#When I drag the giant tome from its shelf

[professordrarry]

My favourite and most unhinged fandom decision ever was printing and binding Turn (with the author's permission and for personal use only).

[pastel-cryptids]

For the sp wlw prompts, maybe some China/Tanith? I feel like they’re such an underrated ship idea - maybe an au when Tanith is still being forced to be China’s bodyguard ?

Oh, you genius!!!!

(Ao3 link here)

   “You’re joking, right?” 

   Tanith sat beside Valkyrie, slowly sinking into her couch. Valkyrie stared at the woman drowning in her couch and shrugged. “Nope, not at all. China said you owed her and this is the only way to appease her.”

   Tanith groaned and sank deeper into the couch. “It was an accident!” she cried. “It was only one vase!” 

   Valkyrie, Tanith, and Skulduggery were visiting China’s new collection of magical ancient tomes and objects. The woman had dedicated an entire section of the new Sanctuary just for her new collection. Valkyrie and Skulduggery were visiting to question China and give her information on a new case. Tanith joined along because she was bored. China quickly dismissed anything the duo said to her and dragged them through the Sanctuary. She opened a large door that revealed an already large collection of tomes and objects. The woman proudly walked them through each hallway. Tanith had zoned out the entire time. She had little care for historical objects. She’d lived through a lot of it already, what was the point of relearning it? Tanith strayed from the group and stared at a shelf filled with vases and other pottery. They all looked the same. She was saved from her boredom when Valkyrie called her name. Tanith turned quickly and her scabbard slammed into a vase.  It felt as though the moment was in slow motion. Valkyrie ran to try to catch the vase. Tanith grabbed her scabbard tightly. China yelped and stared with wide, horrified eyes. Skulduggery stood there. As the vase shattered on the ground, China screamed. The woman’s piercing blue eyes stared into Tanith’s soul.

   “What did you do!?” The woman screamed.

   Valkyrie began to apologize profusely. China ignored Valkyrie and pushed past her. “That was a five-thousand-year-old vase. Do you know how long it took me to acquire this?”

   The only reason why Tanith survived that encounter was due to Skulduggery diffusing the situation. He shoved some cash at China and dragged Tanith out of the room. Valkyrie was still apologizing as she walked out of the room. Tanith was scolded the entire ride home. It was not fun.

   Valkyrie sighed. “Yeah, sure. But there was also the time where you sneezed some of her faerie dust away or the time you somehow set an entire shelf of her’s on fire. Oh, and the time you threw a genuine crystal staff out of the window. And the time -”

   Tanith waved her arms. “I get it, I get it. I’ve ruined a lot of China’s stuff. She kind of deserves it though…”

   Valkyrie shook her head. “I won’t argue about that.” She grabbed Tanith’s shoulders and pulled the woman up from the couch. She turned Tanith and looked into her eyes.

   “It’s only for three weeks, Tanith. After that, you will never have to interact with her again. Probably.”

   Tanith rested her head on her hand. “You really want me to do this, huh?”

   Valkyrie nodded. Tanith smiled and ruffled Valkyrie’s hair. “You’re lucky I like you, Val.”

   Tanith’s Prometheus level of punishment was being China’s bodyguard for three weeks. China wanted Tanith to do something else, probably something worse, but Valkyrie refused anything other than some form of a simple job. So, there Tanith was, being led by the Sanctuary’s billionth administrator. She was given a black uniform that she was forced to wear. It wasn’t leather, but it was comfortable enough. 

   China sat on her throne with her legs crossed. She towered over Tanith and the administrator like a giant. She stood from her throne and gave a cold, unfeeling smile. “You’ve arrived,”

   Tanith’s hands were behind her back, fiddling with the fabric of her uniform. “Yep,” She said, popping her p.

   The Supreme Mage walked down the steps of her throne. She stepped in front of Tanith. Despite being shorter than Tanith, China still had an aura of power. The woman cocked her head. “You should thank Valkyrie for your fair punishment.”

   “Oh, don’t worry, I did.” Tanith cleared her throat and looked up at the ceiling. Staring at China’s face for too long was a horrible idea. She flipped her hair and tried to act casual. “So, am I supposed to be doing anything important right now?”

   A smile grew across China’s face. “Oh, nothing serious right now. I’m about to access the Whispering, so you just need to stand here.” She gestured to the space beside her throne. China then grabbed Tanith’s scabbard. Tanith tried to protest, but China placed a finger over her lips. “The last time you had this tool of death on you, you destroyed one of my most important artifacts. I refuse to let you have this until I can trust you with it.”

   Tanith groaned in annoyance but allowed China to have it. She would prefer to survive at least one week with China.

   Standing still was pure torture for Tanith. China was currently using the Whispering during a meeting. Her eyes were closed and her body was terrifyingly still. Tanith thought that if a small draft blew into the room, the woman would blow away. It was both a hilarious thought and an odd one.

   It wasn’t a single minute when Tanith gave up on standing still and began to wander. The throne room wasn’t very interesting, so Tanith decided to mess with China’s throne. She climbed up the stairs and studied the intricate design of the throne. The marble was cold against her fingers. Her hand suddenly brushed against China’s and her breath hitched. The woman’s hand barely flinched at her touch. Tanith leaned in and studied the sigils on her hands. 

   Each one was carefully carved to perfection. Tanith’s eyes wandered to her arms. The designs were asymmetrical, yet perfect. Her hand reached out and traced the swirls that ran up China’s arm. Her fingers traced up to China’s chin where the sigils suddenly stopped. Tanith pulled her hand away from China’s lips.

   Tanith began to study China’s face. There was no doubt that China was one of the most beautiful women on Earth. Her bronze skin shown like gold against the sun. The sigils under her eyes complemented her face perfectly. Tanith gently traced her fingernail across the sigils. Bright blue eyes met Tanith’s green and brown eyes. Tanith’s face turned red and she pulled her hand away.

   “What are you doing?” The woman asked.

   Tanith held onto her wrist tightly. “Nothing,” she mumbled. “You were very still and I… was worried.”

   China arched her eyebrow and stood. “Right, well, know that whenever I am accessing the Whispering, I won’t be aware of anything around me. No need to stand in my face.” She walked past Tanith and began to walk down the stairs. She turned and looked at Tanith. “Aren’t you coming?”

   Tanith frowned. “I didn’t know I was supposed to follow you.”

   China burst out laughing and clapped her hands. Her laugh was like a siren’s melody. Tanith liked it. The woman’s wide smile turned small. “You’re my bodyguard, are you not? You’re supposed to follow me.”

   Tanith’s face turned red with embarrassment. “Of course,”

   China turned around again and continued to walk down the stairs. “Come along now, it’s lunch and I prefer not to be late.”

   The two walked through the halls of the Sanctuary. Tanith hadn’t been able to experience its full splendor. She stared in awe as they passed through each hall. Every few minutes, China would turn her head and chuckle at Tanith’s face. After traversing several flights of stairs, they reach a plain door. China taps a sigil on the wall and a soft click is heard. She opens the door and reveals a gorgeous greenhouse. Unlike China’s throne room, the sunlight in the greenhouse felt natural. The simple windows warmed her flesh and was calming. There were no mirrors reflecting the rays of sun into Tanith’s eyes.

   China sat at a black metal table, two plates of food rested on it. A bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries sat in the middle. China grabbed a fork and took a bite of the food on her plate. She swallowed her food and looked at Tanith. “Go on, eat. I didn’t order a second plate for no reason.”

   “You want me to eat with you?”

   “Do you want to starve?” China asked.

   “Well, no. I just thought I would have to eat somewhere else.”

   China smiled and shook her head. “No, most Sanctuary agents eat in their office. Since you don’t have one, I allow you to eat with me. For now, at least.”

   Tanith bit her lip to fight a silly smile. She sat at the chair across from China. They ate in silence. Tanith stared out of the greenhouse window and watched the birds fly by. It was pure luck that it happened to be sunny that day. She was getting tired of all of the rain and clouds.

   “May I admit something to you?”

   Tanith turned to China, who was holding a strawberry with her fingertips. Tanith nodded.

   “It was my idea for you to be my bodyguard. Silly, I know.”

   Tanith frowned. “Really?” Out of all of the things she expected of China, she did not expect the woman to give such a merciful punishment.

   “I was truly angry at you for destroying that vase. But I was more angry at myself for yelling at you. Out of all of the time we’ve spent together this century, we’ve just been bickering. Yes, we have fought together, but other than that? Nothing.”

   “Oh…”

   “What happened to us? We used to be so close.”

   Tanith’s mind wandered to the past. China’s hands running through her wild, coily hair. Lips mingling and eyelashes fluttering. Tanith grabbed a strawberry and bit into it. Despite the sweet taste, she was not distracted.

   “I’m being silly talking about all of this. You probably don’t want to talk about this nonsense, anyway.” China bit into her strawberry.

   “No, no! It’s fine.”

   China gave a sad smile and nodded. She stood and pushed her chair in. “Well, we better get back to work, yes? No need to spend our entire day talking about young love.”

   Tanith smiled and stood beside China. The woman glanced at Tanith. “You can have your sword back soon, by the way. I just need to do something with it first.”

   Tanith was slightly nervous about whatever China was going to do to her sword, but she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. China tapped a sigil in the room and walked out of the door. She gave one last smile to Tanith before returning to her calm yet serious state. Tanith walked confidently. Maybe this bodyguard job wasn’t as awful as she thought it was going to be.

[theflashdriver]

Bohemians of Crisis

This is another fic I wrote for Silvaze week a while back! It utilises the music prompt and focuses on the shift in Silver and Blaze’s dynamic both pre and post 06, little changes brought on by their different lives. I hope you enjoy!

As crisis city days went, today was peaceful. Blaze the cat, age 14, was reclined atop a battered leather couch, leafing her way through a poetry book. She and Silver had spent the last two weeks reinforcing the city's library and today they were, finally, settling in. Together they'd restored the brickwork, welded metal bars to the windows and established a defensive perimeter through the placement of destroyed vehicles. There was only one job left, the transportation of their belongings from their old home to their new one.

Silver was currently seeing to that. She could have been out there with him, but a single spare pair of hands wasn't comparable to the grasp psychokinesis granted him. While she would struggle, bags weighing her down as she leapt across rooftops, he could soar over it all; well out of harm's way. Were he not so focused on training and beating Iblis, the hedgehog could likely live the safest life of all the city's inhabitants. He could live on the rooftops and only descend in search of food, beyond the monsters' reach. Then again, if he chose to live like, he wouldn't have become her trusted partner.

Finding her thoughts had overcome her interest in poetry; Blaze set the book aside and reclined deeper into the couch. They'd only spent a handful of nights here, just yesterday moving a bed into the library's children's section, but she was already comfortable. While their hearts were always set on their grand goal, destroying Iblis once and for all, she knew it was important to enjoy these moments of respite. Their new home certainly allowed for this, every room contained stories and histories they'd never heard of let alone read. This library contained more entertainment than they'd ever need. The building was gigantic, two stories tall and only the upper west wing had been beyond saving. Naturally, some of the books had worn or burned beyond being readable but the majority had survived the end times.

She was considering rising, be it to seek out a more interesting tome or prepare a meal for her partner's return, when a ringing echoed through the halls. Immediately, Blaze recognised it. It was the ringing of a chandelier with fifteen bells bound to it in place of candles, the security system they had set up. Whenever the door was pushed open the bells would ring, alerting those inside to what may be an intruder. But Blaze had no idea if that was him or a wanderer or one of Iblis mon-

"Blaze, I've found something really cool! Come quick!" Through doors and walls, his voice had rung out louder than the bells. He was good at being loud when he wanted, be it calling out to her or shouting about saving the future.

Curiosity piqued, she began to make her way toward the library's entrance. She'd sat near the far end of the first floor's fiction section, the area specialising in older poetry and prose over the likes of novella or series fiction. Winding her way around bookshelf after bookshelf, she couldn't help but ponder on what he might have brought. It likely wouldn't be a practical object; he wouldn't be so excited for about a strong padlock or an unburned broom. He might've found clothes? The hedgehog didn't often wear much, but he'd found a handful of garbs he enjoyed wearing; a jumpsuit of some kind and an outfit from a lost Winter festival most notably.

Pushing past doors, she soon found herself at the library's entrance. All of their belongings had been abandoned at the entryway; books, toys, bed sheets, trinkets and clothes, split among suitcases, rucksacks and old burlap sacks. Whatever this 'thing' was, it was clearly important to him. Had it been something simple like clothes he would have brought them to her. No; this had to be bigger, stranger even.

She called out, "Silver? Where are you?"

"Over here! I've not gone far!" By the sound of his voice, he was through the door opposite to the one she'd exited; the more studious and scientific portion of the library.

Blaze soon arrived in the library's gigantic non-fiction section. The walls were stacked five metres high with books on subjects ranging from botany to architecture to cooking. Now in the same room as him, albeit a giant room with row upon row of desks and shelves blocking her vision, Blaze could hear the whir of his psychic aura and track its glowing light.

Her pace slowed as she rounded the bookshelves, what intrigued her most was that this item so clearly excited him yet was likely so impractical. Their choice to move into the library had been a difficult one, not only had the building required a lot of patchwork but its size made it an easy target. Despite that, they'd had their eyes on this building for years. Living here granted them access to books and games the likes of which they'd otherwise have to scavenge for, that made it the most comfortable building in town. New information and leisure were mere footsteps away at any given time. For him to have found a distraction that surpassed this, it hardly seemed possible. She noticed the light brighten with ever step and soon only one shelf lay between them.

No more than five steps later, Blaze immediately understood. The hedgehog had his back to her but that wasn't the first thing to catch her eye. Wrapped in psychic light and floating just beyond his reach was a grand piano, its stool sat just behind him. Of all the possible items, Blaze never would have considered this. A smaller instrument perhaps, something made of metal like a flute or something simple like drums, but never a lumbering grand piano. One thing was for certain, if it was intact, it was a find worthy of his overexcitement.

"Silver," With the call of his name she caught his attention, as he turned back his grin almost blinded her, "Where did you even find this?"

The hedgehog's eyes were alight with excitement; "There was a lot of activity so I had to take a different route. I flew past a giant skyscraper and saw it in one of the windows, I couldn't help myself!" He brought the great wooden mass to the ground once only to raise it again, as if unhappy with its exact positioning. Glancing to the surrounding bookshelves, Blaze determined that they were in the music section. Unintentional or not, he'd picked a fitting location.

Though such rules had been unenforced for at least two centuries, the irony of moving a musical instrument into the library wasn't lost on Blaze. She watched as he struggled to decide the right position for the large instrument, dragging it left and right through the air. Eventually, he settled near the far wall, quickly sliding the stool. Blaze knew what a piano was from depictions in a variety of books and, judging by those depictions, this piano wasn't in good shape.

The wood had lost most, if not all, of its lustre; though it was unburned the city's heat had warped the lid's wood and eroded much of its varnish. The keyboard wasn't missing any keys but she wouldn't say it was in good condition. They didn't sit on an even plane, many having sunk lower than was surely intentional and many being chipped. She stepped forward to glance inside only to find many of its strings had snapped, those seemed rather important to the function of the instrument. The chair wasn't much better for wear, what had surely once been an emerald green cushion was now torn and bleached a yellower shade.

Of course, that was to be expected; they were beggars rather than choosers and there wasn't much left to choose from anyway. Still, she had to ask, "It does work, doesn't it?"

"W-Well," His hand came to his chest fur and his eyes split from there, "Some of it does?"

Blaze allowed her amber eyes to bear down on him, "What do you mean some of it?"

"A little more than half of it?" He admitted, still pulling at his fluff, "That means it's most of them though, that's more than enough… I think."

Silver slid onto the stool, more of its fabric tearing as he did so. An expectant look was thrown her way. She rolled her eyes before lowering herself down next to him. Safe to say, the seat wasn't designed for two. While it managed to hold their weight her left hip was pressed against his right, even though she was fully sitting Blaze could tell he was half hanging off of the stool. The closeness was setting off… something in her chest, a strange warm fluttering of sorts. She felt him shift slightly and almost jumped, following his eye-line she found her tail had curled around and into his lap. Grumbling beneath her breath, she snatched it up; sitting on it to prevent any further wandering. With a final flick of his wrist, a book was pulled from the ground beside him, sliding into the piano's holder.

The pages were littered lines, numbers and squiggles sitting atop and between them. He stretched a little before lowering his fingers to the white keys, though he stopped himself before actually playing. His brow furrowed for a minute as if he was trying to remember something before finally the first sounds were played. She'd flinched as he started, a sound unlike any she'd ever heard echoing out from the device; the notes causing her ears to flutter. As he continued to play, fingers occasionally pressing the darker keys, she managed to settle somewhat. The noise was bizarre but not unappealing, questions about the music's origins and how it was meant to sound started trickling into her mind. Blaze couldn't help but notice he wasn't looking at the book, his eyes were constantly on the keys as he tried to play patterns he might well have made up upon finding the instrument. They were far from perfect, occasionally a note would fall out of place and he'd cringe; trying the piece again and again with a new note in place of the old.

She had to ask, "Do you know what you're doing, or are you just making it up as you go along?"

"Well… I can't really read the book," As he admitted that, his playing slowed, "But I thought that if I just kept trying I'd eventually figure it out?"

"I think that's highly unlikely," She truthfully answered, "I think you'd have far better luck creating your own songs."

"That sounds like way more fun!" His face lit up, "Just join in whenever you feel like it."

"Join in?" She blinked.

"Yeah, this isn't just for me after all," He was still beaming, clearly excited by this brand new toy, "You can play too, if you want?"

There wasn't enough space on the stool for them to sit comfortably, let alone on the keyboard for them to freely play together, but seeing a spark of excitement in his eyes and urged on by her own curiosity; Blaze pressed her first keys. Noticing her hesitation, he gave her a moment to test on her own. She quickly came to understand not only the point where the keys stopped working but the further along her side she went the higher the sounds were. Additionally, she discovered the speed notes were hit did affect their sound, if she pressed too slowly the note wouldn't sound but if she pressed much faster it would be louder.

Soon enough though his hands returned to the keys. As she'd anticipated, there wasn't nearly enough space. Their wrists and shoulders would constantly brush, hands crossing both over and under one another, as they slowly but surely grew more confident in their playing. Blaze was unsure how much time had past but, eventually, she started to feel more confident in her movements. She fully relaxed, a smile growing on her lips, and managed to play along.

Just as she thought they'd roughly synchronised, Silver's section came to a rather abrupt stop. Glancing to him, she found his hands had raised and wisps of blue-green aura were slipping from his fingertips, "Hang on, I've got an idea. I might be able to fix the other side."

There was a sound like the scraping of metal, followed by ringing and rumbling and rustling. It was almost as if some shining creature had entered the case of the piano. Leaning in slightly, Blaze managed to gaze through its open lid; she found the broken threads stretching toward one another, reaching out to reconnect to their parallel counterparts. Rust flaked from the wires like old paint being stripped from a wall, some of them were too warped to reach and thus a thin string of psychic energy came to connect their endpoints.

A smirk crossed her lips as she glanced back to watch him work, the way his quills bounced as he attempted to psychically hold the strings together and the sheer concentration on his face was a sight to behold. Following more than a little fiddling, twanging sounds occasionally emanating from the instrument's wooden hull, he pulled back.

A toothy grin graced his lips, "Alright, that should be the wires fixed? Well, not fixed but… you know."

Her fingers stumbled along the right keys, pressing each in sequence and uncovering brand new notes. Their tone didn't quite match the other half of the keys, but they were undeniably musical sounds. The further she travelled from his side the higher their pitch was. His aura's reverb was also granting the notes an almost ethereal quality; they echoed out and bounced against the walls and bookshelves. Now that they were able to play more independently the sound changed drastically. Their music was no longer so synchronised but with a wider range of notes to play, they were able to more thoroughly explore the instrument.

Of course, two people hammering at a piano together (without a plan or prior practice) didn't create the wondrous sound she imagined pianists could have in the past; but the noise was certainly fascinating. She supposed it made sense that the first time would be this way, as long as the instrument remained intact they'd be able to find combinations of sounds they liked; to grow as musicians even without a teacher. Perhaps, one day, they could play like those old pianists.

As her fingers continued to fall on those reconstructed keys, she couldn't help but think their unique twang sounded far more melodic than the hitched notes the regular keys played. Still unsure what she was doing, thoroughly unable to read the music sheet he'd set up, the feline's fingers glid across those ebony and ivory bars. She was producing some kind of melody certainly; finding keys that, when hit in the correct sequence, made a sound that bordered on appealing. Meanwhile, having had the chance to fiddle on his own before bringing the instrument home, Silver was producing something closer to what she thought good music might sound like. He'd found clusters of notes that seemed to flow into each other, the beginnings of a true melody even if they weren't quite a song. She couldn't help but throw glances to him as they played away, watching how his nose and brow would crumble whenever he misplayed and struggling to suppress her laugh. He was having fun but, like always, he wanted to excel; to truly to his best. His heart was so openly bared, be it in moments like these or his pursuit of their grand goal.

Curious, she gave a suggestion; "Why don't you try over here? I think your notes sound better than the piano's own."

She'd expected him to rise and swap places with her but, just as she had done to him earlier, he turned and leaned into her. Their cheeks bordered on touching, his shoulder brushed against hers and, once again, Blaze couldn't help feeling that flutter in her chest. When they'd first met she had been the taller of the two but now, without the boost of her heels, the difference was made clear. Discounting quills, he was a half-head taller than her at the very least. His long nose looked like it would about align with the jewel on her forehead and his shoulders had certainly become broader than hers.

Having caught herself staring, Blaze tore her eyes away; mumbling, "You're so naïve," as he stretched to reach even further across; head drawing closer as he, again, brushed against her.

With every keystroke she watched the symbols on his hands glimmer, resonating with the cords as they were plucked. Her assumption had been correct; as he played his tune in those higher sounding notes they succinctly flowed into one another. Every time he repeated a melody he seemed to grow more confident in it, short and sweet as they all were. His passion for the activity was clear, they'd come across musical instruments before of course but they'd never been in such good condition; much less on this scale. Things of the past drew both their attention, but they'd always fascinated him. From books to tools to toys to photographs and paintings, depicting nature and urban life alike, almost anything could catch his eye.

Blaze felt herself begin to slightly lean against him, matching the gentle brush of his shoulder as he played; "You're having fun, aren't you?"

A dusting of red covered his cheeks, surely at her words rather than touch; "It's just so strange… but in a good way, you know? I've never heard anything like this, I've never done anything like this," Despite his bashfulness, the hedgehog continued to play. He kept changing his tempo and trying new combinations.

There was a lot of truth to his words. Without backing music to understand the flow and cadence they'd never even sung before, outside occasional out of tune joke. Nursery rhymes were passed down family lines of course, but they could never know how accurate they truly were. To them, music was a lost art.

More words cut off her train of thought, "There's not really any point in playing music, it's not like it'll help us beat Iblis," Despite the sombre words he spoke, the hedgehog was still smiling, "Despite that though… I still want to do it. That's probably pretty naïve, isn't it?"

Blaze's fingers returned to the keyboard; her hands crossing over and under his in a much closer proximity, "No, but that was," Out the corner of her eye, she caught chagrin twitch across his brow and his blush redden, "Rest is important and we should find things we enjoy, both to take the edge off and well… for afterwards, of course. For whatever you want to do when it's all over," The music slowed, their wrists brushed again but this time their fingers came to intertwine, "I've got no idea what I'll do…"

She felt him squeeze her hand, their eyes met as the music fully stopped; bright yellow orbs mingling with her amber set, "What we'll do when it's all over," he corrected. Was he getting closer? There'd been no more than inches between them, perhaps it was just that he'd turned, "Whatever you decide you want to do, I want to do it with you. You're my partner, I want to stay with you forever."

Blaze had to look away, but her eyes only found their linked hands. She felt her temperature skyrocket, "That's even more naïve. If you already know what you want to do so I'll be the one to do it with you."

"Well, I don't know if I want to play the piano all the time. It's just kind of… nice, you know? It's not like we'll defeat Iblis and I'll end up sitting here all the time," He tried to explain, "I'll just do it… whenever it feels right. There's no reason to force it."

Those words resonated far more than she anticipated; she curled her thumb to top his. Despite the gesture, Blaze could only muster a two-word response; "So naïve…"

----

Silver was excited to spend another day in the Sol Dimension. Less than two weeks ago the hedgehog had fallen through space and time; arriving by happenstance at a strange cluster of islands ruled over by a feline he now knew a better than he'd ever known anyone. Remembering their erased history been a bizarre, bordering on traumatic, experience (initiated by the accidental touch of a hand) but he was more than happy to have remembered Blaze; let alone find her safe.

Since his arrival, he'd been on a brief break from fixing the future. He'd been living in a bizarre wooden hut that belonged to a friend of hers, sleeping in a hammock and venturing to the palace every day. Some days Blaze would take him to visit an island, on occasion they'd try a modern activity but often their time was spent lounging in the palace library. She'd work away at royal duties while he flipped through books, idle conversation flitting through the air. Despite her workload limiting them, they were able to enjoy each other's company. He was excited to see what today would bring, but more than that he was excited to see her again. Having scarfed down a quick breakfast, he quickly exited his temporary abode.

The sound of waves filled his ears, the smell of salt was strong in the air and the sky was both blue and clear. He wasn't quite living on the beach, rather just a stone's throw from it, but he'd come to love the sea. Sailing, hunting for seashells and so much more; this island nation had already claimed a space in his heart. Still, he didn't have time to dawdle; stretching in the morning sun he set off toward the castle… only to be immediately stopped by his housemate.

Blaze's friend, Marine the raccoon, was hammering away at the house; patching a hole she'd surely created herself.

"G'day mate, where's she draggin' you off for today?" She greeted and asked, "Maybe she'll take you up the mountains, maybe around the coral caves…" She answered again before he could even think, "Or maybe she'll treat ya to another doctor's appointment."

Silver cringed at that. While his days spent with Blaze were often simple fun, there had been exceptions to this rule. Yesterday was an example of that, the hedgehog's left arm was still more than a little limp from the various blood tests and vaccinations she'd insisted he have. Coming from a destroyed future, modern medicine had been entirely inaccessible to him, thus Blaze had seen fit to schedule a full check-up. To make matters worse, as that appointment ended, she'd dragged him off to the dentist; making certain his teeth were in tact. Silver knew it'd all be good for him in the long run, and afterwards they had returned to the library, but the thought of a repeat sent shivers down his spine.

"Good morning Marine, and not this time. She promised me we'd do something fun after all that," Silver explained, "I don't know what we're doing today but I'm sure it'll be great!"

"Sure mate, that's what she wants you to think," The raccoon grinned, blue eyes mischievously sparkling, "She's lullin' ya into a false sense of security. She's a cat, after all. She likes to play with her prey a lil' before pouncing."

A second shudder ran up his spines and, before he could stop himself, he blurted out a response, "Blaze would never do that!"

Rather than admit she was wrong, the little girl dropped to the ground. Her tools were cast aside and snorting laughter freely flying from her throat, "Honestly mate, you're so gullible. Only been here two weeks and already you're tied around my finger," She struggled to sit up, "I'm sure you'll have a bonza time with her, regardless of what torture she has planned."

"I was always told naïve more than gullible…" He still wasn't used to the young raccoon girl, so excited for adventure and quick to tell jokes, but he understood she was more than harmless. Quills relaxing, he managed a quick goodbye, "I'll see you later Marine, try not to hurt yourself."

"If I do, I'm sure you'll hear about it!" She called out, managing to return to her work; ranting and raving to herself about the inevitable voyages she'd lead.

He took to the air, gliding over the island's market town. The stalls were just starting to open, students were heading to school while their parents rushed to work. Despite having been here for two weeks, Silver still got his fair share of stares as he soared by. He wondered if the townsfolk would get used to him. The flight to the palace didn't take more than ten minutes, the island itself wasn't particularly big, but as he drew closer a sound caused his ears to flicker. Between the wind and the hum of his power he couldn't make it out but upon his landing it became clear. Music was being played in the palace. Someone was playing a piano. He'd landed in the gardens, planning to enter through the back door and avoid causing a fuss, but having passed through the hedgerows he found a koala blocking the doorway. Gardon, head of the royal guard… not that Blaze much needed one.

"Silver," He nodded a greeting, "I take it you're here to see the princess again."

"Who?" Silver blinked before quickly realising, "O-Oh, yes, Blaze! Yes, I am."

"She's not in the library, but I'm sure you'll manage to find her," The elder explained, turning and unlocking the door, "Just follow the music."

It was only as the door closed behind him that he realised what he'd been told, he was to follow the music to Blaze? But then, did that mean she was the one playing? He racked his thoughts and remembered the stories he'd read about princes and princesses, that there were often parties with lots of dancing. They were named balls, if his memory served? Perhaps this was like that? Regardless, the sound now had his full attention. It was wonderful, unlike anything he'd ever heard.

Silver followed the music up stairs, down hallways and around various bends until finally, he arrived at a door. He immediately reached for its brass handle but, as he did, he noticed a small metal plaque was affixed just left of the door. It simply read 'Music Room.' Bracing himself Silver pushed inside, the music he already thought was blaring grew louder still but its source overwhelmed his senses before the sound itself could. Blaze was sat at the far end of a large room, various instruments hung on the wall and music books neatly shelved. Of course, she was sat in front of a grand piano. It was as he'd first thought; she was the one playing it.

With his arrival, Blaze brought the song to a close. She slowly turned back to face him, "Whenever it feels right," Words spoken in another time and place ringed in his head. There was a smile on her face, her fangs were just barely visible, "I thought now seemed like such a time…"

He approached without hesitation, gawking at the piano in front of him. It was like the one they'd played, made from dark wood and having brass embellishments, yet to compare the two seemed ridiculous. The light bounced off its varnished surface and the wood was entirely free from scuffs. He reached past her, drawing a finger across its lid and finding it perfectly smooth.

Having convinced himself it was real, Silver finally slid down next to her, almost jumping back up as their outer thighs brushed. He hurriedly tried to explain his state, "I-I don't think I've touched one of these in this lifetime."

Her smile remained, "Well," Her fingers danced from left to right, playing the scale, "In this one, I've picked up a thing or two. I started lessons as a child, I don't remember much enjoying my music classes but…" As though it was the easiest thing in the world, she pressed the keys and drew forth a sweet tune, "With my renewed hindsight, I suppose there was some worth to them."

His jaw slacked as he watched and listened, her elegant fingers running wild and free across the keys; plucking from them sounds he'd never heard before. He'd heard music in his visits to the past of course but he'd never witnessed it being played, let alone by someone he knew. It'd always just been blaring from radios or phones, distractions passing by.

Blaze continued to explain, nodding to the papers in front of him, "I can read those sheets now, they're not nearly as complicated as they look," He felt something on his far side, glancing down he found her tail had coiled up and around his waist, "Just… join in whenever you want."

He watched her for just a little longer, coming to understand the patterns she was following and the regions of keyboard her hands tended toward. Of course, a side effect of this was finally understanding how truly enamoured he was with the sight of her playing. She had lived a peaceful enough life that she could dedicate time to this. He knew this world wasn't free of harm, but it was so much more peaceful than anything he'd ever known. That wasn't the only reason he stared of course, the longer he did the more he felt a strange warmth in his chest that threatened to spread across his cheeks and up his ears. He'd noticed it many times before but it only seemed to happen when they were alone together. As it grew too much to bear, he took it as a sign he should join her.

He started by playing on two keys, doing little more than alternating between them, and beginning to reflect on what he'd done before. There was no trick to pressing the keys, the sound was simply cleaner than that of the rusted strings he'd used and repaired. Slowly, but surely, he became more comfortable; reaching further to play. More and more frequently their arms would cross and the melodies they'd made in that past life came trickling to the surface. Of course, having been played on a broken piano, some of the tunes weren't quite as melodic as he recalled but others sounded a thousand times better.

Given time their shoulders would push closer together, their heads would rest against one another's and the sound of their shared music, fragmented and messy as it often was, would echo across the palace grounds.

[magic5ball]

Nature Trail to Hell Arc II: Watt Outta Hell (8)

Chapter 8: A Dik-Dik Screws us Over

 If there’s one thing you need to know about the WEEB life, it’s that it doesn’t last.

The day things came tumbling down, F-Bomb and I were just sittin’ in front of the T.V. watching reruns of F-Bomb’s personal favorite series, Sailor Moon high on WEEB (we were using F-Bomb’s favorite method: eating it straight from a bowl covered in milk). As for Sailor Moon (F-Bomb’s pillow, that is), she was sitting propped up on the bed so she could look at the T.V., too. Of course, F-Bomb had insisted that he didn’t like Sailor Moon that much and was only doing it for his girl’s sake, but I dunno. I’d get embarrassed watching myself get beat up and bailed out last minute by a hot guy in a suit for the hundredth time.

           Now, when we did these things, I should remind the audience we always watched with subtitles. The first reason was it delivered a more authentic experience that wasn’t dumbed down by an idiot who wouldn’t know a donut from a rice ball if either got lodged in his throat. The second reason was F-Bomb would always, always, always start ranting about his personal problems to Sailor Moon and me. And on that particular day, the topic was how everyone was being an ungrateful jerk to Sailor mini-Moon.

“Like, everyone says ‘Oh, she’s so annoying! Oh, she’s so mean!’ But I know the real reason they all hate her: it’s ‘cause she’s short! She’s small, and clueless, and scared, so they think they can pick on her!”

At times like this, Moon and I would just focus on the screen and roll our eyes. Maybe add in an “Uh-huh.” To look like we were listening. Frankly, I just liked Sailor Mini Moon ‘cause she was cute, but F-Bomb? He always, and I mean always had to go into a five paragraph essay about this stuff.

“And maybe if those noobs were paying attention, they’d realize that she might just be lonely ‘cause she’s been sent back in time with a bunch of weirdos she barely knows, struggling to find her place in the world, while they keep putting her down just ‘cause she’s a kid!”

There was an awkward silence in the room as F-Bomb took several seconds of deep breaths.

“Anyways, what do you think, Moon?”

Silence.

“Moon!?”

Again, nothing. And not just Moon’s usual silence, either. This was deep silence. The kind that eats up all the noise in a room.

F-Bomb paused the DVD and we turned around. Sailor Moon was gone.

For the first time, I saw F-Bomb on the verge of tears. His whole body trembled with shock.

“OhPorecelainGodOhPorecelainGodOhPorecelainGodOhPorecelainGod…”

Thinking fast, I brightened the dim lights. The good news was we found her, resting on her side in a corner of the room. The bad news was she was trapped in the diabolically adorable hooves of none other than Weena.

F-Bomb slowly pulled his machine gun out from under the bed; pointed it directly at Weena. “PUT. MY GIRL. THE FORK. DOWN.”

Weena, not giving a crap,  used her hind leg to scratch behind her ear. It was the most adorable freakin’ thing I’d ever laid eyes on. But like most adorable things in the underworld, Weena had a dark side. Mere seconds later the furry abomination was ripping the corner of Sailor Moon with her tiny widdle teeth, pulling out the soft clouds of cotton that made up Moon’s life force. It took all my strength not to hurl. F-Bomb wasn’t as lucky. Before he could pull the trigger on his gun, he was coughing his WEEB up all over the floor, leaving a sickly rainbow puddle at his feet. If anybody was going to fix this mess, it would have to be me. Granted, my mind was whirring a million miles a minute, mostly through stupid anime references, but gosh darn it, I had to do something before Sailor Moon became Weena’s latest chew toy. My legs began trembling, like they usually do when I’m nervous. I reached for my machine gun- only for my eyes make contact with Weena’s. The moment I stared into those, dark, sunken, adorable orbs I found myself unable to pull the trigger. My eyes darted, searching for something slightly less lethal. This turned out to be a very shiny rock resting on F-Bomb’s bookshelf with all his anime figurines. Grabbing it, I flung it near Weena, just enough to scare her away. Yet somehow, someway, I hit my mark square on the leg, leaving a thin red line running down it. At first I cheered, having finally done something right. Then the cheering stopped as I remembered that whenever I thought I did anything right, it usually meant I did something horribly wrong. And who better to affirm my crippling doubts that recently awakened F-Bomb!

“Y-you forkin’ idiot…” he grumbled. “What have you done?!”

Despite Weena’s wound looking like nothing worse than a paper cut (though to be fair, I once spent an entire day in the school nurse’s office because of one) she really put on a show. She’d dramatically dragged her body away from Sailor Moon, leaving only the faintest trail of blood behind, finally resting with her legs in the air and her tongue rolling out of her mouth. My triumph was now ice cold dread. I’d killed Weena! The spirit that kept the entire gang alive! The closest thing the boss had to a girlfriend! If A-Hole found out about this, getting caught smoking WEEB would be the least of my worries. But there was one thing I could do. Swallowing my last shred of pride, I prepared to deliver the breath of life to Weena’s lips. Only for F-Bomb to grab my ankle.

“Oh, for fork’s sake, ya moron. Weena ain’t dead!”

“She’s not?!” Relief shot through me as I realized my first kiss might not have to be a Dik-Dik after all.

“For starters, you barely scratched the girl. Second, and listen close, this is real important.” I leaned in close, eager to hear what wisdom my friend had to dispense. “WE’RE IN HELL, YOU FORKIN’ MORON! WE JUST REGENERATE WHEN WE DIE! HOW DO YOU NOT REMEMBER THIS?!” Several deep breaths later, he continued, his mind slowly sobering up from the WEEB. “A-and to top it all of, of all the weapons on my shelf, you had to use my mint-condition, authentic CashMoney Stone! Do you know what forkin’ happens to anyone hit by that thing?!”

“Uh… something?” Specifically, Weena had dropped her façade and now faced us, lightning bolts flashing in her eyes. Literally. Left sparks on the floor and everything.

F-Bomb sighed. “Just look at it this way: we’re not getting Moon back without a fight!”

           The second he finished, Weena charged us, a trail of thunderbolts in her wake. F-Bomb and I tried to dodge, but the little raptor wasn’t able to get his tail out of the way fast enough. He let out a screech of pain as his feathers stood up end on end before crumpling on the ground like a thanksgiving turkey. I tried to run, only to realize my hair was standing on end. There would be no escaping the judgement of the Dik-Dik. Satisfied she’d fried us into chicken dinner, Weena went right on back to pulling the stuffing out of Sailor Moon. You should have seen it. Man, it was GRIZZLY! Of course, even being reduced to a barbeque turkey wasn’t enough to stop the ‘Bomb, especially when his waifu was on the line.

“Watt” he croaked, “if there was ever a forking time I wanted you to do me a genuine solid and not fork everything up, now is the forking time! Now, if I’m right (and you know I forking am), Weena was pokevolved into Weenachu. She can cover anything around her in static electricity, and it gets stronger the closer you are to her body!”

“So we just moisterize our skin?” I asked, remembering something my science teacher taught me.

“Is that what our forkin’ schools are teaching kids these frokin’ days? No wonder American education has gone down the forkin’ tubes! No, ya forkin’ dingbutt! Weren’t ya payin’ attention when I told you about Pokémon? Electric types are weak ta grass types! And I have the most powerful kinda grass in the world right under my bed! While I’m going ta get it, I need you ta get the largest piece of plant matter I own.”

An audible gasp escaped my mouth, almost enough to alert Weena. “Y-you mean, we have to sacrifice our secret WEEB stash?! But I-”

“No, you forking moron! I mean my Naruto Omnibus. Like Hell I’m giving up WEEB!”

The Naruto Omnibus. An epic saga consisting of every Naruto chapter ever published (including spin off series)! It was wider than I was tall and consisted of more pages than the complete works of Shakespeare, Tolkien, and Dr. Seuss combined. As I crept down the shelf, I wondered why Weena wasn’t doing everything. Didn’t take long to find out why, though, ‘cause the closer I inched to the sacred tome, the closer I got to Weena,  the more every single hair on my body stood on end, tingling with electrical power, reminding me all too much of the time I crawled up a slide. One bad move, and I could be sparked out of existence. And through this suffering, I could only watch as Weena tore the stuffing out of Sailor Woon and sleep in the cottony aftermath. After what felt like an hour, I finally made it to my destination: the giant omnibus that took up an entire shelf worth of space. So of course then was when I realized I couldn’t carry the thing in my wildest dreams! When I tried to signal F-Bomb about this, he just gave a thumb (though it was more like a finger) up and tossed his secret weapon out from under the bed: a single floret of giga-broccoli. Weena sniffed it tepidly, then, doubting it was a threat swallowed it whole. Keep in mind the little Dik-Dik was a vegetarian, so her head didn’t exactly explode, but based on the way her pupils expanded, it was definitely having some kind of effect on her.

F-Bomb gave me a middle finger from under the bed. It was time to act.

With all the strength I could muster I took that omnibus and slammed it right on top of Weenna. A loud thud, like thunder, shook the room as the tome hit its’ target squashing her flatter than a pancake on Jupiter. When F-Bomb and I finally removed the tome, all that remained was a pink stain that smelled like cotton candy and baby kittens. To the last (until she regenerated, at least), Weena had been absolutely adorable. What wasn’t adorable was the loud sound of footsteps coming from the entrance tunnel.

“Hey, guys, I was wondering if either of you had se- OHMYPORECELAINGODWHATDIDYOUDOTOMYWEENA???!!!”

“Get the fork off our case, boss.” Muttered F-Bomb “It ain’t her. Just Turdsy here spilled his strawberry milk while was was learnin’ to vivisect caribou!” I had to hand it to F-Bomb, when he wasn’t being a curse spouting, animu hoarding spazz, he could really hold his own under pressure.

A-Hole sniffed the air with his undeceiveable Deinono nose.

“You smell that, you forkin’ turds? That’s definitely baby kittens and smiles. You guys can’t forkin’ fool me!” For a split second, I saw an expression that looked jarringly out of place on A-Hole. The rest of the gang, if you ever meet them, will deny it ever happened, but I know what I saw, and what I saw was…

A-Hole crying, a single tear sliding down his hideous, scaly face. “Now how am I supposed to attract the babes?!”

“Oh, for fork’s sake, you forkin’ baby! We’re in forkin’ Hell! She’ll probably forkin’ regenerate in a few days and show up somewhere random like she always forkin’ does!” cried F-Bomb, mustering up one final insult before our inevitable doom. Or destroying any chance A-Hole might have mercy on us, depending on your point of view.

To which A-Hole cried “It’s not the same after regeneration!”

           As for me, I stared at the pink splatter on the floor, trying to imagine my life was flashing before my eyes for a good reason and not because A-Hole was gonna give it to us. Sailor Moon still sat in the corner, stuffing pulled out, injured but alive. And just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse (something I really need to stop doing) A-Hole sniffed the air.

“Wait a second, is that…”

F-Bomb, at last, broke. “I-I dunno what the fork you’re talkin’ about! Just take us to our punishment already! N-nothing to hide anymore, no siree!”

Too late. By the time F-Bomb had finished his sentence, our verdict had been laid down by A-Hole, our private judge, jury, and executioner.

One look. Just one look at the stuff was all he needed to know.

All he did was point a single finger-claw at us; the rage in the room palpable “Come to my office.” He beckoned.