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cheelduh · 3 years ago

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How to get Hit-listed by a Stonehide Lawachurl (High School AU!)

Part 6 of the highschool au

Parts: 1 2 3 4 5

Pairing: Childe x fem!reader

Synopsis: Childe’s a menace to everyone when playing dodgeball. Even as his new girlfriend, you’re no exception to his affinity for raising hell during the most tranquil of circumstances.

Warnings: Swearing, bad humor, and absolutely horrid spelling mistakes.

Words: 5.3k

Note: Longest chapter yet sheeeesh 🗿

Negotiation is an art.

Childe, or "Tartaglia" has utilized the art of negotiations in his daily life. Whether that be scamming the ninth graders with fake weed, or convincing the teachers why he doesn't deserve detention for injecting random fluids from the chem department into the school's resident pet frog.

All in all, by becoming an expert in the field of negotiations, Childe is nothing if not a master, tongue silver and smooth as he takes on a new opponent.

Which is why he dutifully negotiates with you on this Monday morning in front of the History classroom, getting down on one knee and pulling out a—

"I hope to Barbatos you aren't proposing Childe," You hiss, panicked eyes landing on the velvet box he's pulling out. "Considering that we're sixteen and still in highschool."

As if remembering those meagre details, Childe gulps and shoves the box back into his pocket. "Uhhh yeah, I was just, tying my shoelaces?" It comes out as a question.

You let out a sigh of relief, overlooking how he undoes his shoe laces just to do them all over again.

The ring burns in his pocket as he gets back up.

"Why did you call me here?" You ask, hand on your hip, foot impatiently tapping. The tap tap tap isn't because of impatience though, it's because you need something to cover the nervous palpitations of your heart.

He gives you a vicious smile, sinister enough to shake the bones of anyone who's observing, opens his daring mouth to show the imaginary sharpness of his teeth. Then with the confidence of about a hundred shirtless tiktok boys, he finally demands:

"If you don't become my girlfriend, I will kill—"

"Yeah sure thing." You answer before he can finish, soft smile growing.

Childe chuckles evilly, "I knew you'd say that, but I've come prep—wait a minute." He snaps out of his villain origin phase, stumbles back a bit, then his eyebrows are furrowing in confusion. "Did you just say yes?"

You nod, cheeks flaring up. "Don't make me repeat it." Then you look away, too embarrassed to see his reaction.

For a second, Childe's internal conflict following the chain of this event causes him to temporarily malfunction, and all he can do it stare at you in amazement.

It's only when you tell him to stop staring and jump off the school roof is when he snaps out of his daze, a grin festering on his face.

He lunges straight at you, giving you no time to deflect him as he wraps his bone crushing arms around you, then lands a soft smooch on your forehead.

"Let go of me you idiot!" You barely wheeze out, light headed not only because of your lungs being squeezed like oranges, but also because of the sloppy kiss he's delivered so ungracefully.

He does so reluctantly, and you're unamused, wiping the stickiness off your forehead with a sleeve as he steps back.

"Ew what the fuck?" You say, glaring at him. "What's wrong with you?"

He completely ignores you, giddy with excitement. "Ah girly, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do that. I can't wait to introduce you to my parents and eat lunch together and kiss each other during break—"

"Slow down." You tell him, as red as a tomato towards all his suggestions. "We've barely started dating."

"Oh," Childe stops momentarily, then nods in agreement. "You're right. We should start small. How about I walk you to class?"

"We're already in front of class." You nudge your head towards the classroom, and catch Zhongli and Venti peeking from the side of the door, trying not to be obvious.

You narrow your eyes at them threateningly.

Childe tugs your arm, lovingly looking you up and down. "Let's walk to class together anyways. In a circle."

A complete waste of time, yet it's impossible to say no to the face he's making.

Before you guys depart he suddenly stops, gasping loudly, remembers something important. "I have to make a quick phone call."

Childe speed dials Scaramouche, and the latter picks up annoyed, answers the phone with muffled sounds in the back. Something that sounds a bit like pleading and whimpering.

He then mutters something that forces dread into your system. "You can release the hostages."

You hear Scaramouche groan on the other end, muttering a "such a pain in my ass", but choose not to question it immediately.

As soon as the phone call is done and you're back by his side, you point at his phone questioningly. "What hostages Childe?"

He gives you a close eyed smile, taking the fifth.

"What hostages Childe?" You repeat again weakly.

—

First period goes by smoothly for the most part. Lisa, your so called best friend, once again is bought off like a corrupted politician by your new boyfriend. She sits far away from you, leaving you without any defences against the menace that dotes on you a bit too much.

Throughout class, all Childe does is score Venti's colourful pens, and then writes you annoying little love notes, using the expert origami skills he's learnt from Anthon to deliver them to you.

Despite the threat of distraction these notes pose, the corners of your lips can't help but tug upwards at his enthusiasm and attempt at poetry.

Zhongli makes sure not to ask you two any questions the entire class, leaving you to your own accord.

Lunch comes around soon enough, and your usual table of Diluc, Jean, Kazuha, and Lisa is disturbed by the torpedo that is Childe, and he brings collateral with him.

Kaeya whole-heartedly ceases the opportunity to sit near his stoic statue of a brother purely with the intention to annoy the premature crap out of him, but one look from the redhead sends the chicken-shit right back where he came from.

When Childe forcefu—lovingly feeds you the smiley fries and dinosaur nuggets his stunning mom packed him, Diluc looks just about ready to hurl.

Lisa winks at you two, Kazuha doesn't even bother looking, and Jean tries with upmost effort to keep Diluc from launching himself at the whipped fatui boy basking in your attention.

"Quit embarrassing me." You whisper-exclaim sharply, noticing how Jean passes Diluc—all green in the face, a puke bag discreetly. "Shouldn't you be doing something illegal right now? Or vaping in the stalls?"

"I quit vaping for you girlie." Childe boops your nose with his finger. "Well, at least full time. I still need a puff when I'm around Signora, to like, get rid of her awful vibes."

While it is endearing how he quit vaping for you, it doesn't lessen the need for you to bury yourself alive right here and now.

Then you sigh, pick up a Dino nuggie, and shove it in his mouth, the tip of his tongue flicking your finger. You die inside.

"There, you happy?" The action of feeding him is so...intimate, it sets your heart aflame.

Childe's a lovesick puppy when he chews, imaginary tail wagging a hundred times a second. "Can I have a kiss too?"

Diluc slams his hands on the table and stands up, hurriedly picks up his grape juice and makes a break for it. You don't blame him.

"I'll kill you." You smack him with a napkin, blazing red. "I'll end your pathetic little life right here and now."

By the end of lunch, Lisa and Jean have to restrain you so you don't break the world record for the maximum amount of mutilations that can be done on a single body.

Fourth period is a break. A break from Childe you mean. It's expected of the school's resident bad boy aka menace to skip classes in order to skip over the bodies of his victims.

You bask in the momentary peace, until it's disrupted by a tap on the window. Reckon it's nothing, maybe a bird flew into it, because intentional taps are impossible from the third floor. Except your conviction is hindered yet again by another tap.

What a nuisance.

You finally turn to look outside the window, face down, and spot Childe waving incessantly, rocks in hand, oozing with excitement that can't be concealed and a grin that nearly takes you into cardiac arrest. Without meaning to, you send him a small smile, waving back as Baal drones on about quantum superposition.

Successful in gaining your attention, he moves aside to reveal the hefty corpse of a stonehide lawachurl with a destructive path in its wake. The ridges and bumps of its hide are enough to do a number on the road, ruining the school's playing field.

Your smile drops down into a horrified frown in the span of a few seconds.

"Wow." Albedo, your lab partner whispers from next to you, for the first time distracted in class.

"Yeah," Kaeya whistles from behind you two, one hand supporting his head. "What a gesture."

"Y/N, I'd be grateful if you could possibly obtain a black crystal horn for me from the specimen." The blonde asks, entranced by the corpse that your boyfriend is flaunting off to you with pride.

"Aren't those things endangered cutie?" Lisa makes sure to butt in, as per usual.

Yes. Your boyfriend with several issues and an affinity for chaos brought you the corpse of an endangered geo-infused creature that's five times the size of him. During school hours too, the fiend. Like a cat dragging the corpse of a dead mouse to its owner.

You groan into your hands, heart racing while the fire is coursing through your veins.

That idiot.

—

Childe is exceptional at a lot of things, like the switch and making weapons out of seemingly harmless things (e.g shiv out of a toothbrush), but what he prides in the most is physical education. With washboard abs, uber tall height, and a dickish smile to top it all, he has everything it takes to showcase his top tier athletic abilities.

He pounces at the opportunity to show off in front of you, wanting nothing more than to have you fawn over his strength. He's sure it'll be enough to have you all over him, wrapping your cute little arms around his muscled ones, passing him his water bottle and dabbing away at the sweat on his forehead. Most of all, he daydreams you planting your soft lips on his to congratulate him after a big game.

Physical education, for you, is a pain. You may be good with your brain, but games exert more energy than necessary, and coordination that lacks logic entirely. You're just here for the credit. The over-achiever part of you walks the extra mile to ensure a grade in the high nineties.

Although witnessing Childe clad in the school shorts and matching polo shirt is enough to make this worth your while, you'll die before admitting it. Especially when he gawks at you as if it's the first time you're wearing the sports uniform yourself. It has you fidgeting with your fingers and tugging your shorts down nervously.

You try not to flip him off like you usually do, especially since it's not even been twenty four hours since he's asked you out.

Mr.Zhongli blows a whistle, calling all the students over to surround him. It's odd that he teaches most of the subjects at this school, seemingly the only adult present, but no one questions it in fear of genshin logic. Moving on, he explains that you have a dodge ball game today.

Lisa groans beside you. She hates anything that requires the exertion of energy, oftentimes bringing a book to read while everyone else screams in the background.

You're relieved, mainly because Childe and Tohma are usually captains, and Childe always picks you to be on his team as a means to flex his skills. For you, it means sitting back and watching him carry your team towards a straight A.

However, all your dreams are crushed when Zhongli announces the team leaders.

"Y/N, I trust that you'll lead the blue team to the upmost of your ability. Childe, prepare to lead the opposing red team."

Your knees shake as you stare at him in disbelief. "But Sir—"

"No buts Y/N." He scolds you lightly, checking off your names on the clip board. "I'd like to witness your exceptional leadership skills."

In reality, Zhongli just wants to reenact a lovers-on-opposing sides trope, wanting to see how the two of you crack under the pressure. In a way, it is an exercise of leadership.

Instead of picking teams, Zhongli assigns teams for the both of you according to his own judgement, trying to make it as fair as possible.

Lisa pats your back after your teammates are assigned, trying to cheer you up. "It's going to be okay. You guys are dating now, so he'll go easy on you."

You look up to meet Childe's eyes from across the court. He gives you a charming smile, which turns downright barbaric as he lifts up a thumb and motions to slash his neck with it. Then he wickedly mouths "I'm going to destroy you."

You blink and turn away as fast as you can in fear. "We're fucked."

Lisa, witnessing the entire ordeal nods alongside you, doing nothing to reassure you because she herself has given up.

Suddenly a hand lands on your shoulder gripping you tightly. "Let's wipe the floor with that g*nger." The voice is ice cold, threatening enough to send a shiver down your bones.

You turn to meet Rosaria, who frowns at you. Most of the time she doesn't really put an effort in dodgeball, but she must've seen your crestfallen expression, trying to comfort you in her own detached way.

Rosaria is the other school nurse in training, alongside Barbara, but somehow her patients end up more injured, sick, or mentally defiled than before they entered the room. She also spends after hours beating up Chads in the school parking lot. Also runs a blog with her booby co-author Kaeya that emphasizes mostly on the dark knight hero.

Spotting the rest of your team behind her, you begin to criticize them one by one.

Standing against the wall is Kaeya, pushing both his biddies up with his crossed arms like an absolute whore. He's breaking about several dress code rules right now. Venti is next to him, drunk off his butt as he beat boxes with Tohma.

Eula mutters under her breath, on and on about seeking revenge on Zhongli for putting her beloved Amber on the opposing team, promising him an unfortunate fate. Xiao is miserably squatting on the floor, sharp eyes observing everyone in the gym, scowl not ready to dissipate anytime soon.

Then you look over at Childe's team in the distance. Jean with a determined look on her face as she listens to Childe's game plan, and Diluc crossing his arms with his brows furrowed in concentration. Even Amber, the best baller in the school, is stretching out her arms, assisted by the gifted princess of the school, Ayaka.

Not only that, but Childe has the king of dodging on his team—Kaedehara goddamn Kazuha. Beidou shoots you a wicked smirk, winking at you until she's disrupted by Ningguang's shove.

"Oh my god." You cry out when the realization hits you, falling to your knees in despair. "We're completely fucked!"

"No we aren't." Rosaria mutters lowly. "You're only fucked if you want to be. Don't you dare throw in the towel before the fight has even begun."

"But I—"

"Stop it." She grumbles again, rolling her eyes. "You're being annoying now. If you lose the game, that makes him the dom. Don't you want to be the dom?"

She's right. You do want to be the dom.

Her words of encouragement, and not at all veiled insults somehow allow you to find motivation deep within yourself. You get up and stomp towards the rest of your team, calling their attention with your newfound confidence.

"Listen here soldiers!" You shout out, determination clear as day. "I know I am not capable of leading. I know that I barely have the physical capabilities needed to defeat the opposite team."

You take a deep breath, pointing at your cutie patootie boyfriend across the gym as you seethe. "But that man, that harbinger of chaos, that instrument of war, is nothing but a tyrant. And I cannot let such a tyrant be a victor in this battle. Not when innocent lives are at stake."

Tohma speaks up, sending you a bewildered look. "What lives—"

"Shut the fuck up soldier!"

"Yessir!" He immediately stiffens, saluting you.

"Are you ready soldiers?" Your voice booms, and everyone reinforces their priorities, except for Kaeya though. He just lazily smirks.

After Zhongli places the balls in the middle, everyone prepares for the battle of the century.

'Gods, please let us win this war' you pray to the archons above, closing your eyes in concentration.

'Give me the strength to flex my superior skills' Childe wishes, then adds on quickly 'also I want to dominate this world.'

'Give me the strength to make it to Friday.' Rosaria prays for nobody but herself, rolls her eyes at all the unnecessary dramatics of this dodgeball game.

"3..." "2..." "1..."

Zhongli ends the countdown by blowing hard into a whistle, signaling the beginning of the game.

Not even two seconds later a ball whooshes past a few of you at the speed of light, followed by a tail of fire. The ball of death kisses Kaeya square in the nose, sending him reeling back into a wall with enough sheer force to cause an indent.

Everyone winces.

Before you all can reel in from the initial shock and make sense out of wherever the hell that asteroid came from, Zhongli's voice booms throughout the gymnasium.

"Mr. Ragnvindr, headshots are strictly forbidden. You are out!"

With a scoff, Diluc, satisfied with his work, leaves the court with no apparent qualms. He accepts his defeat with the upturned corners of his lips.

Rosaria pokes Kaeya's body with the tip of her heels, then cringes when he shakes awake, up from his short lived knockout and sends a wink her way.

"Getting handsy when I'm unconscious? I didn't think you'd be one to partake in such vulgar activities." His eye twinkles in mischief, and if his momentary defeat at the hands of brother has him fuming, he doesn't show it one bit.

The only thing that keeps Rosaria from knocking him out for real is the blood that trails down onto his lip. She doesn't want to clean blood off her shoes, especially since it's a pain in the ass to get off.

You're about to tell them to get up and take this seriously, but a softball does your job for you when it darts straight at Rosaria. With pristine accuracy, the girl manages to pitch herself away last minute.

You swivel in Childe's direction, who wears a remorseless grin, which only grows wider once you pick up a blue softball next to your feet.

The glare that he receives has him shaking in exhilaration. More so than the elation he'd felt when he took down that Stonehide Lawachurl for you, as a gift of promise.

You begin to bark out orders. "Eula, Xiao, and Rosaria cover the front and act as decoys."

They nod immediately, but Xiao still clicks his tongue in distaste as he starts following orders.

Then you offer Kaeya a hand. "Get up princess. You're on sniper duty."

With Diluc out of commission, the battle is fair and square now considering both sides have the same amount of people. Ergo, no one's at a disadvantage.

That is—until Lisa fake trips over pure air, landing on the floor in a dramatic slow motion.

You roll your eyes.

"Oh dear! I think I've twisted something." She cries out, crawling away from the battle field, acting as if she's paralyzed completely. "Don't worry about me. I'll cheer you on from afar. The battle has begun, and it seems as if I've become the first casualty."

You don't let the countless amount of Lisa's betrayals get to you, even this one. It's just her personality to flake out on anything and everything that requires her to do more than below the bare minimum.

Focusing on the match, your eyes are only on Childe, just as his are on you.

You aim the ball straight at his ribs, step back a bit, then propel the ball in the air with as much energy as you can, using your entire body as a power outlet. The ball spins in the air, reaching the awaiting victim.

Childe, unbothered, dodges the ball with perfect precision, the ball not even grazing his clothes at the least.

Your jaw drops open, and you're about to move for another ball until he grabs the same ball you threw at him. With the sharpness of a predator locking in on its pray, he focuses on you like a missile locks on its target, launching the ball in the air for power that has you trembling, second to the powerful ball that was thrown by Diluc.

With your pupils dilated at your impeding doom, it's Xiao that grabs you and thrusts away.

The ball lands on the floor, smoke rising.

"Holy shit!" You shriek over everyone else's grunts and shuffles. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Isn't it poetic?" Childe shouts back while he slides away from the balls being thrown. "Lover against lover. Either you're by my side, or in my way. And right now, you're in my way." He narrows his eyes dangerously. "Albeit reluctantly, I will take the victory babe. Even if we are on opposing sides."

"There was zero reluctance in that throw asshole!"

You thank Xiao, who wipes his hands on his pants in disgust. "Filthy humans. So pathetic and weak."

Mildly offended, you roll your sleeves up and begin to fight with everything you've got as soon as he walks away.

The dodgeball game goes as expected for the most part, Eula carrying for most of it with the flow of her skills.

Tohma actually tries like the presumptuous asshole he is, aims straight for his girlfriend Ayaka, and takes her out completely. His only justification for that is "I ain't no simp!"

He shelves his cocky attitude when facing Childe with a sense of dignity and prestige you didn't think he had in him.

The two one of a kind fuckbois puff out their chests so that they look more hefty than they are, having some kind of an Alpha match. The 'me stronger than you. me dominant. me get all the women' type beat.

Unfortunately, Childe manages to fence him with his throws, and lo and behold, the square off ends with a dejected Tohma dragging his feet to the nearest bench.

Eula oversees that Ningguang and Beidou meet a quick end, taking their slower dodging to her advantage. You're actually rooting for her, tasting a sliver of victory that you haven't reached yet. So close, yet so far.

Amber trips on herself in the middle of throwing a what should've been coordinated ball, and it loses most of its momentum. Xiao is directly in front of it, and will probably be able to catch it with ease.

Ah, another short victory.

If Childe loses his expert baller, he's only left with Kazuha and Jean, whom's lack in the art of throwing is made up by their ability to dodge most of the fastballs.

However, all your plans and hopes are crushed when Eula slides in front of Xiao last minute, sticks out her foot, and let's the pathetic product of Amber's would-be downfall hit her on the leg with the total force of about 0.0000001 newtons.

Your chances of winning have just went down by a staggering 60%.

"Eula!" You cry out, collapsing on the ground. "How could you?"

Tohma cups his mouth and bellows obnoxiously from the bench. "SIMP!"

"I cannot avenge my clan if I win a false victory." Eula crosses her arms, casting her gaze down in visible uncomfortableness. "Amber will pay her dues in two business days. Mark my words."

It all a load of cap. She's sleeping with the enemy and you know it.

You grit your teeth. Fuming with an abundance of rage, you pick up three balls and throw them all back to back, taking out Amber and Kazuha simultaneously.

Childe's heart flutters in another kind of delight when you pluck out his team members one by one with no hints of remorse.

In retaliation, Jean and Childe work in sync to swiftly take care of a distracted Rosaria.

"Shit." You hiss underneath your breath.

It's Venti, Kaeya, Xiao, and you who are the only remainders of your short-lived team. It's still two more people than Childe and Jean, giving you the upper hand briefly.

It's a mystery to everyone how Venti is still standing. You reckoned you would've lost him as collateral during the beginning of the match, but it seems he's able to hold his own.

When you squint hard enough, you realize that Xiao has been t-posing in front of the nonchalant SoundCloud rapper that's about as high as a kite. He must've been defending him throughout the entire round.

His defenses are all in vain once Childe correlates another attack with Jean, sharp-shooting four rapid balls that are secured on their targets.

Xiao swerves to the side, avoiding most of them, until one is about to reach a nonchalant as shit Venti.

You scream at him, eyes widening as you run towards them in slow motion. "NOoOoOOOo-"

The yaksha doesn't waste a moment, shifting so that he's covering Venti's body with his own, which to be honest is a pretty heartwarming sight.

The ball hits his lean back, a sharp thud following when it hits the floor.

Xiao is out. But his sacrifice is so inspiring that it brings tears to Zhongli's eyes, makes everyone in the gym go silent in awe.

Even the sadistic Childe melts, cerulean eyes gaining back their light, halting his fire.

When Xiao finally uncovers Venti's body, he speaks from the bottom of his dead heart. "I'd do anything for you..."

Venti shakes out of his baked state, blinking at him stupidly with a nervous chuckle. "Ehe~? I don't even know who you are."

The entire class sweat drops. Whatever slip of compassion on Childe's face earlier has become nothing but a memory. Even your eyes dim.

The next time Childe aims and locks at Venti, it's not with malicious intent. It's a favour, for you. In a way it adds dimension to who he is and the lengths he's willing to go for you, even at war.

Venti steps away with a bounce in his gait, hands behind his head.

Kaeya and you are the only ones left standing now, and the game becomes too tight knit to tell which side's going to win. It becomes utter chaos, balls being launched every second, stamina slowly decreasing as everyone lurches away from their demise.

As laid-back and charming as the boy presents himself to be in front of the ladies, he's not very patient when it comes to facing circumstances like these. He's side lined for most of the match, finding it boring. And when Kaeya gets bored, the intensity of the tide changes, and everyone knows they're going to get a run for their money.

Kaeya coasts a hand around your hips, pulls you real close, purposefully leaning his bust into the side your innocent arm.

When Childe's smile drops, and the glint in his eyes reads 'DANGER' in full caps, you know it's time to be properly scared.

Your blood runs cold, mouth opening briefly and then clamping shut immediately.

"I'm so glad to be on your team Y/N. Maybe this'll give us the chance to become...closer." His hot breath fans against your ear, voice loud enough to be heard by onlookers.

Suddenly everything stops, falling into an unsettling silence.

You attempt glance at Childe, being met with a glare that's directed at the Captain of the Skating team. The ball in the orange-haired boy's hand deflates from the sheer intensity of the squeeze.

The tension becomes unreadable. Even Zhongli is caught mid-sip with his tea.

Quickly, you shrug off Kaeya's arm. "Childe, he's just fucking with you—"

Childe cuts you off by hurling a ball with nothing but the objective of cold blooded murder.

Kaeya whizzes past you, successfully ducking to avoid the hit, and his amused laugh rings through your ears. He rolls away from the following attacks, chucking his own series of colourful balls.

The events that unfold are blood-curdling enough to make even Satan boil his pants with diarrhea.

You take the clear opportunity presented by their concurrent dumbassery to take out Jean, the ace of the other team.

Childe's rage blows over when Kaeya eventually loses interest and takes the L, playfully winking at you while walking backwards to the rest of your team.

Now that all the distractions are dealt with, Childe's eyes flicker to you, and you share a murderous glance.

"Finally," He slaps the softball with a free hand, lips thinning into a homicidal smile. "I've been waiting for this. You better not disappoint me."

While Childe may be a violent anarchist who's only aspiration in life is to become a government contracted killer, he's also supposed to be your sweet boyfriend.

Slowly, you inch towards the front. "We don't have to do this Childe. We can coexist peacefully."

"Peace was never an option Y/N." He sighs, cracking his neck. "Besides—how else can I prove myself in your eyes? You may be my greatest weakness, but you are also my greatest adversary."

"I don't know, maybe start with not trying to obliterate me?"

"I'm obliterating you out of respect." He counters with a playful pout.

"Well I'll be paying my respects to your grave!" You lurch ahead into a sudden assault, yeeting as many balls as you can his way.

"That's my girl!" Childe whistles, grin widening psychotically when he goes all out, leaving you with an absence in favorable openings.

Out of nowhere, the fire alarms start going haywire, along with a beep in the PA system, which stops you two in your tracks.

A panicked voice of who you assume to be Yanfei shrieks through the comms. "CODE ORANGE! CODE ORANGE! EVACUATE THE BUILDING, THERE'S A STONEHIDE LAWACHURL ON THE PREMISES."

As if on cue, the ground starts rumbling and a Stonehide Lawachurl bursts through the halls and into the gym, looking around for something. Or rather, someone. It's sharp bumps and ridges make an indent on the floor, cracking it in.

Everyone falls into a state of panic, Zhongli trying his best to evacuate the class from the emergency back door as quickly as possible. "Settle down class, we have to follow protocol."

You, devoid of any emotion or sense of fear, turn to your boyfriend in such a calm manner it strikes an ominous dread in his stomach.

You stare.

Childe stares harder.

“I thought you killed it."

"I did." He retorts slowly, switching to gaze at the raging beast in amazement.

"Then why is it in the school!" You seethe, glaring daggers at his side profile.

Childe chuckles sheepishly, scratches the back of his neck. "I may or may not have stuffed the body in the boys washroom. Y'know, for safe keeping?"

The Lawachurl locks it's gaze on you, the prey, and then roars furiously. Turning into its geo-enhanced state, it begins charging at you with all its might, the target being solely Childe.

Leave it to your boyfriend to get on the hit list of an endangered beast.

"Fear not my vibrant girlfriend. Our first date can be surviving this." Childe cheekily kisses the top of your trembling hand before grasping it tightly and making a run for it.

#childe #childe x reader #genshin x reader #genshin xiao #genshin childe #genshin albedo #genshin #tartaglia #childe tartaglia #zhongli #xiao #tohma #diluc ragnvindr #genshin fanfic #genshin impact #genshin tartagalia #tartagalia genshin impact #eula x amber #venti x xiao

163 notes · View notes

theplushmaker · 4 years ago

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Oki since someone asked for the Silver headcannons I'll post them, there's quite a few so I hope you enjoy!

Please let me know if I should put a warning

• Silver loves to look at the night sky to see the stars since he came from an apocalyptic future where ash and smog covered the sky

• Silver was originally part of Sonic's time but was transported 200 years into the future by Mephiles to insure the (rewritten) events of Sonic 06

• Silver enjoys botany

• Silver was taught English by Mephiles

• Silver knows seconds and days but has trouble when it comes to hours, weeks, months, and years

• Silver at first had trouble understanding how birthdays worked

• Silver was a lot shorter when he first met Sonic due to malnourishment, making him look like a 10-year-old (despite being 14)

• only Silver remembers the events of Sonic 06 due to Mephiles' interference

• Silver had to ask Sonic what certain words meant ex: parents, mom and dad, sister/brother, etc, etc, the first time he asked Sonic what family was, Sonic was, understandably, confused then worried, afterward, Silver had asked Shadow instead only to get the same results (albeit less obvious) so now he only asks if he can't figure it out on his own

• Silver is used to hot temperatures due to the lava and fire in the apocalyptic future

• Silver gained the ability of foresight, albeit weak, (after Sonic 06) and is only able to use it when meditating (this is so that Silver doesn't have to appear JUST because "oh the future's in danger and he has to prevent it" like in the games)

• Silver can not time travel, that was all Mephiles' doing (^)

• Silver has a fear of fire (pyrophobia)

• Silver can not tell when someone is being sarcastic and will take everything someone says literally, Charmy learned this the hard way when he told Silver to "throw the bucket of water at Sonic" Sonic was knocked unconscious with Tails panicking, safe to say Charmy learned his lesson and was later grounded by Espio when he found out

• Silver's first "food" when Mephiles sent him back was ham sandwiches

• when Shadow had to keep an eye on Silver, (along with Rouge and Omega, due to him getting a head injury because Shadow "accidentally" kicked him and Rouge felt it was their mostly his responsibility to take care of him till he recovers) he saw Silver laying on the ground outside, when Shadow walked over Silver looked at him with big eyes saying "it's so small" with the tone of an amazed child, upon closer inspection Shadow found out that he was referring to a caterpillar he found eating a leaf, Rouge was there recording the whole thing

• Silver managed to make Shadow smile when he first saw snow and started acting like a child on his first snow day

• Silver never told anyone about the events of 06 after the "time-line reset" thinking it was best left forgotten (that and he's afraid of what everyone will think should he tell them that he helped a man, who no longer exists, almost end the world)

• Silver sleeps at 12:40 but will wake up at 4:00 IN THE MORNING just because he's still not used to the concept of time, the only reason why everyone knows this is because one-time Sonic let Silver stay the night at his and Tails place, and Tails ended up finishing a project at 4:33 AM the boy walked out of his lab expecting for Sonic and Silver to be asleep, only to get the absolute daylights scared out of him when he finds Silver (trying to but shh!) Reading a book at the kitchen table, Silver fell out of his chair and Sonic came down running (but not without falling off his bed and hitting his head hard) to check on them, after that they told everyone of Silver's "messed up" sleep schedule

• Silver is illiterate but is trying his best to learn how to read without anyone knowing, so far no one suspects a thing

• Silver has quite a bit of pain tolerance given the fact that Knuckles dislocated his shoulder once and Silver didn't even flinch, even after they fixed it by taking him to a doctor

• Silver can not stay in one place for too long, given the fact that he traveled all over the place in the apocalyptic future, it was only a given that the habit never died, of course, Sonic and co can keep him from leaving by simply keeping him busy, this has helped greatly with surprise party's

• Silver's first "language" was just a mix-mash of 40 other languages

• if Silver doesn't use his psychokinesis he can end up building up too much energy for his body to handle, so what happens if he can no longer handle it you may ask? Chaos, absolute chaos, he ends up acting like Charmy on a sauger rush and Sonic when he has coffee, his abilities go haywire and he doesn't even know it, the worse part is, the only reason he did stop using his psychokinesis is because he made a bet with Shadow to see who can go the longest without using their abilities, Rouge, of course, recorded the whole thing, along with Omega, no one has let him live it down since

• the gold bracelet things (what are they even called?) Silver has can store excess energy and it can store a lot, (so combine that with energy build-up)

• Silver has nightmares of when his primary caretakers were killed, (PTSD?) Though sometimes it would be about Blaze, Amy, Sonic, Shadow, or all of them, sometimes it's them getting killed or them leaving him once they remember or find out about the events of 06, which is why he tries his best to act as normal as everyone else, though sometimes it's about Mephiles telling him things, he tries to bury those memories

• Silver didn't know it at the time but he and Mephiles had a father-son relationship before he realized Mephiles was using him, it saddens him knowing that he might never have that type of relationship again

• Silver sometimes reminds Shadow of Maria with how he acts when he sees/ learns something new

• Silver, Shadow and Sonic have a brotherly relationship, Silver being the young oblivious brother, Sonic being the carefree middle brother, and Shadow being the strict older brother

• Silver may act like a child most of the time but if someone gets in his way of survival, he will go stone cold

• Silver's boots are made of metal so they weigh quite a bit, of course, the only reason why everyone knows this is because when Shadow "accidentally" knocked him unconscious, he, along with Rouge, tried to drag him inside only to find out his boots weighed him down and had to be removed, this lead to the discovery that Silver was underweight, (they left his boots outside, covered by a box because they didn't want to bother trying to move them inside)

• Amy and Vanille were the first to find out that Silver had quite the sweet tooth, he likes marshmallows best

• Silver gets vocabulary lessons from Amy while taking cooking and health lessons

• Vanille makes sure that Silver eats whenever she gets the chance, like a worried mother

• Silver's teeth are surprisingly healthy, just not the cleanest... with a little bit of red staining (though people assume that it's because his gums bleed and not because he ate something he shouldn't have) Amy had to teach him how to brush and had to remind him to brush every night until it became a good habit of his, his teeth are also pretty sharp for a hedgehog (I wonder why)

• due to multiple reasons, (take a guess) most of Sonic Co think that Silver didn't have a great upbringing, with most of them assuming that he had strict parents and lived during a famine in a dry/hot area that was prone to violence, which they aren't wrong but they are?

• with Silver's fear of fire, one would think that he and Blaze didn't get along, but the opposite is true, Blaze keeps using fire at a minimum when he's around and if she did use it then she'd give ample warning time and space before she does it, in return Silver stays close to the ground so he doesn't "trigger" her fear of heights

• Silver does not know anything about romance, so when he starts to suddenly feel odd around Blaze, ex: abnormal heart rate, weird feeling in his stomach, warm cheeks, etc, he asks Amy about it, (mostly because she's been teaching him about health) and she gets excited and tells him about love (she's secretly cupid, fight me)

#sonic the hedgehog #silver the hedgehog #sonic headcanon #blaze the cat mentioned #maria robotnik mentioned #e 123 omega #shadow the hedgehog #amy rose #Vanille the rabbit #rouge the bat #charmy bee #espio the chameleon #Mephiles the dark mentioned #Knuckles the echidna mentioned #tails the fox mentioned #this is the longest post I've ever made #probably will make more XD #next time I'll do some charmy headcannons!

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writing-is-hard-af · 4 years ago

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Random Andreil One-Shot I wrote last night and attempted to edit this afternoon.

Basically, Neil has a nightmare. Mentions (or more descriptions I guess) of blood, injury, and torture. Pretty much just angst!

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Rain poured down from the sky in sheets, soaking Neil to the bone as he stood in an alley behind a gas station in Seattle. His clothes stuck to him like a second skin, his dyed blond hair plastered to his forehead, all curls flattened, water dripped from his fingertips, the bridge of his nose, and his chin. Shivers ran up his back as rain drops rolled down his spine and everything hurt, except he couldn’t focus on that, he didn’t have the time, not when he was surrounded by the unconscious, possibly dead, bodies of five of his father’s men, not when his father himself was nearby, was wherever his mother was, with an axe and possibly a gun. Distantly he could hear yelling, but the sound of the rain was too loud and overpowering for him to be able to tell who was yelling and what they were saying. He blinked rapidly, trying to see properly, but rain continued to run into his eyes, blurring his vision, making it impossible to see if his father was visible.

Neil hadn’t seen his father in person for nearly a year, since he’d found them in Göttingen, the only people that had caught up with them were his minions like Lola, who wasn’t anywhere in sight. Of course that didn’t technically mean anything, she could be lurking up on the roof or in a dark corner just waiting for Neil to let his guard down for one second so she could strike and slice him into ribbons. Another shudder went through Neil, his shoulder throbbing painfully in response. Someone must have managed to get a good hold on it at some point during the fight that had taken place and yanked it out of its socket, or at least almost out. Either way, he could deal with that later, he needed to find his mom, needed to make sure they both got out of this alive.

Pushing himself off the wall he had momentarily allowed himself to lean against, Neil nearly slipped on the slick ground. Water was puddled everywhere, running like small streams in the cracks in the pavement, red blood mixing with the water and swirling around like small pieces of thread. Neil’s side screamed in protest, the shift in his stance pulling at the deep gash he had from a knife that he’d only narrowly avoided being stabbed by, and his legs wobbled beneath him, blood slowly trickling down his left thigh from a shallow knife wound there. Ignore the pain, you’re fine, Neil snapped at himself and moved to follow after where he was sure he’d seen her disappear to.

Before he could even start walking however, Mary suddenly burst around the corner, running towards him. She grabbed hold of his arm, not even pausing in her sprint, and yanked him along after her. Her fingers dug into his arm, bruisingly tight, nails cutting into his skin. His arm felt like it was being yanked out of its socket all over again, fire spreading through his nerves across his shoulder blade and collar bone. He stumbled a few steps before managing to get a grip on himself again, speeding up so that he was running beside her instead of behind her.

They raced through back alleyways, unfamiliar by name yet nothing unusual about their appearance, turning corners seemingly at random until they burst out into a parking lot outside of a shopping mall. Brightly colored store signs glowed against the stone building, the only thing keeping the lot from being pitch black. Despite the late hour, dozens of cars were lined up in the lot, colors smudged together by the rain running into Neil’s eyes. His mother didn’t stop running when they came out of the alley, simply dragged him towards the nearest car--a dark grey truck of some sort, the brand ineligible with all the water and the lack of decent light.

It took her barely ten seconds to pick the lock on the driver’s door and she shoved Neil inside without any attempt at being gentle. The fall onto the leather seat sent a bolt of pain through his arm, and he just barely managed to not smash his face in the seat. Neil held back a flinch and quickly adjusted the way he was seated so that he was facing the wheel, trying to ignore the burning in his shoulder, the pain in his side, the blood soaked through his pant leg.

Suddenly, between one blink of an eye and the next, he was out on the street, rain still pounding down against the glass, but the tall business buildings of Seattle nowhere in sight. He was racing across a bridge of sorts over the highway leading out of the city, and out of the corner of his eyes he could see his mother curled up in the passenger seat, one hand pressed firmly to her abdomen, where her shirt was stained a dark, terrifying red. She was trembling slightly, though Neil doubted that had to do with cold and more to do with shock and blood loss from a wound he couldn’t see.

“Faster!” she hissed and he quickly turned his eyes back to the road, pressing down on the gas pedal a bit more, definitely going above the speed limit. His focus dwindled, grew all messed up, and things blurred together, something that could very well have been blamed on the rain, except instead of staying blurred everything dissolved around him, like his surroundings were made of dandelion fuzz being swept away from the stem by the wind.

Suddenly Neil was on his knees, sand surrounding him, hands buried in it, the smell of gasoline burning in his nose, smoke entering into his lungs with every breath he took and causing rough, dry coughs to escape him, eyes narrowed to slits to avoid them drying out from the heat of the fire that blazed in the tan car just fifteen meters from him. His whole body still hurt, no new injuries added to the few he gained in Seattle but not having dealt with those in the first place, and his head swam with dehydration and exhaustion. Some part of Neil’s mind supplied the information that his mother hadn’t let them stop once besides to switch cars three times until they were at least two states away from Seattle, but it was less something he remembered and more something he just knew.

Suddenly something around him shifted again, more a violent tug than everything dissolving like the previous time, and the ground beneath him turned from sand to cold, smooth cement, covered in old stains of dark rustic brown, obviously blood spilt at least a few months previously. Neil’s breath caught in his throat at the familiar floor, and his gaze snapped up to look around the basement of his childhood home. Immediately his eyes landed on the two people in the center, just a few feet from Neil, one sitting on top of the other. The one on the floor had striking golden blond hair, curled familiarly at his ears, except instead of it being pure gold it was spattered with red, slick with it in places. Neil’s father sat on top of Andrew instead of on top of Neil like he’s supposed to, a manic glint in his ice blue eyes that were so achingly similar to Neil’s as he traced a silver knife across his face, leaving gashes on all his prominent features.

Andrew’s blood covered the floor like paint, puddled like the rain in Seattle, and there was too much of it, way too much of it, and even though Neil knew subconsciously that this wasn’t real, a scream built up in his throat, ripping itself out of him.

“Stop! Please, stop, hurt me instead, please!” Nathan looked up at Neil, his knife stopping in the middle of one of its already drawn lines, and a cold smirk settled on his face. Neil’s breath caught again and his gaze drifted from his father’s back to Andrew, Andrew who was too still, Andrew who was too pale, Andrew whose hazel eyes were glassy and empty, Andrew who was covered in blood. A sob ripped its way out of Neil’s throat, murmuring Andrew’s name over and over again as his mind screamed your fault, your fault, all your fault.

He barely even realized it when he was shoved onto his back by a pointed leather boot and his father kneeled over him, knife and cleaver carving Neil into pieces as they had done years before. No pleas escaped his lips as felt himself be torn apart at the seams, he didn’t beg for Nathan to stop because he deserved it and there wasn’t a point anymore anyway, nothing mattered. Andrew was gone and it was all Neil’s fault and-

“Neil,” a voice, a familiar, calming voice, one that should be dead and silent if the body on the ground was real, whispered distantly, repeating the name one, two, three times before quickly switching to a different name. “Abram!”

All Neil could do was stare at the dead body in the middle of the room, not caring that he was in pain, just wanting Andrew back. The knife retraced his past scars, opening them again and spilling blood onto the floor, spreading around him in a pool of scarlet red. The cleaver cut into his throat and legs, gouging into him, tearing his skin and muscles apart. Whimpers escaped him, involuntary tears slipped down the sides of his face into his bloodsoaked hair.

“Wake up, Abram!” the voice grew louder, no longer distant, no longer just in his head. “Wake up!”

Neil‘s eyes shot open and he inhaled a sharp and unsteady breath, nearly choking on it. His gaze darted around the dorm room for a brief, panicked second before landing on Andrew, who was sitting on Neil’s bed just barely a foot away, looking at him. His eyebrows were scrunched ever so slightly together, lips pressed together a little firmer than usual, hands clenched tightly in the plain white bed sheets at his sides. Neil felt a rush of relief at the sight of him alive, okay, and breathing, and a sob built up in his throat for the first time in years.

He sat up so quickly that he nearly banged his forehead into the bottom of the top bunk, and he turned away from Andrew, leaning his elbows against his knees and pressing his hands to his face. Tears welled up in his eyes but Neil forced them back like he had the sob. It was fake, most of it, and that which wasn’t happened over four years ago, he should be over it. He was fine. He couldn’t be any-

Suddenly Andrew was in front of him, looking up at him from where he had kneeled down on the floor right in front of him. “Neil?” he said in a softer voice than usual, but Neil didn‘t know what to say, his thoughts were too jumbled and confusing and - ”Yes or no?” Andrew’s voice was quiet as he said that and Neil finally glanced up at him, trembling way more than he liked or was now used to, tears stinging his eyes as he tried to shake the images of blood and water and fire from his mind. All he managed was a small nod and Andrew placed his hand on the back of his neck like he always did when Neil was falling down into the darkness. He pulled him down far enough to lean their foreheads together, gaze intently boring into Neil’s eyes.

“You are Neil Josten, you’re at Palmetto with me and the foxes, you’re safe, your father is dead,” Andrew said, repeating softly what he said every time Neil got panicked, and slowly Neil began to calm down as the familiar words washed over him. A bit of the tension bled out of his shoulders and his breathing evened out again, the tears disappearing from his eyes. They stayed that way for a few moments, leaning their foreheads together as Neil calmed down, before Andrew stood up. He offered him his hand, a silent invitation that he didn’t need to accept.

They both knew they wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore that night, they never could after nightmares, no matter how bad or who had them, and Neil let Andrew guide him into the kitchen, where he slumped down against the counter. His gaze tiredly followed Andrew as he poured coffee grounds into the machine along with water from the sink, not bothering to measure how much he put in before he turned it on and then went to grab two mugs from the lowest shelf in the cabinet, where they kept them because reaching anything above that was a bit of a challenge. Relief continued to course through Neil as he watched Andrew move around the kitchen, finally managing to fully convince himself the dream was fake--Andrew was alive, Nathan had never laid a hand on him.

The coffee machine beeped and Andrew swiftly filled both of the mugs he had grabbed, adding an abundance of milk and sugar to his own while he left Neil’s as it was. He set the mugs down on the kitchen island and pulled one of the tall wooden chairs they had there out, sitting down while Neil remained standing, knowing he wouldn’t be able to sit still if he sat down himself, wouldn’t be able to relax. Andrew didn’t say anything, just watched him as he pulled the coffee mug closer to himself, hands wrapping around it, letting the warmth chase away the rest of the chill he still felt from the rain in his dream. They never asked each other what their dreams were about, just let the other person talk if they needed or wanted to.

“At first it was my mom…” Neil said softly after a long moment, keeping his gaze on the dark contents of his mug. Even without looking up he knew that Andrew had a slight disapproving look on his face, the look he got whenever the topic of Neil’s mother came up, no matter the context. “But… it switched and-” he broke off, something he wasn’t quite used to, “and then I was back in Baltimore, except… except he had you instead of me and-”

Andrew put his mug down and moved closer to Neil, turning his head towards him in an almost gentle way. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said softly and Neil stared at him, the last remnants of fear and tension from the dreams finally dissipating.

#one shot #all for the game #i wrote this at midnight while sleep deprived #so they May be a bit ooc #idk #andreil #andrew minyard #neil josten #the foxhole court #nightmares #Angst #but also fluff #hurt/comfort #fanfic #my writing #nathan wesninski #he is so fucking horrible #mary hatford #aka a not quite so great mother

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imapursoon · 4 years ago

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okay! so I know its a bit late, but here's the short story! I am not the best writer so please, please, please, no making fun of my writing. I will however be accepting criticism, but if you are going to critique, please be kind. If you read this and you end up wanting more. I am in the middle of writing a part 2. So please tell me if you like this!

I'm going to tag a few people who said they wanted to see this so: @that-house @thewafersituation @ifoughtgodbehind711

The Beginning of Something New

Hi. My name is May, and; I'm a fairy.

Okay, Okay. Don't freak out. I'm not like the fae you've probably heard about. I have rules. I try not to make deals, I don’t steal children, and I try not to get caught up in mortal affairs.

But, today. I'm going to tell you about how I broke all of these rules, and the price I paid for it.

I woke up to the silver wind chime in my window. Rolling out of bed, and stretching my fiery orange wings, I started getting dressed. I had picked out clothes the night before, very normal human clothes. They looked bland compared to what I was used to. I put them on and began my descent down the stairs, when not two seconds later, my mom rounded the corner and saw me.

I swear in that moment she was the happiest person in the world. Shining with pride, she walked up to me, and embraced me, while brushing my long orange hair out of my face.

Smiling, she said “I'm so proud of you, I always knew you'd be one of the four chosen, and how it has always been your dream.”

“Her dream” I thought to myself. I got lost in my thoughts. “Would things ever be the same?” “What if I shouldn’t do this?” “What if I regret it?”

She continued talking “I know that you'll always try your best to set a good example for your brothers. Now, sit down and eat. You wouldn't want to leave on an empty stomach, would you?”

I sat down at my spot at the table. In front of me were many fresh picked fruits, some you know, some you may not. For example; there were strawberries, I'm sure you're familiar with those, but there were also fruits you've never heard of. Like the plumweb, see you've never heard of it. It's called that because spiders like the bushes it grows in.

Anyway, I didn't really feel like eating that day. After all it would be a whole year before I saw my family again. Unconsciously, I tugged at my coat. “How do humans wear these?” I thought “They’re so tight and itchy.” I just wanted out from the situation I was in. I'm not even sure I was fully aware of the situation at the time. Then we suddenly heard it, a knock at the door. My younger brothers and I held our breath as mom went to answer it.

It was him. The ruler over the element of fire, Mr. Jharrah Firecurl. My mom extended her hand to shake but he brushed past her, and walked up to me, paying no attention to anything else. He introduced himself as Mr. Firecurl.

I panicked, and said “Uh, um, hello. I'm... May?”

He replied “I'm well aware of who you are. Follow me. Bring your things, our cart shall be leaving soon.” As he said this he stared at me with his blazing orange eyes. For looking so much like fire, they were quite cold and indifferent.

If I wasn't scared before, I was now. I was about to leave my home, to get on a cart, that would take us to the human world. A place which I had never been before and knew next to nothing about. With a man I'd never met. To say I was scared was an understatement.

I was terrified, but I did my best to hide it. I had to. I didn't want to disappoint my mom. So I put on my best fake smile, hugged my brothers, and said goodbye. I had already packed everything the night before, so I had everything ready. I grabbed my bag that was waiting at the door for me where I had left it. I took a deep breath, and took my first steps towards my new life.

#writing #my writing #i wrote this in google docs and tumblr kinda changed the formating #so if you get a bit confused by it thats probably why #pls reblog if you liked this #pursoon writes

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vrenaewrites · 5 years ago

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CARAVAL thoughts:

FULL VIDEO HERE.

Confession: I DNFed caraval about 2 years ago. I even included this book in a video called “reading 5 star reviews of books I hate” (either screen record and insert the clip from that vid or link in the cards skip to like 6:40 or both)

Chapter 1

We open with letters that our main character Scarlett has written to the caraval master Legend

She really wants him to come to her island but he hasn’t

She finally gets one back with three tickets for her Tella and her fiancé

Chapter 2

Scarlett’s feelings came in colors “urgent red of burning coals, frenzied yellow of a flapping bird’s feathers”

She goes to tell her sister Tella and finds her making out with a dude lol

Julian is his name

The edges of the paper “blazed a shimmery gold, the color of magic and wishes and promises of the things to come”

Tella hates the count Scarlett is betrothed to but Scarlett wants to leave their home so bad she doesn’t care who she ends up with

“Gods teeth!” Is the expletive…

The prize of caraval is one wish

They have to leave the isle within 3 days which would be impossible before getting married

Tella’s lips “shifted from broken to unbreakable” NO

Last time they left Scarlett’s dad did something terrible to her

Julian offers to smuggle them to the island for caraval on his sailor ship (pirate ship??)

“Goldenrod desire lit up inside her”

Wishes were about as real as unicorns

Their dad shows up with gloves “the shade of bruises”

Tella accuses Scarlett of hooking up with Julian RUDE!!!!

And Julian agrees!

Ohh because the dad beats the other sister so they’re trying to protect each other by accusing each other

Her marriage is 10 days away

Chapter 3

Her fathers perfume smelled like the color of his gloves

Julian decides to take them off the isle for free after witnessing this

Tella says if she leaves she will never return

“Her world was a grand game board, and her father believed this marriage would be his penultimate move”

“More than your sisters face will bleed” is their dad assaulting them?? Did I just gloss over that when reading this the first time??

“Weather worn white archways” loved

Governor dragna sounds like judge frollo

Their mom disappeared 7 years ago - abandoned them

They have priests and piety and the devil but they don’t use the BC AD calendar instead going by seasons and rulers...why

Chapter 4

She felt the lie from childhood “sneaking into her slippers and moving between her toes” no you didn’t

“A broken dock like a massive tongue jutted out to stones that reminded Scarlett if uneven teeth”

It was nights like these she could smell the moon - I wrote taste at first and taste fits better imo

A friend tried to help them escape once and the governor drowned him for it, Tella didn’t know about this

She meets Julian here at midnight and barters all 3 tickets to keep him from helping Tella escape

Julian and Tella ambush her and knock her out

Chapter 5

“A pock marked moon winked in the glass”

She has a dream about their nana telling them how legend got his name

First of all, legend is a bad dumb name and you should feel bad about it, Stephanie Garber. Caraval is also a bad name.

He was in love with a woman named Annalise and would perform at a coronation to earn her fathers respect, but he needed a witch to grant him a wish of talent

He had to choose between fame and love

So his name is legend because his magic is legendary? How tf did John legend not sue over this?

“Behind her a cloud drifted over the moon, covering all but two tiny points of light, which hovered behind her silver hair like devil’s horns” love this visual

I’m calling it now, we’re getting this flashback because somehow, the dragna sisters are related to Annalise or remind legend of Annalise and this is why Tella gets taken

Chapter 6

She wakes up in a rowboat with Julian after 2 days which is always a good way to pass the 2 days journey it takes without having to make anything happen lol I respect it

Julian calls her crimson instead of Scarlett - hated it then hate it now

Trees “rose toward the sky like massive emeralds” and the waterfall “streamed down like melted peacock feathers” no it didn’t because that makes no sense

Legends private island is called the island of dreams in Spanish

Tella has set up a kidnapping so Scarlett can go back without getting In trouble

“The image of a purple fire breathing dragon came to mind, coating her vision with ashy shades of anxiety”

I remember stopping very shortly after this and now I remember why - I can do purple prose but DAMN

Their mom had “vanished taking nothing with her, she disappeared like a broken star leaving the world untouched, save for the missing bits of light but no one would ever see again” Good purple prose

We get some backstory on how her Nana was more involved after her mother left, and we get to hear again about how great her stories are, even though we just spent a chapter getting that first hand from a flashback

She barters with herself to stay only one day and then go home for her wedding

There’s a hole in the boat so they swim but she didn’t take her dresses off so she starts to drown

“You deserve this” because of Phillippe, like hands the water pressed her down down down

Julian saved her and cuts off her dress which she finds very intense

Chapter 7

So much description of the snowy frosting sand pick one

I get that it’s a magical island but every descriptor up until the sand made it sound like a tropical paradise, and then suddenly the sand is snow and there’s ice and snow on the trees which were just giant emeralds so I’m confused

Because being wet and cold is more scary

“ The snow on the rooftops rested like dust on abandoned storybooks“

A very diagon alley sitch where there are magical stores but none are open...because it’s caraval guys. They’re at the games

They go into a clock shop where there are clothes waiting along with food roses and a note from legend

They change and she sees awful scars on his hot muscly back

Her dress is lame despite every YA trope about the heroine having a princess moment, that’s fun: just kidding it changed colors and shape to fit her perfect

And Julian’s outfit is super hot

He stole a pocket watch

Scarlett was a pretty girl but she tried to hide it, her eyes were too honest, no one noticed girls in ugly clothes

“Scarlet wondered if she had found a way to escape her fathers deadly games only to become a well costumed piece on a new game board” no shit Scarlett you came to the island for the game…

Also you were in such a hurry to find Tella and get into the game before it was too late and now you’re waxing poetic about how hot Julian is and how you’re hot but you don’t wanna be

Chapter 8

“Sage shaded colors of suspicion” I really hate this device she’s using. I’ve used it to describe the colors my mind reading characters see in people's minds. But it’s like twice a book, maybe, to express extreme emotion. Not every time your feelings change.

Some guy comes in and offers them a portal into caraval and Scarlett is like “sure thing” and Julian is like “ummm dumdum” and he leaves

The guys like “oh you just gonna listen to that random guy?” And I’m like as opposed to you, another random guy?

He wants her voice okay Ursula

“A passionate sky made of melting lemons and burning peaches” or say yellows and oranges…

“Until the door was no more” love this, sounds very fairy tale

She leaves and it's like night already, she only has til midnight

Scarlett and Julian get in by him pretending to be the count, her fiancé

They take the path of the players, not the watchers

Chapter 9

“A panicked Vermillion moved inside of her chest as she thought of how specific legends letter had been”

Julian admits he’s played caraval before and Scarlett is like *gasp* but HELLO how did you think he knew all the shit he knew?

He keeps calling her crimson like every time he speaks to her, annoying

“Julian’s smile turned seductive, all shameless curves and immoral promises”

Chapter 10

“Soft golden lights licked her arms with gentle kisses of warmth”

I’m very bored when this house is supposed to be EVERYTHING

The guy who was giving them the rules says, “don’t let your eyes or feelings trick you” And then jumps off the balcony and Scarlet freaks out… He just told you not to trust what you see

Scarlett is the most annoying person

Their instructions are to get to the end by sunrise or they’ll be locked out in the streets, but she’s wasting time wanting to look for her sister - and Julian is telling her that her sister is probably staying at the same place and she doesn’t believe him despite the fact that he’s already done this game before, just trust him???

“A searing green door watched Scarlet like a glowing eye”

This just made me figure out why I don’t like that she’s using colors as an emotional device, because the main character is named after a color, and so it’s just way too many color descriptors

Julian got trapped outside noooo

Chapter 11

But it’s fine because she tells the innkeeper they’re guests of legend - which they are - and he’s let in. Great. Glad there are no stakes. They also used legends name to get the boat to the inn for free.

The hallways in the inn “smelled like the end of the night, sweat and fading fire smoke mixed with lingering breath from words whose ghosts still haunted the air” no

Julian was “poison in an attractive bottle”

Their rooms are actually one room oops

Chapter 12

“But legend saw all during caraval”

She got a message from legend: it’s a key with tella’s name on it

Lmao tella is having sex behind that door for sure

“She felt five different shades of berry colored foolish” this is so stupid

Every time something happens between tella and scar, we get a whole expository moment about how this is related to their mother or their father or the relationship between the sisters… We know. we can tell. we are not stupid.

“Warmth licking her cheek” this metaphor is too specific to keep using it

Some tattooed dude finds her - Dante - and is like “sleep in my room”

He asks her out but she declines because the count

Damn her dress has transformed to be like see through which is why he was into her lmao

She has a dream that legend is a creep lol

Chapter 13

Scarlett totally changes her tune re: enjoying herself

She passes tella’s room and finds a wreck

“Feathers covered the carnage as if a rebel Angel had gone mad” this is so dumb

The key she got with tella’s name was a clue, that other people also got

A pregnant girl offers to help scarlet, and a man steals scarlets favorite earrings from her mother

Then the pregnant girl steals that stuff

She realizes there’s a postcard in tella’s room that isn’t hers

Chapter 14

Tella only loved mermaids, and the postcard is of a castle, which was Scarlett’s thing

The castle is a place on the isle that Julian recognizes

Dante shows up and Julian is like hell nah

Dante won last time Julian was here and it cost him a lot

“Shops wrapped in colors like a birthday presents, cerulean blue apricot orange saffron yellow primrose pink while the canals remained midnight dark” SHUT UP dude

This woman got like a color wheel or a color dictionary for her birthday the year she wrote this book

Time moves fast in the castle

What’s really annoying about this book is Stephanie Garber spends a lot of time talking about things that are boring, and one sentence on something like hummingbird-sized elephants and tigers

There’s a kissing tent and she’s like fuck yeah let’s go there

You’re engaged

Julian sees where she’s looking and is like yeah??

A tingle of periwinkle curiosity

Chapter 15

She goes into the tent of a half naked dude who could tell her fortune

This is all very boring

He has incense that makes people tell the truth and she admits Julian is the hottest guy ever

She asks what’s the man she will marry really like?

He’s not a good person

She’s covered in only pictures he can see instead of pictures only he can see…

She had 2 questions but the way she asked used them up so she doesn’t get to ask about tella

Chapter 16

He tells her to follow the boy with the heart made of black...obviously Dante, she thinks Julian

She walks into a potion tent and finds an elixir of protectio

She mentions her father and feels “anise and lavender and rotting plums”

She describe the woman who works in the potion tent as having “bottle green” eyes, but this entire paragraph has the word bottle in it like 1 million times because shes describing a tent full of potions...all these colorful words you’ve used and this is where you use “bottle green”

I don’t mind the descriptor, my own eyes are bottle green, it’s very vivid, but badly placed

She chases Julian to a decrepit garden with a fountain, and sees a glass button

She also saw a glass button in tella’s room...is this how legend spies on her? Is this where tella is being kept?

“Dreary yellow hopelessness” infected her

She sees the symbol of caraval inside the fountain and touches it, revealing a staircase

Someone screamed as hot and bright as fire

It’s madness tunnels

The inn “smells of laughter and boasts laced with sweetened ale” this doesn’t make seeeeeennnnnnnnse

She finds Julian, but it’s actually Dante and he’s mean to her and she cries but it makes her mad at Julian?????? Stupid

Chapter 17

Julian finally shows up, super bloody but he just had a head wound

She cleans him up and is getting super horny lol

He got her earrings back!!!!!

The fire dies sending up a plume of smoke “the color of things better said in whispers”

She tells him about the tunnels and he says legend treats his prisoners like guests

Julian’s eyes are the color of “caramel and liquid amber lust”

He almost kisses her and then seems to wake up, leaves and “disappointment wraps around her in cool shades of forget me not blue” STOP

Chapter 18

She wakes up to white roses with red tips

Julian is supposed to meet her but doesn’t

A girl shows up “pretty as a watercolor and dressed as bold as a trumpet” DUDE

“Oh poor you, here you are on a magical island, and all you can think of is what you don’t have” get her!

Dante shows up and she realizes he has a black heart tattoo which DUH SCARLETT

chapter 19

The night is “brittle, crisp like the first bite of a chilled apple, smelling just as sweet with hints of burnt sugar weaving through the charcoal night air” THIS IS GOOD PURPLE PROSE! I can taste this!!!!!!!

She’s chasing Dante and finds a cider seller who’s drink will help her see things more clearly, the price is her last lie

She drinks it and loses the color in her vision

The game is constantly working against you?????? How?! You’ve stumbled across tons of clues without any work and there are no believable stakes to this game, this drink is the first time you’ve had a struggle…

Iko holds a journal that’s brownish green, “the color of forgotten memories, abandoned dreams, and bitter gossip”

Even in black and white we get this heavy handed color shit

She realizes anything in color is important

She also sees the red roses on a carousel and the red cravat on a mans neck

He makes her feel perilous shades of silky black - is Stephanie Garner an artist? Does she have synesthesia or something?? What is with this device!!!!

She looks in Iko’s book and sees pictures of her, the special guest

Sour shades of yellow green made her stomach roil with trepidation - HUH????

She’s like “why would he make the game about me?” You’ve been begging him to bring you caraval your entire life, why do you think?

I think I remember the nana saying annelise had blonde hair, and so does tella...are they related to her? Is she nana?

Iko tells her the notebook also holds all the true stories of caraval

Iko will give her the notebook if Scarlett will buy 2 dresses because the changing dress bothers her (??)

Iko takes her to a dress shop where the dresses are “the color of late night laughter, early morning sunshine, and waves crashing around ankles”

The dresses cost nightmares or secrets or fears

She owes her worst fear and greatest desire, or she can pay 2 days of her life per dress

It works but her greatest desire isn’t to find her sister, so she pays with 2 days of her life, not at the end of her life but at the end of caraval

“Panic came in hemlock green, the color of poison and terror”

“Something acidic and moldy and burnt bubbled up in Scarlett’s throat - the taste of death” like this

Scarlett’s body dies but her mind will exist in a dream world

Chapter 20

Dante finds her and drags her into the inn

Julian hits Dante because he won’t let her go hell yeah

She tells him what happened

Julian tried to give Scarlett a day of his life by having her drink his blood from his finger and she’s like “I wanna fuck this duuuude”

“His voice is so gentle, made of gentle” I liked this

Then he drinks her blood from her finger, and the world shatters into a million shards of colored glass

He lays down with her and holds her while she dies

Chapter 21

Death was the color purple.

She sees tella in the dream world, and tella has a huge dark book that swallows her and Scarlett

They see young nana in a house similar to the one they entered at caraval, entwined with a young man

Her grandma is Anneliese DUH

Then she’s at the funeral of the woman who died at caraval before

Rosa was in love with legend and he rejected her so she killed herself

Dante was rosa’s fiancée

Legend is julian?!?!?

Loved This entire chapter but then it means nothing because none of this is real it’s all part of the game so it’s not really story development

Chapter 22

They both wake up

Scarlett tries to convince herself the game is messing with her

Then she remembers what the dream people said about legend loving to make girls fall for him

She has a grey streak in her hair now

Her dad is there!

She finally puts it together - her nana is anneliese

“She could see the sting of her rejection in shades of stormy blue ghosting over his heart like sad morning mist” roll my eyes

But then she remembers that he gave a day of his life for her and is like why would he do that if he was legend

Now she’s changed her mind, so she goes after Julian to find him leaving Dante’s room and walking into tella’s

She goes in after him to hide from her dad but the room is empty

She finds another secret staircase like the fountain

She trips over Dante’s dead body and finds Julian standing over it

Chapter 23

Julian grabs her and is like “I didn't kill him, we were working together”

He shows her a white rose tattoo he has, Rosa was his sister!!

She asks why he had been acting weird and he basically says he didn’t want to have feelings for her because that wasn’t why he had come to caraval

Scarlett is like let’s get this fucker back, but she hears her dad’s footsteps in the tunnel

Chapter 24

They start running, and they hide in a weird alcove from her dad that starts to squish them

She realizes it’s feeding off their fear so they relax and it lets them out

They end up in the sand tunnel and Scarlett is like how could you know I was going to caraval if you were already at our island when I got my tickets

Julian explains that legend is punishing the descendants of anneliese and he invited her to caraval to stop the wedding

Legend had never responded until she signed her full name on the last letter, mentioning her wedding

Julian is the fucking count dude calling it

“His steady gaze reached out to the broken parts of her like a caress, a type of touch that moved through damaged flesh, past fractured bones and into a person's wounded soul.” WOW

Scarlett hears tella’s voice and almost runs straight off a cliff

“Tella loved danger the same way candle wicks loved to burn. It never seemed to scare her that some of the things she lusted for might consume her like a flame” Christ

Julian knew tella would be taken during caraval

Chapter 25

She had to find tella before legend consumed her like a flame burning a candle” you just used a candle metaphor like one page ago my dude.

She gives herself one minute to cry and scream and Julian hears her so he barges in, worried

He apologizes and she gives him the grace I’ve been waiting for as soon as he said he knew what would happen to tella: he had to avenge his sister. Everything they’re both doing is for their sisters, she should be more understanding

Julian is “all kinds of tragic and lovely”

The box was “flat black, the color of failure and funerals” shut UP

Like if you wanna use the color device to describe your protagonists feelings stop being so fucking flowery with every single color in the book it is soooooooooooooooo distracting

It’s the other dress Scarlett has bought but now it’s white

Chapter 26

There’s a note in the box from legend that makes “invisible spiders crawl over her skin” ok

She thinks the dress is the 5th clue - the buttons on the dress reminds her of the buttons leading to the hat store

Chapter 27

They go to the top hat place and Julian is like “this is all wrong”

Iko appears looking like “a teardrop the moon had cried” love it

She tells them not to go into the hat shop

Let me guess, despite both of these omens Scarlett is still gonna go in

“Scarlett had an emerald green premonition that she would make a discovery inside” sure why tf not gotta keep the story moving somehow

She sees the store owner and was like LEGEND and he’s like nah dude I’m just wearing a hat

But he is the guy that was wearing the red cravat and eyepatch from the day her vision went gray

He is the count!!!!!

Chapter 28

Nicholas Darcy

And her dad is there!!!!!!!!!!

Julian gets her out but the count chases her and they get on a boat

She sees her dad and he looks afraid but she blames it on the rain

They row to the castle and Julian convinces her to get inside to hide from the lightning

And they argue about if she’s still planning marrying the count and she’s torn which hurts him

He says “are you sure you want this?” Before kissing her and like is it a consent thing or is it him asking if he’s what she wants either way I love it

“The boy who had saved her from drowning in more ways than one” explain…

They kiss and “every touch created colors she had never seen” that’s so anticlimactic

Chapter 29

The stones fall through the hourglass like “drops of falling rose petals” that makes no sense but we have to include it because...

She finally realizes the roses that have been EVERYWHERE are part of the game duh

She takes Julian to the fountain where the tunnel entrance is

She feels ochre shades of uneasy

Only NOW she’s giving pause at the idea of winning because she could wish them safe...shoulda been your goal all along. Should have been equally as important as finding tella since if you find her you win the wish….I’m signing heavily atm

The governor and the count are there!!!!!

Swear to god if Julian dies I’m going to fucking riot

She wants to split up but Julian is like fuck no

The count catches up to her and the governor pulls her by her hair up the stairs

He punches her in the stomach to warn Julian and she gets back up, with the count trying to protect Scarlett

“A slick mud colored feeling coated Scarlett’s insides” because the governor is holding a knife to Julian’s throat

He cuts Julian’s face NOOOOOO

The governor takes Julian to his room and let’s the count sleep in Scarlett’s room because “he’s already paid for her, he can enjoy her a few days early”

Scarlett stands up to her dad!!!! And then she remembers tella’s words: what if the count is worse?

Scarlett tells the count if she makes her dad stop, she’ll be a good wife but if he doesn’t she will never be his obedient wife

“Do you really want a bride who will only sleep with you because someone will be tortured if she doesn’t?” YES

Chapter 30

The count is like “listen I am NOT like your dad I’m sorry” and she’s like yeah but you’re not Julian

The count starts undressing and Scarlett aims a poker at his eyeball lmao

She finally remembers the elixir of protection in that dress from the tent and soaks the count

The count is like “you’re playing into legends hands” and Scarlett is like “nah he did me a favor by getting rid of you”

Chapter 31

Julian’s cut isn’t that deep thank god but he’s still woozy

“He tasted like midnight and wind”

Leap of faith - roses - it’s Rosa!!!!! She has to ask how Rosa died and Julian says she jumped off a balcony

They decide to sneak out using the tunnels to go search all the balconies

Chapter 32

The town during the day looks like a “faded memory”

She hears music from the rose colored carousel

The musician has been asking for coins the whole time but nothing else cost money

They jump onto the moving carousel and end up in the roses where Scarlett finds the caraval symbol

They have to jump, Julian gives her coordinates to a boat in case they get separated but they run out of time and she has to go in

She lands in a river and lands at a staircase guarded with statues that are definitely frozen people

Legend is there ofc

Chapter 33

She’s a little star struck by legend

His laugh is a rich spicy sound that echoes until he snaps his fingers

Homeboy is mad

Julian ends up there, dry, and...he’s working with legend...NOOOOOOO

Dante and Valentina were also part of the game

Rosa was not his sister...DUDE

She clutches his pocket watch and legend opens it - Julian’s voice comes out apologizing for betraying her

He does love her HE IS ENCHANTED!!!!!

LEGEND STABS JULIAN?!?!?!?!?!?

Oh fuck he is spitting blood oh fuck oh no

Scarlett you got him killed you dumdum

Chapter 34

I’m FUCKING FURIOUS

she remembers that she gets one wish, and she wants to use it to bring Julian back and I swear to goooooddddddd if he doesn’t come back I’m gonna throw myself out the window

Legend is gone, leaving a funeral invitation for tella set for tomorrow this guy is a MONSTER

Chapter 35

She ends up on a huge rooftop way high up

“The air felt soft and poisonous”

Tella is there feeling like “softness and sunlight and seeds for growing dreams”

We just used soft a sentence ago!!!!

Tella is like “you’re confused, the game is playing tricks on you”

Scarlett tells her about their grandmas history with legend

She shows tella the invitation and it now says it’s to a party not a funeral

Chapter 36

Tella has met a boy that’s not legend...it’s a guy she met right before she got taken for the game…

She’s engaged to him??

Scarlett is like maybe tella is right and this is all part of it...Scarlett DUDE

Scarlett has a bitter yellow puddle of dread in her stomach

If Daniel is Dante or Julian I’m gonna scream

Chapter 37

It’s legend of course

Duh

He tries to convince tella to tie Scarlett up you better NOT

TELLA

YOU DUMB BITCH

legend dares Scarlett to walk to the edge of the balcony to prove she loves her sister, so that he can feign worry to tella

They tie her up

The governor and the count show up FUCK

finally legend admits to tella who he is and she just breaks poor baby

Tella backs up to the ledge and says if the governor or the count touch Scarlett she’ll kill herself!!!!!!!

“Silver slippers sliding” toward the balcony

Scarlett breaks free but tella FUCKING JUMPS

Chapter 38

So now who is Scarlett gonna use her wish on?!

Her father looks like “a dragon with no fire and broken wings”

The governor slaps Jovan and legend is like imma fuck you UP

The governor killed Dante!!!!!!

She blackmails her dad with Philippe’s death

She remembers her wish...but who does she use it on?!

Which oof, oof, OOF

Tella is a brat lmao

Legend won’t give her the wish!!!!!

He’s...fading??

Scarlett goes to give tella her blood

She wishes her impossible wish but it doesn’t work

Chapter 39

She goes back up to get tella’s stuff and finds a caraval box with a letter inside from tella to legend that she didn’t know about

Chapter 40

She goes to see legend and finds out he’s actually some dude named Caspar…that was why he couldn’t grant her wish

There’s a stack of letter between tella and legend that basically illustrate that tella was willing to die for legend to get them to caraval

Tella is alive?!?!?!?!?!?

This was all a fucking game?!

Her impossible wish came true, but she had actually died

Tella orchestrated their dad getting to caraval so he could see her die, and so he would leave Scarlett alone

Chapter 41

So Julian is not really dead, but tella wanted anyone who made Scarlett love them to be taken out, that way she wouldn’t get hurt by someone who was just pretending

So she somehow warps this into meaning that Julian didn’t actually love her? Go...ask him??????? The fuck

God poor Scarlett…

So people can die in caraval, but when the game is over, they come back...so there were no fuckin stakes except for tella’s death

Chapter 42

They go to legends party in the forest and Scarlett sees Julian

Iko is there like go talk to Julian dumdum

“Shades of the rich ruby love she’d felt mixed with deep indigo hurt turning everything just a little bit violet” I don’t care I want them to kiss Stephanie

Julian is so hurt that she thinks she doesn’t know him

He’s related to legend…

Rosa dying changed his opinion of legend

He tried to leave the game right before this caraval

Legend is his brother!!!!!!!!!

He couldn’t leave Scarlett because she loved her sister like Julian loved his brother

He stayed because of Scarlett despite how it hurt him to lie to her

Yaaaaaay they kiss yay omg

Epilogue

Tella is dancing drunk at the party and is dancing with a new guy who dances her to the edge of the party...then he’s gone?

He dropped something into her pocket...a coin with a note…

From legend!!!!!

You can see your mom soon if you keep up your end of the bargain!!!!!

#book review #bookreviews #booktube #cringe books #cringe review #stephanie garber #caraval #legendary #finale #negative review #spoilers

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wunderlass · 6 years ago

Text

Semi-Charmed Life

It’s after midnight here so I’m posting early to get Dia de Maria rolling. Prompt and nicknames from @witchwolfmouse: “ Mimi teaching Maria the tricks of the psychic trade i.e. hustlin' racists 101″. Many thanks to @circular-8 for giving this a once-over.

“They call it cold reading, muñeca.” Mimi says to Maria as she shuffles the cards, a faded, scuffed deck which is worn around the edges from frequent use. A plain old Rider Waite set which truthfully has a few cards missing from them getting used as beer mats by patrons. Maria knows there’s no Death card anymore, because Mimi refused to draw it, finding the whole endeavor of explaining its truth to panicked clients too draining.

Maria watches her mother’s slender fingers move, silver jewelry and stones flashing under the low lighting of the bar. It’s empty at this time of morning, the doors firmly bolted shut as Mimi gives the first lesson she’s been promising to Maria since she was a little girl. Now she’s sixteen and ready to learn, really learn, how her mom does what she does. Not the psychic thing—that’s just part of who they are, honed as a skill alongside learning to walk and talk and sing. This is business.

Mimi insisted she learns here, in the place she will ply her trade. It’s quiet now but she’ll need to be able to do readings on demand, among the din and distractions. The scent of stale beer and whiskey is ever-present, part of the bar’s aura. Nowhere ever feels like home to Maria unless she can get a lungful of that sourness.

Mimi lets the occasional card fall through her fingers as they cascade between her hands, pausing to position it just so on the table. One, two, three, four. Until they form a Greek cross. Maria watches avidly. She always has, forever itching to get her hands on the cards herself and learn to make them sing as her mom does.

“Anybody can learn to cold read, baby girl,” Mimi continues. “Even those with no gift at all. But it still serves its purpose—the more you can determine before the punter even sits down, the less you have to open yourself up to them. And it’s an exchange, you understand? To see into them, you have to expose yourself enough that somebody—or something—else can peer into you. It’s better to limit that.”

Maria nods eagerly, drinking in her mother’s words. There’s always poetry in the soft cadence of her voice, a tone which Maria has never heard become anything less than gentle. Maybe it does, sometimes, when Maria isn’t around, when the patrons are misbehaving and need warning. Or maybe it did when her father walked out, but she can’t remember his voice at all, so it was never important.

Mimi flips the top card over but barely glances at it. This isn’t Mimi’s favorite deck—that’s a beautiful, ornate one she keeps upstairs, wrapped in a silk scarf, the intricate paintings of angelic women with blazing eyes and deep, rich skin like their own, nestled safely away from the danger the Pony poses to it. That deck only comes out for Mimi’s personal readings—for herself or friends. Maria doesn’t even dare ask to touch it.

“Pay attention to body language, to their word choices, to the tiny details. What’s their mood like? Are they wearing a wedding ring? What are they drinking? If you can tell the hopeless romantic from the cynical man down to his last cent, you can shape the future you give them. Tell them what they want to hear, toss in a few undeniable details, and they’ll always come back.”

All the cards are face up now, and Mimi scans them absently. “See, here we have pentacles and swords. What does that mean? It doesn’t really matter. When Old Man Wishaw comes in, he wants to hear good news about his fortunes. You might have already heard from one of his hands that the calving is going well and the price at market is on the rise, so you can give that to him. Or you can caution him against foolishness. Listen to what people say in idleness and drunkenness.”

She shuffles again, tossing out more cards to form a circle around the central cross.

“Pay attention to who wins and loses at pool and advise them of their future luck accordingly. Drunk racists always want to hear they’re going to marry or have an affair with a tall blonde. And you’ll know who they are by the contempt they show you—you pay them no mind, and they pay you extra, you hear? You definitely don’t want to go dipping into their heads if you can avoid it, there’s nothing pleasant to be found in there.”

She frowns down at the cards, sweeping them all towards her in a smooth motion. “The cards are a tool. You can channel them, or you can use them as a prop to make it seem more authentic. Give the punter a show if they’ll pay more for it. Distract them from your scrutiny. Whatever you need to do. Just remember to look out for yourself, baby girl, and never let them walk away without paying. The ones who do—well, that’s when you find an ominous warning in their future. One they can only avert by settling their debts. They always pay up.”

The deck is whole once more, tied in a piece of ribbon Mimi uses to keep the cards together. She rises and heads across to the bar, resting the deck on top of the cash drawer, and opens it up to start pulling wage packets together.

“What did the cards say, momma?” Maria asks. Always the cards give Mimi piece of wisdom for the day ahead, a glimmer of truth she shapes into advice for Maria. But today there is only a frown creasing between her mom’s eyes.

Mimi shakes her head, as if it’s unimportant, but Maria can tell she’s rattled, in a way she’s never seen her before. “Nothing good, sweetheart. A shadow, creeping through Roswell, almost like…” That head shake again, like she’s trying to clear her thoughts, to chase the image away. “A storm coming.” She smiles, the uneasiness passing. “Guess we’d better be prepared for it.”

#fic #maria deluca #mimi deluca #roswell new mexico #dia de maria

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knowerofuselessfacts · 6 years ago

Text

Right

My piece for the angst prompt for polyshipprompts week, OT6 again. A little longer than most things I’ve written and posted, and maybe a little graphic sometimes. Not really meant for the kiddos.

THE PROMPT

SECOND PROMPT

Several Warnings: Torture, Blood, Misogyny, Loss of Body Part

And it’s under the read more:

His world awoke in an ear piercing scream, the clang of metal to the ground, heavy breathing, and a determined grunt before the voice of their fearless leader broke through the haze, “Is that all you’ve got?”

There was a silent response as his eyes opened, his vision tinged pale pink and stinging, across the tiny, suffocating room, Hiccup was on his right side, blood everywhere, streaming from a gash in his arm, in the corner of his mouth, and spiking his hair slightly from a wound on his head. Snotlout stared as the unknown Viking held up a gleaming knife, Hiccup tried to back away but he shuddered from the inability to move his arm and collapsed. It was obvious Hiccup had been distracting them for hours. Snotlout cried out, “No! Don’t hurt him. Hurt me instead!”He could hear the begging tone in his own voice and winced at it.

The masked figure turned to him and took slow, calculated steps toward Snotlout, the silver knife dripping with a clear liquid that only made it brighter. Snotlout cringed as the figure crouched near him, raising the knife higher before bringing it down just to the right of his right shin bone. He stayed quiet, just like he would when his dad made him train for hours until he couldn’t feel his muscles and he cut himself with a blade on accident. He stared into the slit in the mask that revealed cruel blue eyes. The mask shifted slightly, pulling toward the right and up toward the eye, and he heard the first words from the figure, “What else should I do to you and yours before you die?”

“Why are you doing this?” Snotlout demanded, trying to watch Hiccup without moving his eyes from the person in front of him, “What did we ever do to you?”

“You and your ‘riders’ put me out of a job, I go home and my wife kicks me out since I can’t bring in anything. And before that, that one killed my brother,” He pointed at Astrid, “By leaving him on a blazing ship, to die or drown.” He pointed to the twins, “I barely had a scrap of my cousin’s shirt to identify him because of them. Haddock blasted a metal winch into another cousin’s face; he was knocked out and never woke up. Ingerman ruined my father’s trade, teaching those damn Dramilions to protect themselves. And you, you and your Nightmare destroyed an entire crop of Dragon Root, while my nieces were helping tend it, they survived but I will never get their dowries from the marring you caused them. Protecting your precious dragons took my life away from me, it’s only suiting I take it from you.” He dragged the knife down through Snotlout’s leg and he let out a tiny whimper.

Snotlout tried to compose himself slightly to keep a conversation, maybe he could keep the focus of this psycho on him and away from the others who were beginning to stir, “If you’re requiring a dowry from any marriage, you shouldn’t be able to take care of women.”

“Ahh, yes, you riders believe in ‘love’ don’t you? Love gets you killed, love is weakness, and with it you will not survive the harsh winter. Their gold will, and my nieces would have served any man I set them with well. In the absence of that, I will kill all of you, slowly, painfully, until you suffer tenfold for what you’ve done, and then I will skin your dragons, alive, and sell them. The hides of the first trained dragons and the last Night Fury will make a hefty price no?”

Suddenly Tuffnut shouted, “You leave him and our dragons alone!”

“Yea! Leave them alone!” Ruffnut resounded.

The man gave an annoyed sigh, left the knife in Snotlout’s calf, made his way toward them, and grabbed two more from the wall above the twins, before stabbing both of them deep in the upper arm. Tuffnut tried to shake the blade out while tears silently fell from his face when the man stopped him, “Oh no, I want you to die slowly, and you don’t want to lose a lot of blood do you?”

It wasn’t long before the room filled with screams, begging for the man to focus on them instead of the others, each of them became more battered, bloodied, and bruised. It became a haze for Snotlout, a buzzing noise in his ears as the pleading and the screams blended into one, he felt as if he was losing a lot more blood than he thought from what he could see. The very last straw was when the man held Astrid’s face as if trying to be tender, “Perhaps I can marry you off like you were my niece, I know a few trappers that would pay a bounty for a woman like you.” He chuckled to himself before Astrid spit onto his mask. He growled and sliced her face from the bottom of her eye to her chin. “One more outburst out of you and you’ll be half blind before you die.” He tapped the point of the knife between her temple and the corner of her left eye.

Snotlout screamed, “No, don’t hurt them! Hurt me! Do anything you want to me, but stop hurting them!”

“Fine.” He growled before walking over, he raised his foot over Snotlout’s already damaged leg and slammed his heel into the bone. A sickening crack drowned out almost every sound in the room but Snotlout bit his mouth to keep from screaming, he had to focus.

His efforts were stopped when a large body ran directly into the man; he caught glimpses of red hair as he fell back into the darkness.

Hiccup woke up in a familiar room, his father, Gobber, and Dagur all staring at him, “Please tell me I didn’t lose another leg.” He said trying to sit up.

“You? No.” Gobber said with a regretful look in his eye.

Hiccup panicked, “Who? What happened? W-“

Stoick put a hand carefully on his shoulder, “You put up a good fight, son, but when you were injured, your riders did their best to distract that man from you. Snotlout took some of the worst damage.”

“Yea, that crazy hunter stabbed him with some slow moving poison, it stayed in his leg, but then he also collapsed his bone inward,” Dagur added.

Hiccup couldn’t breathe, someone he loved just went through one of the worst things that could have happened to protect him. Snotlout lost a leg over him. “I have to see him.”

“He’s still in surgery with Gothi and a few others.” Gobber told him, “You have to rest.”

“Take me to him. Now!” Hiccup ordered trying to swing his legs over the side of the bed. He wobbled and Toothless bounded over to help prop him up, moving slowly to get Hiccup to rest on his back. Hiccup struggled with his friend, “No, I have to see him.” Tears pricked his eyes, “This is all my fault.” Toothless crooned sadly at him.

“Hiccup, you’re the worst hurt other than Snotlout, you need to rest brother. This is not your fault.”

“I can’t just leave him there. I need to see him.”

Stoick sighed, “Toothless will carry you. Here, I’ll help you.” He extended a hand to his son to help situate him on his dragon.

Toothless walked slowly and lightly to Snotlout’s house, trying to keep Hiccup from being jostled too much. Hiccup smiled at his best friend, knowing how much the dragon was trying for him.

Hiccup found the rest of the riders outside of the Jorgenson house, worrying over their boyfriend. Hiccup noticed Tuffnut’s arm was wrapped tight, Ruffnut’s opposite arm the same, Astrid had bandages covering half her face and Fishlegs was holding a crutch. The twins couldn’t stop moving, as much as it hurt, their worry evident on their usually carefree faces. Fishlegs was talking quickly and indiscernibly to Astrid who seemed calm except for the look in the eye he could easily see: wide, red, and fear filled. Hiccup went over with help from Toothless before grabbing the hands of his stationary boyfriend and girlfriend. The twins walked over to add their hands into the hold as they waited for Gothi to come out and they could see Snotlout.

The sun had gone half way across the sky before Gothi stepped out and Fishlegs started rapid firing questions. She shook her head, lightly tapped him on the head with the staff, not willing to injure him more, before drawing into the dirt.

“He’ll live.” Fishlegs translated, “He will no longer have his lower right leg, but he’ll be fine.”

“I’ll make him a good one.” Hiccup vowed.

“Can we go see him?” Astrid questioned.

Gothi nodded and the riders shuffled inside and into Snotlout’s basement room. Mrs. Jorgenson was holding onto her son’s hand, “Gothi said he won’t be awake for a while, but help me keep an eye on him?” She asked with a weak smile.

“Of course Mrs. Jorgenson.” Astrid said sitting on the side of the bed.

Snotlout opened his eyes to see the six humans that loved him the most sitting on or near his bed, the twins were dozing on each other, each with a hand on his arm, Astrid watched his face intently and smiled when she saw his eyes, she nudged Fishlegs and Hiccup into focus. He tried to ask what happened but he couldn’t get the words out, his mom took a cup of water and Fishlegs helped prop him up so he could drink, “What happened? Why are you here?”

“Because we love you knucklehead,” Ruffnut said with a roll of her eyes, “Duh!”

Snotlout gave a single laugh before wincing, he tried to push himself up but his right leg felt wrong, “What-!”

Hiccup took his hand, “Snotlout, you were hurt pretty bad. There was only so much that could be done.”

Snotlout glanced at Hiccup’s left leg, before looking at Hiccup in the eye. The small nod was all he needed for confirmation. He sobbed and held Hiccup’s hand tighter. Hiccup nodded, “I know, but I’ll help you learn how to get through this. Promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

#ashley's OT6 #polyshipweek #tw: torture #tw: blood #tw: misogyny #tw: limb loss #whump #rtte whump #hopeful ending #loki wrote a thing!

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spitecremated · 6 years ago

Text

Drabble || Stay Dead.

Why was he here...?

The familiar surroundings of the Todoroki family's household immediately sent tendrils of old distress twisting throughout his shattered mind, chest tightening with anxiety at the very thought of being there, of being home. Why was it so hard to breathe all the sudden? Damn it, why was he —

A quick shake of the head and the tortured soul was stumbling to his feet, tossing that old comforter to the side as he propelled himself from what had once been his own bed. This couldn't be happening - there was no reason to be back here; he couldn't be back here —

Bare feet fell heavily across wooden flooring as he scrambled away from the nostalgic sights of his bedroom, away from chipping black paint and band posters he couldn't be bothered to care about anymore, away from the fake smiles found in the faces of family photographs. It was all too familiar, all too REAL, and he could already feel his stomach flipping, twisting into knots, bile rising in his throat.

The door was flung open near frantically, and for all the world, he wasn't certain where he thought he was going, only that he had to get out of here before it was TOO LATE. Before the past could surge back to the surface and ruin what little semblance of peace his mind had finally managed to craft. Before —

Into the bathroom, if only out of habit, to gag into the nearest trash-can, before taking a shaky breath, trying to steady his stomach so that he could actually deal with the situation. He couldn't afford this right, he had to check on Sh—

No, no, NO!

That was OVER!

This couldn't be —

Head snapping up from where he'd bent over the sink, turquoise eyes locked onto his own reflection. For half a second, everything was oddly in order - that permanent grin on his face from silver stitchings, dark scarring crossing over pale skin, hair jet black from all that cheap dye. He was normal, he was Da —

Blinking back tears promptly resulted in a sick joke, a trick of the mind as everything warped out of place, the memory of safety slipping further out of his grasp. Raven strands gave way to that sickeningly vibrant red, staples and proper piercings alike vanishing from where they'd been forced into his flesh, the facial scarring nothing more than a horrific idea now. What was once the forced-grin of a villain, was now the crying face of a teenager.

Touya.

❝ No, no, NO — ! ❞

The words ripped themselves from the man's boy's throat, voice catching on a sob as he quickly shook his head, blinking frantically at the mirror as though it would somehow change the current sight back to the previous. This wasn't right, this couldn't be... !

...Had all of that really been a dream?

❝ Go back... ❞

Touya's voice was a whimper in his own ears, stomach immediately rolling with disgust at how PATHETIC he sounded. How could so many years of being away from this place have been FAKE? So many years of recrafting himself, finding a twisted illusion of home amongst criminals - years of burnt bridges and snuffed out embers. How could it have all been...

❝ I was f-finally done b-being scared, damn it... ❞

Whirling away from the disgusting sight in the mirror, the teen darted from the room, slamming the door shut behind himself before swiftly moving down the hallway. If it had been fake, then he had to pull himself together - he had to check on Shoto and the others; he had to make sure that their shattered family hadn't completely fallen apart overnight. They couldn't afford somebody else losing their mind in this house, for fuck's sake!

❝ Pull yourself together. ❞

The words were practically a sob even as he spoke them, though that villainous voice from his dreams — Dabi — echoed the instruction as a growl from within his mind. Everything felt fuzzy, his vision blurring with fresh tears, and it was almost like the fucking hall was spinning.

❝ Just — Just calm. The fuck. Down. ❞

He was nearly hearing double, his own voice and the one from his dream mixing together in a dissociative blur. How had things gotten so mixed up in his head? What was even going on? Where were the others? Where was that BASTARD? —

Something was wrong, something was horribly WRONG.

"Touya? Are you okay?"

His sister's voice from a connecting room had him nearly gagging again, and he wasn't even sure why, but as he spun around to face her, those damned tears rolled down his cheeks even faster. It took a few tries to actually open his mouth, and even then, it almost felt like those stitches he'd thought he saw were still tugging at the corners of his lips.

❝ I — I don't know. Everything's... Where's Mom, Fuyumi? Where's Shoto? Where's — ❞

Familiar, worry-filled eyes blinked back at the boy, a frown twisting across his sister's lips. Fuck, she almost looked like she wanted to cry herself, and that stung far more than his own terrors ever could.

"I think Mom's in the kitchen. Shoto's with Father at this hour; you know that, Touya. Are you sure that you're —"

Shaking his head wildly, Touya's knees abruptly buckled in on themselves before harshly striking the floor - crumbling to the ground as another tortured, confused sob caught in his throat. He distantly heard her gasp, words that he didn't process, and then footsteps as she darted away from the scene. He couldn't move, he could barely breathe. Everything was spinning again, and the world wouldn't slow down, and there wasn't a fucking HERO here to fix it anymore than there ever had been!

❝ No, no, no, no... ❞

His crying sounded pathetic to his own ears, and his mind didn't have a chance to get much further than that before the familiar BURN of his own Quirk demanded his attention. Azure flame erupted to life across his arms and cascaded across his skin, running far too hot, far too quick.

The smell of smoke and singed flesh registered before the pain properly could, but once it did, the entire world felt like it was burning to ASH around him. Fire flickered wildly across scarring and unmarred skin alike, curling around near every bit of his being like some kind of self destructive force field.

❝ Go back... ❞

( 'You can't break down, Touya! Not here!' )

A hoarse whisper from numbing lips.

"He's over h— Touya!"

Coughing as his chest tightened, fire roaring over the sound of his worried sister's voice...

❝ Go... back! ❞

( 'They didn't see this, damn it!' )

He was choking on his own embers, body rebelling against its very design worse than ever before.

"Touya, oh - oh my gods... C-Calm down, Touya, you need t-to calm down..."

His mother's own panic mingled with her broken son's from somewhere in the distance, and for all the world, he hoped none of them were getting BURNED.

❝ G-Go back! ❞

( 'She was already gone, Touya!' )

The effort it took to scream over the sound of his inferno was dreadful, punctuated by harsh coughs as he gagged against the scent of his own burning flesh.

"Big bro, you're gonna hurt someone!"

Not you too, Natsuo... ( When did you get here? )

"Touya, pl-please calm down...!"

Go away, Mom. I don't want to hurt you. ( We don't want to be like HIM. )

"Oh gods... Is that — Touya, please, you're hurting yourself!"

Get away from me, Fuyumi. ( This isn't going to end well. )

Another wild shake of his head - coughing up smoke far darker than the grey fumes already mingling with vivid flames. Everything was too much. This wasn't right - none of this was right. Why did his mouth hurt worse than the rest of his fiery body? Why did yelling feel like daggers being shoved into his jaw? Why did every scream sound like it was ECHOING? —

❝ Damn it, go back! ❞

( 'Go back! This isn't how it happened!' )

What was he trying to go back to? He could barely fucking remember at this point, but those were the only words that he could pull from burning lungs, the only thing that would break past the tightness in his throat. Who was that in his head? Was that... him?

❝ GO BACK! ❞

All too abruptly, it was as though the voice of a suffering child and the voice of panicked villain were rolled together, literal double-speak being screamed at a family that he'd never been able to fix. Everything hurt, and he could've swore his mouth was bleeding far more than the rest of damaged skin, and none of it made any fucking sense.

"Touya! What do you think you're doing!?"

Father.

❝ No, no, NO! GO BACK! ❞

( 'Endeavor.' )

❝ THIS ISN'T HOW ANY OF THIS HAPPENED! ❞

"Touya, listen to me!"

A violent flare of azure flame erupted from already ruined flesh, igniting the hallway in a brilliant blaze, but even the sounds of his chaos couldn't block out the scream that followed.

❝ That isn't my name! That isn't my name, that isn't my name! GO BACK, THAT ISN'T MY NAME — ! ❞

❝ — That isn't my name! ❞

His scream cut through the echo-prone walls of a dusty hideout as Dabi jolted awake, lurching up from a tattered mattress as the familiar scent of burnt fabric flooded his nostrils. His breathing came out unevenly, soft coughs escaping a hoarse throat as dark smoke puffed out from an aching mouth. He couldn't think clearly, couldn't stop the room from spinning around him, and it took what little sense of self he had left to pry his hands away from the singed material beneath them.

❝ That - that isn't - that's not my... ❞

The words tumbled out unwelcome, despite the soreness in every breath, stapled skin protesting the choked sobs that still wracked his figure. Todoroki Touya was fucking DEAD, damn it. This couldn't be —

❝ This isn't happening. ❞

A choked promise to nobody other than himself, and then the villain was scrambling to unsteady feet, just like only moments prior.

Flinging open the door to his bedroom, once again.

Stumbling towards the nearby bathroom, despite the tears that still stung horribly sore eyes.

Too-hot hands pushed open the door as he hurried into the new room, rasping for precious oxygen - only to wretch into the filthy garbage-can. He couldn't stop shaking, and for all the world, as nausea and panic won out in his fit of distress, he just wished that everything would fall back into place —

Finally, Dabi managed to settle his twisting stomach enough to pull back from the trash, scarred hand swiping at his mouth near-angrily before he stumbled to the stained sink. Mouthwash - that he couldn't remember who the fuck had bought - was quickly swirled around his mouth before being spit out, and then turquoise eyes flashed to stare into the dusty, cracked mirror.

Raven hair was an absolute mess from thrashing around in his sleep, but that cheap dye was thankfully there. Scars that had once been a sign of weakness, now morphed into little more than a reassurance of the present. Rows of silver staples were visibly agitated, but they were there, holding bits of skin together just as they had for years now. That semi-permanent grin was still forced harshly across his lips, tense and bittersweet, but at least it was there.

Tears, stained heavily with blood from long-since ruined tear-ducts, were still sticking mockingly against his face, but...

He was Dabi.

❝ You're DEAD, Touya. ❞

The words were practically a growl at his own reflection, pained eyes narrowing into a glare as his hands roughly grasped the edges of the skin.

❝ Do you hear me? You're fucking DEAD! ❞

Another pathetic sob caught in his throat, and Dabi could only curse again, shaking his head to banish the lingering thoughts of his past self. The mirror didn't answer, and neither did he, but it didn't need to.

Dead men tell no tales, after all.

❝ So stay dead. ❞

Another growl at a broken boy that had long-since been buried within the confines of his elder self's conscious.

Grabbing the bottle of cheap mouthwash — ( Kurogiri bought it, hadn't he? ) — Dabi quickly rinsed more of that awful taste from his mouth. Then he was locating the nearest mostly-clean cloth, wetting it before roughly scrubbing the bloody tear-tracks from his face. Once that was as good as it was going to get, he dropped the ruined rag back onto the sink — ( they'd probably assume it was from one of Toga's antics ) — nobody would question it here, anyways.

An icy gaze returned to his own wrecked reflection, breathing finally starting to even out properly. He looked like an absolute mess right now, but he was here — vaguely safe and somewhat sound, with the Villain Alliance. With the Vanguard, damn it.

He was Dabi.

And Touya was back in his grave, where he belonged.

#( 𝘼𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 / 𝘼𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 / 𝘼𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 ⁞ Drabbles )#tw: nightmares #tw: trauma #tw: vomit mention #ask to tag //#// So this is a thing. That I wrote. Have it?#// I'msorrybutI'mnotsorry #// Under a cut due to getting pretty damned long #( 𝙊𝙛 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 ⁞ IC )#( 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙏𝙤 𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 ⁞ Mainverse )

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saintedfury · 7 years ago

Note

Dying kisses with Eli and Furia because apparently I love pain :D

Kisses I want to write about:

Dying kisses: A holds B in their arms, panicked, crying. Murmurs of “no, no, no.” Salt on their lips from tears. Voice cracking. Holding on tightly to their shirt, their shoulder, their hand, roughly pulling them against their body, anything to try and keep them tethered to this earth. Kissing them as they die (“no. No, stay awake—“), Kissing them once more even with the life has left their body (No. God, come back. Please, come back. Please, look at me, I’m right here”).

***I love the direction of this prompt, but I went another way before reading the specifics of it. So, I’ll probably write a second one of these, because I have a shifty, kind of shitty, evil idea. ***

The rattle in his breathing woke her, not that she was actually sleeping, despite her own exhaustion. Furia raised her head from the shoulder she’d found so much rest and comfort in through the years and glanced up at his face.

The smile bloomed slow, even weaker than the last time he flashed it at her. It was just one more sign. The doctors had argued that he should remain in hospice, but better than anyone she knew that Eli did not want to die in some hospital bed. Hell, he’d probably rather passed in a blaze of some sort of glory rather than laying in the bed they’d shared for more years than either of them expected when they exchanged vows in that wedding chapel next door to a tattoo parlor just off the Las Vegas strip.

No one thought it would last between them. Tabloids regularly assumed she was leaving him, that he was cheating. The press didn’t understand them. The fans really didn’t care as long as Eli’s voice was strong and he kept stripping on stage. She also assumed they loved when the sex tapes leaked. It was part of his bad boy rock star allure.

He cleared his throat, a rough gravelly sound. He always did that now. As if trying to prepare his body for the words he wanted to say. “Love of my life,” he said, his voice breathy and strained with every syllable. His nose wrinkled, not at her, but more at himself she knew. The words didn’t pass his lips with strength and presence, they belied the fading he felt in his limbs.

Furia still gave him a wide smile, even if he didn’t hear the strength, she did. Always would. Her hand rested over his heart, patting his chest lightly. His hand, far too cold, rose and curled around hers, keeping it there. She didn’t let it go, wouldn’t, despite a need to pull the blanket tighter around him to warm him up. Eli was always her warmth, no matter the temperature out of doors.

She could see it, maybe sense it. Shifting on the bed, she moved closer, leaning on her elbow and brushing her other hand over his silver hair. Aqua eyes, one dulled by cataracts, closed with the purr in his throat; it was weak, broken, but he squeezed the hand on his chest tight, even managing to bring it to his lips.

“This isn’t the way I thought it would be.”

“I know,” she comforted. Most people predicted he wouldn’t make it past forty. But every time he hit one of their milestones they moved it. Sometimes she wondered if he ever thought he’d make it this far–see his children grown, with their own kids and grand kids. “But you’re home now.”

A soft rustle of movement at the side of the bed, threatened to draw her attention, but she refused to look away. In part because she knew it was close, and somewhere deep inside she hoped he wouldn’t be able to let go when she was looking at him. Eli wouldn’t do that to her … surely. So, she held his gaze, with a smile that battled with the quiver in her chin.

“Everything okay, Ma,” their son asked, his own voice husky with age.

“Fine. We were just chatting.”

“I’ll get him some water.” More rustling, probably the blanket she covered him with earlier falling to the ground as he rose and shuffled to the bathroom.

Eli’s eyes brimmed, glistening in the low light in the bedroom.

“I love you, Eli.” Her fingers threaded through his still thick and silky hair. “And I know you’re tired. You can rest,” she told him again.

She knew the pain he was in, even as he fought to mask it. The doctor had explained it all, what they could do for him in the facility versus what it would be like for him at home. If it had been her choice, she would have kept him there, where his pain could be managed, where they could make him more comfortable. But he didn’t want that. Said he wanted to be home, with her.

So, they brought him home. And for the last week, the house had filled with children and grandchildren. They lavished him with love and attention, cherishing what they all knew to be his last moments. Their grandson Stephen even called off his own tour to be here, bearing Eli’s lecture with grace and a hefty dose of his grandfather’s stubbornness.

Furia ignored the click of the door handle. Anytime Eli awoke, family trickled into the room. Like the whole house rested when he did, so they could greedily grab up every second they could with him, just like Furia did.

Eli blinked at her, tears trickling down toward his ears. “Say it,” he said his lips shifting toward that smirk she always loved and hated in varied measure.

“What?” she asked, curious.

“You know,” he replied with a widening grin. The hand in hers tipped a little and it jogged her memory.

“Mi pavo real,” she said, a chuckle in her tone, despite the wet shimmer in her own eyes. She continued to stroke his hair.

He grinned, eyes closing for too long a moment. “I always did love the way your mouth moved.”

A blush heated her cheeks, though it was likely no one noticed it. A few choked chuckles rang through the room at the innuendo in Eli’s tone. It wasn’t a surprise to any of them, he’d always been this way with her–no matter the situation, or their age. How many times had he told her in their life together that he’d happily die between her thighs? She blinked the thought away quickly. She never wanted that, or this for that matter. Watching him linger, suffer.

She leaned forward and kissed him; it was soft and chaste a quick peck. “I’ll be okay,” she told him. It felt like the truth, but she couldn’t be certain.

“I know. You always were able to handle it better than me,” he whispered. “I just …” A cough rattled through his chest.

“Dad,” Elan interrupted. His hand cradling Eli’s head, he raised him up enough to help his father sip from the shallow glass he brought. “Better?” he asked, looking from one of his parents to the other.

Furia nodded long before her husband did. Elan set the glass on the nightstand, shrinking back in the shadows and into his chair. Out of the corner of her eye, Furia noticed a shift of movement, likely her son-in-law moving to comfort the love of his own life. It brought a smile to her face; the fact that their children had people to attend to them in this moment when she couldn’t tear herself from Eli’s side.

There was a hint of warmth in Eli’s palm when it moved from her hand to cup her cheek. “I love you, Sol.” His thumb brushed her cheekbone, swiping aside the tears she couldn’t fight back.

She didn’t want him to go, even as she didn’t want him to stay. She wanted him to finally be able to rest, find some relief, but damn her soul she wanted more time. It hadn’t been enough. Not yet, she thought, leaning forward and pressing her mouth to his. He held her there, though his grip didn’t carry the strength and force of will it had in his youth.

Gasping a quiet sob against his lips, she felt that scant pressure of his mouth against hers fade. She realized she’d closed her eyes when she kissed him and they snapped back open. “Eli,” she whispered against his mouth.

No reply. “Eli, please,” she said a little louder, her fingers carding through his hair.

“Mom,” Elan said, his hand on her back.

“No,” she argued, refusing to look away, as if somehow his eyes might open again. But she could feel it. The stillness in him. He was never still. Never. “Eli.” She stroked his face and kissed his lips once more, as if it was some fairy tale where true love could bring him back.

Rustling and sobs surrounded her … them. The bed shifted and other hands touched her tried to comfort her, but she just rested her forehead against his in a swirling mix of sorrow and relief. Hugging his neck, she buried his face in the curve of her neck, stroking his hair as she sobbed.

#Kissed Prompts #Dying Kisses #Domestic AU #No Dress Code #Attempt 1 #Badger Scribbles #bosselimitchell

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geekofmanyforms · 4 years ago

Text

New Beginning Chapter Fifteen

A/N: Please, let me know what ya think of the development between Elara and Damon. When I write I only plan out the basics of my story line, the rest just flows from me. So, sometimes what happens comes as a surprise to even me. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you all rock! Keep it up, please. It helps me understand how the story and Elara are being perceived I want to make sure that everyone understands who she is and her history. This chapter has been edited by my wonderful Beta Casey.

I pulled into Caroline's driveway my eyes swimming with tears. I could barely breath, every intake of breath came with a strangled moan of pain. I gripped the steering wheel forcefully, my knuckles turning a pinkish white. Slowly, I let go and lifted my hand, striking the wheel over and over, screaming until my throat felt like it was blistering. I'm not sure how long I sat there before I heard the door open beside me, but suddenly I was no longer alone. I leaned into Caroline’s embrace her hair sticking to my wet face.

"Oh, sweety, what happened? Elena called to make sure you were here and I looked outside to find you like this," she whispered holding me tightly against her chest.

I shook my head wildly, gasping out a wet cry, soaking her shirt with my tears. I clenched my fist tightly, trying to control the torrent of tears that refused to stop. Caroline reached behind my seat and pulled my bag past us, sitting it on the ground outside.

"Ok, let's get inside. We don't wanna freak out my mom," she said, gently wrapping her arms around my chest.

I let her pull me from the car, keeping my face on her shoulder, needing her comfort like I needed air. Everything was catching up with me, Vicki, Damon, and Jeremy. It was all too much. I kept my arms wrapped around Caroline's waist as she led me into her darkened house.

"Moms in her room for the night. So, try to stay quiet. Bonnie is in my room though, she decided to spend the night, lucky right," she whispered.

I didn't have the strength to make a sound. Normally, I would have scoffed at the serendipitous turn of events, but all I could think about were my last words to Elena. They had been cruel. Caroline opened the door to her room and Bonnie rushed to our side, her arms outstretched.

"Oh my god! What happened to her?" she asked, looking me over.

She pulled my hair out of my face and ran her thumbs over my puffy eyes. I sniffled pitifully and tried to keep the waterworks at bay. "She did it. She took them from him. She didn't even ask for his permission," I said my voice raw.

I looked at both of them and slowly walked to Care's bed very reminiscent of a zombie. I plopped down and raised my hand closing my fingers against my palm. The door swung closed swiftly, Caroline's hair floated around her in the breeze it left behind. She squealed loudly, her face coloring pink. I turned my head and watched her closely, this would determine the rest of our friendship, it would make or break us. I could have handled things better, but to be honest, I had no strength left in me to coddle anyone else.

Caroline backed away from me slowly, her pink cotton nightgown bunching up around her thighs, she hit the wall and her hair frizzed out around her, almost looking as panicked as she did. She looked between me and Bonnie, who stood off to the side of the room, her hands firmly at her side gripping her blue shorts tightly, and pointed her manicured finger at me. "You did that with your hand," she stated firmly.

I blinked twice, giving her a minute to think and nodded. "Wanna see something else?" I asked twirling my finger around and around like Matilda, with a smile.

Caroline placed her palms on the wall behind her and pushed herself forward, stepping closer to me. "You can do more?" she hesitantly asked.

I stayed seated, treating her like a mare, I didn't want to startle her. "Yes, I can. I'm a witch, Caroline. One of the first witches ever created," I said.

Bonnie stepped closer to me and sat down on the bed near my knees. "One of the first? How is that possible" she asked in confusion, her face incredulous?

I patted the spot on the other side of me and Caroline slowly sat down. I leaned my head against Care's shoulder and smiled so brightly my cheeks hurt when she placed her cheek on my head. So far so good.

"Well to be completely cliche. It all started with a love story," I said with a long-suffering sigh.

The next two hours were spent filling Caroline and Bonnie in on my entire story; minus the Original Vampires, Nik's curse, and Katherine, some things were better left till later. When all was finally said I threw myself backward and landed with a loud 'humph' of breath. Both girls remained seated where I had left them. I looked at Caroline's popcorn plastered ceiling and let my mind wander, making shapes while they processed all the information I had given them. Hell, it's a lot to take in. Caroline placed a hand on my knee and I tried not to go stiff with the stress of the moment.

"So, Damon and Stefan are Vampires? And you were once engaged to a human Damon?" Caroline asked laying down next to me.

I turned my head and brushed my hair out of the way so I could look at her. "Yes, and Yes. Also, Stefan doesn't drink from humans, and Damon is an ass, yes, but deep down he is still a good man," I said, not completely sure if I still believed that.

Her eyes filled with tears and she sniffled loudly. "I am so sorry, Ellie! I totally broke girl code!" she cried cuddling up close to me.

I shook my head lightly and kept still. What was happening? How was she not scared? Then it hit me. Damon had still not fixed his little compulsion trick. Dammit. I hugged Care and kissed her head laughing. "Caroline, that was centuries ago. It's ok, I forgive you," I laughed.

Bonnie laid on my other side and looked at me. Her face was serious. "Damon needs my necklace. He tried to take it tonight," she quietly said.

I leaned my head to her shoulder. "I know. You need to speak to Emily. She can tell you why," I said.

Bonnie's eyes widened and she nodded slowly. "I can't believe Elena did that to you and Jeremy, but she really was only doing what she thought was best El," Bonnie whispered.

I turned my head from her and rolled over. I didn't want to hear anyone defend her right now. "I don't want to talk about Elena, ok. Please," I told them both.

There was silence and I let out a sigh of peace. "Watch this, Care Bear," I said into the silence.

I lifted my hand and placed my thumb and finger together, with a quick snap her room fell into darkness, except for the faux stars that covered her ceiling. We all looked up at the colorful lights that fluttered across her ceiling just as the stars did the night sky.

"How?" she gasped in awe.

I looked at her face and watched the awestruck expression shine in her blue eyes. I wanted to capture this moment and preserve it in my memories. I would need it when I could no longer have her. She watched the stars twinkle, her pale skin blue in the starlight. These were the moments that made it so impossible to let go, to allow the curse to take effect. As they watched the stars I watched Caroline. In the many centuries, I had lived I had found many friends, but Caroline was different. She was faithful and loved me no matter what. She had found me when I had locked myself away, trying to just get by until the end, and she had forced me to live. She had saved me when no one else could. I would miss her and the idea of never seeing her again was like losing a part of me. I felt something slide into my hand and looked down to find Bonnie's hand in mine. I looked into her green eyes and felt tears spill down my face.

"Magic," Bonnie said.

I laid my head on Caroline's shoulder as a shooting star passed across her ceiling and closed my eyes.

"Magic," I whispered.

We all watched the stars in comfortable silence for a while, which naturally, Caroline was the first to break. "What does it feel like, having this sort of power?" Caroline turned her head and looked into my eyes. Her face was blazing with curiosity. "Do you feel all powerful and badass all the time, like, untouchable?" she whispered reverently. I took her hand in mine and ran my finger across her silver bracelet, the heart clinking against my fingernail.

"There's something you need to understand, Care," I said leaning onto my elbow and looking down at her face. "There is always a price for using magic and it isn't a cure-all for everything. There are many things even I can't do, and there is no other witch like me," I said

I looked over my shoulder at Bonnie, she needed to remember this, new witches always tried to test the boundaries of magic and it always ended up biting them in the ass. Even I had gone through a 'magic is might' phase, and I nearly killed myself when I burnt through too much of my power at once. I had tried dipping into magic that was too dark. I wasn't the same type of witch as Bonnie, so I didn't always have the same limitations, but when it comes to magic some things are always the same. One of those things is, you don't mess with the powers of the dark.

"There are consequences when a witch tries to delve into things she shouldn't, Mother Nature can be a cruel bitch, and her creations were meant to keep balance. So, when a witch decides to break the rules she is punished. Harshly," I said making a fist and placing it in my other palm for emphasis.

I laid back down between them and looked at them both. Bonnie had a thoughtful expression on her face, but I could also see the fear in the way the corner of her eyes crinkled. Caroline leaned into me and placed her chin on my collarbone. "Well, I recommended none of us piss off Mother Nature, she already curses us once a month, and I for one don't intend to get on her bad side," she said.

I laid my hand on my forehead and giggled madly. "You are insane," I said in between gasps.

I spent the next few days at Caroline's house. I told Jenna I needed some time away and she seemed to understand. I decided not to speak to Elena or Jeremy. I didn't want to see her, to hear her try and justify what she had done, and I was afraid of exactly what Jeremy had been compelled to believe. I knew that eventually, I would need to come to terms with what had happened and move on, but that wasn't right now. Finally, Bonnie and Caroline put a stop to my hiding out and I was forced to concede. So, I decided to start with Caroline's compulsion.

"What are you talking about?" she asked her teeth clenched together.

I grasped her wrist and pushed her out of her bathroom, smiling serenely. "Give me a minute first, Care. I sorta have been...drugging you, "I said.

Her face turned cherry red and I raised my hands in the air when she took a deep breath to start yelling at me. "In the best way possible, I promise. It's only vervain," I said opening her water filter system and showing her the clumps of wet vervain.

Caroline paused, the color of her face receding. "That's the stuff that is supposed to protect us, right?" she asked.

I nodded quickly and she sighed in resignation.

Bonnie slid into the bathroom and scrunched up her nose in distaste, but I could see she was intrigued all the same. "Clever," she said.

I smirked and shrugged. "I thought so. No coffee anymore either, at least not at home, Care. We have to wean you off the vervain so Damon can fix his fuck up," I said dropping the vervain into a small jar on the counter.

I spread it out so it could dry evenly and froze when I looked up to find two sets of eyes watching me. "What? Something is telling me we may have a shortage soon," I said rubbing my temple.

Bonnie's eyes narrowed and she touched Emily's amulet.

Caroline slid into the bathroom and huffed deeply. "Ok, can I take care of my business now?" I smiled sweetly and slipped out of the bathroom.

"Let the water run for few minutes before hopping in," I called out as she closed the door.

I turned to Bonnie and noticed she was still holding Emily's amulet.

"Can you hand me my purse?" I asked her.

She reached behind Caroline's door and handed it to me. I took out my phone and was about to make a call when I saw the date. "Damn," I said with a deep sigh.

Bonnie looked over my shoulder and frowned. "What?" she asked, confused.

I looked at her and pouted. "It looks like my next stop is the Salvatores," I looked at the date one last time and placed my phone on my forehead. "Ugh, I might as well give him his gift a day early. It gives me an excuse to make up with him...sorta," I said, placing my phone into my bag and pulling the strap over my head.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at me and cocked an eyebrow. "What?" she asked in irritation.

I ran for the door and looked over my shoulder. "Stefan's birthday present. I'll catch up with you guys later," I said.

I hopped into my car and drove to the boarding house. I slid into their drive humming along to a Bon Jovi song a smile on my face. Snapping my finger a jet black gift bag and card landed in the seat next to me. He was lucky I had already ordered him a gift a while back before he had helped pull the stunt with Jeremy. I lifted it into my lap and fiddled with the Over The Hill tissue paper, making sure it was all fluffed up. I leaned over the middle console and popped open the glove box grabbing a pen. I wrote in big cursive letters "Do Not Open Until Your Birthday!" on the envelope and then quickly signed the joke card that was in the shape of a tombstone. I slid the card into the side of the bag, leaving the edge sticking out, and gripped it by the handles, slipping out of the car and walking up to the door. I stepped inside without knocking and started off towards Stefan's room. I didn't really care to see Damon. Outside his door, I could hear movement inside and stopped in my tracks.

Voices.

Who was the birthday boy playing with in his room?

"Boo." the voice said.

Was that Damon?

I grabbed the doorknob and pulled open the door slowly. Before I even had the door open halfway I heard his next words.

"Hello, Lexi."

Lexi!

I swung the door open with force and squealed loudly. "Lexi?" I said, running inside the room.

Lexi flung herself from the bed, her long blonde braid flying out behind her. Her eyes were round, her silver hooped earrings swinging wildly.

"Elanor?" she said walking towards me.

I nodded with glee. It had been so long. I had seen her with Stefan a few times but never had approached them. I hadn't wanted Stefan to see me. But I was going on my last year in the life before this one and had run into her in New York. She had made my last year one of fun. Before I left her in Italy, I had decided to tell her everything. Lexie was trustworthy. She had been quite shaken when I had told her everything, but then she had decided it was fate that I had known Stefan, her Stefan.

"Your hair is so much longer," she pulled my hair out towards her. "Still bright red, though. So, I see you couldn't run forever, huh," she said laughing.

I pulled her into a hug and shook my head. "No, they found me this time," I pulled away and looked at her closely my face serious. "You haven't aged a day," I said.

Lexi laughed hard, her face bright red. I stepped away from her and dropped Stefan's gift on his bed. The black bag blending in with his headboard. I sighed and picked it up moving it to his bedside table.

"Vampires and the color black." I shook my head with mock irritation. "Of course, I can't say much, it is my favorite color. Always has been," I said turning around.

Damon was laying on the other side of the bed watching me closely. His eyes moved up my body, stopping at my eyes, and then moving to the gift bag I had left on the table. I looked away from him and he sat up quickly.

"So, I take it you two know each other?" he snarkily asked.

I smiled at Lexi and snapped my fingers, starting Stefan's CD player. Lexie spun into to me, wrapping a leg around my waist, dancing dirtily. She dropped her leg and I bent over giggling madly, before matching her move for move.

"Yeah, I know Ella. We met in New York about a century back. We spent a year traveling together, drinking and dancing. One of the best years of my life," Lexi said.

Damon stood from the bed and pointed at me. "You spent a year partying with...Ella here?" Damon asked his eyes narrowed, he spat out the foreign name with contempt.

I shut off the music and leaned against Lexi. "Oh get that judgy look off your face Damon. I was a year off from dying and I had no family. So, when Lexi came along and offered me exactly what I needed, I took her up on it." I wrapped an arm around Lexi and smiled up at her. "She offered me fun, something I didn't get very often." I said and glared at Damon when he scoffed and rolled his eyes."Fun Damon, ever heard of it? Or are you too busy with revenge?" I asked my voice stiff.

Damon leaned in and smiled down at Lexi. "Maybe not Lexi's version. Teach me to have fun, Lexi," he said with a smirk.

I jerked back as Lexi flew forward, pinning Damon to the bed, her hand on his throat. "Im older, and that means stronger," Lexie spoke close to his face her breath fanning his hair.

"Sorry," Damon rasped. He laid still his face scrunched up with pain.

"Don't ruin my time with Stefan and Ella, cause I'll hurt you," she leaned down to his ear and I shuddered on his behalf, she was terrifying in her own right. "And you know I can do it," she whispered yanking her hand from his throat and stepping away from him.

"Yeah," he groaned.

She stood next to me and brushed my hair from my shoulder with a smile. "Sorry, I know what he meant to you," she said.

I watched Damon as he rubbed his neck, he looked at me and I closed my eyes, tilting my head down shaking it gently.

"Things change. People change," I whispered.

I turned around and hugged Lexie one last time. "I have to go deal with some of my own petty family drama. Try not to get in between the drama here, it's thick," I said.

Damon stood and started towards me but I was already out the door. I had no time or energy for him.

I stared at my own front door and sighed in irritation. I should not feel so scared of going into my own home. This is completely insane. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Elena and Jenna were both sitting on the couch facing the kitchen, where Jeremy sat at the dining room table, a few books in front of him, blue pen in hand. I dropped my bag by the door, placing my keys in the designated bowl, and stood by the couch. They all turned to look at me for a second before turning back to their conversation.

"I gotta finish this. I'm way behind, and I have a quiz tomorrow, so…" Jeremy said looking down at the several different books in front of him.

I sat down on the couch beside Jenna and stared Jeremy down in suspicion. My eyes narrowed and a slack-jawed expression took over my face.

Elena leaned closer to us. "What do you think? Alien?" she said.

Jenna's eyes moved between Elena and me then zeroed in on Jeremy. "Some sort of Replicant," Jenna guessed.

Jeremy lifted his head and rolled his eyes, his face a picture perfect blend of annoyance and amusement. "He can hear you," he grumbled with a flash of a sarcastic half smile.

Elena looked at him worriedly and met my eyes from behind Jenna's back. I bit my lower lip and looked away, back at our heavily studying brother. What had she done to him? What had Damon done to him was the more accurate question? His eyes moved quickly from page to page, scanning the information before writing something new down in his notebook, flipping through the pages quickly. He was focused and motivated. A completely different person then he had been only a few short days ago. I gave Elena one last look and stood up, taking my bag upstairs to my room.

That night I was pulled from my plans of hot cocoa and a good book, by a text from Caroline telling me she had planned a party. There was no way I could refuse, especially since it was also officially Stefan's birthday. I stepped into the crowded Grill, the music was playing loudly, people were dancing, drinks in hand in the middle of the room. My eyes scanned the layout looking for the hostess, Caroline stood on the other end of the room by the pool tables. She wore a beautiful purple silk dress, a bright satisfied smile on her face. She looked proud and content which made her positively glow. I felt my lips slid across my teeth as a bright smile split my face. That was my girl, she was going to set the world on fire. I fixed my plaited ponytail and looked down at my outfit. I had wanted to wear something pretty but simple, so I had just thrown on my black knee-length cocktail dress and gold kitten heels. I felt pretty and figured it was a Caroline approved look. I braced myself for a night of karaoke, pool, and, avoiding Elena. I started towards her, confused when she changed her direction and made her way to the bar. Something had caught her attention. I stood on my tiptoes, even in my heels I was still too short to see over the heads of the people crowded around me. Once I hit the toes of my heeled feet I could see messy jet black hair and my teeth bared instinctively.

Wow, when had that become my response to him?

Dammit, Damon.

I pushed past people, slapping at someone who grabbed my ass and stepped next to Caroline, huffing in anger and exhaustion. I could feel sweat beading on the back of my neck and prayed my makeup stayed in place. I brushed the end of my ponytail from where it had stuck to my neck and narrowed my gold shadowed eyes at the vampire in front of me.

"Damon, I'd hate to believe that you had anything to do with this little shindig," I said taking his bourbon from his hand and downing it, my head falling backward.

I squeezed my eyes closed and pursed my red-tinted lips. I felt his fingers on my throat and slowly opened my eyes, keeping them narrowed.

"Of course not, baby. But, I did hear something funny," he said emphasizing the last word with a sarcastic laugh.

I leaned into him and nonchalantly pushed Caroline behind me feeling her stumble. "Oh you did, did you?" I said my voice sultry and low. "What was that, Mr. Salvatore?" I asked caressing his last name with my tongue. Damon continued to trail his fingers down my throat. He wrapped his fingers around my neck, slowly, and pulled me towards him, squeezing gently.

"You gave Bonnie my crystal, Elandra. I want it back. Tonight," he growled, squeezing my neck a little tighter.

I could smell the Bourbon on his breath. I leaned into him and laughed lightly in his ear, my voice rough from his grasp. "Emily won't let you have her crystal, Damon. You should know that babe," I emphasized the pet name, knowing it would irritate him, and brought my magic forth focusing it in my fingertips. You could see the small flickers of blue light, almost like metallic nail polish and ran them across his face zapping him with the electricity. He winced, air whistling through his clenched teeth. "Don't presume you have any effect over me. I don't fear you. I have nothing to fear. I'm already dead, remember," I said ripping his hand from my neck.

To anyone around us, it would have looked like we had been two lovers in an embrace. I inched backward away from him and took Caroline by the wrist pulling her to the other end of the bar. I grabbed us a drink and tried to shake off the whole encounter. I would be lying if I said being so close to him hadn't left me feeling uneasy and more then a bit flustered. Even with the neck grabbing. I tended to like things rough anyways. Caroline watched me closely seeming a bit dazed herself.

"The party is amazing, Caroline, really," I said.

Caroline pouted slightly her eyes glazed over. I held her head close to my face and looked into her eyes. Her vervain should not have worn off yet, should it? I pulled her bracelet from my purse and took her wrist sliding it on quickly. I knew I shouldn't have taken it off her, but thought it would make the detox quicker if she wasn't constantly leaning down and inhaling vervain several times a day. I couldn't trust Damon as far as I could throw him. I knew he had something to do with this damn party.

Caroline looked down at her bracelet with a sigh. "Thank you," she said.

"Keep it on until I can get your compulsion reversed and vervain you up, girl," I said.

She smiled at me her eyes seeming to clear. "Sure thing," she agreed.

I handed her another drink and patted her on the arm. I looked around us and found Lexi and Stefan dancing awkwardly. "I'm going to say hi to Stefan and his friend," I said.

Caroline nodded, drinking deeply I watched her closely making sure it was safe for me to leave her. "Your a wonderful person, Caroline, and I love you," I said, kissing her on the head.

She sat down her drink and looked up at me. "How do you do that? You always know what to say. Is that a witchy thing?" she asked.

I smiled at her, biting my lip and shaking my head. "No, it's a best friend thing. I have CareDar, I just know what you need to hear," I said

I kissed her head again, I knew she would be ok, she just needed to let go a bit, Caroline had a tendency to be a tad uptight. I saw Matt at a table nearby and caught his attention, motioning to my eyes and back to Caroline. He gave me an enthusiastic nod and I smirked.

Hmm, Caroline and Matty? I liked it.

I slid onto the dance floor and giggled at Stefan's weak dance moves, he was a lot like Caroline, way too uptight.

"I'm going to need to see some more footwork," Lexi said with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm not really interested in making a fool out of myself," Stefan laughed dancing in a circle around Lexi.

Lexi turned around and danced into his chest snapping her fingers and laughing at his unease. "Come on. You're not that bad," she said.

I danced up next to them and twirled around Lexi. "Hey, Sexy Lexi. Are you torturing our Stefan here?" I admonished.

She tossed her hair back and laughed. "He needs to be tortured a bit. Someone's gotta take that stick out of his ass," she hollered trying to speak over the music.

Stefan blushed and bumped her with his hip, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Ok, just do me a favor. Tell me if you see Damon with his camera phone," he said.

I took one of his hands and one of Lexi's and pulled them further onto the dance floor. "Don't worry. Im sure we can find plenty of our own blackmail material," I giggled.

I spun Lexi into his chest and then began twirling in front of them, my hips moving with the beat, my hands in the air. The lights above us pulsed purple, green, and red, making it seem like we were in a club in the city instead of a small town bar. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, it was perfect for forgetting your troubles, so that's what I did. I danced with Stefan and Lexi, choosing to believe that we were all normal people having fun on our friends birthday. I continued to dance smiling at Lexi conspiratorially every time we saw the light in Stefan's eyes shine. He was finally having some fun.

I closed my eyes and let my body take over until I felt a familiar pounding in my head. Sweat beaded on my forehead and the air changed from warm to hot, too hot. I could feel the blood pulsing in my veins, much too quickly. Images flashed in front of my darkened eyelids, blood, and screaming faces, something was happening.

I stumbled, my ankles protesting as my feet slid the wrong way in my heels. I opened my eyes and tried to focus. The world was much too bright now, and it appeared blurry like everything was covered in cellophane. I could still see the frightened faces as if they were printed on my retinas. I looked around me and saw Stefan and Lexi dancing, oblivious to the world. I made my way up the steps and past the pool tables into the back of the bar.

I slipped into the bathroom breathing heavily and felt something drip onto my bottom lip. I lifted my hand, running it over my mouth and upper lip, glancing down I saw thick red blood. I quickly leaned against the first sink I came across. I grasped the handle, turning the cold water on full blast. I placed my hands under the water and scrubbed roughly, watching the red fall down the drain. I sniffled and tried to keep the tears at bay. I took a paper towel and wet it, cleaning the blood from my face. I was so sick of feeling this way. It was so unfair. This was the price I had spoken to Caroline of. Magic could be as much a curse as a gift. I never asked to see these things.

I looked at myself in the mirror, my face was sickly pale and my hair appeared almost brittle, the magic in my veins was weakened because my body was too tired. That vision had cost me. I lifted my purse from my hip and grabbed my blush, lathering some on my cheekbones. It would at least help a little. I reapplied my lipstick next and then tried to fix my disheveled hair, all the while taking deep steadying breaths.

"Ok, ok, Elara. Your ok, everything's ok," I repeated.

Something had obviously happened and I needed to figure out what, but I refused to ruin Stefan's birthday, so I would have to do it alone. I shook myself mentally and tried to remember the images I had seen. I remembered a couple kissing, then something bad had happened something bloody, the man had been attacked. I leaned over the sink breathing heavily. I felt sickness rising in my throat. No, I wouldn't be weak. I refused. I pushed away from the cold marble sink and gripped my hands together in front of me. I was fine. I shook my hands out beside me and let out a deep sigh, that sounded more like an angry shout, and left the bathroom. My head still felt fuzzy but I could manage.

I flattened my dress and tried not to wince at the volume of the music. When I rounded the corner I could hear Stefan and Lexi shouting in excitement. They were playing pool and laughing, Stefan leaned across the table smacking Lexi's hand in a high five. Lexi pulled away and shook a fisted hand in the air in triumph. I smiled fondly and stumbled down the steps towards the bar, my body still fighting small tremors. I hoped they were not as noticeable to others as they were to me. I heard a chuckle and looked over my shoulder, Damon was watching Elena with a smirk plastered on his arrogant face. Elena was posed next to a pillar across from the pool tables, the very definition of despondent, watching Stefan like a lovesick puppy. I ground my teeth together and changed direction.

Damon circled her like a vulture, a Cheshire grin on his face, chuckling lightly, "Stefan smiles. Alert the media," he said.

I called on every bit of my mental and physical strength and clicked my tongue in disapproval, stepping up beside him. "Now, now, Damon. Your petty little pokes at Stefan and Elena's relationship are getting tiresome," I said throwing an arm on Elena's shoulder. "So, shoo," I said flicking my fingers.

I kept my eyes on him and tried to steady the tremors that coursed through me. Instead of acknowledging me, he kept his face trained on Elena.

"You haven't given him a lot of reasons to be happy lately," Elena snipped.

Damon pursed his lips and sighed. "Oh, you're right. Poor Stefan. Persecuted throughout eternity by his depraved brother," Damon said shaking his head and smacking his tongue against the top of his mouth.

I moved my arm from Elena as another tremor shook through me. I braced myself against the pillar in front of Lena and arched my back. Damon's eyes narrowed as they crossed over me. I kept my face forward and was proud when only my hands shook, something I hoped he hadn't noticed. He turned his head and zeroed back in on my sister.

"Does it get tiring being so righteous?" he asked her.

I giggled without meaning to and covered my mouth. He was right, though, she could be a righteous little nitwit sometimes.

"Humph, it flares up in the presence of psychopaths," she said taking my stiff hand and pulling me away slowly.

I was starting to feel pliable, really, I was too tired and weak to care.

"Ouch. Well, consider this psychopath's feelings hurt," Damon snarkily said from behind us, his hand on his heart.

I turned my head and rolled my eyes in his direction, He narrowed his and looked me over again from top to bottom, his nose twitching. Elena pulled me behind her swiftly, I stumbled and took her shoulder to stay upright.

When did she get so strong?

I leaned in and casually sniffed the air around her, well she didn't smell like vanilla and honeysuckle, so she wasn't Katherine.

Elena placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head questioningly. "What did you do to our brother?" she asked.

Damon rolled his eyes to the ceiling and then back to her. "I'm gonna need a less vague question," he said.

I huffed and stepped beside Elena my feet and head aching. "She means when she stupidly asked you to invade his mind and take away his memories, what else did you do?" I said.

Elena looked at me in annoyance and pushed her hair behind her ear. "When you did what you did to Jeremy's memory of Vicki," Elena mumbled and Damon looked around us, stepping closer. "What else did you do to him?" Elena finished.

Damon looked down at Elena and shrugged lightly. "You asked me to take away his memory of fangs and roar. You wanted me to take away all the bad stuff" he reminded her.

I scoffed loudly and looked at him in shock.

"But he's acting differently. He seems ok with everything, a little too ok," Elena said.

I stepped into her eye line and looked at her. "Of course he does, Elena. Damon took away all the bad. Which means all the pain Jeremy has felt since mom and dad is just...gone," I said turning my head to Damon. "That was a really sweet and terrible thing to do, Damon. Terrible more than sweet," I said my eyes stinging. "Yes Jeremy is fine now, but he isn't healed, all this is just a band-aid. If, god forbid, something happens, what he felt like before is going to snap back and hit him harder then ever," I raggedly said.

Elena rubbed my arm and I jerked away from her. "Don't, Lena. I still haven't forgiven you, I'm just being civil. For Jeremy's sake," I whispered.

Elena's face fell, but she must have decided not to let my attitude get to her because she ignored me and turned back to Damon. "Are you sure you didn't do anything else?" she asked.

I shook my head and crossed my arms.

"Elena, she's right. I took away his suffering," he said.

Elena nodded and tried to take my hand again, I gently pushed her away. "Elena, go get a drink. I need to speak with Damon, and Im really tired so i'm probably going to go home when i'm done," I said.

Elena looked at me closely and placed a palm on my forehead. "Oh my God, Elara!" she said her eyes wide.

I pulled her hand from my forehead and smiled reassuringly. "It's ok. Really, it's normal. Im just tired," I said pushing her towards the bar.

She shook her head. "That's not normal, Elara," she said. I smacked her butt gently "Go!" I said with force.

She looked at Damon and narrowed her eyes running them to my head and back to him. I laughed lowely and watched her walk to the bar. Turning around I took Damon's hand and pulled him away to the hallway leading to the restrooms. I reached into my bag and took out my cell, sending a text to Caroline and slid it back inside.

"Why did you pull me away? And why was your sister so concerned?" he asked touching my head before I could stop him.

His mouth fell open and he pushed me against the wall, lifting my chin, he met my gaze. "You feel like a corpse, Elandra! I knew something was wrong when I smelled the blood and seen you shaking." He leaned down and listened to the steady beating of my heart for a moment before standing up straight again. What the hell happened?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and counted to three. He smelled differently than normal. Why did he smell so different? I opened my eyes and looked at him. "You smell like roses, Damon. Why?" I asked stepping away.

He kept his face neutral but I could still see the stress in the way he held himself, stiff and defensive. "You answer my question first, El," he said leaning into me.

I pulled away and stumbled backward my hands flailing out in front of me, but before I could even register the sensation of falling I was still again, the feel of leather against my cheek. I took a deep breath and could smell roses again.

"Elara?" Caroline's voice called from behind me.

I pushed Damon away from me, immediately missing his warmth, and turned around. "Care. Hey, um, I...it's just...I almost fell," I inarticulately mumbled.

Caroline raised a brow and frowned. "Ok, what did you need?' she asked.

I wobbled as I walked towards her, and Damon was at my side in an instant. I kept my gaze on my feet and slowly kicked off my heels.

"That's better," I sighed.

I kicked them away and took Caroline's wrist, removing her bracelet. "Ok, now you're going to fix your compulsion, Damon. I want her free of everything you've done," I said.

Damon grumbled and yanked Caroline towards him. He wrapped his hands around her neck and held her still. I watched in amazement. Compulsion was so cool, yet completely terrible.

Looking deep into her eyes he spoke seductively. "You will forget every command I have ever given you. You will return to exactly the way you were before we met," he said.

Caroline blinked a few times and he let her go pushing her away. I took her wrist and quickly snapped on her bracelet. I patted her on the shoulder and sighed. She looked slightly dazed, her eyes glazed over as she, once again, viewed the world without the filter of Damon's compulsion.

"There, that's better. Now, go to the bar and take this," I said handing her a clear gel capsule.

Damon leaned down and sniffed the pill before pulling away and letting out something between a sigh and a laugh.

"What is that?" Caroline asked taking the pill.

I patted her shoulder and started pushing her towards the bar as I had Elena. I was feeling very pushy tonight. "Vervain. I'll explain later. Now go take it," I said.

Caroline smacked my hands off her shoulders and tossed her hair with a huff. "Fine, you pushy hag," she huffed.

I smiled at her as she sashayed to the bar. My knees began to buckle and I threw my hand out to catch myself on the wall. Damon caught my hand and helped me to the couch hidden in a darkened alcove in the corner of the room.

"What's going on, El?" he asked.

His face was full of concern and fear, so similar to the way he had once looked at me. I could always lose myself in those eyes. He had been so kind and funny. I never wanted to truly accept that I had lost that side of him forever because if I did, it would mean I had lost a piece of me. As I saw all he had once felt for me and still did, buried in his deep blue eyes, I started to forget that I was mad at him and that he could be an arrogant asshole who liked to flirt with my sister. In my weakened state, all I could see was the man I had loved.

"I had a vision. It weakened me. Someone was attacked by a vampire. I don't receive visions like that unless something bad is about to happen," I said. I was scared and just wanted to feel safe again and, at this moment, Damon could give me that.

I touched his face gently my fingers caressing his cheek. His breathing quickened and he closed his eyes, leaning into my touch. He kissed the palm of my hand and my breath caught in my throat. He nuzzled into my palm and I found myself leaning closer, my heart pounding in my chest. My nose brushed his and I could feel his breath, as it swept across my face, bourbon, and mint. I licked my lips and ran my fingers through his soft hair, eliciting a moan from him, which reverberated through his chest where my other hand lay, tucked gently under his shirt, covering where his heart had once beat for me. I smiled against the edge of his lips and tugged on the hair at the nape of his neck. I ran my tongue across the seam of his lips and he gasped, giving me the opening I desired. My tongue found solace in his warm mouth as I kissed him deeply, tasting the bourbon I had previously smelled. He pulled me tightly against his chest, but it suddenly wasn't enough, I needed to be closer. I lifted my leg and slid over his lap, to sit astride him. He moaned into my mouth and I pulled away long enough to send him a sly smirk, rolling my hips against his. His head fell back as he groaned and bucked upwards with me. I leaned down and kissed his neck, nibbling roughly at his pulse point.

He growled fiercely. "Don't do that, baby," he begged.

I sat up and looked at him, his face was desperate and hungry. I met his eyes and bit my lower lip as I brushed my nose against the edge of his jaw, trailing down to find his pulse point again. I bared my teeth and bit him roughly, my own animalistic desires coming to the service. He growled again, this time his arms wrapping around me, nails digging into my flesh. I ran my tongue across the red indentations I had created and left a wet trail of saliva as I ran my tongue back up his neck. He turned his head away from me quickly, his breathing labored. I reached out and took his chin in my fingers, pulling his head towards my face. The sclera of his eyes almost appeared to be bleeding, like the blood that he was forced to feed on swam through his eyes. Stunning black veins snaked underneath. He was a frightening yet beautiful image. I ran the pads of my fingers across the black veins, his skin was soft and warm, I watched in fascination as they appeared to move. I had seen vampires change before, but never this close, and never in this intimate of a setting. I kissed the veins that had grown on his skin like ivy, a sharp intake of breath was the only sign of life from him. He was still as a statue beneath me. I laid my head on his chest and felt him breathing deeply. The smell of rose filled my senses.

Rose.

Like Caroline's bracelet.

Like...vervain.

I inhaled again and it was there, the exact smell of vervain. My body and mind stiffened. What was he up to? In my befuddled state, I had missed that, and then I had succumbed to my baser instincts.

Oh, God!

I had just made out with Damon.

I sat up slowly and looked at him, his features were back to normal, but his eyes were guarded. Had he felt the change in my demeanor?

"Vervain?" I simply asked.

He looked away from me and, very carefully, sat me beside him. "That doesn't concern you, Elandra. I'm going to do what I have to. Even if that casts me as the bad guy," he said his face hard.

He ran a hand over my braided hair and felt my forehead. "You need to go home, now. You don't need to be here," he said.

I stood up and placed a hand on his chest. "Whatever your planning. Please, don't. I'll help you, Damon. I'll help you open the tomb. Just...no more death. Please," I begged.

I hated how weak I felt, but I didn't want to lose anyone else and I felt like that was exactly what was going to happen. He turned away from me his shoulders rigid.

"That's all I bring...death. I can't give you what you want, El. The only thing I can do for you is protect you, save you," he whispered.

He was gone with a quick burst of air. I sat back down on the couch and took a deep breath. Well, that just made things more complicated. After I composed myself I stepped out of my little hiding spot and quickly found Lexi at the bar. Her head moved up and down as she checked me out.

She looked at the bartender and sighed. "Make that four," she said.

The bartender leaned in and chuckled. "You know I need to see some ID," he said.

Lexi's face became a blank slate. "No, you don't," she said plainly.

The bartenders head jerked lightly and he took a short breath. "That'll be, uh…" he stuttered.

Lexi tilted her head, leaning back. "Free."

The bartender blinked and smiled brightly. "On the house," he said.

Lexi laughed happily and bounced in her seat. "Thanks," she said.

I sat down next to her while the freshly compelled bartender poured our shots and smiled. "That is such a cool trick," I said.

Lexie took my hand and gave it a squeeze. "You know if I could I'd offer you the whole shebang, right?" she said.

I closed my eyes and tried not to cry. "Yeah, Lex. I do," I said.

Lexi let go of me and took three of the shots in her cupped hands, leaving the other for me, and stood up, motioning for me to follow with her head. I obeyed like a well-trained dog. Ignoring my protesting body, which was telling me I needed sleep to recuperate my magic. Lexi stopped suddenly and I tried not to fall on my ass behind her.

"Ah, the famous Elena," she said.

I looked over her shoulder to find my sister sipping on a drink. I wiggled my nose, the protective sister side of me wanting to inspect her glass. How was she getting home?

Elena straightened her posture and looked at Lexi with suspicion. "Towel girl," she said.

I blinked rapidly and wanted to scoff. Towel girl? There was totally a story there.

Lexi shrugged and handed Elena a shot. "I've been called worse," she said, sitting down, what I presume would be Stefan's shot, at the table beside us and took her own in hand.

I stood next to her and casually inspected Elena's drink. Coke, ok. Good girl.

Elena looked at Lexi with shock and curiosity in her big brown eyes. "I didn't know you guys could drink," she said.

I pushed my braid off my shoulder and nodded.

"Oh, yeah. It helps curb the cravings, but makes for a lot of lushy vamps," Lex said bumping hips with me.

I winked at her, several memories of her drunk and passing out in our hotel room coming to mind. She clinked shot glasses with me and we both downed ours at the same time.

Elena looked between us and pointed her finger at me and then Lexi. "How do you two know each other?" she asked.

I leaned in closer so I could speak in her ear. "I know Stefan told you everything about me, and my curse so that I didn't have to explain." I sat back and looked into her eyes with regret. Hoping she would know that despite my anger I regretted how I had revealed everything. Elena laid a hand on my cheek and I sighed in relief. "I met Lexi a century ago, in another life," I said moving away from my sister.

Lexi, hearing every word, nodded and smiled at me brightly. "We're good friends, Ella and I," she said.

Elena's face darkened and she lowered her eyes. "Her name is Elara," she said.

Lexi watched her closely and then looked at me, moving my hair from my ear, winking at Elena as she angled herself closer to me. "This the family drama you mentioned?" she whispered in my ear.

I shook my head 'yes' and she stuck out her bottom lip as a symbol of sympathy.

"You know, I've never seen Stefan drunk," Elena said, changing the subject.

Lexi smiled and looked down at the table an expression of love on her face. "He's uptight," she said.

Elena laughed and nodded quickly her hair falling into her face. "But not with you," she said.

I put my elbow on the table and rested my head on my hand.

Lexi lifted her head and looked at Elena with rounded eyes. "Well, that's the benefit of knowing someone for over 100 years," she smiled in thought for a moment. "You can just be yourself," she said.

Elena's eyes clouded over and she moved her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, he can't be himself around me," she said despondently, looking away.

Lexie placed a hand on hers and rubbed circle on her skin. "Well, not yet. The first step was him telling you. The rest comes with time," Lexie said in a whisper.

Elena's eyes teared up and she looked at Lexi, hope flickering in her eyes. "You seem so sure," she said.

I brushed the hair from her face, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Because she is, Lena," I said.

Lexi looked at me as we both got lost in the same memory. Lexi had told me her love story before, it was beautiful and had given me so much hope. She had told me that whoever I was waiting for would come back to me.

"The love of my life was human. He went through what I imagine you're going through...denial, anger, et cetera." Lexi took a deep breath and took my hand. "But at the end of the day, love really did conquer all," she said grinning at Elena.

She gave my hand a squeeze and looked at me again, this time she didn't smile or laugh, which was very unLexi like. "We all need to remember what love can do for a person. If they just let it," she said.

She looked away and back to Elena. "Are you gonna drink that?" she asked looking at Elena's shot.

Elena lifted her shot and scrunched up her face, shaking her head. "Uh, no go for it," she said handing the drink to Lexi, who downed it immediately.

Elena looked at Lexi with a new found respect and then down at her hands. "I'm scared."

Lexi shook her head a bit and leaned in. "But your here...because you're crazy about him. I get it, ok. I mean, what's not to love." Lexie turned her head and looked at Stefan who was leaning over the pool table, lining up a shot, his eyes steady and focused. "Take it from someone who has been around a long time. When it's real, you can't walk away," she said, taking another shot, the one I had assumed was for Stefan.

Downing the shot quickly she scrunched up her face and shook her head. Elena laughed, watching her in amusement, the stress melting from her features as she thought over what Lexi had said.

"Whew!" Lexi hollered as the liquor went to work.

She stood from the table and placed both hands on my shoulders.

Elena sat back in her seat and smiled up at the beautiful vampire. "It was really nice meeting you," she said.

Lexi feigned blushing, fanning her face with her hands. "I know," she said, pulling me from my seat. "Let's go get some more shots," she said.

I hung my tongue out of the corner of my mouth and cocked my head at Elena. Lexi yanked my braid and Elena laughed at my plight.

"Come on, your keeping me from Tequila," she said.

I followed her to the bar and stood to the side as Lexi order a few shots and then started to make her way to the other side of the bar. I didn't realize who she had sat down next to until I heard her speak. Looking down I noticed crystal blue eyes, staring at me in anger.

"The shots are a bribe. I need to know, what are you really doing in Mystic Falls?" she asked Damon.

I walked up beside her and took her arm. "Lexi, this isn't necessary," I tried.

She brushed me off quickly and I stumbled again, my equilibrium for shit.

Damon stood taking my arm and sitting me on the stool he had vacated. "You're supposed to be at home," he whispered in my ear as he pulled away.

"Keep your hands to yourself Lexi or we might have trouble," he said his voice stiff.

I chuckled and pushed him away from her. "Damon, you know she didn't do anything. I am clumsy tonight, my magic is weak," I said in a whisper.

Lexie leaned across Damon and frowned at me in annoyance. "Why didn't you say anything? I have a medicinal baggy in my purse. A witch in New Orleans had this weird bark that she gave me for helping her out, said it was worth a fortune to the right witch. Apparently, if you suck on it, it helps restore your magic when your exhausted and it can be reused," she said reaching into her purse and pulling out a small silver bag.

Inside she had small vials of blood, a container of Witch Hazel, that I tried to not jump in fear from. To my breed of which, it is poison. It burns like acid and renders us immobile, aside from all our senses which remain active. It is the worst form of torture. Luckily, since my mother's death, I am the last of my kind, and not many people know of that particular weakness. She had a few other things I didn't recognize, but the last item she pulled from the bag was wrapped in clear plastic. It was a Blackwood branch. The Blackwood tree was one of the most potent trees in Witchcraft. I took the small branch from her and peeled it from the plastic, placing it between my lips with a sigh. The bitter taste immediately made me feel better, my magic recognizing that relief was in sight.

"Now, back to business," Lexi said.

I nibbled on the branch nervously as Damon leaned against the bar watching me carefully. "Ok, I have a diabolical master plan," Damon said his expression one of pure boredom.

Lexi nodded, her lips pursed. "What is it?" she asked.

Damon sneered at her in exasperation. "If I told you it wouldn't be very diabolical, now would it?" he said.

I motioned for the bartender, he was new and obviously covering for the one who had been serving us before, and I grimaced, great and I can't compel him.

"What can I get you, love?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him and bit my tongue. It's a common pet name, Elara. You can't yell at someone every time they use it.

"Vodka?" I asked biting my lip.

He winked at me conspiratorily and grabbed a glass filling it with Vodka. I smiled brightly and winked at Lexi, who had been watching the whole encounter, with a grin.

"Here ya go," he said handing me the drink and a napkin. "If you need anything else I'll be here," he said smiling and walking back to the other end of the bar.

I took a sip of my drink, keeping the Blackwood on the other end of my mouth like a toothpick and looked down at the napkin.

It had a messaged scribbled on the corner, "Call me, Brad." and at the bottom in a messy scrawl, a number.

I handed it to Lexi with a small laugh. "Huh, Brad," I said.

Lexi waved the napkin in the air with a whoop and I covered my face with both hands. Damon took it from her and looked down at it and then back down the bar, where Brad was sending me quick smiles.

"Yeah, I don't fucking think so. How old is he?" Damon said, crushing the napkin in his hand and placing it in his pocket.

Lexi laughed loudly and shook her head. "The more important question is how old is Ella?" she said.

I choked on my drink and spluttered my face red. "Ugh...well...uh.. a..a...thousandish," I said quietly.

Lexi's jaw dropped and despite Damon knowing the round about time frame he started coughing, his bourbon obviously going down the wrong pipe.

Lexi started giggling madly, her face bright red. "Wow, I feel so much better about my age," she wiped her eyes and pushed my shoulder gently. "Now stop distracting me," she said, turning back towards Damon.

I sipped my drink as they talked and I watched Damon dance around her questions. Then he tilted his head towards the entrance and I could see a gleam in the corner of his eye, just as I felt something fall into my drink. I looked down, to see a drop of red floating towards the bottom of my cup, the color spreading out through the clear liquid. I scooted next to Lexi and looked around us. Everyone was still drinking and having a good time, but, by the entrance, Sheriff Forbes was turning a woman away from the building, the same woman from my vision. I started breathing heavily and Lexi turned to me. "You ok, Ella?" she worriedly asked. The Sheriff and her men were steadily getting closer and I was starting to understand what they were here for.

"Lexi," I said, as Sheriff Forbes shot her in the hip with a syringe.

"Sheriff, what?" I said, trying to get ahold of Lexi who was gasping for air.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked.

The Sheriff looked at him steadily. "Thank you for the vervain. Now if you'll excuse me," she said.

Her men lifted Lexi by the shoulders and began to carry her from the Grill. I tried to follow but Damon held me by the wrist. "No, El," he said.

I ripped my wrist from his hand and pulled away from him. "I asked you…I begged. I've never once asked you for anything, Damon," My voice was gruff. "She's my friend, Stefan's friend," I said.

I looked around the room, spotting Stefan and Elena leaving and gave Damon one last glare before following after them. I saw them get turned away at the front door and stopped, turning around and running ahead to the back. I slipped through the door and heard gunshots. I took the branch from my mouth and slipped it into my purse. I run towards the noise and saw the Sheriff shooting Lexi in the chest. Lexi smiled after every gunshot and I almost laughed. Thank goodness, she was ok. Of course, she was. She was old and strong. I heard movement behind me and saw Stefan and Elena heading up the ally. I stepped out towards Lexi, to see if I could help and the Sheriff saw me out of the corner of her eye.

"No, go back!" she yelled.

I put my hands in the air and was just about to knock her out when Damon approached Lexi with a stake.

"NO!" I shouted.

But, I was too late, he shoved the stake in her chest. I fell to my knees, the hard pavement a welcome pain compared to what was playing out in front of me.

"Why?" Lexi gasped her voice weak and pitiful.

Damon looked at her for a split second, no remorse on his face, "It's all part of the plan," he said, before twisting the stake, a sickening crunch floating through the air.

Lexi's skin began to grey as she gasped, taking her final breaths in this world. I could feel her fear and pain, having died so many times before, but she wouldn't come back. I sat on my knees, no tears coming. Not even anger was there to keep me warm.

When Lexi fell to the ground Damon rushed to the Sheriff, his face innocent and sweet. "You ok?" he asked.

She placed her gun back in its holster and nodded. "Yes, thank you. Place it in the trunk quickly. I need to talk to her. I think she's in shock," she said pointing to me.

Hearing her mention me snapped me out of my stupor. Shock? I wasn't in shock.

I was…what was I? Angry? Sad? Both?

I wasn't sure.

I stood up and brushed off my bleeding legs with a wince. "No, im ok. I already knew about all this, Sheriff. Runs in the family remember. They were on the council," I whispered quickly remembering the journals I had found of dads. I was only worried about Damon. We are friends, and I guess reading about vampires and facing them are two entirely different things," I said smiling.

Liz patted me on the back with an understanding sigh."You did well. Just please remember. You can't talk about this with anyone," she said.

I knew she meant Care and nodded my head fiercely. "Of course, Sheriff. I would never," I said.

Damon watched me from where he had dumped Lexi's body and I avoided his eyes.

"Go home and get some rest," she said.

I gave her a quick side hug and ran back to the Grill. I looked around and couldn't find Elena or Stefan anywhere. As I was going to my car my phone started to ring. I pulled it from my purse and saw Elena had sent me a text.

"Stefan is going to kill him. You have to do something." I tossed my phone in the passenger seat and pulled out of the Grill as fast as I could.

I jumped out of the car at the Boarding house, the front door was wide open and I could hear fighting going on upstairs. I ran through the open door and took the stairs two at a time. My head spinning. I pushed my way into Damon's room and saw Stefan had him pinned to the wall, a stake in hand.

"Stefan no, don't. You're better than this!" I shouted.

He didn't acknowledge me but his shoulders stiffened as he shoved the stake right below Damon's heart.

I gasped and ran forward, keeping a safe distance. "Stefan," I sobbed my hands in my hair.

"You missed," Damon grasped his brother's shoulders, eyes wide as he gasped.

Blood poured from the wound as Stefan continued to shove the stake deeper into Damon's chest. "No. You saved my life. I'm sparing yours. We're even," he said twisting the stake as Damon had done to Lexi.

Stefan removed the stake and shoved it back in, this time with more force. "And now we're done," he finished.

Damon grunted in pain, the grip he had on Stefan's shoulders faltered and he slipped down the wall as Stefan let go of the stake and stepped away from him. He walked towards me and I flinched involuntarily, afraid that if I said the wrong thing I would make him feel worse. He froze mid-step and stuck his hands out in front of him, noticing that they were covered in his brother's blood.

He scrunched up his face in discomfort and lowered them to his sides. "I'm not going to hurt you, El,' he said.

I tilted my head and tried to understand what he meant. "Of course your not," I slowly said.

Stefan cocked his head and blinked a few times. "Ok, so your not afraid of me?" he asked. I shook my head and looked around him at Damon who was trying to get the stake from his chest. One part of me wanted to help and the other wanted to pop some popcorn and watch a replay of what had just happened.

"I was only worried I would say something wrong and make this whole night worse. I...I'm going to miss her too, so please remember you not alone," I said, the tears finally coming.

Stefan's face fell and he approached me at light speed, pulling me into a hug. Blood be damned. I cried on his shoulder and he lifted me into his arms and sped me away, away from Damon and everything that had happened that night.

#reincarnation #damon x oc #klaus fanfiction #niklaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson x oc #Stefan Salvatore #caroline forbes #The Orginals #lexie #elena gilbert #Damon x Elena #oc tag

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