#Will I get another set of tavs done before the end of the month?

[a2zillustration]

Baby's first mass attack because I was running out of time and just wanted to get some Tavs down on metaphorical paper! A collection of durges from my bookmarks, I just think they're neat! Lumi for Luxthelost, Helene for @heleneplays, Jesiah for ghxstt, and Avis for @birmit

[noisycroissant]

As You Wish

Astarion x Female Tav

It had been six months of domesticity. Six months spent setting up a home in the Underdark, teaching wayward, borderline feral vampire spawn to be "human" again. Six months of organising books and scrolls and knick-knacks pilfered along your travels.

The first six months of peace Astarion had known in two centuries.

And then the letter had come and everything changed.

********

He'd sensed something was wrong on their journey back from the get-together. He could feel Tav's brain churning, the cogs and wheels that made her brain so brilliant turning and spinning with anxiety.

The dread in his belly bloomed the longer she said nothing was wrong.

Of course everything was wrong. It was him, wasn't it? Six months she'd been cloistered away and now she'd seen the others and he'd bet his best set of lock-picking tools that that wizard had somehow succeeded in charming his way into her heart.

He hated himself for thinking the last part. Tav wouldn't. Not his beloved Tav. Tav promised to love him and be loved by him forever. He shouldn't think so lowly about her.

But then why in god's name does she seem miles away from him?

*******

Astarion knew that she wasn't reading. Sure the book was open, her fingers held the next page ready, but she'd been staring at the same paragraph for the last ten minutes.

She'd been holed up in her study since they'd returned. It was the first time in the two days since they'd been back that he'd been able to coax her into coming to bed with him.

This had to end. So he decided to do something he'd promised himself he'd never do again.

He gently kissed her shoulder, "Tav?"

Another kiss. And another, moving to her neck. "Taav..." he whispers, grazing the shell of her ear with a sharp fang, "Sweetheart, I've been so lonely..."

"Mmhm, yes dear, give me a moment, I'll be right with you," says Tav as she moves to sit up.

And the dam fucking burst in his chest.

He jumps up and kneels in front of Tav, grabbing her hands, tears filling his deep-set eyes, anger stopping them from spilling over.

"What did I do?! Tell me what I did! Please!! I'm sorry. Whatever it was that I did, I'm so sorry."

Tav's face changes from surprise to confusion to realisation.

"Oh? OH! Oh sweetheart," she says, hugging him, bringing his head to her chest, "You've done nothing wrong. Oh my dearest, I'm so sorry... I've been mulling over something, I never knew I was hurting you! Astarion, my darling, I'm sorry I let you think you did something to hurt me. Won't you forgive me?" Tav presses kisses into his soft hair while hugging him tighter.

The relief that washed over him was indescribable. He hadn't done anything. Of course Tav would tell him if he had. They'd promised each other no more secrets. This is what trust is. He had to trust her to tell him whatever it was that was bothering her; he could take it.

"Tell me what's been bothering you. Please, Tav... I..need to know," he asks, holding her face and looking into her eyes.

*******

"So you miss travelling?"

"Not just that, Astarion. I miss it all! Not knowing where tomorrow will take us, who we're going to meet, where we'd be bunking for the night...And all the new things to learn out there. The books, the scrolls, the secret chambers under some shady tavern!"

"Next you'll tell me you miss eating four apples and stale toast for dinner," Astarion deadpans, moving to hold Tav closer under the quilts.

"I sort of do actually," Tav replies sheepishly.

"What I cannot understand is why? Look what we have, Tav. A home. A spawn family of sorts."

Tav strokes his cheek as she replies, "Before the tadpole...before you...my life was so.. plain. Just reading and taking notes and helping with experiments in that stuffy tower. The occassional trip to Candlekeep. And then everything happened. You happened. I cannot stop thinking how it would be if it were just us going on our own adventure. What would we find? Who would we help? What would we learn?"

"What shiny things would we steal?" Astarion offers helpfully.

"Of course! I mean...we do need to get by. Can't carry all our money around and risk getting mugged," Tav shoots back, a glint in her eye.

"As if anyone could mug us," Astarion scoffs.

"Do you remember our first time? Down by that clearing near the Grove?"

"You mean your first time," Astarion corrects you saucily.

"Oh hush! I remember looking up at you, you hair contrasted with the dark sky, all those stars like a child had flung sugar. And your face. I remember thinking how beautiful the view was. How a mediocre sorcerer ended up seeing something so beautiful was beyond me."

Astarion moves to straddle Tav, his face inches away from hers, "You are anything but mediocre. You're brilliant, amazing, a genius even, dare I say it. You saved us all. You saved...me." He kisses her fiercely as if to prove his point.

******* A month later *******

Astarion watches as Tav moves above him. Sweet moans bubble up her throat as she chases her release, her hands gripping his shoulders harder the closer she gets. He sucks a finger and moves it to her clit, gently circling it, and watches as his beloved comes undone.

Her beautiful face in contrast to the dark sky and sugar-flung stars.

"That is a sight to remember," he murmurs to himself as he holds Tav closely, listening to her heart beat for him.

[atrueneutral]

The Viability of Cheesomancy (Raphael x Tav)

—-

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I do. It’s time to put an end to this nonsense.”

“Raphael,” Tav said seriously. “You’re asking to die.”

“Stop stalling, Little Mouse.”

Were there other mice around, Tav would have looked like the greediest of rodents as she stood in the middle of a grassy clearing with three wheels of Waterdhavian cheese at her feet. The wheels were not her doing; Raphael thought to surprise her by stealing her away, and he’d summoned the stack with a snap of his fingers alongside the challenge that she use them.

Not eat them.

Use them (as the deadly weapons she claimed they were) against him - the winged and horned fiend who dared to question the legitimacy of Cheesomancy.

“One is all I need,” Tav said while picking up the first hefty wheel.

The fiend smirked, “We will see.”

Compared to her daggers, the unwrapped cheese was dense and slippery, and both hands were necessary if she was to feasibly wield the wheel.

Odds told her defeat was imminent, but months of good-natured debate culminated to this point of actually needing to prove her point - that she was right, and he was wrong.

Therefore Tav was going to do her damndest to kill her lover.

A dramatic battle cry was released into the morning air, and her feet charged Raphael’s position, the wheel raised over her shoulder, prepared to smash a horned head.

Snap!

The wheel exploded into cheesy bits and pieces with a blast of fire and heat.

Tav momentarily froze in place, her hands holding nothing before she calmly spun around to grab the second wheel.

“Now that we’re warmed up…” she confidently announced.

There was a huff of a reply behind her.

For this subsequent round, Tav strategically held the newest wheel close to her chest - the hope being that Raphael wouldn’t risk harming her should he again desire to use magic.

“Ready?” Tav asked.

“For you? Always.”

Her lips quirked a fraction at his sentiment and she charged at the fiend once more, raising the wheel only when she was within arm’s reach of him-

Two clawed hands were quick in arresting her wrists, stopping her in place.

“Cheeseomancy is nothing but a crackpot concept,” he declared while using his strength to pry her hands away from the sleek surface of the cheese - the weight of which fell onto her shoulder before falling into the grass with a soft thump.

Raphael gently lifted her from the ground, and her eyes met a pair that burned like fire. “There is no worth to be found aside from the author who prospers from fools who buy his book.”

“I didn’t buy it,” Tav retorted.

He rolled his eyes and brought her in for a quick kiss on her lips. “My little thief.”

After setting her down, he stepped around her.

“‘One is all I need,’” he said mockingly. Raising a boot, he destroyed the second wheel with jingling force and thusly nodded for the last wheel.

Tav scowled as she shamefully walked back to retrieve her last wheel - her final hope.

“This is it,” she said to herself and the cheese she held.

“If you would be so kind, dearest - I have appointments I must get to.”

Tav’s eyes flicked up to the devil, and she sprinted for him without warning, the cheese kept low and against her abdomen. Similar to her second attempt, she feigned raising the wheel…

Raphael bought into the feint, his hands moving to intercept!

With foresight and speed, she ducked out of the way, her hands jerking downwards to then mightily jab the cheese upwards into his stomach. Raphael groaned as breath was ejected from his lungs. Not done yet, Tav maneuvered under a wing and rammed the wheel against the back of his knee, causing his weight to buckle.

The fiend fell to his knees, providing Tav a golden window of opportunity…

She hastily stood behind her foe and Waterdhavian was lifted into the air!

“Another crown for you!” Tav crowed with delight as she aimed for his horns.

Raphael suddenly twisted, enough power behind his wing to knock her aside. Stumbling to catch herself, the wheel slipped from her grip, and it began to roll away.

Tav went for it-

Snap!

And her last weapon of Waterdhavian exploded with hellfire.

She frowned as fiery, cheesy remains rained down.

“A valiant effort,” Raphael said in approaching her side. “And with this defeat, I expect to hear no more about the folly of Cheesomancy.”

Tav settled against him with a sigh, her arms wrapping around his middle. “It wasn’t a total loss…”

She glanced up at him with a smirk as her hand playfully patted his stomach.

Raphael’s eyes narrowed. “It’s a fault of mine that I seek to indulge you.”

“And I love you for it.”

Her beloved fiend hummed in satisfaction.

—-

[vixstarria]

Kinktober Day 9 - Spanking

For every day of the month of October I will be posting a little snippet following prompts listed in this post. Most of these will not be full fics, but rather short snippets, set-ups, and, in a few cases, copied bits and pieces of fics I have already published. But, if there is a lot of interest and feedback on any of the snippets, they might just evolve into full fics, so keep that in mind.

Disclaimer: I've posted this before, it is a snippet from my Tav x Astarion x Halsin fic Sweat

The three lounged on a sofa in the house they had claimed for themselves. At one end, Halsin was busy with some ledgers that had been dumped on him - gods only knew why, he didn’t have a head for this kind of work. At the other, Astarion was likewise quietly busy with some novel, biding his time until the last rays of the sun hid. He would be out the door for a hunt the moment it was safe for him. Asmodea sprawled between them, her head on Astarion’s lap, her legs thrown over one of Halsin’s thighs.

Gods, but she was bored.

She regarded Halsin and the open misery written on his face as he tried to reconcile… What was it? Purchase orders of masonry and tools, against what had actually been recorded as delivered, against what had been charged.

Her bare foot slid between Halsin’s legs and pressed into his crotch, through his breeches.

“Could it be one of the missing hammers is here..?”

“Not now, my heart,” was his response.

She continued to lightly rub her foot against the bulge.

“Or is this one of the pillars..?”

“I must finish this before tomorrow,” he said, though he did not shift away from her, and had indeed begun to harden beneath her prodding.

“My, it’s erecting all by itself, why have we bothered to order any supplies at all when we have such marvels at hand?”

“You are truly testing my patience today,” he said in a low growl.

The ledger went flying across the room as she kicked it out of Halsin’s hands. The druid’s nostrils flared and he gave her a smouldering look.

“I warned you.”

She squealed as she found herself suddenly yanked by her leg down the sofa, off Astarion’s lap.

“Astarion!!” she laughed, reaching for him.

“No, no darling, you poked the bear and brought this upon yourself,” he said, unaffected, turning a page. “Now you must face the consequences.”

Halsin pulled her onto his own lap, flipping her onto her stomach, holding her down firmly with one hand, and pulling her pants down with the other.

“You brute! Just what do you think you’re doing?!” she cried out, trying not to laugh.

Halsin, though a generous, attentive and passionate lover, was not ordinarily one for such games, and getting him into a state of mind for one was a rare treat.

A loud sound resonated through the room, as a smack landed on one of her ass cheeks.

“I am teaching you a lesson.”

It could have been much harder, the druid was holding back, as per usual.

“How dare you?! Release me at once, you savage,” she cried, her voice faltering on the last word, as Halsin delivered another smack.

Astarion shifted where he lounged, now watching them through lidded eyes.

“It’s no use, you know - you’re just throwing more oil on the flames.”

Asmodea gasped as Halsin’s hand slid between her legs, stroking her.

“You’re right. Should I cease?”

She struggled and kicked but remained securely restrained by the druid, his digits now slipping inside her rapidly moistening hole.

“Absolutely not. You must remain steadfast and determined. Perhaps double down on your efforts until you see a result.”

The hand between her legs left and delivered a series of blows on her rear, the slaps now having a sting to them. Asmodea moaned between each one.

She looked at Astarion with her best round-eyed pleading face. His own book had been discarded as well.

“Star? My love? My sweet? Are you just - ah! - going to let him do this to me?!”

“There there, my love… I’ll kiss it better once he’s done with you.”

My Kinktober masterlist and prompts post

[alistairssock]

For any Tav you want: 5. Did your Tav have any formal or informal employment? If yes, what was their job? If no, how did they make ends meet? How did they feel about it? 7. What circumstances led to your Tav becoming their Class/Subclass? 18. What is your Tav’s greatest fear?

Had to let this ask simmer for a while to ponder out some stuff I haven't really thought about (appreciate the ask tho, it has pushed my mind into new paths and directions, so something's taking form lore-vise!) Only gonna do for Tumbleweed right now, but might add on other characters as well later, just because it gets my thoughts churning (but it's late now so'll stick to this) 5. My boy was pretty much straight out of wizard apprenticeship and tossed himself into the real word with not much going for him than magic tricks to show off. He had to experience living on his own for the first time, which set him out on a personal quest to learn how to be a better cook. It's not like his wizard study years never thought him any useful life skills, but he just hadn't used them for only himself before; he'd been dependent on community all this time. He took small jobs here and there where it was needed, and was generally motivated and up for pulling his part. He got by just enough to rent a little place here and there, but mostly stuck to camping as it's what's most familiar to him (ties in with the outlander background; but that's for another post since it may seem opposing to his scholarly life). Eventually made his way to Balur's Gate where he lived a few 3 months before the main events started. There he helped out in the kitchen at an orphanage, and was rather content with that job. Staff were nice, the kids were nice, and he got to do two of the things he likes the best; cooking and being of use

7. This one is harder because I keep thinking about it a lot and my brain only says "he was naturally skilled with magic from an early age", and then doesn't care to elaborate or fill in any gaps there. But if we follow that 'canon' for now, that is pretty much it. He's always been a curious guy and the curiosity of his current self is no match to his child self. Fucked around and found out, connected easily to the weave, insurmountable thirst for knowledge (aka New Special Interest Unlocked), and the rest is history (he's just talented, I need to brag about him)

18. His greatest fear might just be not to surmount to anything, that his efforts have been wasteful and that nothing he's done - despite his best efforts - truly has no meaning in the end. Idk what possessed me to write that bcz it's uh prettty sad, but he has a lot of doubts and issues that overlap into severe insecurities, he's really just a guy who's constantly going through it, he's not okay

[alpaca-clouds]

NaNoWriMo Day 2

Alright, did not get around to writing so much today, because I spend 5 hours in the hospital. Not because I am sick (I mean, I got a cold, but nothing major), but because I am finally getting testosterone! Well, not quite yet. I had the preliminary examinations on it today and will get my stuff later this month.

So, only two chapters for me. Including one of the completely nightmare scenarios of having a dialogue scene with twelve characters. Damn my silly bard Tav and his tendency to make friends.

Wordcount: 13 073 / 50 000 (+4023)

Chapters: 6 / 21

Favorite Bits

Speaking (or rather thinking) of the proverbial devil… The door to the basement rooms was opened and Astarion recognized the pattern of the steps. Just that it was not only Tav. There was another set of rather heavy boots accompanying him. “Ouch,” someone said, following by Tav’s laughter. “Careful.” “These rooms are not made for people like me,” the person complained. “Now, where is my little buddy?” Astarion groaned, because he knew what would follow – and how outright impossible it was to escape it. He had not known that their former comrades were back in the city. It was good, because if he was honest: He missed them. It was just that he did not miss certain things. He got up, opening the door to the sitting room, being greeted with a wide grin and open arms. “Buddy!” And before he could escape it, he was pulled in a very strong and very warm hug. “Good afternoon to you, too,” he muttered against her muscular chest. “How are you doing?” she asked, taking him by the shoulders to look at him. “You still look awfully pale, you know?” Then she laughed. “I am afraid that is not about to change,” he muttered, looking over to Tav. “Where did you find her?”

[And yeah, I keep Karlach around, because fuck her canonical endings]

“Are you sure you wanna go down there alone?” Tav asked. “I could buy a potion and come with you.” They were on their way home now. Home. What a strange concept. But Astarion guessed it was home. He looked at the man’s hand inside his own, sighing. “Tav, my sweet, I am very humbled by your concern, but I am going to do fine. As I said, I have done this for literal centuries. And other than you, darling, I know how to stay out of trouble.” “I am better in staying out of trouble than you give me credit for.” “Sure you are, my sweet. Only that everyone who knows you tells me different.” “They are merely exaggerating.” “I travelled with you for about thirteen weeks. During which you got involved in approximately every bit of trouble we came across. So, excuse me for rather believing your dear friends.” Astarion smiled, though. He stopped for once, looking at the bard. “Say, we find some drow slaves down there. What are you going to do? Are you just going to leave them there? Or will you instantly try to free them, rather than getting backup before?” Now it was Tav, who pouted, just like Lakrissa has done before. He would not admit it. “You know I am right,” Astarion purred, getting for once the annoyed groan that Tav would usually earn from him. “Fine, you are right. I would help them. Because it would be the right thing to do.”

[kangaroo-sniper-imagine]

Scout, Demo, and Sniper with inexperienced reader

- i combined these two cuz they both had the Aussie on them. NS/FW stufff ahead so caution -

Scout

Jeremy may act like he’s God’s gift to women, but let’s be honest, aside from some trysts and a girlfriend he had for three weeks in the tenth grade, homeboy ain’t got no experience either

He wants so badly to be a good boyfriend! He tries so hard to be nice and to be a gentleman to you, often times putting on such a fake persona that you have to remind him that you like Jeremy because he’s a loud, fast-talking jack ass from south Boston. Not those words exactly, but you get the idea

Tries the classic dates like fancy restaurants and romantic movies, but chances are if you liked Jeremy enough to date him, you probably hate that stuff too. Good dates are outing to parks, watching action movies, going to bars, etc. fun, not stuffy dates.

NS/FW

Jeremy has SOME idea of what he’s doing, but its more so getting himself off than trying to get his partner off. It takes some re-learning on his part to figure out that sex is supposed to be mutually fun. If he suck at it, tell him! Boy needs to learn!

He gets that you have almost no experience, and that just adds to the pressure for him; he’s already so insecure and this is just another are he has the potential to disappoint you in. First time together is gonna be real awkward and slow, as neither of you wanna fuck up

After the two of you get more experienced with each other, oooooooooh boy, Jeremy is insatiable. Partially because he’s never had a steady s/o who lived in the same building as him. He is always dtf; like, come in while he’s regaining one of his (dramatized) wins, give him a “look” and he’ll stop talking mid-sentence and follows you to wherever for a quickie

Jeremy’s favorite position is probably doggy style. He gets to give all his love and also gets to hide his face of he starts to feel embarrassed; its easier to have the macho sex god persona if his partner can’t see his face all flushed and pinched in concentration

Demo

Tavish has had plenty of date mates, but when he starts his relationship with you and learns that he is your first ever boyfriend? Fuck, it might as well be his first relationship too (the Scotsman is soft lbr). He knows that each relationship is different from another, even minusculy, but since you have no reference point, he’s gonna start from square one and work your way up to normal relationship things

By that I mean this man has, like, an itinerary. Week one: holding hands, Week two: eating meals together, etc. Tav is THOROUGH! He wants you doing lame couple things and wants you to be comfortable with them asap. He’s like one of those high school girls who are like “we need to be dating for six months before we can kiss.” It’s not that he isn’t ready, he just wants to make sure you are

Dates with him are weird and varied. One night he takes you to a nice bar, the next date is helping him set off about to expire explosives. A very lovely evening of him playing piano with you, then it’s Loch Ness Monster hunting. Suffice to say that your dates are never boring.

NS/FW

Tavish sets the relationship at a slow pace so that you’ll feel comfortable; introducing sex into the relationship is no different. He’ll let you know when he’s comfortable with it and is fine waiting until you are ready for it and won’t do jack shit without your permission.

When you are ready, be prepared for the cheesiest seduction ever. You’ll walk into Tavish’s room one day and there’s a trail of rose petals leading to the bed where the Scotsman lays, naked, with a rose between his teeth and a heart shaped pillow covering his junk; candles EVERYWHERE. It takes every ounce of willpower not to laugh (plz laugh, Tavish is trying so hard to make you relax before doing the do)

Despite the fact that the man likes his drink, Tavish refuses to fuck drunk. Sleeping with you is an honor, and he 1. Doesn’t wanna not remember it, 2. Doesn’t want to do something dumb while he’s drunk and hurt you, 3. Doesn’t wanna do something embarrassing in front of the gang while trying to seduce you. He’s a good boy who knows better

Sniper

Mick has had plenty of short term date mates, considering his job keeps him moving around. Before Teufort, he never bothered trying to keep a serious relationship because he would be gone by the end of the month. Then our favorite Aussie meets YOU and the whole game plan changed. He couldn’t be a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” man anymore, and he didn’t want to be with you. You’re special

Mick’s not 100% sure exactly what dating him would entail. You two go out to the local bar to drink, you spend your meals and down time together, you haven’t moved into the truck camper yet but you sure do spend a ton of nights there. Mick doesn’t have domestic experience so he tries to do what his parents do and what they told him to do, so it’s a lot of laundry together, movie nights at the local drive-in, reading the same book and talking about it, etc. Mick skipped right into the “old married life” kind of relationship

The Aussie is happy to take things slow with you, considering THIS kind of relationship is new to him too. You’re a special person the Mick wants to keep in his life

NS/FW

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAABES, I KNOW everyone’s like “oh, Sniper is an awkward loner with social issues” but listen darlings; Mick is a businessman, he used to have to talk to tins of people to get jobs; had to have connections, had to be charismatic, he to be willing to hang out in seedy bars and joints to eat gigs. What I’m saying is, aside from Spy, Sniper is probably the one who can manipulate the room to his advantage best, cuz he’s been doing it since he started. The point of this rant is to say SNIPER CAN GET IT! Homeboy’s got tail game! You cannot change my mind! He’s probably had more quickies than a rabbit hutch; he’s attractive as hell and knows how to talk to people to get what he wants and how to clock people at the bar who wants to get laid too! He came, he saw, he didn’t call he next morning. Okay end of rant and back to the original purpose of this point

So! Mick has plenty of sexual experience, and rather than see you as some sort of delicate flower, he sees it more as an opportunity to let you experiment ON him. Whatever you wanna try, he’s done it like 9 times. You wanna do some nasty shit? Okie dokie than, he’ll get the “Camper’s a-rocking, don’t come a-knocking” sign up and clear his schedule. Aussie knows what he’s doing

Plz bring up riding to this man, he’ll fucking propose to you. He thinks riding is the best position because he has all the access to your fun areas, he’s able to bury his face into your chest or neck, and its minimal movement for him

[ad1ostoreador]

>> View the mirthhive mirror...

(...or, a purposeful encounter between @fiduspawn-master and @ad1ostoreador, featuring several counts of awkwardness, an emotional shock, a missing moon, and at least one dragon.)

ad1ostoreador: It didn't take much preparation, for Tavros to be ready to go.  A poncho-like cloak, thrown over his folded wings, a small spare bladeleaf-woven basket hooked over one arm, filled with crumbly orange bits of bark chocolate, and an uncertain scratch of the back of his head, before he was inspecting his wrist transportalizer and keying in the right coordinates.

The transportalizer went vworp, with its usual disorienting stutter, and he lifted a hand in greeting, as he appeared on the other side and gave his head a tiny shake to rebalance himself.  "Uh.... hey?"

It was hard, sometimes, to know just how timelines would diverge, and what quirks would strike a passer-by as strange... but the amount of color he was wearing, between the poncho and his loose, patterned pants, would likely be quite odd on any Imperial Alternia, especially for a lowblood.  The fact that he was stubbornly shoeless, maybe, too, but after sweeps of feeling nothing, he was largely uninterested in having anything between his feet and any possible source of sensation, and running around on a beach and through woods all the time for the past months had done quite a lot to toughen them up, post-pupation.  Adult pupation itself had left him well over six feet tall, with hide darker than wiggler-gray, both from frequent sun (freckling included) and from chitin reinforcing it, and his eyes had long since filled in bronze. His hair was a bit shaggy on the sides of his mohawk, in the absence of a recent shave, and showed hints of lighter bronze in streaks through the black, there.

fiduspawn-master: Tavros spent the few minutes it would take for the other Tavros to arrive nervously tidying things around his hive. He was naturally a very fastidious troll, but it was a hard thing to keep up all the time in his condition. He was putting his dishes away when he heard the noise he now recognized as a visitor appearing just outside his hive.

The wind was still racing in from the sea, its constant whisper joined by the creaking of the windmill turning high above and the roar of the waves crashing against the cliffs. A few hop and cluckbeasts that had scattered in fear at the strange phenomenon were starting to wander back as Tavros opened the door to greet--

Oh man. He looked up at the familiar, unfamiliar figure standing in front of his hive. It was like looking in a mirthhive mirror. Seeing an adult was still somewhat alarming in and of itself, (even though he was basically an adult himself) And seeing one that was post molt was even more wild, not to mention one that was kind of him...

This might actually be weirder than meeting Bull...

He was staring- "Uhhhhh, H-hi!" He raised a hand in a stiff, awkward wave. "Do you, Want to come in?" that wasn't a great question.

ad1ostoreador: The location might have been starkly different from his own long-ago hive, but the creaking of the windmill was familiar, bone-deep, and left him awash in a curious mix of nostalgia and wrong-footedness, mixed as it was with the alien smell of the sea.  The scent was somehow very different from the ocean he lived beside, at present... some difference in the blend of minerals, or in the things living and growing in it, and it took Tavros a moment to remember how to answer, with his communing-sense flickering out automatically to touch and catalog beasts he hadn't encountered in sweeps on end.

"Um...." A slow blink, and then an awkward little grin, as he faced the other troll.  "Yeah, sorry... I just... forgot what Alternia felt like.... It's been a... long time."  He lifted the basket a little, and moved nearer, but none too quickly.  Better to give his alternate room to steer clear of the doorway, first.  It was strange, too, how much smaller his wigglerhood hive felt than it once had, to him. He'd visited occasional memories of it, back in the dreambubbles, but none since he'd grown to his present size, and this was real, with a sense of weight and solidity around his horns that the bubbles had never really managed to achieve.

fiduspawn-master: Possibly the biggest visual difference was the quality of light. The pink moon above was not overshadowed by a green neighbor, having only its moonlet for company. It cast the world in softer, warmer hues. 

There was an impressive variety of local beasts in the area, including at least a dozen fairy bulls and an assortment of unfamiliar, synthetic beasts, fiduspawn or fakespawn presumably.

"Oh, You're fine! Take your time!" Tavros reassured him, deftly rolling back and to the side as he pulled the door open more for him. The doorframe was accommodatingly wide and a couple of the antlered hopbeasts slipped inside before the new guest had reached the door. 

Inside was one large open room, with a nutrition area to one side and many windows and low tables against the opposite wall. Half of them had the curtains drawn already, and there were wide paths around everything, and not a lot of chairs. 

"Uhm, The pot's in the kitchen, and, I can go grab the thing I made for Gamzee, If you, Uhh, Give me a second,,," Tav said from behind him, shutting the door carefully, mindful of critters slipping in or out.

There were two fairy bulls perching around the nutrition area, though one was weird and shiny and definitely a robot. Both of them jingled in alarm at the stranger and darted towards their ward to hover protectively around him. "Oh, Uhm, Sorry, They're still not used to other trolls being here, And, That being okay..." Tav apologized as he reached out to bring the flesh and blood lusus out of the air and into his lap, petting it soothingly.

ad1ostoreador: Honestly, he hadn't even registered the green moon's absence, perhaps assuming it was still beyond the horizon.  Tavros moved forward, stepping on through the door, and froze as his gaze landed on the living fairy bull, breath hitching as if he'd just been surprise-punched in the gut.

Right.  Of course Tink was alive, here.  Of course he was prepared for that.  (He wasn't.)

"....Yeah, of course they, uh... wouldn't..." Tavros murmured, a little weakly, and tore his eyes off the lusus who didn't recognize him, looking down at the basket he held.  "...Where should I, um... put this?" He struggled for a casual tone, swallowing.

fiduspawn-master: Tav's fingers brushed his own brow as he sent brief reassurance to the small lusi, both calming down immediately. "Oh, you can leave it in the kitchen, I'll be right back!" He pivoted and rolled off towards the back of the room and down a hallway, disappearing for a minute and leaving the other Tavros alone in the space. A hopbeast sniffed his foot curiously as some other critters moved about the room, including one's he'd made himself. There was a tank on one of the low tables where the colorful newest project was swimming around contentedly. 

Tavros would return a couple of minutes later, flanked by the two fairybulls and holding a small parcel wrapped in a scrap of blue gingham fabric. "Uhm, Here it is!"

ad1ostoreador: Tavros gave a small nod, not looking up, and took a deep breath or two as his counterpart rolled down the hall.  The hive layout was... partially the same, and partially not.  Definitely less cluttered than his own, at six sweeps, and it looked more... purposeful, somehow.  Widened, maybe, with more convenient paths to wheel through.

He moved into the nutrition-block area, and set the little basket on a counter, within easy reach of the edge.  The borrowed pot, he saw, and held awkwardly for a moment before remembering his sylladex--it wouldn't work, back home, but here, it made a decent place to stash things out of his graspers.  Then, the curious hopbeast got a gentle head-scritching, between the antlers.

When his alternate returned, he turned around and straightened up to accept the offered parcel, still not quite daring to look at either the fairy bull or the robotic version.  "Thanks... I'll, um, pass it on to him, and let him know..."

fiduspawn-master: There were a few low ramps in the nutrition area, in front of the counters and prongtrap and the crisprange so that they were reachable. Everything was otherwise uncomfortably low for an upright troll as tables had been modified for the hivedweller's convenience.

Tav held the parcel up to his guest, rolling back a bit once he'd taken it so he wouldn't have to crane his neck to look up at him. The normal fairy bull had alighted on the counter near the familiar stranger's elbow and was leaning over to carefully sniff him, its breath tickling his skin. 

"Yes, Okay, Uhm, Tell him I hope he gets better soon I guess..." He smoothed his hands anxiously over the thick blanket wrapped around his legs. "Uhhhh... Is this, Weird for you too?"

ad1ostoreador: "He's... Gamzee's good.  It's just... he's got a thing, right now, where he's... not wanting to go off-planet."  A thing that Tavros wasn't entirely ready to think too hard about, just yet, for assorted reasons. "I'll tell him, though..."

His fingers twitched and curled a little more by his side in an almost-flinch, where the fairy bull was sniffing his arm, and he looked over at a tinted window instead, nodding a couple of times, rapidly.  "...Yeah.  It's... pretty weird.  I can't, uh... actually remember the last time I met another... living version of us, face to face."  A weak smile.

"It's good, though... I'm glad."  It was a rare enough occasion that he thought it was pretty special.  Someone else who'd managed to survive the worst Alternia could throw at them, instead of ending up just another blank-eyed ghost of a dead kid no one really bothered to consider.  Tavros shifted his stance slightly, folded wings rustling under the poncho and skimming the floor behind his feet at their tips as he weighed the option of sitting down on a ramp against the logistics of trying to arrange his wings somewhere without knocking over or breaking anything important behind him.  "How are you, uh... doing, though? With... alts, and timelines, and everything..."

fiduspawn-master: Tav's brow pinched a bit with worry. "Uhm, Yeah, I think he mentioned some stuff to me... Yeah..." He didn't elaborate, it wasn't his place. He reached up awkwardly to rub the back of his neck as his alternate self agreed about the weirdness, blanching a bit when he mentioned 'living versions' "Oh... Oh man... You've seen-?" That sounded terrible, seeing his own corpse... "Uhm, Yeah I guess." He tried to return the smile, giving Tink a glance as they flew up to hover around the other Tavros' head, jingling softly.

His ears twitched as he herd the rustling of wings and noticed his guest fidgeting "Oh! Uhm, Do you want to sit down? I have a loungeplank!" He said, quickly backing up and spinning around to the other side of the big, open block. There was indeed a mostly unused loungeplank shoved back against the wall across from a row of windows, a skylight letting in the moonlight from above through a heavy tint. There was a screen on the third wall and another low table with a half dozen stacks of fiduspawn cards he'd been organizing, along with his old, beat up husktop. He quickly cleared a stack of host plushes off of the couch, dumping them off to one side for now and turning back towards his guest. "Oh, uhm, well... Its- Uhhhh." He broke eyecontact, hands coming together to twist the ring around one of his thumbs. "its... different... from normal..."

ad1ostoreador: "...Ghosts, and stuff, mostly. A little different from, uh... the type Aradia used to call up, though... in a place where they all sort of, um.... hung around and didn't remember they were dead, usually."  Or that he'd visited before.  Or much of anything, outside of whatever set of memories or pan misfirings they'd gotten hung up on going through the motions of repeating, over and over and over.

The offer of a loungeplank made him shrug slightly, rubbing at the back of his neck one-handed.  "Is it okay if I, uhh... pull it away from the wall a bit? I'll put it back, after..."  The ring on Tavros's thumb caught his eye, unfamiliar as the accessory was to him, but he didn't pry.  "...Yeah... it's definitely different, for sure."  It was still hard to look at Tink, and he couldn't bear communing with the lusus, at all.  He'd have thought four sweeps would dull the edges there, some.

fiduspawn-master: "Oh, Right, Wow..." He'd always thought ghosts were pretty spooky, and he'd only seen Aradia conjure them up once. He didn't really want to think about himself being... like that.

"Yeah! Of course! Whatever you need!" He replied quickly "Here!" 

He rolled over to one side of the loungeplank, grabbing the corner and bracing his other hand against the wall, pushing it forward a few feet pretty easily, if unevenly. 

"Uhm, Yeah, It's been... A lot... I think maybe I'm not dealing with it that great..." he mumbled, looking into the dark space behind the loungeplank as a trio of sleepy eyes blinked back at him. He rolled backwards to let the soothcoon waddle out from its nap spot.

ad1ostoreador: Tavros moved to heft the other end of the loungeplank, scooting it easily forward to leave clearance for his wings, and pausing to chirp a quiet greeting-noise at the soothcoon, with a touch of apology for disturbing it.

"I... think, probably, it would be hard for anyone to, uh... deal with it wonderfully, all things considered.  Even for those of us who played the game, because it was dumb and awful...  ....So... it's okay to be kind of... rattled, about it all, yeah?"  He trailed off, then carefully took a crooked seat on the loungeplank, wings draped over the back and down to the floor behind it at an angle.

fiduspawn-master: Tavros turned to situate himself on the other side of the table, his hands smoothing distractedly over the blanket wrapped around his legs again as he looked around the floor. "I'm not really sure if 'rattled' is the word that I would use, Or that even all of the crazy other timeline versions of people I knew are, Uhh, the thing that I'm not handling well..." he admitted, his fangs digging at his lower lip a little. "I mean, I think that I can just kind of accept that that's a thing, since, I've known for a sweep by now..."

The robotic fairy bull was still perched on the back of his chair while the other had landed on the back of the couch, directing a tiny moo in their guest's directions, the naturally affectionate creature demanding attention.

ad1ostoreador: Tavros worried at his own lip a little, with a fang, sneaking a glance toward the living fairy bull and twisting his own fingers together in his lap, slowly, until his knuckles paled.  "...No?  What part is, uh... messing with you, then?"

fiduspawn-master: The small lusus fluttered its eyelashes at him and mooed again, fluttering its wings with a little jingle as well, practically begging for a pet. 

"Uhhh.... It's, Probably not important... And, Also kind of hard to articulate. And, Maybe kind of terrible?" He winced as he bit his lip a little too hard, starting to fidget with the ring around his thumb again. "Sorry, You probably don't want to talk about this..."

ad1ostoreador: Tavros took another deep, slightly shaky breath, and fought down any pathetic grub-noises before they could slip out, very carefully reaching up and giving the fairy bull a gentle pet.

"...I mean... it's not fair to you, if parts of all this are messing you up.  So... maybe if you can, uh, articulate at least some of it, you might feel kind of better?"

fiduspawn-master: They were ecstatic! Nuzzling his palm and licking his fingers as they jingled happily.

Tavros nearly mimicked his alter's shaky breath, his claws tapping against his ring "Uhm... I guess there are just, Some feelings I've been having, That, I'm not used to having..." he mumbles, shrugging slightly.

ad1ostoreador: Tavros stared into an indistinct spot somewhere near the middle of the floor while the lusus licked his fingers and nuzzled on his hand, his eyes gone a little bit glassy, but managed to keep his voice largely level, if somewhat quieter than usual.  "...I don't want to, um... assume things. About you, or feelings that happen to you... even if I kind of, uhh... suspect that maybe we had some of the same... problems, relating to that general, uh, area of experiences..."

fiduspawn-master: Well, maybe, if anyone could understand, without thinking he was just really terrible, it would be another version of himself, maybe... He finally looked up at him to respond before noticing his expression and stopping. "Uhm, Are you, Okay?" He asked, concerned. 

The lusus still looked pleased as punch to be pet, its little tail whipping back and forth.

ad1ostoreador: He bit his lip again, and looked up, almost guiltily jerking his hand back to his lap, with a quick rub of the other hand over his eyes.  "....yeah. I'm okay.  It's fine..."

fiduspawn-master: Tavros frowned, tilting his head slightly as the lusus mooed in disappointment "Uhm, Okay, But, No, I don't think that you are?"

ad1ostoreador: A few beats of silence passed, and then Tavros managed--"...I wasn't... expecting to see..." He jerked his head slightly in the direction of the lusus.  "...that's all.  It's dumb, and I should have... expected.  I'm okay."

fiduspawn-master: His brows furrowed in confusion. "To see a fairy bull? Uhm... Oh, Right, I guess there must not be any in the place that you live... Uhm, I can ask him to go in the other room, If you want" He offered.

ad1ostoreador: Tavros hesitated, then shook his head, though a tiny part of him wanted to nod, instead, and another part wanted to maybe just curl up in a hole.  "No.... no. It's okay... really.  It's just been a long time.  You were, uh.... you were saying?"

fiduspawn-master: He wasn't totally convinced, sending a brief thought to the fairy bull to not bother their guest. Reluctantly they fluttered down to the other side of the couch and sat down, pouting a little bit. "Oh, Uhm, I don't know. We don't really have to talk about it..." His alter looked upset and distracted, and he didn't want to make him more uncomfortable or bother him about his problems...

ad1ostoreador: Frankly, a distraction from the shitty ache behind his eyes and missing his own lusus would be welcome.  He rubbed at the ring in his own nose, briefly, and let out a tiny breath.  "....like I said, I don't want to, um... assume things, which could be wrong, if you don't... want to say anything.  But... you don't have to."

fiduspawn-master: He sighed faintly and fiddled with his ring again, looking off towards the windows. "Well... I guess I have just gotten pretty used to the only feeling I felt being loneliness? Which, Was really pretty terrible, But also, Familiar...?" He trailed off a moment, one hand squeezing into a fist. "Now, There are people to talk to and, Uhhh, Watch, Live their lives, Doing important things and, Uhm, Having friends that care about them a lot, And, It has just been making me have a lot of feelings about everything, And, It feels like it was easier, To just be lonely, But, Also, Somehow, I feel even more lonely than I did before?" He swallowed, looking down as his hair flopped forward into his face, his hands kneading together hard. "Uhm, Sorry, That probably sounds pretty dumb, And, Terrible..."

ad1ostoreador: "No, I... I get it."  Tavros cleared his throat a little, fingers back to being laced together in his lap.  "...Being in the Furthest Ring alone was... really lonely.  And in some ways it... felt even worse to go online, and see everyone just... busy and happy with all their own, uh, lives, and stuff, and people they actually cared about..."

fiduspawn-master: He finally looked up at his alter again as he spoke, nodding a little with a small sniff "Yeah, That is, Pretty much it exactly..." he huffed, reaching up to push his hair back into place again. "I, Don't really know what to do about it, Or, If it would be better to just... Not go online..."

ad1ostoreador: "...It's not easy.  And sometimes the bad times like that just keep happening over again, when it's extra, uh, hard, and lonely, and everything is awful. But... if you stay away from everyone, and you don't meet anyone, or talk to anyone.... you won't get any of the good times, then, when it doesn't feel that way, and when you can believe that people would notice, if you... weren't online."  It was possibly a cycle Tavros had been through multiple times, himself.

fiduspawn-master: His hand stayed in his hair, twisting it between his fingers some as he tried to get the lump out of his throat, making it hard to breathe. "You, Uhm, Really think that it could be like that for me?" he huffed, looking down a the blanket over his legs. "For me?"

ad1ostoreador: "I think, definitely so. And... I think that trolls aren't... meant to be all alone.  We... need other people, more than that... even with all the dumb Imperial stuff, trying to draw lines between everybody and keep them apart..."  Tavros echoed the faint 'huff', with a small shake of his head.

fiduspawn-master: Tav fidgeted a bit at the empire talk, shifting a little in his chair and shrugging "I mean, I wouldn't be alone if I wasnt-... I could- could have, Made other friends, And, Uhm,  known people... I could have tried..." Maybe he shouldn't be defending the empire here, but it was kind of his fault for being a cripple. "I wouldn't have gotten stuck in being lonely, I don't think..."

ad1ostoreador: "...It's not 'could have'... it's 'can'," Tavros pointed out, glancing up from his own fingers then.  "Only, without the part where V--she, uh, ruins everything, always.  There's... lots of options, you know? Even if you haven't always... had some of those options, before now."

fiduspawn-master: His fingers fisted tight in the blanket in his lap at the mere mention. "Yeah." he huffed with a scowl before sighing again "Yeah... I guess, It will only be too late if I stop trying... It's... Hard though. It still kind of feels like I'm too late, And, Not ready, At the same time..."

ad1ostoreador: "....Used to feel sometimes like everyone was... busy finding all their serendipity back before I even, uh, knew the site everyone uses now was a thing that existed.  Like I was... just too late to ever be anything important, to anyone, even as a friend..."  Tavros said, a little too off-handedly.  Sometimes it still felt that way, except for Gamzee, but he usually tried to remind himself that that was probably the horrible gray creep of depression talking, and not actual reality. "..But don't stop trying, is the point, mostly. Like you, uh, said, it's not too late unless you quit trying..."

fiduspawn-master: Tavros nodded slowly as he listened. Yes, that was pretty much exactly how he felt about it. Maybe though, if another version of himself could overcome it, (albeit, a way cooler more interesting and less broken version of himself, but, that wasn't a helpful thought to have) Then maybe he could too. 

"Yeah, Okay... Thank you. Uhm, I'm glad that you understand, Even though, I'm also sorry that you understand..."

ad1ostoreador: "It's... one of the good things, I think, about there being... so many versions of so many worlds, out there... the odds are probably, um, pretty good that somebody understands just about anything... yeah?" He tried for a small and crooked smile, shrugging.

fiduspawn-master: Tav mirrored the lopsided smile with another small nod. "Heh, Yeahhh... Uhm... Sorry, Things got kind of heavy. I hope this visit hasn't just been really terrible." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck again awkwardly. "Maybe, If you ever wanted to come by again, We could do something actually fun?"

ad1ostoreador: "It's fine, really... and, that would be a thing that we could, uh, do... or... you could come visit our planet, sometime, if you wanted?"  Beach sand might not agree with wheels, so well, but the 'social' hive had smooth, solid floors and lots of open space to maneuver.  "I think you would like to meet the, uhh, oggos a lot..."

Tavros couldn't help one more furtive glance over at the small lusus at the other end of the couch, and swallowed.

fiduspawn-master: "Oh, Yes! Uhm, Gamzee mentioned there were new kinds of beasts there, And it sounded really beautiful also!" He brightened up a bit at the idea, his hands relaxing in his lap. "That would be fun."

The fairy bull had curled up once it became clear it was going to be ignored by the new troll, and was dozing off, shimmery wings folded down against its back. "Uhm... Do you want to take some with you?" Tav asked, seeing him eyeing the lusus again. "There's, Uhh, A good sized herd around right now, You could probably take enough to start breeding them, If you wanted." He was still working under the assumption that he simply missed the general presence of fairy bulls.

ad1ostoreador: For a moment, he froze, then slowly shook his head.  "...I think... it would just, um, make me think more about missing mine, probably... a lot."  He shut his eyes briefly.  "...How did you, uh, get a robot fairy bull, anyway?"

fiduspawn-master: He bit his lip and nodded a little "Yeah, Okay, Sorry. It is definitely always really hard when they die, I can't imagine there not being more to come and replace them..." he mumbled before glancing back at the shiny white fairybot. "Oh, Uhm, That was, Uhh, Bull. He kind of changed the one that was taking care of me, So that they could always be monitoring me, and, the thing that he did to make my legs not be hurting pretty much all of the time, Since, I didn't want any of the robot stuff to be in my sponge..." He patted the fairybot a little more tentatively "I guess that it's okay, Since, They still are happy.”

ad1ostoreador: Tavros was very quiet, for a few more beats, and then quirked a quarter-smile that mostly looked like it hurt. "There was just... the one, for me. When I was younger.  He... always acted like he missed other fairy bulls, but... there weren't any more wild ones nearby, not for leagues and leagues... and nobody rust was allowed more than one lusus.  Even if they were... really small."

The thought of anyone just being changed that way, even a lusus, still made something roll over unsettled in his stomach, but he let out a breath.  "...I'm glad he, uh... helped your legs not hurt."

fiduspawn-master: Tavros frowned as his alter spoke, his ears drooping. "Oh man... I'm so sorry, That must have been, Really hard..." he mumbled, his eyes wandering to Tinkerbull as he twisted the ring around his finger. "Uhm, Yeah, I'm glad too, And that, That is all that he did, Also..."

ad1ostoreador: Tavros couldn't help a small, wry, but real-er smile, at that. "Yeah... He really, um, likes the... robot stuff. But... he won't do it, if you remind him not to..." He shrugged slightly. "And if you don't want to, uh... be like that."

fiduspawn-master: "Yeahhhh... He was really sorry for, Uhm, Freaking me out afterwards. He just, Really wanted to help... I think, That I just don't want to not be me..." His jaw tightened slightly as his hands smoothed back over his blanket "Even if, Me, Isn't as cool or smart, Or, Really confident, As I guess he could have made me..." He trailed off, eyes downcast.

ad1ostoreador: "I think... for him, he didn't feel like himself until he went all... robot. So... he has a hard time, maybe, understanding people who don't feel like themselves because they've been made a robot...." Tavros added, quietly. 

"...He does try really hard to help, though. And... I think you are already pretty cool, and smart, what with being all, uh... an illegal rebel, hiding on-planet, and... building fakespawn, and stuff that I don't have any idea how to do, but you do it really well. And... the fact that you are still alive, when... most everything on Alternia is designed to, um, try to prevent that. And you're away from her..." Which was a big thing, all by itself.

fiduspawn-master: He huffed, reaching up to fiddle with his hair again. "Uhmmm, I don't know, About all of that stuff... But, I don't really need to be anything special..." He gave a half hearted shrug "I think that I will just probably always be the same, Until..." He trailed off again before shaking his head, finally looking up at his alt with a strained laugh "Hah, Wow, This is all pretty depressing to talk about! Uhm, We could definitely probably be talking about things that are not that!"

ad1ostoreador: From where Tavros was standing, it already looked like a few major changes, from the pupa they'd once been.  He didn't argue the point further, though, just giving his head a little shake.  "Sorry... you should definitely, um, come visit sometime soon, though."  He had the beginnings of the inklings of an idea, even.

fiduspawn-master: "It's okay! And, Yes! I think I would like that a lot, If you guys felt like it." he said as he kept up the smile a little more naturally. "I can't wait to try the chocolate you brought also, I can't remember the last time I got to have any!"

ad1ostoreador: "It's like... a tree-fungus, where we are. It grows on their stemrinds, on certain types... and it tastes just like chocolate. Not the, uh, over-sweet candy type hivestem stuff, but the real stuff."  Tavros might have been rambling a little, for the sake of a topic that didn't sting. "I use it in, um... hot cocoa, and spicy huskbean stew, and some other things..."

fiduspawn-master: "Oh wow! That sounds like an amazing thing to have grow where you live! Hah, Man, I don't have a lot of stuff to make spicy food with, I wish I was better at cooking fancy stuff..." he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

ad1ostoreador: "I don't know that anything I make is, uh, fancy... it's all just... country, um, warmblood type food, but..."  It was still a conscious effort, for Tavros, to remember to say 'warm' and not 'low', sometimes.  To avoid sliding back into old, Alternian habits, like they might inadvertently stain their new planet with the leavings of the old.  But he was trying. Gamzee was more of a stickler about it than he, even.  "We're not that far into the cool season, I think... but for now, there's lots of food to find, still."

fiduspawn-master: "I'm glad to hear that! I have been, Uhhh, Saving a lot of food. I dug out a whole nutrition cellar last sweep, After the drones managed to damage my windmill, And, I lost power for, Like, A perigee, And all my food went bad..." He shook his head again and shrugged "But, I have learned a lot about preserving food now, And, I have plenty of it stored up for the dim season!" he continued cheerily. "It was definetly worth all the work, Heh."

ad1ostoreador: Tavros nodded, brow furrowing at the tale.  "Oh... no.  Do you, um, have enough power back now, I hope...?"  He looked up.

"We, uh... had to kind of learn some things suddenly.  About preserving fish.  These... whartlebeasts came through our, uh, bay, and I think they were just migrating, but.... they feed by crowding everything up into the shallows, and just taking big gulps as they go by.  So... we had fish flopping up on the beach, fish all over the place... and the oggos were, uh... having a very... messy blast with it all. "  He snorted a half-laugh.  "...We started smoking excess fish, then. Or it would have just... stunk everything up terribly."

fiduspawn-master: He nodded "Oh, Yeah! The power cells are all full up after the storm last light! I, Uhh, Wish I could get more to store more power, For emergencies, But, That would be kind of hard." he admitted.

He smiled at the mental image of all the beasts, laughing with his alt and grinning "Hah, That sounds so fun! And a great way to get a lot of food, Heh,"

ad1ostoreador: "Definitely... I mean, raking the sand clean after it all wasn't fun, but... feeling the whartles was... sort of like with skywhales, only all heavy and rough-shelled, and staying in the water, and just, um, thinking deep cool thoughts, as they paddle along..."    He raked a hand through his shaggy hair.

"I'm sure there's people online who, um, would trade more power cells, for something you can make, or else find, around here..."

fiduspawn-master: His eyes sparkled as he smiled wide, imagining the unfamiliar beasts. "Wow!!! I hope I get to see them, If I come over, Heheh,"

He leaned back in his chair, looking to his husktop on the table "Uhm, Yeah, It's been kind of hard to trade for things that are that big and heavy, And, Also expensive...."

ad1ostoreador: "I don't... know much about that kind of thing, really, but there are definitely people who can find that stuff."  He shifted his wings a little, with a crickety, papery rustle.  "You, uh... said that drones broke the windmill, before? How did... that happen?  I mean... without them doing worse...."

fiduspawn-master: "Uhhh, I think that it was just really unlucky? Since, They came in the day, And, No beasts spotted them coming until it was too late. They managed to tear off two of the blades before I could organize enough beasts to fend them off. Usually, They will leave a hive alone if it seems to have become a, Uhm, Lusus den..." That had been a very difficult few perigees, with no power and not much food, having to work all night every night to rebuild the windmill, and then to dig a nutrition cellar after that. The beasts had helped of course, but there was only so much that they could do...

ad1ostoreador: Tavros grimaced slightly.  He might have been off Alternia for sweeps, but the prospect of fending off determined drones with stray lusii and wild beasts was none too appealing. "...It's good that you were able to, uh... drive them away, before they did more than that... and that you were able to fix it, and do all that work, after..."

fiduspawn-master: He nodded solemnly before smiling with a small chuckle "There have not been a lot of fly bys for the last couple of perigees though, I think I have managed to mostly, Uhhh, scare them off from this area!" His smile spread into a big, slightly smug grin. "I managed to find a beast that they will always steer clear of!!"

ad1ostoreador: "Good... good.  That's... definitely better than the alternative."  Tavros's ears flicked, cupping curiously towards him.  "Oh yeah? What kind of, um, beasts will they stay away from, around here?"

fiduspawn-master: He leaned forward a bit in his chair, coppery eyes sparkling with excitement "Do you want to see?? You have to promise not to look, Though, Or to feel for them either! It will be a really cool surprise that way!!"

ad1ostoreador: Tavros nodded slowly, a mixture of anticipation and puzzlement on his features.  It was hard to rein in his automatic level of communing and then deliberately try not to think about it, though.  Harder yet to not think about the thing he was supposed to not think about.  "Uhhh..." He tried shutting his eyes, and just focusing on the sleepy soothcoon and the flittering, too-familiar feel of the fairy bull in the vicinity, instead.  "...Okay..."

fiduspawn-master: Tavros giggled, giddy as he turned to the wall of windows, putting a hand to his temple briefly to focus and find the beast he was seeking. They were pretty far away, but that didn't matter, it would only take a couple of minutes for them to get here. In the meantime he tugged at the blackout curtains to reveal the open, rolling fields outside, the wind still making the grass ripple like waves. He could feel them approaching, and he turned to go back to his alt, grabbing one of his hands to guide him over to the window "Here! They're about to land!"

A shadow blocked out the rosy moonlight for a moment before with a heavy thud, a gleaming, white dragon, nearly the size of a galleon, landed in the grass just outside. "Tadh! Heh, This, Is my new friend, Who has scared away most of the drones!" Tavros announced, throwing out an arm towards the huge lusus. “Uhh, Here." Reaching out, he pulled open one of the windows which was actually a door. "You want to meet them?"

ad1ostoreador: Tavros kept his eyes shut, even when he was tugged closer to the window, until his counterpart called out.  Then.... Oh.  That was... that was an actual real live adult dragon, of a sort he'd never encountered on his own Alternia, Terezi's sleeping unhatched lusus notwithstanding.  For a moment, he could almost taste an echo of the smell of burning tissue, but it wasn't real and it wasn't here and nobody was creep-crawling through his pan.  And that was a dragon.

"....Yes... uhh, yes, can I?"  The question was half to his alternate, and half to the massive creature itself.  It was only proper to be polite, of course, when meeting someone new.

fiduspawn-master: On closer inspection, although large, the dragon was still technically an adolescent, its eyes still sealed shut though a dull red glow was visible through the lids. By way of answer Tavros simply wheeled out the door ahead of his alt and moved to the side.

The dragon turned its massive head towards both of them, nostrils flaring as it sniffed them out. It- she, was friendly, if a little aloof, showing a little more interest in the winged stranger than the one who'd called her.

ad1ostoreador: "...She's beautiful," he breathed, stepping out the door and shrugging his poncho off with a quick slip of a fastening that let him spread his wings and give them a flick or two to stretch.  He approached the dragon, fearlessly, to be sniffed to any degree she liked, and reached up to scritch gently along a seam of fine scales on her jaw.

"I bet even the drones definitely, uh, don't really want to pick a fight with her, do they...?"  Tavros paused, gazing up at the dragon's bulk.  "...Was she Terezi's? Or...?"

fiduspawn-master: "Heh, Yeah," he agreed with a smile that faltered when he looked to his alt and saw him shrugging off the poncho he'd been wearing, seeing the wings in person for the first time. Oh... That was a little worse than a mirthhive mirror. He wanted to look away but he also didn't.

The dragon lowered her head, longer than a troll was tall, giving Tavros a more thorough sniffing. An uncomfortable heat radiated from her closed eyes and she generally kept them angled away from both trolls so they wouldn't be seared by the proximity. Her scales were hot too, at least on her head, almost too hot to touch.

Tav was still staring at his alt, only snapping out of it when addressed "Oh! Uhmm, I kind of think that she probably was, Since, They are so rare, It is pretty likely, But, She is kind of, uhhh, Cagey, About information regarding herself..."

ad1ostoreador: He kept the touch light and careful, skimming shy of burning his fingers on the heat of the dragon's scales.  "I don't know how, uh, fast they grow, after hatching..."  It was hard to tell, with some of the megafauna.  Some would shoot up in a couple of seasons... others just inched larger incrementally from sweep to sweep.  "She feels... strong. How long ago did you meet her...?"

fiduspawn-master: "I'm not sure either, But, I don't think she's too old..." He stayed back a bit, letting his alter interact with the magnificent beast on his own. "Uhm, Maybe six perigees ago? She was just, Flying along the coast, And I brought her in to get to know her a little bit... She has been coming to help me with the drones every now and then since then..."

ad1ostoreador: Tavros looked from the dragon to his alternate, and back, not speaking for a moment.  Like any psi-active troll, if his powers were pushed hard enough, even his eyes would visibly glow... but for a mere touch of mental communication exchanged with the beast, in the form of a polite query, the flicker was so muted and brief that it would pass unseen.  Had she ever flown with a passenger? And more importantly, would the gracious lady be willing to?

fiduspawn-master: She returned an affirmative, followed by the mental equivalent of a nonchalant shrug. Not opposed. 

Tavros noticed his alt looking between him and the dragon, simply raising an eyebrow. "Uhhh..."

ad1ostoreador: He grinned then, fangy and bright.  "...Have you, uhh, gone flying with her, before?"

fiduspawn-master: His eyes widened "Oh, Uhm, Like, Riding her? No I, Definitely haven't done that..." He looked to the dragon's imposing bulk and, yeah, that would have been a bit of a climb to get up there, and those claws were maybe a bit too sharp to safely hold a troll...

ad1ostoreador: "Then... that is a thing we are going to do, because I can definitely help you get up there, and also back down again," Tavros announced, beaming... then hesitated.  "If... if you want to, I mean...?"

fiduspawn-master: His mouth hung open a moment as he looked at his alter, and then the dragon. "O-oh, I-... Yeah, I, I think that I would like that..." he said, a little quietly, giving him a nervous smile.

ad1ostoreador: Good.  It just wasn't right, somehow, for any of their bloodline to be entirely ground-bound.  He moved forward, coaxing and coordinating with the dragon to lower her stance, to position one foreleg just so, outstretched for potential support, and reached out to offer his alternate both hands, for a solid forearm-to-forearm-locked grip.  His wings spread wider and tilted against a gust of the sea wind, and a strange, faint, smaller set of rust-orange phantom wings shimmered into being with them, almost like a flapstraction's holographic overlay. There was a hint of blue shimmer at the edges of his clothes, too, but his actual, real clothing stayed firmly where it belonged.  (He really was emphatically not a fan of his godtier's default cut, or of having that much of his legs exposed, even sweeps and a pupation after the fact.)

"What I can do, is lift you up over her shoulder, and, uh, set you down between her neck-ridges.  Slowly.  Okay...?"

fiduspawn-master: He watched for a second as his guest conversed with the dragon before jolting slightly in realization, looking down at his lap. Oh, this probably wouldn't work, how could he keep them wrapped up? He didn't want him to have to see-- not after Bull's reaction had been so bad. Dang it, why did he have to prefer the comfort and convenience of shorts? He was so preoccupied he totally missed his alter's subtle transformation, rolling his chair backwards towards the door again. "Uhhhhh, Do you think, You could maybe, Uhm, Wait a couple of minutes? Uhh, Sorry, I just, Have to do something really quick!"

ad1ostoreador: "Okay, uh... no problem. No rush."  Tavros lowered his hands again, no longer braced to lift off, and instead rubbed the back of his own neck, then raked his hair out of his eyes, where the wind had blown it around wildly.

fiduspawn-master: Tavros retreated quickly inside, emerging after a few minutes, blanket discarded and long pants donned. There was still a hint of, visible mishapenness to them, but the pants were baggy enough to hide most of it.

He rolled back over to his alter, smiling awkwardly "Uhh, Hey, Sorry about that, I'm ready now I guess?"

ad1ostoreador: Well, it wasn't as though Tavros would judge his alternate for the shape his legs were in... he just had lingering sensitivities about his own.  This time, he sprang up off the ground to get his wings beating fast enough to hover, as he would have to back on his own planet, then furrowed his brow, dipped closer to Tavros's chair, and offered his hands again, as the weird holo-overlay wing effect remained perfectly, ornamentally still, and his flight steadied from a hover into something more like a gravity-free float. Godtier nonsense and physics were not always on the best of terms, and occasionally resulted in the latter presumably throwing its metaphorical hands up and wandering away for a stiff drink.

"Here..."

fiduspawn-master: No longer distracted, he watched his other self take to the air, making it look so, natural and effortless, then, maybe a little unnatural, but still effortless. 

Swallowing, he nodded and reached up to firmly grasp his arm, letting himself be pulled out of his chair. He still winced, even though he knew it wouldn't hurt, it was just a hard habit to break at this point.

ad1ostoreador: It was slow. Easier than it should have been, even as the muscles in Tavros's arms went taut and he lifted them, as smoothly as a balloon drifting up from the chair and angling upwards along the dragon's shoulder, dangling feet not skimming her scales, but barely above them.  He stopped, when his alternate was suspended neatly over the notch in her neckridges, then carefully, carefully hovered him lower, prepared to hold his weight up one-armed if need be until the other troll had gotten his legs arranged to his satisfaction.

"...All set?"  Given the affirmative, he would lower him the last few inches, to settle his weight there safely.

fiduspawn-master: He clung to his alter's arm, pulling his legs up a bit to keep them from just dangling as he was airlifted over to the dragon's back and gently lowered down. The scales were still hot but not burning like they were on her head, and he settled himself, reaching forward to hold on tightly to one of the neck ridges and looking up at Tavros with a nod. "Yeah, I'm good I think..."

ad1ostoreador: Tavros grinned, broad and pleased, and went from that odd drifting float to wing-buzzing flight again, lifting higher against a gust of wind and hovering near the dragon's head as he called her to take to the sky.  "Hang on, okay?"

fiduspawn-master: He didn't need to be told twice, bracing himself and connecting to the dragon in order to anticipate her movements and better keep balance. She sensed his readiness, standing and turning away from his hive to face the cliffs, starting at a trot to gain speed. The trot turned to a gallop as her wings spread, tilting to catch the wind as they launched themselves off of the high cliff and took to the air.

Tavros was hanging on for dear life, the ride quite bumpy while she was still on the ground. His stomach flipped as she jumped, his breath catching in his throat as the ride turned into a soaring sensation. He finally managed to gasp before letting out a whoop, laughing and hanging on as she tilted upwards to start gaining altitude with mighty wingbeats.

ad1ostoreador: Tavros angled for an updraft and soared higher, circling above the massive sweep of her wings to keep an eye on his alternate and a light thread of communing-sense on the dragon... nothing harsh enough to vie with her rider's.  "Isn't it great?" he called, hands cupped to his mouth to carry over the wind. There was nothing quite like flying, and doing it on the back of an actual dragon probably counted for like... nine thousand extra coolness points, all by itself.

fiduspawn-master: Tav couldn't stop smiling as he kept low to the dragon's back, hanging on as she climbed higher. He could barely hear over the rushing wind, but he glanced over at the flash of bronze, fluttering wings, laughing and letting go with one hand to pump his fist in the air in clear confirmation.

ad1ostoreador: A whoop that he might have learned from Gamzee, and Tavros made a dizzying swoop to plunge past the flying beast's outstretched neck, beneath her, then fight his way up again, grinning wildly and thoroughly windblown.  It wasn't often that he got to play midair with anyone but flapbeasts, especially someone who really appreciated the experience, and he was going to enjoy every minute of this while it lasted.

fiduspawn-master: He quickly grabbed on again, watching Tavros dive and swoop as the dragon evened out her angle of ascent. She let the currents catch in her wings like sails and slowly banked back towards the land again. Now she wasn't flying upwards, Tavros could finally sit up and look around, seeing the sea spread out and glittering below in the moonlight, and his hive, tiny in the distance, standing alone. He spread out his arms to feel the wind rushing past his whole body and took a deep breath of rarefied air. It tasted and smelled better than anything he could ever remember, and he let his eyes close briefly so he could just savor the moment.

ad1ostoreador: It was the kind of moment Tavros was content to let play out, for as long as his counterpart needed it. He kept pace with the dragon's flight, alternating diving glides with fluttering spirals higher, and maybe a brief game of something like tag, even, with subtle gusts of wind rising up to carry him along when he wasn't thinking too hard about it.

fiduspawn-master: The dragon flew in slow arcs, like a gentle roller coaster, nothing too fancy or fast in consideration for her rider. Tav laughed giddily, especially on the descents, relishing the weightless feeling as he clung to her back. Eventually she was flying over his hive and he let her start a slow, circular descent so that she could land, not wanting to push his luck with the magnificent beast. She wasn't his lusus or anything, and he already appreciated her helping with the drones. also he could feel his thighs and behind getting uncomfortably hot from her scales, probably should have thrown his blanket over her back or something.

ad1ostoreador: Tavros followed the dragon downward, there, grinning as they descended, and he would finally still into that physics-gone-slightly-flipped-sideways floaty hover, once she had come to a complete landing stop. "I can, uhh... lift you back down, the same way, if that's okay...?"

fiduspawn-master: Tha dragon hunkered down onto her belly once she'd gently landed, getting low to make dismounting easier. Tav squirmed a little in his seat, looking up to his alt and nodding quickly as he extended a hand "Uhhh, Yes please. Thanks."

ad1ostoreador: Once again, Tavros got a firm hold on his forearm--or both of them, if he offered the other, and then floated him up and off the dragon's neckridge, to carefully airlift him back to his chair, giving him time to get his legs situated before he set him completely down.  "All, um, good?"

fiduspawn-master: He held on with both hands, looking down as he was taken back to his wheeled device. He settled back in easily enough, shifting in his chair as he let go of his alt. He looked up at him with a smile, giving him a thumbs up "Yeah, Thanks!" The dragon was getting up again, sniffing around casually. 

"Heh, Man, That was... Wow, Heh"

ad1ostoreador: Tavros was still grinning, looking pleased and a bit relieved all at once, that his counterpart had both enjoyed the experience and not inadvertently injured himself in the process.  He dropped back to the ground, himself, landing on his feet and folding his wings back with a bit of a sigh to avoid being pushed about by the wind.  The phantom shimmer of a second set of wings evaporated, a moment later. "Yeah... I'm glad she didn't mind," he added, looking up at the dragon with a grateful wave.

fiduspawn-master: She sniffed in his direction before starting to wander off, preparing to lift off again and go back to whatever she'd been doing before.

"Heh, Yeahhh, Me too." He agreed, watching her start to take off, smiling wistfully.

ad1ostoreador: "I guess you do have a pretty, uh... thorough anti-drone defense system..."  He, also, watched the huge beast abscond, though not with quite the same note of wistfulness.

fiduspawn-master: "Heh, Well, It's definitely, Uhhh, Better than it used to be." he hummed, finally tearing his eyes away from the quickly shrinking white dot in the sky to smile at his guest. "Uhm, Thanks for helping me, That was really great..."

ad1ostoreador: "No problem... I'm glad it was fun," Tavros said, smiling back.  He'd had the inklings of the idea, and then the dragon had presented herself as an immediate opportunity.  It was certainly a welcome distraction from the faint, nagging itch of Gl'bgolyb's presence on this planet.  "Maybe we could, uh... do that again sometime..."

fiduspawn-master: "Yeah! Heh, But maybe, Uhh, Not too soon" She wasn't exactly a tame hoofbeast or anything. There was a faint redness along the horizon that hinted at the dawn that would come in the next few hours, and Tavros turned to head back inside now the dragon was out of sight.

(there was something a little different about that itch here too, less eldritch, more predatory, no less uncomfortable, especially this close to the sea.)

ad1ostoreador: Tavros nodded, glancing out toward that tint of color in the sky.  It was amazing how fast being back on Alternia, even for a visit, could remind him that the day was something to fear, not something to greet.  He moved to follow his alternate back inside the hive, picking up his poncho to re-secure it, on the way.  "I should, um, probably head back soon, I think..." He had one more stop off-planet to make, too.  Two if he braved an excess of crowding strangers to find Gamzee a better coat, while he was at it.

fiduspawn-master: Tavros spun around to face him, looking up at him with a slanted smile "Oh, Heh, Yeahhh, probably, It is getting pretty early." he acknowledged, glancing at the row of windows before rolling back over to start closing the curtains. "Uhh, Thank you for coming though! This was, Really nice... Oh, And I hope that Gamzee likes his present!" He added, looking back over his shoulder at him.

ad1ostoreador: "I'm sure he will," Tavros assured him, double-checking to make sure he'd put the fabric-wrapped little package in his sylladex.  It was there, as was the pot he'd come to collect, and he returned that smile crookedly.  "I'll, uh, see you around, yeah?  It was really nice to meet you in person..."

fiduspawn-master: He finished with the curtains and turned to face his alt as he was leaving, smiling more warmly and raising a hand in farewell. "Yes! See you around, Uhh, Tavros, Heh, It was nice to meet you too, And, Not as weird at the end."

ad1ostoreador: It was clearly necessary to offer a fist for a proper fist-bunp, there.  "Definitely not as weird at the end," he agreed, then gave a little wave of his own, and looked down to fiddle with the device on his wrist.  A moment later... fworp, and he was gone the same way he'd arrived.

fiduspawn-master: The fistbump was easily reciprocated and he watched his guest vanish into thin air.

[purple-haired-faerie]

Jemma baby struggle part 3

As promised the happier update for this story. Although there is talk of miscarriage it’s not as much as it has been.

It’s been wonderful to write this with the lovely @ohbytheangel who just amazes me with her incredible ideas. We do have one last section, an epilouge if you will where we follow the twins and their family during the first few months of their lives.

***the third attempt***

As Cristina had predicted, once time had passed, Jules and Emma tried for another baby. Given that they had gone through two miscarriages they knew not to get their hopes up, and were being incredibly cautious and not leaving anything to chance. When Emma learnt that she was in fact expecting, She and Jules decided to make regular visits to the silent brothers to monitor their child. Like with the previous two children, Helen and Cristina were the first two know.

Telling them had been a strange conversation, as yes there was happiness but there was also the memory of what had happened to their last two babies. But when Helen whispered to Jules “It will be better this time” there was something in his heart that believed his older sister. As the saying went, “third time lucky” and by the angel Jules had never wanted a saying to be true more than he did in that moment.

At three months, Jules and Emma decided to tell the rest of their family of the pregnancy. There was excitement of course, but everyone waited to see how Jules and Emma were before they showed the excitement they felt. The memory of the miscarriage was still in everyone’s mind as well as the pain that it had brought with it. It was Tavvy who allowed everyone to react. Tavvy had known that Emma had been pregnant but had lost the baby, and that it had been an upsetting time, but he did not understand the full extent of the situation.

As a result, he saw no problem in running around screaming “BABY!” very excitedly. Emma couldn’t help but smile at Tavvy’s reaction, as Jules pulled a very happy Tavvy in for a cuddle. Looking at his family with a smile on his face, Jules went “it’s ok to be excited because Emma and I are expecting a baby, but I think it would be wise given everything that’s happened, not to get ahead of ourselves” and that's when the smiles and hugs started.

Both Jules and Emma had been expecting the fourth month to be emotionally difficult as it had been during the fourth month of their last pregnancy that the miscarriage had happened, and all the memories came back. But as it turned out, things ended up being a lot better than anyone had been expecting. They had gone for one of their regular checkups with the silent brother, when they received news that neither of them could have possibly imagined. “And you have been perfectly well?” the Silent Brother asked.

“Yes...is something wrong?” Emma asked, panic rising in her voice. “No, but you are expecting twins” the Silent Brother informed them. There was a pause before Jules softly kissed Emma’s forehead going “Twins Emmy, by the angel I hope they turn out like Ty and Livvy” which made Emma smile and lean into him. “That would be nice” she said softly. After so many set backs and heartbreaks, it was amazing for them to get some good news.

A couple of days later, they found themselves in front of their family, with Jules’s arm around Emma’s waist. “We got an update on the baby” Jules said, and paused, looked at Emma. “Or should we say babies” she finished, and allowed the rest of them to work out what her words meant. It was Ty who worked it out first by looking at Livvy going “they will be like us Livs” which caused Livvy to jump up and down and clap. That was enough for the rest of them to work it out. All of them except Tavvy who just looked confused, and upset that he didn’t understand. Kneeling down next to his brother and pulled him close going “Emma and I are going to have twins” he said, which made Tavvy’s face light up.

At the end of the fourth month, Emma had been sitting on the bed when she gasped. Jules looked at her and panicked but having seen a small smile on her face, he calmed down. Emma glanced at him going “I just felt our babies move” she said, and almost on cue, she felt them kick again. From then on, Jules had been desperate to feel their babies move for himself. He could always tell when Emma could feel them as she’d smile to herself for a moment.

At five months pregnant, Emma took Jules’s hand simply placed it on her bump. Jules looked confused but then he felt something against his palm. His eyes widened as he felt the bump again. But it was when Ema took his other hand and placed it on another part on her bump and he felt a kick from his other child, did he start crying. Given everything they had been through to get children, to actually be able to feel not one, but two children had been more than he could possibly imagine.

Tavvy was the next person they let feel the kicks. Emma had been sitting on the sofa when it happened. “Hey Tavs come here a second” she said, and beckoned him over. “Are you OK Memma? Tavvy asked. Since the pregnancy announcement, Tavvy had started calling Emma ‘Memma’ again which made her heart melt. she smiled as she went “I'm fine, just give me you hands for a second” she said, which he did. Taking Tavvy’s small hands, she placed them on the bump where she felt the babies kicking. He just looked at her wide eyes.

From that point, everyone wanted to feel babies kick in Emma’s bump, which was all very sweet, as they all made sure to be very careful with her. Every single night before bed, Jules made sure to feel both babies before he fell asleep, which made Emma fall even more in love with him, which she hadn’t even known was possible.

Both Jules and Emma had been reluctant to prepare for their upcoming children for fear that they would loose them, but when they had gotten half way through, Helen and Cristina gently asked if they should start getting ready for the upcoming arrivals. They decided to start on the nursery (they decided that when the twins were really young they would share a room, as Ty and Livvy had done but as they got older would have rooms of their own) as that would take the most amount of work. Jules decided on a pale green should they have a boy and Emma went with purple for a girl.

On their next visit to the Silent Brothers, they asked for them to find out the gender of the twins, but instead of telling them, they asked them to write it on a piece of card, which they did. The entire drive home, Emma struggled to not read what was on the piece of card, but they eventually got back to the Institute and Emma was able to hand the card over to Helen and Cristina. “Well, that’s all fine and good but don’t you think we need stuff to go in the nursery?” Helen asked with a raised eyebrow. “It wouldn’t hurt to get a few things” Jules said (as they only thing they currently had was a crib big enough for both babies) and with that, they left.

The doors had scarcely closed the doors when Helen called out “Ok guys they’ve gone, we’ve got painting to do” and with that the family appeared (they had been discussing a surprise and needed to hide when Jules and Emma had returned) and they all headed up to paint the nursery and built the crib that had just been sitting in the middle of the room, still in it’s box. It was the first thing they had done for the upcoming arrivals and the excitement could be felt in the room. They had just enough to finish, change and wash when Jules and Emma returned.

“We’ve got something to show you” Helen announced and turned to leave, expecting the other two to follow. “You go, we’ll sort your stuff out” Mark said, who walked into the room, followed by Ty and Livvy. Knowing they wouldn’t take no for an answer, Jules and Emma handed the stuff over and followed Helen’s lead. The other three waited a few seconds before following them. They got to the nursery (which was next to the room Jules and Emma shared) when Helen stopped and asked “are you ready to find out the gender of your babies?” and all Jules and Emma could manage was nod. Helen opened the door and let them in.

Two of the rooms were painted green, with the other two painted purple. Emma looked at Helen with a look of surprise on her face. “We have one of each?” Emma asked, and realised it was a rather stupid question. Helen just smiled at Emma going “yes Emma, you’re expecting a boy and a girl”. Emma beamed and she felt Jules gently pressed a kiss to her temple, and rest his hand on her bump. “Guys where do you want the stuff?” Mark asked from the door. He, Ty and Livvy had brought the stuff upstairs and had been quietly watching their reaction.

A few days later, they went out for clothes, and no one knew how it happened but soon everyone decided that they wanted to go. Deciding to make the most of it, the decision was made that everyone could choose one thing for the twins, with Helen, Aline, Cristina, Livvy and Dru choosing something for their niece, and Mark, Kieran, Ty, Kit and Tavvy choosing something for their Nephew. Cristina and Kieran had been taken aback by the fact Emma and Jules had classed them as and Aunt and Uncle but Jules had shrugged going “you’re practically married to Mark anyway so you are as good as family” which made them smile. They’d had a similar conversation with Kit earlier in the day.

Emma had been looking at something when she stopped and grinned at Jules in a way that made him feel like he should be worried. She grabbed a unicorn onesie and held it up to show him, and they both laughed. “I never did suit that unicorn top you brought me, but I think our daughter will suit a unicorn much better” Jules said. He was still getting used to calling the babies growing in Emma his son and daughter but it was still a great feeling. Putting the onesie in the trolley, Emma leant over and gave Jules a quick kiss on the cheek. Jules soon found a dinosaur onesie and Emma almost died on how cute their son would look in it. Much to their delight the rest of the family came back with some great choices of clothing for the arrivals.

As it turned out, the twins were incredibly eager to meet their parents, and the rest of their family, and decided to come two weeks early. They had woken up, and had Emma had rested her head against Jule’s chest, with his hand resting on her rather sizeable bump. That was until there was a pain in a stomach. Looking up at Jules, she went “I think we are about to meet our babies Julian” and for a moment all Jules did was stare at her, not quite sure what to think, feel or react.

Somehow he managed to collect himself together enough to actually do something. He gave Jem and Tessa a call to let them know that Emma’s contractions had started. Jem told Jules to keep calm and to call again when the contractions were stronger and closer together. Given she had gone into labour, Emma was staying oddly calm about the entire thing. Julian on the other hand had gotten himself into a total flap and was panicking.

“Jules go make yourself useful and go tell Mark and Helen that it’s started and to keep the rest of them busy. And get the bag out of stuff we got ready out” Emma instructed, and Jules nodded and headed out the door, before saying “I won’t be long, and Emma? I love you, so much” and with that, he had gone. He didn’t really registered the route he’d taken but he soon found himself in a room with his eldest Brother and Sister. He hadn’t even said anything, they knew something was going on, as they were both on the feet and they had come over and joined him.

“Emma’s gone into labour” he said and after a pause he went “I’m going to be a Dad” which made them both laugh. Mark tightly hugged his brother going “you already are a Dad Julian. Now go back to your woman, and let us look after the rest” he said, and let Julian go. Jules was about to go, but not before Helen gave him a tight hug and a soft kiss on his head. Jules headed back to Emma, grabbing the bag on the way, and desperately trying to get his head round the fact that in a matter of hours, he was going to meet his babies.

A couple of hours later, Jules made a second call to Jem and Tessa asking them to the Institute. As they waited for the pair to arrive, Emma clung to Jules going “when they arrive, please don’t leave me. I can’t do this on my own” and he just held her, and promised that he wasn’t going anywhere. He found himself gently rubbing Emma’s back, not sure what else to do. Eventually there was a knock on the door and Jem and Tessa allowed themselves in. Having quickly gotten themselves ready, Jem went over to Emma going “can you get to the bed now Emma, we need to examine you?” and Emma nodded and with Jule’s help, got to the bed.

“You’re nearly fully dilated Emma but you still have a a bit more to go, then you will be able to start pushing” Jem said, which made Emma almost deflate back against Jules, who had sat behind her, with one leg on each side of her. “How much does it hurt Emma?” Jules asked and she squeezed so hard that he lost feeling and she managed to get out a “not much”. But if she had thought this part was painful, she had no idea what was about to come when she started pushing.

Jules had always hated seeing Emma in pain. Apparently when they had been very young, Emma had fallen from the crib and had bust her lip. Emma seemed totally unfazed by the entire thing, but Jules had burst into tears and had screamed until their parents had arrived. But sitting on the bed, with Emma gripping onto his arms for dear life and screaming as she pushed was just awful, and Jules found himself on the verge of tears as he saw the woman he loved in so much pain, and there was nothing he could do, and it was destroying him.

Jules wasn’t sure how long Emma had been screaming, but soon her scream’s stopped and was replaced by a babies cry. Jem was quick to place the baby onto Emma’s chest going “meet your daughter” and Jules took one look at her and burst into tears. There was a slight tuft of blonde hair and when she looked up at her parents, it was big wide Blackthorn eyes. “By the Angel Emma she’s beautiful” Jules managed to get out, and all Emma could do was nod. She was tired from pushing out a baby and still had another baby to push out. Soon Jem cut the umbilical cord and handed the child over to Tessa to wash and weigh, and turned back to Emma who was getting the urge to push again.

It seemed that their son was eager to be reunited with it’s sister and before long, Jem had handed them their baby boy, who was the male version of his sister with blonde hair and Blackthorn eyes. Once Jem and Tessa had checked both children and announced that although early they were healthy, and had sorted the last bit of the birth, and ensured that Emma was doing well, they silently left the room. Emma sat there, leaning against Jules with a baby in each arm just looking at them. “Emma we made these” Jules said softly and Emma gave him a funny look and went “yeah well who did all the work?” and Jules was too emotional to even get upset.

“What shall we name them?” Emma then asked and after a pause Jules went “I was thinking Caleb Arthur for our son” he said, and it felt so strange for him to say that out loud. “Caleb Arthur Blackthorn, I think it suits him” Emma said, looking down at him. There was a pause and Emma went “I was thinking we call our daughter Milly Livia” she said, and Jules found himself swallowing a lump in his throat. Before the twins were even a thought, Livvy had been seriously injured and they had nearly lost her, but Livvy had defied the odds and survived. It seemed fitting that they should honor his brave warrior sister by naming his beautiful daughter after her. “You know we will never hear the end of it, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay. Livvy is a worthy namesake and it’s a fitting name. Welcome to the world Milly Livia Blackthorn” Jules said.

Emma managed to successfully feed both twins before Jules settled them down to sleep. He had glanced back at Emma, only to see that she herself had fallen asleep. Kissing her gently, he slipped out the room to find his family. They were all in the living room when he walked in, and he found all eyes were on him. “Both babies have been delivered and are healthy and are doing well. As is Emma but she’s exhausted” Jules said, and there was a sigh of relief in the room.

“But what we all want to know is what you called them” Dru said and their were nods of agreement. Jules sat down and went “our daughter was born first” and with a slight glance at Livvy he added “we’ve decided to call her Milly Livia Blackthorn” and with that, Livvy promptly burst into tears and hugged her older brother. When she finally let him go, she asked “and what of her brother?” which made Jules smile. “He was eager to join his sister and Caleb Arthur Blackthorn was born shortly after” he informed them.

The love in the room for the two small Nephilim that only he’d met was so strong. “When can we meet them?” Mark asked, which was something they all wanted to know. “When Emma has rested from delivering them. It’ll probably be best that rather than all bursting in at once, you come in smaller groups” Jules said, and he didn’t hear a single disagreement. “Jules you should return to your family” Aline said gently and Jules was not going to say no to that.

[queen-scribbles]

Not That Bad

Second prompt fill for PoE ficwap, from @haledamage, reusing the ‘Tavi and Aloth have to share a bed for REASONS” prompt bc I wanted to do it justice. It was harder to figure out the set up than I expected, because the usual ‘two people/one bed’ trope wouldn’t work. Tavi’s far too willing to sleep on the floor. (the ending could be better, but I’ve been trying to tweak it for an hour, and I’m just... done.)

It had been a long day, Tavi acknowledged to herself as she focused on getting her aching and exhausted legs to carry her up the steps toward the room they'd rented in the Gréf's Rest. And while long days were hardly rare, fending off an ogre attack and dragging a woman from a burning building had certainly made this one unique. Right now, however, the uniqueness wasn't her concern; how exhausting it had been was. I might actually sleep tonight, she thought, with an almost perverse amount of glee, as she found the correct door and slid the key into the lock. I don't think even Watcher dreams could keep me- The door swung open. -awake. Haeferic had forgotten to mention something when he promised her "the biggest room in the inn" --it only had four beds. Tavi froze in the doorway as that fact registered, which meant Hiravias and Aloth both almost walked into her. "What's wr-" Aloth cut himself off as a glance over Tavi's shoulder answered his question. "Ah." "Yeah, 'Ah'," Tavi sighed, stepping into the room and to the side so the others could enter. "I may not be a scholar, but six adventurers an' four beds... ain't hard to see how that ends." "With us on the floor," Sagani volunteered, gesturing for Itumaak to follow as she headed for the rug in front of the hearth. "We've made do with worse." She shrugged gamely. "Least in here it's warm." "Well, that still leaves five people and only four beds," Tavi muttered, rubbing her forehead. She just wanted to sleep, godsdammit, but here she stood; hair reeking of smoke and her armor of worse, trying to solve a logic puzzle she definitely hadn't asked for- "Why don't you two just share?" Sagani suggested, grinning slyly as she picked burrs out of Itumaak's coat. "Who share?" Tavi retorted, and almost instantly regretted it as seven eyes--and one eyepatch of Wael--slanted toward her and Aloth. "Pallegina and Hiravias," Sagani deadpanned, still grinning. "Who do you think?" "I-" Can't say I'm opposed to the idea, her brain filled in (un)helpfully. She turned to Aloth. "Are you alright-" "Would you mind-" he started at the same time. They both cut themselves off when they realized the other was speaking, prompting Sagani's grin to widen. "C'mon, Tav, it makes sense," she cajoled, expression shifting faux-innocent as she ticked off her points. "The bed's definitely big enough for two, you an' Aloth are obviously close enough-" "I'm right here," Aloth muttered pointedly. "Am I wrong?" Sagani asked even more pointedly, raising her eyebrows as her gaze shifted between the two elves. "No..." both Tavi and Aloth conceded after an awkward second's silence, while the others all pretended to be ignoring them as they chose beds and unslung their packs. "Well, then," Sagani shrugged and gave her full attention to plucking burrs and chunks of ice from Itumaak's coat. Tavi and Aloth traded a look of optimistic skepticism. "Is... that alright with you, city slicker?" she asked, fighting the urge to nervously fiddle with her hair or the buckles on her armor. Aloth hesitated for the barest fraction of a second before nodding. "If you're alright with it, so am I." Are you sure?" Tavi pressed, having caught the hesitation. "If it mmakes you uncomfortable, I can sleep on the floor, too. There's plenty of room-" "No," he cut her off. "I'm sure. You have enough trouble falling asleep as it is, I'm not going to ask you to do that. I just want to be sure this is something you're comfortable with." She chuckled. "Shit, Corfiser, it's not like we're actually Sleeping Together, just sharing a bed. What's there to be uncomfortable about?" Aloth gave her a curious look, and Tavi immediately started doubting how well her bravado had hidden the very real butterflies in her stomach. "As I said, if it's alright with you, it's alright with me." "Well, then." Tavi circled to one side of the bed and sat down, dropping her pack and pulling off her boots. "That's settled." "I suppose it is." Aloth sat almost gingerly on the other side of the bed. It didn't take long to shuck their armor and other gear, and the two of them settled in to sleep, shoulders barely brushing. Tavi still instinctively shifted half an inch away before rolling on her side. It was her preferred sleeping position, since it worked best for pretending to be asleep in the event of an ambush. Old habits died hard, she reflected as she stared at the wall. She hadn't had to worry about being ambushed in months. Behind her, Tavi could hear Aloth shifting in search of a comfortable position, and wondered if his feelings about this development were in anyway similar to her own. Namely, giddy nerves, not wanting to make things uncomfortable, but a small pulse of warmth wriggling through her gut that had liked the idea the moment Sagani brought it up. But it wasn't long before Aloth stilled and soon after his breathing settled in to the slow, steady cadence of sleep. Tavi yawned, too a moment to appreciate the irony of being the last to fall  asleep when she was the most exhausted, and drifted off herself. >><><< The dreams hit hard and they hit fast. One minute, her prediction had proven correct, and the exhaustion had brought with it the thick cover of dreamless sleep. The next Tavi felt like she was shaking as if hit by lightning. Standing on a cliff, drenched by rain, rock clutched in her hand as she waited for the body at her feet to show signs of life. A blink and it was gone, replaced by the vision of an elven woman, stretched on a rack and clearly in pain. Another beat and she was staring through the blood-hazed eyes of a mother orlan protecting her young children from some threat just beyond her field of vision. Back to the elven woman, her back arched and chest heaving as she screamed in agony. Vague, hooded figures stepped forward and reached for the levers. The elven woman locked eyes with her and when the figures tightened the rack another notch, Tavi felt the agony in her own limbs; as if every joint was being pulled from its socket. The world went white- >><><< -and she bolted awake, breathing hard, pain lingering in her wrists and elbows. It's just a dream. Tavi swore under her breath and ran a shaking hand through her hair. That's all. The covers rustled and there was a mumbled "Wha's wrong?" beside her as Aloth blinked his way awake. Tavi immediately felt guilty. "Sorry. The dreams. They... they were really vivid tonight." She looked down at the hem of her shirt, bunching the fabric in her hand and then smoothing it out. "Didn't mean to wake you." "It's fine," he said around a yawn. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'll be fine," Tavi promised, the words only sounding slightly hollow. She pushed down the covers and started to slide from the bed. "Maybe I should sleep on the floo-" "No." Aloth leaned over and grabbed her wrist, halting her movement. "It's alright, Tavi." "But I'll prob'ly wake you up again." He shrugged. "I learned years ago that I don't need much sleep to function. If you wake me, you wake me. At least you won't be dealing with this alone." "Aloth..." She hesitated. "Please. Stay." His thumb lightly rubbed the inside of her wrist, probably feeling her jittery pulse. "You're not inconveniencing me or making me uncomfortable or anything like that, if that's your concern. I would... very much like it if you stayed. However," he let go of her wrist. "If you would be more comfortable on the floor, by all means, don't let me stop you." Tavi smiled and quickly slid back under the covers, nestling into a good position. "Please. You couldn't stop me if you wanted to, city slicker." Aloth chuckled quietly, his hand sliding toward her until his fingers brushed hers. "We can test that theory, if you wish." Tavi smirked into the darkness and whispered, "Nah, I'm good." as she deliberately brushed her fingers against his in response. >><><< Wakefulness was--for once in her life--slow in coming. Tavi lazily blinked her way to consciousness, feeling drowsy and well-rested, cradled in the warmth of the pelts and blanket that covered the bed. As well as the warmth of another body snuggled against hers. For one muzzy, half-awake moment, she was a kid again. Piled in one bed with her brothers because the house was too small and winters were cold. But only for a moment. The smell of bacon and something else elusive but delicious tickled her senses, and Tavi pulled herself fully awake. The rough-hewn walls of the Gréf's Rest greeted her. She yawned and scrubbed sleep from her eyes with the heel of one hand. Of course it had just been a memory. She wasn't a kid anymore, she had the scars to prove it. Which meant that wasn't Khellin or one of the others next to her. Full recollection flooded in and it took an actual, physical effort not to bolt upright and instead simply take stock. Aloth had rolled over at some point and curled up against her back, one arm wrapped loosely around her midriff.  Tavi smiled to herself and lightly ran her fingers up and down the length of his forearm, occasionally pausing to trace circles around his knuckles before resuming. Okay, she admitted silently, I'm not a touchy feely person most of the time, but I gotta admit this is nice. Her next pass up Aloth's arm slipped past his elbow, brushing the skin just beyond it, and he twitched, making a small noise that was almost a laugh in his sleep. Tavi grinned giddily--silently thanking the gods no one else was awake yet--and more deliberately ran her fingers over the spot again. This time Aloth mumbled something, his breath warm against her neck, as his arm jerked away. The cadence of his breathing changed, and Tavi felt him shift and stretch as he woke. "Ticklish, huh?" she teased in a whisper. "Surprised I hadn't figured that out yet." Aloth shook his head. "Not ticklish, jus' sensitive." Tavi almost giggled at how adorably sleepy he sounded. "That so?" "Mm-hm." His breath caught as their position sank in and he started to roll away. She stopped him with a gentle hand on his wrist. "You're fine, Corfiser." Aloth only relaxed fractionally. "Are you sure?" "Mm-hm." Tavi rubbed her thumb against the heel of his hand. "I mean, if you're not comfortable, go right ahead. But you aren't makin' me uncomfortable. It's actually kinda nice." "It is, isn't it?" he said softly as he settled back in. "Your hair still smells like smoke." "Sorry. I had no idea you were such a cuddler, city slicker," she teased in an undertone as she rolled over so she was facing him. "You're just learning all kinds of new things this morning, aren't you?" he fired back, smile tugging at his lips. "Heh, guess I am." Tavi wrinkled her nose. "This sharin' a bed idea turned out not that bad after all." "I'm gonna remember you said that," Sagani piped up from somewhere behind her, and Tavi groaned as she glanced over her shoulder at the dwarf, who was, of course, grinning. "And sweet Galawain, you two are adorable." The moment effectively ruined, Tavi sat up and chucked her pillow at Sagani. "No one asked you." Sagani snorted and caught the pillow with one hand. "That never stops you, Tav." "She makes a very good point," Aloth said as he also sat up, running his fingers through his hair to gather it forward over one shoulder. "You're supposed t' be on my side!" Tavi grumbled, raking her fingers through her own hair and forcefully suppressing the urge to kiss him senseless for being so damn attractive this early in the morning. She settled for bumping her shoulder against his. "I am," Aloth countered. "Your bluntness is part of why I love you, remember?" Tavi's heart stuttered ever so slightly(which she'd always thought was a myth at best, vapid prose at worst) as she sat there grinning at Aloth until he raised an eyebrow in confused curiosity. "What?" he finally asked. "That's the first time you said the 'l' word, city slicker," Tavi informed him, reveling in Sagani's expression. "No it isn't," Aloth protested, frowning slightly as he bit his lip in thought. "After we fought off the ogres-" "You said I'd be the death of you," Tavi said, still grinning impishly. "I said I love you, too, 'cause I knew that's what you meant." His expression softened and he ran his fingers through his hair, absently twisting the ends. "I do, you know." "I know," she nodded, leaning over to steal a kiss. "And your tactfulness being part of why I love you is why I've gotten so good at readin' between the lines like that." "Good for you," Sagani interjected. "But if I hafta listen to my stomach growl one more time while you lovebirds are bein' all cute, I may commit murder. Help me wake the others so we can eat." "Dibs on waking Kana," Tavi said as she shoved down the covers and scrambled out of bed. "I'll take care of Pallegina," Aloth added, only half a second behind her. "Dammit," Sagani laughed ruefully, glancing at Hiravias' bed. "If he's feelin' grumpy, shifts, and eats me, Watcher, you get to explain to Kallu an' my kids." "Aw, c'mon, 'Gani," Tavi needled, already poking Kana's shoulder with one finger. "It's not gonna be that bad." It wasn't. Everyone was awake in short order and with minimal grumbling, and they set about planning their course of action as they ate. As she listened to Kana and Hiravias debate the virtues of camping versus returning to the inn at night, almost effortlessly pulling Sagani and Pallegina in as well, Tavi glanced at Aloth and silently hoped the rest of this adventure would work out as well as sleeping arrangements the previous night had. That wouldn't be so bad.

He caught her looking at him and smiled back.

No, Tavi thought to herself. Not bad at all.