#asra built different

[teshadraws]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 64]

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Tobias and Nia introduce Junie and Samir to the guild.

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Samir stands strong in the wake of Nia’s enthusiasm. Her tail is a blur as she bombards the poor skiddo with questions that they struggle to answer with a simple yes or no.

“So that’s the mystery visitor?” Junie whispers, fluttering onto Tobias’ shoulder.

“Yeah. A Seeker we worked with in Fort Asra,” Tobias whispers back.

“You don’t seem as thrilled as Nia about them showing up here.”

Tobias’ mouth flattens as he tries to figure out his feelings on Samir’s sudden appearance.

On one hand, Tobias actually liked working with Samir. They’re competent at their job, and their personality isn’t insufferable like Andyn or some other Seekers he’s met over the years.

On the other hand, Tobias hasn’t forgotten that Nia offered Samir a place in the guild, and potentially on their team. Logically, Tobias shouldn’t be against the idea of more team members, but he still feels a little…territorial, maybe? Of his current team with Nia. He doesn’t want anything or anyone to intrude on the partnership they’ve built.

Then again, they’ve already got Junie and Fidel tagging along to the mountains, so what difference would one more Pokemon really make?

Tobias shakes his head. He’s getting ahead of himself.

“No, I like them,” Tobias admits. “Just…surprised to see them here so suddenly.”

Junie hums, but doesn’t push further.

Samir interrupts Nia’s chatter by holding up a hoof. Then they use their teeth to carefully pull a rolled-up tube of papers out of the side of their pack, holding the makeshift scroll out to her.

Nia blinks, then takes the offered papers and unrolls them to read. Tobias walks closer to read over her shoulder, giving Samir a cordial nod of greeting first.

He’s unsurprised to see that the first page is an official guild form. A transfer form, for Samir to join or create their own team here at the Lexym Guild.

Tobias’ stomach sinks. Looks like he was right. And he doesn’t really hate the idea—or at least he shouldn’t. Samir is just about the best option they could ask for when looking for a third teammate, but…

It’s just weird to think about having another official member on their team. It would change everything about their dynamic and how they run missions. No more Tobias and Nia. Instead, it would be Tobias, Nia, and Samir.

Tobias forces himself to continue reading with a neutral expression. The letter stipulates that Samir can officially leave the jurisdiction of their old guild and join the Lexym Guild as long as they get August’s approval. Which, judging by the leafy stamp at the bottom of the page beside August’s sloppy signature, they already did.

There’s a second sheet below the first, and Nia flips to it, only to find an additional request form to join Team Scarlet specifically. Samir’s signature sits at the bottom of the page, in even messier handwriting. There’s an empty space above it for Nia and Tobias’ signatures, if they approve.

As one, they all look up at Samir.

The skiddo is clearly nervous, as much as they try to hide it. They gesture again at the papers. Nia flips to the final page, which is covered in blunt, shaky Ordirune, likely penned by the tip of Samir’s hoof. It’s so messy it’s almost childlike, but it’s legible.

I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST TO JOIN TEAM SCARLET OFFICIALLY. I BELIEVE WE WORK WELL TOGETHER AFTER OUR PARTNERSHIP IN FORT ASRA.

NO OBLIGATION IF YOU DO NOT AGREE. I CAN FIND ANOTHER TEAM.

THANK YOU.

SAMIR

The blunt yet formal language actually gets a snort from Tobias, despite his mixed feelings about the whole situation. He really does like Samir. He just…needs some time to think this over first.

“You really want to join our team?” Nia asks, dumbfounded. Then a frown creases her face. “You’re sure you’re all right leaving your old guild?”

Samir grimaces, then nods. Tobias remembers the words they scratched into the dirt during their stakeout in the desert, about the partner who’d abandoned them after their injury made them mute.

DIDN’T WANT ME

Their partner and the guild as a whole were probably happy to be rid of Samir, if the skiddo’s judgement is accurate.

Tobias swallows down a growl. Samir’s old partner and guild are idiots for shunning the skiddo so blatantly. Especially considering how capable they are as a Seeker, mute or not.

Samir must’ve come straight here after finishing their duties in Fort Asra and putting the transfer paperwork through. It feels…not quite desperate, but close enough for sympathy to well up in Tobias’ gut. He knows what it’s like to be disliked or—at best—pitied by those around you. He can imagine it’s even worse for something you can’t help, like losing your voice from an injury.

Still, Tobias is grateful that Nia looks at him before blurting out an answer, a question clear on her face. Tobias’ expression must look as uncertain as he feels, because she doesn’t even hesitate before turning back to Samir to say, “Could we talk it over on our own before giving you an answer, Samir?”

The skiddo nods, looking relieved that Tobias and Nia are going to consider the proposition at all. Then they turn to leave.

“Wait!” Nia says, reaching for them. “We need to talk before giving you an official answer, but you’re still our friend. You don’t need to leave. I-If you want to stay, that is.”

Tobias can agree with that, at least, and shrugs casually when Samir looks at him.

“Yeah! Come help us piece this monster of a bed together,” Junie says. “It’s craft time in here and boy are these two bad at it.”

“You could help if we’re so terrible,” Tobias grumbles, brushing the rookidee off his shoulder and moving back to the half-assembled bed frame.

“That peg is heavier than I am, Toby! What am I gonna do? Get squished? Not helpful. For your information, I am doing an excellent job at supervising.”

“You’re doing an excellent job at being even more annoying than usual.”

As they bicker, Nia leads a hesitant Samir over to their operation, pointing out what they’re doing: fitting wooden pieces together and building up the bed’s frame piece by piece. Once Samir has the gist, they jump in to help with a serious expression. They’re painfully earnest about it, too, as if this is a mission to prove their worth to the team as a whole.

Yeesh. It’s a bit intense, even for Tobias.

“Jeez, you’re a serious one, aintcha?” Junie asks, peering down at Samir from her “supervising position” atop one post of the bed frame. “It’s all right to lighten up a bit, y’know?”

Samir ignores the suggestion, shrugging uncomfortably

“Toby said your name’s Samir, right? I’m Junie!”

Samir offers a distracted nod in greeting.

Junie is quiet for a moment, tilting her head one way and then the other. “So…is the no-talking thing by choice, or..?”

Samir drops the wooden dowel they’d been delicately holding in their teeth. Nia stammers something unintelligible.

“They’re mute,” Tobias cuts in, pointedly casual. “Injury.”

“Ohh.” Junie nods. “’Kay! Just curious. Guess that means you don’t have vines to talk with, either.”

Tobias pauses in his own work, curious despite himself. Can skiddo learn vine whip?

Samir winces, then lifts their chin to tap at their throat. It takes Tobias a moment to understand what they’re saying.

“Your injury?” Tobias guesses.

Most grass types do have the base of their vines somewhere around their throat. If Samir’s injury was bad enough to damage their vocal cords, it’s possible that it messed with other parts of their body as well.

How did they even survive that kind of injury?

Samir nods, confirming Tobias’ guess. Then they focus back on their work with a steeliness that screams for Junie to stop talking about this.

So Junie, of course, keeps talking about it.

“Oh. Have you ever tried talking with like…morse code or something? Oh! Or whistles? Sometimes mail ‘mon use different chirps and stuff to communicate codes instead of talking. It’s super neat!”

Morse code? Tobias thinks Nia mentioned something similar during their stakeout in Asra. And the whistle idea isn’t actually a bad suggestion, either.

Samir’s stiff posture eases as they blink at Junie, surprised. Whether by her easy acceptance or her surprisingly thoughtful ideas, Tobias isn’t sure.

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of whistling!” Nia says, pausing in her own work. “Can you whistle, Samir? Or, like, click your tongue?”

Samir hesitates, looking between the three of them. Then, quietly, they click their tongue against the roof of their mouth. Once, twice.

Nia beams. “You can!”

“Try to whistle,” Junie prompts.

Samir’s muzzle clearly isn’t made for it, but after a few tries, they do manage to get a weak whistle out between forceful gusts of air.

“Now we’re in business!” Junie cheers. “There’s gotta be some kind of Pokemon language set up for situations like this, right? I mean, some Pokemon don’t even have mouths and I can say from personal experience that sign language isn’t always an option.”

“I bet Avery or their dad would know!” Nia says, perking up at the chance to go to the archives and learn something new. “Would you be interested in that, Samir? Learning something like Morse code or whistle phrases so we could communicate a little easier?”

Samir, once again, looks blown away by the easy acceptance that Nia and Junie are offering. They swallow hard with suspiciously bright eyes, and nod.

“Great! How about we stop by the archives right away once we get this built?”

“If you get it built,” Junie corrects. “I’m down, though. I want the whole grand tour of this place!”

“Oh, right! Did anyone give you a tour of the guild yet, Samir?”

Samir makes a so-so motion with their hoof. So likely a surface-level tour that covered the necessities, but nothing in-depth. August probably just assigned a random low-level Seeker to do the honors.

“We’ll show you around,” Tobias decides, grunting as he finally gets two wooden posts wedged together properly. He steps back to give it a look, nodding in satisfaction.

It thankfully doesn’t take much longer to fit the bed frame together, and then Tobias, Nia, and Samir haul the surprisingly heavy mattress atop it. When that’s done, Nia grabs the blankets they’d pulled from storage during their previous trip to the guild, and throws them on top. The whole setup creates a strange but cozy-looking nest elevated a foot off the ground. Just high enough for Tobias to comfortably sit on. It’s surprisingly large, too, easily big enough for both Nia and Tobias to curl up together. Samir could probably even squeeze in if they wanted to, and Junie could definitely find a spot.

While Tobias isn’t sure how to feel about that mental picture, he can’t deny the bed itself looks incredibly cozy. He’s willing to give it a shot, after how soft it felt earlier.

“I am pumped to go to sleep tonight,” Junie says. “Good job, crew.”

“Same!” Nia says, sitting on the bed and looking pleased about its bounce. “Tobias, Samir, are you two going to try it too?”

“I’ll give it a shot,” Tobias says.

Samir looks surprised to be included, giving a noncommittal shrug and a shuffle of their hooves in an almost shy gesture.

With that task complete, they finally get to show Junie and Samir around the guild properly, starting on the bottom floor where the mission boards are stationed. They briefly explain the network of tunnels surrounding them, taking a few steps inside one so the newcomers can get the full effect. Junie is expectedly awed by the glowing crystals growing from the walls and floor and ceiling, but even Samir seems impressed by their quiet beauty.

Their group stops by the nursery floor, too, both to show it to Junie and Samir and so Tobias can check in on the shinx cubs. He isn’t at all surprised to find that Asher has captivated the entire group of children, the zorua shifting between each child’s species with ease and delighting in their excited reactions. It feels strangely dreamlike when Asher turns into a fourth shinx cub at the others’ behest, and Tobias leans over to bet Nia that they’ll use that ability to torment their older brother at least once. Nia laughs and doesn’t take that bet.

Fidel is there too, the zoroark watching his son entertain the other children with a relieved smile as he sits next to Arlo. The drampa is keeping a watchful eye on the kids as usual, but he’s taking the opportunity to rest while Asher keeps them busy. The two older ‘mon wave at Tobias, Nia, Junie and Samir when they notice them lingering in the doorway, but otherwise don’t move to approach.

Next, Tobias and Nia show off the cafeteria, Nia giggling as she regales them with their last mission on kitchen duty. After that, they show them the item dispensary floor and the training floor, too, which clearly catches Samir’s interest. Nia waves enthusiastically to Val when she spots the medicham across the room, supervising a mock battle between a treecko and a venonat. Val gives a slight upturn of her lips and a nod in return.

They do end up stopping by the archives as well, and Nia introduces the two newcomers to the archivists, Alistair the gardevoir and Tawny the ribombee. Tawny and Junie hit it off right away, tiny chatterboxes that they are, and Alistair is clearly intrigued by their quest for a non-verbal language that Samir could use to communicate easier.

The gardevoir disappears into the shelves with Nia and Samir in tow, and Tobias—despite his better judgement—stays behind to listen to Junie and Tawny ramble about…nesting on top of the library shelves?

Maybe he should’ve went with the others.

Luckily, it doesn’t take long for Alistair to return with Samir and Nia. The gardevoir has a book in his hands that’s dusty from disuse, and while he sounds apologetic that he can’t help much personally, he does comment that Avery actually knows a few rudimentary phrases of the whistle-based language contained within.

Samir still looks shocked by the easy, enthusiastic help that Nia and the others are offering, and Tobias feels a jab of anger towards the skiddo’s old guild. Seekers are supposed to help, regardless of the problem, and that includes their own members. Tobias should tell August to look into Samir’s old guild when this whole “world-saving” business is done. Something isn’t right over there, and he knows August would take his concerns seriously.

Once they’re done checking out the book, Tobias smothers his ire and leads their group farther up the tree, past the administrative floor and the Seeker quarters until they finally reach the medical wing. Fen is busy looking over a pair of Pokemon when they pass by, but Maggie immediately abandons what she’s mixing up at the counter as soon as she notices their arrival.

“Welcome home!” The meganium says, happily returning the hugs Tobias and Nia press into her flowery mane. Then she looks over their heads and smiles. “And with two new faces! Would this happen to be…Junie? And Samir?”

“Are you a psychic type or did Toby just complain about me that much?” Junie asks, fluttering forward to land on Nia’s shoulder. Samir just looks surprised to be recognized at all.

Maggie stifles a laugh, a vine coming up over her mouth. “I assure you he only complained his usual amount, and Nia had all good things to say. It’s lovely to meet you, dear.”

“You too!” Junie chirps. “You have excellent vibes, ma’am. No idea how you’ve dealt with Toby’s nonsense for so many years.”

Maggie does laugh aloud this time, and Tobias rolls his eyes.

Nia waves Samir forward, and they hesitantly step closer.

“And you must be Samir,” Maggie says with a gentler smile. “It’s lovely to meet you as well, dear. Thank you for taking such good care of these two in Fort Asra.”

Samir ducks their head into a shy nod.

“Dude, stop being so adorable,” Junie teases. “I wanna be the new favorite child.”

Samir hunches even more into themself. Tobias has to admit it’s kind of hilarious, after how stoic and sure of themself they were in Fort Asra. Clearly the new location and overwhelming friendliness is an environment they’re much less confident in.

Tobias and Nia quickly catch Maggie up on their trip to Will’s settlement, and it’s only when Samir can’t seem to hide a look of shock that Tobias realizes something: Samir wasn’t aware of the whole world-saving business they’d been assigned by Giratina. Samir didn’t even know that Nia was human.

All things considered, Tobias thinks the skiddo is taking it rather well. Their brow is furrowed and their gaze is distant as they try to process everything, but they aren’t sprinting from the room or visibly upset. Still, Nia and Maggie both seem concerned.

“Samir..?” Nia prompts.

Samir opens their mouth to speak before closing it again with a frustrated grunt. They shake their head and wave Nia off, as if to assure her that they’re fine.

“Gotta say,” Junie laughs, clearly enjoying the whole situation. “You’re handling this whole, ‘The world is ending and an eldritch god assigned us to save it’ thing better than I probably would’ve all at once. Oh! And Nia being human. I’m human too, if it matters.”

Samir once again loses their composure for a moment, eyes bulging as they look at Junie. Then they whip their head back to Nia and Tobias as if to ask if there’s anything else earth-shattering they should know about.

Nia holds up her paws. “That’s it! I promise!”

“For now, at least,” Tobias adds.

Samir’s gaze goes distant again, as if already beholding the horrors that lie ahead.

“Sure you still want to join this team?” Junie jokes.

“Yeahhh…we probably should’ve warned you about, uh, all of that first,” Nia says, cringing. “Um. You’re welcome to back out if it’s too much? We’d understand.”

Maggie looks more surprised by the idea of Samir joining their team than by anything else in this conversation. She gives Tobias a probing, concerned look.

He shrugs, mouthing, Still deciding.

Maggie’s expression softens, and she mouths back, Tell me if you need to talk.

Tobias nods, relieved that she knows him so well. He doesn’t know if he’ll take her up on the offer, but it’s always good to be reminded that it’s an option.

Samir, on the other hand, is clearly still riding the waves of all the information just dumped on them. But after a minute of silent thought, they finally shake their head, tap the ground twice, and nod. Their expression is determined.

“You want to help?” Tobias guesses.

Samir nods again.

Nia brightens. “Then we’re happy to have you along! Though it is unfortunate that we’re heading somewhere so cold right off the bat, since you’re a grass type. Will you be okay up in the mountains?”

“You can pick up a cloak from Vera’s winter storage before we go,” Tobias says. “But Nia’s right. It’ll still be rough on you and Junie in particular thanks to your typings.”

Samir doesn’t seem overly concerned by the terrain they’ll be facing. If anything, they simply look deep in thought, as if strategizing what they’ll need to combat the harsh environment. Tobias can’t help admiring that, even if it’s what he expected of the skiddo after Fort Asra. Samir doesn’t balk from a challenge, even if that challenge may decide the fate of the world.

Their group spends a bit more time with Maggie before heading back downstairs to the Seeker quarters. Nia wants to see if Xander’s team has returned yet since it’s nearing late afternoon.

Instead of Xander, it’s Andyn who Tobias runs right into while rounding a corner of the hallway.

Oh, perfect. The gods are laughing at Tobias in their sleep.

Andyn backsteps. “Oh, sorry, I—"

She cuts herself off as she realizes who she bumped into, and her expression darkens. The deerling stalks past Tobias and the others without a word.

“Wait, Andyn—” Nia says.

“We’re busy, Nia.”

Nia falls silent, wilting. Tobias is tempted to snarl something after Andyn, but he’s distracted by Ezra and Jaz, who are hurrying after their team leader from the direction of their room. The two ‘mon pause once they see Tobias, Nia and their tagalongs.

“Oh, hey!” Ezra says, grinning with his sharp sneasel teeth. “Didn’t know you were back already!”

“Is she still in a mood?” Tobias asks, crossing his arms. “It’s been like a week.”

Jaz sighs. “No, she’s been okay. Probably just wasn’t happy to see you again so soon, Tobias.”

“She can really hold a grudge,” Ezra adds cheerfully. Then his eyes land on Samir and Junie. “Ooh, new faces! You two friends with Nia and Tobias?”

“We are!” Junie chirps, puffing out her chest with pride. “Name’s Junie. That’s Samir. I’m guessing that ray of sunshine was your teammate?”

Jaz gives her a regretful smile. “I promise she‘s not normally like that. She’s just trying to untangle some…unpleasant emotions that Tobias brought out last week.”

“Doesn’t mean she has to ignore Nia to do that,” Tobias grumbles.

“Nah, but she probably finds it easier to push you both away rather than trying to sidestep one half of a team,” Ezra says. “After all, you’re pretty much joined at the hip nowadays. She’ll figure it out eventually, Nia. Try not to take it personally.”

“That’s stupid,” Junie scoffs. “Why shouldn’t Nia take it personally? We shouldn’t just have to deal with miss priss acting like a brat because Toby made her think about something she didn’t want to hear.”

Jaz winces. The stufful’s usual composure falters with guilt. Nia looks like she’s about to protest, but Jaz cuts her off. “No no, she’s right. We…probably enable Andyn more than we should.”

“She’s never gonna stop being a brat if you don’t put your foot down,” Tobias agrees.

Ezra and Jaz exchange a look.

“You’re right,” Ezra says, chuckling. “But it’s just easier to ride it out sometimes, y’know? Andyn can be a lot, but she’s still our best friend. It can be hard standing up to her when she’s upset.”

Samir nods immediately in understanding, and once again Tobias wants to meet the skiddo’s former partner. Just to talk. And maybe punch a little.

“Ez! Jaz! C’mon!”

Andyn’s voice rings out from the hall behind them, and Tobias huffs. Not even doubling back to grab her teammates? Coward.

“Sorry, gotta go,” Ezra says. “But we need to catch up when this all blows over!”

“Stay safe,” Jaz adds.

And then the two Pokemon are gone, hurrying after Andyn. There’s a moment of quiet.

“Well, that doesn’t seem like a very healthy team dynamic,” Junie chirps from Nia’s shoulder.

Nia makes a sound in her throat like she wants to agree, but doesn’t want to badmouth her friend. “Andyn’s dealing with a lot of pressure from her parents. I’m sure she’ll figure it out soon!”

Tobias doesn’t argue, knowing a futile battle when he sees one. Instead, he pushes past the encounter to lead their group to Team Shellshock’s quarters. Much as Tobias didn’t get along with Xander in the past, at least he can count on the luxio to actually act like an adult.

When they get there, the team’s door is halfway open, and inside Tobias spots Xander removing items from Team Shellshock’s satchel, Avery logging something onto their team badges, and Felix flopping down into a nest with a relieved sigh. Looks like they just got back from a long day.

Xander’s ears twitch before Tobias can knock, and he looks up with a warm smile. “Hey. Almost didn’t recognize you two with an extra set of hooves along for the ride. Come on in.”

They do so, Nia going straight for a hug that Xander returns with a loud purr.

Kry, munching on a yache berry against the far wall, locks onto the new faces of the group immediately. “Who are you two?”

Junie perks up, fluttering forward to perch on a windowsill by the fraxure. “I’m Junie! Mail ‘mon in training.”

Kry loses interest immediately. She looks at Samir instead.

Samir straightens up, glancing at Nia in an almost panicked fashion.

“Oh!” Nia pulls out of the hug to gesture towards the skiddo. “And this is Samir. They just transferred here from another guild.”

“You battle?” Kry asks.

Samir blinks, but nods.

Kry bares her teeth in a grin. “Consider me your next opponent, then. I wanna see your battle technique after being trained by a different set of mentors.”

“That’s her way of making new friends,” Felix whisper-yells to Samir.

Samir looks uncomfortable being the center of attention, but they hesitantly nod.

“So what’s your deal?” Junie asks. “You’re only friends with people you can fight?”

Kry shrugs. “You don’t impress me much if you don’t.”

Oh. Oh, that was the wrong thing to say to Junie.

The rookidee narrows her eyes. Then, quick as a flash, she lunges, grabs the last of Kry’s berry—almost half her size—and flies out the open door.

Kry blinks, hand still curled around an invisible berry.

Felix barks a laugh, and Nia’s giggles follow shortly after. Xander and Avery look just as stunned as Kry.

Tobias grins. Okay, he can see the humor in Junie’s antics when they aren’t being directed at him.

“Hey!” Kry yells, bolting out of the room. “I am going to murder you, you ball of feathers!"

Samir looks genuinely concerned by the threat, but Felix waves them off. “She won’t actually hurt her. She knows she’d get a scolding for that.”

Tobias snorts. “You should be more worried about Kry, honestly. Junie’s a menace.”

Felix’s fluffy ears perk, the wartortle clearly delighted by that tidbit of information. “Really. Well, that’s a fun development. I’m guessing this is the same Junie you all met back in Ghatha?”

“Yeah!” Nia says. “And Samir is the skiddo we met in Fort Asra.”

“Sounds like you’ve been as busy as ever,” Avery says. The kirlia folds into a sit with unnatural grace, patting the ground for Nia and the others to join them. “Feel like sharing?”

“Ooh, yeah! You two always get into the craziest binds,” Felix says, scooting closer. “What’ve you been up to this time?”

Tobias and Nia exchange a look, then start on the (abridged) version of their trip to the human settlement. While they don’t go into detail on why exactly they visited Kaleido Bay, Nia does make sure to thank Team Shellshock for their gift of an all power-up orb.

Who knows if they would’ve been able to defeat Dismas without it.

Xander just sighs at that, giving them a tired smile. “Sometimes I don’t know who’s pushing me towards gray fur faster—you two or the cubs. I’m glad we could help, though.”

“Now I feel like we need to supply you more often to ensure your safety,” Avery says, only half-teasing. “A weekly care package, perhaps?”

“That won’t be necessary!” Nia laughs, waving the kirlia off. “Um. Probably not, at least.”

Tobias snorts. “With our track record? Wouldn’t be the worst idea.”

Even Samir has a long-suffering expression of agreement on their face, and they’ve only been with Tobias and Nia for one life-threatening scenario.

“I guess it makes sense you’d run into trouble so often when you travel as much as you two do,” Felix says. “Actually, do you mind me asking why you travel so much? I’ve been wondering. Most teams stay closer to home, especially this early in your career.”

Nia opens her mouth to answer, then hesitates. She glances at Samir, recently roped into the whole “world-saving” business, then gives Tobias an unsure, questioning look. He shrugs in response. Nia is the one with the personal quest from Giratina, and these are Nia’s friends before his. She gets to decide who she clues into the reality of their situation. He’s honestly kind of surprised she hasn’t done so already.

After an awkward moment of silence, Nia says, “It’s…actually kind of complicated. I didn’t want to tell you guys if I didn’t have to worry you, but it might be good for you to know.”

The quiet flap of wings interrupts before Nia can go any further. Junie glides causally into the room, perching on Nia’s shoulder with berry juice staining the feathers around her beak. Smugness radiates from her like a visible thing.

“Hey.”

Felix raises his brows, clearly impressed. “Hey. I see you survived Kry’s rampage?”

Junie laughs. “She’s so clumsy! I thought she’d give me a better chase, honestly. She’s even easier to rile up than Toby.”

Right on cue, Kry comes crashing into the room, breathing hard with rage in her eyes. She locks onto Junie. “You.”

“No murdering, Kry,” Felix drawls.

Kry glares at the wartortle, but then looks at Xander as if to verify.

The luxio sighs. “No murder, Kry.”

The fraxure growls. “Meet me in the arena, you little puff of air.”

Junie puts on a show of considering the idea, then smirks. “Nah.”

For a moment, Kry looks like she’s actually going to lunge. Junie snuggles closer to Nia’s neck, apparently safe in the knowledge that somebody will stop any actual assault.

“Sit down and breathe, Kry,” Avery says, somehow managing to sound sympathetic rather than patronizing.

Kry stares at the kirlia for a moment, then huffs and stalks over to the alcove in the wall that Tobias has seen her use before. She flops into it, tail tip flicking with irritation.

“Now, what were you saying, Nia?” Avery prompts.

Nia glances at Samir again, as if asking whether they’re glad Nia told them the truth about everything. Samir seems surprised to be part of this decision, but gives a nod of encouragement.

Nia takes a deep breath. “Well…it’s about the world, actually. Everything that’s been going wrong with it. Mystery dungeons, natural disasters, the legendaries, evolution. How everything is breaking down. We’re sort of…looking into how to stop it?”

Team Shellshock clearly isn’t expecting this to be the reason for Tobias and Nia’s constant traveling and danger-prone adventures. Their expressions shift from surprise to solemn interest. Even Kry turns over with a frown on her face.

So once again, Tobias and Nia explain everything. About Giratina, about the weakening dimensional border, and about their mission to find Xerneas so she can stop everything from falling apart. Tobias’ throat is dry by time they’re finished.

“Samir just learned about all of this, too,” Nia adds, glancing at the skiddo. “They’re going to come with us to the mountains to help look for Yveltal.”

Samir nods.

At that, Avery surfaces from their pool of deep thought. Surprisingly, their first question isn’t directed at Nia or Tobias, but Samir. “Apologies for being so blunt, Samir, but are you mute?”

Samir’s jaw tightens, but they nod.

“Oh! Yeah! We stopped by the archives earlier and talked to your dad!” Nia says, perking up. “We were hoping to figure out an easier way for Samir to communicate with us, so he gave us a book about whistle-based language and told us that you already know some phrases. Would you mind helping us get started on the basics while we’re still here at the guild?”

Avery mirrors Nia’s excitement. “Oh, of course not! I’m afraid I don’t know a lot, but I was curious a few years ago and dove into researching the language for a week or two. Xander figured it might be helpful to know a few non-spoken codes for missions, so we actually all know some short commands.”

Avery gives Xander a soft look, as if thankful for his support. In response, the luxio looks away with pinned ears and an embarrassed little smile. Ugh. They’re so gross together.

“We’ll only be here for a couple of days, though,” Nia says. “So we won’t have a lot of time to practice before then.”

“Oh!” Felix straightens up. “You could come with us tomorrow morning for a joint mission! If you don’t have plans already.”

“That would give us a bit of time to practice before you leave,” Avery murmurs.

Tobias blinks at them. “A joint mission?”

Even Nia looks surprised by the proposal after Andyn’s reluctance to team up last week. Xander’s team is even B-rank, a full two ranks above Team Scarlet.

“As long as you don’t slow us down, I don’t care,” Kry grumbles from her little cave.

“It’d be fun to see you two in action,” Felix says. “Especially since Nia apparently takes down steelixes in her spare time.”

Nia smiles bashfully, and Tobias rolls his eyes. He knows the wartortle flirts with everything that moves (and probably things that don’t, if a particularly shiny cascoon caught his eye), but somehow it’s even more irritating when directed at Nia.

“We were planning to go after an outlaw who was spotted nearby,” Avery says. “But he is at a high C-rank level.”

“Oh,” Nia says, the jump in difficulty clearly intimidating her. She glances at Tobias.

“Feel free to say no,” Xander stresses. “We can always pick a lower-level mission. It’s difficult enough just working with a new team member.”

Tobias fights down the urge to bristle at that comment. He has to tell himself that Xander is just being considerate of their lower rank, and maybe a bit overprotective of Nia. It’s a reasonable concern, after all, not an insult to their skills.

However, what Tobias thinks but doesn’t say is that a high C-rank mission would only be two ranks above the tasks they’re supposed to be taking at this point. Tobias is pretty sure they’ve gotten so strong so quickly in part because they keep running into (and barely surviving) situations far above their pay grade.

Tobias looks at Nia. She still seems unsure, but with her anything that isn’t an outright no usually just means she’s nervous.

Tobias’ own knee-jerk reaction is to say no to joining the other team at all, but…well, the mission with Team Evergreen was fine, other than Andyn being insufferable. And Tobias actually learned a lot while sparring with Team Shellshock last week. It would be a good opportunity for Samir to get a crash-course in whistle communication with Avery, too.

Finally, Tobias looks to Samir. The skiddo looks back, seemingly fine with whatever they decide.

“We can handle it,” Tobias decides. “What kind of outlaw are we talking about here?”

“A victreebel,” Avery answers. “He was seen yesterday near the mystery dungeon that opened up last week after the earthquake.”

“And since he’s a grass type, it’d be extra nice to have a fire ‘mon on this mission,” Felix teases, leaning over to nudge Tobias with a friendly elbow.

Oh. That sentiment makes Tobias feel…weird. Lexym Pokemon never want a fire type around.

Tobias isn’t really sure how to respond, so he just shrugs and looks down to fiddle with his scarf.

“Well, I’ll leave the whole ‘fighting bad guys’ thing to you, then,” Junie says, unbothered. “This girl ain’t built for battle. I think I’ll explore the guild some more while you’re gone. See if Asher’s rallied the kids into an army yet.”

“Coward,” Kry growls.

“Meathead,” Junie retorts.

Kry snarls. Junie bats her eyes.

“Anyways,” Nia says, clapping to get everyone’s attention. “Do you know anything about the dungeon, since he’s probably hiding in there?”

Team Shellshock goes into debriefing mode, explaining that the dungeon has taken on a rocky jungle atmosphere, with lots of grass, bug and ground types. The two teams solidify their plan to meet up in the psychic wing at dawn for an easy teleportation to the edge of the dungeon.

Afterwards, Tobias, Nia, Junie and Samir head out, seeing as evening is setting in and fatigue is visibly weighing on Team Shellshock’s shoulders. Nia suggests they grab food from the cafeteria to take back to Team Scarlet’s room for supper, then relax for the rest of the night.

They do so, settling down in their room with steaming bowls balanced atop wooden trays. Supper tonight is a hearty stew to combat the cooling fall weather, and they gobble down their bowls with a side of fresh bread and cheese.

During the meal, Nia wonders whether Samir needs their own scarf or badge before tomorrow’s mission, which makes Tobias pause. The skiddo is still wearing the same scarf they had in Fort Asra: a dark green bandana that blends into the leafy mane around their neck and covers up the scar hidden underneath.

Huh. Another similarity between them.

“Can you even get those if you aren’t officially part of a team yet?” Junie asks with a tilt of her head. “I mean, since you’re still deciding and all…”

Speaking of which—they need to talk that over, too. Which is decidedly harder to do when Samir and Junie are right there. Despite the easy atmosphere of the meal, Tobias feels a fresh ache of longing for the simplicity of when it was just him and Nia.

“They should be able to give you a scarf at least,” Tobias hedges. “It’d be nice to be able to match when we’re outside the Haven, in case we get separated.”

Samir nods, something like relief in their expression. Although Tobias has a feeling it’s more that they’re ready to leave their old scarf—and the memories attached to it—behind, rather than them being afraid of getting separated from the team.

Junie looks between Samir and Tobias. “Would we get that on the item floor? If that’s where we can grab cloaks and snowshoes and stuff, too, then me and Samir can go get those together!”

Tobias blinks, surprised by her initiative. “That…could work, yeah.”

Samir seems reluctant to be partnered off alone with someone they aren’t familiar with, but the skiddo nods before Nia can act on their discomfort. Good. If Samir and Junie take care of grabbing those items, then Tobias and Nia will have a few minutes alone to talk about Samir’s potential placement on the team.

Tobias nods his approval. “You remember which floor it is? Rainer will probably be there on his evening shift. He’s a politoed. Talk to him and he can get you a scarf and directions to Vera to pick up some snow gear.”

Junie salutes with a wing. “Aye-aye, cap’n! C’mon, Samir!”

Junie doesn’t wait for a response, flapping into the air and flying out of the room. Samir scrambles to their feet, nearly knocking over their empty bowl. They look wide-eyed between the door and Nia and Tobias.

Tobias raises a brow, tilting his head as if to say, “Go on.”

Samir hesitates for a moment longer before hurrying after Junie.

Nia giggles. “They’re quite the pair.”

Tobias snorts. “Junie certainly talks enough for the both of them.”

Then, he turns to Nia, expression falling serious. For a moment, Nia seems confused by the sudden shift in atmosphere. But then she glances at the door, and realization dawns. She sets her own empty bowl aside and turns to face him as well.

“You want to talk about Samir, I’m guessing.”

Tobias nods. “Junie gave us the chance. Might as well take it.”

“All right. Well…what do you think about them joining our team? You can tell me if you don’t want them to. This feels like a big decision, so I think it should be unanimous.”

Tobias releases a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He’s relieved that Nia’s aware of the significance of this decision and seemingly willing to take a No without complaint. “Samir…wouldn’t be the worst choice for a partner. Not by a long shot.”

“But?”

“But…” Tobias hesitates, feeling a flush come to his face. How does he phrase this without it sounding pathetic? “It would be really…different. From how it’s been so far.”

Nia makes an encouraging sound in her throat.

“I know we end up with other ‘mon more often than not,” Tobias says, slowly picking his words. “And I’ve gotten used to Junie being around so much, but…”

“But it’d still be different,” Nia summarizes. “Between us. Junie will go home eventually. Samir wouldn’t.”

Tobias nods. “It’s just…a different dynamic. You and I are partners. I lead a lot of the time, but you know how to lead if you need to. And I don’t have to think about you just following an order without thought because I’m your ‘leader.’ Samir, though…”

Nia tilts her head thoughtfully. “They have kind of been defaulting to whatever we want them to do ever since they showed up here.”

“I think they’re just desperate to make a good impression, after their last guild experience,” Tobias mutters.

“I…don’t think you’re wrong. But I think they’d put their foot down if they really thought it was important to do so. They did that in Asra, right? They tried to stop you from going down into the mines.”

“True,” Tobias admits. “And we did work well together. They do a good job balancing out some of our impulsiveness.”

Nia’s mouth twitches with a smile. “We do have a tendency to run headfirst into dangerous situations. They could help us slow down and think things through.”

A beat of silence. Tobias stares at Nia’s open expression.

“You want Samir to join. Don’t you?”

Nia shrugs. “I do. I think it’d be good for all of us, and I like them. But I don’t want them to join if you don’t want them to. We’re partners, and this is a big decision. It’s either two yeses or it’s a no.”

Tobias feels some of the tension bleed from his shoulders. Nia said the same thing not five minutes ago, but it reassures him to hear her say it again, and to hear it said so easily.

His opinion matters here.

“If we’re going to have another teammate, Samir is about the best I could ask for,” Tobias admits. “It’s just…hard, knowing things will be different without knowing exactly how they’ll be different.”

“Different is scary,” Nia agrees. She holds out a paw.

Hardly hesitating, Tobias takes it. She squeezes his hand.

“My vote is yes, but I don’t want to rush you,” Nia says. “Take your time. Samir is patient. They know this is a big decision.”

“But it’s not fair to string them along, either,” Tobias mumbles. Especially not after their last terrible partner.

“You’re not stringing them along. You just aren’t sure. It’s okay to take your time making a decision.”

Tobias takes a breath and nods. Nia waits with him in silence, her thumb stroking the back of his hand in a soothing gesture.

Tobias is no closer to a decision when Nia speaks again. “How about a trial period?”

“A trial period?”

“Yeah! We have Samir join us for now, but kind of like…on probation? They can help us while we save the world, and then if everything’s still good afterwards and we both agree on it, they can join officially!”

That…doesn’t sound too terrible. Tobias knows that it’s just another way of pushing the decision off until later, but he’s too relieved by the suggestion to care. Somehow, knowing that it isn’t quite permanent helps. “Okay. Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s run it by them and if they’re okay with that, then I am too.”

Nia beams. “Great! Thanks, Tobias.”

“For what?”

“For giving this a shot,” Nia clarifies. “I know it’s hard for you to open up to people.”

The casual familiarity of that remark makes something like embarrassment balloon in Tobias’ chest. He gives Nia’s paw one last squeeze before pulling away.

Then his eyes land on their satchel, where he’d gently set it against the wall earlier today.

Oh. This might be the last time they’re alone for a while. And Tobias does not want Junie here for an exchange that’s already likely to be mortifying.

“Close your eyes,” Tobias says, getting up and moving to rummage through their bag.

“What?”

“Trust me. I’ve got a surprise.”

And there it is, wrapped up and carefully stashed away at the bottom of the bag. Tobias pulls the paper-wrapped object out and holds it behind his back, careful with the heft of it. He feels a flutter of nervous excitement in his gut.

Nia’s head is turned his way, a confused smile on her face, but her eyes are closed. “A surprise?”

Tobias makes a quiet noise of agreement, sitting down in front of her again. “Hold out your paws.”

Nia does so. “What’s the occasion?”

Tobias pauses, something like “Thanks for being my partner” running through his head before he shoves away the mushy thought.

“No reason,” he grunts. “Just wanted to. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

Tobias sets the gift in her paws.

Nia is clearly surprised by the weight of it. Her eyes open, and she blinks down at the package before tentatively starting to unwrap it.

Tobias holds his breath, heart pounding.

As soon as the first sheen of blue shows through, Nia gasps. She speeds up as she unwraps the rest of it, until she can cradle the glass in her paws like it’s the greatest treasure in the universe.

“The sculpture from Kaleido Bay?” Nia murmurs. She looks up to stare at Tobias.

“Uh. Yeah. You seemed like you really liked it? And it’s not like I’m doing anything important with my personal funds, so—"

Nia’s lip wobbles as tears fill her eyes.

For a heartbeat, Tobias panics. She said she liked it, right? Did he misunderstand? He’s already calculating how quickly he can rip it from her paws and chuck it out the window.

But then Nia’s gently setting the statue aside and yanking him into a hug.

Oh.

Slowly, Tobias returns the gesture, flushing. He always forgets how soft Nia’s fur is, cool against his warmer skin. “Does that mean you like it?”

“I love it! You didn’t have to do that.”

Tobias huffs a laugh. There are obvious tears in her voice. “I mean, I can always send it back?”

“Don’t you dare,” Nia mumbles, sniffling into his shoulder. “This is the first decoration we even have for this place.”

Tobias laughs, and Nia pulls away, keeping her paws on his arms as she smiles at him, soft and sweet. “Thank you, Tobias. Really. You’re the best.”

Tobias can’t handle her looking at him like that, so he coughs and reaches to pick up the statue, pretending to check it for cracks. Luckily, it looks like it survived the journey perfectly intact, delicate flame-likes wisps arcing up without flaw.

Nia’s smile turns confused as she takes it back from him. “Wait, but you didn’t buy it while we were at the stand. When did you—" Nia cuts herself off. “When you went back to get Rico’s name?!”

Tobias laughs. “Yeah, his name’s not Rico.”

Nia looks somewhere between scandalized and delighted, and settles on breaking into laughter. It’s unfortunate that she has to stifle it a moment later to spare her ribs, but even through the pain the giant smile never leaves her face. Her ruby eyes linger on the statue in her paws, soft and admiring.

“Thank you,” she whispers again.

Tobias feels the heat return to his face. He shrugs.

He basks in a quiet wash of pride for the next few minutes, as Nia babbles on about where to display the glass piece. Eventually, she settles on the bookcase set against the wall, still woefully empty. The statue is placed in the center of the top shelf, an eye-catching blue against the warm wood. It glistens in the dying sunset.

Shortly after, Junie and Samir make their return. Junie flutters into the room unhindered, but Samir follows with a bulging sack slung over their shoulders.

“We’re back!”

“Took you a while,” Tobias notes.

Junie laughs as she settles onto the bed frame. “Samir took forever finding the perfect cloak for themself and snowshoes for you guys. The measurements couldn’t be off by even a centimeter.”

Samir gives Junie a dry look as they sling the sack to the ground, tugging it open so Tobias and Nia can see the wooden snowshoes and snowcloak stuffed inside. Tobias knows that expression well, though. Junie is growing on Samir, much as they might not want to admit it.

The skiddo also has a scarlet red scarf tied around their neck, replacing their old green one. Something about seeing their team’s color on a new ‘mon does make Tobias feel proud, like Samir joining permanently might not be so scary. This could be their third team member one day. They are their third team member, at least for now.

Tobias tears his gaze away to examine Samir’s haul. Nia is already oohing and ahhing over the construction of the little snowshoes brought back for them. They are impressive, the outer ring made with some kind of hardwood, and the inner “webbing” a crisscross of reinforced string shot. A similar string shot strap, thicker and wider, is attached to the side of the shoes to secure them onto their feet. They’re well-made, as far as Tobias can tell, but that’s not a surprise with Vera in charge of accessories at the guild. The leavanny is a professional.

While they’re busy examining their new gear, Junie spots Nia’s gift. She flies closer to get a better look at it.

“Whoa, where’d this come from?”

Nia eagerly bounds over to show it off. “Tobias got it for me in Kaleido Bay! He surprised me with it while you guys were gone. There was this little glassblowing shop there and—"

Tobias is expecting the smug, irritating look Junie sends him as Nia rambles on. As the riolu picks up the statue to show to Samir, Junie flutters on top of the bed post closest to Tobias, and leans over to whisper, “Nice work, Romeo. That was actually pretty sweet.”

Tobias doesn’t know what a ‘Romeo’ is, but he catches the implication and bats her off the post so she bounces off the nest—the bed—with a shriek of laughter.

Thankfully, Nia can’t gush about the gift forever, though Tobias keeps catching her giving it happy glances even after putting it back. Each time, something warm blossoms in his chest all over again, pleased with his impulsive decision even if his personal funds are nearly empty.

Worth it.

As they all settle in for the night, Nia is the first to approach the lingering question in the air.

“Oh! Samir, we talked while you two were out. About you joining the team.”

Samir stops in the middle of unpacking their own bag, and despite the way they clearly try to appear casual, Tobias can’t help thinking they look like they’re bracing themself for a blow.

“If you’re all right with it, we’d like to do a sort of, um…trial run?” Nia says. “We loved working with you in Fort Asra! But we just want to make sure we’re a good fit before deciding for sure. We were thinking we’d see how the trip to Silenfroar and the whole world-saving business shakes out, then talk. Are you all right with that?”

Samir, thankfully, just looks relieved by her answer, as if they were expecting an outright no. They give her a nod, then glance at Tobias.

“It’s a big decision, adding a new team member,” Tobias says. “But you’re definitely not the worst choice. You’re very bearable compared to some ‘mon.”

Tobias gives Junie a pointed look, and she sticks her tongue out at him in return.

“Yeah!” Nia says. “Welcome to the team, Samir. Patent pending, I guess. The scarf looks good on you!”

Samir straightens up, giving her a determined nod. As if to say they won’t regret giving Samir a chance.

From there, the rest of the evening is peaceful. Tobias digs out his guitar and rests against the side of their new bed as he picks idly at chords, trying not to feel self-conscious when both Junie and Samir watch with open curiosity.

Junie doesn’t comment, though, instead following Nia’s lead and sprawling across their plush scarlet rug with the book they’d picked up earlier in the archive. Together, the three of them flip through the pages of clicks and whistles, and start practicing basic phrases.

Yes and No are easy when you can see Samir nod or shake their head, but it’s good to have verbal cues ready, too, in case they’re in a situation where they can’t actually see the skiddo. The book’s translation for No is a simple high note whistle that dips into a low note, and Yes is the same but with the two notes reversed. Junie picks it up immediately, while Nia and Samir struggle with molding their mouths into the right shapes.

Samir seems a little frustrated and embarrassed after their first few attempts, but Nia and Junie laugh it off, the little rookidee making fun of Nia for spitting everywhere until even Samir is fighting off a smile.

Tobias listens as he plucks at his guitar, committing the whistles to memory and silently practicing the mouth shapes alongside them.

That’s how they pass the evening until the first yawn floats across the room. Junie takes that as her cue to call it a night and dives into their new nest, using her beak to burrow underneath the blankets and pop out on the other side with her little face peeking out.

Nia follows shortly after, pulling Tobias with her. It takes a bit of convincing, but even Samir is dragged into the bed, and altogether it’s just large enough to fit the four of them. Nia and Tobias curl up close side-by-side, with Junie nesting in the crook of Nia’s neck. Samir shyly scoots to the edge of the bed, leaving a bit of space between them and the rest of the team, but they seem comfortable enough, if not a bit awkward.

As soon as Tobias lies down, he gets it. This is the comfiest thing he’s ever laid on in his life.

He’s never going to be able to go back to a regular nest after this, is he?

“Oh my God, this is the best thing ever,” Junie mumbles, sounding half-asleep already. “I’m gonna marry Hazel.”

Nia barks a laugh. “She’s, like, a grandma, Junie! And already married!”

“Then grandpa better watch his back or I’m gonna steal his woman.”

Nia snickers as Tobias snorts. Samir seems unsure how to respond, but Tobias can see them slowly relaxing in their little corner of the bed.

Junie asks Nia to tell her more about Hazel and her family, so Nia whispers about the raichu living in Afon’s Cap. Tobias listens with half-lidded eyes and takes in the darkness of the room, lit only by his tail flame and the moonlight filtering through the window’s leaf curtain. All around him, he’s surrounded by softness and warmth.

Tobias drifts off quicker than he has in a long, long time.

[sxftkxssxs]

hi hi! if its not too much trouble could u do M6 with an MC who rarely cries (im talking like 6 months in between each time they cry) who just breaks down sobbing one day and wont stop crying for hours? srry if this is too angsty lmaoo

i am so sorry for how late these new posts are gonna be in advance jfkdslds (also peep the new banner hehehe)

Gn!Reader

Asra

For how long he’s known you, he’d likely know that this would happen

Knowing the MC for nine years gives him the advantage

No matter what they might’ve had planned for that day they’re taking all day to comfort you

You don’t even have to ask for anything, Asra’s already got it ready. He’s got tissues on standby, your favorite food and some tea.

Faust will wrap around you, occasionally squeezing to give you some comfort

Asra will hold you as long as you need him to, you’re the most important thing in their life and they’ll stay there without question

He’ll recommend taking a nap together once you’re alright again, knowing after crying that long you’ve got to be exhausted

Definitely will go get you that pumpkin bread from the baker in the morning.

Julian

Immediate reaction is to panic

His brain runs at a mile a minute and in this situation it's no different

If you allow him to, Julian will hold you while you cry, whispering to you

If you don’t want him to touch you, he’ll get you anything you need!

Malak is such a good bird, sitting on your shoulder, letting you scratch his head (win-win on his end)

When you calm down he’ll ask you what exactly caused you to break down so badly

he’ll take you to Mazelinka’s after a while, hoping her motherly tendencies will help you and her soup, don’t forget her soup!

Julian definitely drags you to rest once you've calmed down though, he knows you've got to be exhausted after that

He'll make sure to be way more prepared next time (and have extra soup)

Nadia

Her first reaction is to wipe some of your tears away

She’ll keep her voice down, asking you what’s wrong and if there's anything she might be able to do 

She’ll take you both to her tower, offering to be there for you for as long as she’s able

The water in that tower is extremely calming, very effective at getting you relaxed

If you don’t want to tell her what exactly has you in this state she’ll understand, allowing you to come to her when you’re ready

Holds you very close that night, letting you listen to her heartbeat

Kisses your cheeks once you’re calmed down <33

Muriel

He’s definitely not built for this. 

He’s trying his best, and if you’re able to speak through your sobs and tell him what you need he’ll do it

Inanna just plops herself in your lap, letting you put a hand in her fur

Muriel’s not saying much, but he’s rubbing your back, getting you tissues when you run out, and silently offering to let you hold his hand

when you’ve calmed down he’ll wait for you to tell him what has gotten you so upset 

Muriel gives your hand a squeeze every so often to show he’s still there, and still listening

Muriel and Inanna agree that a snuggle pile doesn’t sound so bad for tonight 

Portia

She’s very good at comforting you

There's been times that someone in the palace needed some comfort, and she’s gotten very good at learning what everyone needs

She won’t touch you if you don’t want her to, but otherwise she’ll bundle you up in some spare blankets and sit with you and Pepi

She’ll have tissues somewhere in the room, she’d much rather wipe your tears herself

She won’t directly ask you what’s wrong until a long while after you’ve calmed down

Pepi just sits in your lap the whole time, purring as loud as possible

Portia will make sure you know that you can come to her any time for any reason 

Lucio

Before Lucio even finds you, Mercedes and Melchior find you first

Melchior is kind of all over you until he settles down (in your lap ofc.), but Mercedes just sits pushed up against your side

Eventually Lucio will find where you’re at, though he’s very confused on what he’s supposed to do for a second

He’ll sit with you and ramble a little, but that’s mostly because the silence feels quite awkward to him

Lucio will get you tissues if you ask him to (please don’t get snot on his dogs)

He’ll let you rant to him if you’d like, he will make small comments though! Things like “She did what?!” “That’s just ridiculous.”

He’s very good at hyping things up, the man did nothing but party while he was the Count and he’ll hype you up any time this happens

Good luck getting up though, the dogs fell asleep and they don’t plan on getting up any time soon

[fox-daddy]

Baby Fever with my main 3 Mc's

I've wanted to write this prompt since I saw baby fever appear in a poll so when it won I was over the moon. Then my adhd hit and I did nothing but sit on it and the prompt closes soon so- Incase I don't get it done on time here's how I think my Mc's would deal with baby fever.

Hunter;

Immune. Totally does not get baby fever. What is baby fever? sounds stupid. Too cool for baby fever. They don't even have a fever they checked!

The fact their babing their Li's familiar? totally normal. Pepi was asking to be carried like that since she wouldn't stop trying to eat their lunch, Inanna's paw was sore they couldn't have her walking around on it. Malak? Okay, yeah they have no excuse for holding Malak like a baby outside the fact playing with his bird feet is fun.

Forces their Li to be their pillow more often. In general being way more cuddly wanting to just be held more often than usual.

eats way more meat more specifically rare stakes and Liver pâté.

suddenly seems to always have at least one piece of candy on them.

Julian;

Just happens to pick up more mini lollipops for the kids that visit his clinic. It would be a tragedy if he ran ou- oh he already has a packed in the draw? these one's are different flavors though what if a kid doesn't like grape and apple and wants strawberry?

Slowly more often uses the amount of medical books Julian has to look up random questions. Until they basically have a certain book by the bed so they can just reach over and grab it if they wake up with a burning question.

Becomes more aggressively protective of urchin kids running around keeping closer eye on them which indirectly means bringing kids to Julian to be checked out whenever injured. Typically bad grazes and small cuts.

Seems to always know where Malak is. Did I mention they baby their Li's familiar way more? holding like baby, giving treats, making sure their happy and content.

Portia;

Them taking learning how to cook more seriously.

Spending more time around the castle garden because theirs baby birds everywhere? nah totally just got lost on their way to the cottage. (what do you mean they've been together 2 years? they can still get lost)

Why are they reading the cuter fantasy books instead of their usual darker taste? don't worry about it.

Muriel;

spends way more time with the chickens than they used to.

may have built a new chicken coop. Okay their wild and their neighbors not their pets but they deserve a good house with nice roosting spots.

why are they holding a chicken and having it from their hand? it's being bullied and they just wanted to make sure it was eating enough.

Kyle;

Goes from no thoughts towards children to actually thinking about it a lot more.

work on the logistics of having a child and what that would mean, can they afford it? do they have the time and energy? etc

then theirs the fact he's a transdude if he has to carry it he doesn't want to risk hating himself the entire time. It's going to have to be something he's serious about.

dreams about the future way more and with a higher chance of looking after a child during it.

spent a solid half hour crying over accidently killing a butterfly/moth. had to be consoled.

becomes way more cuddly.

feels more bedtime urges if you know what I mean. (if you don't this image or it's description will explain; VVV)

Asra;

visits Salim and Aisha more for both tea and stories about Asra's childhood.

more defensive? snappy? about certain topics without realizing it. Not enough for it to be aggressive but more akin to someone not wanting to think about something.

stays home more often than before especially for long trips as they don't have the appeal for him right then.

I wouldn't say he babies Faust but he definitely lets her get away with more than he normally would.

Nadia;

becomes more attached? needy? hard to find the right word but Kyle is sitting through more meetings than normal to be by Nadia's side. Not necessarily needing her attention just presence.

Lucio left behind a bunch of untamed animals you say? within a month or two they mostly have homes or are now Kyle's ill-tamed animal. (he actually cares for the animals under his care)

daydreams more often and rearranges the bed every few days like a fussy hen. (only the bed since Nadia had to put a limit for how often Kyle is allowed to rearrange the entire room.)

subconsciously avoids alcohol more even though he doesn't drink much to begin with.

Bluebell;

goodluck noticing their baby fever. They burry it as deeper as Asra buries his truma. As deep as Julian buries his self-worth. as deep as-

Lucio;

more cuddly, cuddling with Lucio and the dogs more than before.

somehow ends up looking after a baby animal. If the animal grows up and they still have baby fever then they somehow end up with another baby animal in their care.

occasionally talk to Lucio about if he want's kids. If he doesn't drops the topic faster than you'd drop a hot potato.

[sweetestlittledarling]

The Magic Shop

Rating: PG

Warnings: Bad Grammar I suppose?

Pairing: None to speak of and maybe all?

Summary: An unusual narrator tells their story...

Note: For @vesuviaweekly's prompt of "I missed this". Also, this is my head cannon for the au I work in so some of the backstory to the magic shop maybe different from the actual cannon.

              The magic shop had a back story all its own as well as a life to go with it.

              It was built to contain only two people, the old woman and her young charge. They were the first to put magic into the place, which in a sense brought it to life. To the unobservant person it would be just another shop, a building made of wood and stone, but to those who knew the truth, it was a living creature all its own. For years the magic flowed from the shop as runes were carved and protections put in place. Alongside those things of course were songs, warm food, and conversation which kept the shop happy as it felt its power growing. Then one night, with only one last look back, the young lady left, and things changed.

              It was a bitter and cold time. The old woman was the only occupant now, her old hard hundred-year-old magic made the floorboards creak and sag. Customers who filled the shop were no longer as frequent as they were scared off by her anger at the world that had left her alone. The shop felt a similar pain as it felt its life draining away. Could a magical place die? Did it die or just return to being a normal place again?

              One day a man arrived and with him three young faces. The shop recognized them almost immediately as belonging to the young woman from so long ago. Their magic was new and warm, though they were a little hesitant at first. But happy for any change, the shop welcomed them. It wasn’t easy at first, especially given the fact that in a shop built for two there was now double that amount. The bigger room was forced to fit there, a curtain separating the older from the younger for a time. But it didn’t really matter in the early months as the two younger had trouble sleeping and slept with their brother almost every night. The shop did its best to keep the creaking to a minimum so as to not spook the poor dears.

              Over the years the shop would come to learn their names as well as their magic. It loved all three of them, though she had a soft spot for Robin who was constantly trying to make the shop their home. Even when the old lady left, he was willing to fight for the failing shop, not wanting to give up and lose yet again. His magic replaced the old woman’s, giving it strength. Of course, he was not alone as the twins brought their own sparks. Sparrow filled the shop with song and tea, while Lark was laughter and smiling.

              Then there was the wandering magician, Asra.

              When he arrived, something clicked. The circle felt complete. The family was whole. Curiously Asra’s magic echoed that of Robin’s so it all just worked so well. Asra was a wonder, almost like an enhancement to the magic around him. The shop adopted him as well and welcomed him as he moved into the small room that once held the craggy witch. The shop took care of its children, protecting them and giving them shelter as they grew and changed. Those were happy years.

              Then came the plague and one by one the children disappeared. No one could hear the cry of anguish from the floor boards. The shop watched as one by one they left and never returned. Well, all except one. The wandering magician returned but he had changed. He no longer smiled like he used to. He tried but the shop knew. It knew very well the pain underneath. Even when he brought the doctor in, they would never go upstairs. No one was allowed upstairs, and no one was allowed in the big bedroom. Asra would sometimes stop there, hand hovering over the handle as if wanting to go in. But he would instead collapse with his back against the door and cry. The shop wished it had arms to hold him in those moments. It wondered if the pain would ever ease.

              And surprisingly it did, or rather…One night, the children returned. They did not walk through the door, they just appeared. Robin, Sparrow, and Lark returned and the whole shop instantly brightened. There was noise, confusion and shock, but over all there was magic in the shop again. It was the same, but different in a way. Something had changed clearly but the shop didn’t care. Its children had returned and there was life.

              Many things happened after that. There were new faces and old, a bit of drama, and then the city fell into chaos which the shop thankfully was not a part of because of its protections (never had it been so thankful for the old woman and her wards). Over time the shop watched the city become new, same with the people in it. The twins grew even more and soon they found their own spaces, though they were never far. Robin and Asra remained, keeping the magic flowing, though they didn’t remain as they once did. It became quiet. Not as quiet as before, but still quiet….

              But not really quiet.

              The children were never really gone for long and soon others came, filling the shop again with all sorts of magic and the magic shop felt alive again. It had missed feeling full, full of its family that loved it as their home. Luckily it would never have to worry about being empty ever again.

[platonic-qpr-selfshipping]

national goof off day, say something nice day, and embrace your geekness day ! :>

thank you so much for sending these <3 I'm gonna answer each one with a different f/o :D

National Goof Off Day - What do you two like to do together to destress?

About Asra. Any activity can start a nice, comfortable and de-stressing day with Asra. If I'm the one getting a little overwhelmed, he'll gently hold my hands to see if I'm open to touch at the moment and ask if I want to talk about it. His presence and his tea making skills are all I could ask for, but his voice and his words and perhaps a little joke here and there... He will also offer to do a tarot reading and have a non judgemental conversation. If im not mentally tired because of the stress, he'll take me out to somewhere new, but if I am he'll still suggest taking a nap in a realm where it'll only be us and nature. When he's the one feeling stressed, I bring him something he likes and ask him if there's something I can help him with. I dont mind what it is, I would read him some pages if he's too tired to do so but needs it for research, help him organise stuff or even do some planning in case he needs it or it helps him see things from another perspective and feel less weight on his shoulders. After some talking, I'd suggest to cuddle for a bit and he always loves the idea<3 I'll still be doing little things to take extra care of him during the next day, like taking him out to eat to his favorite place and kiss his forehead when he has to work again on whatever is causing him that stress. If we're both needing to destress at the same time, we can even just lay down together to recharge for a bit and then do any of the activities I mentioned before

Say Something Nice Day - What are your favorite qualities about each other?

About Mammon. He's actually so considerate and kind, always taking others into account and even putting them before himself and his needs even though he's the avatar of Greed. He has a heart of gold and loves everyone deeply, although he may not be the best at showing this, but I am very wary of details so I can't help but notice how he tries to be a cool example for Luke, how he's the first one to step up when his brothers need someone's help and how his words dont tend to reflect his actions but both are cute nonetheless. For him... I guess it could be my actitude? at first, it went unnoticed for him because I can be very quiet when there's not much trust between us, but he's the brother i would be spending most time with so it was only a matter of time for me to naturally become a bit more of a talker, and even an excited one when he accepted to listen to me about something that interests me a lot and even seemed to enjoy the conversation. After that? I would love if he's always trying to make me smile and get me all hyped up about something because he loves how happy I look like and talk in those moments, which also make him feel like expressing himself. It's all about feeling free and cared for <3

Embrace Your Geekness Day - Gush about your F/O's weird quirks or unconventional interests.

About Claude. This made me immediately think of him because how wouldnt I talk about Claude's interest in poison for this question. Also my headcanon is that he always makes tea somehow too hot and everyone has to wait for a kinda long time with the tea already poured into their teacups because that's still b o i l i n g. Continuing with the poison interest, there's the thought that he could have had to learn about the topic from a very young age because of his circumstances, but also the option of him learning about it out of curiosity and fun because he's built like that ig. It started as a joke to intimidate other classes but now he has books about it and different poisons and its specific uses throughout history and Raphael is gifting him any new ones his parents get

[fangaminghell]

So remember how a long time ago I mentioned how Asra is more confident when it comes to getting flustered compared to Imani and Leo.

By that I mean"the type to use their parasol to bring someone to their eye level, making sure saud persons eyes are only on them, say something cool and low-key mesmerizing and then let the person go and walk away like nothing has happened" type of confidence.

They are on a whole different game compared to Leo and Imani. They still get flustered, and sometimes too flustered to speak, but you know that if they are given the chance to make someone a flustered mess back they will.

[creamecream]

“Primmy, I hope you don’t mind, and it’s a bit small, but I tossed your shirt on when getting out of bed today, and the vest to keep it flatter on me...I really hope you don’t mind, it’s just what I grabbed first!”

Primrose belongs to @shinynymphia

[teeth-farie]

Moth to a Flame

Asra/Monster Reader

Notes: moth monster reader, gn reader, pre plague era

☞. . . A commission for @dicksoutformtl ! This a sfw commission (gasp!) surrounding a moth themed monster reader courting asra!

Nopal is Asra’s retreat. He knows people there, he helps people there. Vesuvia was difficult, but Nopal was his breath of fresh air. There, he wasn’t a pick-pocketer or a roadside magician, he was just him. Charming, gentle Asra.

And the nightlife of Nopal, that was something to dream of. Vesuvia may have been loud and glorious with its parties, but Nopal offered a familiar and almost reunion-like gathering; one where everyone was welcome. 

But most importantly, Nopal held a new friend. 

Asra was always known for making unusual friends in unusual places, and you were no different. What was different, however, was just how clingy you’d turn out to be. Really, it was no wonder; you were only accustomed to the deep dark night before, and Asra was a beckoning flame of ivory hair and golden freckled skin. You were a moth to a flame, in the most literal of senses.

Nimble hands push the brush aside, exposing a dark corner among the foliage. And to his surprise, low glowing eyes blink back at him. 

Amongst flowers and dead rats dropped at his feet, it didn’t take him long to assume that you liked him a bit more than he originally thought. And at this point, he welcomes your chittering songs with a smile and a laugh, attempting to whistle along with you to see the fluff around your neck bristle with contentment. 

And one day, as he mounts the Beast’s back for the ride back home to Vesuvia, you don’t just watch from the bushes, you trek forward on cautious feet, a hopeful gleam to your eye. 

“Do you…want to come back with me?” Asra asks. It’s not that he thought it'd never happen, but when. 

And you’re so unbelievably soft when you clamber onto the back of the Beast behind him, two more arms than usual curling around his waist for security and a fluffy coat tickling the back of his neck. It’s a feeling like no other for Asra, and he never wants to let it go.

He doesn’t think about how Muriel back home will think of his new friend, he’ll conquer that problem when it arises. Asra, after all, is notorious for his spontaneity. And when he hears your croaking laugh as the wind hits your delicate face, any worries he has melts away, falling behind the Beast’s trampling hooves to be forgotten. 

He remembers the first time he met you, under the bright moon and drifting lightning bugs, hidden in the foliage as the town's gathering danced and sang. Asra never anticipated this kind of discovery, but he doesn’t regret it at all. He doesn’t regret that night and he doesn’t regret taking you home with him. 

When he does return to the forest, to his shared home, Muriel doesn’t seem as apprehensive as he initially anticipated. Asra supposes it’s because you’re not really human. You toe across the line of his world and another, and that puts his best friend at ease; you aren’t in the realm of the people who have hurt him, and knowing that his grumpy friend hasn’t turned up his nose–that makes him fall for you even more. 

You quickly fall into place in your new home like you had been there since the beginning. The forest seemed to open around you, beckoning you inside in a way Asra had never seen before; and he wouldn’t be surprised if flowers bloomed under each of your steps. 

Asra watches as you explore the new terrain, investigating the long vines on the tree trunks and the bunches of mushrooms scattered in the moss. Your breed is built for the desert, but you had been so eager to follow him back into the cool forest of Vesuvia. 

Your throat emits a knocking sound, mimicking the woodpecker you see by the tall tree of the hut and you turn around to make sure he’s watching. In all the time he’s known you, you’ve never been so awestruck by your surroundings; you’re just amazed at how close you can be into Asra’s world.

Your courting doesn’t stop, in fact, it continues even more intensely. A nest made of his clothes and scarves, fresh game for hearty meals, a loud declaring song of love that made glass tremble, it all kept coming, and Asra encouraged it. Some may call him greedy for it, but to be wanted so completely, to be desired and wooed, it was a feeling like no other. Asra has never gotten what he’d wanted before, he always had to scavenge and search through the scraps for what he needed–but not now. Not anymore. If he was selfish for feeding your courtship, then so be it.

“And what’s this?” Asra asks with a smile, settling down by the crackling hearth across from you. You grin a grin full of sharp teeth, fanning your hand over the steaming pot, wafting the smell of rabbit stew to his nose. You trill lowly, taking a hardy scoop with the ladle and holding it to Asra’s lips; eagerly awaiting his approval. He leans forward, blowing gently before sipping the rich broth. The flavor bursts on his tongue and he wonders where you learned to cook so well. “It’s so good!” He exclaims, smacking his lips. 

“They’ve been sitting there all day,” Muriel says from the rickety table across the hut. “…kept making me taste test.” He confesses with an embarrassed grumble. Asra laughs loudly and you make a flustered croak. 

It’s under the bright, full moon that he completely becomes your mate, pressing his forehead against yours and burying his hands into the silky fluff collar of your neck and chest. Your wings flap idly, buzzing with contentment and joy. Asra likes to think he lives a life of excitement, but at that moment he felt truly euphoric. 

“I love you.” Asra breathes out, resting his forehead against yours. He’s never felt so full of pure love before. He feels your antennae twitch against his hair, swiveling and reaching. All four of your arms curl around him, holding him tight under the blanket of bright stars. “L…luvyu..” you croon, slowly and achingly through unaccustomed vocal cords. Asra beams regardless, laughing breathlessly against your lips. Love him, you did indeed. 

[the-apprentice-lia]

Hey! I saw that you do headcanons as well? Sorry if I’m asking in the right place but I loved your post on Asra’s hurt!! Could you possibly do the “mc getting slapped by the m6” ask please? My angsty little heart needs foodddd

hiii!! i’m so glad you liked my post:)) don’t worry, i’ll do my best to not cry when i’m writing this although it probably won’t work

i just wanna say that under no circumstances is it okay to hurt your partner!! please don’t take this post the wrong way:)

the main 6 slapping mc

asra

• it probably started because of how much he keeps from you. you know it’s just because he doesn’t want to see you hurt or unhappy because of how much of your life you’ve lost to your premature death, but it’s still so infuriating. you’re not a child, and you tell him as much.

• as much as you love each other, arguments can get messy. you know so much about each other that it’s difficult not to go for the soft parts in an argument, and you just snap.

• they’re probably running his hands through his hair, tears of frustration and pent up feelings slipping down his cheeks and catching the light of the many candles around the shop, making them glister strangely beneath the low light.

• “asra, you’re being ridiculous. how in the arcana am i supposed to know about who i was if you won’t fucking tell me?” you shout at them, crystals and glass bottles clinking together on the shelves.

• asra breaks, finally raising his voice as well, telling you that you’re acting like a child. you feel a twisted feeling of satisfaction at his loss of control. at least they’re actually treating you like a person— but you’re still so frustrated.’why can’t he just see that you’re not a china doll, easily broken and delicately made?

•you’re screaming now, tears blurring your vision. all you see is red. “if i’m acting like such a child then why did you even bother bringing me back? you should have just fucking left me to rot beneath the lazaret if you won’t so much as—” you’re cut off with a sharp crack.

• asra’s stronger than they look, and he wasn’t thinking as he lashed out in anger and pain, so you probably stumble back into the shelves behind you, or onto the counter of the shop.

• you touch your hand to your hot cheek with a dull feeling of surprise. it’s as if everything is through a haze, your gaze flickering up to meet asra’s horrified one as you take a step back, a dry sob heaving through your chest as your knees give out and you sink to the floor.

• “mc, i’m so sorry, i can’t— i don’t— please. i’m so sorry,” he stumbles over his words as he crouches before you, giving you enough space that you could easily leave. you don’t, and he breathes out slowly as they reach towards you and gently, heartbreakingly softly, cups your face to turn it towards him. he inhales sharply as he takes in your bruised cheekbone, red already beginning to spread outwards in the shape of his hand, and he flinches to see that he’s hurt you, his beloved apprentice.

• he opens his arms slowly, hesitantly, and you sink into them, burying your face in his scarves and then drawing back slightly with a faint hiss as your cheek touches the fabric, and he lets out a sob as well, burying his face in your sweet-smelling hair. murmurs “i’m sorry, i’m so sorry,” into you over and over again, rocking you back and forth on the floor of the shop.

• he’ll hurt for weeks after, even after the bruise fades, he’ll simply refuse to touch you for days after the incident. whispers “but what if i hurt you,” his voice breaking at the mere thought of it, and you cradle him to you, stroking his cheek as he shakes.

nadia

• the argument was probably about her refusing to ask for help. she’s been alone for so long that the refusal simply comes naturally. she has to prove that she can be successful alone, that she can make something of herself without anyone.

• at first, you tell her gently that she can trust you, that you’re always here for her, and that she doesn’t have to do this alone— but she doesn’t want to hear it, telling you insistently that she doesn’t need any help.

• “your dark circles would say otherwise, nadi! you can’t keep going on like this!” you tell her, your voice strained as you lay a hand on her arm. you just want to help her, but she won’t listen to you. “i can do it myself,” she tells you coldly, pulling away from you and turning back to her work. “i don’t need your help. i never have.”

• you feel the hurt blossom in your chest, but you try to push it down as you close her books, smudging the ink on a document by mistake. “nadi, please.” you tell her, but she doesn’t even seem to hear you as she opens her books and sets her jaw, looking at the ruined document. you bite your lip in dismay and go to apologise, but she cuts in before you get the chance. “you ruin everything. you’re such a nuisance, can you not find anything better to do with your time than to bother me? i am the countess of vesuvia, and i don’t need your help.” she’s shouting by the end of her outburst, and you recoil, hurt now showing across your face— but it’s quickly replaced by anger.

• you laugh disbelievingly, your voice spiteful and pained as you speak. “you don’t need my help? well that’s certainly a different tune than the one you were singing when you came to me in the middle of the night, asking for my help. and even then i gave it unbegrudgingly. you’re so stubborn, nadia! you’re so ridiculously naïve that you can’t even see that not everybody’s against you. so your sisters acted like every older sibling the world over, and excluded you from a few games. you carry grudges as if the world’s out to get you and nobody seeks to help you. you’re such a child! why—” your screaming cuts off at the sharp crack.

• you cry out at the sudden flare of pain. nadia’s also a lot stronger than she looks— i mean, she’s a master sword-fighter. and so, you stumble backwards into the marble table opposite her desk, turning away from her to catch your breath, your figure shaking with quiet sobs. everything seems to fall away, and you hold your arms around yourself in a poor attempt to keep your paroxysms of sobs quiet.

• nadia is completely silent. the jarring force snapped her out of whatever tired grumpiness she had been wallowing in, and now she’s just looking at her hands, a look of absolute horror twisting her features as she takes in the hand, resting palm-down on her knees, that she used to— to— she can’t even think about it. she has betrayed your trust, used your relationship, built on a foundation of love and mutual respect, to hurt you. it’s as if she’s seeing the world through a haze of disbelief. she’s taken advantage of your love for her, she’s physically violated you, and the thought of that leaves her physically ill. hot tears drop steadily into her lap, as she turns her hands over, and her eyes widen even more, if possible, with horror. blood glisters thickly on her index finger, coating the closest section to her palm where a golden ring sits. the countess of vesuvia never takes her rings off during the day, and she’s snapped out of her daze by the quiet hiss that comes from where you stand.

•when the first tears stream down your face, you hiss at the sharp pain, touching your fingers gently to your face and wincing as they come into contact with… is that a wound? you stare at them as they come away a deep, garnetine red. your hair is sticking to the blood running down your face from the wound. you sob dryly as the pain sets in, and by the gods it stings. it seems that even the air twists into your opened skin, burning sharply. you’re so lost in the mist of disbelief you barely notice when nadia comes up behind you.

• “my love?” her voice comes, softly, and you stiffen as she lays a hand on your upper arm. she withdraws it quickly as her voice breaks. “please, mc. say anything. look at me, i beg of you.” you don’t say anything for a minute before you inhale softly and turn to her.

• something in nadia breaks. she lifts shaking fingers up to her mouth as your eyes meet hers, and she takes in what she’s done to you. she’s sliced your upper-cheek open from just short of the bridge of your nose to almost the edge of your face. and the cut is deep. bruising spreads around it, in the shape of her hand, and she lets out a sob before dropping to her knees, taking your hand in hers. “by the arcana, mc, i am so, so sorry— i don’t know— i can’t— please, my love, i am so sorry,” she presses her forehead to your hand before you start to cry, sinking to your knees as well and burying your face in your hands, your shoulders shaking. you hiss softly as you draw your hand away and it comes away a glistening, wine-dark red.

• you flinch away from her as she comes to envelop you in a hug. “don’t. please,” you say softly, pulling yourself away from her. you leave bloodstains on the floor. her eyes hold inexplicable sorrow and remorse in them, as she nods haltingly, her heart breaking as she realises— you’re… afraid of her. later, she’ll bury her head into her pillow and sob her heart out but for now, she needs you to know to not be afraid of her. she loves you, you know that— and you need to know she’ll never violate the trust you put in her again.

• “mc… please. i’m so, so inexplicably sorry for what i’ve done to you. i promise it will never happen again.” her voice is soft, and she speaks to you as if you’re a wounded deer she’s found in the palace gardens, her voice breaking as she lets you see that she’s approaching you, her arms in front of her as she holds them out softly when she’s quite close to you.

• you look at her, meet her eyes with yours, and slowly settle into her embrace as she lets out a quiet sob of relief, burying her head in your hair. you pull away with a quiet gasp of pain when her hair meets your wound, and she cups your face (your good side) softly, stroking your cheek with her thumb as you close your eyes and she moves closer to you, giving you the time to pull away before her lips meet your forehead and she kisses you there gently before pressing one just above your cut and pulling you back to her, minding your cheek. you cry softly into her chest, and she does so into your hair. the two of you stay there until the blood starts to dry on your cheek and she stands, helping you up.

• “i’m taking you to the infirmary, dearest one.” “but… nadia.” you gesture to the state you’re in with a raised eyebrow. blood stains your collar and had dripped down your cheek in steady rivulets— and now your entire cheek is coated in blood. the cut itself is deep and thorough, splitting the skin so that the flesh beneath is easily visible, and the black, blue, and red flesh around your cut in the shape of nadia’s hand is enough that there is no room to doubt how your injury happened. “i’m your partner. there’s nobody else that would have done this— your entire court will know.” you look at her gently. “i can hide this.”

• and yet again, nadia’s heart is absolutely crushed. broken. shattered. “my heart, you should not have to hide what i have done. we’re going to the infirmary.”

• the entire way there, nadia weathers the stares and whispers with, for once, a bent head. you tighten your fingers around her hand— you know how important the favour of the court is. when you finally arrive, and you have to explain, haltingly, how you were injured, nadia gets a few looks of unbridled disgust as your injuries are treated. you squeeze her hand every now and again, and she looks at you gratefully. her eyes darken as you bite your lip roughly when the antiseptic meets it, your eyes watering as she strokes your hand, never taking her eyes away from you.

• afterwards, will absolutely doubt herself as a leader and a partner. no matter if you forgive her, no matter that the bruise fades and the wound heals, she’ll still always linger on your scar when she’s kissing your face, she’ll still murmur “i’m sorry, i’m so sorry, darling,” into your hair for months after.

• if anyone is so much as even vaguely disdainful towards you with respects to your scar, you’ll literally have to talk her down from having them thrown out/arrested. you forgive her, and she loves you with all of her— but when dark feelings surface now there’s absolutely nothing you can do that will even get a shadow of a rise out of her. is just calm and collected. never so much as raises her voice at you.

• will 100% look at you as you sleep and hate herself for harming you in any way.

hope you enjoyed the angst fest!! these were so long— but i’ll do the next four periodically:)

[the-iron-orchid]

Apprenticember, Day 12

What does their home look like? Their room?

(Image just for vibes; I'm still working on a fully-furnished 3D set for Jinana's bedroom!)

Jinana adores color and texture, and tends to furnish hir home with a riot of eclectic items and different textiles. Both Heron and Asra frequently bring back colorful fabric, interesting tiles, and lots of shiny knickknacks for Jinana to feather hir nest with.

The living area above the shop is initially quite open; going up the stairs, one arrives in the tiny kitchen area, with a rickety little table and two chairs. The sleeping area is fully visible from here, consisting of a small bed, a chest that doubles as a night stand, and some rustic shelves hung on the walls. The small bathroom has running water, as much of Vesuvia does thanks to the aqueduct system, and a copper tub that is barely big enough to hold Jinana.

After the events of ToC, Nadia buys up the building adjacent to the shop and gifts it to them as a place for Julian to run his new clinic, along with the services of a work crew to refurbish it accordingly. While they are away in Nevivon, the upper levels of the two buildings are merged into a single floor, from which one may descend into either the shop or the clinic. This floor comprises an actual bedroom with some privacy (and built-in shelving), a slightly larger kitchen, a shared workspace, and a bathroom with a tub large enough to hold both Jinana and Julian.

Heron takes it upon himself to restore the kitchen furniture, give them an actual armoire for their clothing, and replace the tiny bed with a very special one of his own design, large enough for Julian to stretch out on without any of his limbs hanging off, and engineered to be both convenient and safe for his known... proclivities.

After, all, Heron is a Good Friend who wants them to have a Nice Time. :)

[ghoulfriendfangs]

◓ PokéArcana - Asra’s Team ◓

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Masterpost *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Dratini (Faust)

✧ I chose dratini for Faust, mostly because dratini is the snake Pokémon which most resembles her!

✧ Additionally, dratini is known as the mirage Pokémon, and according to the dex, they’ve been thought of as a myth due to their rarity.

✧ A magical, rare Pokémon for a magical, rare boy!

Hatenna

✧ Another magical themed Pokémon, with her little wizard cap and strong psychic powers.

✧ Her hair even resembles Asra!

✧ Hatterene is the calmest of the hatterene line. I couldn’t give Asra a hattrem or heaven forbid a hatterene, because according to the dex,

“No matter who you are, if you bring strong emotions near this Pokémon, it will silence you violently.”

✧ Poor Asra would start pining for mc and hattrem would go beserk.

✧ But that being said, the Pokédex entry for hatenna is much more fitting.

If this Pokémon senses a strong emotion, it will run away as fast as it can. It prefers areas without people.

✧ Just like how Asra has to cope with his intense feeling by fucking off to Nopal every five minutes!

Polteaguist 

✧ Of course, I had to give Asra a tea Pokémon!

✧ I also gave Asra a polteaguist, and Nadia a sinistea to represent their friendship. I can imagine that one gave the other an egg as a gift, which grew into sinistea / polteaguist.

Zorua

✧ Between zorua being a fox, as well as them being the illusion Pokémon, they seem a perfect fit for Asra!

✧ Zorua is known for their shapeshifting ability, using them to pull pranks on humans and Pokémon alike.

Floette

✧ On one hand, Floette is a reference to Asra’s favorite flower, nightshade.

✧ Also, I really wanted him to have at least one fairy type! Why not one of the most iconic fairy types?

✧ On the other… I absolutely had to pick floette, considering the parallels between Asra’s route and the plot to Pokémon X/Y.

✧ MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE ARCANA AND POKÉMON X/Y: In the games, 3,000 years ago, a character named AZ had a Floette as his partner Pokémon. But the Pokémon tragically died. In his grief, he built a machine which harnessed the life energy of Pokémon, to ressurect his friend. You can see how this parallels Asra.

Delphox

✧ The last Pokémon in a team will generally represent their patron Arcana, and this is no different.

✧ Delphox is a fox magician, the Magician is a fox magician, it just works!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Thank you for reading! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

[ahjustroza]

I send a request a long time ago and i think tumblr eated it, just to check did you receive a request of Sage with a s/o that is insecure about him being a womanizer in the past and thinks she may not be attractive enough for him?

I did! It just took me forever to finish... Sorry about that I'm trying to write faster now lol.

Insecure MC Headcanons

Love, Sage is bi

So he didn't only have female partners.

I said in my previous headcanons that Sage never wanted a 'strings attached' relationship with anyone until he met you.

He actually had a relatively sad life as he lived in poverty and had someone he had to keep alive since childhood.

So Sage had to grow up way too early and survive the streets as a kid

Doing gigs here and there to feed Tulsi and give her a comfortable life

Sage is a self-sacrificing character similar to Asra. Just in different ways.

He never wanted to settle down because he didn't have the time to.

He didn't want to have a partner in his life during the war between Starsworn and Lord of Shadows as well

He was too focused on survival and fighting the revived dead while keeping his sister safe that love wasn't even a thought in his mind.

However, he did use sex and alcohol as a coping mechanism

Perhaps he wanted an escape for a couple of hours or wanted to feel free for a while

Or feel anything at all...

So his sexual past and flirting have no deeper meaning to him compared to what you two have between you.

Sage has this huge wall he built around him to maintain his merc life.

Emotions would fuck him over so most of the time he had to close his heart to it

But you?

You changed everything.

You changed him.

He can now sleep in peace at night because you are by his side

He can trust you to protect him during his most vulnerable states.

It was never about the looks of you

Well at first he thought you were like a lost kitten for sure, but he wasn't planning to like you in a different way

He only accepted to train you because Felix gave him money, didn't he?

So it wasn't love at first sight

Which is a very important detail!

You are the first and only one to pass through his cold walls and see Sage as who he is

He didn't have to explain himself to you

Never

Not even once

You could read him as no one could before

Gave him space when he needed

Offered him your support and got concerned for his well being

Showed him that you are on his side and he didn't have to worry anymore

You were just too selfless with him

Kind, caring...

He then started to develop feelings he was unfamiliar of

He never had a chance to fall in love with a classmate in middle or high school like other kids

And he definitely never had a chance to experience love other than physical love as an adult

So he didn't know what to do with himself at first.

He tried to deny it

Run away even

But each time he came back to you running.

He started to notice that he felt safe around you which was another unusual feeling for him

Then he started to talk to you

Told you things he never dared to tell anyone before

He fell so hard for you in time

When he admitted his feelings to himself he started to share everything he owns with you

He let you touch his stuff

Comb his hair, which was a dealbreaker

Shower with him

went on dates with you even though you claimed that those weren't official dates

"Isn't this a date?" he asked one day while you were combing his hair.

"Isn't this a date?"

He doesn't care where you are or what you are doing, each moment you spend together is a date for him

Every bonding moments were important for him.

Hell you could just sit in your room all day and do nothing and Sage would still take it as a quality time

He is fine being silent with you too

Just be around him

Just let him feel your presence...

After you two officially became a couple people around him were surprised

When they met you however they were all relieved.

Because you are strong and independent

You don't fear to fight for what you love and know when to lower your guards and be genuine

They see that Sage is now less depressed and gets better every day.

You are healing him.

He now only sees you.

No other person seems attractive compared to your beauty in his eyes.

If he could see Beyonce he would still choose you over her, he is that in love with you.

The bond between you gets so strong that he doesn't even have to ask you to understand whatever is bothering you.

He is a himbo catman but when needed he will sit down and make serious talk with you for hours

He'll tell you how beautiful and important you are to him over and over again until you believe him

He'll tell you what he loves about you

What you sacrificed for him and how no one ever did half of the things you did for him

Let me remind you, people, that Sage is afraid to touch you because he is too in love with you

He only caresses your cheek with the back of his fingers

Softly, feather-like

And he looks at you the way that you know he is melting inside.

He loves you so much that he wants to cry sometimes

Your beauty is overwhelming him

He only wants to hold you tight and sleep for days with you pressed against his chest.

He wants you to pet his head and tell him how much you love him.

Sage will love you so much that your insecurity won't last for long.

[autisticaradiamegido]

do you have any fan trolls? trollsonas? do show

day 66

sssorta? i have a sburb au for my d&d characters, and i decided to make half of them trolls. i didnt bother changing their names to fit the typical homestuck naming conventions, but their backstories in this are necessarily pretty different than their og ones.

but that means yall dont need to have played d&d with me to understand what im talking about so! infodump under the cut

The main conceit of their adventure is that Victavyre and Davril (who originally were both played as eldritch knights for lost mines of phandilver/princes of the apocalypse at 2 separate tables) are the first two to enter the game, and their entries are Circumstantially Simultaneous. They both think they're playing a four-player session with their friends, but they end up on opposite sides of the same medium in the same way the hivebent trolls had a bifurcated session.

When Davril wakes up on Prospit, he encounters not only a sleeping Elis, but also Szelseis and Arastina. He thinks they are just weird reoccurring dream demons until he encounters Victavyre in the medium. They get their teams in touch with each other and gradually arrange to daisy-chain the two sessions together. Adventures ensue and all that.

Victavyre and Arastina (originally tieflings) are sisters in their og backstories, so in this au they are simply two grubs who were adopted by the same lusus (who i think is going to be some sort of two-headed creature, each head instinctively adopting a grub of its own).

Szelseis (originally a yuan-ti pureblood) has a giant snake lusus, and he HATES her. He keeps her around because he likes to start shit and it is useful to have a big snake around to eat your enemies when they come knocking. But he and his lusus have a very contentious and semi murderous relationship.

Hella (originally a water genasi) is a seadweller! no lusus shes just out in the ocean vibing and keeping it tight.

Davril (originally a halfling) is sort of bopped around various foster homes, and considers his most consistent family member to be his pet rat, Wink, who he eventually sprites and it is very cute but also Rat Enemies. Final boss is da giant rat who makes all OF da rules?? idk.

Esvele (originally a homebrew race similar to warforged, a human soul in a robot body) has kind of a combo of aradia and jades' robot situations? following the onset of a terminal illness, her mom (a talented scientist) built her a soulbot and she's been in there ever since. but robots don't die naturally so she ended up being passed down the line of guardianship from talented roboticist to talented roboticist throughout the 20th century, her chassis and power source being updated with whatever new technology as it came along. I like to think she eventually is able to do an aradia and come back god tiered somehow but idk, i sort of think its cool if she just stays a robot since thats how her og campaign went.

Asra (originally an aasimar) lives with her mom who is Very Important in her community (im thinking possibly the mayor of a small town) and asra has major gifted kid burnout about it.

Elis (ok hes not "originally" anything because i havent technically played him yet. hes a human wizard based on a random mini and set of dice i got in a blind bag last year and ive been trying to build him into something interesting ever since. im not even sure what kind of magic he DOES i just know hes some kind of wizard and im hoping developing his personality will inform what hes into. i mostly wanted an even number of humans and trolls for this and hes my most recent standby character ANYWAY) i dont have much for him hes just a lil guy. hes goth and eccentric and he likes wearing a lot of fucking layers.

[thefools-journey]

So. Some of you may be wondering why we haven’t written a whole ton about the secondaries or what have you. Here’s the reason: we were waiting for them to end before we really dug into the problems we were noticing. We felt that it was only fair to wait for the routes to finish so that we had an understanding of the writers’ vision. Who knew, we thought, maybe they would see the problems themselves and course correct, maybe they are building to something we can’t quite see yet and these issues will have actual payoff, maybe-

In light of Muriel and Lucio’s endings, and the general mess that has dominated Portia’s route for a year plus now, we are breaking our silence. We are actually going to talk about this shit show.

The fandom at large has talked about a bunch of issues with the secondaries but for me, the cardinal sin, the thing that really all the issues lead back to, is this: the writers lost sight of the tarot themes which so strongly defined and held together the primary routes. Let me explain.

The primary routes each center around three thematic cores:

The Love Interest’s Major Arcana and its Reversed/Upright meanings

The MC’s Fool’s Journey, both how it can go right and how it can go wrong

A question about the MC’s identity and their relationship to said identity

Asra’s route asks: Who was the MC? How does the MC navigate a past they cannot and will not remember? What do they owe a past they cannot remember? How do they handle the revelations of what Asra, Nadia, Julian, etc did? How do you right the past? Can you?

Nadia’s route asks: Who is the MC? The MC has no past. Are they the Fool only? Are they actually the same person they were? How can they tell? Who are they, really? Are they an imposter? No one can answer these questions for them.

Julian’s route asks: Who will the MC become? How does the MC see their future? Is there anything worth fighting for for that future? What will become of them and their loved ones? 

Now, if you notice, these themes are expertly woven throughout the primaries. Asra’s past dominates his route, Nadia is also missing memories and trying to construct her identity both with her family and with Vesuvia, and Julian’s fear of the future drives his flailing for control. Asra has to learn to take a broader view of his actions to get his Upright Ending, Nadia has to learn to trust herself and those around her for hers, and Julian has to learn how to let go for his. These lessons are the issues their cards stand for. The primaries are so dang elegant and delicate in their handlings of theme it is honestly awe-inspiring.

Thematically, the secondary routes have completely lost their hearts. First of all, the MC does not have strong, core questions which need to be answered. They just don’t. I suppose the writers did not want to retread old territory (which is weird considering how tightly bound the primaries are; it really tricks you into thinking you’re living the same events but from different angles depending on your route) but they did not replace the old with anything new. Muriel’s route is, on the surface, about discovering and owning his past, the good and the bad. Why not tie MC’s self-discovery to that story? Or they could have taken the angle that Muriel’s route is about convincing him to be present and active in the world while MC builds an identity for themself outside of Asra, the shop, and the memories they cannot retrieve. Why not tie the investigation themes running through Portia’s early route back to MC and their past? Portia has the unique angle of being as in the dark as MC about all of this, why not discover the past together? And for goodness’ sake, Lucio has no future when his route begins, why not tie that to his need for growth, responsibility, and MC’s own future between the Fool, the Devil, or something mortal and in between?

Secondly, the routes lost their tarot backbone. We have a primer on how to get specific endings for each LI and it still holds, but the writers did not follow through on the thematic coherence of each secondary. The Hermit is looking for something, be it perspective, insight, a solution to a problem, whatever. The key here is that the Hermit must find or learn what they are searching for, this thing must change their understanding of the world, and finally, they must bring this lesson back to the world from which they retreated. Can someone please enlighten me as what exactly Muriel learns then teaches the world around him? Nothing Muriel learns from Morga, MC, or even the Hermit ties back into anything. The Devil warns that you are out of control and exerting a lot of manipulative, destructive behavior on the world around you. It asks you to take responsibility for yourself and your actions. So can someone tell me why Lucio’s route actively avoids any interaction or reflection on two of Lucio’s biggest victims: Muriel and Julian? Why does the route only try to make amends with the “easier” of his victims in the cast? The Star is first and foremost the card of clarity, the light at the end of the tunnel. Perseverance, if you will. Yet Portia’s route has been the muddiest of the trio; the writers drop the investigation aspect of her route in favor just handing her and MC information they could have easily found and muddying the waters with Tasya (she blows up the palace but it’s all okay bc she has a secret daughter Julian never thought to bring up or mention) and the complete removal of the Devil as antagonist. 

So that leaves just the Fool’s Journey trying to hold this stool up with only one leg. And well...it doesn’t go well. At best, the secondary route books pay the barest surface level homage to the themes of the individual cards. At worst, they ignore the cards completely. Muriel's Moon book has nothing to do with illusions or delusions or lies or even an Alice in the Looking Glass upside down world. Portia's back half is a complete and utter mess, starting with her Temperance book being so badly mangled that Muriel's aftermath book does it better. Lucio's route too bungles the Tower and the Star. There just isn't enough here to carry the routes alone.

Add to the core loss the loss of intertextuality. The primary routes are very good, even great but they too do have their moments and mistakes. What helps strengthen them when the cores stumble is how the trio is woven together. Things you learn in Asra's route can inform the way you play Nadia's, for example. Julian's route informs what is going on in Asra's route and slots some missing puzzle pieces together. Nadia's route tells you of the power struggles she is facing and informs the other two routes' handling of Julian and his trial. On and on, the three routes support each other because they are built out of the same basic plot beats, just tackled in very different ways. Now, the writers are allowed to try and write whatever they want. They apparently wanted to be more experimental and less tied down to an overarching plot with the three secondaries. Okay, fine, they are allowed to do that. The problem is that they sacrificed one of the key strengths of the primary trio and didn't replace said strength with anything else. They also, on some level, harmed the very premise of the game, which is that only the player's choices and route selected change the overall plot. Instead of feeling like legitimate possibilities or offshoots of the same timeline/plot, the secondaries feel almost like Arcana AUs. The secondaries throw out all relations to the primaries and each other as quickly as possible and for what? 

It is probably the height of arrogance to suggest fixes for works whose behind the scenes I do not know. At the same time, some small, obvious changes could have salvaged Muriel and maybe Lucio's endings (rip Portia). Instead of having the Hermit appear as a disappointing cameo, why not have him say something cryptic to Muriel, then have MC start trying to seal the Devil. Then let Muriel use his forget me mark to cloak MC and hide them from the Devil's attacks. Protecting MC by hiding them from Lucio, keeping him focused on Muriel, seems to me a simple third solution between Muriel's desire to run and his desire to never fight again. It lets him stand up to Lucio and let him have it while holding onto who Muriel has become. The Reversed End would have MC try to draw Lucio's attention at some point, disrupting the sealing, and eventually leading to Muriel killing the Devil. With Lucio's Upright End, I just have to ask: why doesn't MC fully claim the power of the Fool instead of the Devil? We don't need the other Arcana involved in this fight; we have three routes that demonstrate that. Just have MC pull Scout into the conflict, then have Lucio tell MC he believes in them, then add his power to the mix. You got yourself a full Fool who leaves Scout guarding the realm until they and Lucio's mortal bodies fail and they return to the realm to be together forever. Boom, you're done, you can even add some ambiguous lines so that players can decide how happy their MC is with this arrangement, send me the check.

Here is the bottom line. Our group is full of aroace, and several combinations therein, individuals. We are the last group who should have gotten into a dating sim of all things. But the Arcana did something with the primaries that was special; they wrote a compelling plot with dazzling lore, complex characters, and strong themes wrapped up in a dating sim bow. The writers know better and we know they know better. I do not know what happened with the secondaries, especially around books 10-11, which is where minor issues slowly start spiraling into major ones, but it is clear that Nix Hydra needed some more planning before they released these routes. Hopefully they will learn.

TL;DR: Nix Hydra fired their tarot consultants about eighteen months ago and it has wrecked their secondary routes until they were just embarrassments. They never intended for the secondary routes to even exist and once they had to make them, they scrambled and threw out everything that made the primaries work.

- Mod Telos

[to-the-stars8]

The Lamentation of the Apprentice

Parings; Past Female!Apprentice x Asra Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Ao3

Chapter 4

Muriel's little corner of the world was beautiful. The walk from the city to the woods came with a drastic difference. We walked miles from seeing people to suddenly seeing none. The sound of birds singing and the rustling of leaves replaced the endless echo of people talking. It was utterly serene. When we did make it to the place his home was, it was apparent that Muriel was an outcast from society. His hut, built with stone into an old tree, gave a warmth that only homes so welcoming to those close had. A place where secrets could be said a loud and kept safe.

Yet when I first met Muriel, excited with hope to make a new friend, he slammed the door in my face. Muriel was in the clearing in front of his home when Asra and I appeared, bent over his unnaturally tall frame to feed the chickens that clucked around him. When he looked up, deep green eyes meeting mine, I was surprised by how handsome he was.

Asra had made him sound as if he was war-torn from how he described Muriel. Years in the woods had bulked him to the point that his scarred muscles were well-defined, and, even the few feet I stood away from him a heavy scent of myrrh reached the air--The smell seemed to follow him.

Standing straight, Muriel pushed his oily, long black hair away from his face to properly give me a once over before retreating back into his hut, the chain around his neck clinking as he did so.

I looked at Asra with utter horror. What had I done to upset him? What did Asra tell him? The questions whirled in my head as I tried to make sense of what wrong I had done in such little time. Asra watched as his friend disappeared behind the door, an absolute momentarily look of disappointment crossed his face before returning neutral.

He sighed and patted me on the back with reassurance. “Worry not, Muriel is uncomfortable around new people. He is much more kin to the green of the Earth rather than the people who live on it.”

A bit of relief pushed at the negative thoughts. “I am glad that I did not offend him in any way. I was afraid of having done such.”

“No, but,” The magician leaned in close to whisper to me. “Do not ask of his chains.”

Not thinking much of it, I nodded and then followed Asra through the door of the hut. Compared to the cooler weather outside, the inside was perfectly warm.

Never before had I seen a house built into a tree, so I wondered at it. Tree roots came in through the ceiling, and were utilized to hang pans, herbs, and furs. As I passed a root with white fur on it, I brushed my hand against it. It was smooth, perfectly silky. Every piece of wood furniture seemed to be carved by hand, the hand I only assumed was Muriel’s.

Sat in front of the hearth, the man seemed to curl into himself, only looking at me through awkward side glances. I smiled at him as Asra introduced me. Over his shoulders was a cloak that he pulled to himself as we entered and a gush of winter wind followed us.

“Muriel, this MC, my friend from the shop I told you of.”

Still, he made no move to introduce himself but acknowledged my existence with a sharp nod. Asra motioned for me to sit on the furs close to Muriel’s feet. Before I did, I looked to the man for any hesitance, but his face remained the same--Placid, though a bit anxious. I sat and watched the fire Asra himself got comfortable on my other side.

The room fell into silence. My hands twirled the beads on my bracelet anxiously. Would no one say anything? When I looked up, across the room a black fur moved. Gasping, I watched as a wolf’s head appeared from the mass. With grace, the wolf stood, yellow eyes staring into mine.

“You must be the wolf, Asra mentioned earlier,” I said, holding out a hand for the animal to sniff. “I am MC.”

“Her name is Inanna,” A stranger’s voice said.

Ah, yes, that was the name, I thought. A moment later I looked back at Muriel, surprised that it was his voice that spoke. It was soft, in a whisper-like way but gravelly, too. Nodding shyly, I looked back at Inanna, smiling. “Did you name her, Muriel?”

“No, she told me her name.”

Asra interjected, “She is Muriel’s familiar.”

“Ah,” I said as I watched Inanna sniff my hand and then walk around to the other side of her companion to lay. “Inanna is a name of a goddess that lives further south from Helene.”

Muriel’s eyes meet mine for a moment, and he looked as if he was pondering something. Still, he said nothing as his eyes looked over to Asra and then back down to his hands. Never before had I noticed, but he was whittling a small figure. His hands were too big for me to see anything, but I could make out the attention he was paying to them. His eyebrows were knitted together in concentration and, by the small indention on his face, he was biting the inside of his cheek.

It had become quiet again, and the four of us stayed in it. Somehow, it had become less uncomfortable and more understanding. Muriel did not seem like a person who spoke much but conveyed enough with his face. When I had started to settle more comfortably into the silence, listening to the fire crackle, the magician to my side spoke.

“MC,” Asra yawned as he laid back into the furs. Already his eyes were starting to droop. “Do you play?”

His head nodded over to a mandolin leaning against the wall. It was carved with dark cypress wood and on the body were intricate golden swirls painted. I was mesmerized for a moment.

“MC?” Asra said again.

“Yes, I do. I have not played in some time, though.”

Getting up with a grunt, Asra retrieved the instrument from the wall. He put it into my lap before settling back down as he was again. The wood was smooth, fresh from the shop I was sure. Muriel watched from the corner of his eyes as I positioned myself with the instrument on my lap and moved over to give me room. I tuned the instrument as I addressed the magician, “Asra, are you sure? I do not remember some notes, so it--”

Asra put a hand on mine. “You will play fine. I saw the one in your shop the other day and thought I would try learning it myself. Break it in for me?”

Annoyance tugged at the corners of my mind, and I thought of returning his request with a smart jab, but none came to mind. Sighing, I readied my fingers on the strings. A song came from the strings I played, something that must have been sitting in the back of my mind. To myself I sounded fine, my fingers remembered most of the notes and the strings corrected me when out of turn. Only once, when I had plucked the wrong note, the whole song sounded off, but when I looked to my audience for displeasure they waited in silence for me to continue.

The time I had played, which it seemed for such a short amount for how long I really did play, was lost. Asra had said I played for an hour, so entranced that I could not be stopped. When my fingers did cease their movements, the magician laid his head against my thigh, humming the tune I must have been playing before. Muriel, on the other hand, seemed indifferent, though looked at me momentarily when the music stopped for good.

I put the mandolin along Asra’s stomach, and he whined that the music had stopped. He tried to put it back in my hands, but I refused, pushing the mandolin away. “I will play no more,” I said softly. “My hands are tired.”

“...You play well,” Muriel mumbled as the magician slid the instrument from us.

“She does!” Asra exclaimed through a yawn, stretching like a cat. His arms raised above his head and he arched his back off the furs. “A magician and musician. I believe you covered all the most important ‘m’s.”

Laughter carried off in the air, mine and Asra’s, while Muriel made a snort through his nose. Then, like a flame blown out, we returned to our comfortable silence. Asra slept for the rest of our stay there while Muriel and I shared a few words as his hands whittled.

-- I was watching Muriel feed his chicken, my fingers running through Inanna’s fur as he did when Asra appeared from the hut. He looked pleased that Muriel and I were getting along. For the most part, I believed we were. We hadn’t exchanged more words than I could count on both my hands, but he responded to the few I did say with grunts and nods. It was a start.

When the sun had started to drop behind the trees, Muriel packed up the food for the chickens and then started for the woods wordlessly. The woods were dark, but, in the very far distance, I could see the blue light of magic or spirits. We had something similar back home. I looked to Asra for answers, but he only called after him.

“I will be walking MC home, Muriel.”

He only threw back a half-hearted wave of goodbye.

“It was a pleasure, Muriel! I hope to see you again,” I called out as well.

Muriel looked over his shoulder for a moment before disappearing into the trees.

The walk back seemed shorter than the walk to the hut. Asra did not take his time showing me all the flowers or pointing out any of the birds as it got harder to see through the dim light coming through the branches of the trees. I held onto his arm as we walked, which he had offered me after my second time tripping on a branch. He felt warm against the cold winds that blew harsher, showing that, soon, a storm would rise. Nothing new to Vesuvia, I had learned in the past few months. As we left the woods, it became brighter, city lights appeared as darkness finally took over the sky, but I did not let go of Asra’s arm. The way I held onto him wasn’t intentional, as I was too distracted by the lights and people to really let go. Asra seemed not to mind and leaned into my side as we walked. I hadn’t noticed he’d done that until we reached the shop door.

I broke my release on him as I went to unlock the door, and he finally moved away from me. When the lock clicked and I stepped inside, Asra stayed on the steps, looking up at me with such hesitation. With a snap of my fingers, the lantern hanging on the door lit, and Asra’s face became clearer. A blush was on his cheeks with purple eyes still staring at me, expectantly.

“Would you like to come in for a bit?” I had asked, thinking he was waiting for me to let him in. “To warm-up before leaving.”

Asra shook his head. “No, I must be returning. I--I have something to ask you, first, MC.”

My heart jumped with anxiety and excitement. A thousand possibilities came through my mind in a revolving door. In the seconds I waited for him to say something, the weight between good and absolutely horrible had nothing in the middle. Trying to egg on an answer from his silence, I nodded and waited for him to say something. When he didn’t I asked him to continue.

Asra looked to the ground, before meeting my eyes again. His starry eyes are so determined and focused. “The masquerade is in a month, do you know of it?” Of course, I did, it had been everything, anyone I came across talked about. Essentially a big birthday party to boost the ego of the horrid Count Lucio, but, over the past ten years, had turned into a tradition. Masks, games, music--Everything that made up a party, and all of Vesuvia was invited.

I told Asra I did, and he continued on. “Would you be my partner at the masquerade this year?”

My breath left me all at once, and I stared at him for what felt like hours. He said my name again, eyes pouring into mine as he waited for the answer. I blubbered out some sort of response at first. Confusion plastered across Asra’s face.

“Ahem,” I regain my composure, standing straight. “Yes. I would love to.”

A grin grew across his face and his eyes lit up. “Fantastic. I was nervous to ask you. I will bid you goodnight now.”

He started down the steps before stopping, turning to me quickly as I started to shut the door. “Oh, MC--”

“Yes?”

“I will be leaving for a few weeks tomorrow, so please do not be worried if you do not see me.”

My mind wondered for a moment before asking, “Where will you go?” I didn’t know why my voice had become so soft.

“Nopal, it’s a bit north of the city,” Asra pointed west despite saying the near opposite. I noted the wanderlust in his eyes and admired him for it.

I found myself stepping out from inside to stand on the landing to put my hands on Asra’s shoulders. Leaning over, I placed a kiss on his cheek. “May your journey be safe, Asra.”

His skin was soft under my lips and I heard his breath stop for a moment. When I pulled back his face was flushed, cheeks, ears, and neck all red. My face felt hot, too, despite how used to the affection I was. In Helene, it was common to kiss people close to you before their long journey. Fear suddenly rose in my chest, perhaps I was not as close to Asra as I had thought, and overstepped my bounds.

“Goodnight,” I said quickly before rushing inside, slamming the door shut behind me.

In the shop I grabbed my chest where my heart was in hopes to calm its pounding, but alas it did not work. Gulping back the anxiety bubbling up my throat, I held my shawl closer around my shoulders then bolted upstairs.

My room felt cold and empty compared to Muriel’s hut, and, for a second, I longed to be there with them. Perhaps if my knowledge and closeness to them were better. Gods, frustration burned in my chest at the thought of kissing someone who I had realized in a few seconds I was not at all that close to.

Despite my temporary hatred for myself, I still took my time to peek out the window before retiring to bed. Asra stood below, looking up at my window with an untelling glint in his eyes. When his gaze reached mine, it was not I who ran this time, but him. He smiled as he did so, yelling something that was muffled by the window glass. I would have called out to him, to have him repeat what he said, but he was gone by the time the thought passed.

[ikeromantic]

Hi I couldn’t contain myself, I had to request something for Arcana’s Asra too! Could I pretty please request Earth, Rowan Tree and Polyhymnia for Asra? I’m so curious to see how you’ll surprise us, this celebration request format is so fun ^ - ^ thank you in advance, I’m sure it’ll be amazing! (as always ;) XOXO

I adore Asra. He was my first Arcana route and I find him absolutely precious. His story was so good and the CGs are fantastic. So! Approx. 650 word on themes of Earth, Rowan - travel, and Polyhymnia - the sacred or divine.

I watched Julian’s face with a mixture of affection and exasperation. This was at least the third time today he’d asked, “But where are you going?”

“Julian. Think of it like a pirate voyage, where new sights are the treasure and the next port is wherever we want it to be.” 

The doctor’s lips twisted into a grimace. “It’s not the same at all! You don’t even know when you’ll be back.”

Asra’s arm slipped around my waist. He leaned against me and brushed a tender kiss across my cheek. “Are you packed?”

“Nearly everything.” 

Julian huffed. “I don’t see how you even know what or how much to bring when you can’t say where you are going or for how long.”

I shared a look with Asra then we reached for Julian and pulled him into a hug. “I promise we’ll come back, even if I can’t say when just yet. And I’ll write.”

“We’ll write,” Asra nodded.

“You better.” Julian hugged us tightly. 

We let go and stepped back. I smiled. “Time to lock up and head out then.”

Asra and I stopped on a hillcrest outside the city to turn and look back at Vesuvia. There were so many memories bound up in that place. I was glad to leave it behind for a little while. To make new memories in new places with the one I loved. 

I took his hand and already I could feel the shiver of magic beneath his skin. The dense, sweet aura of his power. I joined mine to his, and together we opened a portal to the realms. 

We stood with our feet rooted to the earth, solidly in our world and looked out into a strange new land. One where intention and will meant more than physical laws. “Are you ready,” I asked, echoing Asra’s own question to me not so very long ago.

He laughed, a warm sultry sound that sent a different kind of shiver down my spine. “I believe I finally am.” His amethyst eyes were warm as they swept over me. “It took so long and I almost thought I’d lost you for good. But here we are. And I think it’s right where we are supposed to be.”

“Setting out on hidden paths through strange country?” I grinned.

“Hand in hand, wherever the road takes us.” He kissed me then, a slow, gentle press of his lips to mine, an almost shy brush of his tongue at my lips. Honey-sweet and hot as a summer afternoon, a lush kiss that built between us with the give and take of breath. There was something divine in our intimacy. A sacred space we created with love and touch. 

I pulled back, feeling almost dizzy from the embrace. Around us, the air sparked with a heady mix of magic and desire. “Let’s continue this on the other side.”

“I plan to go as far as you will let me take you.” 

Together we stepped from solid ground and into the shifting land of the realms. The forest we stood in blurred around us for a moment, resolving into a meadow of soft grass. The branches whispered overhead and cast patchwork shadows on the green below. 

“I was thinking something more . . . inside?” I laughed. Though I’d meant it as a joke, the space around us shifted again, and instead of a meadow, we stood before a small cottage. 

“You’re getting better at this kind of travel than I am,” Asra said. “Let’s see where you’ve brought us - or what you brought to us.” 

“I hope it’s a place with a bath big enough for two . . .”

His fingers traced a circle on the inside of my wrist, sending a frisson of sensation up my arm. “Oh I think there will be. And a big, soft bed. With enough pillows to get lost in.”

“Sounds like heaven,” I laughed.

“Anywhere with you would be.”