#boom under 1k i've destroyed my demon

[ginger-canary]

Let’s Talk About the Orb

852 words

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Dimension 20 (Web Series), Fantasy High

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Ayda Aguefort & Kristen Applebees, Adaine Abernant & Ayda Aguefort, Kristen Applebees/Tracker O'Shaughnessey (minor)

Characters: Ayda Aguefort, Kristen Applebees, Adaine Abernant, Fig Faeth (minor), Gorgug Thistlespring (minor), Tracker O'Shaughnessey

Additional Tags: famous au, where the twist is we're not doing it the easy way, u think research can't get u anywhere think again everyone knows darwin, D20bingo

Summary:

Ayda's a famous researcher. Kristen's the prophet of Cassandra. Adaine's the oracle. You'd think that means they get to decide what they do because they have a lot of power, right? Sike. Please enjoy this little story about them escaping an elitist event to go hang in a cafe.

AO3 link here or use the read more down below. For the @dimension20bingo slot: famous AU.

There were many things Ayda Aguefort found fascinating. The effect of caffeine on different species. Why some spell components are more powerful than others. What the effect of heat is on specific plants. The list went on and on. But she didn’t care for small talk.

Now, she fully understood that in order to keep getting funding she had to keep presenting her findings to those who had gold coins to burn. That part was fine, she enjoyed standing in front of her holograms, confident in her full understanding of the subject. But the parties afterwards? Not so much. 

After a few of those ridiculous parties full of small foods, elitist humanoids, and objectively ugly priceless art- Ayda made a friend. Or more, Kristen decided she was her friend. 

Kristen Applebees, the first prophet of Cassandra, spoke regularly at these events. With her goddex at her beck and call, the elite could not deny the existence of this forgotten god. So instead they made sure she stuck with them. Kristen knew, though. She went to the events, ate all the tiny food she wanted, and spoke to everyone who seemed a little miserable. 

Ayda had never seen anyone look as miserable as Adaine Abernant, the Oracle. 

Kristen and Ayda had just been heading toward a plate filled with miniature tacos when they spotted some blonde hair peeking out from the top of a fern. 

“Oh I gotta know what that’s about.” Kristen made a sharp turn towards the fern as Ayda Mage-handed some tacos. Might as well achieve both goals. 

“Hi.” Kristen said to the fern. “Are you okay?” 

The fern wiggled and an elf around Kristen’s age stepped out from behind it. Her hair had a few leaves sticking out and she grimaced. “Hello. Some of my parents’ friends are here. I despise them and they will endanger me if they spot me.”

“Endanger you?” Ayda repeated. 

The blonde girl sighed and looked around, then snuck into one of the hallways. After exchanging a questioning look, Kristen and Ayda followed her. 

“So, what’s up? I’m Kristen by the way.” She extended her hand.

“Adaine Abernant.” Adaine shook it.

“The Elven Oracle?” Ayda cocked her head. 

Crossing her arms, she replied, “the Oracle. Elves cannot claim me for themselves, especially considering the fact that they tried to lock me up in an orb.”

“I’m sorry. The Oracle. I am Ayda Aguefort.” She held out her hand like Kristen had done, hoping it was still the correct move.

Wordlessly, Adaine shook it. 

“So, you wanna get out of here? I know a cafe we can go to, you could explain the whole giant orb thing?” Kristen drew a circle in the air. 

Ayda glanced back at her fellow researchers. Most of them were standing around in a little circle, coats in hand. If they were leaving, she’d be allowed to leave too. 

“Can we just leave?” Adaine raised her eyebrows.

“There’s no specific end time on the invitation, so we can technically leave whenever we want.” She squared her shoulders and added, “what are they going to do, stop us?” 

Adaine looked back once more. “Okay, let’s go. Don’t let the elves see me.” 

After successfully smuggling Adaine out of the building, Kristen led them through a long series of narrow streets covered in colourful shops and posters. The pebbled walkway felt unfamiliar underneath Ayda’s feet but she didn’t want to risk being seen flying away from the event. She tried to keep a map of the area in her mind but the environment was too new to her and she stuck to trying to look at everything they passed. 

Finally Kristen led them into a cafe with large windows, a few long pillows covering the windowsills where cats snoozed in the sunlight. In the corner there was a coffee bar with all sorts of treats. Behind the bar stood a girl with the sides of her head shaved and a whole set of piercings covered the length of her ears. When she looked up from her work, the girl winked at Kristen.

“Uhh,” Adaine started, seeming lost in the space. 

“That’s my girlfriend, Tracker. She makes good coffee, I promise. Over there’s more quiet spaces if you want to borrow one of the books from the bookshelves.” Kristen pointed to a corner mostly taken up by cats, then to a towering library-grade bookshelf filled to the brim with colourful spines. “And if you want to see a fun performance- there we got Fig and Gorgug, they’re a band.” She waved to another corner.

Ayda followed all of Kristen’s pointing until she lay sight on who she presumed was Fig. A relatively short tiefling girl wearing ripped fishnets, a plaid skirt, and a crop top grinned wildly as she watched her friend do tricks with his drumsticks. “Fascinating,” she whispered to herself.

“What?” 

“Nothing of importance.” Ayda turned her head back to her new friends. 

Three minutes later, they sat in the music corner each with a large coffee and some cookies. 

Kirsten picked up her mug. “So, let’s talk about the orb.”