#and now i have awoken them and they will get back to haunt me down

[sweettoothy]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐃

╰ SHOW ﹕ ARCANE !

︵ WARNING(S) ﹕╰ swearing ⸝ violence ﹕ sex

︵ relationship ﹕ Vi x fem!fragile!reader x Caitlyn

— pt.2 : watch it all burn.

⟣・S2・HEAVY IS THE CROWN︰

THE SOUND OF screaming could be heard when you had awoken from being on the ground, your hair in a messy style as you couldn’t see your surroundings. was Jayce and viktor okay? was everyone alright? mel..? of course you wouldn’t know, everything in your body hurt, it felt like some sort of piece of metal lodged in your side.

Being a well trained solider had its many perks but you weren’t prepared for this. Of course you weren’t. like they say, the most unexpected things come.

For you though it felt a little far fetched whenever your mom would tell you the stories about the ghost and salem. Where the witch would be haunted down and hunted but towards the end they found her having did no wrong doing.

Sad tale it was. really.

Everything on your body hurt like hell, the only voice you could hear was Jayce���s. was he carrying you and viktor? probably.

That dude had some incredible strength.

JAYCE SITS IN a chair with his head in his hand, looking over at viktor who lays inside the hextech. seeing you and viktor in this condition was tearing him limb from limb, not in a gruesome way but a much more sadder way.

He had hated not being able to protect the both of you, it felt like hell. But you know, some things just come and go…you lay there on a bed with a bunch of iv’s attached to your arms and lower half, your hair was in a messy bun since Jayce had tried thing it himself.

Mel walks inside his office as she takes a look around, her eyes landing on Jayce. “How are they?” She questioned.

“Same as before. They’re both breathing.” Jayce answers in reply, a distressed look on his face. “Their pluses are consistent. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mines.”

Mel walks over to viktor, her eyes landing on the hextech as she starts reaching her hand out with curiosity. When she goes to touch it, it reacts differently with her making her gasp and step back.

“What’s it doing to him?” Mel questions.

“The hexcore has been evolving.” Jayce explains, “shifting through runic patters faster than I can keep up. All I know for certain is that it’s keeping him and her alive.”

Jayce eyes land on where you laid, his heart aching with devastation as he sees you reacting differently to the hextech aside from viktor, your body was rejecting it but also accepting it at the same time.

If it was the only thing keeping you alive he wasn’t gonna mess with it.

“It should be me up there instead of him. I should be laying in that bed instead of her,” Jayce grumbled, gesturing to an unconscious you on the bed barely breathing. “Vi and cait are gonna lose it.”

“Don’t say that.” Mel placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “They’ll both come back to us.”

“I still don’t understand.” Jayce replies. “They were both right next to me. How does the explosion do that to them, and I just…? I just walk out without a scratch? [name] almost lost a hand, my god.”

Mel sighs. “There’s no sense to these things, Jayce.”

The male was quiet for a while before speaking again, “how’d it go with the council?” he asks.

Mel scoffs. “My mother’s entered the game. She’s already gotten her hooks into salo. Using his grief to make a play for hextech.”

“Mel, I promised viktor, never again.” Jayce tells the woman.

Mel places her hand over his. “It’s all right. I handled it. I won’t let them corrupt your dream.”

Jayce looks over at an unconscious you again, before laying his head on mel’s thighs, tears threaten to fall down his eyes but he holds them back.

He just wanted you and viktor back, that’s all.

You were very important to caitlyn and vi after all.

“I should get going now.” Mel says, “you might want to spend some alone time with them.”

With that, she stood up and patted his shoulder one last time before walking out the door. The door slams shut behind her by itself, making Jayce flinch a little.

He feels you stir, his head perks up immediately.

When it does, he saw you already staring at him, a confused look on your gaze.

“What was that about?” You questioned, sitting up with your back pressed against the pillows. It was a little hard to breathe but it was manageable with the breathing machine.

“I don’t even care-- i just-- you’re--?” Jayce launches forward and pulls you into a huge, a huge so tight you had gasped. He wasn’t hugging you too tight as though you couldn’t breathe— he just hugged you with desperation and worry.

“Woah! hey, hey, it’s okay.” You reassured, patting his back. “I’m okay.”

He was so happy to hear your voice.

“ONE OF THE MANY PRIVILEGES OF SERVING AS YOUR COUNCILOR IS HAVING THE OCCASION NOW AND AGAIN TO STAND BEHIND THIS PODIUM TO BEHOLD SO MANY JOINED TOGETHER NOT BY BIRTH OR DICTUM BUT BY ALL THAT WE SHARE.” MEL SPOKE as you stood by the other guards to keep watch, your back was leaned against the wall as the wound with the patch on your side was being healed. Your biceps flexing under the light as your toned abs still hurting from the explosion, but the wounds would heal, you were sure.

You glanced down at the tattoo on your hip and let your thumb graze over it, remembering when it was given.

You see one of the enforcers walk past you, you look them up and down by their attire before your brows furrowed— something felt wrong.

Heading into the crowd you lock gazes with vi, the both of you nodding towards one another before following the enforcer. But another person caught your attention as well, making you turn around and face the other way.

“The hell..?” You whisper lowly.

You push past the crowd of civilians as your hips sway when walking, and you walked with a purpose.

To figure out who the hell these people were.

Walking over to the other enforcers you climbed over the railing, your thighs still hurting but of course you forgot to bring your crutches for support. But it’s whatever.

“Wait, wait, ma’am you can’t--“

“Excuse me, I’m an enforcer too.” You say firmly as your eyes narrowed at the man. “So I can get pass, just like the rest of you.”

“We can’t even go in, so we can’t let you in either.”one of the enforcers replies. “Plus, you’re still injured from the attack so…”

Your piercing (e/c) eyes looked into the man’s brown ones, making his eyes widen a little— least to say, he was intimidated.

“Move, please,” you pleaded this time. “I feel like something is very wrong.”

Caitlyn looks over her shoulder and noticed the panicked look on your face— you would never randomly fuss about anything.

She knew something was wrong.

“Awful, isn’t it?”

Jayce looks over his shoulder when he hears a woman’s voice.

“Losing a loved one.”

When Jayce slowly turns around, the woman slips off her mask as she grabs her chainsaw, swining it at Jayce who barely dodged out of the way quickly.

Everyone starts screaming and shouting, rushing off to find somewhere safe.

“Get all the civilians to safety.” You told the enforcers before turning around to go and find Jayce, your leg still hurting from the explosion. you couldn’t walk around with a weak and injured leg but you thought against it.

“Jayce!” You shouted, searching for him. “Where are you? Jayce?!”

Someone suddenly slams you into a wall, making you hit the solid platform hard. A weak cry of pain escapes past your lips as you slid down the wall, clutching your arm.

Staggering to your knees, you rushed to get away from whatever was chasing you.

Get away, get away, get away

That was just going through your mind.

Something slashes in your back through your coat, “ah!” You shriek as you collapsed to your knees and hit the ground. Back arched as you tried crawling away from whatever had attacked you.

They grab onto your hair, arm wrapping around your neck once they finally got the chance to turn you around, the air in your lungs seemed to have collapsed the second they tighten their large hand around your throat.

You kick and flail your legs around as you gasped for air, eyes heavy and face turning blue as you choked— the breath you were now trying to breathe was very toxic seeping into your nostrils and throat.

You use your fists to hit at the man’s hands, he watched with a sadistic grin on his lips as the life in your eyes were starting to fade.

Your eyes roll to the back of your head as the life in your eyes seemed to have been fading.

“Get the fuck away from her!” Vi shouted as she rushed towards the much bigger man and knocked him in the face with her knee.

You collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as you clutched at your own throat.

Vi rushed over to you with concern, cupping your cheek as she leaned over you. “Are you okay? does anything hurt?”

“Vi?” You croaked weakly, grasping at her wrist.

Vi presses your hand against her fast beating chest, concern wiping her features. “It’s me. It’s me. you’re okay.”

She helps you up, “I’ll be right back. go and try to find cait, okay?”

You nodded before rushing off to find caitlyn.

“Cait!” You called out.

You couldn’t even get as far before you hit the ground, passing out.

END OF CHAPTER ONE

[garciaasfluffypen]

just be here

pairing: jennifer jareau x fem!reader word count: warnings: jj had a rough case but nothing is mentioned, alcohol consumption, jj just needs comfort

2am. it was 2am and your phone was ringing. and emily prentiss’ name was on the screen.

fuck.

you shot up in a fit of horror, accidentally throwing your phone across the bed in the process. grabbing at it you answered it, putting it on speaker with shaky hands. 

“em?”

emily could hear the fright in your voice just from that one word. “everythings okay. she’s okay. i just wanted to let you know we had a really bad case.” 

“oh.” you let out a sigh of relief. “what happened? can you tell me?”

“it involved kids.” 

“when is she going to be home?”

“i’m sending her home in five with a strict rule to not do any paperwork this weekend. luke is gonna drive her, she’s not in a state to drive right now. take care of her tonight. please. ”

“yes ma’am.”

you practically jumped out of bed and made your way to the living room, grabbing your favorite cardigan as you did so. you knew she’d crawl right into your arms when she got home, so it was probably better for you to be out in the living room so she’d be able to get to comfort as fast as possible. even if it meant you’d fall asleep on the couch waiting for her. everyone on the team knew where you kept the extra keys, you told all of them as a safety measure when scratch started targeting the team last year in fear that he would come for you. you hoped that luke would know to go for the extra keys in the case jj wasn’t able to grab hers and you fell asleep. which if you were being real, was probably about to happen. you curled up into the couch, pulling a blanket over your lap and leaning up against the back, hoping that you’d be able to stay awake until jj got home. the ride wasn’t too long from what you remembered, but it was 2am and you were tired as hell. 

you must have dozed off since you were awoken yet again, this time by the sound of keys jangling in the door. jj shuffled into the apartment, searching for you immediately. wordlessly, jj kicked off her shoes and came over to the couch, laying on top of you and digging her head into your shoulder. you rubbed your hand up and down her back in a soothing motion, your other hand going to cradle the back of her head. you don’t know how long you sat there, but you waited until jj was ready to talk before saying anything. sometimes, all she needed was some silence and to be in your arms until she felt ready to talk. 

“are you in the headspace to talk about it?” jj shook her head no. “what do you want me to do?”

“just… be here?” 

her voice was quiet and raspy from holding back tears all night, not entirely sure if she could let herself break down. she just felt… numb. so much had happened in the past week that she didn’t want to talk about, not even think about it. but she couldn’t help it. the faces of the girls affected by the unsub flashed across her vision every time she shut her eyes. she had made herself stay awake to avoid the horrors that threatened to haunt her dreams, and she felt like a dead girl walking. there wasn’t any possible way she would have gotten home by herself if it wasn’t for emily forcing luke to take her home roughly an hour ago. she was so strong, cases shouldn’t be affecting her like this. yet here she was, needing anything but to be strong. 

she was better than this, she knew how to face the horrors of the modern world. she knew how to stare some of the evilest people down and get them to share their twisted fantasies. so why was she so bent up over the cases that involved kids? was it because she saw herself in the kids, seeing the same patterns she went through with the horrors? was it because she wanted to keep them sheltered from the scary things of the real world? knowing what was out there, what was at stake for the children if they went down the wrong path… she didn’t want these kids to turn out like she did. 

so why was it when they got cases like these, she felt so small and helpless?

you could tell she was slipping out of her normal facade of being strong and independent from the second jj walked in the door. admittedly, it had been a long time since you saw jj give away all control. it was rare that she let you take the lead, but you knew tonight she needed it. she needed to empty her brain and just be. to relinquish just for the night, to let you tell her what to do. you didn’t have many chances to be the guiding light for her, but there were nights like tonight where she needed you to be her brain. when the cases got too tough, or hit too close to home, she would need you to be there for her. and you always were, even before you started dating. you had the same routine that you had started back in 2003 when jj began working for the bau, when she let her submissive side take over more often. and tonight, she needed it. you pulled jj back into your arms, letting her squeeze herself into the smallest form she could possibly muster as the two of you sat together on the couch. 

“are you okay to get up and move to the kitchen?” jj silently nodded. “do you want a drink?” 

“please.” 

carefully, you maneuvered yourself off the couch and held out your hand to jj, pulling her up after you. the two of you shuffled into the kitchen and towards the fridge, knowing exactly what jj needed. you grabbed her favorite beer, twisting off the cap and throwing it in the jar you kept on the counter before handing it to her. she took it from you silently, coming to lean up against you as you stood with your back to the counter. you took jj into your arms as she quietly sipped at her beer, images of the case haunting her every time she shut her eyes. your fingers danced up and down the sliver of skin at her hip, placing a small kiss at the top of her head as she let you take most of her body weight. you hated seeing her like this, hurting so bad from cases that she was handed. you knew she couldn’t control it anymore, she hadn’t been able to control it in years, but it still hurt you every time you saw her come home so drained from the cases that hurt her the most. 

a thick yet comforting silence filled the apartment as jj set her now empty beer bottle down on the counter, debating for only a second before going over to the fridge to grab another bottle. her eyes were getting heavy, you could tell she was tired. but per usual, she was fighting sleep because she didn’t want to be haunted by the images she saw from the past week. wordlessly, you grabbed a pan from the cupboard and put it on the stove before making your way to the cabinet, grabbing the ingredients to make some pastina. it was one of the meals that got you through both undergrad and your masters, and unintentionally got jj through the academy. while you were in different branches of psychology, you knew how hard it could be on the brain and how the comfort of the little stars could mend even the smallest of things. 

you felt a pair of arms wrap around you from behind, a half empty beer bottle in one of the hands. it was hard for you, knowing how much jj was hurting but not being able to fix it. not being able to stop the horrors that she dealt with on the daily, while you spent all day in a clinic with your biopsychology buddies, studying the lighter side of how the chemicals in the brain interacted with the biology of the human body. you turned slightly to place a kiss on her temple, knowing that all she needed was the comfort that she got simply from being in your arms. you wrapped one of your arms around her, shifting her so she could place her head in the crook of your neck while you cooked. 

by the time the pastina was ready, jj was practically falling asleep while standing. the almost empty beer now sat on the counter, forgotten as jj took the bowl from your hands and made her way to the bedroom, knowing exactly where she wanted to go. you followed her closely, making sure she didn’t spill anything or hurt herself in the process, considering how tired she was. you made sure to grab the pajamas you set out for her before you had gone to bed, waiting patiently for her to shimmy out of her work clothes and sit on the bed. you helped her into her sweatpants, not even attempting to grab her shirt seeing as she fell straight back into the pillows, the light blue pillowcases practically engulfing her. 

you got back into bed next to jj, letting her curl into your side as she held the bowl of pastina as close to her chin as she could muster without spilling anything. you were planning on washing the sheets in the morning anyway, so if they got messy it didn’t really matter to you. as your phone screen flashed, the numbers showed it was now 5:12am, and knowing the type of person she was, jj had most likely been up almost twenty four hours. you were about to say something to her before realizing she had gone limp, small snores coming from her. you smiled to yourself, grabbing the half finished bowl of pastina and setting it on the nightstand, pulling the covers over the two of you. jj subconsciously curled into you, holding you close as you wrapped your arms around her. 

sometimes, all you could do was just hold her. and that was okay.

[roseytoesy]

First encounters

Welcome to the first story of the nom-onauts universe! first to fall prey to the instincts is barnacles. Its trauma time!!

“I remember a good ghost story me grandad told when I was just a wee kitt’n.” Kwazii said while he and peso walked slowly down the halls of the octopod, about to head off to bed. Peso looked over, always up for a story even if Kwazii’s always sounded so scary. Without needing peso to say anything Kwazii started telling the story.

“In ancient times many pirate crews would have to be careful where they sailed to avoid monsters and beasties of the dark. But ghosts were a different story. drawn in on how close crews were, and to haunt the ships of pirates past and treasure hidden. This ghost I tell ye about is known as… the hungry ghost!” Kwazi started pausing for suspense before somewhat jumpscaring Peso with the name. Peso jumped and swallowed.

“Th-the hungry ghost?!” Peso asked Kwazii. 

“Aye! Tale says that the closer the crew became with each other, the more likely the hungry ghost would come! It would possess one of the crew to try and eat the others! The care and love of the crew making it jealous and hungry for that love! Even me ol’ grandad wasn’t immune to it and nearly ate his first mate!” Kwazii finished with a grand gesture. 

“B-but How would they even eat each other? like, trying to r-rip them to pieces?!” Peso asked the two now stopped in the hallway in front of the bed pod travel shoots.

“Even worse matey!” kwazi said, leaning in and somewhat looming over Peso. “The ghost has mysterious abilities that allows the possessed to shrink their own crewmates!” He said waving a paw toward the ceiling then making a pinching motion. Peso shook at that. “And worse of all the hungry ghost would make the one possessed eat the other whole! Sometimes in one big gulp!” Kwazii finished his story with an exaggerated gulp sound after miming holding something above his head and dropping it into his mouth. Peso jumped at that, eyes wide at the implications. 

“B-but, th-there isn't actually a hungry ghost… Is there Kwazii?” Peso asked, looking wordly up to his teammate. 

“Ye, bet yer flippers there is! But fear not, I’ll protect ya matey!” Kwazii assured the penguin who looked grateful to his pirate friend before looking around one more time and hopping into the travel shoot. “In fact I'll protect everyone on the octopod from that scallywag if they ever show themselves.” Kwazii said in a determined voice. He patted himself on the back for a good story and headed off to his travel shoot. Off to a good night’s sleep.

***

It was dark on the ship as it was night. But that wasn't an issue for Kwazii with his sharp eye sight, despite only using one eye usually. The humanoid cat walked down the halls having been awoken by an odd, sudden sound. A yelp perhaps?

It had come from the tube to his left so without hesitation he leaped down, following the source, yet the odd sounds seemed to get quieter? A voice?

It all went silent as he exited the sliding tube into the library. The gentle lighting was off and all that could be seen was in front of the large window looking out into the dark sea, faint tendrils of moonlight filtering in. A shadow was hunched over just past the window. 

Sensing something was off about things Kwazii snuck forward and down the stairs. There was a muffled sound coming from the hunched figure, along with growls? Kwazii thought over all his pirate monster stories as he crept closer. But nothing like this came to mind except…. But it couldn’t be, no one had been acting off. The only. Only person that might even have the slightest hint of possession was..

“...captain?”

As he had drawn closer and in his mind, the pieces all came crashing together as the familiar blue hat and outfit came into view. The hunched figure was captain barnacles. And at Kwazii's very quiet and nervous question he turned. Kwazii's blood ran cold. 

The captain even when hunched was a good head or two taller than the cat. His eyes almost blank with an unreadable expression as something pink squirmed in his hands and mouth. A muffled voice, a voice that Kwazii now recognized, sounded from the captain's cheeks as he slurped up the rest of the tentacles of professor inkling, swallowing thickly by throwing his head back. A small bulge traveling down the throat, horrifyingly illuminated by the moonlight. 

Now, Kwazii has been in many dangerous and crazy situations that would leave many quaking in their boots. But this, His captain, his friend, had just undoubtedly eaten another close friend in the dead of night. And Kwazii was scared. So he turned and ran, he would beat himself up for it later, but that wasn’t his captain. That was a monster. And He could have been next. So he bolted up the stairs diving into the travel chute, tripping over his feet as he scrambled to the launch bay computer, slamming the octo-alarm.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

the crowleying of your mascot's hair.

Good morning maggots, as I write this it is 11:53 pm on the uh, asmi10kpocalypse/10khaos (both stunning names, whichever of you came up with them please walk on stage and take a goddamn bow) and I have awoken from deep slumber.

The Good News: My hair is dyed! The Bad News: It was torture that I nearly fainted from!

Okay well uh, we know what I'm best at, and it's summaries of chaos. So without further ado (much ado about nothing ahahah everything is a 10k reference now), here we go:

It starts, as it will end, in my room in front of the laptop screen.

Now, as you know, I said I would dye my hair after I scarfed down my lunch. I do that and I also take a nap because fuck yeah, sleep.

I check tumblr one last time, grab my phone without charging it, tell my mum I'm dyeing my hair, and begin the walk to the salon.

On my phone is Arthur, @howmanyholesinswisscheese, who as a cishet deadbeat dad of a lot of us, is the worst person to ask for hair advice, but I do it anyway. I need a reference photo for a haircut.

Arthur helpfully scours the internet and comes up with options that include: Gay, hot history teacher, Joe Locke but something's off about it, same as above but different slightly and I can't place it, top 20 haircuts for crazy people, top 100 teen boy haircuts for teens, mullet slash hot history teacher, Hozier, why does the teen boy have a beard, Aussie AFL player, and Chris Hemsworth.

His words, not mine. Does anyone want to check in on Arthur's history teacher because I am getting very concerned for that man.

So I pick a haircut and land up at the salon. Arthur also tells me my hair is wild and I have needed a haircut for too long. Thanks dad.

The hairdressers are not pleased when I point to the red shade and tell them to bleach and dye my entire hair.

They inform me it will look like shit.

They keep asking if I'm sure. I say, with increasing annoyance, that yes I am.

Arthur is in the phone enabling me, yelling that I need to do it for crowley and "THEY DON'T GET TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO"

The hairdressers then say they're out of red hair dye, I can either do a magenta or come back the next day.

Arthur tells me to leave and go to another salon.

So I do, and I wind up at the salon right next door (Arthur and I cheer for capitalism), an extremely seedy looking place with a poorly painted stairwell that could well be haunted.

I tell the hairdressers there what I want, and they also argue with me about how it will fade, look like shit, etc etc.

Arthur says "THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, THEY'RE JUST HAIRDRESSERS"

He tells me that if Crowley can keep the Bentley together through hellfire through sheer will, I can do the same for my hair.

Finally, they huddle in front of a laptop, muttering, and agree to take me on.

I am then also hair-shamed by the stylist, who tells me in no uncertain terms that if I don't cut my hair as soon as it grows out even slightly, it looks "kharab", which is Hindi for... 'substandard, inferior, bad, shoddy, deficient'. Thanks, mate.

The haircut is done. What follows then is on of the top five most excruciatingly painful experiences of my life.

No, I'm serious. The bleaching and dyeing. It was. Fuck.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

JUST THE MEMORY HURTS

OKAY NEXT PART OF THE SAGA I WILL REBLOG THIS IT IS GETTING TOO LONG

IF YOU WANT THE HAIR REVEAL THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO SIT THROUGH THIS LIKE I DID, I'M AFRAID

[writingtraumaforever]

Uncontrolled Chaos: Chapter 11

Notes: Probably my last chapter for the day. I'm queasy. ;u;

Summary: Sonic and Shadow discuss what happened to diverge their timelines..

Chapter Select!

Link to my AO3!

Start:

“So it sounds like our stories line up all the way until I fell from the ARK..,” Shadow says quietly from his spot on the couch. They moved to the living room to get more comfortable, figuring this conversation was going to be a pretty long one. Sonic had whipped up a chilidog for Shadow, of course. While they’re not the most appetizing food to Shadow, he’s not picky when he’s starved.

He sets his empty plate down on the coffee table for now, taking another long sip of his water before looking back to Sonic who sits diagonal to him in the loveseat.

He looks a bit drained.. Apparently the incident with Shadow falling from space was one that haunted this Sonic pretty regularly. He didn’t enjoy reliving it..

Neither did Shadow, to be fair.

“...They have to disperse somewhere,” Shadow concludes with a rub to the side of his face, sighing and pursing his lips a moment.

“...What happened next for you?” Sonic asks after a pause, looking at Shadow now. His eyes look red around the rims.. When’s the last time this hedgehog got any sleep?? “Well..,” Shadow is quiet a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. Losing one’s memory several times definitely makes one rethink them when retelling them. But he’s pretty sure he’s gotten everything sorted out correctly in his head at this point. “I was awoken by Rouge–” “Rouge??” Sonic questions, a furrow of his brow, “..the bat?? Like the jewel thief?? Works for GUN, has a on and off thing with Knux– that Rouge??” “Yes, who else?” Shadow questions, his brow raising a bit questioningly at Sonic’s reaction.

Sonic’s head shakes a bit at that, placing a hand on his own chest, “I am the one who found you.”

Shadow blinks at that, his eyes widening a bit. The diversion. This must be where their universes separate.. “You?”

Sonic nods, moving a hand to rub the back of his neck as he averts his eyes, “Yeah- after you fell, I couldn’t sleep. It wouldn’t sit right with me. It felt like I was missing something. So I started doin’ some diggin’. I thought maybe if I got to know your story the best I could, maybe I could find some sort of closure over your death. So I broke into GUN facilities, raided abandoned research caches, even made a deal with Rouge to retrieve all information she had given GUN on you before your death.. I learned everything I possibly could about you.” Shadow listens silently as Sonic explains his obsession with Shadow after his supposed death. He can’t say he doesn’t relate to it.. He’s certainly experienced similar amounts of guilt. It’s enough to make someone spiral if they don’t have the proper support system..

“I knew there were still pieces missing. Gerald Robotnik’s journal was redacted to the point it was hardly readable. That’s when I figured Eggman might have access to the full story.. Maybe he had the whole journal, ya’know?? So I broke into one of his bases and… well..”

“You found me,” Shadow finishes, slow realization creeping onto his face.

“I found you..,” Sonic breathes as if experiencing the relief all over again, “...I can’t tell you what I felt when I saw you in that tank asleep..”

Shadow doesn’t speak a long moment, pondering Sonic’s words and how something as simple as Sonic being the one to wake Shadow up could change so much..

“..and what of Omega??” Shadow asks, trying not to show too much concern in his tone.

“Omega??” Sonic asks, seeming a bit thrown off by the question before snapping his fingers and, “Oh yeah! That robot that was there when I woke you. He put up a decent fight, but you scared him off pretty quick. He said he had more important business to attend to before flying away. Only ever saw him again working with Rouge at GUN. He always talks about annihilating shit..”

Shadow smirks slightly at that. Some things never change, he supposes..

“...What happened then?? When you found me??” “You couldn’t remember nothin’, Sonic answers with a sigh, leaning back in his seat, “I told you who I was. That I was there to help you.. You seemed skeptical, but you eventually let me take you back to Tails. He ran tests on you and stuff. Said you had amnesia, but were indeed the real Shadow.”

“You thought I potentially wasn’t??” the ebony hedgehog questions with a tilt of his head.

“Well, you did fall from space and survive,” Sonic smirks a bit, “Not many can do that.. And we thought if one Robotnik could make a Shadow, then another potentially could. So we made sure.” “Hm,” Shadow nods, crossing his arms, “Fair enough..” “After that, you stayed with us for a while. I told you your story, showed you the things I had discovered about you. You were extremely appreciative, and when you asked how you could ever return the favor, I told you not to worry about it. Just don’t go falling from the sky again,” Sonic snickers a bit, his eyes looking off at the floor as if reliving the moment, “...You joined my team. Said we worked well together, and you wanted to help me protect the world. Just like Maria would want..”

Shadow’s brows knit a bit at the mention of Maria, looking away as he chews on the inside of his cheek.

“..The rest is history,” Sonic shrugs, clapping his hands on his thighs before rubbing up and down them with a grin, “We’ve been unstoppable since.”

Shadow hums, his mind racing with all this information. There’s the obvious questions of how major events differed with Shadow and Sonic working together.. Such as with Infinite.. Did that even happen?? And did Shadow accompany Sonic on all his adventures?? Did Black Doom ever invade, and if so, did Sonic stick by Shadow’s side through all of it??

And then there were the smaller things, too. Like how Shadow’s personality had changed due to this. Was he an obnoxious smirking hero like Sonic in this world?? What about Rouge?? Did he even have any sort of affiliation with her??

The thought made his chest ache a bit.. He hoped she was alright in this world.

None of that mattered in the end, though. It was a world that wasn’t his, and its history had no effect on him. So he swallowed his curiosity in fear over overwhelment.

“...What happened in your world?? You said Rouge found you?” Sonic asks, leaning forward some to show he’s listening. “Yes, Rouge found me. She was looking for treasure of some sort in Eggman’s base when she stumbled upon me. She actually talked Omega and I down from a battle, and we all ended up teaming up together to find Eggman for some answers– well. Except Omega. He just wanted to kill the bastard.”

Shadow snorts almost affectionately when he says this, but Sonic’s smile seems a bit uncomfortable.

“Did he??”

“Kill him?? No. Not in the end. It’s complicated,” Shadow assured, continuing, “We ran into your team at some point. We battled for the sake of it, I suppose.. But in the end, we all had a common interest, and that was defeating Eggman’s rogue robot that had been leading us all to a trap.” “Metal??” “Mhm,” Shadow nods, “We won, of course. You and your group defeated him with relative ease once you used the chaos emeralds to transform. After that, Black Doom invaded with the Black Arms–” Shadow pauses, noticing how Sonic sucks in a tiny breath and how his hands clench his own thighs a bit tighter..

“..I guess you’re familiar with them.” Sonic nods. Nothing more..

Shadow doesn’t push it, nodding in return before continuing, “After their defeat, I decided to move on with my life. I had regained most of my memory, but it didn’t feel like me anymore. I was.. disconnected with that life. I wanted to continue on doing and being whatever I chose to do and be with nothing from my past defining it.. That was until the Time Eater came and quite literally made me face my past once more..”

Sonic shifts a bit in his seat at that, brows knitting up as he speaks quietly, “That.. happened here, too. I hated it.. I wasn’t able to be with you for most of it because I was having to restore the timeline. But when I finally found you in the White Space, you looked so frantic and confused and hopeful and stressed..” “I was hoping to save them..,” Shadow explains quietly, looking away again, “...in my world, Sonic and I raced for the emerald. I ended up tricking him and giving him a fake.”

He pulls out the fake then, holding it up with a small smirk, “This one, in fact.” “How’d you pull that off if I needed them to defeat the Time Eater?” Sonic smirks right back with a quirk of his brow.

“Swapped it before you faced it,” Shadow explains, tossing the emerald up and down in his palm absentmindedly before tucking it back into his quills, “You never even knew.” Sonic snorts, rolling his eyes with a little chuckle, “Sounds like a lot of trouble. Bet there’s lots of times you and your world’s version of me could simply get along and team up and get shit done quicker, but make it more difficult because your egos.” Shadow looks insulted for a moment, opening his mouth to argue with this but–

It’s a fair point.

Shadow shrugs at this and leans back in his seat, “To be fair, my Sonic is the biggest pain in the ass and nearly impossible to reason with.” “Aw- I’m sure he ain’t that bad,” Sonic snickers with a little grin playing on his lips, “He probably just has a cr–”

He stumbles. Stopping himself before he finishes as his eyes widen slightly at what he was about to say. “--rrramp. Yup. Running like that all the time definitely gives you cramps. Maybe it makes him moody? Heh heh..”

Shadow’s eyes narrow at Sonic’s obviously improvised words, eyeing the hedgehog that now looks a bit nervous. 

“Right..,” Shadow mutters, not convinced but deciding not to push it. He may not like what he discovers if he does..

Instead, he looks off at the wall again, now getting a closer look at some of the picture frames hanging about. There’s one of Shadow sitting in a field of lavender, someone else having taken the photo. There’s one of Shadow with Sonic, Cream and Amy at Twinkle Park. 

There’s one of just Sonic and Shadow.. Sonic’s arm around Shadow’s shoulders and hugging him close enough that their faces are smushed together. Sonic making a peace sign with his lips puckered and a wink at the camera, while Shadow just smiles small and shy.. He’s looking at Sonic.

“You know, my Shadow and I had a lot of tension between us for a while as well,” Sonic says after a moment, regaining Shadow’s attention back to him, “We bickered a lot. He was so serious and quiet and focused and I was so–” “Obnoxious?” Shadow finishes with a raise of his brow. “I was gonna say opposite,” Sonic’s eyes narrow at the hedgehog before he continues unbothered, “Anyway. It was hard for a while.. Learning each other’s mannerisms and ticks and boundaries.. It was definitely a challenge.” Shadow hums. “But thank Chaos we both like challenges, huh??” Sonic beams, winking at Shadow. Shadow just rolls his eyes with a small groan. “I don’t like challenges. I just refuse to be made a fool by some egotistical moron running around without a care in the world.” “I’ve got plenty of cares,” Sonic corrects with a pointed look. “..plenty.” “Right,” Shadow says unconvinced, his tone sarcastic and precise.

Sonic huffs a bit at that, grumbling mostly to himself, “I soo didn’t miss this..”

Shadow’s own huff escapes him in response before he looks out the window.

It’s getting dark out. Shadow isn’t precisely tired after resting so long. More groggy than anything..

He looks back to Sonic and finds he’s also looking out the window.

A longing in his eyes..

He misses him. His Shadow..

Shadow tries not to think too much into that, but..

“...Sonic–” “You wanna go for a run??”

[hayakawalove]

Nightmares

Summary: How do you comfort the strongest man alive? Even though Suguru had passed on, Satoru was still haunted by the memories of him. A/N: Hello! This is just something I've thought about before. I feel like Gojo probably thinks about Suguru often. TW: Angst with happy ending, nightmares

W/C: 1,584

Satoru never came home early. He was always out on missions into the late hours of the night. His version of coming home early was coming home at 11 pm, but you weren’t complaining. As long as he came home safe, that was all that mattered. 

You were in a deep sleep in your shared bed when you felt the mattress dip. You didn’t need to open your eyes to know Satoru’s lithe body crawled up beside you, sparing you a kiss on the cheek, and sliding under the blankets. He pulled your body close to his and you were once again plunged into sleep. 

You hear it before you feel it. Quick heavy breaths to your right fill the quiet room. You emerge from your sleep hearing Satoru panting. Quick, rapid breaths fill your ears. Next, you feel his body tense up beside yours. Your eyes squint as you look past him towards your beside clock. 

4 am. 

Reaching up, you brush a hand against his cheek. Satoru’s eyebrows pull together tightly, his full lips dipping down slightly into a frown. Anyone could tell he was having a nightmare. Everyone glorifies Satoru, and for good reason. But it can be hard to imagine someone as strong as him suffering from nightmares just like anyone else. But Satoru got them quite frequently, even though he would never admit it. 

“Satoru.” you whisper, gliding your hand back and forth over his cheek. 

He breathes in a sharp inhale before mumbling something. You wouldn’t be able to understand it even if you tried. You sit up beside him and brush his hair away from his sweaty forehead. Sticky strands slide up his pale skin, moonlight flooding in from behind you, illuminating his bright lashes. 

“Satoru, wake up. You’re dreaming.” You talk louder this time. 

He mumbles another word before his eyes bolt open. Beautiful blues stare blankly at the ceiling before landing on your face and focusing. 

While you couldn’t understand most of what he said, you did understand the last part. 

Suguru. 

His best friends name fell from his lips before he was harshly awoken. 

“Hey.” Your hand caresses his face once more before landing on his chest. 

You can feel the pounding underneath his rib cage. It thumped in his chest so hard you were surprised it didn’t burst from it. 

Satoru never failed to mention how he was the strongest, but in moments like this you were reminded just how human he was. Your heart ached to do something, to fix something for him. 

Satoru’s lips form as if he was about to speak, but nothing comes out. Now that his eyes were open, you could see the tears that lined his lashes. Salt water clings to the white hair, desperate to fall. 

“It was just a dream.” You lay down beside him, pulling his body close to your chest. 

He shivers under your grasp. His large hands cling at your body for dear life as he tries to ground himself. 

“Do you wanna talk about it? What did you dream?” You ask. 

You know the answer. Satoru fought many monsters, but he never had nightmares about them. 

No, there was only one person that plagued his sleeping brain. 

“I saw him…” You wait for him to continue, but several minutes pass by before he does. 

“I saw Suguru.” His voice sounds clipped. Hurt. Broken. 

You remain quiet as you hear Satoru attempt at breathing deep. His heart slows, but you can still feel him tremble beside you. 

“He was at the school… he was right there.” Satoru speaks your name so softly you feel your heart shatter in two. 

“I kept calling his name but he wouldn’t look at me. I couldn’t… I couldn’t get to him.” Satoru’s voice cracks at that. 

You feel him begin to shake like a leaf as his tears finally fall. He makes no noise as he cries, and you don’t see his face. But you’ve been together long enough to know. You run your fingers through his hair while he cries into your neck. Tears spill down your throat, causing a sharp chill to run up your spine. 

You want to tell him that it’ll be okay, but you don’t know that. You don’t know the pain he’s going through, you’ve never lost a friend in the same way he has. So you don’t say anything. You stay quiet as the powerful sorcerer breaks in front of you. 

Satoru, oh Satoru. Your Satoru. Outside these four walls he belonged to everyone else. But here, in your house, he belonged to you. Here, he could fall apart.  

The two of you stayed like that for a long time. You knew tears weren’t falling anymore as your neck had dried, but he kept crying. Satoru cried for his lost best friend until his tears ran dry. He cried for what could’ve, should've been, but wasn’t. 

He pulls back and peers up at your face. Your chest twists at the distraught expression that lined his features. Brows tightly knit together with worry lines donning his forehead. You weren’t used to seeing him in so much pain, it felt wrong. It was a crime against nature to not see joy radiate from him. Usually his smile and laughter filled the room. Just as much as you could feel his happiness, you could also feel the absence of it. 

“It wasn’t your fault.” You gently say. 

Satoru pulls back, and lays on his back. You hear him swallow audibly, his throat raw. 

“Do you know what it’s like to see everything? To have the ability for nothing to go unseen? But somehow I missed him right in front of me.” 

Your eyes scan his face. His face is twisted almost in thought. 

“I see everything. But I couldn’t see him.” 

If you didn’t have to be strong for him you were sure you would’ve lost it. 

“No, that’s not right. Maybe I did see him. I saw all the warning signs, but I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t do anything.” 

You listen as he pours his heart out to you. In quiet moments like this you are reminded at just how human Satoru really is. He laughs when he experiences joy, but he also cries when his heart aches for his lost friend. 

“It wasn’t on you Satoru. You were just a kid.” 

You know your words are useless, but you feel the urge to say them anyway. You know Satoru blames himself for it, and probably will for the rest of his life. 

“He’s my best friend. I didn’t want to think that he felt like that. I wanted him to be okay. I wanted us to be okay.” 

His blue eyes flick over to you. You never saw Satoru break a sweat before, but right now you saw perspiration lay across his forehead in a thin sheen. 

“I don’t think he blamed you. He didn’t leave because of you Satoru. You cared for him. That must have meant the world to him.” 

“It wasn’t enough though, was it?” Satoru says, his voice trailed off. 

You clench your fists under the blankets as you will yourself not to cry. How bad was Satoru hurting all this time? How heavy was the weight on his shoulders? 

“He should blame me.” Satoru whispers before sliding his palm against his forehead, pulling a face when he realizes how sweaty he is. 

“You can’t save everyone Satoru. It shouldn’t rest on you to fix the world. He loved the time you shared, you did way more good for him than you credit yourself for.” You sit up again and pull his hand away from his face. 

You press a kiss to his palm, and then his head and pull back to look down at him again. His eyes search yours for answers but all you can do is stare back with love. His eyes look less empty as love begins to fill them. 

“I love you.” He whispers to you. 

“I love you too.” 

You smile down at him before pulling the blankets down his body. 

“Let’s get in the shower real quick.” You say, grabbing his hand. 

He slowly rises from the comfort of the bed and follows behind you. 

The light of the bathroom flicks on once you enter. You make quick work of removing your clothes, and peeling Satoru’s off. His eyes look tired as he watches you. You couldn’t change the past, but you could help with this. 

The water turns on and you and Satoru slide in. You focus more on cleaning his body as you showered right before bed. He had to bend over so you could lather his hair, careful not to let any of the soap drip into his face. His muscles spanned underneath your finger tips as you coated him with soap, washing away every remnant of the lingering dream. 

He allowed you to dry him off as well. You would dress him if he needed it, but he was able to slide on new clothes. You tear away the sweat drenched covers, grabbing fresh ones. You couldn’t change Satoru’s life, but you could help with the small menial tasks. 

The bed was way more welcoming once you laid down in it again. Satoru’s body felt heavy beside yours as the two of you drew nearer to sleep. 

“Thank you.” You hear him murmur. 

You rest a hand against him before going back to sleep.

[cassidyafton]

REIMAGINATION: CHAPTER 8

Summary: A dark reinterpretation of the events of the Mr. Hopp's Playhouse series.

Chapter summary: In the midst of all the chaos beginning to take hold at Blacklands Manor, Esther confronts a so-called "friend" for trying to sabotage her.

Esther woke up late from another nightmare again that day. There was no use in being up for breakfast. She wouldn’t be allowed to eat anything after all, not until lunch.

There was a commotion downstairs- those holes and sores on Jackie’s hand had apparently spread all over his body, from the sounds of it- but it only lasted as far as the infirmary. Clearly, they thought everyone was in the dining room, and no one would hear them.

Esther didn’t care. Jackie would surely be fine, it was just some kind of allergic reaction. But she had more to worry about, herself.

Her stomach growled and her face twisted.

Molly.

Molly was so jealous she was able to be nice to people that she was getting Esther in trouble. That she was going to get Esther thrown in the cellar or Mr. Hopp in the trash.

She had awoken cuddling Mr. Hopp tightly so that nothing could take him away again, despite her dreams of a shadowy figure taking his face to haunt her leaving her sweating and shaking. He was her best friend. Her only friend. And Molly was trying to punish her.

She threw on a purple blouse and long denim skirt and stormed down the stairs to the dining room.

“MOLLY ELEANOR CASWELL!”

She spoke it like one of the matrons might, yelling her full name with a power.

“Huh? Esther?” Molly looked up, with the best innocent face she could give Esther, and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Molly, I know you put Mr. Hopp in the kitchen last night and got me in trouble for it! What’s your problem with me now?”

“What?!” Molly’s expression twisted into defensive rage. She’d been caught. Esther wasn’t buying it. “That wasn’t me! Why would I go anywhere near your dumb bunny when I have Miss Bo?!” She scoffed.

“Are you sure you weren’t just sleepwalking, Esther? You’ve been having nightmares, maybe it was just that?” Isaac suggested. She briefly looked his way.

He was looking at her like she was crazy.

And Esther couldn’t hold back that malicious voice in the back of her head any longer.

“You know what, Molly? Maybe you haven’t noticed, but you’re not a princess! You’re dirt poor, stuck in this rotten orphanage with no parents, just like the rest of us! So stop acting like a princess and maybe, if you tried to be nice, you might have friends, and the rest of us might actually like you!”

Isaac’s jaw dropped. Matron Sue shot her a glare. But Esther didn’t take her eyes off Molly.

As the other kids began to snicker and whisper among themselves, Molly’s face burned red with embarrassment, and fat tears welled in her brown eyes.

“Ugh!”

With nothing else to say for herself, Molly grabbed her precious Miss Bo and stormed off.

Then Esther felt a tugging force on her ear.

As Matron Sue grabbed Esther by the ear, the kids went quiet again.

“ESTHER!” She roared. “What has gotten into you?! You used to be so well-behaved and kind and now you’re breaking every rule we set and fighting with the other kids- just what is WRONG with you?!”

“I…”

Suddenly, Molly wasn’t the only one in tears. As she lifted an arm to cover her eyes, Esther began to sob uncontrollably. What was wrong with her? Molly was her friend. They’d been friends since they were four years old, since Molly was the new girl and needed someone to play with and Esther let her sit and play without asking her to share her little wooden doll. They butted heads, yes, but there were lines she would never cross, and one of those, above all else, was ever abandoning Molly, whose family had broken that rule already when she woke up one day and the whole house had been caved in leaving no one but her alive. So why, why was Esther being so mean? Why didn’t she care about anything anymore?

“I don’t know!” She cried. “I’m sorry, I don’t know!”

She heard the scraping of a chair being pushed out, and there was a split second of relief- someone else must've had everyone's eyes on them now- but of course, that didn't fix anything.

"Isaac, c'mon."

She couldn't quite make out the origin of the voice. She only knew that they were coming her way, and based on the second chair moving, that Issac was coming with them.

She felt Desdemona's long braids against her as she wrapped her arms around Esther and began to shush as though she was calming a crying baby, and that told her what was happening.

"It's okay, Esthie," Dessie whispered between breaths. "You tried to warn us."

"I did," Esther whined pathetically. "There's- there's something in this place. I don't know what it's doing to me."

"It's not your fault," Dessie continued. Esther was vaguely aware of the fact that she was shifting her weight from leg to leg, rocking Esther back and forth ever so gently. "The evil lurking in these halls... it's controlling us. You can't help it."

"You should apologize to Molly," Isaac said softly.

"Don't force her," Dessie replied. "She's having a hard enough time as it is."

"No." Esther sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "Isaac's right. I owe her an apology. I was too mean."

"Too mean..." Dessie repeated, with an expression and inflection that made Esther feel like she didn't believe she was capable of being mean. "Alright." She lifted Esther's chin to look at her. Something about the way she moved and handled her reminded Esther of an overly stubborn little sister. Not the worst thing to be, she supposed. "Come find me if you need me, alright?"

"Okay." Esther nodded, and with Mr. Hopp in hand and a smile from Dessie, she headed off to find her friend.

[seigephoenix]

The Not Finale 1

Since The Final Shape has been released for a while now, I can finally post Siobhan's journey through it. I do have a story coming that's going to show her past with Crow/Uldren but it's a slow process. I wanted to go through this story as the Final Shape brought up a lot of emotional shit for Siobhan. It'll be like 4 parts (maybe)

Art is by: @/commander-sarahs-art

Content Warning: grief, heavy loss mentioned, trauma is explored and worked through, game typical violence, surgical stuff is mentioned in somewhat detail

Siobhan looked down at her ship’s console as she flew towards the Traveler, her fingers tapping the keys needed to land the ship in a dance committed to memory.  She’d answered Nevia's call for help when the Witness threatened the Traveler, together to the end.  They’d faced down countless enemies of the Traveler together.  Nothing could break their bond.  Siobhan sighed and leaned forward, resting her forearms on the steering column of her ship.  She’d always come if Nevia called, even if it did require her to face him again.  She hated thinking of that last confrontation but it haunted her nightmares.  The ice and venom in those golden eyes would remain in her memory for a long time, but she deserved every bit of that betrayal and ire.  She closed her eyes as they approached the coordinates.  Unwittingly the memory of that argument rose up in her mind, her lips thinning as their voices played in her head.

You knew who I was this entire time!?  Did it make you laugh to see what had been done to me?  The abuse hurled at me?  Sneering at how naive I was to trust you.  You, the one who killed me.

I didn't do it on purpose Crow!  Being a Guardian means you get a clean slate with your life!  None of your past deeds are weighed against you!  Why do you think Commander Zavala extended his hand?  He’d never have done that if he didn’t understand that our past sins have no bearing on us as Guardians!!  And I never laughed at you!  Not once!  I was glad you got that second chance!  You deserved it!

You mock me still?  I remember the cold look in your eyes when you pulled the trigger.

Then your memory is fucking faulty!  I begged you, begged you to stop!  I pleaded with you to come with me!!  I'd drop everything I was to join you and help you find your sister!  I made a fool of myself but it didn't matter.  Only your obsession did!  That damned corruption took over and the Uldren Sov I knew was no longer there.  So yes, I pulled the trigger.  I chose my duty over love!  Do you not think I've tortured myself these all these years over it?  No one can make me feel worse than I make myself.

Quit with the excuses.  I don't want to see you any longer.

Done.

Siobhan sighed as she remembered Arawn transmatting her to the ship despite Glint's protesting.  She'd kept her word.  To the Vanguard's alarm, Siobhan kept herself to a self-imposed exile.  Her Fireteam had new partners they had watching their backs, they didn’t need her.  She did feel a little bit bad about leaving them, but both had understood her reasonings.  Nevia never understood but Siobhan never told her about the confrontation.  Siobhan knew Nevia had come to her own peace regarding Crow and what his actions as Uldren did.  Siobhan just couldn’t bring herself to tell Nevia what she and Crow argued about that day.  She was too ashamed.  Deep down she knew no one would understand, they’d argue she could’ve found a way to save Uldren, to not pull the trigger.  Siobhan couldn’t shake the thoughts and the guilt she harbored weighed her soul down.  “Well Arawn.  Hopefully Crow can put aside his feelings on the matter so we can work together.  He certainly didn’t keep that argument of ours quiet.  Did you see we got an email from the queen herself?”

“I remember.  She said that the Awoken people forgave you for killing Prince Uldren.  Didn’t she?”  Siobhan nodded and scoffed at the memory.  As if she needed an email like that.  From her memories of her past life, she understood it was Mara’s way of trying to assuage the guilt she carried.  Mara had always treated her with respect as Selene, and that extended to Siobhan now.  She still didn’t have to like the pandering that went into the email as Siobhan understood there was no way to truly forgive her.  She’d taken away Uldren.  Siobhan knew the anger lingered deep within Mara for that move even knowing how much the act tortured Siobhan’s soul.  “Be nice.”

“Look, I don't hate her.  I never did hate the woman.  I only said those names to rile up Uldren and it worked.  I just don't trust her.” Siobhan sighed and looked up as her ship pulled up next to Nevia's.  The ever familiar decals of the Queen of Hearts were as familiar as her own ship.  Siobhan smiled when she heard Nevia’s voice over the comm line.  “Here we go.”

“Ready?”  Siobhan shook her head as Nevia's face appeared on the screen.  They were both apprehensive about this mission, how could they not?  A direct threat to their Light was here, one that was stronger than any foe before them.  They’d faced down gods, fought for their Light, fought without it, had stood time and time again against the Traveler’s enemies.  Each time they’d come out of it, each bearing a new scar from it whether it was on the body or the soul.  This time…  Siobhan had a gut feeling she wasn’t going to make it out of this one intact, and she felt at peace with it.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. And with that, I mean no but I will do it anyway.”  Nevia’s answer resonated within Siobhan and they looked towards the pulsing heart of the Traveler.  She did find a smile tugging at her lips.  This reminded her of the time they went to Oryx’s dreadnaught.  They seemed to always face the impossible tasks together, with a few minor exceptions.  Siobhan wouldn’t have it any other way.  There was only one woman she ever wanted by her side if it came down to their last fight, and that was Nevia.  For her and for her fireteam, Siobhan would claw her way to the end.  No matter the cost.

“Off we go then.  To the end together?”  Siobhan didn't recall when they started using that phrase with each other.  It was a promise, to her at least, to always stick together.  Thick or thin, Light or no, nothing would tear their bond apart.

“Together.”

In the Heart of the Traveler

Siobhan huffed as her feet touched down inside the heart.  She was mildly irritated at the loss of her ship but understood it was a necessary sacrifice.  She looked around her and the quiet unnerved her.  Siobhan expected the inside of the Traveler to be tranquil and the quiet serene.  She could sense the underlying Darkness like an oily aftertaste.  It twisted her stomach and her irritation at the Witness snapped to the forefront of her mind.  She wouldn’t let that bastard get to the Traveler.  Arawn floated by her head as she continued on, hoping to get to the meet up point with Nevia.

“Ah geez, I hate being separated.  But we needed to cover more ground,” Siobhan grumbled as she marched across the former landing of the old Tower.  She remembered these grounds so well, the many times she ran from trouble, the day she got back from the Black Garden, walking along after the Vault of Glass.  The first time he’d held her hand had been here, and the first time he’d said how he felt about her without all the jokes.  She could still picture his face in her mind, even after all these years.  Some said that the faces of those lost would fade from memory, but Siobhan could still see Emyr’s face.  The quick grin had had for everyone, the quicksilver eyes that crinkled at the edges when he smiled.  Siobhan never forgot the way he held out his hand to her whenever she was feeling down.  Heya short stack, what’s got that mopey look on your face?  Her heart clinched at the memory and she struggled to tamp down on the burning lump in her throat.  Still too painful to think about, even after all the years later.  “Ah look at me, getting all sad because the Traveler crafted this from memory,” Siobhan laughed and looked up at the sky.  “I wish you could bring him back too…”  Arawn floated beside her struggling to find a way to comfort his Guardian when he realized they were getting a call.

“Siobhan.  Chia told me that Cayde is here.” Siobhan paused mid-step and looked at her Ghost.  She jerked her head towards the sky before back to her Ghost.  Did the Traveler hear her or something?  If so, she didn’t mean Cayde, but…  Siobhan knew it was entirely unlikely that her words brought Cayde back, not when she had another face in her mind.  Except.  She knew what this would mean to Nevia, and if it brought something of a smile to Nevia’s face then Siobhan would gladly have Cayde take her wish.  Though, logically, she knew that her thoughts didn’t bring him back.  Still, how in the hell was Cayde alive?  And more importantly, why was he in the Traveler?  Was that where all Guardians went after they died their final death?

“What!?”  Arawn nodded and relayed what Chia told him.  “Well geez.  They'll need some privacy for sure.  I guess we can head on for a little bit and then wait.  Ugh, what a sticky situation this turned out to be.  Wait, is Crow with them?” Arawn shook his head and she let out a frustrated groan.  That meant only one thing.  Given his history of doing reckless shit in the past.  Conveniently forgetting her own dumb stunts, Arawn wanted to add.  “Which means he’s gotten into stupid shit.”

“Are we going to have to rescue him?” Arawn asked as Siobhan kicked at a rock out of pure exasperation.  The sound of it pinged throughout the entire area and she wanted to scream.  She didn’t want to.  The man hated her, for good reason, and she had to work with him.  With Nevia and Cayde having their reunion and whatever unbidden feelings come up from that…  The entire thing was going to be awkward.  Siobhan wanted to whine about it all, she hated being confronted with her feelings and guilt and all the complicated relationship crap.  In the end, she knew what the answer would be and she groaned out loud.

“Yes,” Siobhan whined as Arawn laughed.  “Don’t laugh at me.  Well, whatever.  Do we have a read on his coordinates?”

“No, but I am picking up something from Glint.  Patching it through.”  Siobhan listened and shook her head.  Exactly like a fucking Hunter.  She didn’t quite approve of him leaving Glint out, but understood his hesitation for Glint’s safety.

“Reckless shit.  What did I tell you?” She shook a fist towards the sky.  “Relay the message to Chia, will you?  I'll meet them at the coordinates.”  Arawn agreed and sent the location to Chia.  He and his Hunter headed out to go rescue Crow.

After Reuniting Crow and Glint

Siobhan stepped away as they all spoke, just being close to him was enough to have her bristling.  Especially when he kept looking over at her, it wasn’t her fault they were going to be working together.  If anything, he could pin it on the Witness for forcing her to be here.  She would simply go where she was pointed, that would be the most ideal solution to this shitshow.  She huffed at her own despondent thoughts, those never got her anywhere.  Siobhan leaned against a rock with her eyes scanning the horizon for any traces of the Witness’s forces.  A sparkle caught her eye and she focused on a little ghost shell, one that looked too much like Byron’s.  As she reached for it, a sudden suffocating darkness swallowed her up.  Her senses were dulled as if she was drowning in a sea of clouds.  “Ah piss.”  She held the side of her head as she waited to see what the Witness would say, Siobhan didn’t think it would be anything else besides that smarmy bastard.  As if she was in the mood to hear whatever bullshit he was going to give her.

“I can grant you what you desire.”  She saw the image of herself and Uldren in front of her and the sight had her belly clenching in dread.  She sat with her legs crossed, lounging on the decadent throne with Crow kneeling beside her, her hand held in his as if in reverence.  The sight was enough to turn her stomach.  “He shall be utterly devoted to you.”

“Piss off.” Siobhan snapped and she sensed the surprise.  Did the Witness think they’d take whatever it offered?  Like some eager puppy dogs eager to please a master?  She wanted to put a bullet in the image in front of her, the urge to run clawed at her heart like a raging beast.  “Like I haven't been tempted before.  I'll give it to you for being original but fuck right on off with your bullshit.”  She heard the Witness hiss in displeasure and heard Arawn fight back against it.  The cracking sound coming from her Ghost’s shell alarmed Siobhan and she reached for him as he floated down after shattering the illusion the Witness crafted.  She cradled her Ghost to her chest, keeping him safe from any threat.  She ran her thumb over his shell and tears welled in her eyes as she saw how much pain he was in.  Arawn was the best part of her and to see him like this, it drove a spear through her soul.  Nevia crouched by her side, calmly placing her hand on Siobhan’s shoulder.  “Oh Arawn, you shouldn't have done that.  It cracked your shell.”

“I'll be alright.  I didn't want it to hurt you.”  Siobhan smiled at Arawn and let him disappear inside her Light to rest.  She turned to Nevia and saw the concern for her in her friend’s face.  She rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to think of what to tell Nevia.  Her eyes darted back over to Crow and Cayde before she decided to be cagey about what exactly she saw.  No one needed to know that.

“Ah, the Witness tried to tempt me.  I wasn't buying it though.” Siobhan waved her hand dismissively and tensed her shoulders when she heard Crow approach.  What was he going to say to her now?

“You shouldn't be so flippant about the Witness.”  Siobhan moved her lips as if mocking Crow, earning a stern look from Nevia to which she only huffed in return.  Siobhan crossed her arms and turned her head away from both Nevia and Crow.  She was allowed to be childish and immature in this case.  She did give Nevia a sideways glance when the other Hunter patted her shoulder.

“Flippancy is how I deal with stressful situations.  Arawn’s shell is cracked thanks to his fighting back against the Witness’s power.  I don’t know if I can fix that and what kind of pain my partner is going through.  Pardon me if I do what I can to cope.”  Nevia laid a hand on her shoulder, but Siobhan jerked it away.  She didn’t need to hear any lectures about her attitude.  Not now and not when it came to Crow.  She’d done everything he wanted when it came to staying out of his way.  “I'll be waiting over here for the plan.  Before I go though.”  Siobhan walked over to Cayde only stopping when the toes of her boots bumped his.  She narrowed her eyes at him in warning.  His optics flared in alarm at the look on her face, he knew that look well.  He also knew what followed it usually.

“Now wait, I already got an earful and a headache from those two.”  Cayde pointed before he held up his hands.  As if that was going to stop her.  He yelped when Siobhan kicked his shin.

“That is for making Nevia sad.”  Siobhan turned on her heel and walked away leaving Cayde shaking his leg out to ease the sting.  He sighed as he knew he deserved it and likely more for what he’d made everyone go through.  Nevia and the Vanguard weren’t the only ones affected by his death and he knew the burden this Hunter carried as Nevia told him Siobhan had avenged him.  What kind of wound did that put on her soul?

[phantalgia]

I’m Gonna Live Forever, Even If It Kills Me

Wow what a fucked up world. Anyway, my inner world is not any better. Currently I’m writing this having some...I don’t know "attack" of some kind.

My Apple Watch is telling me I have afib...havent had that in like a year and a half. I feel it. Oh I do. It's similar to what I had last year after surgery (which is still ongoing just to a much much less degree). However today is different. Afib is back which again, has similar symptoms but is uniquely different. It feels connected to my vagus nerve however. But I’m unsure.

I’m also unsure as to where this started. I have clues. But I’m unsure if these are coincidences or compounding factors. I’m thinking recently I've dealt with air hunger, trouble keeping myself up straight, hair feeling like a wig, blood pressure felt slightly elevated, trouble swallowing, and ontop of my usual nerve shit.

I got a haircut the other day that seemed to have really fucked up things as it was a very VERY gender dysphoria inducing haircut that caused me distress. The next day I started to feel ill, flu-like. But no flu. So that was fun. And now I have to deal with this thing for a few months.

What the hell is going on. I don’t know. Is it my heart condition? I don’t know. Nerves? I don’t know. Respritory alkalosis? I don’t know. Some combo with hyper sensitivity and neurodivergency to overcomplicate things. Possibly. Is it diet and sedentary lifestyle? Wouldnt doubt it be a factor. Which leads me to the next thing.

I Was Born Only A Few Years Ago

I wasnt bornt some 25 going on 26 years ago. No most of that was robot years. Scripts and masking. I was born maybe 4 years ago? I woke up. I was awoken to the reality that I was gonna die one day (pre-Covid contraction) and then I had a collective concious and saw everything was related.

After covid, the discoveries about myself grew wider. Congenital heart disease, some autonomic issues?, migraines, neurodivergency, the lack of something deeper in my life that I couldnt find. I want a desire to be *seen* and validated. And to give in return.

I wish to give back and have impact. I wish for someone to say to me how much they have impacted them. Not out of selfishness but because I would say you impacted me too. But I cant get it anywhere. I don’t know how. I know I have a future in the outside real world just waiting for me. I will fight to get it.

As of for the cyber world I will do what I can. I was thinking about volunteering in one of the groups or multiple somehow to develop my communication skills and to really harness and expand my capacity of care. I want to show that I care. And spread knowledge. And unlearn and relearn things to take with me as gifts.

I want to expand my art. Through my gender, makeup, dancing, movement, drawing, dreamscapes, music.

I want to keep exploring the mysterious and unknown and break binaires and flip things on their head. Thats the way to live queer and be queer. I’m the embodiment of queer. Nothing fixed. Nothing overarching. The scary and mysetiours and the hauntings fascinate me. Death and life. The dark the light. Its all so towering. All I want to do is bake in it. But this god damn fucking cage. I’m so close to breaking it. I won’t let these health shit stop me. Whatever they are. From Long COVID to something more. I will do more. And I will give the proper care to the creatures I love.

If anything I want to ensure my message gets passed down. I think I know someone who I can trust and maybe who can help me. But I am scared to reach out to them. Theyre busy. But I wish to know them more and help me find peace in some aspects of my life. And to pursue my desire to connect other. I’m thinking of pursuing facilitation or mediation. So lets get into that....

The Emotion/Communication Rabbit Hole I’m Going Down

I do believe that collective learning is our future. Collaborative and more. I say this in context with our emotions and communication because these are all connected elements. Our emotions, ways of communicating, and how we learn hinge upon non-heirarchal and horizontal power relations. Aka, collaboration. Otherwise we mistrust.

I was in the middle of watching a video on the philosophy of madness when all this health stuff came to attack me. I had to stop. And here I am taking care of myself. The actual self care that black feminist Audre Lorde talks about. Not the self endulgence of white able bodied people to maintain zombified by capitalism.

But we live in such a mad world. My body cant handle it. Ive neglected this thing for so long and that neglect has lead to burnout. Burnout not because I was doing so much. But because I was avoiding. I forget exactly how the video connects to my thoughts feelings and sensations right now. But I’m tired of seeing this...

Pathologizing Is Fascism

The pathologizing of everything disrupts communication. Alienates us and kills like. Please do yourself a favor and learn NVC (Non-Violent Communication). This isnt to degrade any field. But I do have my gripes with psychology as it focuses on whats wrong with you rather than whats right. And I see people hold onto the mental illnesses the sate provides to then as new identities.

I by no means intend to strip people of this identification. I myself strongly identify as a very lonely, melancholic, hyper sensitive person. This I understand about myself. But I seek to constantly transform these aspects day by day. Hour by hour. Not to change. And that should be our goal. To transform not change who people are as one creature has noted to me that this could be its own eugenics. But I deeply fear the eugenics of psychiatry.

Instead the collective mind needs to be diagnosed as anomie. The madness comes from not within us but the collective mind itself you see it all online and how it affects the world. Trolling have become the dominant form of discource today. This is accepted. We see it in debates, be they twitch or national. We see in the disgrace pissing on Miyazaki by turning people into literal lolcows by the state. TROLLING IS THE DOMINANT IDEOLOGY.

I remember the video on madness mentioning how it's more so about being anti-anti-Trump rather than being Pro-Trump that makes people like Trump. Why? To own the libs...its that simple. And this is no accident. This type of skewing of reality was done in the newly birthed Russian Federation.

We buy into the framework when we accept trolling and cynicism as the way to move forward in the world. We cant accept it...but we also should transform it. See, I have recontextualized my troll days in a way that tries to flip the script on trolling. I try to laugh a long and plant a few seeds of wisdom for them to maybe maybe not return to one day.

I’m Alone And Scared, Fighting For Life And Belonging

I say all of this because I am scared and I feel all this in my body in parallel with the health issues. I want to exist in spaces. Spaces with the most queer and magical people. Ive seen them. Even if they seem like they wouldnt get me or they have other things happening. They make me happy.

Their music tastes, the way they see things, feel, express themselves, even kinks, or thinking. Theyre so beautiful. I have a word for that. It's magic. Magic and queerness. It goes hand in hand.

But I’m often disheartended to see many groups compare themselves and judge others even when they themselves are just as weird. Why not embrace it?

People have said that cringe culture is dead but its alive and well and its fueled by this neo-victorian, social darwinistic, fascist movement that has swallowed up EVERYBODY AND NO PLACE IS SAFE. This is why its hard to find accepting places. Because people want to be the exception. Meanwhile I’m looking for people proud of who they are and are willing to accept the weirdness of others and be infatuated by it. This isnt to say weird as something deragatory. But to say yes! It is weird! What is weird to one person isnt so to another. Our weirdness is beautiful.

To all my weirdos out there, you know who you are or maybe youve been called as such. Maybe because you have different personalities in your mind, different pronouns, different looks, maybe you age regress, maybe an animal spirit inside you, maybe you date online, roleplay or more. Be free! I give you permission when nobody will.

I wish to be among these creatures. But don’t know how. I want to experience their world and get lost in it. While ensuring the real one doesnt stray too far. I know you’re there.

Today I’m Individualistic, Tomorrow I’m Collective

My thirst for collective belonging is there. I’m unsatisfied with the narrowness of life, the slop of the internet. The repitition of bad news. I’m tired of the people who refuse to come with me on a journey to new possibilities.

Surrounded by people who don’t do anything for each other. They never listen and never see another person. Instead they impose a world view rather than transform intrapersonal views collectively.

We speak of jobs we hate, debt accumulated, money disappearing, security erroding, isolation building. We're able to share those moments but when it comes to offering solutions that benefit us all it comes empty handed. When that conversation comes we're dismissed as utopians, unrealistic. Or maybe theyre just too busy surviving the jobs they hate when their labor could be withheld in favor of alternatives. This doesnt have to be an overnight thing nor should it. Instead it can run parallel.

It starts with the basics, stable food source, water, shelter. Nothing overnight but thats a start. Then our labor can slowly be removed in from the mainstream economy into the new. On that values labor AT labor.

If they crack down on us, we protect ourselves. Mutual aid networks only go so far. Theyre the ideal mode of survival currently and in the future but arent going to change things systemically. That would take a concious force to protect and fight back against the forces that seek to eliminate us, extract emotion, thought, and diversity.

Psycho-Warfare

The main battle is the psycho one. The fight isnt mainly cyber, financial. It's psycho. I see this war continue in even circles with similar minded people. We still inflict wounds onto each other through the most basic methods used by the liberal and fascist elite. That's our capacity to pathologize and and communicate with violence.

Have a minor disagreement? It turns into a heated exchange, and emotions run wild. Purity tests and pathologizing. This and that. It's the same individualism, posturing, one-upmanship we see everywhere else in society.

We can see how this plays out. Our useless dance with "facts" facts that are often disgarded by science deniers or facts that change. We forget that facts remain within the context of the emotional realm, up yours Ben Shapiro. Facts that don’t feel good to us are discarded. Facts that do fit our worldview are in.

We should not deny what facts have on our emotions and bodies. We should explore that more. We need to incorporate more feeling and needs into our language if we want to overcome the psycho-civil wars we pull on each other, the pathologizing, and the psycho-war on the people at large.

I'll rest tonight, maybe I'll sleep, maybe I won’t. I'll let myself be sick. To rejuvinate my body, my soul, my emotions for tomorrow. And more so tomorrow's tomorrow where I spread my wings and fly. Where the creatures of the earth are finally back where they belong. I'll see you then, you'll see me too. I have faith as all things must start with. Faith

Nothing will stop me from dancing, living, breathing, touching. No nerve pain, no heart issue, nothing. I’m not who I was 10 years ago. Or 5. Nor a year ago. Things are moving. And I just wanna groove and move my body.

[echoingbirdsofprey]

Of Love And War

10 - Hold Me Now

Pairing: Commander Cody x OFC Azura Shain

Rating: Explicit (MDNI!)

Warnings: allusions to smut and canon typical violence, medical crap

A/N: I love Indigo Squad hahaha

Samson held Cody in higher regard than most of his brothers. He had respect for him just for the sheer amount of responsibilities the man had. Being the Marshall Commander, he was in charge of not only the 212th, but he was also the superior officer for the 7th Sky Corps. He was responsible for over thirty thousand men, not to mention his General and the other Jedi Commanders. 

Samson trained with Cody at Kamino. Cody had always been like a big brother. Always helping his 'little' brothers. For someone who managed so many men spread across so many systems, Cody was coping. At least that's what Samson saw. 

He could imagine the guy was probably stressed as hell, but he hid it superbly. There was maybe one person he figured he didn't hide it from.

Azura.

And now he had to be stressed about her as well.

Samson understood perfectly why Atom had him bring her to Cody. She was going to end up going to him anyway. But was it worth the extra strain it would put on Cody? And maybe it wasn't a problem at all. Maybe Samson was just thinking too much on it. 

He could've had Captain's quarters. He decided against that. He'd rather be with his men than not. Sky took the top bunk above him. Atom slept on the bottom, under Emden. Zazou took his place above Kaz. There had been another trooper who slept under Zazou when they were the 478th. He'd unfortunately died on Geonosis and for a good while no one had slept below Zazou. The ARC didn't mind either way. Zazou was a bit of a loner. He kept to himself but was always ready to spring into action when needed. He was a good soldier. All the men Samson served with were good soldiers.

Cody was the best of the best.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She tossed and turned, and it worried Cody. She had nightmares. He did too. Hers seemed to haunt her more than his though. He pushed them out of his thoughts. She couldn't let them go. He would wake some nights and she'd be sitting up, her head in her hands, breathing heavily, just having awoken from something terrifying playing over countlessly in her mind.

His hand would travel to her lower back and she wouldn't notice sometimes. He would rub faintly, enough of a comforting gesture to get her to lay back down and fall asleep again. Other times he would sit up with her, cradling her against his warm body until she relaxed, until her eyes closed once more. 

Cody has been up in his chair for hours on end, working on reports, reassigning regiments, sending out supply requests, everything boring, but necessary. He hadn't the heart to tell Azura, who was asleep in his bed, that he'd been leaving for a mission in just a few days. He didn't want to leave. Obi-Wan was off doing some sort of something on Mon Cala. The 501st had gone with him. The 104th was assisting on Felucia again. And the 212th was needed to bring supplies to another planet who'd been retaken from Separatist control.

Cody hated relief missions. Not because he didn't want to help. They were just boring. Loading and unloading supplies for hours. Not that he really had to do much, but he wasn't one to just make his men do everything. If there was work that needed to be done, he helped. The sooner it got done, the sooner they moved on.

The sooner he got back to see Azura.

He shifted in his seat, glancing over at her slumbering form on his bed. He wanted so badly to lay down and fall into a deep sleep beside her. He wanted so badly to crash and not have to deal with all the stress and heartache that came out of being the Marshall Commander. But he couldn't. So he continued typing away.

Every once in a while he would check on her. She'd drift in and out of consciousness. He knew Atom had given her a shit load of pain meds. He wasn't surprised she was doing nothing but sleep. If he had that much bacta running through his veins he'd probably be in la-la-land too. 

She'd mumble his name every so often.

It wasn't the first time either. After Geonosis, she was completely hopped up on pain meds. She kept asking for him. And he kept going. Something drew him to her. He didn't believe it was the Force, though he'd heard stories of Jedi being connected through some Force-bond thing. He didn't think that was what it was. He didn't know what it was, only that it was good. 

He'd get annoyed. Distracted. He'd stare at her and that frustration would melt away. Her hair fell in waves, framing her face, shades of brown, but in some spots, miniscule streaks of blond. 

Eventually he gave up and gave in. He crawled onto the mattress beside her, his arms weaving around her in a protective manner. 

He just wanted to hold her.

He pushed a few strands of hair out of her face and she stirred. Her eyes opened, just halfway, and a small smile played across her lips.

"How do you feel?" He whispered.

"My stomach hurts." 

" Atom said the amount of bacta and pain meds you're on would do that. You'll have to try to eat something soon though." Cody hadn't been out of the room except for food. He'd brought back a few ration bars and water for when Azura was coherent enough to eat. He figured she wouldn't want anything too heavy in her stomach. 

His quarters were equipped with their own refresher, which was lucky for the both of them. He was hoping she might be okay to take a shower too. He wouldn't mind helping her with that. Her hair still smelled faintly like the volcanic fumes from Lola Sayu.

"How are your ribs?" His hand travels to just above the area. 

"It doesn't hurt quite so bad to breathe now. I think it's still bruised pretty badly though."  

Cody propped himself up above her and very carefully lifted her shirt. She winced slightly, feeling like he was dragging daggers across her skin. The bruising was extensive. It ran in a straight, wide line, mottled black, blue, purple across her stomach and almost around to her back on her right side. This was worse than last time. At least, the outer damage was. The internal, by Atom's account, was similar. Cody had pulled up his report and reread it a hundred times.

"It is." He traced the widest part of the bruising with his fingertips. She flinched and her eyes shot open. 

"Sorry. More sensitive to the touch than I thought you'd be." He let his hand rest on her hip instead.

" It's fine. I feel like the pain meds are wearing off."

"They shouldn't be. Atom can come and check on you if you want. He also said he knew you didn't want to be on the med bay."

"It's so cold in there. I hate it." She examined the room for a few seconds before speaking again. "He doesn't need to come check on me... you're here."

" I'm not a medic..."

" You don't need to be." Azura's tone went from flat to flirty in no time. She pulled him into a kiss. Cody smiled into the kiss but broke it.

"Hey...he said no fooling around." He's careful to not place his hand anywhere near the upper part of her abdomen, which leaves the lower available.

"No he meant no sex. He said nothing about kissing... And other things..." 

" That's considered fooling around..." He moved so that he was leaning over her, his knees meeting the back of her thighs. Her hands wrapped around his biceps. He captured her lips for another kiss.

" I disagree, Commander." 

" Do you? What do you call this then?" Nearly purring, he pressed his lips to her neck, just below her ear and she can't help the moan that leaves her mouth. He draws back. 

"You can't do that and not expect me to want to go further."

" Then keep going. I never said stop. I'll tell you if anything hurts." The blush on her cheeks is unmistakable. 

" Azura..." He hesitates.

" Cody...gedet'ye..." He grinned lasciviously. He shook his head and spoke softly

" You're the worst patient."

She only smirked and pulled him down for another kiss.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Azura...I have to go." 

She awoke to Cody's voice, a gentle whisper in her ear. 

"Go where?" 

"I have to go on a relief mission. Quick, simple, should be back in a few days. Samson is going to take care of you until I get back."

" I can go with you."

" No you can't. You need to rest. That's an order." He pressed a tender peck to her forehead. 

She pouted but she did agree. She was more sore than she wanted to admit. She knew he didn't want to go but he had to. She was being a little too selfish thinking that he was going to forgo his duties just to make sure she rested. 

Cody rose and Azura tried to sit up. Her ribs ached. She laid back down and sighed. 

"Stay. Samson can come by later and check on you." He suited up, sliding each piece of armor on and adjusting it to where it was comfortable. He grabbed his datapad and helmet, kissed her again and nearly ran out the door. She was left to her own thoughts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cody passed Samson on his way to the ship.

"How is she?" He asked.

"She's not happy I had to leave."

"She'll get over it. I'll go talk to her for a bit and hopefully she'll fall asleep again. Atom said that's the best thing for her right now."

Cody placed an approving hand on Samson's shoulder.

"You take good care of her for me."

"I will. You get back here as quick as you can."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Samson marched down the aisles of beds in the barracks to the very back of where the 212th stayed. He knocked on the door and heard no response. Cody had given him his room code so he punched it in and the door hissed open.

Azura wasn't lying down. He heard the gentle rain of the shower though. He sat at Cody's small desk. All he kept was a picture of him, Rex, Fives, and Echo and another one of him, Fox, and Bly. He remembered the two older Commanders from the training academy. Fox was bold and brash. Bly was calm and calculating. Cody was always the leader. Samson admired the three of them immensely.

He heard the shower stop.

"Azura?" He said, not wanting to scare her...or have her come out of the refresher without a towel on. The thought of her like that...had his mind whirring and his loins on fire.

Stop thinking about her like that, she's Cody's.

He didn't get a response. Had she not heard him? He waited a few more moments and then he stood, placing his helmet on the desk. He ran his gloves fingers over the visor and up the rangefinder. Out of respect he turned away from the refresher door. Minutes passed before the door opened.

"Hi Samson." Her voice was raspier than normal. She cleared her throat once, twice, and he felt a hand at his back. He pivoted. Thank the Maker she had clothes on. For the first time ever though, her hair was down. The dark mahogany waves, still wet, fell around and framed her face. His hand immediately grasped her arm. His codpiece...was entirely too tight.

"You shouldn't be up."

"I know but all I could smell was sweat and sulphur. Now I smell...clean." She inhaled, not fully, but enough and Samson examined her eyes for any signs of agony. None so far. Either the meds and bacta were doing their job or she was good at hiding it. 

"You smell like Cody." His timbre flat, he recalled how Cody always smelled faintly like he'd be camping out in a forest for days. A woody, fresh scent with smoky undertones. His armor may look like absolute hell but the man had his own fresher for a reason.

Perfect. Think of Cody instead. How he'd fucking maim you if you dared do anything to his lady. 

And Maker was she a lady.

Fuck!

"You okay?" Azura asked, her smile warm and enticing. He shook his head. 

Was it this hot before?

"Fine. Sit back down." He motioned to the bed. He noticed an empty plate on the nightstand next to the bed. She'd eaten at some point.

"Come sit with me?" She pleaded, dragging him toward the bed.

Mother of...fucking...holy...FUCK.

Panic. 

Don't panic, you're trained not to.

Impossible not to.

She sat carefully and she pulled him down beside her. She laid back against the pillow and threw her legs over his torso, pinning him to the mattress. He had nowhere to put his hands except on her legs. One rested on a shin, the other lined up with...her thigh.

Obviously he was the only one aroused by this. She sighed and made eye contact with Samson. He tried so hard to think of anything else but how close his hands were to the v between her legs.

"You all have slightly different shades of brown eyes." She said softly, her bright blue orbs fixated on his.

"I suppose we might... we're all just slightly different. But the most slight."

Just keep talking.

" No, no, no... you're all so drastically different from each other. Like your eyes are more golden. Cody's are dark. He always seems just a bit taller than everyone else too.

"He holds himself different. He's the Marshall Commander. He's the big guns. Ventral cannons on a Venator. The rest of us are like ion cannons on a little Starfighter."

" Interesting comparison." She chuckled and closed her eyes, letting her head fall back. 

"It's all I could think of." Samson snorted at his own stupidity.

Good, keep sounding like a dumbass. 

"How's your ribs? Seems like you're breathing okay." He asked, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. Without realizing, he was rubbing gentle circles over her kneecap with his right hand and his left was clamping down on her thigh. He startled at his own actions but she grabbed his hand before he could take it away.

"I'm okay. That felt nice." 

You're fucked.

"I should go." Samson wanted to bolt, but she stopped him before he could sit up far enough to leave.

"Why? Because you're being awkward? Because you're horny?"

She's got you there.

"You're making me horny..."

"I'm not doing anything. I'm enjoying your company." Her voice was calm, soothing almost. He was surprised. She was right too. He was being a dog because he was alone in a room with a female. How often did that happen? Not very. 

"Platonic relationships are hard when your only friend is of the opposite sex...and she's hot." He slid himself up and against the wall that the bed sat parallel to.

"I'm not your only friend."

"You're my best friend though...I mean...yeah...Atom and Emden are my friends. Zazou and Sky are. Rex and Cody...but they're also my brothers. It's different. I don't tell them the things I tell you. You know shit about me that they don't."

"Like how you told that Twi'lek chick that you loved her and you'd just met her?"

" Yeah."

" And how much you hate Wolffe." She smirked, thinking of how many times he'd said he'd punch Wolffe for less than a credit.

" Yeah that."

" And how it creeps you out that Echo likes to slap your ass when no one's looking."

"Mhm. Gross." Samson stuck his tongue out and gagged a little at the thought.

" And how you just told me I was hot?"

" Okay...stop."

" That's our relationship though. Of course it's different from everyone else. We spend so much time together. Just because I look pretty sometimes and that makes your dick hard sometimes doesn't mean we're gonna do anything. A lot of people get turned on by a lot of things. You're sorely mistaken if you don't think I get a little excited when I see any of you with your shirts off. But you respect the fact that I'm in love with Cody and..." Azura's stomach dropped. 

" Did you just say...?" Samson grinned so unbelievably wide and it made Azura smile too.

There it is! 

"Have you told him that?"

"Well...no...not yet...I don't know how..." She stumbles over her words and glanced down out of defeat.

"You just say it! Just fuckin'...say that shit to him!" He exclaimed, ecstatic for her. 

" I'm afraid to. I'm terrified of what he'll say."

" Uh he's gonna say it back. Hello." He held his arms out to the sides. All of his previous feelings and thoughts had subsided. What he'd seen in Cody he was finally seeing in his own Commander. He loved that he had the most un-Jedi-like Jedi ever. 

"You don't know that..." She was sitting up now, slightly slumped forward, her fingers playing with the fabric of his kamas. Samson lifted her chin with two fingers. 

" I know that he doesn't look at anyone the way he looks at you." His voice softened and he pulled her into a gentle hug. She wrapped her arms around him and let out a breath of relief. That four letter word had been weighing on her heavily and she felt like some of the burden, some of the pressure of it had been taken. She could always count on Samson for that.

"Just say it." She repeated, feeling the butterflies that she'd felt when Cody first kissed her.

"Just say it, vod'ika." Samson affirmed, pleading with the Force to bring Cody home sooner. Azura began to drift off in his arms. He repositioned himself and her so that they were lying lengthwise. A hand rested on the top of her head and one over her back, protectively. They dozed off like that for more than a few hours.

[briamichellewrites]

52

It was three in the morning. The bedroom was completely dark. Brad and Bria had gone to bed hours before. Now, he was awoken by her pushing him away and repeatedly saying no. He turned on the bedside lamp and saw her fast asleep. She was experiencing a nightmare. He talked softly and gently to her, reassuring her she was okay. Her breathing gradually slowed, as she came out of her bad dream. Until she fell asleep again. He sighed before turning the light off again.

He lay awake as he thought about her re-enacting her assault in her sleep. It was likely she wouldn’t remember it when she woke up the next morning. He would mention it to Mike and Dave in private. It was around eleven when he got the chance to. She had gone out for an early lunch before meeting with her therapist. He suspected that the stress of her upcoming divorce triggered her PTSD symptoms.

They agreed it was likely. However, they were not mental health experts. He did the right thing by not waking her up. She could have become unintentionally violent towards him because her mind was in fight or flight mode. He would not have held it against her, as he knew she would not have been in the right state of mind. It was likely she wouldn’t remember the details of the dream. He would tell them if it happened again. Dave recommended he go with her to her next session.

He could then mention it to her therapist and ask what she thought was a good way to handle it. That sounded like a good idea. He would do that. If her symptoms got worse, she might relapse again. She arrived home two hours later. Jack was also at the house. He sought out Mike to discuss his relationship with Jason. They were not going to break up.

However, they were going to take things slow. He truly loved him and wanted him to be mentally healthy before they moved in together. That was a very smart idea. He brought up his relationship with Dave. It started as an attraction for each other. They hooked up. At the time, he was struggling with alcohol addiction and depression. He was sleeping with other men while pushing Dave away. It took him getting sober for him to recognise how much he hurt him.

He had to learn how to love himself before he could commit to him. And he did. It took about a year before he was ready to date.

“I saw a cat on the side of the road…”, she said excitedly.

“No, Bria. You don’t need another cat”, Dave told her with a laugh.

“Fuck you.”

They laughed. Was the cat alive? Yes. She wanted to pull over, but she couldn’t find anywhere to park. It was so cute and small! She pictured Princess having a diva tantrum because she brought home another cat. They laughed. When she came through the door, the animals were there to greet her. She said hello to them. Hi, human! Micha rubbed himself against her leg.

She picked him up and held him as she continued talking. He purred happily. His ears picked up everything going on around him. He heard the humans talking, but he didn’t know what they were saying.

“Okay, I have to ask you. What the hell happened last night”, she asked Brad.

“What do you remember?”

“Being chased by someone I couldn’t see. They got me to the ground and I tried fighting them off.”

“Yeah. You were having a nightmare. You were pushing me away and telling me no.”

“Oh my god! I’m sorry! Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah. I knew you were not aware of what you were doing. I talked to you until you came out of it and went back to sleep.”

She thanked him for doing that. The boys were amused by her upbeat mood. Either she was going through a manic episode and they needed to keep an eye on her, or she was just in a happy mood. Princess came over and noticed her favourite human. She announced her presence by meowing and rubbing against his leg. He looked down and said hello to her. She meowed until he picked her up.

“Exhibit A: The most spoilt cat in the world”, she joked.

They laughed. What would she do if he kidnapped her? Her father would haunt him from his grave. That was a good reason for why he shouldn’t keep her. No, he couldn’t do that to her or her father. One day, he would get a cat of his own. Mike asked her why she was in such a good mood. She had no idea. Was she manic? No, she would be able to tell if she was manic.

They were not going to complain about it. She mentioned getting a tattoo. However, she didn’t know if the ink would be gluten-free, or if it would be a problem. Dave didn’t know. He never thought about that. She could always ask the artist during her consultation. It was better to be safe than sorry. The artist was usually used to questions from their clients. What kind of tattoo was she getting? She had two ideas. One was a tattoo for her parents. The other was the letter G on her wrist.

“Why would you get the letter G”, Brad asked.

“It’s for Gia Carangi. When I was modelling, that’s what people would call me. My manager always tells me not to end up like her.”

“Who was she”, Jack asked.

“She’s considered one of the world’s first supermodels. She lost her career because of her heroin addiction. Then, she died when she was twenty-six years old from AIDS.”

“Why do they call you Gia?”

“Because they think I look like her. I’ve seen pictures and, oh my god! I have to show you guys!”

She brought over the laptop from the kitchen counter. Using the internet, she looked her up on Google. She showed them a picture of her. Yes, she did. They had the same hair and eyes. Gia was beautiful! Jack also took notice of how their names were similar. Bria and Gia. Yes, it was another reason why they gave her that nickname.

Brad remembered her. She was everywhere in the eighties. Her career was very short. She could have done a lot more if it hadn’t been for the drugs. Princess interrupted their conversation by meowing. Growler and Misty were looking up at her. She told them to go away. This was her human! Growler whined.

“Hey. You can share with the dogs”, Dave told her.

They laughed. He crouched down and said hello to them. They smiled with their tongues out.

Mike thought his boyfriend was adorable! It was one of the many things he loved about him. He had a huge heart for people and animals. Just like Bria. Speaking of, he was going to ask her about her appointment later. Until then, they went into the kitchen to start making dinner. The animals followed behind them and began begging for food. Mike helped her feed them. One by one, they were all fed.

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon

[cheemken]

Godddd Iris fr ran away cause she didn’t want Ghetsis to get angry and pissed at her. That just shows how much Iris and N fear Ghetsis, cause instead of “oh no dads gonna be mad” it’s “Dad is going to be mad” and she just dips instead of facing the consequences

But ough imagine how the League felt after Iris left to watch N vs Hilbert/ran away, cause she disappeared after the biggest battle between Team Plasma vs The Unova League. And they all got separated from each other during the fight, but they regrouped after Hilbert defeated Ghetsis all with various injuries, some worse than others. But imagine Drayden panicking because no one had seen Iris since the beginning of the battle and now she’s missing + possibility injured. If they really think about it, Team Plasma was going for the kill, not just to defeat their Pokémon but they were also commanding their Pokémon to attack the Gym Leaders. Imagine people start thinking that Team Plasma succeed in killing one Gym Leader

Unless of course Hilbert saw Iris with N and Ghetsis, then he’d probably tell Alder or someone that he saw Iris working with Ghetsis

But yeah like Iris fr still had a deep fear of her dad cause she immediately thought she’d get beaten or something when he found her, but he just said how he missed her and how she has a dragon of her own now. One much more powerful than any dragon N could have awoken

And now Iris will truly be the Queen of Team Plasma, how she and Kyurem will take down the League and become the Champion N failed to be

Can someone please just give Iris a hug omfs😭

There's this deep and primal rage within me when I think abt Ghetsis hurting Iris and N, like, my guy, what in the fuck are you doing cjmdndmd like idk do you know that one comic back then where N was forced to watch someone kill a Purrloin, and there's like a grunt telling Ghetsis that this was wrong, that N was just a child, but Ghetsis insisted that N watches, to know just how fucked up humans can get. Fucking imagine that w Iris too tho ncmxnx like homegirl was forced to watch how some humans mistreat baby Dragon Pokémon, how some would force them to evolve earlier than most so they could get a powerful Dragon, and Iris was more stubborn than N. She didn't want to watch those, didn't wanna hear her friends crying for mercy then given none, but Ghetsis did not like that, and punished her instead.

God those punishments still haunting Iris till she got older ncmdbdn

But also Drayden thinking that Iris is dead😭😭 like your honour pls she is his granddaughter now nothing will ever change that and imagine if he's so adamant that Iris isn't really dead. Hilbert said he saw Iris leaving after summoning Zekrom/Reshiram, so she must still be alive right?? Right??? Imagine Drayden really begging for Hilbert to look for Iris too tho, that Hilbert finds her along w N, please, just he just wants her back home. And ofc, Hilbert promised he'd look for Iris too, compared to N, he and Iris were much closer as they found immediately a common ground between them.

Shit now imagine Hilbert and Iris dynamic GOD NCMDBCMXND I am hurting myself w this like I'm such a slut for platonic pairings man please cbdmdn fucking imagine how Hilbert must've felt when Iris revealed she was part of Plasma hcmxbxmd like your honour that's his bestie now and somewhat became a rival too w how they would battle each other to test their strength and suddenly she's actually part of Plasma and now she's gone

And Iris is there w Ghetsis now, he found her before Hilbert or N could, and god he's not gonna fail again. Grooming Iris once more to be the perfect leader of Neo Plasma, engraving in her mind that they will rule over Unova, that she's the most powerful trainer in the region.

And all was going well for Ghetsis yknow, he finally had Iris back and instead of being a failure like N, but Kyurem never liked Ghetsis. He doesn't like the way he treats Iris. Doesn't like the way he has that device in his cane to make Kyurem kneel to him instead. He fucking hated Ghetsis w all that he is. And so he told his beloved trainer.

Iris at first didn't believe it, sure her father had some off days but.. but he couldn't be that bad, right..? Then again, she was never fond of the way he shows that he cares, never fond of the punishments, never fond of his love that he apparently has for her and for her brother. When Kyurem told her abt it time and time again, Iris began to believe she really has to do smth. Ofc, Kyurem encouraged her, what kind of pkmn would he be, his trainer had always been there for him, time to return the favour. So he tells Iris that she really is more powerful than Ghetsis, that she could rule Plasma and Unova without his help, he was just a bridge she has to cross and burn the moment she gets to the other side. Ghetsis was just standing in her way, and she has to get rid of him.

God imagine tho right midpoint of their plan, Ghetsis was monologuing again, going on how it's going perfectly, that N finally left and Hilbert was nowhere to be seen. But Iris,, well,, the Shadow Triad was loyal to her yknow, more so than they were to Ghetsis, so they helped her w her lil plan. They broke that device in Ghetsis' cane, but not obvious enough that he'd figure out it's broken. Kyurem was finally free from his control, and Iris finally the one who can command him again. And god just bcmdbd

Imagine right after they attacked Opelucid (imagine that's really the final straw for Iris tho bc she saw Drayden getting hurt, w Kyurem's ice no less, she felt like shit and Kyurem had to tell her it was part of the plan so Ghetsis wouldn't be suspicious, and she knows that, but Kyurem knows how much it hurts his trainer), and Ghetsis was so fucking proud of himself that his own plan was going well. Imagine tho at the frigate, when he went to Kyurem's chamber he sees Iris there, and he's going on how proud he was of her for finding Kyurem, making Plasma even more powerful than before.

But like, imagine if Iris' back was facing him tho, and she just slowly turns around to face him. Her look almost felt empty, devoid of any emotion, and Ghetsis would be lying if he says it didn't freak him out a bit. Then Iris smiled at him, "you're right, father.. it's going well. But.. Kyurem doesn't really.. like you." Just as she said that, Kyurem was released from its own prison, stepping out of it and standing next to Iris, eyes fixated on Ghetsis. "We decided that maybe it would be for the best you'd just.. well.. how do I put this delicately.. I think it would be best if you die."

Ghetsis finally met his fate at the sharp ice of Kyurem's Glaciate impaling him.

[demigodforfend]

Twilight of the Demigods: Forfend Edition - Session 24

Forfend trudged along, feeling exhausted and downtrodden.

It carefully followed the map Melzaryn had given it.

The group backtracked slowly, meandering out of the Mortal Bulwark.

Climbing back up the ladder was no small feat. All of them, save Duncan, were sore and heavily wounded.

Forfend carefully guarded its core on its climb, lest it bump the exposed sphere against the cold, unforgiving metal.

Ichor spilled endlessly from it, trailing onto the floor behind it. The golden liquid evaporated quickly, but not quite so quickly as it poured from such a massive open wound.

As they moved beneath the Galloford estate again, muffled arguing cut through the floorboards.

Highlord Adhron's voice dripped condescension.

Others in the same room were chattering nervously about an earthquake.

The overlapping cacophony made it difficult to make out much more than the general gist of any given conversation.

Even Kairi shook her head.

They kept moving, not bothering to eavesdrop a second time.

The walk back was slow and winding, but eventually they did make it back to the entrance at the guard barracks.

They emerged onto the sparsely populated, nervous streets. Few were out so late, but the apparent earthquake Forfend and its allies caused had awoken a handful. The guards still around the barracks all seemed on edge.

Kagoshi and Kairi started to trudge back toward Eamon's home.

Forfend hesitated. It looked to the towering cathedral.

"Go with them," it hummed to Duncan.

Duncan nodded. He caught up to the other two.

Forfend hobbled alone to the Grand Cathedral.

No one was around the entrance. The doors were unlocked, but no longer propped open.

Forfend let itself inside.

The inside was similarly deserted.

Every step echoed with haunting melancholy.

The weight on Forfend's shoulders doubled here in this holy place. It felt nearly crushed by the weight of its fear, its sorrows. Its inadequacies.

The priest of Somnum squinted worriedly at Forfend as it passed. He leaned slightly forward on his cane.

He seemed to be the only clergy member still here and he was shepherding over one of the only areas in the temple that still had any people in it at all. There weren't many. Three, maybe four. All of them sleeping soundly.

The priest motioned to Forfend, a question clear on his face as he watched its ichor puddle.

Forfend politely shook its head. Resting would do it no good just yet. It had something it needed to do first.

The priest rested his head on the top of his cane and sighed sullenly.

Forfend kept walking until it reached Fornax's alcove. It stopped, staring up at the enormous statue.

This figure was far smaller than the genuine deity, but hardly less imposing in this moment.

Forfend took a step closer and lowered its gaze. It couldn't look the statue in the face. It carried too much shame in its core.

It covered its core with its broad hand.

No one else was in the forge right now. That was good.

Forfend was struggling to get its thoughts in order. It would struggle further to admit them aloud. At least there would be no further witnesses than itself and Fornax.

Steam hissed long and slow in Forfend's chest.

"I am sorry," it began haltingly. "I have failed. I know you called me to get back to work, but I do not think I am able. I cannot do it any longer. I cannot fight these demons as they arise. I am too far past my prime. Too old. ...Too wounded."

It paused, looking down at its mutilated body. The gushing chunk missing from its chest was hardly what it meant. That was a symptom, not the cause. Its fully missing layer of metal was the true culprit. An injury that hadn't healed in eight thousand years. An injury that wouldn't heal in eight thousand more.

Despite its worries, it knew it couldn't fully abandon Fornax's call.

"But I will still help," it promised. "Here." Another rush of steam passed through its chest. "If you will grant me the ability."

It was asking a lot in the face of its moment of faithlessness against the hound. Yet it had to ask. There was precious little it could do alone.

It lowered its gaze to Fornax's feet as it passed by him to enter the workstation proper.

It dropped gold into the offering plate and let itself into the material storage room.

Forfend wasn't certain what it wanted to make. It collected supplies almost at random, cycling them through its hands as it tried to determine a path to take.

Kagoshi could fight demons. Kagoshi was exceptionally good at fighting demons. He was able to hold them down and wound them with efficiency and brutality.

For all his flaws, he was the better answer to Fornax's call.

Forfend decided upon designing him a pair of gauntlets that would suit his barehanded fighting style.

It collected what it needed and returned to the workstations. It selected one at random and watched as the forge lit itself.

It zoned out as it grappled with the metal in its hands, venting all of its frustrations, all of its fears, all of its disappointment at itself into its craft.

It lacked the durability it used to have. It lacked the unwavering faith it used to have. It lacked the bravery it used to have.

A molten glow emanated from between the cracks in the stones of Forfend's hands.

If it couldn't fight, it would create weapons and armor to keep its allies safe. They didn't have to be fragile, doubting, and cowardly. They didn't have to be like it.

They weren't like it.

The least it could do was arm them.

Forfend became vaguely aware that its forge hammer was glowing with heat powerful enough to meld the metal without first inserting it into the forge.

It sank further into the trance state calling it down.

The world fell away, the thoughts in its head fleeing until it could focus properly on its work.

There was nothing but the task in front of it and the statue watching over its shoulder.

Forfend lost track of time. Everything fell into place exactly as it should, far more easily than Forfend expected.

The gauntlets took form in its hand.

When the palms were open, the metal covering the fingers was smooth. When the fists closed, it revealed jagged spikes designed to deal damage.

The wrists of the gauntlets were heavily reinforced to both withstand damage and provide support.

A magical sheen gleamed off the tips of the spikes.

Forfend observed its work, reasonably satisfied and feeling much less overwhelmed now that it had created something.

It nodded to itself.

It dropped the enchanted gauntlets into a large pouch at its side and began tidying up the workstation it had used.

It sighed a long rush of steam and shuffled out of the workstation.

Three distant strikes of a hammer on metal resounded at the very edge of Forfend's hearing.

It froze in its steps, almost uncertain if had heard anything at all.

It turned.

The flames burning in the forge in Fornax's belly were golden. Brilliantly, radiantly golden.

The fire quickly flickered back to its mundane oranges and yellows.

That wasn't an answer, but it was an acknowledgement.

Fornax had heard its anguish.

At the very least, it hadn't been abandoned for the blatant mistrust it had shown in the Mortal Bulwark. That was more grace than it felt it deserved, but it was glad to have it.

It wandered back to the priest of Somnum.

Without a word, the priest began arranging blankets and pillows in a configuration large enough to accommodate Forfend.

He stepped back and pointed at the gaping, gushing hole in Forfend's chest where its tired core sputtered in slow rotations.

Forfend touched the scraped stone at the edges of the wound.

Demon-inflicted wounds healed.

Acras-inflicted wounds didn't.

Wounds inflicted by a demon of Acras were in an area Forfend's spotty memory couldn't recall. It wasn't certain if the gash would heal or not. It feared finding out, lest it dislike the answer.

"I am not certain yet if it will heal at all," it hummed after a long moment. "Time will tell."

The priest nodded. He looked Forfend over and held up a finger.

Forfend cocked its head.

The priest left.

He returned shortly, struggling with a pile of rocks stacked so high he could only just tuck them under his upturned chin.

He set them down as gently as he was able.

Forfend knelt, running its fingers over the old stone.

Most of the rocks were marble. They looked like they'd fallen off the cathedral, either during its original construction or from years of wear. For one reason or another, they'd been kept.

And now they were laid out at Forfend's disposal.

It hummed anxiously, but it would have to try eventually. It was probably better to know now rather than later.

Hesitantly, it picked up a stone and placed it in the edge of its wound.

To its immense relief, the heat of its body took hold. The stone assimilated into it nearly instantly.

"Thank you," it said sincerely.

The priest only nodded. He returned to his post.

Forfend meticulously patched more stone into its form, taking great care around its core.

Eventually, its body was whole again. Or as whole as it could be given the damage it would carry with it to the end of its days.

It laid down on its stomach in the cushions and blankets.

Exhaustion brimmed in the edges of its vision.

Its rune blinked out as it finally entered its rest state.

It was so thoroughly tired, its beleaguered thoughts couldn't chase it. Hardly a coherent word passed through its mind as it rested.

Morning slipped into the sky with haste.

Forfend lit its rune and sat up.

The temple was already beginning to bustle.

It tilted its head at the priest. He was still standing in the place he had been when it had first laid down. He'd stood there all night.

Forfend hadn't seen him sleep.

It stood and stepped over. "Have you slept?" it asked.

The priest gave half a smile and looked up at Forfend through half-lidded eyes. "I'm always sleeping," he yawned.

Forfend paused. It nodded slowly as the realization sank in.

The priest was sleepwalking. He was always sleepwalking.

Forfend wondered if that was a natural progression of dedication to Somnum or something unique to this man.

Regardless, it showed extraordinary devotion to his deity and his work. Forfend couldn't help but be impressed.

"Thank you for your hospitality," it hummed.

The priest ducked his head politely.

Forfend made its way through the sleepy streets back to Eamon's home.

It quietly opened the door.

"Dammit!" came Melzaryn's muffled voice from the guest bedroom.

Forfend tilted its head, confused.

It wandered into the guest bedroom.

Howell leaned in the corner, not quite awake but not quite asleep.

Duncan lay sprawled out across his bed. He snored loudly.

Melzaryn rubbed at his face as he pulled himself out of bed.

Kairi wandered in from the living room with Kagoshi on her heels.

"Good morning," Forfend greeted.

Half-hearted grumbles chorused from the entire crew.

Duncan snorted and shook himself awake. He stared at the bedsheets and then turned to inspect the room. The confusion slowly left his features.

"Oh yeah, I'm... hi!"

"Good morning," Forfend hummed again.

"Hello," he repeated. He caught sight of Howell stretching in the corner.

He pulled his eyes away, but they kept sliding back.

Forfend understood. Howell hadn't been in control of his actions, but he had still hurt Duncan.

That wouldn't be something Duncan could easily forget.

Howell evaded eye contact with Duncan.

Forfend positioned itself almost in-between the two. "Do you think either of you can tell us... well, anything. Where are you from? How were you captured? What do you know, if you remember anything at all?"

"I can, uh, tell you a little bit," Duncan volunteered. "I'm from the Pass. You know, the Tyrwedian Pass that leads into the Viridescent Wilds? That's where I'm from."

Forfend hummed its acknowledgement.

"The last thing I remember was getting groceries and heading home." Duncan shrugged. "Then I was here, having the most massive, horrible migraine ever. And then I got kidnapped." He glanced at Howell. "Again, I guess."

"I am sorry," Forfend said sincerely. "We will do what we can to get you home."

It gently pat Duncan's head.

"How is your hand so hard, but patting so softly?" Duncan marveled.

"Practice," it answered easily.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense," Duncan nodded.

"I actually traveled here on purpose," Howell piped up. "Around two months ago, I heard word of a bunch of famed warriors heading here for one reason or another"

"Second time I have heard that," Forfend noted, recalling that Callan had said just the same.

"I was actually here to practice and train up. I wanted to seek out some duels with these warriors," Howell continued.

"Are they demigod warriors?" Forfend asked.

"Not that I know of," Howell shook his head. "If there is a demigod here, I'd love to take a crack at him. Though, I doubt I'd win."

Forfend glanced around the demigod-filled room and particularly at Melzaryn, who cast back a subtle but sly smirk. "Well, I think perhaps you are right. You would not."

"Yeah," Howell sighed. "They're built better than most of us."

Forfend touched the metal brace covering the chunk missing from its chest. "'Better' may be too strong a word."

"Not inaccurate though," Howell argued. "I actually came here to train for a little tradition back home."

Forfend nodded and started to ask what that tradition may be, though it already had a hunch it was the same one Callan was training for. Before it could speak up, however, it noticed the way Howell was repeatedly touching the place on his chest where he'd been murdered by the cultist's sickle.

"Are you alright?" it asked instead. "I know that being revived even very shortly after death can be extremely jarring."

"I'm not going to lie, it's kind of like the feeling of flying in the wind. But... not something I'd want to get used to." Howell forced his hand down to his side.

"Sorry to revive you in the midst of the fight like that. It was extraordinarily dangerous," Forfend hummed.

"Any situation where I was going to be woken up like that, I think I'd rather have died in battle," Howell admitted.

Forfend's core stuttered a moment in its chest. It lowered its head. "Sorry."

"Eh, it could've been worse," Howell shrugged.

Kagoshi scoffed, staring daggers at Howell.

"Does he have a problem with me?" Howell asked. "He's been glaring at me this whole time."

"There is hardly anyone Kagoshi truly likes," Forfend answered. "And you have been... Actually, let me start from the top."

Forfend explained everything Howell had put them through in the past two days.

Howell stared, wide-eyed. "Well... shit," he swore. "Okay, well, that does basically align with the story I have. I arrived here in Cragwall and started looking for mercenary work. Met up with a guy, did the job, and I got ambushed by a bunch of weirdos in cloaks and masks."

"Who did you meet with?" Forfend asked.

"Shit, uh, a local noble." Howell took a moment to wrack his brain. "Sagemantle, I think. Oh! Odolan. Odolan Sagemantle. I think he's a highlord or something."

"Curious," Forfend hummed. "We will have to look into him."

"He had me doing some very simple work. Apparently, some folks were trying to break into their archives and I was to act guard. Keep an eye out. Arrest some folk." Howell's one visible brow knit. "But during that, I apprehended this budding mage just trying to get some educational material. He was apparently a Sagemantle himself, but he wasn't allowed to go near the library. While I was sending him on his way because he was just a fucking kid, I got ambushed."

"That is extraordinarily suspicious," Forfend stated the obvious.

"I'd say so," Howell agreed.

There was a moment of silence as everyone in the room retreated into their thoughts.

"Shit, I'm hungry," Howell suddenly said. "Feels like I haven't eaten in months."

"You very likely have not. At least, not more than the barest essentials," Forfend shared.

"Godsdammit," Howell swore. "I'm going to go look for food."

"There is plenty here," it offered.

"Shit. Are we allowed to..?" Howell looked a bit uncertain at the prospect of eating someone else's food.

"Yes," Forfend assured.

If Eamon was upset, Forfend would simply buy him more groceries. It would likely do so anyway.

Forfend escorted him to the kitchen.

Howell rifled through the cabinets, grumbling under his breath about the ingredients and lack thereof available to him here.

"There's no fucking spices," he growled. "Fuck this shit." He sighed, resigned. "At least there's meat. Is there rice? Shit, they don't have rice. I guess I can make do with bread. Goddamn, what do the people here even eat?"

Forfend shook its head. Its grasp on food and cooking was fairly poor. It didn't eat. It wasn't familiar with the tools and supplies needed to accommodate that need.

"Fuck it, I'm making kebabs," Howell decided.

"If you would not mind, spare some for the owner of the house," Forfend requested.

"You're right. This isn't my place," Howell agreed.

He mumbled a bit more beneath his breath regarding the lack of spices in Tyrwedia.

"Hey, wizard!" he suddenly called.

"Melzaryn," Forfend supplied a name as the aforementioned wizard trotted into the room.

Kairi, Kagoshi, and Duncan were all on his heels.

Forfend introduced itself and each of them in turn.

Kairi waved.

Kagoshi scowled.

Duncan squeaked a hello.

"The owner of the house is Eamon," Forfend added.

Howell nodded. He turned back to Melzaryn. "Mel. Is it alright if I call you that? I don't want to be disrespectful."

"I don't mind." Melzaryn leaned on the table and awaited the request.

"Would you like to help me with the cooking?" Howell asked.

Melzaryn joined him immediately.

Forfend watched them work.

Both of them griped occasionally about the modifications they had to make to their recipe, but in the end they produced delicious-looking food that filled the kitchen with an astounding aroma.

Everyone except Forfend dug in with gusto.

It sat back, watching them all enjoy their breakfast.

Howell tugged his voluminous cloak aside only just enough to shovel food into his mouth.

"Make sure we save enough for Eamon," Kairi reminded.

Everyone nodded.

"Thanks for a taste of home," Melzaryn said as he finished his meal.

"Yeah, no problem. I know the feeling," Howell mumbled.

Kagoshi got up and started to skulk away.

Forfend hummed loud enough to get his attention. It pulled the gauntlets from its pouch and shoved them into his hands.

"What are these?" he huffed, inspecting them.

"Enchanted gauntlets. They will hit extremely hard."

Kagoshi nodded. "Hm."

He slipped the gauntlets on and flexed his fingers. They fit perfectly, the jagged spines revealing themselves with every motion.

His brows arched. He cocked his head appreciatively.

Melzaryn ambled back across the hall to the guest bedroom with Duncan close behind.

Kagoshi and Kairi left as well.

Howell meandered off to acquaint himself with the rest of the house.

Forfend considered all the things it had learned recently and everything it needed to do. It caught itself wondering if the gladiator had escaped safely.

It decided to reach out and ask.

Forfend touched the magnetic medallion on its chest and concentrated on visualizing the gladiator's form. "Are you safe? If you would like, we could meet in the courthouse square at noon today to discuss recent happenings," it mentally projected.

"Ah shit!" came the gladiator's startled reply. "Forgot you could do that. Don't like the idea of courthouse. Where are you all at? Kind of hiding right now."

Forfend hummed. It started to cast the spell again, but a startled yelp from the other side of the house caught its attention instead.

"What the fuck is on my chest?!" Howell cried.

He'd apparently just discovered the runic carvings.

Forfend opened the kitchen door, saw that Melzaryn was already making his way to the living room to explain, and turned back to what it was doing.

It focused on Sending a second message.

"East end of town. Near the gate. Staying with our lawyer. If you come here, I will wait outside so you may find us easily," it offered.

"Alright, cool," the gladiator immediately responded. "Give me, like, thirty minutes? An hour? I don't know. I'm trying to be sneaky."

Forfend left the kitchen.

Melzaryn entered the hallway from the living room. "You leaving to?"

"Not exactly, no," it hummed.

Melzaryn shrugged. He walked past and Forfend followed him out the door.

It stopped on the porch while Melzaryn tromped on down the street.

An hour and a half later, the gladiator slowly snuck up.

Forfend immediately ushered him into the house. "Take your shoes off at the door please."

He did as he was instructed.

Eamon opened the door at the other end of the hallway, yawning and scratching at his belly. He looked disheveled. The clothes he wore weren't his usual prim and proper dress. They were old, simple, comfortable house wear.

He blinked down the hallway at Forfend and the gladiator. He groaned. "I'll make breakfast."

"Breakfast is already made," Forfend informed him.

"Really?" He shuffled into the kitchen.

Forfend followed, shepherding the gladiator along behind it.

Eamon gathered a plate. "Fuck, I'm so stressed," he sighed under his breath. He dug into the meal, jolting at the surprising twist of flavors.

"Eat," Forfend instructed the gladiator.

There was just enough food left for one more serving. It was sure the gladiator needed it.

The gladiator wasted no time jumping on the offer. He piled up a plate and sat down. "Damn, this sure beats stealing from people. Which, for the record, I didn't want to do. I just had to, alright?"

He shrank guiltily into his chair.

"Could you give us your name?" Forfend requested as it sat across from him.

He blinked, surprised. "Wow, it's been so long since anyone asked for my real name. I usually just go by my gladiator title. It's Farley."

"Farley," Forfend repeated. "What is your gladiator title?"

"Well, I use a shield and a spear, so they call me Hoplite," Farley answered.

It nodded. "Forfend."

"Nice to finally get introduced, Forfend."

"Do you know if the other Envema member we rescued with you is okay?" it asked.

"I don't know." Farley shook his head. "The guards were handling him. We got put in separate areas. I was released once they realized I was of sound mind. So I have no idea what's going on with him. I don't even know his name. Sorry."

Forfend hummed low in its chest, worried.

Farley took the opportunity in the lull of conversation to bury his face in his food.

"Holy shit," he swore through a mouthful of food. "This is great. Who made this?"

"Howell. Hawkeye Howell," Forfend replied.

Farley choked. "Hawkeye Howell?!"

Forfend tilted its head. "Yes. Do you know that name?"

"The famous mercenary, Hawkeye Howell?!" he all but shouted. "Him?!"

"He did say he came here for mercenary work," Forfend hummed. "I presume so."

"Holy shit!" Farley exclaimed. "He's, like, a legendary warrior, man! Well, he's known amongst the lot of them. He's a famous warrior, at least."

"Interesting." Forfend sat forward slightly.

"There's also the rogue, Hawk Knight. The Swiftblade. You know?"

Forfend shook its head. "I do not."

"There's Hawkeye Howell Adamos, who made fucking breakfast apparently," Farley said, bewildered. "There's Hawk Knight Kendrick Arvad. And also Swiftblade Kento Nobutoshi. I heard all of them were heading over this way, prepping for the... Well, I may be dueling them. I'll be real though, I'll likely lose. I'm not as good as them."

Forfend hummed. The difference between Farley and Howell was stark. If all of these other warriors were as skilled as Howell, Farley's assessment would certainly be accurate.

"It all started about two months ago. They even got an abjurist heading here," Farley continued.

A deep, reverberating hum echoed through Forfend's chest alongside a rush of steam. "I can't help feeling this may have been orchestrated."

"What do you mean?" Farley looked up from his meal.

"Well, you were captured by whoever is running Envema. As was Hawkeye Howell. And Duncan; he is here as well." Forfend paused a moment to consider its own thoughts. "Many Envema members are farmers and workmen like Duncan, but a few are warriors like yourself. I wonder if Envema's puppet master is intentionally luring powerful people here to overtake them."

"I didn't even know what happened," Farley mumbled. "I was just living my life and then I..."

"Woke up three months later," Forfend supplied grimly.

"Yeah. It's... not great," he sighed heavily.

Eamon watched the conversation as he munched on his breakfast, his eyes flicking curiously back and forth between them.

"Sorry to bring so many strangers into your home, Eamon," it apologized sincerely.

"It sounds like there's a conspiracy going on, so I guess it can't be helped," he huffed, resigned. "Don't worry about it."

"Did Melzaryn tell the guards about the people beneath the city?" Forfend asked.

"I'm... sorry?" Eamon frowned. "I turned in the report he gave, but I didn't read it for myself."

"Ah, I see." Forfend drew a long rush of steam and launched into a full explanation of what had happened.

Eamon and Farley both stared with wide eyes.

"Okay, that's... a lot." Eamon rubbed his face. "Well, if I know them, they should definitely be heading down there to get them. Especially given the fact that Garin was the one that was there at the Galloford estate. I'm sure they'll be working their way under the city by now."

Forfend tilted its head at the name.

"Garin is Prince Halt's second in command," Eamon explained. "To be completely honest, I think he would've been a better choice to be in the High Knight position."

"Unfortunately, nepotism," Forfend guessed.

"Yeah," Eamon agreed. "Garin's very respectful, so I'm not surprised he accepted Prince Halt's leadership anyway."

Forfend nodded.

It touched the medallion on its chest again. "I am going to try to contact the other former Envema member. I am worried for him."

Eamon and Farley both nodded.

Forfend envisioned the man's face and Sent forth a message. "Are you safe? If not, describe to me as concisely as possible where you are."

It was the very same message Forfend originally sent Farley.

Silence hung in the air, growing heavier as the minutes ticked by.

After ten minutes of total silence, Forfend hummed lowly. "No answer. That is worrying."

"What did you do?" Eamon asked.

"I attempted the Sending spell, just as I did to contact Farley here. He may simply be asleep, but he could also be... anything else," Forfend fretted.

"I see," Eamon nodded slowly, his brows creased.

Forfend sighed in a heavy rush of steam. It wasn't certain what it could do to find him, or even how worried it should be.

After all, it and its allies had no true contact with him the way they did with Duncan and Farley. He wouldn't have been a reliable pawn like the other two had proved to be.

Forfend wasn't even certain it recalled him well enough to cast Locate Person on him.

Maybe he was simply resting.

Forfend had found recently that it was rarely that lucky, but maybe this stranger was.

Eamon broke its messy stream of thoughts by sliding its Sending Stone across the table to it.

"I don't want to forget to give that back to you," he said.

Forfend nodded, slipping the stone into a pouch on its bandolier. "Thank you."

It sat in silence for a moment and pondered over the unbelievable stress it had been through since it left home.

It touched the medallion on its chest and ran its hand across its metal brace.

It brought forth a memory of Fletch. He wore an easy grin, his stance more friendly and open than anyone Forfend had ever seen.

It wanted to hear his voice. It felt itself reaching out to him with its magic.

It faltered.

Sending was hardly the least draining spell it knew. It was actually rather exhaustive and Forfend had already used it repeatedly.

It wasn't sure it should waste the energy.

Then again, it very desperately wanted to know how Fletch and Jessie were doing. How all of Foumedo was doing.

It let the arcana gather and projected it to Fletch. "I am alright," it began. "I hope to return soon, but I have been delayed. I need to hear a voice from home. How are you?"

"Oh hey, Forfend!" Fletch almost shouted. His excitement was palpable even across the considerable distance of the magical connection. "I'm doing real well! Jessie's doing alright too. All the guards left a couple hours ago. Well, some decided to stay. They--"

His voice cut out.

Forfend gave a rumbling chuckle.

Fletch knew how this spell worked. It had told him before.

Nonetheless, he'd likely end up talking to himself for quite some time before he remembered.

Forfend felt immediately lighter and more relaxed.

Kagoshi kicked open the kitchen door, startling everyone in the room.

The sharp shing of a blade across a whetstone sounded in Forfend's chest.

"I want you to turn the tail into a belt," Kagoshi gruffed.

Forfend pressed its annoyance down and nodded. "I believe I can do that."

"Great. Let's go." Kagoshi tromped back to his room and returned a moment later with the massive, blasphemous tail coiled around his shoulder.

"What the fuck is that?!" Eamon yelped.

"Soon to be a nice belt," Kagoshi answered.

"The demon's tail. I mentioned this to you," Forfend replied more helpfully.

"I'm really not sure how I feel about having a demon body part in my house," he squeaked.

"I have dealt with this very, very often," Forfend hummed. "Though they do not truly die, their parts are safe to use for crafting. It cannot hurt you."

"Are you sure?" Eamon worried.

"So long as you do not touch that poison tail tip, it can do you no harm," it assured.

Eamon made a strangled sound. "You know what? I'm just going to go get some reading done."

Eamon escorted himself from the kitchen as quickly as he possibly could.

Farley stared, slack-jawed. With some effort, he clamped his mouth closed again. He ducked his head and pointedly avoided asking about the demon tail.

"Let's fucking go already," Kagoshi said impatiently.

Forfend felt rocks grinding in its chest, but it nodded anyway and followed Kagoshi out of the house.

Forfend shifted into the lead and managed five steps to the temple before it thought better of that decision.

"I am not certain I want to take that into the temple," it hummed.

"Why not?" Kagoshi asked.

"Because it is a temple. And this is a demon," Forfend answered simply.

"But it doubles as a forge, right?"

"It does," Forfend allowed. "One small area of it, anyway."

"So why the fuck can't we use it?" Kagoshi argued.

Forfend hissed steam. "I would rather find a private forge."

"I guess," Kagoshi huffed. "What's the closest?"

Forfend turned, looking up and down the streets. "Erzor pointed one out to us during our tour. I don't imagine you were listening at the time, but he did tell us."

"I'm still not listening." Kagoshi might've been joking. It couldn't tell.

It shook its head. "That tracks."

"Are we going to forge this tail or not?" Kagoshi gruffed. "It's not going to make a belt out of itself."

Melzaryn trotted up the street towards them, a new belt around his waist. "If you're looking for the dedicated forge, it's that way."

Forfend followed where he pointed and nodded.

"Of course! I should've just asked you from the start." Kagoshi cast a side-eyed glare at Forfend and growled, "Why was I relying on you?"

Forfend lifted its head and looked away from him.

"Here, let me make this easy," Melzaryn offered. He held his hands out for the tail.

"No," Kagoshi snarled, keeping a tight hold on the mangy thing.

Melzaryn rolled his eyes. "I bought a new belt. The pockets can hold almost anything."

Melzaryn demonstrated by reaching into one and pulling several healing potions out of a pouch far, far too small to house them. He divvied them up evenly amongst the group.

"Thank you," Forfend said appreciatively.

"How'd you do that?" Kagoshi asked as he tucked his share of potions away.

"I told you. I got my belt modified to be more useful," Melzaryn answered. He flipped his broom into his hand and dunked it into the newly emptied pouch. Despite the clear size constraints, the broom disappeared entirely into the pocket.

Kagoshi huffed and grumbled, arguing with himself under his breath. "Fine."

He slammed the tail into Melzaryn's hands.

Melzaryn located one of his larger pockets and carefully threaded the entire enormous tail into it. "Now we won't draw attention on the way."

Kairi threw open Eamon's door and fluttered down the street to the rest of the group. "I want to go too."

Forfend hummed its agreement. It liked Kairi's company.

Melzaryn passed off her share of potions.

"Ooh, thank you," she said.

"Let's fucking go," Kagoshi growled.

The party finally got on their way at his inpatient urging.

They followed Melzaryn through the town plaza.

"Here ye, here ye!" some town criers shouted to the flowing crowds in the square.

Most of them seemed to be teenagers looking to make some spare coin by peddling newspapers.

They were calling out news regarding the recent terrorist attacks.

"The night a thousand lights appeared over Cragwall!" one shouted.

"Strange earthquakes beneath Brightcrossing!" came another.

"Earthquake in Cragwall's Mountain Quarter!" hollered yet another.

"Rising tensions with the Howling Plains!" a fourth crier yelled.

That one gave Forfend pause.

From everything it had learned recently, it should've expected as much. King Maggard Stormrike still wanted to take the Land for himself. It feared how soon he may make his move.

Forfend surveyed the busy plaza, looking for a particular friendly face.

Steam rushed in its chest. "I do not see Erzor today."

"Stop fucking looking for people," Kagoshi snapped.

"People are helpful," it responded evenly.

"Not when we're doing other shit!" Kagoshi argued.

"I only wanted to see how he is doing," it defended itself. "I sent him off with significant information recently and I am worried for him and his friends."

"I don't care," Kagoshi callously growled. "Do that after the tail."

"And I will," it vowed, irritation cracking stones in its chest.

Kairi motioned for them both to stop fighting and Melzaryn picked up his pace until they nearly had to jog to keep up with him.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the private forge.

The shop's exterior was smart and professional, giving off an air of expertise.

The sign proclaimed the place as Hammer Glamour, but not for much longer.

A woman set up and scaled a ladder with a bulky wooden sign in hand. She placed it over the old sign and began hammering it into place.

When she'd finished, she wiped her brow and climbed back down.

The new sign listed the place as Iron Designs.

Forfend hummed curiously.

The woman tucked the ladder beneath her arm and started back inside. She caught sight of them out of the corner of her eye.

She turned, looking the odd group over.

Forfend assessed her in turn.

She certainly had the build of a blacksmith. Bulky arms and calloused hands easily handled the weight of the ladder. She had short brown hair held back by a headband to keep it out of the way of her work. A heavy belt of tools hung from her waist. The hammer in her hand wasn't one meant for nails, though she'd used it as such anyway. It was a forge hammer.

"Hi, welcome to..." She glanced up at the sign overheard. "Iron Designs."

"Recent name change?" Forfend asked.

"Yeah. The person that used to own the place sold it to me recently," she explained. "I didn't have the chance to rename it until today. How can I help you all?"

Forfend stepped forward and spread its hands. "Well, this is a bit of a strange request."

"We'd like to use your forge," Kagoshi interjected.

"Hah?" She raised an eyebrow and set her jaw.

"We would like to use your forge," Forfend repeated with more deference. It ducked its head and touched the pouch on its belt. "We will pay for this."

"What do you need it for exactly?" the blacksmith asked.

"To make a fucking awesome belt," Kagoshi grinned.

Steam hissed in Forfend's chest. "We need to make a very particular item out of very particular material and I would rather not go to the temple to do so."

"Is it the tail?" she guessed.

Forfend's movement stuttered. "What?"

"I mean, I did just kind of drag it through town," Kagoshi admitted, a proud smirk on his face.

Forfend shook its broad head.

"You're not very subtle," the blacksmith pointed out.

"Alright, yeah, it is the tail," Kagoshi supplied. "And I'm going to make a kickass belt out of it."

"Well, I am," Forfend corrected.

"I'm getting a very nice belt out of it," Kagoshi amended.

"I'm a blacksmith, not a leatherworker," she said. "I do have--"

Kagoshi cut her off, "That's what the big man is for."

"Alright," she sighed under her breath, clearly irritated.

She placed her ladder down and leaned against it as she considered.

"We'll pay for your time," Kagoshi promised.

The blacksmith looked everyone in the group over again. This time, her eyes caught on Forfend's runic face. She stared for several seconds.

"Give me one minute," she decided.

She got up, snapped her ladder back under her arm, and disappeared into the forge.

"Is that a no?" Kagoshi jumped to conclusions.

Forfend shook its head. "Not yet."

A minute later, the blacksmith returned with an old book in hand. It was small and, very notably, it had a symbol of Fornax emblazoned on the back.

She held the book up, comparing an image in it to Forfend.

Forfend stood stockstill, though the curiosity rolling through it was palpable. After a moment, it tilted its head.

She tilted the book as well, glancing between the pages and Forfend.

"Alright," she said as she slammed the book closed.

"What is that?" Forfend asked.

"Book," she answered unhelpfully.

"May I see what you were looking?" it asked more directly.

"Are you a forge golem?" she didn't answer the question.

"No," it shook its head. "Fornaxian is the word I usually use."

She opened the book back up and turned it so Forfend could see what she'd been studying.

It drew its shoulders back, staring unabashedly.

The golem sketched across the pages looked remarkably similar to it in its prime. The creature didn't have a rune in its face, nor did it have the pipe cover Forfend used to sport, but the rest of it was strikingly similar.

"How did..? Where did..?" Forfend wasn't sure what it wanted to ask. "That looks like me."

"Yeah. There's a bunch..." She cocked her head. "This is, like, holy text, man."

Forfend nodded slowly. It ran extraordinarily gently fingers across the image.

Forge golems.

They'd been mentioned a few times since Forfend awakened, but it didn't recall them. It should. It knew it should. It didn't.

The blacksmith pressed the book into its hands. "Don't burn it and don't crush it."

"Of course," Forfend nodded.

It studied the image for a long moment. Its fingers followed the angles of the golem.

Rather than the myriad of stovepipes Forfend had on its back, the golems had only two, jutting like wings.

Forfend flipped the page, immensely curious.

"Ah-ah, no," the blacksmith chastised, lifting the book from its hands and slamming it closed. "You said you wanted to look at the picture. You looked. That's all. It's my stuff."

Forfend's hands twitched, desperately wanting to pour through pages. It needed to know.

"I am sorry." It ducked its head. "May I please? I have many, many questions."

"Now that's how you go about asking someone to read their book," she replied condescendingly. "Maybe you should do that first."

"I apologize," it said again.

"In terms of the borrowing-my-forge thing, I suppose I can allow it for..." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let's see, a hundred and eighty-eight gold pieces?"

"Done!" Kagoshi nearly shouted.

He pulled the exact amount from his pouch and offered it up.

"Wow, okay," the blacksmith looked almost startled. Apparently, she hadn't expected them to accept.

She loaded the money into her pouch.

"May I please see the book again?" Forfend hummed.

She eyed it carefully. "One more gold piece," she requested.

Forfend offered up the coin without hesitation. Whatever information the book held would be immensely valuable to it.

"Okay." She handed over the book.

Forfend took it gingerly.

"And before you ask, since you're all so polite," she grumbled, "my name is Ali. Ali Salthammer. Thank you so much for asking my name before you tried to enlist my forge."

Forfend cringed. "My apologies. It has been a very long time since I have needed to introduce myself with such frequency as the last week or so has demanded."

"Eh," Kagoshi shrugged.

Melzaryn looked up, his staff poking halfway out of a pouch that looked as though it could barely hold a deck of cards. "Hm? Sorry, I was distracted."

Kairi slapped a hand to her face and shook her head.

"Forfend, Kagoshi, Melzaryn, Kairi," Forfend introduced each of them.

Ali nodded. She rolled her eyes and strolled back into her forge.

The group followed her.

Forfend carefully flipped through her book as it ducked inside.

Kagoshi stomped his foot in front of it. "Why is the person I need to forge reading?!"

"Give me a moment," it demanded. "This is important information and I am missing a great number of memories. I am quite desperate to know what I can."

"Do you have a chair I can sit in?" Kagoshi grumbled irritably. "This might take a while."

"Got a gold piece?" Ali shrewdly bargained.

"You know what? How many chairs do you have?" Kagoshi asked.

"Enough." She shrugged.

"Give me the exact. I'll pay for all of them."

Forfend hummed, surprised.

"I've got two barstools, three chairs. That's five gold," she answered.

"Five? Here's ten." Kagoshi dropped the money into her hand.

Ali appreciatively shuffled the money through her fingers as she dropped it into the bag. She dragged all the chairs into the front room for Kagoshi.

Kagoshi immediately began stacking them all atop one another. "I'm going to sit like a king."

"I swear to Fornax, if you break them," Ali didn't finish the sentence, but the threat was clear.

"I'll pay you double if I do," Kagoshi swore.

"He likes you," Forfend hummed aloud, tilting its head at Ali. "Usually, he is very stingy."

Ali smirked.

Forfend tucked itself further into the back of the forge until everything was quiet enough for it to concentrate on what it was reading.

The beginning regarded Fornax's initial creation. Forfend was well-versed in that tale.

It skipped further through the pages until a particular name caught its eye.

Hearthborn.

It devoured the pages regarding its Sundering family.

The book stated that in the last days of the Sundering, Fornax's Forge was attacked by the archdemon Acras and one of his demons. During the course of Fornax's fight against Acras, he created the Adamantine Mountains.

Forfend realized suddenly that the massive spires of adamantine it recalled Fornax impaling Acras with had become the Adamantine Mountains. It had seen the event. In fact, the attack had been done to rescue it.

That's where the Forge was.

Forfend hummed lowly. It couldn't fathom how it had ended up all the way in Tyrwedia. It should've been buried somewhere near the Adamantine Mountains, but it hadn't been found anywhere close.

It shook its head and continued reading.

The book went on to tell the tale of the Hearthborns successfully defending their home and Fornax's Forge against Acras and his greater demon by themselves.

Many of Fornax's creations were damaged or destroyed through the course of the battle, but the Hearthborns defended them until their dying breaths and managed to repel the wretched deity and his ilk.

Forfend touched the metal brace around its chest. It wondered if it was included simply under the list of destroyed creations.

It wasn't wholly surprised. In the grand scheme of the Sundering, its lifespan had been barely a blip.

At least the village had survived. They'd done exactly what Forfend had asked. They'd fought for themselves. They'd made each other stronger.

It missed them.

It shook the bittersweet thoughts from its head to continue reading.

The book proclaimed that Fornax wanted to reward the Hearthborns for their great deeds and, thus, offered them their choice of prize: a boon, wealth, experience, or knowledge.

The Hearthborns only asked to stay with Fornax longer.

Fornax granted this wish and blessed them all with great forging skill.

Millennia later, the Hearthborns have since spread all across Rozdarta. Three major tribes exist: the Dawnforge, considered the original Hearthborns who still dwell in the Adamantine Mountains; the Stonehearts, devout worshippers who made their home in the Godflame Mountains; and the Salthammers, known for their stalwart loyalty and skill who reside by the Great Azure Sea.

Forfend stared down at the pages. It took a moment to read a bit more in depth on the Salthammers. They were known for practicality, not pomp, in their work. They were reliable and apparently had a significant knack for designing ships.

It glanced up at Ali and back to the pages a couple of times.

"Salthammer," it read aloud.

"Yeah," Ali said.

"You are one of the Hearthborn." There was a quiver in its voice despite its usual monotony.

"Yeah, that's the ancient name. Why?"

It stood stockstill. It couldn't decide how it felt. Too many thoughts coursed through its head like a rushing river.

The Hearthborns often had names loosely derived from metals and tools.

Ali.

Aluminum.

She was a Hearthborn. Beyond any doubt. She was family.

Forfend started to speak twice before it finally found its words. It knelt. "I was hoping to find more on what happened to me here, but this day..." It pointed out the particular pages.

"Yeah?" Ali peered at the book, one brow cocked.

"This demon attack. I was there," it hummed.

"Oh really now?" Her tone denoted her total disbelief. She rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"I was," it said evenly. "Eight thousand years ago, and some change. I was horribly wounded and only reawakened two years ago. But the Hearthborns... I knew them personally. They were friends. They were family."

It paused, steam rattling in its chest.

She looked into Forfend's face with skepticism written into every feature.

"You do not have to believe me." It shook its head. "You have no reason to. But I know it to be true and it is important to me. It is very nice to meet a..." It trailed off, searching for the right word. "A godchild," it decided.

"Okay! That feels super weird to hear from a stranger I just met today." Ali tossed her hands up and put some distance between herself and Forfend. "Alright, buddy, sure."

She stepped back over just long enough to give Forfend a patronizing pat on the shoulder. "Nice to meet you too? I think?"

She shrugged. "I mean, if it's true then it's amazing, but I literally met you today."

"I was afraid the village died with me that day," Forfend hummed. "I am glad they did not."

"Well, maybe you should go meet the Dawnforge or whatever. They might recognize you better," Ali suggested.

"I will have to find a way to do that," it agreed.

"So are you using my forge or not? I do have work to do, you know?"

Forfend stood immediately. "Right, sorry."

It held its hands out to take the tail from Melzaryn.

Melzaryn spooled the wretched thing out of his pouch.

"Oh, it's grosser than I thought it was!" Ali yelled, grimacing.

"It did come from a dog," Kagoshi said.

"That is not a dog's tail! It's a scorpion's tail with fur!" Ali argued.

"Course, matted, mangy fur," Forfend added with distaste.

Ali grimaced even more deeply. She turned her attention away from the awful thing as Forfend set it up onto her workstation.

"How are you feeling up there?!" she hollered as Kagoshi settled himself on top of his precarious stack of chairs.

"Like a king!" Kagoshi shouted back.

"Want me to make you a crown?"

"How much?" Kagoshi asked warily.

"Fifty gold."

Kagoshi tossed the money down.

"Fuck yeah!" Ali gathered up the money and stepped behind the counter. "You can use the main one," she told Forfend. "I've got a smaller operation over here."

It hummed its acknowledgement. Its mind was beginning to sink away from it as it shifted into full, trance-like focus on its task.

It drained the poison from the barb and stripped the flesh away down to the bone. It sanded even that down until it was closer to the proper shape. It replaced cartilage with segmented metal links.

The deathly sharp tail tip was rounded off and the oversize barb used as a decorative buckle.

Forfend carved simply geometric designs into the bone and marked it with a stylized letter "F."

Fletch had been telling it for years to mark its work with a signature, but it never had.

An item like this, however, needed such a mark.

Incorrectly crafting with demon parts could have disastrous effects. It had been commonplace in the Sundering to mark such creations because knowing who the craftsman had been was imperative to avoid dangerous artifacts.

Forfend had seen this done, probably many more times than it could actually recall. Though, this was its first time doing the crafting personally. Everything looked to be in order. It hoped it was right.

The world faded back into light around it as it looked up from its work. As usual, it was uncertain how much time had passed.

Forfend figured it couldn't have been very much time because Ali seemed to have just finished up Kagoshi's bronze crown.

She banged it against the wall to show its sturdiness and tossed it up to him.

Kagoshi grinned as he turned it around in his hands. He placed it on his head.

Within seconds, his face fell. He took it off.

"What, is the king too mighty for his crown?" Ali teased.

"No, no, that's not it," he mumbled with uncharacteristic quietness. "It's just... You know what? We're done pretending."

He climbed down off the chairs and huffed sadly.

"May I see that?" it asked, holding its hand out for the crown.

"No." Kagoshi held the bronze piece protectively to his chest. "I'm going to keep it. I just don't want to wear it right now."

"I do not intend to take it from you," Forfend promised. "I only wish to inspect it for a moment."

Kagoshi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Alright," he said slowly as he handed it over, "but I'm watching you."

Forfend hissed steam and tilted its head to imitate the way it had seen people roll their eyes.

It inspected the crown, turning it over and over in its hand.

"Beautiful craftsmanship," it complimented. "You are very skilled."

"Thank you... uh... For-- Yeah, Forfend," she nodded, satisfied that she'd remembered its name correctly. "I see you appreciate my work." She side-eyed Kagoshi.

"I do," it nodded. "I have met a few very good blacksmiths recently and I am glad to know them."

"Hm." Ali considered the thought. "I guess I should be proud to be on the list of good craftsman to a holy construct such as yourself."

Forfend tilted its head back and forth, a little embarrassed by that thought. It considered itself a good blacksmith long before it considered itself a holy construct. It would rather have praise accepted from the former viewpoint than the latter.

It settled on simply nodding in response. "Thank you."

"Is there anything else you need to do or am I going to get my forge back?" Ali asked.

"It is all yours," Forfend assured.

"Great. I've got commissions I need to work on so if you could all shoo, that would be awesome." She ushered them out of her forge.

Forfend left easily enough. It ducked its head politely.

Ali shut the door behind them.

Kagoshi stared back at the door, an oddly frustrated look on his face.

Kairi placed her hand on Kagoshi's shoulder.

Melzaryn lounged on his broom next to them, doodling in his spellbook and giggling to himself.

"I think I would like to visit the guard barracks," Forfend hummed. "I would like to see if they still have that last former Envema member detained or if they know where he is."

"I can go with you if you want," Melzaryn offered. "My name seems to hold an unnecessary amount of weight around here."

"I have noticed as much," Forfend nodded.

"Since there's no real use trying to keep it a secret anymore, I may as well use it," Melzaryn decided.

"Yeah, that's great," Kagoshi grumbled. "I'll meet you guys later."

He wandered off in the direction of Eamon's home.

Kairi watched him go. She glanced between him and Forfend a couple of times.

Forfend thought she would go after him, but she didn't. She stayed by its side.

It pat her head and made its way toward the guard barracks with Melzaryn and Kairi both trailing behind it.

More news was being spouted in the town square.

"Galloford noble arrested!"

"King Falco sat in on local trial!"

"Demigods in Cragwall?!"

That last one garnered immediate attention. People's heads snapped up and they began approaching the teenage crier with questions and coin in hand to buy a paper.

The boy was getting a thousand questions shouted at him all at once, but he managed to raise his voice loud enough to shout the descriptions.

Forfend slowed to hear.

"One was a great big earth genasi! Another is rumored to be a pink fairy! There's a monochromatic elf man and a super grumpy beardless dwarf!" the boy hollered over the din.

Forfend straightened its back and looked to its companions.

"Well, they aren't right, which is good for us," Melzaryn said, "but Kagoshi will hate that description a lot."

"He really will," Kairi agreed. "I like mine though. I could be a fairy."

Forfend hummed its agreement.

It moved on, not wasting any more time reaching its goal.

The daunting guard barracks soon loomed over it and its allies.

The man near the front gate was again the very same one that had helped Forfend when they'd been arrested on their first day in Cragwall.

"Oh, hey, guys. You're back?" he greeted. "How can I help?"

"The Envema member that was detained with us… Not the gladiator. The other one. Is he still here?" Forfend asked.

"No, he got released at the same time the other guy did," the guard shook his head.

"Do you know anything about where he might have gone? The direction he left in? Anything?" Forfend was increasingly worried for the man.

"Well, he said he was going home," the guard replied.

It hummed deep in its chest. "I cannot contact him with a Sending spell and I fear he may have been kidnapped the way the others were."

"What's Sending?" the guard inquired.

"A spell that allows you to send short messages instantly to anyone anywhere on the same plane of existence, and receive a short response in turn," it explained.

"Sounds like a magic letter," the guard conflated.

"Yes."

"Ever seen people talk through rocks?" Melzaryn interjected.

"The bosses do, yeah," the guard nodded.

"Like that."

"Oh!" He nodded again. "Yeah, okay. Um, well, he could just be asleep. I don't know."

"I am worried for him," Forfend said.

"Yeah. I wouldn't know where he went though. I'm just a guard." He shrugged helplessly.

Forfend slowly hissed steam. It would make no progress here. It decided to shift to a different, but equally important, curiosity. "Did they go underground and rescue the people beneath the city?"

"Yeah!" The guard pointed to a crowd of people surrounding the wall of the barracks near where Melzaryn had discovered the underground passageways. "If you look over there, you'll see!"

Forfend watched the commotion.

Three guards and some makeshift fencing kept the crowd at bay. The wall behind the guards had been blasted open wider. Curious onlookers tried to get a peek into the labyrinthian tunnels.

"I think they're still exploring though," the guard in front of Forfend added. "Sorry I don't know more."

Melzaryn surreptitiously stepped aside and slipped over to the tunnel.

Forfend watched him for a moment, but soon turned to kneel in front of the guard. "Thank you for all of your help. You have been exceptionally handy to have around."

He grinned, his nose crinkling, and rubbed at the back of his neck. "It's no big deal. I mean, you guys are really nice. I might as well help."

"I appreciate you," Forfend said sincerely.

"Thank you!"

"What is your name?" It realized it had never asked. It needed to start doing that.

"Ryan," he answered.

"Forfend." It offered its hand to shake.

"That's a big old hand," Ryan whispered under his breath as he carefully placed his much smaller hand into it.

Forfend gently shook his hand.

A thud sounded and Forfend looked over just in time to see two of the wall guards staring at the collapsed third.

It hurried over and knelt next to the man.

"He's breathing... I think," said the wiry dragonborn guard.

Neither he nor the halfling guard next to him looked particularly concerned.

Forfend looked the fallen human over. He was indeed breathing, but he wasn't conscious. He coughed weakly.

It looked up to Melzaryn.

"He got poisoned by the door like I did," Melzaryn explained.

Forfend nodded. It pressed a hand to his chest.

Healing magic coursed from its center, down its arm, and into the man's chest. A soft orange glow emanated.

The guard jolted, gasping for breath.

"Oh, gods!" he wheezed. He hauled himself upright. "What the fuck happened? Fuck, hi!" he startled when he saw Forfend.

He glanced around, gathered his bearings, and straightened his back.

"Told you he'd be fine," the dragonborn snickered. "That's what happens when you fuck with the wall."

"Says the idiot who wants to climb in the hole," the halfling insulted.

"Nobody is going in the hole," the human chastised. "I shouldn't have touched the wall."

"Secret doors are enticing like that," Melzaryn nodded sagely.

"Yeah!" the human exclaimed. "And it was right outside our base this whole time! That's crazy!"

"That's why I want to go down there!" the dragonborn insisted. "I mean, it's our base. It's technically our property."

"No, it's not! You're guards! Act like it!" the human berated.

"It is a sprawling labyrinth you would undoubtedly get lost in," Forfend hummed.

"But isn't--" the dragonborn didn't get another word out before the human cut him off.

"Just stop it! No!"

The dragonborn sulked.

The halfling straightened up, looking much more like a trained soldier than he had before.

"If we're claiming ownership of things based on their location, this tunnel system is owned by the whole damn city. It goes everywhere," Melzaryn shared.

"Shit, so we can't do it?" the dragonborn whined.

"No, you may not!" the human roared.

"Goddammit, you're right," the dragonborn sighed.

The human nodded affirmatively. "Now get back to guarding. Focus up. I can't be managing you both all the time."

"Sorry," the halfling and dragonborn spoke at the same time.

They both put on more serious faces.

Melzaryn grinned at the display. He flipped the lid off his canteen and magically drew water up to float around his hand.

The water separated into three distinct blobs, then snapped into snowflake shapes and froze.

"Stay frosty," Melzaryn said as he passed each guard a snowflake.

"Thanks?" they chorused, bewildered.

Melzaryn hopped up on his broom and zipped away.

Forfend tilted its head. It took it a moment to understand what Melzaryn had done.

It turned back to the guards. "Now you will have cold water to drink," it hummed.

"Oh. Cool." the dragonborn chomped straight into his oversize snowflake.

Forfend ducked its head politely and took its leave.

Kairi kept close to its side.

"I did not see Erzor today," it thought aloud. "I need to hear from him. His situation is precarious."

"Can you use Sending again?" Kairi suggested.

Forfend hummed. "It is a rather draining spell, but I can."

"Maybe you should, if you're worried."

It nodded.

The excess magic in its center was waning, but not terribly so.

Forfend imagined Erzor's visage and touched the medallion on its chest as it formulated its message.

Since many people didn't know precisely how the spell worked, it decided to explain.

"You have twenty-five words and I will be unable to reply further. Is everything alright?"

"Shit," Erzor responded after a moment. "Does that count? Fuck. I've been waiting for a bit at your lawyer's house. Where are you? How many words do I have left?"

"We need to go immediately," Forfend said to Kairi. "He is already waiting for us."

"Is that good news or bad news?" Kairi asked, trotting quickly toward Eamon's home.

Forfend followed closely. "All I know is that it is news."

They hurried through the streets.

When they arrived, Erzor was pacing impatiently in front of Eamon's home.

Eamon stood in the doorway, palm to his face and shaking his head.

"Erzor!" Forfend called.

Erzor's head snapped up. "Oi! Where were you guys? I've been trying to get in contact with you!"

"We were out. It has been a long and horrible past couple of days," Forfend answered.

"Okay, okay, I'm really sorry, but I don't have time for your story right now." To his credit, Erzor did sound genuinely apologetic. "We need your help."

Forfend nodded.

"If what you said is true, we're in a lot of trouble," Erzor fretted. "I got permission to bring you to get the thing out." He glanced at the others standing around.

Forfend pointed to Melzaryn. "I will need him."

Melzaryn looked up from his spellbook with mild curiosity. He pointed at himself and shrugged. "Sure. Sounds interesting."

Erzor winced but nodded. "I can take the two of you then."

"Okay, great, so you guys have got this?" Eamon asked. "I'm just going to go."

He mumbled under his breath as he shut the door.

"Alright, let's go. Right now," Erzor insisted. He took two steps and looked back over his shoulder at Kairi. "I don't know if I can bring your third friend."

"Well, she has significant healing capabilities and she has not wasted magic today the way that I have," Forfend noted.

Kairi twirled her staff, sparkles flying off it.

Erzor withered, but nodded nonetheless.

He started walking.

Forfend, Melzaryn, and Kairi followed along.

"I am sorry to volunteer you for this, Melzaryn," Forfend apologized. "I assure you, it is very important."

Melzaryn grinned. "Whatever this is, it's interesting."

Forfend couldn't argue with that.

"Where's your last friend?" Erzor questioned. "Medium, dark, and scary?"

"I do not know," Forfend answered honestly. "He will return later, I am sure."

"It's probably best he's not here," Erzor admitted.

He led them out of the east gate and a short way into the woods, just far enough to be out of sight from the road. He produced three large bags from his pockets.

"Put these on," he requested.

Familiar with the concept, Forfend immediately donned its bag.

"They are hiding out in a secret location," Forfend explained, tugging the bag into proper place over its broad head and tugging the drawstrings until the fabric was snug against it. "They do this to prevent outsiders from finding them. I have been through this once before. We will be unharmed."

"It's like being kidnapped then," Melzaryn nonchalantly conflated. "Got it."

"It definitely does feel like being kidnapped," Kairi echoed the sentiment.

Despite that, Forfend heard the ruffling of the bags being pulled over their heads.

Forfend reached out its hand.

Erzor took it.

Kairi fumbled for its other hand.

Forfend gently squeezed her fingers and let itself be pulled by Erzor's quick gait.

It hoped Melzaryn had Kairi's other hand, or perhaps Erzor's, but it wasn't sure.

They walked over rough terrain and through thick underbrush for a long while.

Erzor suddenly halted. "Shit," he swore under his breath. "Crouch down."

Forfend followed the command and it sounded as though its companions did as well.

"What the fuck are they doing?" Erzor wondered. "Oh. Oh no. Fuck. Shit! Take off your blindfolds right now! Stay quiet."

Forfend tugged the bag from its head and peered through the bushes.

There were three men ahead with weapons in their hands. They weren't looking toward Forfend and its companions. They were staring into a small clearing where a rhinoceros beetle the size of a horse lazily grazed.

One of them nocked an arrow into his bow and drew back, taking careful aim.

"They can't be hunting that thing," Erzor whispered. "What the fuck?"

"They are not supposed to be hunting here?" Forfend asked.

"No, they're not. This is not their place," the edge in Erzor's voice was livid. "That's an endangered species. They're sacred to the genasi!"

"Then we should stop them," it decided.

"They're not supposed to know we're here."

"They are not supposed to know you are here," Forfend corrected.

Erzor opened his mouth to argue, but paused. He nodded instead. "You have fun. I'm going to hide over here."

With that, he disappeared into the brush.

"I've got an idea," Melzaryn said before Forfend could stand.

It gestured for him to try.

The bowman suddenly unleashed his arrow.

It struck the huge beetle in the gap between its armored carapace and its head.

The bug chittered and squealed as it flailed wildly.

The other two hunters stood and began to move forward.

Melzaryn touched two fingers to the corners of his mouth. His eyes lit up in vibrant silver. He stood.

"You're in more danger than you know," he said, magic lacing his words. "You should run."

All three hunters startled. The two charging at the wailing insect faltered in their steps.

The one wielding two blades gasped, his eyes flashing silver for barely a fraction of a second.

"We should get out of here," the dual-wielder urgently insisted.

"What the fuck do you mean?!" snapped the hunter carrying a shield and spear. "We set this up!"

The beetle whipped around and locked onto the nearest hunter. It charged.

Forfend dashed from the brush and slid in front of the spear hunter just before the beetle barreled into him.

The creature's horn slammed into the stones of Forfend's body, sliding it backwards.

It dug its feet into the earth and leaned into the bug, gripping it's horn and forcing it to come to a sudden stop.

The hunter behind Forfend yelped as he was nearly bowled over despite its intervention.

The dual-weilder sheathed his swords. "I'm out!" he shouted to his friends. He took off running.

"Fuck!" the bow hunter swore.

He and the spear hunter both started repositioning to strike again.

"Do not attack!" Forfend shouted forcefully.

"Fuck you!" the spear hunter yelled.

Forfend locked its arms tight around the struggling bug's horn to keep it still. It turned its runic face to the hunter.

"Do! Not! Attack!" it demanded with every ounce of authority in its being.

The spear hunter grit his teeth, his expression suddenly uncertain. He took a step back.

"Fuck it, they already caught us! It's not worth it!" he called to his friend.

Both hunters bolted.

The beetle wrenched free of Forfend's grip and tossed its head, slamming its horn into Forfend's metal brace.

The sharp rattling ting vibrated through its body.

The creature backed up, lowering its horn for another charge.

Forfend backed up as well, raising its hands.

The beetle shuffled and shook itself. It stamped nervously.

Forfend hummed. "The danger is over," it said, lacing its words with magic.

Kagoshi strode from the woods, startling it. He yanked the arrow from the beast's neck just as Forfend's healing magic closed the wound.

"Kagoshi?" Forfend shook its head, surprised and confused.

Kagoshi frowned at the arrow. He backed away from the frightened insect at the same time it backed away from him.

He looked the bug over, snapped the arrow in half, dropped it on the ground, and walked away.

The beetle watched him disappear back into the woods. It turned its attention to those still in the clearing.

It hissed and chattered.

Kairi approached with her staff held loosely in one hand. "It's alright," she soothed. "We mean you no harm."

A different type of magic swirled through her words.

The insect immediately relaxed. It slowly settled down, lowering its body to the ground.

It hummed and clicked.

"Erzor," Forfend called.

"Is it over? Is it handled?" he asked, peeking through the brush.

"It is handled," Forfend assured.

"Thank the gods," Erzor mumbled as he left his hiding spot. "Shit, what were they doing in the forest? That's not good."

He watched the contented bug. "Thank you, guys."

The creature idly watched all of them, but it seemed completely at ease.

"So, uh, was that guy your fourth friend?" Erzor nodded at the broken arrow.

"Yes," Forfend answered. "I have no idea why he is out here or where he went."

Erzor rubbed at his face. "Well, he's going the wrong way. At least there's that."

Forfend nodded.

It slowly approached the beetle and crouched down right next to it.

Forfend lightly touched the insect's head.

To its surprise, the creature tilted its head aside for Forfend to better view the wound on its neck.

Forfend inspected the injury. Its first bout of magic had closed the puncture easily enough, but Forfend figured there was still damage beneath the surface.

It touched a gentle finger right beside the damaged flesh and let healing magic course into the wound.

The bug clicked and squealed as the injury all but totally disappeared.

It got up and nuzzled its head against Forfend before carefully nudging it aside to approach Kairi.

The insect stopped right in front of Kairi, its horn nearly touching her chest. It tilted its head, staring. Purring chitters reverberated through it.

Kairi tentatively touched its horn, giving it gentle pats.

"Hey, buddy," she spoke softly. "Do you need anything else?"

The beetle collapsed into the grass and tenderly pressed its horn into her belly.

"Oh, wow, you're adorable," Kairi giggled, stroking its angular head.

"Holy shit." Erzor blinked in surprise.

"What can you tell us about this animal?" Forfend asked.

"It's an adamantine beetle," Erzor explained. "It's unique to the Llardel Forest. It didn't used to be that way, but they've been hunted and had their habitats destroyed until this is the last place they've got left. They used to be everywhere."

He tilted his head at the creature's interaction with Kairi. "Holy shit," he whispered again.

"What is it?" Forfend asked.

"I, uh... I think it's imprinting on her," Erzor guessed.

Forfend cocked its head.

"Yeah, yeah, it is," Erzor said more certainly. "It's leaning into her touch. It considers her family."

Forfend hummed, listening intently.

"They usually only do that once in their lifetimes. They're usually in pairs. Holy shit," Erzor swore for the third time.

"Is it good or bad that it is imprinted?" Forfend asked.

"Good for you, I guess." He shrugged. "That thing considers her family and they live a really, really long time."

"Congratulations on your new friend, Kairi," Forfend commended.

"Or family member?" Melzaryn added.

The insect buzzed happily.

"Thank you," Kairi grinned, hugging her newfound pet.

"Interesting thing: they only imprint on family, extremely close companions, and mates," Erzor informed. "Used to be commonplace for people to use them as mounts. They'd imprint on their riders and then they were great for travel. Kind of like how people tame gryphons now."

"Ooh." Kairi had stars in her eyes.

"They're huge, but they can still fly," Erzor appended.

"That will be handy," Forfend hummed.

It approached the beetle again and knelt.

The creature seemed jumpy for a moment, but settled down in the presence of Kairi's relaxed demeanor.

"Look at its beautiful colors!" Kairi pointed out. "Goodness, you're so pretty!" she told it.

The bug chirruped and squealed.

With a closer look at its carapace, Forfend saw Kairi's point about the insect's beauty.

Rather than black like Forfend had thought at first glance, its shell gleamed a deep iridescent purple.

Forfend pet it and immediately realized this beetle took its name seriously. The carapace was adamantine. It didn't mimic adamantine; it was truly, genuinely adamantine.

A kettle-like whistle escaped Forfend.

"Wow, that sure was a thing," Erzor said, mildly awestruck. "But, uh, we should really get going."

Forfend pulled its blindfold from where it had unceremoniously stuffed it in its belt. "Do we need to put these back on?"

"Nah, we're deep enough in the forest that it won't really matter," Erzor figured. "You'll have to put them back on when we leave though."

Forfend nodded.

The adamantine beetle gave a vibrating purr and stood when Kairi moved.

"I think the genasi will be glad to see you've made friends with a sacred animal like that," Erzor mentioned.

Kairi ran her hands across the creature's back and slowly climbed up onto it, sitting just behind its head to keep its wings free to open.

The beetle did spread its wing covers. Clear, shimmering wings caught the evening sunlight and cast rainbows across the ground. It settled its wings back into place and shut its shell again.

It tromped along, following Erzor without needing to be told.

Forfend and Melzaryn walked to either side of the great creature, observing the way it moved.

Kairi giggled excitedly.

They didn't walk for much longer before they reached the carefully disguised hideout. Four individuals stood out front: Jewel, Flint, River, and Kiyori.

Forfend waved to them.

Jewel returned the gesture.

Flint grinned and clicked his tongue as he pointed at it.

River simply nodded.

Kiyori glared at it.

Forfend ducked its head politely. It had likely caused an argument by offering to help. The genasi were in desperate need, but Kiyori wanted them as far from demigods as they could get.

If they had argued, Kiyori had lost.

Forfend didn't want to anger her any further. It hoped to get this work done and leave her in peace as quickly as possible.

Jewel stared openly at the adamantine beetle. "Where did you..?" she started to ask Kairi, but changed her mind. "Good on you," she said instead.

"Thank you!" Kairi beamed.

"Was everything in that letter true?" River asked Forfend.

"To the best of my knowledge, it is," Forfend answered.

"Then we need to get moving." He pulled his spellbook from his belt and approached a thick oak tree.

He chanted beneath his breath. A burst of magic thoomed out from him and encompassed the group.

The soft green aura of the magic clung to them.

"Follow me," River ordered. He walked directly into the tree in front of him and melded straight through it.

"Neat!" Melzaryn followed right after him.

Kairi let her new companion carry her to disappear into the towering tree.

Forfend stepped up. It touched the bark.

The tree felt perfectly solid. It pressed a bit harder. It checked that it still had the green aura surrounding it. Forfend hummed, unsure of how much force this was supposed to take.

"You've got it, big guy," Flint said and nearly tackled its back just to have enough force to make it take a single step forward.

It pressed straight through the tree with a dizzying sensation.

Forfend's vision was momentarily nothing but brown bark. Everything shifted, rushing past.

It stepped out of the other side right in front of the yawning mouth of a cave. It shook itself and took several seconds to gather its bearings.

River led them into the cave, down deep into the depths of the earth. They kept descending further and further until they finally came across a cavern.

Forfend straightened its shoulders and stared. It whistled.

Not only was the cavern enormous, it was also filled with thousands of natural emerald formations across nearly every available surface.

Emeralds hung from the roof and clung to the wall and sprouted forth from the floor everywhere it looked. There was hardly anything in this cavern that wasn't sparkling green.

Forfend gazed up at the light source overhead.

A small hole let sunlight into the cavern. It struck a perfectly positioned emerald that scattered the light into every other emerald stalactite covering the ceiling until the entire area was bathed in ethereal green.

"Whatever you do, do not stare directly into the emeralds," River warned.

Forfend immediately ripped its gaze away to stare instead at the aquamarine crystals lining River's head. "Understood."

"Hm, okay," Melzaryn agreed absentmindedly.

"You can look at their sides. Do not stare directly into them," River specified.

"Got it," Kairi nodded.

River strode forward.

The rest of them followed immediately on his heels, warily keeping their eyes off the emeralds. None of them wanted to fall into whatever trap this may be.

Forfend hoped they'd reach the dragon soon. And it desperately hoped it would be able to help.

[fluxofthemouth]

Piter remains unmoved and agreeable. He's recognized that figuring out how to meet each other on this issue is critical to their cooperation, and he seems to listen to Thursday with his whole being. He is capable of being unsettled, even angered, even enraged. The rage he has accumulated throughout his past life will haunt him like a scar no matter how much better life can get in these changed circumstances. But his rage is not for an honest misunderstanding from someone who is trying.

"We'll go right away," he says pleasantly, nodding in understanding. "It's a good idea to check on them, and it is never my place to order you to handle yourself in one way or another."

As they head for the cryosleep bay, where the crew slumbers in pods: "We may learn something we will not like, though. In a worst case scenario, what if the whole crew is dead? In my mind, a well-prepared inner fortress is the first step of safety, because you are roped to your own emotions no matter what action you take. But to your point, of course, trying something new is best done with a clear mind. And since we are working together, we may rely on each others' skills; I will help you figure out what to do if something bad has happened to the crew, even if you are distraught. Hmm, I wish I had taken the risk of sabotage more seriously from the start. It would have been better if we had talked about this kind of thing and set expectations from the beginning. We are in a compromised position, to be figuring these things out as the situation evolves. It was an oversight on my part."

He suddenly laughs. "Thursday... I must confess, I was always seen as over-emotional in my home culture. Many treated it like a deficit, and it has strongly impacted my career. I think I did alright for myself, even rising to the highest levels of government; but to call that success in an uncomplicated way ignores the toll in pain and sacrifice I had to pay just to get in the room. And it was never my character that recommended me. Only my usefulness as a tool despite who I am."

Privately, he considers everyone else from his faction who now have to figure out new lives off of their isolated world, now that the rest of the galaxy felt forced to intervene before they destroyed themselves. He considers how the others and their pride will all now be at the mercy of people like Thursday, who do not face particular pressure to corral and control their emotions. How the ones who looked down on him will now be the strange ones, forced to choose between adapting or being targeted as dysfunctional or even malicious.

Please choke!!

If it's a prayer, he sends it to no god of love.

"It is not fair of me to ask you to feel sorry for me, though," he adds quickly, wincing. "If you knew the full story, which I am not going to tell you, I imagine you would be more scared of me than a strange note. I have no interest in sabotaging my new life that awaits me at the end of this voyage, and I have no interest in being dangerous to you, so we need not dwell on it. Forgive me for speaking of my past life at all, only to draw back like this, I... do so love to ramble."

When they reach the cryo bay, they will find the crew largely safe, asleep in their pods. Checking the records, however, will reveal that a number of people have been awoken prematurely and are not accounted for. Are these conspirators, arisen to sabotage and work mayhem? Or has someone been eating them?

Thursday listens as best as she can given not only the urgency she feels in the situation but also given her own frustration in the moment. It is extraordinarily difficult to listen to someone when you are not only frustrated and stressed out, but in particular when you are frustrated at them.

But... as soon as he starts to explain, Thursday feels a huge amount of her anger towards him drain away. Immediately flooding in to replace it is guilt. Of course. It was stupid of her to jump to the conclusion that he was judging her and patronizing her. They are from different cultures. She feels horrible for being the one to jump to conclusions herself now and that shows in place of her earlier anger.

And that's not the only thing that makes sense, not just the fact that they're from different cultures so of course they're going to approach things differently, but he said earlier that he'd been mistreated in his society and she'd listened to him then, and on top of that it does make sense to step outside of panic and get control of yourself in a situation like this in order to act sensibly. And not only THAT... but if whoever is doing this, if their goal is to sow discord, then she can't allow herself to let that happen by becoming upset with Piter already. What if that was their goal? Just like it was at ABC, the place she came from. And that literally led to her coworkers killing each other.

She can't let that happen again. She can't let that happen, and can't run away from that again. That's why she's here.

Finally, she breathes, and lets out a small laugh too. "Okay. Okay, you're right. I'm sorry, Piter, I'm really sorry. I am really stressed out and I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions or anything like that. And I didn't expect to get upset like this either. It's just that, ah... How do I explain it? This is very similar, scary similar, to something that I- something that happened where I came from and it's like, opening a box and having it all come back out at you. So- I didn't mean to get upset at you. Whatever is going on, we need to be on the same page, so if you want me to sit on the floor with you for a minute and breathe and calm down, I'll try, but I don't know if I can right this second because I don't feel safe right now. And I don't like the idea that there's someone else awake in here and that our coworkers are exposed and everything. Can we maybe check on them first, and then sit down on the floor?"

[turtle-ika]

Got tagged in a “WIP game”

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips. (You can make your own post or reblog this one!)  I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? Dnd campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!

Good thing i got tagged now and not a few years back when i, somehow, did not have any WIPs and just finished everything i started (can you imagine??). But now it seems i have more WIPs than finished artworks :’’)

This game is not fandom specific so it’s gonna be a wild ride for anyone that asks about them (it was also a pretty wild ride for me since i haven’t seen some for quite some time and forgot about them ha) also now that i think about it, it’s pretty convenient (and strange tbh) that all my file names are in english x’D

art 1. agents 2. beach holiday 3. confession 4. des_tumberstone 5. destiel_soft2 6. fix_comic 7. making-it-up2 8. mixtape 9. SKETCH_7-2 10. sleep-cats 11. spinosaur_prob 12. trap 13. six_fanarts_challange2 14. artistHQ 15. bokuakaWeek2nd_flowers 16. bokuakaWeek_READY_color 17. bokuakaWeek_2nd_process 18. HAIKYUU_ace 19. HAIKYUU_high 20. HAIYKUU_hands 21. hogwarts 22. my-friend_kagehina_animatic 23. onepiece_beach 24. punch_him 25. davidpatcolor 26. fathers_day 27. shredder_fight 28. dumb 29. don_fixing_proba 30. leo_swords2_anim 31. mrs-morrison 32. raph-pets 33. raph-ron 34. studies_leo-swords 35. tmnt-designs 36. tmnt-designs_heights 37. fuck-u-up_mickey 38. lumity 39. mob_pull-up

videos 40. tired-rat-dad 41. donnie 42. slo-dub 43. raph-amv 44. tmnt-raphie 45. glove 46. baxter 47. all in this together-tmnt

now tagging some folks: @ferahntasy , @cradleghost , @hamstermastersamster , @calista-222 , @kyler-rinfa , @fowo , @lemon-wedges and anyone else who wants to expose their WIPs to the outside worlds!

[unpleasantcompany]

@yellowginghamdream asked for examples in the comments and I’m happy to oblige!

I want to firmly impress that we are not a family of people who think dolls are creepy! My parents actually get sad when they hear other parents complain about American Girl Dolls. There’s no bias against them and there never has been. Even now that I’m in my twenties, my parents supportive of my adoration of my dolls. Mum even encouraged me to bring some home this summer when I visited them.

Anyway. My parents have a little beep that sounds through the house whenever any of the doors to the outside are opened. Over the summer, there was a big issue of my mum and I being awoken in the early morning from said door alarm. This could have been anything, unrelated tech issues, weather, or something else spiritual unaffiliated with my items etc. But my mum got suspicious when the boxes in the guest bedroom closet fell out during the night. This was the room where I was staying and, subsequently, my dolls were located. A few times, mum heard me call for her or say something inflammatory when I wasn’t there. We’d also hear footsteps up and down the hall all the time and saw a lot of shadows too. The activity died down when I left, granted it hasn’t been too crazy in my apartment since I got back either and I obviously took the dolls back with me.

I mentioned originally that I had taken some dolls to haunted locations, insinuating that may have something to do with it. While I guess it’s possible I honestly doubt it. Most of the spooky stuff that happens when I travel doesn’t follow me back home. For example, when I passed through the Crescent Hotel during my move, I had Rebecca with me, but anything that happened on that trip I chocked up to the fact that I was staying in a haunted hotel lmao. I got locked in a bathroom for a few seconds; it felt like someone was holding the door shut. But just because she was in the room doesn’t mean Rebecca had anything to do with it and that building is really old, the door could have easily squeezed itself shut. Plus, the issue with this logic is: what classifies as a haunted location? Because Felicity and Elizabeth both have been to Williamsburg and Mount Vernon which are old and with their own checkered pasts. My point is that I don’t reeeeeally think any of this stuff has to do with the places I’ve taken dolls.

Anyway! I have zero explanations for what happened last summer! It did seem to correlate with my dolls and I do believe that they are very much filled with MY ENERGY but… I’m not sure. I just was curious about other people’s thoughts!

My American Girl Dolls are Not Haunted… BUT

My American Girl Dolls are not haunted. I have no reason to believe they are haunted. Most of them have only ever been owned be me. Two of them belonged to a personal friend. Three are second hand from strangers.

With that being said, weird stuff DOES happen around them. And the same stuff does not happen when they aren’t present. It’s noticeable enough that when I visited my parents over the summer, my mum asked me if it was possible any of the dolls were haunted.

I have my theories… but it’s just a strange phenomenon I wanted to mention and see if anyone has had similar experiences?

I’m not trying to frighten anyone either, none of it is particularly scary just kind of spooky I guess. Definitely not Annabelle levels or anything, just like… creeks and shadows and technology malfunctioning at worst.