#by itself that hair would either be in loose twin or single braid

[dragonshoard]

For BB!Au, I was wondering if I should keep Jinx's signature bang but then I thought of the funnier concept where one of her people REFUSED to have her braids be anything but immaculate and its been accepted ever since. No loose hair here, no-siree

[miniorcores]

On one side of the arena stood the impressive shape of Charizard, at one time the most popular Pokémon species in the Galar region. Its heavy lower body belied its incredible speed in battle, its short legs meaning nothing compared to its large, strong wings, capable of letting it fly through the sky as though it weighed nothing, even saddled with a passenger larger than itself.

On the other side, a Blaziken. Confident and calm, even in the moments leading up to a battle, what it lacked in movement speed compared to its opponent was made up for in sheer kicking force, with legs that were said to allow it to leap over thirty storeys in a single bound. Even saddled with the type disadvantage, it looked ready, as though the promise of disadvantage only made the upcoming match more fun.

It was the exhibition match of people's dreams: two Champions of different regions facing each other with their signature Pokémon, the timer for the start of the battle ticking down.

As the timer hit zero, and the two Pokémon began to approach each other, they froze in place as a darkness was cast over all that was visible, the only relief from this sudden blackness being...

[CONTROLLER DISCONNECTED]

"Oh crap!" the black-haired girl in front of the screen cried, scrambling to her feet and checking the cable. "Ah, I can't believe I forgot to charge it again!"

Now overly-concerned over her own mishap, the girl, one Nio Alda, looked around the room she shared with her twin sister in vain hopes of finding an immediate solution to her problem.

With a sigh, Nio looked over to the other side of the room, where a second TV and docked Switch console sat, its controller visibly plugged in and fully charged.

"I mean... they look exactly the same, right...? She wouldn't notice--" "Yes I would."

With perfect timing, said twin sister, Khloe Alda, was stood in the doorway. While in their youth the two girls were indistinguishable from each other, anyone who were to look at the duo now would see a number of differences between them. Nio's pink eyes, compared to Khloe's green, which were framed with a black pair of glasses she had started needing just a couple of years prior. Khloe's medium-length and neatly braided hair, compared to Nio's fairly long and loose hair. The presence of trousers on Khloe's body compared to the half-finished mess that was Nio right now.

"It doesn't take that long to charge, you know? If you just got into the habit of plugging it in when you're done every day you wouldn't have to keep swapping with me. How long has it been since you last did it? A week?" "Ugh, you knew then too?" Nio sighed, deflating visibly on the couch. "You've dropped yours so often the left side isn't flush anymore." Khloe explained, picking up her own controller and holding it next to the one still in Nio's hands so that the two could be seen side-by-side. "See?" "I know. I was just hoping you hadn't picked up on that yet." Nio pouted. Placing her controller back where it belonged, Khloe shook her head lightly, not actually surprised by her sister one bit -- not that she was seriously offended either.

"Anyway, finish getting dressed, won't you?" Khloe asked, heading back to the doorway. “We’re supposed to be heading out early today, if we want to make it to the sign-ups in time.”

[fireintheforest]

Home

The apartment above the Den was silent during midmorning and the warmth clings to the body. Rialas was lying on the floor, where he’d been dozing in the sunrays on the mammoth rug that Lillandril brought as a souvenir when he visited the north. The door creaked, being opened slowly, but he didn’t bother to get up. The creaks go on, and the lightest steps start to circle the room from the borders, slowly spiraling closer and closer.

"Do I look like a mouse?" Rialas said, stretching and rolling over, bare chested, but wearing loose silk trousers. The steps stopped, then they moved quicker to one of Rialas’s sides, a shadow covering Rialas’s head.

"You look like a crocodile taking sun, is what you look like." Saufinril's voice rang from above the shadow. One single finger nudged one of Rialas's curls aside from his face. Rialas laughed and opened his eyes, reaching his own hand to take Saufinrils and lightly kiss his knuckles. "I am flattered. Truly the Altmer know how to wield words, hmm?" he purred.

Saufinril grinned back. He was crouched by Rialas’s head, his hair was tied back in a bun and he only retired his hand from Rialas's when the Bosmer finished with the kisses. "We're natural poets, what can one say."

Rialas yawned and rolled fully on his back, a picture of some cheesy Breton novel. "So Silas did not completely forget to feed you hmm?"

"Perish the thought, give him some credit. He only forgot twice." Saufinril sat next to Rialas and turned, lying facedown. The back of his head had a braid that's hiding under his bun

"In whole month?" Rialas chuckled. "He does like you."

"One knew that since the very first day we met. It's not news to one." Saufinril smiled back

“But it is to me." Rialas stretched and sat up. "Do that to my hair." He demanded

"Do what to your hair?"

Rialas rolled his eyes “The braid. Did you lose your brain into the bog?"

Saufinril supressed the smile (by the Nine did he love to tease Rialas), then sat up, got behind the Bosmer and parted the hair, moving the majority of hair forward and over Rialas's face. Rialas laughed and blew his hair inefficiently before moving his hands to hold it from rolling back to Saufinril’s way. "So kynd, did you enjoy yourself?"

Saufinril's fingers meanwhile collected the lower hairs and started to braid them, "One did, it was good. One of your cousins wants to know when will you come back, everything went smoothly, one named a crocodile. You know, the usual." He said in a cheerful tone.

"You're not supposed to enjoy your punishment kynd." Rialas lauged. "But I suppose some people just do.”

"Do you enjoy your-you know what, nevermind." That’s a topic he was not getting into. He tucked the braid, merged the rest of the hair and began to build the bun, "One just, you know, saw the golden lining."

"Kynd should I ever do anything bad in my life, I will tell you I'd I enjoy being punished or not. Alas, so far I have been good, never to blame for anything."

"Sure you were." Saufinril tied the bun and pulled here and there to loosen it up, "You're done"

Rialas chuckles and stands up, walking few steps to take a look on big mirror mounted behind the silk curtain that separates his and Lillandril’s bed from the living area. He tilts his head this way and that, like a bird. Saufinril meanwhile stretched, a smile still on his face even if he doesn't seem to notice he has it, "Like it?"

"I look gorgeous as always." Rialas smiled, blowing a kiss at his reflection.

"One will take that as a yes. So, how was this place without one? Is Muraz our of the kitchens?"

Rialas laughed as he walked back to Saufinril. "Have you seen your atta yet?"

"No. Unless he also has a twin one has never met before too."

"Have you considered that he's over thousand years old and few months is nothing to him?"

"...did he..." the smile on the Altmer’s face fades, "Wh-so soon? How? When?" He scrambled to his feet and to the other side of the curtain, shock evident in his eyes, “One knew he was old but-was it at least in his sleep?”

Rialas raised an eyebrow "did he what? Die? No such luck." Saufinril exhaled with relief as Rialas went on, "Kynd, you really have bog water in your brain. All I meant is he's not going to let Muraz out from kitchen this soon."

"You could've been clearer. One almost thought you were going to tell one he took a vacation faraway or whatever bullshit." Saufinril combed back a flyaway baby hair, "At least he'll keep out of trouble."

Rialas rolled his eyes and tossed his head. "Don't blame this on me. You've grown slow with my sweet brother’s calm lifestyle."

"How your words wound one." The small smile spreads across his face again before asking what had been on his mind for some days, "Rialas, what's the Ooze?"

Rialas blokes in surprise, opening his mouth once, twice. Then he asked "Have you not heard by now? Every Bosmer child grows up with this story, how have your big ears and curiosity not taught you this yet?"

"Uhhh one is not Bosmer? Also one was working while the kids got stories told, so…"

Rialas rolled his eyes again and sat down on the pelt, patting the spot next to himself. Saufinril sat next to him obediently, legs crossed and listening.

"Once, there was nothing but formlessness. The land held no shape, the trees did not harden into timber and bark, and the Elves themselves shifted from form to form. This formlessness was called the Ooze." Saufinril nodded, listening, as Rialas went on, “But Y'ffre took the Ooze and ordered it. First, she told of the Green, the forest and all the plant life in it. She gave the Green the power to shape itself as it willed, for it was her first tale.” Saufinril now rested his head on his hand, the elbow on his knee, as the story continued, “The Elves were Y'ffre's second tale. As Y'ffre spun the story, the Elves took the form they have today. Y'ffre gave them the power to tell stories, but warned them against trying to shape themselves or the Green. Shifting and the destruction of the forest were forbidden. Instead, Y'ffre commended the Wood Elves to the Green, so that they might ask the Green to provide them with shelter and a safe passage, and as long as they respected the Green, it would obey. This is called the Green Pact.” Rialas sighed and looks somewhere far away, face lifted towards the sunlight filtering down through the huge roots the Den is built inside of, "Finally, Y'ffre told of all the beasts that crawl on the land or swim in the rivers or fly in the air. These, Y'ffre gave to the Wood Elves as sustenance. They were to eat no plants but consume only meat. Y'ffre also told that no Wood Elf who is struck down by another Wood Elf should be allowed to sink into the ground, but should instead be consumed, like the beasts. This is called the Meat Mandate. When the stories were told, Y'ffre saw that they had a pleasing shape, but some of the Ooze remained. Y'ffre told a final tale then, and gave purpose to the Ooze. Any Bosmer that violated the Green Pact, either by shifting or by damaging the Green, would be condemned to return to the formlessness of the Ooze. Their names would be scrubbed from the story Y'ffre is telling and replaced with silence.”

Rialas remained silent for a long time before speaking again, "You understand this Saufinril?" He finally asks, voice uncharacteristically serious. Just by watching Rialas look out the window and by being called by his full name he could tell this was serious. "One does." He said, "Thank you, Ria"

Rialas hummed and smiled. He turned away from the ceiling window and reached out to ruffle Saufinril’s hair. "And what do you mean you are not Bosmer? Everyone here knows you're at least half a Bosmer."

"Don't start" he gave a smile, however, as some strands freed themselves, making the bun look more messy as he ducked sideways.

"Start what?" Rialas grinned, "Are you worried people will find out your Amma is better looking than you?"

"Don't you get tired of being one's mother? We don't even look anything alike. Not to mention, you're a boy"

"Don't be discriminatory. If I want to be Amma I can well be. Don't you want me as your mother?"

"You'll still be one's mother no matter what one replies." Saufinril said with a grin

"And you love it even if your uptight Altmer-ness is incapable of saying it"

"Ok, no. One doesn't" Saufinril’s ears, however, turned pink. Rialas glanced at Saufinril’s ears knowingly, with a smug, barely contained smile. Saufinril spoke again as if that hadn’t happened, "Anyhow, what are you doing here? One thought you'd be downstairs getting your makeup or making Lillandril jealous or something."

Rialas arches an eyebrow. "Kynd, the sun is up."

“When has that stopped you?"

"The Den is closed." Rialas pulled Saufinril’s ear and made a show of trying to see inside, "Can you feel the bog water sloshing around your empty head?"

"Again, when has that stopped you?" Saufinril moved his head, "There's waiters, the artists downstairs, the new bartender..."

Rialas let go of Saufinril’s ear and flopped on his back on the floor "They're all boring."

"Poor you" Saufinril rested next to him, a hand in front of Rialas's face and letting a cool ice mist shower on his face, "Surrounded by dull blokes. A snake amidst mere ants. If only someone could give you some morsel of entertainment. Like a stunt or a prank on Lillandril or gossip..."

Rialas huffed and laughed, turning his head away from the mist. "Oh? You saying you know something hmm?"

"Maybe one does." His hand follows Rialas's face, both to tease him with the cold and because of the mesmerizing gaze that was the contrast between the white, delicate snowflakes that landed on the fiery red, wild curls on Rialas’s head, akin to flames. Rialas moved up, snapping his teeth not too far from Saufinril’s fingers. He, however, moved his hand away with a grin, "If you bite one, one won't tell you anything. And you'll have to wait for Silas to remember and tell you."

"Or, I can hold your finger as hostage."

"How will one remember to tell you if one is distressed over a fingernapping? But fine, just because one is nice" he shifted his legs and said, "There's a new baby in your family, and there was a stranger in Lynpar March, all Altmer except for a couple of details."

Rialas narrowed his eyes. "Altmer."

"Lookalike" Saufinril specified, "He had black hair." This earned him a raised eyebrow from the Bosmer.

"Dyed?"

"One doesn’t think so. It wasn’t a glamour, that’s for sure. Lots of beauty marks too"

Rialas raised an eyebrow, then asked, "All over?"

Saufinril stared at Rialas for a second too long, "No." He lied.

"Good for you, kynd." Rialas said, chilling and rolling on the rug like animal looking for comfortable spot. Shit, maybe he knew? Of course he knew. He and Lillandril were impossible to lie to.

"About what?"

Rialas didn't answer, instead curling up into a sunny spot. "As far as gossip goes that is not much." Maybe not, but there was still chance of moving this gossip to another direction, one that didn’t immediately go to private affairs and a failed resolution to stay single until he got his shit together, so Saufinril went on, "Come on, one thought you'd be interested in knowing why a total stranger is in Lynpar March!" he said.

"Perhaps. But it is more of a mystery than gossip. Now, if you had say, said Silas killed him or you slept with him or something, now that would have been something interesting."

There was no use keeping a secret with this godsforsaken Bosmer. Saufinril rolled his eyes, "Fine, it's a mystery and one spent one night at his place."

"At whose place?" Ria yawned like sleepy snake. "He can't have had place if he was a stranger. And there are no inns. And visitors usually stay at tribe house. So. Whose place was he staying? With you. For a night."

"Yep, all over your things.” He couldn’t help the sarcasm, light as it was, “No, he said he had a friend and that's where we spent it. Maybe not his place, but it wasn't in your apartment."

"I don't care about that, kynd. For all I care you can dig roots all over Lillandril’s shirts. What I meant is who's friend he supposedly is?"

Saufinril lied down, eyes narrowed towards the ceiling as he tried to remember. Details of the house floated into his memory like a fog,

"One recalls the house had a pig pen in the back, it wasn't as close to the center, more like in the outskirts...one never got to see his friend, though." He remembered a sickeningly sweet aroma that he'd picked up when he'd arrived, "there was a guava tree nearby"

Rialas had closed his eyes while Saufinril spoke. He was silent for so long it was almost like he had fallen asleep, before he shrugged. "Most people don't have separate houses, they tend to live in tribe house. It could be second cousin Eslion's. Or little aunt Liennas, if she's still around. I don't remember taking her in. I'll ask Silas about it."

"One thought you'd be angrier about this. Also, taking her in?"

"Eaten her at the end of her life." Rialas answered. "And why should I be angry?"

Saufinril shrugged in order to avoid explaining why, "One wasn't supposed to enjoy one's punishment and all that." He grinned.

Rialas rolled his eyes. "I thought we established it already. You like punishment. Was he at least a good lover?"

"You have such a weird way to say things."

"Or maybe you have weird way to listen things, kynd."

I mean, that was true. He sighed and shimmied a bit, putting an arm under his head and thinking for a while. He was going to skip telling him about the letter and his words that night, for now. "Yeah" he nodded. Watching Saufinril shift, Rialas huffed and said, "If you have to think about it, it can't have been that good."

"It's not that, nevermind. He was good. He said he was in, a...circus troop or something like that, one was a little drunk."

Rialas grinned. "My, little kynd is growing up, getting drink and having sex."

"It's not like one hasn't drank or slept with someone before." Saufinril laughed.

"Exactly." Rialas said, "Meaning, you have not grown at all. Soon we will need to find you proper marriage or you will ruin the good reputation of your atta."

"Excuse one, where have you been in the last 200 years?" He pressed Rialas's nose lightly, “And why marriage?" He scrunched his nose, "One's not going to get married. Ever. Sorry to disappoint Lillandril and his reputation, but if one were going to get married one would've taken Kartan's offer or returned to the Isles and had one's stepfather choose a wife"

Rialas hissed and swatted Saufinril’s hand away before replying. "True. When you dragged yourself in the first time you were even more wet behind the ears than Lillandril. And he had just survived shipwreck."

"Well, one was 27 or so."

"As for your stepfather - and I use the word lightly-, he couldn't even introduce the one side of his arse to the other let alone arrange marriage."

"Point is, one doesn't want to get married. Ever. No offense to you or Lillandril, but it's not going to happen."

"As you choose." Rialas shrugged.

"One just," Sau went on, "doesn't see the point in it. With Ondacano, then Kartan, and one's mother, you guys are the exception but otherwise one just doesn't see it as much of a good time as everyone else says it is. One would rather spare oneself and the other person all that."

Rialas laughed and patted Saufinril’s head. "It is true. Not everyone can be as lucky as your atta. When we got married, I was happy. And he was extremely thankful. If I recall, he thanked me repeatedly for several days." Saufinril just gave Rialas an ‘ew’ face, "Something is wrong with your face, kynd?"

Saufinril just stared at Rialas, then said "No, nothing. Glad we're on the same page"

"Kynd, we will never. I am way out of your league."

"Sure." Saufinril stretched, "Why did you chose to get married, anyhow? You could've decided to meet more people"

"I already told you didn't I?" Rialas yawned and stretched in the sun, the scarred pattern and ink moving with the muscles.

"Yes but why didn't you just, what, kill him and moved on? Or just moved away or ignored him? Also, he says it was the other way around."

"You know he lies. But fine. I could have killed him. Or just gone. I could have ignored him. So have you considered this: maybe I actually do love him?"

Saufinril smiled, "Yeah, you both are the one thing that makes me reconsider. Anyhow, before you forget, your cousin wants to know when are you going to go back to Lynpar March." Quieter, he whispered, "Fuck, one missed this stupid Den"

"Which cousin?"rialas asked casually. It was pretty clear he didn't really care much.

"It was...Tago? Tagal? One with a scar on his head."

"Oh Tagmal. He can wait all he wants." Saufinril supressed a laugh, "What does he want anyway. Pah. I'm sure he's after Lillandril."The silence falls for two seconds before Sau incorporates himself and looks at Ria, "Wait, hold up. What?" he asked

"Hmm?" Rialas had closed his eyes and leaned back, looking like he was ready to nap in the sun again

"He's after Lillandril?"

"Why not? My husband is most handsome."

"One just thought he wouldn't be into him."

"You think many things."

“It's one's many talents"

"Don't you mean bad habits?"

"No, one meant excellent talents."

"Oh? You sneaky little thing." Rialas said, "Keeping all those talents so well hidden."

Saufinril laughed at that, then pat his own hair and undid the bun and braid he had. Rialas murmured and shuffled into more comfortable position under the golden rays and over the deep brown pelt. Saufinril began to do a fishtail braid, working on his long, long hair in silence. At least for a couple of seconds, "Sleepy?" he asked

"It's warm" rialas murmured, eyes closed. "And you are home."

Saufinril didn’t expect Rialas to mention him as a positive reason to find sleep now, so he involuntarily stopped and turned to look at Rialas, eyes focused on the Bosmer's face and a warm flush of gratefulness for Rialas flooding his chest. He observed Rialas for some seconds, then resumed his braiding, acting nonchalantly so as to not show the moment he had, "The Isles are warm. This is an oven." He said offhandedly.

"The Isles" Rialas hummed, "smell like fish."

"They are surrounded by sea, yes. What part of the Isles did you go to?"

"I dont know what it was called. They all have way too long weird names anyway."

"But the weird names sound different. Was it Lillandril?"

“Maybe. But I’ve been in Lillandril many times.”

He chose to ignore that joke. “Lillandril is so ugly.” To be fair, he’d only been there once.

“How dare you say that about my husband?”

“One meant the city. One’s stepfather took one and one’s brother there once, to stay at his batshit crazy sister’s house for some days, one hated it.” By the time Saufinril finished the braids, he laid by Rialas and both continued the conversation well until they fell asleep on the ground, the sun resting on both brown and gold skins.