, twins.

Cwylla (F) and Celd (M), friends.

Right, with that lot out in the open, don't you think the old setting of the lodging house would get a touch, cramped with all these folks crammed inside? Plus, of course, our protagonist and their offspring. Speaking of which, I have another post to write-up about the protagonist. Or rather protagonists...

Anywho, my thought is this: rather than setting the main events in the lodging house, I'd set them in the tavern/pub instead. Mawkin's Watch for those who need the prompt. Previously this was run by Myne (Myrna), cousin to the main character's landlord/lady. I'm now planning for it to be a joint Starling enterprise between Myne, Plehtin, and Pursa, with rooms attached for rent. The Fyl siblings, the main character and littlun, and our eventual swampy lurkers, can all pile into said rooms, while the Webja siblings can live with Erda just across the marketplace but spend all their free time with the folks in the tavern. Keeps the cosy atmosphere without the elbowing for space, and helps me explain why the Starlings are all under one roof all the time without contrivance.

More details on storylines and some pronunciation help on the new names can be found in this post:

Intertwining Fictions

Now to figure out the post about the MC... eeep.

[catt-nuevenor]

Placeholders and Progress

There are placeholders still about where the menus are concerned, so ignore the bottom menu bar, and think of the little blue box in the corner as a suggestion of a future button.

All that out the way, the text featured here comes from the very beginning of Pléhtin's route (previously Peyton), it's very likely to be edited and refined before any sort of release or early access. Still, in quick summary, Pursa (previously Peidyn) her sister Myne (previously Myrna), and Pléhtin (their cousin) jointly run the town's guest house/inn, known in the story as a tóċirhús (don't worry there is a working dictionary/word log for all the non-standard English words). In this scene, Pléhtin, Pursa and Myne are cleaning up after the previous night's festivities, an event you'll all learn more about in the story. Ana is Ana, Abġa is her slightly younger brother (previously Abelyn), and the Fyls are Lars and his two younger siblings, twins Leiz and Léila.

If anyone is willing to share thoughts on layout, font, spacing, etc, I would very much appreciate it.

Background is probably going to go through more work at some point in the future, but you can get a vibe from it in its current state.

[catt-nuevenor]

Intertwining Fictions

Still pottering on with the editing process, I'm through the first third of the book, with the worst and oldest of the choppy narrative behind me and hopefully a smoother run from here on out.

While working through a bit of foreshadowing today, I came to a section where the story of TBT and Myrk Mire intertwine, and I thought it would be a good time to address that with you folks.

Myrk Mire and TBT share a universe, a timeline, and (though it might not be immediately obvious) many characters. This is something I'm really excited about, and frankly makes me slightly giddy every time I come to a section in one that underpins events in the other.

Below might be considered minor spoilers for folks who want to go into things completely blind, but there are also some important things like character names and genders for the RO's as well, so enter with that foreknowledge.

Let's get the elephant out of the room first and foremost. Currently, there are 4 characters in Myrk Mire (not including the MC and the Child) whose gender and name vary dependent upon player/reader choice. Obviously, this becomes a sticking point when it comes to integration with linear fixed narrative fiction.

So here's what's going to happen from this point onwards (the demo for Myrk Mire will eventually get updated once TBT is out on submission and I have more time on my hands):

There will be eight characters instead of the four, related to each other either by blood or association. There will also be some name adjustment to fit in better with the naming conventions of TBT and its tighter world building. So...

Peyton/Peidyn will become cousins, Plehtin and Pursa Starling, with Plehtin taking on the role of the previously combined gendered character while Pursa is the sister of Myne (previously Myrna).

Anadora/Abelyn will be sister and brother, born roughly seven months apart. Ana gets to keep her old name. Abelyn is now Abjalin, or Abja for short. Their story, as far as you folks know it, remains unchanged, but shared between the two of them.

Louis/Leila are twins, and Louis is now Leiz. Nothing much has been revealed about them so far in Myrk Mire, so only change for readers is really that the dynamic duo is now a dynamic trio. Lars is perfect just as he is.

Kelda/Keldan our mysterious little troublemakers/creepy lurkers, are close friends with one another, having been in and out of each other's lives for a long time. Keldan become Celd (pronounced as if it were a K, Keld), while Kelda becomes Cwylla (again, think K-w-ewl-la).

Right, now I realise the other elephant in the room is the MC and Child, and trust me when I say I'm devoting a lot of time and brain power into trying to figure out just how they're going to work in all this, but for now I'd like you to hold in your minds the idea that rather than a lone pair, they might be travelling with something of a larger group of companions when they first reach Aldmirham.

To round everything off, here is an extract from TBT that highlights the interweaving. No major spoilers, only hints and what's to come.

Hopefully I've given you all something to chew over. Back to the editing for me.

[catt-nuevenor]

Modern Setting - Peyton & Peidyn

We leave the house a little after midday, the pair of us climbing into the cosy warmth of Peyton/Peidyn's car. The hamper is snugly secured on the back seat behind me, while extra blankets to guard against the cold and neatly bundled on the one behind Peyton/Peidyn.

"You'll make sure everyone behaves themselves, won't you?"

My little one nods eagerly from the front step, Ana/Abe beside them as they listen attentively to Peyton/Peidyn's playful instruction.

"Lars and Louis/Leila's bedtimes aren't that far after yours, so if they're getting rowdy when Ana/Abe reads you your story, you remind them that there are always extra chores to go around."

I chuckle softly to myself from the passenger seat, hiding my smile behind the map I've been tasked with reading, when I feel Peyton/Peidyn turn around.

My attempt fails miserably, and a dangerous glint sparkles in the corner of my companion's eye.

"Be good for Ana/Abe," I call out to my little one, who waves and promises that they will.

Peyton/Peidyn turns the key, and the car rattles into life. Soon the house is disappearing into the distance, and ahead of us lies a slow meandering countryside as the town gives way to golden fields and open sky.

"How much do you want to bet Lars and Louis/Leila are already bickering?"

I look up from the map and ponder. "Depends on what you're going to put up against my wager. I think they'll get along until dinner, then they'll argue about that."

Peyton/Peidyn hums thoughtfully. "Fair, but I think it'll be sooner than that. There's a whole afternoon to fill, after all. Boredom will be the biggest catalyst, I think."

I reach over and pat Peyton/Peidyn's knee. "It'll be fine. We've left them both in good hands."

"Remind me to buy Ana/Abe a nice bottle of wine on our way back?"

"Will do."

We roll the windows down and let the air wash away the worries of home. The drive isn't that long, only an hour or so if we took the main road, but we're in no rush. Mile after mile and we barely see a soul beside the birds in the hedgerows.

I was only told where we're going this morning at breakfast, and though I now have a name, and a spot upon a map, I'm still mostly in the dark. It's a special place, somewhere Peyton/Peidyn's parents took them when they were small. The original plan had been to pile everyone into the car and go earlier in the year, but summer was suffocatingly hot this year, and the sheer number of tourists about had put the idea firmly to bed.

We have the radio on for a while, crooning tunes of the local station's 'jazz hour' filling the car with a haze of saxophone and rolling chords. I come to rest my hand upon Peyton/Peidyn's thigh at some point, though I don't remember when. The effort to move outweighs my will, so there my hand stays. Peyton/Peidyn doesn't seem to mind.

After an hour and a half on winding roads, we pull into a small car park. It's little more than a patch of dusty dirty and sand in reality, but Peyton/Peidyn assures me it's secure as it needs to be to leave the car in, and we clamber out.

The scent of salt and pine swirl about on an inconsistent breeze, and I take a moment to study my surroundings.

We're close to the sea, the map told me that much, even if I couldn't smell it now. The pine comes from a high bank on my side of the car, its slopes thick with trees, the shadows beneath the branches deep.

"Can you get the other side of the hamper?" Peyton/Peidyn asks, half-inside the rear of the car, the blankets already strapped onto their back.

A narrow trail begins in the far corner of the car park, and leads us into the depths of the sloping forest. The hamper is far heavier than I thought it would be, but shared between the two of us it's manageable. Peyton/Peidyn barred me from the kitchen most of the morning while they were preparing its contents, delicious scents enticing me all the while to steal a peek inside.

At the crest of the bank, I get my first glimpse of our destination.

Below, beyond the treeline, stretches a vast plain of sand, the sea a distant froth of white on the horizon.

"What do you think?" Peyton/Peidyn asks as we begin our descent. "Worth the trip?"

"Definitely. Worth leaving the house in the siblings' hands?"

"With you here too? I think I can balance the books well enough."

We find a sheltered spot atop a grass strewn dune, and begin to make ourselves comfortable. Peyton/Peidyn tells me that they've already checked the tide and the weather for the evening. We'll be able to stay on the dune to watch the sunset, and make it back to the car long before the sea turns back towards the beach.

"After that?" I ask, settling myself on a corner of the main blanket.

Peyton/Peidyn looks over their shoulder and sends me a wink. "Never you mind, it's all sorted out."

"So long as you're not planning for us to rough it out in the car for the night."

They chuckle. "Would that be so bad? We put the seats down in the back, spread out all the blankets?" Peyton/Peidyn's smirk is deadly. "I think we could make ourselves quite comfortable."

"Behave! You're just trying to fluster me."

"Is it working?"

I don't trust myself to answer that coherently, so I distract myself with the contents of the hamper. Everything Peyton/Peidyn has packed within is, of course, delicious. I tell them so, and it works to distract them from their teasing, much to my heart's relief.

The afternoon slips into evening, and evening to sunset.

A tussock of grass makes a fine backrest for us, and we sit side by side as the blue sky above begins to burn into streaks of peach, gold, and amber.

"Happy?" Peyton/Peidyn asks, their arms wrapped around me, just as mine are wrapped around them.

I give a sleepy but contented nod. "You?"

Their answer comes with a kiss that brings the fire down from the sky.

"I'll take that as a yes," I rasp, before I return the gesture.

"I don't know if you should. Perhaps it would be better if you asked me again?"

---

Image courtesy of Frank Mckenna on Unsplash

[catt-nuevenor]

Merry Christmas! Hope you've had a good day and hope the rest of the year goes well for you as well. IMerry Christmas to P as well, but is there a Christmas type event in your universe? What does it entail?

Thank you so much! I hope your holidays were good too!

And I'm sure Peyton and Peidyn are equally grateful for your greetings!

In the universe of the story, there isn't a celebration that neatly lines up with Christmas exactly. Lacking organised religion, the region of the story, the Four Shores, does not structure itself around festivals in the same ways in which can sometimes be true in our world. Time is cognisant with the Tides, the weather, and the hours of daylight, winter having very few hours of daylight, fierce currents and tides, and ship-breaking storms. The folk of Four Shores do not hold belief that they can bend the forces of nature through devotions or prayer, but they do still mark the turn of a tide, or the turn of a season.

The evening before the longest night, when the depths of winter are at their most fierce and most deadly, it is tradition for communities and families to shelter together in one hall. In the case of Aldmirham this would be the town hall, where Vyla and the other Aldercynn work. Here they gather, eat, sing, and tell stories. Some tell cheerful stories, reminding their fellows of happier seasons, some tell frightening stories, filled with the gloom and dirge of the storm. At the edges of the hall, beside the doors and windows, the head of the community or family sits, the Aldercynn, or the family's Elders. They sit and watch, and ward away the cold, bearing upon their shoulders the safety of those they care for. Throughout the night they are gifted food, drink, and company from the group at the centre, typically the youngest members of the gathering, uniting the generations together and renewing bonds.

Come morning, when the longest night is past, and the season is on its wane, the gathered cynn hold a feast of celebration, that they all saw through the worst of the year together, and toast that they might see many more through in the same manner in the years to come.

All of the above may be tweaked here and there as things develop, but it gives a good foundation at least.

[catt-nuevenor]

You’re rlly hitting the fandom with the landlord/landlady agenda

You folks are the ones who bring the thirst, I'm just providing the tall glass of something quenching 😉

[catt-nuevenor]

Alright, sir and madame. What the heck was that?!

I'm writing a scene which I have not been looking forward to. Not in any way shape or form whatsoever. It's the scene in which the Main Character ends pursuing a romantic relationship with Peyton and Peidyn in Chapter 2, before things get too involved.

I've just finished writing it, and damn it, how the heck did those two make a break up scene wholesome? I mean, I know I'm the writer here, but... Just what!?

Minor Spoilers for Chapter 2 part 3 below:

[catt-nuevenor]

Have a little bit of Peyton and Peidyn at their finest.

Mild Spoilers for Chapter 2 part 3 Below:

I wonder what level of swooning, if any, this encourages in folks on Peyton and Peidyn's route... Give me a rating on a scale of 1 to 10.

1 Meh

10 Reader shaped puddle on the floor

Drop me a comment and let me know.

[catt-nuevenor]

Damn it, the pair of you! Peyton and Peidyn are really on their game today!

Mild Spoilers for Chapter 2 part 3 Below:

If Introverted Choice is selected...

[catt-nuevenor]

And just to round the week off in style, more Peyton and Peidyn for you lovely thirsty lot!

Mild Spoilers for Chapter 2 Part 3 Below:

Pop a swoon rating in if you feel inclined, it's fun to see what catches folks and what doesn't.

1 Meh

10 Reader shaped puddle on the floor

Hopefully I'll be polishing off Peyton and Peidyn's scene today, then it's on to Abe and Ana for next week!

[catt-nuevenor]

Since it's a Saturday, and I should technically be taking the day off, it's only a tiny snippet today. But I think you'll appreciate it nonetheless.

Mild Spoilers for Chapter 2 Part 3 Below:

[catt-nuevenor]

And for your next dose of Peyton and Peidyn flirtations...

Mild Spoilers for Chapter 2 Part 3 Below:

Welp, anybody wants to mark this on the swoon scale, please feel free.

1 to 10.

1 Meh

10 Reader shaped puddle on the floor

Drop me a comment and let me know, I so enjoyed the ones from yesterday.

[catt-nuevenor]

Heck, shows what a week off will do for your work rhythm, doesn't it?

Only just realised I'd put pretty much the same snippet up twice! My bad, sorry.

To make up for it, have another snippet, same section, slightly later in conversation.

Mild Spoilers for Chapter 2 part 3 Below: