#all this fancy editing for the smallest bottle ever

[kezcore]

omr beauty would be so cool if i actually cared/knew about beauty products and fragrances

[k1nky-fool]

Devil of the Crossroads

Part 1/?

Masterlist

Silco x OC

M/F

Rating: Teen (for this chapter).

Warnings: somewhat beta-read, but not very edited.

AN: first chapter out tonight as a birthday present for my friend @offendermansflowergirl

I hope you enjoy, friend!

Usually when there was some change, Silco was one of the first to notice. His carefulness didn't allow him to miss even the smallest details. There was always something suspicious and it was always noticed by Silco.

And yet for some reason, the new woman bartending The Last Drop went under his radar for quite some time. When Silco finally did notice her, he realized he had been walking past her for more than a month.

Sevika had been the one to hire her. She hadn't said much about the new bartender except that she was a good fit. When he asked her to find someone to do the job, Sevika had asked him if he were looking for an asset or just a body to fill the spot.

His answer at the time was "An asset wouldn't hurt."

Sevika had just nodded, saying she knew a girl.

And this was her girl? The woman was roughly around Sevika's age, perhaps a little older. She had a charm to her face; a simple appearance that made her look soft, but something clever hid in her eyes.

Of course, the fact that she faded into the background so easily had to be part of the reason Sevika thought her valuable. But there had to be more to her than just that. Bartending here would require her to be vigilant and harsh. Silco wasn't foolish enough to think the people that came through here would be kind to someone like her. Such a small woman with such a soft face couldn't possibly have the endurance for this.

Silco himself had just been speaking to the most difficult people he'd ever met. It was a hassle, trying to get people to invest in an image like the Nation of Zaun by itself, and the only language he knew they would understand was profit. Unfortunately, as easy as some had been to win over, there were those that required more persuasion, and he didn't currently have the resources to make a big demonstration of dominance in the undercity.

Everyone else had gone home, and she was closing up by herself. Sevika was long gone; Jinx was in bed.

What was this woman's name again? Something short and familiar. Poppy? That's not it. Perry? No.

"Can I help you with something, Mr. Silco?" She asked kindly, her voice bounced with a twang; an accent he recognized from the outskirts of the undercity by the old mineshafts. She finished wiping tables and now went to the bar itself.

"Sevika hired you, yes?"

"That she did, sir. Near about two months ago." She nodded gleefully. "Figured you didn't care much, since you've been walking past me for about that time."

She noticed. "My apologies. You have a talent for remaining inconspicuous." He said, sitting down at the bar as she wiped it down. "Have you often been closing up shop by yourself?"

"Only when I want to. But today it's because Sevi got riled up by some brainy little bug at the card table." She recalled.

Sevi? Sevika?

"Sevika is your friend I take it?"

"Well, as friendly as Sevi gets." She shrugged. "I just kept pestering her when we were kids. Guess I stuck with her, 'cause I was the first person she bothered for the job."

"You grew up on the outskirts, yes?" Silco asked.

She smiled, throwing out an empty bottle. "You know, you can just say I talk like a mineshaft baby."

"I didn't want to imply any offense." He defended, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

"None taken. I could try to talk fancy, but I like the nonsense I talk. Makes folks think I'm sweet." She grinned, giving a wink.

"And are you?"

"I'm as sweet as whatever creature crawls up on my bar. But creatures best not come up with a sour attitude, else they find that I don't mix sweet with sour." Her voice was so disarming that Silco almost didn't realize she was speaking of threatening whoever had the audacity to mistreat her.

He gave a soft smile, realizing little by little how well she settled into such a demanding job. "Then what do you mix with a sour attitude?"

She laughed leaning against the counter. "Depends on how sour they taste. Sour enough, and they're lucky if I don't mix bitter cyanide in their drink."

He found himself giving a light laugh with her insinuation. She spoke of poison, yet she was so disarming it hardly occurred to him.

"And what do you taste of our interaction tonight?" Silco asked, leaning on his elbows.

She placed her hands on her own side of the counter, resting her weight on her palms, and brought her face only a few inches from his. Silco was able to see every freckle across pale skin, along with curly, dirty blonde hair falling across her forehead and falling out if the tie she had most of it in.

But it also meant sharp green eyes could get a shameless observation of his expression. Her eyes darted from his clear eye to the infected one. She tilted her head to the side as her eyes followed the scar on the left side of his face before lingering for a moment on his lips.

Silco felt far too exposed quite suddenly; whether it was a testament to her control, or to his fear of losing that control, he didn't quite know. Either way, it was a jarring way to realize just how much of his guard he had let down. His realization must have shown in some way, despite his attempt to look confident.

Eventually, her observation came to an end. "I think you're salty."

That caught him more off guard than he expected. "Salty?"

She nodded, taking a step back to continue her work. "Mmm-hmm, I think someone is bugging you, or something hopped on your nerves, and it's making you salty." She explained. "But I figure you're crawling up my bar looking to taste something sweet, so I'll let you take your pick."

"And what sweet taste do you think I'm chasing?" He hadn't moved from his position, only for her to take hers again, vaguely a little farther than before.

"I, myself, am a beer kinda gal, but I reckon you're a whiskey man." She smirked, sparking some kind of feeling in his chest. "Why? You got something else in mind, Mr. Silco?"

When he gave a slight scoff and a hidden smile with her teasing, she grabbed the expensive bottle from under the counter, and a few ice cubes for his drink. "You can just call me, Silco."

She poured them both a glass, and slid one over to him. "Then it's Pepper to you, Silco."

The name suited her well. Something familiar, and vaguely intimate; comfortable, and yet there was a spice that had the capacity to overwhelm if one was not accustomed to her. Still, it left his main question unanswered: why did Sevika choose her?

"Something on your mind, or do you always look that anxious?" She asked despite the fact that she knew he didn't.

"Sevika doesn't trust easily. So why did she go to you?"

"You're asking what makes me so special." She stated his words as he meant them, but there was no offense in her voice. "Well, I got my guesses, but Sevi ain't exactly the talkative type."

"Whatever she was looking for, she found in you." He speculated.

Pepper sipped at her whiskey with a long sigh. "Silco, I've known Sevi a long time. We've had ups and downs, but last time we spoke, we most certainly left off on a down. I'd be lying if I said I knew the riddle in her head."

"And your best guess?" He asked, carefully.

A beat of silence went by as she tried hard to recall the past. "I think maybe she's still scared of me." Pepper shrugged, downing the rest of her drink in one go, and pushing off the counter to leave.

She was gone long before he had a chance to figure out what that meant. It was far too disturbing to think that Sevika was actually scared of her, but it only took a moment for him to consider the possibility that she was hiding something malicious.

Pepper had never spoken to Silco, and yet she knew exactly which whiskey bottle to grab, and how he liked it.

"Dad?"

The little voice startled him a bit, and he found just who had called him. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

Jinx's little head peeked out from the doorframe, and Silco noted the stains down her face. "I had a nightmare."

"Do you want to talk?" He asked. Jinx thought for a moment before she shook her head.

Silco nodded, knowing exactly what this was. Nightmares were a common plague they both suffered, and if returning to sleep was too terrifying, then all he had to offer was at least the comfort of a distraction.

Silco began heading over to Sevika's usual table and procured one of the decks of cards that she kept there. Jinx smiled as he held it up for her to see.

"What game shall we play tonight?" He asked as he walked with her up the stairs to his office.

"I'm gonna to kick your ass if we play Monster Fishing."

"Confident, are we?" He chuckled as Jinx stuck her tongue out in taunting. "Ah, well I suppose we'll just have to wait and see who comes out victorious."

He set the cards out to play the game on the couch in his office and handed Jinx a hand of cards. "Was that Pepper you were talking to?"

It didn't surprise him that she knew his bartender. In fact Jinx had probably introduced herself with a little chaos the day Pepper was hired. "It was. I've been busy and I didn't get the chance to talk to her yet."

"Is it true Sevika is scared of her?" Jinx asked, picking up another card and finding a match. The game was essentially just a memory exercise, but Jinx proved to have a talent for finding patterns where he didn't.

"Young lady, were you eavesdropping?" Silco poked at her, getting her to laugh.

"No!" Even Jinx didn't expect to fool him with that.

"If Sevika is scared of Pepper, I don't think it's because she's stronger." He told her honestly, losing another card to his poor memory of the board of cards. "But after talking to her I think it's best to just ask Sevika myself."

"Good, then I'll ask Pepper." She nodded her head like they were in agreement. He found it endearing enough not to tell her otherwise. It was better Jinx ask her than him, as he was still reeling from their first encounter.

"That sounds like a good plan." He agreed.

"I caught the monster!" Jinx showed her hand and took the last of the cards except the few that he hadn't paired.

"Are you cheating?" Silco asked playfully.

Jinx shook her head and began shuffling all the cards again for another round. "No you just suck."

He and Jinx managed to stay up playing card games until sunrise and he didn't see Sevika until the next morning as she explained everyone that approached her to talk business the night before. Nobody of note, but he couldn't help but notice she left out someone.

"And what of the girl that took a bite out of your paycheck at the card table?" He asked.

Sevika chuckled. "So you talked to Pep, huh?"

The two of them spoke like they were good friends, but he couldn't help but remember what Pepper had said about where they left off. "Why her?"

"She must have taken it easy on you, if you have to ask." Silco's unamused glare clued her in. "Pep's got a habit she's had since we were kids. Couldn't hide shit from her and fuck if she actually managed to forget something. You could drop her in a warzone and she wouldn't miss a thing."

"She goes unnoticed as well." He noted.

"She's quiet when she wants to be." Sevika agreed. "She's also a charmer; she takes apart your guard like diffusing a bomb, and gets you to spill your guts to her. But if there's any information you're looking for, Pep has it. It's been a pain in my ass for twenty-five years, might as well introduce you to the thorn."

Pepper had to have noticed something she hadn't told him. She had rightfully deduced that he was salty because of how his day had gone. And she definitely got a long look at him. What else had she found but kept a secret? And better yet, how could Sevika be scared of her?

"I will speak to Pepper later. For now, we need to focus on the opioid gangs. We require Finn's distribution network, and he doesn't appear to be wavering."

"Then we make him waver." Sevika filled in.

"His supply chain is weak." He agreed, handing her a map of a few places of note. "Take a few people with you, and don't be seen for this one. We want him to suspect anyone from his rivals to his allies."

Sevika nodded, taking the map and heading out, but he heard her stop at the top of the staircase. A soft voice attempted to plead with her, but she must have stomped past. Only a brief moment later there was a soft knock on his door.

"Enter." He called.

The door opened gently where Pepper stood on the other side, holding a sleeping Jinx in her arms. "I think this is yours." She offered in a soft voice. "She fell asleep in one of the booths. I was about to open up, and I didn't want someone to stumble on her."

Silco immediately got up to help her out, but Pepper was a step ahead of him, carefully setting the unconscious girl down on the couch.

"Thank you." He said carefully, hoping to ease the awkwardness he felt with Pepper, seeing him carry his newly adopted child in her arms.

"I got a girl at home about her age, so it's no problem for me." Pepper shrugged nonchalantly, like she fully expected to be occasionally taking care of his kid.

But she was the only one that might understand his situation. "I fear I may be far too unprepared for her."

Pepper laughed quietly. "If that ain't the statement of the year. Daughters are a nightmare we chose to live, and love every second of."

That was accurate enough. Jinx herself was a nightmare that he never wanted to wake up from; if they were both tortured, then neither of them would face it alone. He had to admit it was strange to suddenly have this child in his life taking up so much space.

"I suppose the fundamentals are the same, but I'm not exactly experienced in what it takes to raise a daughter. Especially not one that can survive here."

Pepper nodded, going over to his desk and taking the spare blanket from one of his drawers to warm Jinx up a bit.

"Are you often in my office while I'm away?" He asked.

"I come up to gather dishes to clean and to restock a few of your liquor bottles." She answered easily, placing the blanket over Jinx and carefully brushing some of the girl's hair out of her face.

She wasn't prompted, but he was thankful she continued. "You don't drink super heavily, so I can usually tell when you've had a rough day by the empty glass on your desk, but last night it was obvious that Renni left with a chip on her shoulder."

It seems Sevika was not lying about Pepper's observation skills. As frightening as the idea of her knowing him so well without speaking to him was, Silco wanted to know the extent of her skills. "Is that all?"

Pepper shot him a cautious look. "In my experience, folks don't like to hear how much I know about them."

"Your skill is useful. I'd like to know how it can be applied." He answered.

Pepper stood, carefully watching his face again, this time she watched as if to answer a question. She was close enough that Silco could smell her perfume; it was sweet like some kind of flower.

Whatever question Pepper had must have been answered, and she conceded to his order. "You don't like to cook even though you are very particular about how your food is seasoned. You tend to over-spice everything, likely because the nerve damage in your face includes your tongue. But I can tell the medication for your injury is working because you ain't going through spices near as fast this month. And that's just what I know from cleaning dishes."

It already scared him with how much she knew, but he couldn't stop himself from asking for more. "And what of information you've gathered from elsewhere?"

"I know you don't sleep often, and when you can't sleep, you go for walks through the Lanes. From what I've gathered from the patrons, you walk around where Benzo's used to be and always end up at Vander's memorial before you head back home." He was too scared to tell her to stop, despite how much it shook him that she knew all of this.

"I also know that when you do sleep, you have nightmares. And when Jinx has them too, she walks over to your room and you two stay up together while she talks about her gadgets or you two play cards." Pepper said. "And I know it happened last night because Sevi told Chuck that one of her decks was missing, and Jinx was so tired that she fell asleep in a booth downstairs." Silco stared down at her, trying to figure out what this meant.

If he didn't have her loyalty, she could have his head. Every detail was exposed to her, and it was threatening.

Pepper, as always, noticed his inner contention. "Like I said. Folks don't like being so visible."

"Woah." Both of them looked to the couch to find Jinx had woken up.

"Welcome back." Pepper chuckled at the spot on the girl's cheek from it resting on the couch for so long.

"Can you do me next?" Jinx asked with amazement.

Pepper smiled bright and took a seat next to Jinx, looking at her face with a softer kind of observation. Silco wasn't an idiot. If Pepper could figure out the state of his infection, she definitely knew exactly how Jinx came into his care. But the way she looked over the girl's excited eyes.

"Well, I know you're wicked smart with a knack for messing with folks' heads and sneaking around. I know your favorite drink is orange juice, but your favorite fruit's a strawberry; all that 'cause that's what keeps going missing from my bar and I've never caught you red handed. By the way, all you gotta do is ask. I'm probably not gonna say no to giving you a cup of juice or a strawberry."

"But I'm good at sneaking!" Jinx whined.

"Alright, fair enough, but only two per night. I don't like telling folks that I can't make drinks 'cause a little Jinx keeps snaking my juice." Pepper negotiated, earning a laugh from her as she agreed to the terms.

It was so strangely domestic the way the two of them interacted. Silco supposed it only made sense. If she could manage to disarm him so easily, it would be literal child's play to get along with Jinx. He wanted to believe it was some play for power, but there was nothing about Pepper that ever made him think she was looking to hold power over him.

"Alright, big girl, I gotta go open up downstairs." Pepper conceded, ruffling Jinx's hair and brushing past Silco with a honeyed smile.

"I'm gonna go bother Chuck." Jinxed hopped off the couch and ran back down the stairs. She never ran that fast unless she was planning some mischief, and he really hoped Chuck would survive it.

It had been a long time since he'd had a day this uneventful. It was quiet, and if there was anything Silco had learned, it was that silence was suspicious. This silence was no different.

When he finally made his way to the main floor, Pepper was closing up once again and Chuck was on his way out. It wasn't hard to notice the massive splotches of pink and blue paint all over his clothes, and at the moment, Silco was just glad Jinx had opted for paint instead of smoke bombs.

"Silco! You down here for another drink?" Pepper asked.

"Not tonight." He said, looking around the empty bar and trying to figure out what felt off. He spotted it as soon as his eye landed on the table. "Did Sevika ever come back?"

Pepper looked up at him, disquieted. "No. Was she supposed to?" The anxiety in her voice was one he hadn't expected to hear from her, but it was rightfully present.

The assignment should have had her back by sundown at the latest. It would have been more dangerous to hit the warehouses at night as Sevika had found weeks ago, his security was tightest after sundown.

"Silco." Pepper's voice warned. "Where is she?"

He didn't have an answer.

[robbie-lee-zombie]

Random thing, will be edited and added on when Robbie finds more of the random stuff Robbie has sent to @thetickleeraven

Adding a ‘Keep Reading’ because this will get VERY Long. Might copy/edit/paste this post with every add on so it won’t glitch out too much, and if you’d already seen the first few paragraphs of an idea, just scroll until you see one of the numbers (like #2) that you haven’t seen before! 

Hope that helps, anyways enjoy the rambling of HCs and Ideas

Edit/Add-On #1 

Taking place in Raven’s recent couple of fics with Prince Roman and the magical Logan (since we can’t spell mid-evil) that AU. HC: Pat is either 1. The king of the place, and Roman’s dad figure still. OR 2. (HC I use more) Patton is the news-reporter-writer-helper-etc guy. He orders the seeds for farms, sets up meetings for Roman and other lands, making sure things work and stay kinda organized. You’d never think of someone so dad-like to have that kind of job, you know? Good HC tbh-

Imagine Patton’s first couple of lessons were a tour and knowing the potions and ingredients around the place. He writes everything down, admitting to Logan that he’d have a bad memory if he didn’t write it down. He was trying, though, and Logan respects that to the fullest. When Logan flips through the beginners spells, the one Roman had used caught Patton, of all people’s, eye. He smiles. “Mirth brought to light? Aw, that sounds adorable! Making people happy is the best spell I’d say! But you don’t need magic for that!” He glances up at Logan. “What do you mean, Pat?” “I have you to make me happy, you dork!” Commence Logan to be slightly flustered as he continues to flip through and explain the spells. Including the Mirth of Light one. “So it just makes people more aware of how ticklish they are? Gosh, that sounds amazing!” “How so?” “Well, it doesn’t hurt anybody, and it could probably be used on thieves or villains instead of slaughtering them, you know? Have them cough up where the money is!” “That’s… rather childish, but pacifistic, I must say.” “Good thing I’m no criminal! I’m insanely ticklish.” Okay, wow, no one probably met someone so blunt and honest with statements like those. “Really? You say that to everyone you meet?” “Hush! It’s not that bad!” “Not that bad? You mean you enjoy the sensation?” “You mean tickling??” “Yes. That.” “Of course!” Logan paused, giving him a puzzled look. “Why wouldn’t I? What’s not to like?” Patton’s eyes lit up. Not like the time he first saw the room of potions, or when Logan drones on, but still lit up with joy. Huh. Never thought this would happen, Logan thought.

~Continuation type deal of the first paragraph of ideas~

Patton is the town/castle news/reporter type deal at first, running around making sure everyone has everything they need (surprising Virge didn’t have that job-) and that’s when Logan saw that sparkle of look in Patton’s eyes when things got done. Patton never showed his whole adoration and appreciation of work and order much, since he felt geeky. Logan took a step up to Pat as the dad took the pencil out from behind his ear to write a few things down in his note-pad, scribbling random messy ideas. “You. Come with me.” Logan orders him to follow. Once they make it to Logan’s specific tower, You can just… tell. Patton looked at every potion with detail, even drawing a few mini sketches of each one to take notes like ‘purple round potion bottle:’ and 'blue triangle bottle’ and etc. Patton’s eyes just… light up! You’d never expect someone so loving and innocent outside the castle to be into such geeky and dorky stuuuuff, clearly Logan thought it wasn’t geeky… much. “You. You’re going to be my assistant from here on out. I will teach you everything I know, and even after that we will continue to work together. What’s your name, sir?” “Sir?? I’m not that old, not even much older than you, but a lot of people think I’m Roman’s father, how funny is that??” Patton giggles, holding out his hand. “I’m Patton, the castle reporter and document-er!” “Big job, huh?” “Eh, I mostly just take care of the village complaints and problems, order stuff like seeds for the farms, plan the meetings, boring stuff-” “It’s not boring, it’s very intriguing. Tell me more.” Patton’s eyes lit up again. No one’s ever wanted to hear him talk this much before.

Edit/Add-On #2

“It Came From The Trees” Gives me so many little t-fic ideas like, Virgil would hang upside down from a branch right when Princey is heading back to the treehouse since “I caught a fish by myself omg Virgil will be so happy-” Virgil’s face is right in front of him popping down. “SUPER-CALA-FRAGI-FUCKER–” And Virgil’s just laughing.

Imagine the life style of him and Roman over the time in the woods!!!!!

“I found these little red berries they look like cherries they can’t be that bad-” ate two Virge is carving a stick with his blade he’s had for years, not looking up. “They’re poisonous, Ro” Roman freaks out and almost faints, tossing them all away and sitting on the ground like “that’s a relief-” “…Dude I was kidding they’re just little red berries, I’ve ate them for years-” “I will destroy you-”

Raven’s fics of Roman being that one Prince and Virgil being his guard, what if WHAT IF HOLY CRAP- What if It Came From The Trees is set like, waaay before Virgil was his guard??? And when Roman came back to the Palace, maybe even 2 years later (He’s wearing whole other clothes Virgil’s taught him how to sew) and Pat (king or intern or whatever he wants to be) Is just like “HOLY CRAP MAN WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN WE THOUGHT YOU DIED-” Logan, ironically, is also freaking out. He’s doing that classic thing in cartoons where they’re at his arms, legs, checking him for bites or scratches and etc, like a mother (ha-) and he’s like “Guys, really- it’s cool-” But Virgil’s still at the Tree House, since Virge thought they’d think 'hOLY CRAP ROMAN WHO’S THAT WE GOTTA KILL HIM-’ so Roman said “I’m just going to go tell them I’m alive, K? I’ll be back. Promise.” A day-ish later, he comes back to Virgil who got jump-scared when he did, not expecting the PRINCE to be so good at sneaking around in the dark, so it was startling. He’s rambling about how he’s told his closest friends about Virgil and that he’s allowed to apply for a position in the village, whichever position he wants! Virge thinks about it for maybe a week and is like 'dude, what if you were my guard? You kind of saved my ass seven times when we first met!’ “It’s not my fault you’re so fancy-” “Excuse me-” “You had NO IDEA what you were doing-” “I’ll have you know–” “You thought the leaves growled in the wind~” “…Okay, yeah, whatever-” Anyways, Virgil works up the courage to jump through the trees, Roman still not the best at it, but able to keep up with Virgil to do so, and they jump to the walls of Roman’s land. “You sure I’m… allowed in? They won’t attack me?” “Of course!” Getting through the gate, of course, Logan and Pat are both there waiting for Roman, and Logan (like with Roman) examines and pokes and prods at Virgil with questions and his eraser/pencil, Virgil’s slightly pink like “YOU SAID THEY WOULDN’T ATTACK ME!” “He’s not! ..Specs, please get out of his mouth, he has one row of teeth-” Since that nickname, before Virge knew their real names, he called them nicknames for months never asking them 'what’s your name?’ since Roman told them to go with it and it was hilariously cute. When Virge first found out Logan’s name he glared at Roman like “Wait so his name isn’t Specs?” “Nope.” “It’s not Nerd either? Not Four-Eyes, Harry Potter, Geek-a-zoid, none of those??” “Nope.” “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME-” “Because it was cute watching you get used to it~” “…Is it too late to be an outcast again-”

~Continued of the last mess of a paragraph thingy, yes, very aware of some grammar mistakes and mess ups. If it says ‘you/your’ when it shouldn’t, it’s probably because these were just copy pasted when I rambled to @thetickleeraven and said ‘you/your’ to them so don’t freak out about that~

Pass a week or two, put Virgil in that one dorm area you talked about where he almost died in that fic I can’t remember the name of- maybe it wasn’t your fic I don’t remember– Anyways- Put him in the dorms area, he got used to it, even let Roman help him decorate with so so so many things he’s like “Dude I don’t need posters they’re just paper, you could’ve used that for something else-” “It’s not a crime to treat yourself, Virge. Plus you love the Nightmare Before Christmas!” “..True-” And even when he first signed up to be a guardsman he had to go through the training. Since he lived in the woods for so long, he passed the agility and strength tests no problem. The hardest part was the test that most guards are good at. This was the hard test Virgil knew he’d fail at as soon as he heard it. Endurance Test. Not only did they have to stand in a line, A-Z, standing up straight and all (ouch for his back-) but Roman was the judge of the test. He walked to people randomly, doing anything he saw fit to make the others 'snap out of character’ like laugh, smile, the smallest thing would make Roman grin with victory. It’s not that it was a bad thing, of course, but first hearing the TEST part, Virgil did EVERYTHING HE COULD not to fricken mess this up. So as SOON AS ROMAN GOT TO VIRGIL, he just gave him that snarky little face of a grin and raised eyebrows. They had… so many inside jokes, it was easy for him. “Remember that time I tried to eat your shirt in my sleep because I hadn’t learned how to catch a fish yet?” Okay, Virgil snickered. Quietly though. Roman noticed, however, and he was going to focus on Virgil now. Once someone broke completely, they stepped off to the benches or bathrooms for a break, but Virgil, with Joan and Talyn, were the last three still 'Mature’ or in this case in the Test. Virgil was in the middle of the other two, and you can sense the other two thinking “Wow, what’s their story?” Roman continued. “Remember I tried to eat a worm? You told me if I couldn’t climb that tree in 30 seconds that would be my dinner. I had it in my mouth, you pleb!” He put a hand on his chest, dramatically, going on and on about how Virgil almost 'made him’ do these things. Luckily, Roman didn’t eat the worm, he got real dinner, but Virgil got a kick out of watching him try and almost release it into the wild with a “Virge, this thing has a family, come on-”. Virgil let out a snort, okay, it was super hard. ROMAN STOP BEING FUNNY! WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE! Since Roman didn’t know Virgil was ticklish (until the potions fics) he relied on his cunning charm and humor to spite Virgil, which of course was the same Virgil did to Roman. It was so close, he could pass the test! He’d make the guard if only- “Remember the porcupine incident?” Virgil fell to his knees laughing, it was so stupid and unfair! The others had no idea what Roman said, since they couldn’t hear, but Talyn and Joan shared a look like “?????” along with a look of “..awww they’re friends-” Virgil, the next day, thought he failed. Roman came back with the results. “Virgil, Talyn, and Joan. You three are the head of squads A, B, and C.” Virgil was shocked. After Roman finished, everyone but them two left, and Virgil was like “But- But I thought if we weren’t serious enough we’d fail-” “Oh please! You think I’d fail you just because you laughed at something I said?? Virgil, I don’t want my guards to be losers! I don’t want them so stuck up about the rules and court, the way we do things, that stuff is so boring! I want guards who are more than just that, they can /have a sense of humor!/” Virgil was about to tear up before he turned bright red and glared at him. “YOU LITTLE SHI- YOU MADE ME LAUGH IN FRONT OF EVERYONE WHY–” “It was adorable, stormcloud!” “Storm..cloud?” “..Do you not-” “Nah, it’s actually cool. I’ll keep that nickname over pleb, thanks.”

Edit/Add-On #3 Not Yet Here

~This little area will change when edited, so refresh if you need to to check if it’s newer~

[bifacialler]

Butterfly Bog - Forsythia (Anticipation)

[Edit: you might be very confused by this. So am I. I don’t remembered when this prompt appeared in my mail box, and I don’t remember when I started writing this. Supposed to be this big thing, but I couldn’t. sorry ((( ]

Dear Tangy, I think I just wrote a Royal Night Out AU for your It Takes Two. Hope you forgive me for the name-pasting and things.

The war ends at midnight.

Officially.

The war officially ends at midnight, followed by her father tenuous speech on the radio, an address to the nation that can’t wait, because for their people, the war is already over, drowned in the sparks of champaign poured into tall glasses, drowned in a victorious song pouring from every open mouth on every street corner, drowned in color and light a cheer that will be their capital, because today, at midnight, no one will sleep.

Today, at midnight, the war ends.

For Dawn, the true daughter of her nation, the war already ended. It was blown away by the flip of the fancy lifestyle magazine their handmaidens smuggled into the castle and hid under the white sheets thrown over everything - sofas, chairs, bookcases, her old piano that will require dusting and tuning when the morning will come and they will unravel it and try to put everything in order: chairs, sofas, bookcases. A kingdom. Their lives. Dawn already dug hers out though (Dawn has no patience and it is un-princess-like, unlike Marianne, look at Marianne, Marianne takes the future queen business seriously) and the colored pages glide through her excited lively fingers as they both lean over it, barely breathing (because Marianne’s life in under white sheets and Dawn’s is full of fancy ladies in all the dresses Dawn will ask for the moment the war ends), as Dawn reads about the upcoming celebration like it’s not going to happen right here, behind the very gates of their home, but some where far off, like Birog, for example.

What Marianne knows, though, is that the pleading look in her sister’s eye is not going to bring them any good.

«Dawn, you know what they’ll say,» she shakes in return, as if there is even a smallest chance of them being anywhere but here this evening. «Father will never let us go.»

«At least try!» Dawn sighs, as if the weight of their whole royal bloodline descends on her shoulders, falling back on the covers, and the magazine flies over her head in an arch of exasperation, landing over the other side of the bed. It’s immediately picked up, though, carefully dusted, fingertips barely brushing the cover, and Marianne can’t help but smile: each finds the treasures of their own, even if they might be someone else’s nothing. «Please?»

Marianne can imagine it already: her mother’s perm, in hard defined waves of deep chocolate, roofing over her eyes and sharply arched eyebrows, her father’s tired moustache, so fashionably out of style but there is nothing three of them could do about it, and the glaring joy of the crowd behind the window, careless, buzzing in anticipation of the life to come, of the new world about to be build right there, right before their eyes, with their own hands.

«Please? If we don’t try now, we’ll never get another chance.»

Dawn’s eyes bore into her, light, crystal clear and Polyanthus blue, full of something Marianne felt she is born without - youthful lighthearted enchantment, so fragile and beautiful and rare in their state of life that in a moment of weakness, Marianne looks back, clenches her teeth with a softest of painful cringes, and gives up.

«Alright, I’ll try,» she winces. «Can’t promise more.»

And it’s good enough, as she is swiped into an embrace that is surprisingly stopping for a tender little thing. «Thank you, thank you! Oh, I swear, I’ll get you anything you want, I’ll-«

Her sister pauses and briskly looks up and down.

«I’ll pick out your dress.»

«Dawn, just because I’ll ask, it doesn’t mean they’ll let us go.»

And the mischievous glint comes back.

«I have faith.»

——

Dawn has faith, and it seems like somehow that becomes a defining factor, as they stand before their parents, her father’s speech dying a tangled death in his salt’n’pepper beard.

«Marianne-« he starts, as mother cuts through with her lips perfectly rose and her blouse perfectly in order. «Out of question.»

«Mother, it’s as much of our celebration what everybody else’s,» she wrings her hands before she can stop herself, before she remembers to tuck them behind her back, straightening the uniform that fits her like a glove - unlike all the other uniforms, no one is as good as royal seamstresses when it come to fitting you into things, be it an officer’s camisole or Dawn’s fashionable dress-suits - as she folds her hands behind her back.

«Yes,» her mother nods, and seated in the chair, elegantly crossed legs tucked under the chair but not quite, and speaks in a melodic semi-whisper that is a habit one gets from leaving in a place too big and too empty and full of ringing echoes. «And that is why the two on your will spend it here, with your family and friends.»

«If by «friends» you mean the duke’s son-"

«As well as the duke himself, and the duchess, and your cousins, our dear Prime Minister and his wife- Did you prepare your remarks, Mari?»

Mari. Oh how she hates it. «Yes, Mother.»

Dawn nudges her with her elbow and shoots her a pleading jittery look.

«Good,» for a moment her mother’s mouth twists into something akin to a smirk. «And George,» she points her hand to their father in a gesture that is the closest to familiarity that she ever had. «The people from National Television will be here at eight. Do you think you speech will be ready by then?»

«Under your rigorous control - how can it not be?» he smiles in return, something softer and kinder, something intimate even if concealed under a think layer of facial hair that no one asked for. «I just hope that the people feel it too."

Marianne can understand them - it was a difficult time for them, both as rulers and spouses, and despite what the masses though, it never got easier, no matter the level of self-discipline and awareness, no matter, peace or war, and it will only get harder when the morning comes.

It will only get harder, and lives will change, and in this moment, in these fifteen hours until next morning, Marianne finally gets it, that this is really the only chance she’ll ever get.

«Yes, but how would you know?» she says, and her arms find their way around her to settle on her hips. «How would you know if the people will feel it? Love it? Hate it? You can’t trust the newspapers with that, you know how high on literary criticism they would get.»

«Mari, what are you trying to-« he mother starts, a cautious glint in her eye, but something in the way father raises his hand makes her pause.

«Go on, dear,» he bows his head in encouragement.

In that moment, Marianne knows she got him, and if she pushes just a tiny bit more, she wouldn’t even need to get mother - he will do it for her. By her side, Dawn fumbles with a brooch on her jacket, trying with all her might not to snigger with glee, but it comes through in tiniest huffs and giggles.

Dawn has faith, not just Marianne and her abilities, but in the whole wide world, and it pays her back, with lucky chances that she never misses. And if this lucky chance is all Dawn’s doing, than who is Marianne to let it go to waste. So she makes one last push.

«What I’m saying is this: father, do you trust me?»

«Of course, darling!»

«Then you would know that won’t lie to you.»

«This is a historical day, a first of a new world,» her hands travel before her, like wings of a swan. «The world that I will one day rule. So let me hear what people say. So that we could build this world with them.»

Looking to her father’s face, Marianne can only guess what a tenuous battle unfolds in his mind, fuelled by her mother’s disbelieving glare and Dawn’s pleadingly chewed lip.

«Yes, alright,» he says at the end of it, and her sister explodes in a giggling fit. «But on one condition.»

----

«This is so… unfair.»

They are stuffed in a car, a large black number send directly from London, tis the fashion, and her sister keeps huffing non stop for the past two hours - which didn’t stop her from raiding the lock-up of their closet and dragging Marianne in, with all the babbling excitement that surfaces when she comes close to anything with sparkles to it.

Marianne thinks she should be grateful, really, because she ends up in a rather tame number (by her sister’s standards): knee length skirt, off the shoulder straps, sensible fashionable heels. All in sophisticated burgundy. Not a young girl’s colour, but she is not really a young girl. Not in her head.

Two of he father’s personal guard - Russell and... Grand, if she is correct - are seated begrudgingly before them, and Dawn flirts with them off-handedly, as a habit, because even if there are things that dissatisfy her, she would never show. It is safe, her half-open eyes holding all the secrets of their family behind the walls of perfect shining smiles and ringing laughs. Unlike Marianne, she makes it look easy to be a public figure. 

Dawn is charismatic and people love her.

The dark tint of the car’s glass throws a sombre veil over the crowd behind. The cover of the night, with light bugs of candles and lighters, their sparks reflecting of wine bottles and champagne glasses, turns the ride into a kind of a pilgrimage, a trip into the underworld, a journey through a sacred mysterium of men that exists with her, and yet so far away. It’s strange to think of them this way, especially for a future Queen, strange and wrong, but she can’t help it. 

Because Marianne knows that this might be one time in her life she might witness the birth of a New World, and she ain’t gonna miss it for any deep philosophical debates with herself.