#and asra just laughs because no . that wont ever happen

[page-ofwands]

so i was listening to this song i’ve loved forever, “calleth you, cometh i” by the ark, and when i listen to the lyrics i realise that. this is just super duper angsty asrian. and i just love everything you’ve written about asrian and idk if this is a prompt or not but i just wanted to tell you jshdhsjskasj thank u for all of your fics i luv them. pls listen to the song i want to share my pain

this just makes me so sad man it Really is them eye-

(tbh i dont know if this makes Sense but like)

maybe other people around them knew that it wasn’t The Healthiest Relationship but they didn’t think it was unhealthy , or maybe they just Wanted it to be healthy , maybe they wanted it to be Love

and maybe it Was love, or a kind of love , and maybe neither of them really Realized Just How Bad it was until it was all over

but by then everything had spiraled out of control and even if they Wanted to try again or fix things it just . wouldn’t work out but Still ,

if one of them wanted, the other would be there, and as much as they say they hate the other, they don’t. not really

and like . maybe they both (but julian especially, because he’s always been a homeless romantic) think that . maybe things will be better in the future, and maybe they can try again as friends and maybe be something more and something better.

but maybe it won’t ever be . maybe it’s too late for that and maybe all they can be, all they can ever be is just . civil to each other, and almost-friends, and almost in love

there are just . too many almosts and too many what ifs , and maybe that’s okay too , because the bottom line is that, for better or for worse , they will always always always be there for each other (or maybe not There For Each Other but just orbiting each other , so so close to something good but never Touching it because that just . won’t happen . not for them)

idk i just love asrian so much 😔

[kidgrimm]

apprentice april asks #1 by @starblazerm31

1. The Basics.  What is your character’s name?  How old are they? How tall are they?  Skin color?  Eye color?  Hair color?  Gender identification?

alice - 31 - 5′2 - tan - blk - blk and white - fem

2.  Love Interest.  Who does your character love?  What attracted them to that particular LI?

julian

hes tall smart and caring but hes a huge doof and theatrical

3. Familiar.  Does your character have a familiar?  How did they meet?

dinah ,she doggo. I made a small comic.she just walks into the shop one day as a puppy and tells alice she lives there now.

4. Hobbies.  What kinds of things does your character like to do for fun?

crafting making silly things out of magic

5. Hidden talents.  Is there something neat that your character can do?  Tie a cherry stem into a knot with their tongue?  Say any word backwards perfectly?

she can parkour and is skilled at knife fighting because shes a paranoid scared cat.

6. Magical talents.  Is there a specific type of magic that your character excels at?  Any magic they aren’t so great at?  Or do they actually shy away from magic altogether?

her magic looks like sparkly glitter and can change color due to mood. If she gets a trigger about her past (she has ptsd) her glitter based magic dissipates into a suffocating fog.

she mostly makes odjects and silly things with her magic because shes a clown. but behind it all shes actually quiet serious about it as its another way to protect herself.

7. Interaction.  How does your character typically interact with people?

she very sweet unless you treat her like trash then she will spit your spite back at you. which can surprise people. Shes already been treated like trash in the past and she wont allow that anymore.

8. Romance.  What is something that your character and their LI love to do together?  How do they show affection?

lots of giggling and laughing about dumb crap

alice doesnt show it,but shes very touch starved. but doesnt do much pdoa. she smothers julian with kisses and presents and food and lovey words.the whole nine yards.

9. Travel.  Does your character like to travel outside of Vesuvia?  How often?  For how long?  What kinds of things do they do away from home?

not particularly but she wouldnt mind if julian or asra would want to take her out of town. she will be more on edge though and you can clearly see her paranoia creep out. shes usually good at hiding it.

10. WTF.  Has anything just…weird ever happened to your character?  Something that made them stop and go “What just happened?!”

falling in love with asra when she first  moved to vesuvia and making friends.very weird but good experiance

11. Crime.  Has your character ever been arrested?  If so, what did they do?  Have they ever helped stop a crime?

no, if she stabs someone they were doing something they shouldnt have.

12. Secrets.  What is a secret that your character has?  Are they in line for the throne in a far off land?  Was there this one time at band camp…?  Are they secretly involved in an assassin’s guild?

her real name is Amoramayu. But she changed it once she ran away from her abusive family and isolated existance.

13. Overcompensation.  Is there something that your character just HAS to do better than anyone else?  Or are they just that dang good without trying?  If they see someone else showing off, what is their kneejerk reaction?

nahhhh

alice isnt perfect and she knows it

shes not super smart but she is crafty.

14. Fight Club.  Is your character a good fighter?  What kind of skills do they have?

she can fight, but she isnt THE GREATEST. She would be if she could control her emotions. She gets into that ptsd zone when she is going to fight so she turns into a scared cat hissing and clawing and basically goes feral.

15. The Arts.  Is your character a creative type?  What kinds of things can they create?  Can they act?  Street perform?

shes great at making people laugh. hell,all she has to do is laugh and people lose it.

she crafts with muriel alot, carvings paitings toy like items ect.which she likes to trade for at the market.

she also keeps a book of magic spells. silly and serious kinds of magic

16. Goofy.  Is your character a clown?  Do they like to make people laugh?

yes.

17. Language.  Is your character multilingual?  How many languages do they speak?  Do they have an accent?  Is it sexy?  Is it silly?  Do they have a multilingual lisp?

spanish was her first language.her accent only comes out when she gets attitude.

18. Embarrassment.  What is something really embarrassing that your character has done/said?

oh, OHH so this is a bit NSFW but it cracks me up

alice knows what men look like since she comes from a small tropical island where essentially everyones nakie

but when asra and her first got intimate she didnt understand what an erection was and she though asras -uh, thing was sick. So he had to explain to her essentially what horney does to your body /wheeze/

its a cute story

19. Memory.  Has your character gotten any of their memory back?  If so, what?  Did it change them?

yes,her memories of her family are strong because they are connected to strong negative emotions.so theyd come back to her in what seemed like shards of glass stabbing at her brain.

she always felt paranoid she just never knew why. until she remembered

20. Family.  Talk about your character’s family.  Who were they?

she had a mother father and brothers who were all pieces of shit and constantly abused her. she eventually ran away and never looked back but she suffered from ptsd and a nightmare disorder because of it. shes always paranoid that they would find her which is why she learned how to fight and parkour. She cannot be in situations that confine her as she will have a panic attack.

[calcifermovesthecastle]

Absent in Body- Chapter 5

Chapter 1- https://calcifermovesthecastle.tumblr.com/post/185386984555/absent-in-body-chapter-1

Chapter 2- https://calcifermovesthecastle.tumblr.com/post/185388013405/absent-in-body-chapter-2

Chapter 3- https://calcifermovesthecastle.tumblr.com/post/185389562845/absent-in-body-chapter-3

Chapter 4- https://calcifermovesthecastle.tumblr.com/post/185409467250/absent-in-body-chapter-4

When you open your eyes, Asra is watching you, arms around you securely. He smiles at you when your eyes meet.

“I was just about to wake you. You’ve been asleep for a long while. I’ve napped twice, but you looked like you needed the extra sleep.” He kisses your temple, “Are you ready, or do you want to stay here for a while?”

You move to sit up, but a wave of dizziness and nausea washes over you, causing you to fall into him. He eases you back down.

“Alright, we can stay here. I personally am in no rush.” He smiles mischievously, but kisses your temple, tracing lazy circles into the small of your back. You turn towards him and bury your face in his chest, wanting to just stay here forever with him. Nervousness and hesitation swirl inside you, which he’s quick to notice.

“Hey, everything’s going to be okay.” he murmurs into your hair. You nod, mumbling something into his chest that he can’t make out. “What was that?”

“Sorry… I just… you know how easily it is for me to get overwhelmed. Especially ever since I lost my body and it’s been one thing after another… I just feel like I’m always on the brink of tears and I wanted to say sorry.” You wont meet his eyes, keeping your face firmly planted in his chest, your cheeks and ears warm. You feel him sigh.

“Mc, I’m going to show you something,” He says, pulling away and placing his fingers on your temples, a gentle smile shining in his eyes and playing at the corners of his lips. He leans forward and presses them to your forehead, and your world shifts drastically.

“No, not like that.” Asra helped you up. “Lift your leg, set it down, lift your other leg...no. It’s okay. We’ll have you walking in no time, mc.” He smiled at you, letting go of your hands and backing away. “Try and walk to me.”

“Asra, I can’t,” Your limited vocabulary made it hard for you to say what you wanted, and when you spoke, it was in a halting way, like your words just dropped off of your tongue. You still couldn’t even pronounce his name right.

“You can. Come on.” He holds out his hands. “Just reach me. You can do it.”

Lift the leg, set it down. Lift the leg, set it down...Why wasn’t it working? What about the other leg? Why is that one staying on the floor? The third time you lifted the same leg, you lost your balance, and fell backwards, crashing into the chair behind you, knocking it aside, and landed hard on the floor. Asra hurried over and crouched next to you, checking for injuries.

“You’re supposed to do it with both legs, Mc,” He explained patiently, helping you to your feet. “Come on, let’s try one more time.”

“I can’t! I can’t I can’t I can’t!!” You put your face in your hands, hot, frustrated tears welling up in your eyes and spilling over. Asra sighed, before pulling you tight against him, his arms comforting around you as he rocked back and forth. You bawled, unable to articulate how you just wanted to do things like him. As easily as he does it.

“You can. Just stop thinking you can’t. If you believe you can’t, then you can’t. It’s as easy as that. If you think you can, you can. You can stand on your own. You can talk. You can feed yourself. You can walk. Just tell yourself you can. Both feet, back and forth. One more try, okay?” He pulled back, walking back to his spot and holding his hands out. “Just get to me. You can do it.”

You screwed your face up, looking down at your feet. Lift, set down. Other leg lift, set down. First leg lift, set down. In five steps, and what seemed like forever, you reached out and took Asra’s hands, stumbling into him. Laughter escaped your mouth, and you hugged him tight.

“I did it!”

“You did it!” Asra smiled, hugging you back.

Your perspective tilts crazily again, and you’re upstairs at the shop, standing in the doorway of Asra’s room.

You stood uneasily, hopping back and forth on your feet, your body covered in a layer of cold sweat. You didn’t want to wake him up, not for another nightmare and headache, but it bothered you. Something about it tugged at the corners of your memory, which caused your head to spin and ache. You froze, feeling tears snake their way down your cheeks, cool against the hot feverish skin.

“A-Asra-” You whispered quietly, quiet enough for him to not even hear. You tiptoed closer to his bed, still not fully in the room. “Asra?” still quiet, still not enough for him to notice. You hesitated before sitting down on the floor by the foot of his bed. You put your head in your arms, your body shaking, your head throbbing, tears welling up inside of you and bursting out. You tried to cry quietly, but the sniffs of your nose and the deep breaths you took caused him to stir and sit up, seeing your form at the bottom of his bed through sleepy eyes.

“Mc, what’s wrong?” His words slurred together, his voice still thick with sleep. You froze, and wiped your face hastily. “...come on up.”

You turned to look at him, holding his hand out to you. You reached out and grasped it, and he pulled you into the bed against him, his arms around you.

“I had another- another nightmare I’m sorry for waking you with my crying I’m sorry!” You trembled, balling up his shirt in your fists and pulling the fabric over your face. He gave you a reassuring squeeze.

“It’s okay to cry. Cry all you need.” He murmured the words quietly, rocking your body. You let out a sob, your head giving a painful throb. “And it’s okay to wake me if you need me. I’ll never turn you away, okay? What was the nightmare?”

“I-I don’t remember, but it was hot and felt like burning and it gave me a headache and you told me-”

Asra had gone very still, but relaxed when you looked up at him uncertainly.

“Lie down, mc. I’ll take care of that headache.” He laid you back, pressing a hand to your forehead. The pain eased ever so slightly, before you stopped crying and looked at him confused, the pain completely gone.

“What am I doing in here?”

“You had a bad dream. Come on, lets get you back to sleep.” Asra laid down next to you, and you remembered the bad dream, or having the dream, but something about trying to remember the dream made you uneasy. You remembered coming in here for help, and he wrapped his arms around you, pulling the blanket up and closing his eyes. You thought for a moment about going back to your own room, but uneasiness bubbled up in your gut, and you decided that being in here was important, at least for tonight. Your eyes slipped shut, and with the exhaustion that came with crying, you fell right asleep.

You gasp as you re-appear in the present, Asra’s hands on either side of your face, his eyes watching you with a look that can only be described as Agape. You looked at him confused. You don’t remember either of those things, but after he showed you, you were certain that they happened. You look at him, confused, and he smiled so softly you could melt.

“You’re allowed to cry. You’re always allowed to cry when things get hard. Things have been hard for you since your first steps in your new body. And even before then! You’re allowed to cry and scream and fight but don’t ever think you can’t and don’t ever give up. Cry, but push forward. Shoving your emotions down, letting them boil up until they overflow, especially when you have the knack for feeling everyone else’s emotions, isn’t healthy and you shouldn’t do it. So cry. Let those tears pour all the time if they have to. If you feel like you need to cry, have a good cry. And then continue pushing on. Never give up. Never think you can’t do something. Because if you think you can’t then you won’t be able to. And if you give up, you’ll never know. Besides-” He winks at you. “I think it’s absolutely adorable and I love holding you when you cry. You just ball yourself up and cocoon yourself against me and trust that I’ll take care of it.”

He’s teasing you now, and you laugh, pushing him over. He laughs and holds up his hands.

“Come here.”

You look at him surprised, but move over to where he’s at. He laces his arms behind your neck and pulls you down into a deep kiss, his mouth upturned in a smile. Your heart swells, and you relax on top of him. He pulls away and grins, his eyes glinting with the stars above you.

“You know, you’d make a pretty good top.” He smirks as warmth spreads across your face. You bury your face in his shirt, shaking your head. “No, you don’t think so? Well, let me just…”

He whirls, so that your back is pressed into the sand, and he’s leaning over you, a hand on either side of your head. He leans down and kisses your cheek. You let out an embarrassed groan, hiding your face in your hands. He reaches and pulls them away, holding your gaze as he restrains your wrists above your head. “I think I do like you better on the bottom,” His voice is low, and he leans down to whisper in your ear. “The things I could do to you right now, with the safety of you not having a body… oh so tempting. Can I hold back? Maybe not. What do you say, my dear? Wanna go for it?”

Your eyes widen. Is he serious? He notices your uneasiness and smiles softly, his other hand curling around your jaw.

“Mc, I am physically unable to hurt you. I will never ever hurt you. That’s a promise. Moan for me.”

It escapes your lips before you can even think about it, and he swoops down to devour your neck, leaving marks and bruises in very visible spots. You hiss his name through clenched teeth, redness cascading over your face and neck. He smiles at you, mischievously, playfully, and kisses your jaw.

“You’re looking uncomfortable. I’ll stop.” He smiles softly, pulling away, eyes widening in surprise when you take his hand.

“Asra?”

“What is it, my dear?”

“Just… lets just lay here for a while…” your voice trembles ever so slightly, And when you look up at him, your eyes betray your every emotion. If you let me go right now, I might not ever feel your touch again. Please don’t let go… please don’t let go… please…

“Mc, I’m not going to leave until we have your body back. Im staying until you’re in one piece, and even then, I will never take my hands off you.” He holds his arms out to you, lying back in the sand, and tightens his grip, holding you so close to him, yet so gently that it doesn’t ache. You ball yourself up in his arms, your eyes slipping shut, just breathing him in, listening to his heart and his breathing, feeling his warmth and shivering.

“Asra?” Your voice barely reaches above a whisper.

“What is it, my dear?” You can feel the hum of his voice in his chest.

“I- nothing.” You shiver again, and he cranes his neck down to look at you.

“Are you cold?” He runs his hands up and down your body, magic heating his fingers, trailing warmth wherever he touches. “You can tell me if something’s wrong.”

“It’s nothing. I’m just scared. If Lucio… How am I supposed to get my body back if Lucio is there and I’m here? And if I’m stuck here, what’s going to happen if we can’t get my body back? What if I’m stuck here forever?” Warmth floods your body, causing your eyes to droop sleepily. Asra continues to trail his hands up and down your back, your sides, your arms.

“If I know Lucio, and I know Lucio, getting your body back won’t be a problem. You definitely need to rest right now though. I’m not sure why, but you’re still fatigued, even after resting earlier. And you rested quite a bit already. Sleep as long as you need. I’ll be right here.” Asra presses his lips into the top of your head, and the world fades away.

[calcifermovesthecastle]

Absent in Body- Chapter 7

Chapter 6- https://calcifermovesthecastle.tumblr.com/post/185588753270/absent-in-body-chapter-6

https://calcifermovesthecastle.tumblr.com/post/615756135930183680/absent-in-body-chapter-8

You look from Asra to the tree, stepping forward. The chains surrounding the tree strain to reach you, and Asra pulls you back by your hand. 

“Lets find another way in, hm?” He eyes the chains warily, turning to smile softly at you. You look up at him, thinking hard. 

“How about…” You glance at the tree, looking down at the ground. “How about you go left, and I’ll go right. That should tangle the chains enough that they wont be able to reach us. R-right?” You look up at him again, unsure if you said the right thing, and he smiles and plants a kiss right on your mouth. 

“That sounds like the perfect plan.” He squeezes your hand, pulling back to go his own way around the tree. You stumble when he lets go, but he smiles encouragingly at you, so you square your shoulders and go right. One, two, three, four, five times around the tree, and the chains are wrapped up in a tangled ball, straining to reach you and Asra, but unable to. Asra slips his hand into yours again and kisses your temple. 

“Let’s see what’s behind that door,” He grins, walking forward with you. The golden doors swing open, and a flash of white light blinds you momentarily. You back away from the light source, gripping Asra’s hand tighter than a lifeline. 

When your vision clears, you see two figures standing in the doorway, staring slack-jawed at the two of you. You turn to Asra, only to see him with the same look of shock on his face. Nervousness creeps up into your throat, and you tug on his hand, trying to get his attention. 

“Asra? Are you- d- do you know them?” 

“Mom? Dad?” Asra’s voice is hushed, as if they’ll disappear if he says it any louder. He takes a step forward, tightening his grip on your hand. “You’ll come with me, won’t you?” 

“Of course I will,” You reply, squeezing his hand. His grip tightens as you two walk towards the doorway. A warm rush of air pulls you through the door together. The darkness gives way to a dozen hot springs and billions of stars. The two figures still stare wide eyed. 

“Asra?” It sounds like a trick of the wind, but you soon realize they had whispered his name. “....Asra!!” Both of them race forward, and only then does Asra let go of you, running towards them at the same time. You stumble again, backing up ever so slightly. Tears stream down all of their faces, and they collide into an embrace.

“I thought you were gone forever! I- I thought…” Asra’s voice catches, and the man strokes Asra’s hair, murmuring something softly to him that you can’t hear. You take another step back, uncertainty bubbling in your gut. “Dad…” 

“We always hoped we’d see you again… Asra…” The woman cups Asra’s face in her hands, kissing his forehead. He buries his face in her shoulder, his pained voice barely reaching your ears. 

“Is- is this a dream?” 

Your heart pangs, and a very real fear starts to creep up your spine, a lump forming in your throat. Is he going to stay here with them? Is he going to stop the search for your body? These are his parents. You don’t realize the tears that spring to your eyes, as you take another step back.

“I feared the same, but when you spoke… we knew.” She smiles softly, peering into his eyes. The man- Asra’s dad- speaks up. 

“Have you been safe? Have you been happy?” 

Another pang to your heart, and you look down before closing your eyes and sighing, casting a sad smile to the scene before turning and resting against the door frame, sliding down to a sitting position, your hands trembling. Anxieties creep in, and you try to reason with yourself. Asra wouldn’t just give up on you now that he’s found his parents. It’s not in his nature. You watch the scene, your eyes glazed over as you wage war on yourself. Asra turns and smiles, leading his parents over to where you sit. 

“At least I haven’t been alone all this time,” His voice, which is so close, snaps you out of your stupor, and your eyes clear to see his hand held out to you. Your heart swells as you take it, and he pulls you to your feet, his eyes flickering in worry as he realizes the swirling emotions rushing through your body. The woman smiles, looking from you to Asra. 

“Hearing that warms my heart. Would you introduce us?” 

Asra’s cheeks flush, glancing down at the- er- rather visible bruises on your neck before smiling back at his mom.

“Mom, this is Mc. Mc, this is my mother, Aisha. And that’s my father, Salim.” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mc,” Aisha smiles warmly. Salim smiles, also greeting you. Words fail you, your mind racing a mile a minute. You haltingly offer your hand, which Aisha takes firmly, smiling. “I’m glad you’re here with him. Of all the ways to meet his parents!” She laughs, the corners of her eyes crinkling. Just like Asra. Thankfully, he speaks up, his hand wrapping around your waist. You lean against him, trying to calm down. He’s not leaving. He’s staying here. He’s with you. The rush of relief from those thoughts makes you lightheaded, making you thankful that Asra’s arm is around you so securely. 

“I thought you were dead! But- obviously you aren’t, so what happened? Why was your gate sealed with burning chains? Is this where you’ve been? Can you come home?” 

Salim sighs heavily. “We’ll explain everything, I promise. But, we can’t go home yet. The chains weren’t the only part of our imprisonment. We need to find our familiars. They were separated from us, and I’m sure they’re trapped somewhere in this world. We can’t leave without them.” 

“If- if you can’t leave without your familiars,” Asra reaches for Faust’s spot on his shoulder. “Then we’ll come with you to find them.” 

Both of his parents faces flood with relief. Salim speaks again, his eyes shining with a thousand smiles. “Thank you. We’d better hurry. Breaking those chains might attract...his attention.” 

“Who’s attention?” Asra looks from his mother to his father, at a loss. Salim doesn’t answer. 

Aisha holds her hand over a hot spring, forming an image from the steam. When you see it, you sink deeper into the crook of Asra’s arm, pressing your body tight against his. He tightens his arm around you comfortingly, glaring at the image.

“The devil trapped you here?” 

Aisha nods, her voice trembling. “It’s a long story. We’ll tell it as we go.” She starts walking, her pace quick. The rest of you follow, you and Asra in the middle and Salim at the rear. 

“How do we even explain? It all started so long ago…”

“We can’t dwell on our regrets, dear,” Aisha sighs. Asra keeps glancing at you, and you know he wants to talk to you privately about the anxieties that are continuing to swirl inside you, but he bites his tongue and listens to his parents. They start their tale by reminding him of their work at the palace, and Asra nods, recalling a distant memory. They go on to explain how Lucio threw them in separate, magic-snuffing dungeons for ruining his gauntlet. As they continue their story, A geyser erupts inches from your body, causing you to flinch back and stumble into Asra, who catches you and pulls you back as a crater opens up, seeping scalding steam. 

Aisha frowns, tapping her chin. “As much as I hate to say it, we should take separate paths for a little while. I’m not sure if the ground will support four people at once. There’s a longer, safer path down there that the two of you can take. Wait for us at the deep green stream at the end of the path.” 

Asra looks from the path to his parents, nervousness etched into his features. “What about you?” 

“We’ll stay up here. We know it well enough by now. I promise, we’ll see you soon.” Aisha smiles, nodding as you two pick your way down to the path. Asra’s reluctance to leave is obvious, as he keeps glancing up at them until you reach the correct path, finally turning to you as they disappear. 

“Are you okay? You’ve been awfully quiet.” 

“I-...” You glance at him before swallowing, pressing against a tree and sliding down to a sitting position. “I’m happy for you.” You smile sadly at him, your voice catching in your throat. “It’s not fair for me to say, but- but” You gasp, looking down at your trembling hands. “I feel like I’m losing you. The minute you let go of me and ran, I felt it, and I know it’s not true but I can’t stop this feeling. And I know they’re your parents and I won’t take that from you! So if you want to-” You halt, a deep, shuddering breath cutting your words off. Tears block your vision, and you stare blindly at your hands, your whole body trembling now. “If you want to-” You can’t seem to get these words out, and you put your face in your hands, taking a few deep breaths. “When we find their familiars, if you want to go home with them, you can. I won’t stop you. Because you deserve that! You should get to be with your parents! You haven’t seen them in how long? Asra, you don’t have to help me get my body back! You can go home if you want!” 

Asra looks down at you, absolutely tongue-tied. He opens his mouth several times to say something, but can’t seem to form the words. Eventually, he drops down to a sitting position and pulls you into his lap, his arms tight around you. 

“Mc…” He begins, stroking your hair. “This must be hard for you, and I’m sorry for not realizing. I-” 

“But it’s hard for you and I shouldn’t be crying and feeling this way when you have it worse-” You cut him off, your shoulders shaking, but he places a finger to your lips, cutting you off. 

“I know that you don’t have any memories from before you died. Who your parents were even who you were, and here I am, finding my parents after years of thinking they were dead. And I know you want to get back into your body, but-” He gasps, and you look up in horror to see him crying, too. “What do I even say, Mc? You want me to go back on my promise to you? I can’t even think about that! There’s no way I would or could ever do that to you. You are the love of my life!” He pulls back and seizes your face between his hands, staring into your eyes with such intensity that your heart stops. “I love you so much I brought you back from death! And I will never let you go! So we are going to save my parent’s familiars, send them home, and get you back into your own body so we can get you home. And we’ll close the shop for weeks or months or a year or however long you need and we will just live together and be domestic and visit my parents and be happy! I love you. I love you, I wouldn’t let death take you, and I won’t let this!” 

With an anguished cry, you launch forward and bury your face in his chest, sobbing yourself hoarse. He trembles against you, his arms wrapped tight around your body, shedding his own tears. Long after you’ve spent yourself, he pulls back to take a good look at your face. 

“Are we okay now?” His voice is quiet, gentle, and kind. The grief completely gone from his face, a smile plays on his lips, and he runs his fingers idly through you hair. You nod and smile back, and he kisses you softly, lingering for a moment longer. 

“What about you? Are you okay?” Your voice comes out in barely a whisper. He pauses for a moment. 

“I don’t know. I should be happy, finding my parents, and I am, but truth is I’m not sure if I even know them anymore.” He leans his forehead against yours, his eyes drifting shut. “I know it’s a hard question, considering the conversation we just had, but what do you think of all of this? How would you feel in my place?” 

“Er…” You pause, a great sigh exiting your chest. “I- I really don’t know. There’d be a lot of… complicated emotions… Kind of what you’re going through right now.”

“...Oh. I suppose part of me was hoping for a simple answer. Maybe something you could see that I couldn’t. But you’re right. It is complicated. I’m happy, sad, scared, even angry.” He pauses, looking past you, lost in thought. 

“This is a lot to take in. Anybody would be overwhelmed. I mean, look at me,” You laugh quietly. “They aren’t even my parents, and here I was, sobbing because of it.” 

Asra takes a moment to think, continuing to run his fingers through your hair absentmindedly. 

“You know, I gave up on the hope of finding my parents years ago. It was just...too painful. Mc, I already lost them once. What if they aren’t at the end of this path? What if something happens before we find Chimes and Flamel?” 

Chimes and Flamel? Oh… the familiars. You must have missed that part of the conversation. 

Asra continues, meeting your eyes. “I don’t know if I could handle losing my parents all over again.” He sighs, then smiles again. “No matter what happens, I know we’ll be together. You can keep me going through anything, Mc.” 

He hugs you tightly one last time, getting to his feet and helping you up, looking down the stone-lined path. 

“The green stream. Lets go.”