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cantfightmoonlight · 11 months ago

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"Depends, is this a kinky abducting my girlfriend situation or?" She cocked a brow over at him. The corner of her own lips itching up into a grin of her own as another soft laugh escaped her. To be fair, wasn't quite sure why they'd head into the woods if it wasn't some kinky situation, but then again her brother liked to watch horror movies out in the woods on dates for fun, so what Nico had in store for them was really anyone's guess. "Nico, what are you-" Jas cupped her hands over her face as she watched him kneel down with his back to her. Her cheeks flushing a bright red as she gave in, shoving the rest of her stuff into the tote bag she had brought with her before she tentatively wrapped her arms around her neck. A soft moan breaking from her lips as he proclaimed that he was 'absconding with the winner' to the entire club despite the contest still going on. With her hood once again pulled high over her head she buried her face into the nape of her neck to hide the heat that she could feel rising to her cheeks in embarrassment. "Vixen. Vixen is next and don't ask me why Santa would name a reindeer Vixen of all things. Like how slutty does a reindeer have to be," She mumbled out against his skin as he thankfully carried the two away from any prying eyes. Jas adored her boyfriend more than she was even capable of voicing in words. It was other people however that she was often less found of. So, when he lowered her into his passenger seat, she couldn't help, but let out a sigh of relief.

She was midway to reaching to turn on the seat warmers given that she hadn't exactly worn a jacket over the onesie when he spoke. "You sure? Because I'm sure I'm going to love, whatever it is," She promised him, hoping to reassure him, before her gaze drifted back towards the window. A soft smile etched it's way across her lips as she began to hum along, not sure if Nico had chosen Nat King Cole because he remembered he was one of her favorites or because they just so happened to share a very similar taste in music, but whatever the case, the melodic notes couldn't help, but put her at ease and, before she knew it, driving along the windy road, her hand reaching over to rest itself on Nico's thigh, she found herself feeling completely and utterly at home.

"You got us a place for the weekend?" Jas guessed. Her eyes widening as she watched him pull out a crescent moon key chain that she made a mental note to get for herself. "Hey, what's gotten into you?" She asked softly, reaching up to cup his face in her hands as she directed his gaze down to meet hers. "It's just me. There's nothing to be nervous about," She promised him. Only the next thing she knew he was opening the door to the cabin to reveal a romantic setup that couldn't help, but make her swoon. "Wait- you what?" She blinked over at him as if to check that she had heard him right. "You got us a house? You- you got us a house," She repeated over to herself as she took in the cabin around them once more. The cabin that belonged to them of all things. "Nico- Nico-" She pipped up as he continued to ramble on. "Nico, just shut up," She finally exclaimed with a laugh as she cut him off with a kiss. It was the kind of electrifying kiss one could get lost in. The kind where the floor beneath your feet faded away and you were left you utterly breathless. And when the kiss finally came to an end, Jas rested her forehead against his, letting out a light gasp followed by another as the air refilled her lungs. "I love it, okay? I love you, Wonderboy and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," She promised. "Only, is there any chance we could keep this place a secret for now?" The reality of the situation beginning to wash over her as she moved to rest her head gently against his chest. "I want to move in and I'd love to move in now, its just..." How could she explain that Rae Elle was still watching her and with her dad being in town she afraid of them finding out? She was afraid that if her dad knew there was place she was permanently calling home, he would ransack it too or worse burn it down. She just wanted to stay a safe haven for the two of them for as long as humanly possible. "Even if we're living here together, it might be best to have different mailing addresses, just for a little while? And not to tell anyone besides those who are absolutely necessary like Elif or Efe?" She admitted with a small gulp, hoping he'd be able to pick up on what she was worried about given how he had inadvertently seen the aftermath of what Silas had done to her apartment despite her best efforts to try to keep the break in from him. "Is that, um, is that okay? Because if so then, I'm here as soon as you want me to be and 'officially'-" or 'publically - "as soon as my lease is up."

·✥·

He arched an eyebrow at her and grinned wickedly. "Do you want it to be a blindfold situation?" But instead he turned around and knelt down. "Hop on, we're absconding. I'm absconding with the winner!" he proclaimed, despite the contest not having concluded at all yet. Then over his shoulder, "Oh, don't forget the cookies! And Dasher, and Prancer, and... whoever's next, I don't remember." He leaned forward to let her grab the six pack, and then did indeed leave the bar. Coming out into the snow, he carried her over to where he'd parked his old blue pickup, looking clunky in its winter tires, and carefully got her settled in the front seat. "Listen," he said as they pulled out of the parking lot and he headed towards Echo Acres. But he couldn't bring himself to finish the thought as he glanced at her face. "Mm. Never mind, you'll see. It's not far." Some old Nat King Cole tune, muffled and tinny, echoed out of a stereo system that had never once been updated. His heart was thundering in his chest, and he was nervous enough that by the time he took the turn towards home, his fingers were tingling on the wheel. His mouth felt slightly dry, but instead of turning at the driveway to the Alders house, he continued up the quiet road. The trees were wrapped in thick snow, and more was beginning to fall, pattering softly on the windshield. He took the next left, and the road angled downwards a little. They were on the side of Echo Acres that bled into Downtown, but his parent's house would've been visible except for the trees. Heart in his throat, he circled the truck and opened the passenger side door, then led the way up the path. Emerging from the woods was a little one-story house, more of a cabin really, waiting at the tranquil end of a hidden driveway. The windows were gleaming gold in the darkness. He stopped at the door. "There's, uh..." All the air left his lungs, and words evaporated on his tongue, leaving his voice dry and scratchy. He shoved his hand in his pocket, and when he pulled it out, he held a crescent moon key ring, with two keys hanging from it. "So, um. Here's the thing." He opened the door with a creak. A fire crackled in the fireplace of a bare living room, nothing in it besides a pile of mismatched blankets, a bunch of unlit candles (one briefly unattended fire hazard was enough), a pizza box from Joe's, a thermos and two travel mugs in the middle of the floor. He turned and looked at her, realizing as the earth fell away from his feet that he might have completely lost his mind. Oh well. He blamed Elif, honestly. "This is... it's not, like, you don't have to make any decisions right away," he said hurriedly. "And it doesn't have to be now, and it doesn't even have to be here, it could be—but I kinda... I bought this place? To live in. With you—if you want." He couldn't hold himself in that moment of uncertainty for long without babbling. "It's—I mean, it's not very big, and there's a lot to figure out, and it's kind of out of the way, so it's a bit like running away together it feels like, and I know I should've talked to you first, before I just went ahead and—but it's here. And I'm here. If you want." He couldn't keep the slightly desperate note out of nervousness his voice when he looked to her, but he meant every word. "Whenever you want. Okay?"

#nico ft. jasmine #c: jasmine #kidnapping tw #robbery tw #pyromania tw #fire tw

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cpunk-strabismus · 27 days ago

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A list of manias, links to more info, and a one/two word descriptor of them.

[PT: A list of manias, links to more info, and a one/two word descriptor of them. End PT]

Please for the love of God read up on these more, and don't take my teeny tiny two-word descriptions as fact.

And most of all, remember: If I get something wrong, you can tell me while being nice. :)

Under the cut because it's long! Here's the TWs, in order:

mentions of sex, "bedrotting," poop, murder, demons, body picking (hair/skin/etc), alcohol,worship, sins, drugs, gambling, self hate, disease, genitalia, war, politics, lying, the aversion to food, porn, STDs, surgery, death, and poison.

Ablutomania - Washing

Aboulomania - Indecisiveness

Agromania - Open Spaces

Andromania - Hypersexuality

Anglomania - England Obsessed

Anthomania - Flowers

Aphrodisiomania - Hypersexuality

Arithmomania - Numbers

Balletomania - Ballet

Bibliomania - Books

Bruxomania - Teeth Grinding

Catapedamania - Jumping down

Chinamania - Collecting china

Choreomania - Dancing

Clinomania - "bedrotting"

Copromania - Poop/Feces

Cytheromania - Hypersexuality

Dacnomania - Killing

Demonomania - Demon Possession

Dermatillomania - Skin Picking

Dinomania - Dancing (See Choreomania)

Dipsomania - Alcohol (See Potomania)

Discomania - Disco

Doramania - Furs

Doromania - Gift giving

Drapetomania - Running Away

Dromomania - Travel

Ecdemomania - Wandering (See Poriomania)

Egomania - Self Worship

Eleutheromania - Freedom

Empleomania - Holding Office

Enosimania - Self's sins

Entheomania - Divine inspiration

Epomania - Writing

Ergomania - Workaholic

Erotomania - Sexual Desire

Etheromania - Ether

Ethnomania - Self's 'people'

Eulogomania - Eulogies

Flagellomania - Flogging

Florimania - Flowers (see Anthomania)

Francomania - France

Gallomania - France

Gamomania - Odd proposals

Graecomania - Greece/Greeks

Graphomania - Writing (see Epomania)

Gigantomania - Large Works

Graphomania - Lists

Hagiomania - Sainthood

Hippomania - Horses

Hydromania - Water

Hylomania - Materialism

Hypermania - LOTSA mania

Hypomania - Less mania

Iconomania - Icons/portraits

Idolomania - Idols

Infomania - Information

Islomania - Islands

Italomania - Italians/Italy

Klazomania - Screaming

Kleptomania - Stealing (See Klopemania)

Klopemania - Stealing (See Kleptomania)

Logomania - Wordy/Talkative

Ludomania - Gambling

Lypemania - Mourning

Macromania - Larger

Megalomania - Wealth/Power

Melomania - Music

Methomania - Alcohol

Metromania - Writing

Micromania - Self Deprecation

Micromania - Being small

Monomania - Single Object/Idea

Morphinomania - Morphine

Musomania - Music

Mythomania - Lying

Narcomania - Narcotics

Nosomania - Disease

Nostomania - Familiar places

Nymphomania - Female Hypersexuality (AN: this gendering is dumb)

Oenomania - Wine

Oligomania - Ideas

Oniomania - Shopping

Onomamania - Names

Onomatomania - Word repetition

Onychotillomania - Fingernail Picking

Opiomania - Opium

Opsomania - Specific food

Orchidomania - Orchids

Parousiamania - Second Coming

Pathomania - Moral Insanity

Peotillomania - Penis pulling

Phagomania - Food

Phaneromania - Nail Biting

Pharmacomania - Trying drugs

Phonomania - Murder

Photomania - Light

Phytomania - Plant Collecting

Planomania - Social norms

Plutomania - Money/Wealth

Polemomania - War

Politicomania - Politics

Polkamania - Polka (dance)

Polymania - Multiple manias

Poriomania - Wandering (See Ecdemomania)

Pornomania - Porn

Potomania - Alcohol (see Dipsomania)

Pseudomania - Lying

Pteridomania - Ferns

Pyromania - Fire!

Rhinotillexomania - Nose Picking

Rinkomania - Skating

Satyromania - Male Hypersexuality (AN: gendering is still dumb)

Scribbleomania - Scribbling/Doodling

Sitiomania - Food aversion

Sophomania - Intelligence

Squandermania - Money wasting

Stampomania - Stamps (See Timbromania)

Syphilomania - Syphilis

Technomania - Technology

Teutomania - Germany/Germans

Thanatomania - Death magic

Theatromania - Theater

Theomania - Self's Divinity

Timbromania - Stamps (See Stampomania)

Tomomania - Surgery

Toxicomania - Poisons

Trichotillomania - Pulling hair

Tulipomania - Tulips

Typomania - Publishing

Uranomania - Divinity

Verbomania - Words

Xenomania - Foreign Things

Zoomania - Animals

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96ymh · 2 years ago

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hihi everyone it's kira and i'm here to bring you mr yoo "idk i just work here" minhyuk aka the university librarian!! under the cut are a few bullet points abt his past and personality but generally, his mind tends to be a little bit here and there for personal reasons (aka he's deluded himself into thinking he's content with his life) but he's v diligent with his work so chances are you've probably run into him at the library and he's refused to write off your one day late library book :^) i'm super excited to meet you all get the ball rolling so pls feel free to dm me or like this post and i'll dm u <3

background - only son to the yoos, a family of extremely wealthy lawyers and mugunghwa natives (though he personally does not act like it) so you'd expect him to be doted on but

was neglected heavily by his parents until he showed signs of childhood pyromania around the age of five/six, after which they stuck him in every counselling service possible. not really the epitome of familial love

although the fires he started didn't hurt anyone except himself and they were kept a secret within the family, word leaked out to the yoos' extended family (including the nams) and he was essentially ostracised by his aunts and uncles, being the subject of conversation every family event he dared to turn up to

his parents unsurprisingly lost any semblance of fondness they had for him, particularly when he showed no signs of academic excellence and instead preferred to spend his day painting, not really having an aim in life like the rest of his cousins. his parents often reminded him that he wasn't as talented as his great great grandmother, which unsurprisingly did little to affect him

(tw parental death) just sort of got used to being there like an unwanted addition, the classic black sheep of the family trudging his way through high school with absolutely no dreams or aspirations until his parents abruptly die when he's seventeen in a car accident

at this point, his pyromania had been cured long ago but his extended family members used it as an excuse to get disinherit him from the lineage like they wanted to all along, leaving him with only his family home and 0 time to grieve

barely managed to graduate high school tbh and worked odd jobs around the town before living in the house alone finally got too much and he packed up to move to seoul, where he continued to be a busybody

busybody meaning he rented out some tiny one bedroom apartment with windows that didn't close properly and picked up every part time job possible, living paycheck to paycheck, painting with shitty 10,000 won paintbrushes in his spare time

decided to move back to mugunghwa a couple of years ago and picked up a job as the full-time (🎉🎉🎉) librarian at the uni! currently living at his family home which he really really hates but when he's not working, spends the day doodling on every surface of his house

sort of regrets letting his family kick him out that easily and he wishes he would've made more of an effort because life for the past nine years has been almost unbearably hard, though he'll never admit it. can't really afford to go back into education but thinks being able to read books for free all day is close enough so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

that's pretty much it up until the fire which he was honestly the luckiest victim of (sorry jisoo 😵‍💫 and gws mina 😵‍💫) didn't know jisoo too well so he isn't affected on a personal level but definitely shaken by the events and the resurgence of fire in his life has left him feeling more antsy than usual. if you ask him about that night, 9/10 chances he'll lie and tell you he doesn't remember anything. the remaining 1/10 is when he ignores your question and tells you your book is overdue

personality wise - someone who's given up is the easiest way to describe him. think early morning cigarettes, the faintest traces of paint smudged across his fingers, a heavily read book with cracks down its spine and yellowing pages, keeping the windows open even when it's raining, the sound of waves crashing against the shore, feeling your hands go numb from the cold

pessimistic beyond words, though that stems more from the events of his life than something innate in him. withdrawn because he's sort of been alone for almost a decade and communicating with others is still new to him though human interaction is something he craves, aloof in the sense that he never seems to be quite here. seems constantly lost in his thoughts but is perceptive and picks up on things melting away into the background, including the group of students who just tried to sneak tteokkbokki into the quiet study room

most of his work hours are spent reading books at the counter or putting returned books back into their places on bookshelves. rarely starts a conversation first. sits on campus during his lunch break and has developed a habit of watching the students live their lives with a vague sense of jealousy, particularly towards the red and green club

sort of just feels stuck in his life. there's nothing propelling him forwards or backwards but instead of admitting that he's hopeless, he tells himself that he should be content with what he has

has probably also eaten every brand of ramen and triangle gimbap so if you want suggestions he's the guy

if you recognise him from high school he will do a terrible job of pretending he's a different yoo minhyuk

#mguintro #sorry this was so long T__T #making it longer by saying i also have a discord if thts easier for people to plot on :^)

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archive-of-music · 1 year ago

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Flag ID start. A flag of 11 uneven stripes. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th are the thinnest stripes and the 6th stripe on the center is the widest in size. The colors go from top to bottom as dark purple-blue, dark muted blue, blue, dark mint, light mint, light yellow, light mint, dark mint, blue, dark muted blue, dark purple-blue. End Flag ID

TooLateSongic: A gender related to the Def Leppard song Too Late For Love

The colors are inspired by my associations with the related song

No suggested pronouns

#def leppard : too late for love #liom #mogai #songgender #tw eyestrain #cw eyestrain #eyestrain #def leppard : pyromania album

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toby-in-the-haunted-house · 9 months ago

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🖤 INTRO POST 🖤

(🚬 ) Toby | M16 | he/him

● BPD | Low Empathy | Pyromaniac | Superiority Complex

● Autism + ADHD

● Interests: Resident Evil, GTA, Basketball, Arab Music, Horror Content

● Bisexual, Aro-Spec

● Firecore

(🐞) Maki | F17 | she/they

● BPD | Psychosis

● Autism + ADHD

● Interests: Monsters & humanoids, Indie horror games, Fatal Frame, True Crime

● Bisexual, heavy male lean

● Grungecore, Horrorcore, Dreamcore, Dark Coquette

🌹 The body is AFAB, Arab and 17 years old 🌹

⚠️ TW/CW: Pyromania, Horror + Paranormal Content, Derealization Themes, Possibe Sexual Content (nothing too crazy) ⚠️

#resident evil #did osdd #did system #dissociative system #pyromania #osdd system #alter intro #system intro

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inpryno · 1 year ago

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ALL FIRE ⅋ ALL DESIRE!———MADELYNE JENNIFER PRYOR: INFERNA. WRITTEN AS AN ELDTRICH HORROR ⅋ AN OMEGA-LEVEL MUTANT; WITH HORROR INFLUENCE. TELEPLAY BY VENDETTA. USER OF X-KIT ⅋ LOCKED TO BETA-EDITOR. 🔥⠀[CARRD, PINTEREST, MEMES, GRAPHICS].

i. dead dove themes apply: musings include - insurrection v. resurrection., cannibalism., scientific extermination of the human mind / body., trauma (mood / personality / trauma disorders)., eldritch horrors & things beyond human comprehension., hypersexualization., pyromania / arson / fire., the loss of a child., death / blood / gore / murder.. absolutely no minors beyond this point.

ii. triggers will be tagged, 'cw content' & 'tw content' to keep my followers safe from harm; if my content & tagging system fails, be sure to let me know. i will gladly adjust my posts ⅋ / or delete them.

#PINNED BY VENDETTA #DNI.

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silentfury-jpg · 3 years ago

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#fire #fire moodboard #purple fire #purple #red #flame #moodboard #pyromania #tw pyromania #pyromaniac

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gabriel-sprite · 1 year ago

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pyromaniac you say… 👀

smoke break

( wip )

#principal nezu #nedzu #bnha nedzu #boku no hero academia #fanart #smoking #cigarrete #tw weed #420life #fire #cigardaddy #pyromania

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nursegracecreates · 3 years ago

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Could I request a crossover between your fictional universe and the Anita Blake series, with Grace and Toby being taught by Anita and Edward? Much appreciated :3

Well I don't know about being taught, but they can have a nice bonding experience over fire, flames, and body parts 😌 (This is a paid commission, but one I enjoyed very much)

Word Count: 6, 837

TW: firefight, zombies, magic, corpses, body horror, pyromania, gore

💖

I woke slowly, enveloped in warmth. As I moved, I felt a warm body curl in around me and pull me closer with an arm around my waist. Toby. He'd come in from a lengthy surveillance mission and I'd met him at our rooms in Slender Mansion. We always spent the first weekend after a mission at the mansion, just in case Slendy had any last minute missions he needed Toby to address. I cuddled into Toby, unsure what had woken me up, but content to fall back to sleep to Toby's quiet snores.

A quiet knock sounded from the closet door and my eyes snapped open. The autumn colored room was barely illuminated by the light let in by the cracked bedroom door, necessary for me after many stubbed toes. When Toby slept here alone, he could navigate the entire suite in perfect darkness, a leftover from when his eyes were riddled with cataracts.

"Grace?" A voice asked quietly. It was Myra, one of Slendy's proxies who tended to the mansion, rather than work in the field. She knocked again, and I struggled against Toby's arms to sit up. He fought me for a moment, trying to pull me closer, but once I sat up, he just snuggled his head into my stomach with his arms wrapped around my waist. I turned on the bedside lamp and said, "Come in, Myra."

The door to the closet opened and Myra stepped through. She was a small, sullen woman, maybe twenty one years old. Her face was almost pixie like and framed by straight dark brown hair. She walked up to the bed and produced an envelope from her hoodie pocket. "Tommy was supposed to bring you this, but he's dealing with something in the greenhouses. So I told him I'd bring it to you."

Myra, never one for small talk, retreated back to the closet door. She opened it, but looked back for a moment, pausing. "Be careful. Tommy seemed really worried about it."

Toby rolled over, letting out a particularly loud snore, and I nodded to Myra. "Tell him I said we'll be safe."

Myra smiled, quick, gone in an instant. But in that instant, the sullen lines of her face gave way to a radiant beauty. I saw in that instant why Tommy, my surrogate little brother, was crazy for her, and I was happy they could be together. After that brief, bright expression, Myra turned and passed through a doorway that meant nothing, her destination in mind.

I turned my attention to Toby. He was laying on his side, facing away from me, still out like a light. His chestnut hair was covering his face, having grown out to his shoulders. He had only let me cut his bangs to keep it out of his eyes, but mostly kept it pulled back in a ponytail unless he was showering or sleeping. When I moved it out of his face, I was greeted by his thin, angular face, relaxed in sleep with a little drool around the gash in his cheek from an old tic that involved chewing on the inside of his cheek. For a normal person, the tic would have only caused scarring to the inside of the cheek. But Toby wasn't normal. He has CIP, congenital insisitivity to pain. Add Tourette's syndrome, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia with cPTSD, and you get the perfect vessel to be Slenderman's head proxy. With that title, came a collection of battle scars, which were revealed slowly as I pulled the blankets away from him.

"Toby" I said softly, molding myself to the back of his body, "Toby wake up."

Toby's face screwed up in displeasure of being woken up and he hummed in his sleep as he felt me holding him. He sighed and relaxed again, not even near awake.

"Toby!" I said, louder this time, and he jerked awake, eyes suddenly open and alert.

"What's wrong?" he asked, rolling onto his back so he could see me. His face was worried, brows raised so his eyes studied me, trying to figure out why I'd woken him up so abruptly.

I smiled at him and looked into his honey brown eyes. We'd finally gotten the time to find a doctor and his Toby's cataracts fixed. He was an excellent fighter before, relying on his other senses. Now with his vision restored, Toby was a force to be reckoned with.

"Nothing's wrong" I laughed, "Myra just dropped this off." I handed him the envelope and he sat up to see it in the light.

Toby took it and popped the seal loose from the paper, "I'll bet Tommy was worried, right?"

"Always" I said as Toby pulled the contents of the envelope out. There was a photograph, it looked like a yearbook picture. Depicted was a surly looking boy, maybe fifteen years old. His black hair was cropped close to his head, in a rough brush cut, and he seemed too small for his clothes, which were worn, obviously handmedowns. Sharp, grey eyes looked out, squinting at the camera from a pinched, triangular face. Toby flipped the picture over.

'Paul Gray, 16, Denver, CO' followed by a yellow X. Caution.

"Hmm. I wonder what this kid can do that calls for more caution that usual" I mused as Toby flipped the picture back over to study Paul Gray, 16.

Toby yawned, stretching with the picture still in one hand as he lifted his arms above his head. "Dunno, but we'll find out, I'm sure." He got out of bed and crossed the room to the bathroom and I got out of bed too, heading to the dressers. As I picked out today's clothes, I heard Toby start the shower, so I took my time packing a bag of our weapons and supplies I thought we might need. Water bottles, extra ammo, an extra gun and clips, med kit, spare clothes, gloves... Slenderman had said to be cautious, and that's what we would be.

"Shower's still running" Toby said from behind me and I turned to find him half dressed, brushing his hair, "Water's still hot, too. We can grab something to eat on the way out." He was in work mode, ready to get everything over with so he could have some much deserved down time. He pulled a black turtleneck from the dresser and shrugged it on.

Toby pullled me to him as I passed and I turned my face up for a kiss. He ducked his head down and brushed my lips with his as he trailed scarred fingertips along my cheek. We lingered that way for a few moments, just enjoying the closeness, and then Toby pulled away, kissing my forehead as he straightened, "Water's gonna get cold if you don't hurry." He gave me a playful push on the shoulder as I turned towards the bathroom door, clothes in my arms. I heard Toby heft our bag up on his shoulder as he headed for the kitchen and I entered the steamy warmth of the bathroom. I took a quick shower and got ready for the day, but couldn't find the hairbrush. Then I remembered that Toby had taken it with him to the dresser. I found it there and left our rooms for the kitchen, where Toby would no doubt be, if only for the coffee.

I found him exactly there, sitting at the table, waiting on coffee. The picture of Paul Gray laid in front of him on the table and Toby was staring at it, making it seem as if Toby and Paul were having a staring competition.

When I walked into the kitchen, Toby pulled out of his reverie. The coffee pot finished making and I pulled a mug down and filled it, handing it to Toby. He took it and together we made a quick breakfast, just eggs and toast. Toby retrieved his hatchets from the bag and strapped them to his back, then put on his signature brown and blue hoodie. His jeans were, like mine, black, and I pulled a black hoodie over my head to cover the holster and gun that I wore across my torso. I hoped I wouldn't need it or any of the other things in the bag that Toby carried on his shoulder.

When we went through the kitchen door again, we didn't come out anywhere in the mansion. Toby had grabbed my hand and pulled my with him through the void and we came out of the doorway of an abandoned building.

The sounds of the city were all around us, and I assumed were were somewhere in Denver, since Toby had used Paul Gray's photograph as a focus for this trip. Sure enough, Paul Gray walked past us as we came down the steps of the building behind us. We hung back a little and then followed him.

Toby kept a tight grip on my left and as we walked. This was perfect, as I was right hand dominant and Toby was left handed. It meant that both o our weapon hands were free if we needed them, but we could still hold hands like a normal couple. I had my gun set of a cross draw and if you looked close enough, you could just barely see the ends of Toby's hatchets peeking over his shoulders, close to his neck.

We followed Paul Gray all over the area, stopping at stores and random houses and apartment buildings. He really just seemed like your bormal misfit kid. Dressed in handmedown clothes that didn't fit him well, and didn't seem warm enough, only a hoodie and jeans with sneakers.

About halfway through the day, I started getting a headache, which made Toby concerned. The last time he'd seen me anywhere near sick was when Toby and I had first met at the asylum, but that had only been due to Slenderman's influence.

"Grace, do you need to go home?" Toby asked with worried eyes. We were waiting outside of a house on the outskirts of town.

I shook my head, closing my eyes or a moment. It didn't help, so I opened them again. "No... it's just weird that my head is hurting at all. It feels like when Slenderman was coming for you at the asylum, building."

Toby's head cocked and his gaze went far away. Someone was speaking to him. I waited until Toby came back to himself with a full body twitch.

"I think I know what's happening" Toby said, reaching over for my hand. I gave it to him. "Slenderman decided to let me know this kid is powerful, that much he knows." Toby caught a tendril of hair that had come loose from his ponytail and tucked it behind his ear. "Problem is, that's all He knows. The kid's a question mark Slendy doesn't know what kind of power he has, and that's why we're supposed to be cautious. I think you're picking up on his power just like you did Slendy's that night."

I nodded, "That makes sense." I put my elbows on my knees and bowed my head so I could reach my temples and started rubbing. I felt Toby's hand on my back, rubbing slow comforting circles. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Toby was gently shaking me.

"We need to move, sweetness" Toby said, gently shaking my arm, "Paul just left."

Thirty minutes later, Toby and I were posted up behind a tall monument, and Paul Gray was hosting a get together in a cemetery on the edge of town.

He sat on a medium height tombstone, watching as his friends smoked and drank while music pumped from a car with open doors. The pressure in the air had not relented, and in fact was still squeezing the air around me, increasing its grip as the sun started its decline in the sky. Neither Toby nor I knew what was going on, but it was getting stronger as night grew closer. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see why, but was sure I would anyway.

As the evening progressed, people came and went from Paul Gray's gathering. The kid himself seemed to start feeling agitated within the last hour and had started clearing people out until only a bare few remained. He was talking to them, his already pinched face even moreso now. I wiped tears from my eyes and as I leaned against the monument that concealed Toby and I.

"You okay, Gracie?" Toby asked and I looked at him to see worried eyes. He took my hand and rubbed his thumb against the top of it.

I nodded, blinking against the pressure in my head. I felt like Paul, agitated from pain, and just wanted to go home, "I'll be okay, but no. My head is killing me. Are you hot?"

Toby blinked at me as steam came from his nose as he exhaled. Of course not, it was January in Denver. No one was hot.

Car doors slammed and Toby leaned see what was going on. I took a deep breath as Toby said, "They're leaving. But Paul's still here. Looks like his head hurts too."

I leaned out and saw Paul pacing while pinching the bridge of his nose. He straightened long enough to unzip his hoodie and sling it off his arms onto the ground before starting his route again, fingers returning to his nose, squeezing. He turned to watch his friends leave the cemetery, their taillights disappearing in the distance, and then he froze, listening.

After a few tense moments, Paul nearly ran to the nearest grave. He went to his knees on it and bent so his hands touched the ground, his back turned towards us. The pressure in my head grew and the hairs on my arms stood up as a feeling like ants marching went and down them, leaving a prickling feeling in their wake. A cry came from my mouth and I smothered it with a hand, pushing it back down my throat. My vision wavered as the pressure broke at an impossible height. I forced my eyes to stay open as the heat I was feeling flooded away to be replaced with cold, dead cold.

The pain in my head dissapated, all of it, as Paul started pulling something from the ground. I was still reeling from the release of pressure in my head that I thought I might be hallucinating what I saw. Paul stood and pulled a person from the ground, a corpse.

The corpse stumbled to his feet, clad in a tattered brown suit. He wasn't pretty, his skin hanging from the bones of his face in sickly gray swaths. Reddish orange hair, dry and wiry, frizzed out in a halo around the crown of his head, leaving him balding and looking somewhat like a ginger Friar Tuck. He blinked one shrunken eye around Paul's shoulder and as he stood, I realized that the other side of face had been blown away. Dried tissue looked like leather stretched thin over the left half of his face. His jawbone was visible in splinters. A gunshot victim, self inflicted from the looks of it. The corpse turned to see his headstone, and that confirmed it. An almost neat hole, the size of a grapefruit was in the back of his head.

I leaned back in behind the monument and tapped Toby on the side so he would, too. He sat back against the monument with surprised eyes.

"A necromancer?!" I asked in an excited whisper, "What the fuck, Slendy, this is so much more deserving of 'caution'."

Toby chuckled, "You know how he is sometimes."

I peeked around the monument as ants started marching on my skin again, "Paul is raising another zombie."

I went cold, my skin running in goose's flesh, and Paul was standing on another grave, his hands meeting hands that broke up out of the ground to clutch his. Then he and the first zombie combined efforts to pull the new zombie from the earth. This one was a woman in a pink dress, in not much better shape than the first. Blonde hair hung like dry hay from her scalp to her shoulders. Red lipstick was smeared like blood across her lips as she shambled to her feet.

And then on to the next grave. The expression of Paul's face was beatific, like he was drunk and I understood. That pressure in my head all day had been caused by Paul. It was his power, and it had been about to spill over. But he was using it now, all of it, and he was absolutely drunk with it.

I moved back to find Toby waiting for me. "We need to stop him." But it was risky. The kids that Slenderman chose weren't exactly known for being "normal". Abuse and trauma ran rampant in the pasts of proxies in most cases, along with psychological problems. They didn't trust easily. I understood Slendy's caution warning in this sense at least. My mind scrambled as I considered our options. There weren't any good ones.

Toby must have come to the same conclusion because he stood and offered a hand to pull me up. I took it and let him pull me to my feet and then we came out from behind the monument together. Paul was too engrossed in the process of pulling naother zombie up, this on a wizened old man. We were two rows away when he saw us, having turned to survey the cemetery.

"Get them" Paul told the zombies in a voice that warped with power, "Bring them to me!"

"Run" Toby breathed and he took off, still holding my hand tightly. I ran with him, letting him pull me along, stepping only where he stepped, trying to match his much longer stride. When I reached my stride, I chanced a look back. The zombies were following us, arms reaching as they gained on us. Luckily, they were also clumsy, operating bodies they hadn't operated in decades. They shambled and tottered like giant babies, but were slowly recalling how to operate their musculoskeletal systems and getting faster.

I pulled my gun out and shot ones hand just as it lunged and grabbed for my sleeve. It exploded into gore and bone spliters and I felt some of it spatter my face as Toby put on a burst of speed. It was all I could do to keep up. The zombie Id shot had slowed down momentarily, but was pursuing us along with the other two.

"Over this way" Toby yelled to me and we turned left. I saw a utility shed made of rough wooden boards, but the door looked sturdy enough. We could reassess our plan there.

Toby made it to the door first and threw it open. I ducked inside and Toby closed us in. A couple of seconds passed quietly and then the zombies arrived, beating their bodies and fists against the door. The planks that made up the shack were wide enough apart that I could see them in the moonlight.

"Shit" I breathed and slung our bag onto the dirt floor in front of us, "I am not letting one those touch us."

I pulled out my second gun and shoved a clip into it and took the safety off to put a bullet in the chamber. I looked to Toby, who was pulling a hatchet from his back. "I knew he was gonna take seeing us badly. You called it, he saw us back in the city."

The zombies were still beating at the shed but one had started trying to pry the boards loose. Its fingers gripped the wood next to Toby's head and started pulling, hand enough to make the wood bow and creak. Toby turned and swung his hatchet at them. leaving the fingers to fall to the floor, still wriggling to the floor as the zombie let out a shriek of frustration.

"We didn't have any other options" I said as I moved the fingers off the side with my boot, "But what do we do now?"

Toby thought for a moment, "How much ammo do we have?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but heard footsteps rapidly approaching, running towards the shed. The zombies' attention turned towards them and started to shamble that way, and then gunshots. I moved closer to the door and tried to see out. The zombies were headless, laying on the ground, no longer moving.

"Hello?" A femal voice said, "Anyone in there? Federal Marshals Anita Blake and Ted Forrester, open up."

'Federal Marshal?' I moved away from the door. The police were the last people we needed here. A figure blotted out the meager light coming through the boards. The door shook, but Toby held it firmly closed. From between the boards of the shed, I saw a dark brown, almost black eye with the bare minimum of makeup. "We're not here in an, uh, official capacity. If that helps" she said, then backed off.

'Do we go?' I asked Toby, speaking in our minds, 'I mean, they know we're in here.'

'What do they look like?' Toby stayed posted agaist the door, the immovable object.

I crawled so I could look at the newcomers. The man, Ted Forrester the woman had called him, was standing slightly behind the woman, surveying the cemetery with sharp, pale eyes. He was of European decent with pale blonde hair and of average height. Actually, average summed him up well, physically. But Ted Forrester was dangerous, the feeling exuded from him, an I could see, even in the moonlight, that he was dripping with concealed weapons. Fat or muscle just doesn't grow in odd lumps shaped like guns and knives.

The woman, Anita Blake, she had said, stood slightly closer, with a gun pointed at the ground. She was shorter, around 5'4", dark and petite next to the blonde Forrester. Her hair fell to her waist in a soft, curly, black foam. Her vaguely Hispanic features were offest by translucent white skin that almost glowed in the moonlight. Red lipstick painted her lips like blood.

They were dressed similarly to us, black on black, with gun holsters like mine. The woman, Anita, was looking in the direction of the shed door, but her gaze was far away. Then I felt Paul Gray's power swell again.

'The kid is raising another one' I thought to Toby. 'The people outside are armed. But they don't seem like anything we can't handle.'

Toby considered and then nodded once, 'Okay, but I go first.'

I checked my gun 'I've got your back.'

Toby stood and tightened his grip on his hatchet, drawing the other from his back. One was older than the other, but it didn't matter, both were deadly sharp. I stood and gave Toby a little room as he opened the door slowly.

Toby walked out of the shed confidently and I followed close behind.

Anita Blake was still staring into nothing, but Ted Forrester spoke up, all good ole boy, "I'm Ted. Ted Forrester and Anita already introduced herself. What's going on? Anita felt something happening here."

'Can you still do that memory scrub thing?' I asked Toby and he squeezed my hand in affirmation. His eyes weren't on Ted, but on Anita as she swayed slightly where she stood.

"I'm Grace" I said, coming out from behind Toby, gun still in hand, "This is Toby. We're here to recruit this kid who can raise zombies to work for our boss." There, I had put it all out on the table, knowing Toby could scrub their minds if he needed to. I'd seen him do it before and was confident he knew what he was doing.

Ted chuckled quietly, "Is the kids name Paul Gray?"

I blinked. That, out of all responses, was the last one I expected, "Yeah, um, how did you know?"

Ted smiled and he looked out towards where Paul was, where Anita was looking now. Toby was still watching Anita as she stood there with her head cocked. I gave him a mental nudge. "I was hired a few months ago to capture a recruit for an agency that relies on anonomity. I was to track his movements, and bring him in. But when I found out he was just a kid, I dropped the job."

"So why are you here?" Toby asked, "If you dropped the job?"

Ted shrugged, "Curiosity. I wanted to know what was so special about him. When I found out, I called Anita. She's an expert on the undead. And luck was on my side that she was in town."

"Whoever is raising zombies here has lost control" Anita said, and we all looked at her as she came back to herself. "There's no way of knowing how many they'll raise before they pass out. We need to stop them."

Toby nodded, "The sooner we can get to him, the better. Grace, do you have everything?"

I raised the bag from where Toby had dropped it in the shed and hoisted it onto my shoulder, "Lead the way."

Slowly, we all crept closer to where Toby and I had been watching Paul. From there, I could see that Paul had been hard at work. At least ten zombies trailed behind him as he methodically pulled new undead from the earth down the rows.

"I was afraid of this" Anita sighed and we both leaned back behind the monument from earlier. "He's at least an animator, if not a baby necromancer. He probably has been bottling up his power for so long that he's lost in it now."

I nodded, "Toby and I scared him. He sent some after us, and that's when you found us. We were putting together a plan."

"Let me try something" Anita said, and she took a deep breath. She relaxed with her back against the stone and I felt that hot prickle up and down my arms again. I was just about to rub my arm to help allieviate the feeling when Anita touched the ground. A grave. Her fingers dug in to the dirt and then a calm, coolness spread out from her. The pressure that had been waxing and waning in my head all day, almost forgotten due to its consistency, broke one last time and then was no more.

"There" Anita whispered, "He shouldn't be able to raise any more."

"Anita, we've got company" Ted said quietly from the other side of the monument. I looked just in time to see the expression on his face. Anticipation. Make no mistake, the expression matched Toby's sometimes. They were cut from the same cloth. Killers.

"What flavor?"

"Ghouls it looks like" Ted said, "How are you two on ammo?"

"Ghouls?" I asked, shocked that they even existed, but I recovered, "Two guns, two extra clips in my pockets. Another few boxes in the bag."

Ted arched his eyebrow at me.

"The boss said we needed to be cautious. This is cautious."

"Take them out!" Paul yelled and I looked to see that a group of shambling corpses was approaching Paul and his zombies. While Paul's group was quiet and seemed to be following orders relatively well, the ghouls were snarling, agitated, and snapping at the air and each other. There were at least twelve of them, and they didn't seem to be holding up as well as Paul's. They lurched in a loose group toward Paul.

"Shit!" Anita swore and she broke cover. "The ghouls are attracted to his power!" she yelled back to us, "We have to take them out!" She fired some shots into the group of ghouls and some of their attention turned to us as we followed Anita. "Just shoot at them until they don't move anymore. We'll clean up later. I'm going to calm the kid down." She fired off a few more rounds, exploding the head of a ghoul, looking like talking to Paul Gray was the last thing she wanted to do.

At first, I thought it was enough to simply take out the ghouls via headshot. Some of Paul'ls zombies were caught up in the fray, simply trying to grab the ghouls like they'd been told to do. I felt bad every time one got in the way and would look around in confusion before returning singlemindedly to their task. I shot quite a few ghouls in the head, exploding some,. However, the ones with intact heads simply got up and continued attacking, using their arms to batter anything that moved. The bodies of the other pulled themselves along the ground, still seeking things to grab.

Toby, Ted, and I worked out a system in which Ted and I shot the ghouls, aiming for mouths, and Toby came to cut them into pieces after they fell. Soon, we had a battleground littered with zombie and ghoul parts alike, and the pieces would occasionally need to be shot again to keep them from inching slowly towards us. I shot an arm in the hand as it crept towards me, reminding me of Thing from The Addams Family. The shot shattered its fingerbones, halting its gradual progress. I looked over my shoulder to find Anita, who was standing about a meter away from Paul. They appeared to be in a battle of wits.

Paul was staring dispondantly at back at Anita, who seemed to exist in a plane of her own making. There was no wind on this frigid night, but her hair blew gently as if a breeze were blowing past her.

Toby came up behind me and clasped my elbow as we watched Paul collapse to the ground, holding his head in his hands. Anita caught him just before his knees hit, having moved preternaturally fast to do so. She dragged him easily to a gravestone and motioned Toby and I over.

When we got close, Anita looked at us with eyes that looked like night skies, black, deep drowning pools that were sprinkled with the reflection of the stars above. They glowed as if they emitted their own light. I shivered as I looked away from them to Paul.

Paul looked up and when he saw us, he began to flail tiredly, trying to get up. But all of his energy was spent during his standoff with Anita.

"Easy, kid" Anita said, trying to restrain him, "We're only trying to-" there was a thunk and Paul quit struggling, going limp in Anita's arms, "Shit... he knocked himself out on the headstone."

I came forward and went to my knees beside the unconcious teenager, pulling a pen light from my hoodie pocket. I gently shook Paul at the shoulder. Ted and Toby were moving body parts into a pile, and it looked like they were discussing something.

"Paul?" I asked as he moved his head, "Paul, everything's okay. You hit your head."

Paul's eyes opened and he jumped when he saw me, about to start fighting again. Then I could almost see the wave of tiredness wash over him as he sank back into the marble, resigned.

I offered him a calm smile, "I'm Grace, and I"m gonna check your eyes for a concussion." Paul nodded and I did my thing, shining the light into his pupils and watching for reactions or signs of unevenness. I stared into his watery grey eyes and found no signs. He was fine, just exhausted.

"You're good" I told him as I turned off the light and shoved it back into my pocket.

"Why have you been following me? You and the taller guy?" Paul asked. His voice was tough, but under it, I could hear that he was afraid. He knew that he was caught, there was nothing to do about that now. But he wanted answers.

"Toby?" I called and Toby came over, slinging blood from his hatchets. I cringed as Paul's eyes widened. Toby was covered in spatter of blood and thicker things. Not exactly a comforting first impression.

"Paul, this is Toby. He'd like to speak with you for a moment." I told Paul and got up to let the two of them talk.

Anita was talking with Ted in hushed tones a little ways away.

"I'm telling you, Edward, there's something weird about this! Don't you want to know who those two work for? You know the type of people who recruit animators..."

"It's Ted, Anita. You really need to work on that" Ted told Anita, "and sometimes, some things are none of your business. No one was hurt. Let sleeping dogs lie."

Anita must have felt me behind her because she relaxed, pushing a smile onto her face. It almost made it to her eyes. Almost. I looked to Ted. Or was it Edward? He was also smiling, but I saw a look in his eyes. They were blue, and reminded me of cold winter skies. Then he blinked and he was a good ole boy again.

"You two get your boy?" Ted asked and I nodded.

"Yeah" I said, "Is there anything I can do to help with" I gestured at the pile of still wiggling ghoul and zombie parts, "This?"

"I'm going to Ted's Hummer to get some things" Anita said, "Fire is the only thing that will destroy them now. You can come with if you want."

She offered me a smile like, 'let's have girl time'. I wanted no such thing, not liking that Anita was asking questions. But I played along, smiling back. I looked back at Toby, who was talking to a much more relaxed Paul. I followed Anita back through the cemetery, towards wherever Ted had parked.

"So" Anita said, "Who's your boss?"

I laughed dryly, "That didn't take long."

Anita smiled, this one more natural looking, "Can't blame a girl for trying."

I smiled back, truly amused with Anita's bluntness, "No, I can't."

We walked quietly together.

"But?"

"But" I laughed, "Even if you weren't the police, I wouldn't even know how much to tell you. it's all... pretty odd."

"I understand odd. I'm an expert on the undead. I can do what that boy did, and keep going. I can raise entire cemeteries, an army of the unfeeling, unthinking, unliving, to do my bidding."

She was trying to get information from me, even still. I looked at her with her oh so understanding face, and wanted to tell her, just to have someone to tell. But being believed... that was a different story.

"That's fine" I said "But I'll keep our secrets."

Anita sighed, "Fine, I'll let it go. But what about Paul? What happens to him?"

I shrugged as we came up on a black Hummer, the only car in the lot. "He'll have a job. A home. A family of sorts. It's probably more than he has right now. We'll take care of him."

"You're sure?" Anita asked suspiciously as she opened the back of the SUV and pulled out a couple of duffle bags.

"You've got my word" I said and Anita studied me; her eyes still pools of night sky. She must have found something that made her believe me because she nodded and handed me a bag. We started back and the silence wasn't as tense.

When we could see Toby and Ted, they were standing by Paul and the pile of body parts. We took them the bags and Ted opened one, pulling out something that looked like a grenade.

"Phospherous grenades burn hotter than normal grenades. Water can't even put them out. Actually, that just makes it burn brighter." Ted handed Toby the grenade. "Wanna do the honors?" He asked and his smile was devilish as Toby took the grenade and pulled the pin. Toby shoved the grenade into the center of the body pile and we all cleared out, backing away until Ted said we could stop. Toby pulled me with him and I caught Paul by the wrist just as it exploded.

Toby watched as bright white flame engulfed the pile with a beatific expression. Blood was spattered across his cheeks, blending in with freckles that dusted his nose and cheekbones.

I stayed with Toby like that for a few minutes, him hugging me to his side as I held on to Paul Gray's wrist. We watched the fire together, Ted and Anita standing with us.

"I take it Toby likes fire" Ted asked, kneeling to dig in the other bag.

"Yeah" I replied "You could say that."

Ted stood, hauling what looked like a flamethrower up with him, "Good. Gotta burn the bodies to ash, or they'll just stay like that."

Handed Toby the flamethrower, who needed no instruction and set to blasting stray body parts into oblivion with flame. Ted walked past me, and grabbed my arm, pulling me close as he started talking, no longer good ole boy Ted, but back to Edward. "I don't know who you two are, or who you work for" Ted whispered, "But I know that Toby is like me. And he loves you. Keep him here. Keep him human. Take care of him." And then he released me and was gone, walking up to Toby with his persona in place as he smiled and greeted him.

Anita and I stood with Paul and watched as Ted and Toby set all the smaller piles of gore everywhere on fire, along with odd parts. A torso here, arms and legs there. Toby used the toe of his boot to roll a head into the flames he had just created.

"The phospherous grenade was American" Anita said, watching the flames, "We have higher standards, so there are safety precautions in place. Smaller blast radius, shorter burn time. There won't be much left. Just ashes and bone chips." She sighed and nodded towards Paul, "I'm assuming you don't want any officials around, and you've got somewhere to take this one."

I nodded, "We'd feel better if we got him to the boss sooner rather than later."

Anita nodded "I thought so. Any chance you've changed your mind about our talk?"

"A snowball's chance" I told her and Anita laughed.

"Fair enough, go on then."

I put a hand on Paul's back and we started towards Toby, who was watching the white flames die down with rapt attention. Ted was standing next to him, hands on his hips, with the flamethrower sitting on the ground next to them.

"I love my job" Toby said quietly, most likely to himself.

"Me too" Ted said in the same tone of voice.

I came up next to Toby, pulling my hand in his and he looked at me, eyes looking strange with the fire reflected in them.

"Toby we need to go" I said, nodding my head towards Paul, who was rubbing at his eyes and looking worn out.

"Okay" Toby said, giving the fire one last gaze. He peered around me to Paul, "Are you sure you want this?"

"Yeah" Paul said confidently, pulling himself up to stand a little taller with squared shoulders, "I'm ready."

"Do you need to pick anything up from home? Say goodbye to anyone? Once you go, you can't really come back" I warned, noticing that Ted was standing too still for my liking, listening with his back turned. I pulled Toby away from him and we walked through the tombstones to the shed.

"No" Paul said, and then quieter, "There's nothing for me there."

Toby nodded and pulled the shed door open.

"Why are we going in there?" Paul asked, voice protesting, "I thought we were going to meet your boss."

"We are" Toby said, "Just take my hand."

Paul did hesitantly and pulled him through the door, dematerializing just past the threshold.

"Grace?" Ted's mild, good natured accent was goine. This accent was unplacable. He could have been from anywhere.

I jumped and closed the door quickly, "Oh, uh, hey Ted. Did you need something?" I leaned against the door, trying to look nonchalant.

Ted chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm not here to ask questions. Just reminding you to keep Toby in the light. I'd hate to see him fall over to the dark side."

And with that, Ted, Edward, whoever the hell he was, walked away, back to Anita, kicking the edges of the burn pile as he approached it. I blinked in confusion at who the man was, and how he just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Everything about him screamed 'human!' but was he really? While he and Anita had been pleasant to meet, I wasn't in any hurry to run into them again. I opened the shed door, home and Toby on my mind and stepped through, allowing the void to take me.

#ticci toby #ticci toby self ship #ticci toby x nurse grace #tobias andrew adams #anita blake #anita blake crossover #creepypasta #creepypasta crossover #commission #tw gore #tw pyromania #tw zombies #tw body horror #tw corpses #tw magic #tw firefight

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everybodyknows-fantasytales · 3 years ago

Text

Everybody Knows

TW : Fire, gore, death, swearing, yelling, violence CW : Description of decaying corpses, description of death

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Ah, the peaceful nation of Magarai. A kingdom of chaos. All right, maybe not such a "peaceful" kingdom, because houses burnt down weekly, but regardless of that fact. Nobody was ever seriously harmed, and little to no grudges got held against people. It's almost as if the kingdom had enough compassion to push the negativity away.

Those who had to leave Magarai for one reason or another tended to come back. If not, they always remembered the kingdom in their heart.

All was well until one evening. An evening that everybody knows will haunt souls.

"Has anyone seen Fox?" asked the queen, tucking her pink-highlighted, brown hair behind her ear. Worry of Fox became apparent through creases on her forehead.

The blonde male helping the monarch rubbed her shoulders, only to swat at the creases as if they were flies. He gave non-verbal reassurances before selecting out a lovely pink and white gown and smiling.

"This will look lovely on you, Magic," he beamed, pleased with his dressing decision. "Miche will come in when you finish dressing to assist you with your hair.

Magic smiled, "Thank you, Zane. I'm sure it will. Wiz, do you mind?"

Zane left the room, a little pep in his step as he did so. Wiz nodded, turning away from Magic so she could dress.

As her guard, he swore to stay beside her at all times. Though, he saw Magic as a little sister. If he were to watch her dress, that would be wrong in oh so many ways.

As Magic finished dressing, she turned to Wiz. He turned around and smiled, nodding in approval - though he had no place to tell the queen what she should and shouldn't wear. He wasn't her father, and she wasn't some child in need of scolding.

A knock came at the door, and Wiz opened it.

"State your name," he stated.

"It's Max, head guard," a medium voice spoke, clearing their throat. Wiz stepped from the door and watched as Max bowed, brown hair falling into their face.

"Max! Thank Mary! Have you heard any news of Fox?" Magic said, jumping on her toes - glad she wasn't wearing her heels quite yet.

Max bowed again but spoke, "I'm afraid not, Queen Magic. I haven't heard anything from the patrols I've sent. One to the village of our west and one to the kingdom of our east, yet no word. Finn insists it's nothing to worry over, though."

Magic cocked a brow before being forced into a seat by Miche.

"Well, to be fair, Max, there's the chance nobody has arrived. To arrive at the kingdom takes roughly five hours non-stop. To arrive at the village takes approximately six hours non-stop. It'll take them a while to send anything back. Honestly, Max," Miche sighed. "I used to run a kingdom far from here, and my guards were far better in mathematics."

"If you used to run a kingdom, you should know that the best time to send out patrols is an hour before dawn cracks the sky, and that is when I sent out our patrols. If you knew anything about mathematics, you would know how fast the horses go on certain trails," Max argued back.

Magic cleared her throat, clearly wanting the two to wrap up their dispute and reel it back in. Miche quickly resumed doing Magic's hair, and Max took a few deep breaths.

The hybrid guard cleared their throat before turning all attention to the queen yet again.

"If I have permission, madame, I would like to take Finn and check the village and kingdom," he said, his voice threatened by fear.

Magic looked dead ahead and closed her eyes, taking in a deep and heavy breath. She honestly did not want her head guards out this late, especially when the masquerade was so close to starting. She had to, especially if she wanted her friend back.

"All right," she sighed. "You may go. Make haste, however. We haven't much time before the ball."

The disappearance of Fox was untraceable. The hybrid left no trace of herself - no fur, no note, no hair. It was as if she'd disappeared like a fine morning mist.

She was the first staff Magic hadn't felt anxious to talk to before her rule. She was an old friend of Magic's and the official royal artist.

Where could she have gone?

With the news of the artist's disappearance spreading faster than a wildfire, Magic's fear and anxieties went from mild to extreme concerningly fast. The lady-in-waiting, Lulu, lingered near her, however. She tried keeping the queen collected and picture-perfect.

After all, it was the masquerade Magic, Wiz, Jay, and Juniper had planned for a year. Days without rest, weeks of stress, and months where they nearly lost their minds.

The masquerade Echo slaved away in the kitchen for months. He'd made far too many pastries to count, giant platters to feed multiple kingdoms, crosses of drinks. He lost sleep to make everything perfect for this event.

The masquerade Lauren and Mexri had grown the ripest, freshest foods for months. Bickering nonsensically over which vegetables would suit the finger foods. Arguing for countless hours about which fruits would be perfect for various pastries. They'd even been growing rare flowers for the event.

The masquerade ball that everyone could not wait to attend. The masquerade ball that everyone counted on to be life-changing!

Of course, it was going to be life-changing! It just wasn't in any way, shape, or form the way anyone expected.

Max quietly eased their horse as the two neared the gate. As she started calming down, the guard got onto the mare's back.

"Easy, girl."

"I mean not to complain, but why are we setting off so soon of the ball?" Finn asked, riding up beside Max on his stallion. He brushed his messy, brown hair from his face and tilted his head a bit.

"I know, I do hate missing the event, but the patrols we'd sent off early morning have yet to return or send their messenger frostwalk owl back. With the queen's permission, we're to check on them. You take the west, and I shall take the east."

Finn gave a slight nod, showing he understood the assignment, before heading off into the woods. Max watched, and once the guard disappeared out of sight, the hybrid themself took off into the woods.

---

As the guards were out in the woods, racing against time, the ballroom of Magarai's castle flooded with life!

Echo waltzed around guests, handing out glasses with a small smile. It was the first time he seemed genuinely happy in such a long while, which just put a cherry on top.

Lulu curtsied and greeted new guests, smiling and taking coats. She checked around on everyone and made sure everyone was enjoying themselves.

Wiz and Jay stayed put beside the throne, refusing to move from the queen. Without the head guards, it felt as if they had to work overtime.

Aspen smiled, enjoying the ball with Luna. They kept an eye out on the crowd to make sure nobody was hurt - after all, they were the head healer.

Juniper and Safari kept careful eyes on everyone, but they were both still out and causing a bit of chaos on the dance floor. Whether it be accidental or purposeful, they were the chaotic workers that had fun on the job.

The Jesting Trio ran through the crowd, laughing and joking as they did, entertaining the masses and bringing a bit of light to the party. It was lovely seeing the kingdom gathered up and able to laugh together.

Lauren and Mexri stood by the drink table, subtly bickering over what they'd worked together on - the flowers, the fruits, the vegetables, the decorations.

As time flew by, everyone was having a marvellous time! It was as though the disappearance of Fox had never happened. Even Magic had forgotten about it temporarily. Lulu was glad. That was until she had to pull Magic aside from the ballroom into the hallway.

The gold-framed liquid-like glass stood at several feet tall - roughly six feet tall. The gold shimmered with the glittery silver flakes in the frame, and the glass was colder than ice and had a vibrant glow of lime.

It was no mirror to use to dress but a mirror to communicate. If your kingdom's ruler had even half a brain, you would be able to spot one of these in their castle.

The queen wondered why anyone calling at this hour - especially knowing that today was supposed to be a busy day, and she'd said not to disturb her unless it was urgent. Then it hit her - Finn and Max had been out trying to find Fox.

It must have been a holo-call from Finn to update her on what was happening.

The queen removed her gloves, then removed her pink and black mask from her face. The mirror scanned her face, and once she'd unlocked the mirror, she answered the holo-call.

She took a few steps back, and soon, a buggy and flickering, holographic, live video of Finn appeared. She tilted her head and awaited the news.

Finn's face seemed soaked, and he choked back tears as he spoke.

"I- I apologise to interrupted your fun, my queen, but I..." His voice led off. His posture seemed bold and brave, but the shakiness of his voice washed away any bit of courage he showed.

"I believe I found Fox."

While Finn was able to find Fox, Max had no such luck. Everyone the hybrid spoke to didn't give an answer they'd wanted.

They pushed them away, saying they don't speak to "disastrous monsters." Others said they had seen nobody come.

Typically, this would be comforting news! That'd mean nobody this far from the kingdom had seen them. Though, this implies that they could be lost, dead, or imprisoned. Those options made Max's skin crawl in fear.

I believe we can all see where this is going.

Max hadn't a clue where in the realms Fox could be. Finn, however, knew where she was. And he hated that he did.

"You found Fox?" Magic's face lit up in joy. Her energy quickly faded, however. She saw Finn wasn't crying and shaking because he was happy. He was shaking and crying because he was scared.

Finn stepped from the horse and allowed the ruby camera to view the gory and awful scene.

Brains and ooze were under anvils, stumps, and stones. Corpses and decapitated heads had hatchets, sickles, and scythes blade-deep in them. Pikes made of freshly carved out bones were holding up heads of both young and old.

Buildings, bodies, and various decorative items were covered in burn marks and sticky, drying blood. Houses, blacksmiths, and farmhouses didn't stand any taller than a foot, but they still proceeded to fall apart. Decaying corpses stuck to trees, ruins, and rubbled buildings, melting flesh and blood as glue.

The nauseating mix of smells stung Finn's nose. Melting flesh oozing into puddles of blood, burning bones turning to dust and ash, oak and spruce of houses turned to firewood. It was all too much and far too unbearable.

Anvils were coated in layers of blood and stuck in the ground. Corpses of both those young and old were stuck underneath.

Worms and beetles crawled into the carcasses to find a new home in hollow bones and organs that remained inside.

Roaches and flies felt like they were at an all you can eat buffet as they feasted on the remains.

Rats and maggots buried into the sockets and open wounds to find a place away from outside.

The scene was indescribably disgusting, and the viewers' stomachs churned and flopped. Every sip of punch and every bite of food Magic had just consumed was threatening to splat all over the floor, mirror, and wall. Finn's breakfast and lunch of eggs, bacon, tea, ham, steak, and salad wanted nothing more than to resurface.

However, a thud broke Finn's focus on the scene. In front of him was a fresh corpse of a woman. Her lovely olive green dress was dyed crimson by the various slits and wounds that leaked blood, ruined by the sticky dark red flowing out of the large slit down her back.

An all too familiar blonde gal ran up, however. Quickly, the girl planted a foot into the deep wound and smiled sadistically as her foot pressed against the bones.

In one terrifyingly fine slice, the fox decapitated the woman. The sickening cracking from the slice only made the hybrid's ears perk.

When she finally came to reality, the blonde looked up from the corpse, only to see the guard. In an instinctive move, she put a mask on her face and ran towards the docks.

Once there, she turned on her heel rather hastily and stumbled. She caught herself, however, and soon she started to make a fireball from her fingertips. As soon as it was a smidge bigger than her palm, she threw it at the corpse. It was as if she were throwing a stick for a puppy to chase.

As the fire grew, she turned and ran away yet again. Some would call her cowardice for fleeing the scene, but they could never guess her true intentions.

The fire crackled, and the smell stung the nose of Finn - Magic, too, scrunched up her nose as if she could smell it too. Usually, the warmth and sound of any fire was a comforting sound. This time, however, it was terrifyingly sickening.

Finn could only mutter one word.

"Fox..."

Magic cleared her throat to seem confident, but even then, her voice shook as she spoke.

"Finn, listen. I- I need you to rescue anyone remaining, even if it is only one person. Hide somewhere and remain there. Avoid attracting attention. I will have Wiz and Jay send a troop your way."

Finn swiped at his tears. There weren't any survivors. None that he could see, at least. If any survivors were still there, he wasn't able to see. The growing fire and grey smoke distorted his views.

"I do hate to say this, but this village seems exterminated. I cannot see anyone," Finn choked out.

The queen fell eerily silent as she stared into the mirror. What has she just witnessed?

A massacre by her dear friend. A massacre by royal staff.

"M-Magic?"

"Get out of there. I'll send one of our teryans to fetch Max. You have to come back. If what I think is happening, we need all guards here. The staff and I will start getting everyone into the exaien and obsidian bunker. The kingdom is going on lockdown."

Oh, if only Queen Magic had seen the error she was making.

As the queen began to lock the kingdom up, the hybrid villain chose to play dirty and managed her way through the guards.

To be entirely honest, she had no dirty intentions to harm her friends. Why should she? They didn't do anything to her. She just planned to play innocent. Play victim. She'd act as if the village never existed. As if everything was okay.

Outside the rear end of the castle, she dropped all her weapons. The only things she dared to keep on her was a dagger, her hatchet, a small bottle of gasoline, and a box of matches.

"Everybody knows that it's now or never, Magic."

Max had their horse run back to Magarai alone and had no choice but to have a teryan take them back. They didn't even make it past the guard tower's doors before a shrill shriek came from the castle.

What in the realms is happening in there?

Magic stood face-to-face with Fox, mouth agape as she struggled to understand how she'd gotten in. All she could do was demand the hybrid to get out.

"Aw, come on, Em! Don't say that. I thought we were the closest of friends!"

"FRIENDS? If you knew anything about friendship, you would know friends don't betray each other. You would know friends don't attack allies. You would know friends. Don't. Lie."

"Eh?" Fox took a step backwards as if the girl's words pushed her back. "Hm... lie is such a disgusting word. I prefer the term bending the truth."

"T- that is so much worse!"

"Besides, Magic! The ally issue was a mere slip of the hand. I swore I heard they were bad-mouthing you. Truly! That was merely a mistake. Forgive and forget, right?"

Magic's eyes narrowed as she yanked the mask from her face, eye twitching. There wasn't any possible way that an ally would bad-mouth another. Yes, if it were an alliance, some kingdoms and villages may not get along. That would be where she'd expect bad-mouthing to start.

She'd helped Lakegemy since she was sixteen. There was no reason for them to bad-mouth her. Kaylee had housed her when she was first starting to help the village. Riley was one of the hunters that had found and rescued her from the woods. Avril helped her from the mines and gave her shelter as well as food.

They were all there for her from the very beginning. Okay, yes, to be fair, it was always a mysterious village. That doesn't mean anything - people and places have secrets that stay hidden for good reasons. Lakegemy was a place that did not deserve to be a victim of genocide.

"M-Mistakes! Slips of the hand! Bad-mouthing! Forgive and forget!" Magic's eyes filled with tears as she started screaming at Fox.

"Lakegemy did not deserve that! They did nothing to you! They have no reason to bad-mouth me! Anything you'd heard of them bad-mouthing me was a shit rumour!"

At this point, she had started sobbing through her screams. She started shaking, balling up her fists, and gnashing her teeth. It got so bad that Lulu and Echo had no choice but to hold her back. Jay and Wiz got ready to take off Fox's head and turn her into a decorative rug.

Safari and Juniper hailed to allied kingdoms for help, no matter their current reputation. Aspen and Luna had no choice but to split up - Luna rushing up to the medical room. They had to get ready to aid guests and staff because things started to get messy.

Lauren and another guest had to hold Mexri back as they started yelling threats, trying to launch themself at the supposed villain.

"UNHAND ME AT ONCE- LET ME AT HER ALREADY-!"

"Mx, please calm down before you hurt yourself..."

Magic stood boldly, aggressively wiping the tears from her eyes. Her jaw started hurting from how hard she was gnashing and gritting her teeth, but she couldn't stop herself. The once kind look she wore was now a look of pain and anger that nothing but Fox's death would satiate.

"I believed I was able to trust you. I thought you were one of my dearest friends, but clearly, I cannot place an ounce of trust in you." The queen yanked and thrashed, successfully prying her hands from Lulu and Echo, rubbing her wrists. "Fuck your plans, and fuck me for letting my guard down. Which I will never allow myself to trip over or do ever the again!"

"You may have been a dear friend, but you annihilated an allied village and forced children to be orphans when their mother was an amazing woman. I ask you to leave before I have you bound on your knees and your head in a guillotine."

"Well, isn't that unfortunate."

Fox stifled a chuckle and put her hands up.

"If I can be honest here, I would've thought my dearest friend would give me a chance of redemption. Yes, I broke word of Mary, and I hurt our allies. Yes, I killed and unfortunately terrorised people who claimed to be innocent. Though, just because you helped them years ago, you don't know their sins. People had thought I was there to wipe them out because of their sins! People thought I was a hero. I was a hero there. But to my home kingdom, I am a villain?"

Fox couldn't help it. She burst into maniacal laughter, high-pitched and absolutely terrifying.

"EVERYBODY KNOWS THE DEAL IS ROTTEN, MAGIC! NOBODY IS SAFE HERE!"

Guests peered out and questioned it. Magarai was one of the safest places in the region, and there was no chance nobody was safe.

What deal was rotten? As far as the kingdom was concerned, the queen dared not to make deals. That didn't stop anything, for Fox's face wore nothing but insanity. Her fangs glistened in the light as she laughed.

"NOBODY IS SAFE HERE! NEVER HAS BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE! YOUR KINGDOM'S FATE SCRAWLED OUT IN CRIMSON, SMOKE AND ASHES SURROUNDING IT!"

She couldn't stop. Her voice echoed out as she screamed, tears welling up as she wore a psychopathic smile.

"YOU SEALED YOUR FATE TAKING THE CROWN, MAGIC!"

Magic hugged herself and dug her nails into her arm, shuddering and shaking. She didn't want the crown!

She didn't want to be a queen! Maybe a princess, but being this was far too much for her. She just wanted to help people - she never asked for this!

Testaments and arguments built up in her chest, making it hard to breathe for the queen. She couldn't gasp for air - it hurt and burned. She felt like she was dying.

"MAGARAI'S SAFETY IS A LIE! ALL OF YOU ARE LIARS!"

Magic dropped her mask. She breathed out a heavy, choking sob as she grasped Wiz's arm tightly. She felt light-headed and betrayed. She knew what she did wrong, but Fox did not need to bring up the past at a terrible moment like this.

Fox took advantage of the queen's panic attack from the Kryao Circle and started giggling maniacally. Sparks flew from her fingertips, and soon they started hitting the floor.

The sparks at first would hit the floor and fizzle, but once they started growing, they began making flames that guards began to stamp out.

But it wasn't enough.

Fox's hands burst into flames, and she let it singe the arm hairs she had. This time, the fire was no match for someone's boot.

Fox burst into this sadistic laugh, clutching her stomach. It was all so funny! The panic! The fear! The horror!

Lulu panicked, calling for Maru. Maru was the castles water wyvern, and she wasn't all that big - but she was there for some of Magarai's worst fires.

Safari jolted, jumping to his feet from protecting people and tried getting Em out with her guards. He ran to the side of her and helped her get control of her emotions again.

Echo tried keeping calm, but their pyrophobia kept them glued in place, and they froze up. They started looking around in a panic as if they were looking for something. Smoke filled the room, and they were practically sobbing, which didn't help them find it.

Max and Finn jumped at the chance. They ran at Fox, both ready to cut through her like a fine sheet of paper. Fox had broken too many rules, and they wanted to bring this chaos to an end.

Fox was on her knees, slamming her fist against the floor as her terrifying laughs echoed through the corridors. The castle wasn't empty, and the kingdom was too big to get everybody out.

The fire was too large for Maru to help, and Magic's panic wasn't helping her emotions as Wiz carried her out of the castle, Jay close behind.

It was over as quickly as it had started. Magarai burnt to crisp, and so many lives were lost. A select few walked away alive, but not without scars. Any scars, whether they be physical, emotional, or mental.

Magic got some of the worst scars. She'd lost an arm that no doctor was able to fix. She nearly lost her life, but because of Wiz, she'd lived with scars. However, not even time could heal them.

Jay and Wiz nearly lost their lives - but because of their armour and strengths, the only thing they lost was their voice from the smoke fumes and fire. They also walked away with their pride ruined.

Lulu suffered burn marks everywhere, scrapes, and scratches. Maru had saved her life that night, but Lulu walked away without the wyvern and confidence.

Echo twisted their ankle and broken their wrist - and had too many burn marks from trying to find people. They ended up in a severe phobic-lockdown mode for weeks after that and froze up at even the mere thought of fire.

Aspen and Luna weren't lucky, ironically. They had titles of the best healers in the region yet failed to save themselves from injuries. Granted, yes, they didn't have injuries as bad as the rest, but they still had scars that they would never live down.

Juniper suffered poisoning, though they had gotten it out - however, it did leave scars both internally and externally. It burnt their lips, tongue, and fingers. Internally Juni's throat, lungs, and stomach ended up severely scarred.

Shrimpy had multiple burn marks in several spots from trying to save Sam and Snowy.

Both Sam and Snowy were burnt up, bruised, bleeding for days, and ended up with broken bones.

Finn and Max nearly lost their heads from holding back Fox but walked away merely bruised and traumatised - bruises left only on their pride and ego.

Nobody was safe, just as Fox had stated.

Yes, she had her own set of scars to tell the story of, but she wore them like a badge. She burnt down a kingdom of 30 years! That was the biggest accomplishment of her life.

From that day, everyone tried to regroup.

However, the fallen ruler became short-tempered, and she also suffered signs of PTSD and pyrophobia.

People left, slowly but surely.

Even Max felt uneasy with her. Soon, the kingdom was just Magic, Wiz, and Jay. All the occupants were gone, as were her staff. Though, they weren't gone.

They'd split into three groups.

Dreamers, Twisteds, and Rebels.

Rebels called themselves the Oiray Raushi - Lost Naturists. They played by the only rule that truly mattered in the wild - survival of the fittest. They lived in the woods but would sometimes drop by Magarai allies for food. They'd beg, steal, and creep around for survival.

The leader of the group - Aspen - taught them healing spells, how to make elixirs, how to reverse curses, and hunting techniques.

Dreamers were essentially Mother Nature's children. They were Magarai's followers that wanted the kingdom and their friends back. They were typically pacifistic and kind souls, but they did get aggressive if 100% necessary.

The leader of the group - Lulu - taught how to heal others and yourselves, emotional control(it affects magical abilities), and gave sensory help.

Twisteds were just as awful as their name. They were called psychopathic sociopaths. They played by one rule - kill or be killed. They didn't care about anyone except themselves. They lived in the darkest part of the woods, however. In the end, though, when they wanted something, they would kill, lie, and steal to get it.

The leader of this group - Fox - taught them various survival strategies, how to fight and win, how to get away with actual murder, and how to lie without being suspected.

It was clear - there was no room for failure in any group. It simply wasn't an option.

It's something everybody knows.

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