#can struggle with balance under certain circumstances

[helaenadream]

my most prized musketeers headcanon is that aramis sustained like permanent brain damage from that mortal head wound in savoy and now a stiff breeze can knock him out. he’ll be sparring in the yard with the cadets and one of them will cuff him on the cheek and he just drops like a stone. porthos is inconsolable like the first ten times this happens

[theladykit]

There is something I've been struggling to articulate for a long time, and it concerns this election and what happens after.

Every single post I see is about how "Trump will do this, Trump will do that." And that, to a certain extent, is true. He will do things, they will be far-reaching, and they will be devastating to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, if not billions. This is a fact.

But the claim, while not untrue, does actually belie a fundamental misunderstanding of how American government is supposed to work, especially on a Federal level, and to a greater degree, who will actually be controlling the lives of the American people, and by extension billions of others in the world, for potentially the next four years and possibly decades longer.

Trump wielded power in a highly unprecedented way the last time he was in the White House: it was filled with executive orders, designed to bypass Congressional oversight in specific and the Constitutional checks and balances system in general. Executive orders are not, as many think, set in stone. They can be overturned in a few ways, not the least of which is by the courts. It's not that likely, because the spirit of an EO is that it's to be used as something of a last resort, but it does exist for getting necessary things done in the face of undue opposition or potentially time-sensitive emergencies, and there is recourse if these orders are out of line.

Many of the things that were drafted into executive orders during Trump's time were normally things that, under far more normal circumstances, should and would have gone through the legislative process the American Constitution outlines. This is not how an American president is supposed to lead. Of course, that is mostly convention, as there is no actual legal mechanism for denying the right to issue EOs, but it has always been the standard that EOs were to be used as rarely as possible, not as a matter of day-to-day business. But. It goes deeper. These orders were not things Trump had on his agenda and he accomplished them through whatever means he could, because he couldn't actually have done a single bit of it. Sure, his signature is on the piece of paper, but a government, even if it's an awful government, is never the work of one person.

Let's acknowledge right now that Donald Trump is not actually clever enough to have done any of this himself. It's not like he sat down with his team and set a legislative agenda and then saw it through by any means possible. He is not the seat of power, he's a puppet who can hold a pen. Of course no president singlehandedly drafts their own exective orders, as one example, but that isn't what I mean. I mean none of those ideas were likely his, either. They were presented to him by others on his team, explained in such a way as to make it an attractive idea for him to sign (whether that explanation is true or accurate or not), and then he put pen to paper. That's not the same thing, because I very much doubt he would be able to demonstrate real understanding of what he was putting his name on.

Project 2025 is not his work. It is the work of the most right-wing of the Republican Party, and quite possibly plenty of unnamed others; that he will accomplish much of it on their behalf does not make him the mastermind behind it. He may as well be an Autopen with a particularly nasty, buggy software update. None of this will be his work, and it is incredibly important to note that, because this is precisely what the Republican Party wants. He's not the president, he's the patsy.

Do not mistake his craving for authoritarian power and universal adulation (however we may be forced to feign it in future) as the sign that he himself is the author of any of this. This is the deal that was struck: he gets whatever little illusion of power he wants, in exchange for signing away the lives of the majority of Americans, and by extension, the world. He is completely incapable of anything even remotely approaching the sort of sophistication this kind of silent political coup requires.

Always remember that where Trump is concerned, there is someone behind the curtain. He is merely their stand-in, and, if necessary, their fall guy. It has, unfortunately, not yet proved necessary, but it is there as a backup if it's needed.

This is why state, local, and other offices in elections are so important. This is why midterms are often far more crucial than presidential elections. The president is not ever supposed to act with unilateral power, and the fact that so many of you have no problem with applying the Republican Party's strategy of simply bypassing the will of the American people no matter who's in office is evidence of the normalisation of hugely eroded Constitutional checks and balances dating back to at least Richard Nixon, if not even earlier. Once again, Ronald Reagan is an enormous culprit in this and you know what he has in common with Trump? Neither one of them possessed the ability to orchestrate any of this themselves, and both were puppets for unelected government officials who actually ran our country. In Reagan's case, it was undisclosed, serious mental deterioration and a willingness to follow orders; in Trump's, there are more possibilities as the cause but the effect remains the same. In fact, it is pretty easy (and obvious, in my opinion), to look at the last four Republican administrations and draw eerily similar conclusions—none of those leaders were chosen for their ability to actually lead, or their political vision, but for their ability to toe the party line. Only one of the last four had even a small individual capacity for politics himself, and interestingly, he's the only one who was a single-term president. The other three were nothing more than faces on a more nameless administration that absolutely no one elected.

Once is a mistake; four is a pattern.

Please understand that this election won't come down to solely Trump. He's only doing this because it personally benefits him to do so, and if he'd said no, or shown that he couldn't at least plausibly get people to vote for him, the Republicans would have chosen someone else who could get it done. They want you to make him the symbol of their fascist movement to insulate themselves, and I guarantee you that the people we should be paying attention to are the men and women behind the curtain. Do not buy into the belief that he is the reason any of this is happening, because, and I cannot stress this enough, Trump has no fucking idea what he's doing.

Keep your eyes on Congress, keep your eyes on SCOTUS, keep your eyes on all of the rest, because they are the ones facilitating this—and the Constitution allows it, because the balance was written to tip in favour of the legislative branch. Always remember that if the Republicans wanted Trump out of the running, they could make it happen; if they were truly so desperate as to keep some rogue idealogue out of the Oval Office, they would find a way, I promise that. That they are acting in concert tells you that not only is this very much what they want, they will stop at absolutely nothing to get it—and they're not even hiding that fact, or trying to.

It is another reason why it is so important to vote for Biden: his staff are not going to take over the country by any means possible, nor are the Democrats trying to orchestrate it. What they are doing is desperately trying to hold on to whatever little semblance of not-fascism we have left. They're trying to save us—and by extension, the rest of the world—from the horror that will almost certainly be the last free election America could have for decades, and quite frankly the utter climate apocalypse that will be on us (which is one of the biggest existential threats to the rest of the world) if Trump and the Republican Party are allowed any modicum of control.

tl;dr: don't make it solely about Trump, he didn't do any of this by himself. Vote blue down the ticket. This is much larger than simply Biden vs Trump.

[avirael]

Stuck on Repeat

He wanted to scream.

To scream and to cry and to be anywhere but here. But the best A’viloh could do was try not to tremble and instead follow Rael‘s example, who - despite the fact of being shackled and pushed around - still maintained a certain stubborn grace. He wished he knew how they did that.

What exactly was going on? A‘viloh wasn’t sure of that yet and it would take a while for him to process all of this. Everything had happened so fast. Suddenly the sultana had gasped for air, her goblet falling to the ground along with herself, soaking the expensive carpet with its dark red content. While A‘viloh had only stared in shock, Rael had immediately jumped up and was by Nanamo‘s side only split seconds after she collapsed. The next moment there had been guards everywhere and also that mean Lalafell accusing them of regicide. They had barely been able to say anything before the guards had grabbed them both, checked them for weapons and tied up their hands.

Now, as the door in front of them opened, the soldier behind A‘viloh gave him a rough push. The miqo‘te winced and stumbled forward into the room filled with people, all eyes on him. He lost his balance and with his hands tied behind his back, he landed rather ungracefully on the hard, cold stone tiles. His head started to spin, his vision began to blur, his heart was racing. It was all just too much and also too late to stop the memories that had buried their ugly dark claws deep in his mind. Miserably he gasped for air.

Rael hadn’t fallen but still knelt down and leaned towards him, wanting to make sure he was alright. „A‘vi! Please stay calm. I’m trying to find a way to get us out of this…“, the viera managed to whisper before someone pulled them away.

A’viloh still struggled to sit up and at the same time tried desperately to see where Rael had gone, when someone grabbed one of his arms and a handful of his hair and yanked him into a kneeling position. He pressed his eyes shut and tried to breathe, tried to not let the fear and the memories overwhelm him, but a small whimper still made it past his lips. He fought against his own mind, racing and about to shut itself off from all of this.

„Stop it!“, Rael hissed angrily. What else than complain could they do with their hands tied behind their back. The brass blade turned his attention to the viera instead of A’viloh. „Shut up!“, the man growled and struck Rael across the face with the back of his hand. They gasped and when they looked up again a moment later, with a mix of shock and indignation on their face, their lower lip was split and bloody.

Ashamed A’viloh stared to the ground and tried to pretend that this wasn’t his fault while the voices and turmoil around him faded to the background. Instead his mind was filled with questions and fears. Would they be executed? Thrown in jail? What had happened to Nanamo? Would their friends at least get out of this with their lifes, if Rael and him were made responsible?

Suddenly something touched his shoulder and pulled him out of his thoughts. A’viloh gave an alarmed shriek.

„Shhh!“, Rael shushed him, leaning their shoulder against his. Worried they glanced at him. „You were gone for a moment weren’t you?“ A’viloh didn’t answer but that wasn’t necessary. Rael sighed deeply. „Give me your hands. Maybe I can loosen the knots…“

Working behind their backs Rael tried their best but it was impossible. The angle was bad, they didn’t see what they were doing and the knots were simply too tight. On their own the two of them would never make it out of their ties. “Seven hells!”, Rael cursed. “I would sooner chew through these things than get that knot open!”

It was a funny imagination and under different circumstances A’viloh would maybe have laughed about it. Instead he turned to look at them and offered a sad smile. “It’s alright. At least you tried…I’m sorry about your lip.”

The viera looked surprised and then shook their head. “Don’t worry. I can fix that.”

Suddenly the turmoil around them got even worse. A’viloh only now noticed the screams and the fighting. “What’s happening?”

“Raubahn killed Adeledji. Tried to kill Lolorito too. Panic broke out and now he is fighting Ilberd. But I honestly don't think he has a chance...”

As if to confirm this, one of the giant stone pillars exploded under a heavy misaimed hit and through the cloud of dust and rubble Raubahn was hurled through the air and landed right beside them. With a swift movement of his blade he cut their ties and only then as he stood up, rubbing his wrists, A’viloh noticed that the Flame General was missing an arm.

But there was no time to question how that had happened and what else he might have missed while dissociating. Confidently as ever Raubahn spoke up saying that he never doubted them or the Scions and that they should flee. A’viloh was still to dazed to argue against that and so let Rael pull him along, to Minfilia and the others and then out of the palace.

As they hurried down the stairs of the Royal Promenade Thancred ran towards them and with a sudden peng of guilt A’viloh realised that he had been so shaken until now that he hadn’t even noticed yet that the Hyur hadn’t been with them. Thancred warned them that Lolorito’s soldiers had already taken control of all important points in the city and that it would be impossible to just walk out through the city gates. Luckily he offered another plan. Rumours about very old secret passages leading out of the city and luckily he knew how to get there.

But just as they wanted to leave the heavy steps and yells of the brass blades got closer.

“Go ahead! I’ll handle this!”, Yda exclaimed and turned towards the soldiers.

Papalymo made an incredulous face. “By yourself?! …I suppose I shall just have to join you.”

Rael offered to help them too. Papalymo and the viera could cause quite the destruction together that was certain but the thought of leaving any of them behind made A’viloh sick. There had to be a different way. One were all of them got out of here together.

“Don’t!”, he croaked and hated how his voice sounded a lot quieter and squeakier than he had intended. Had anybody heard him at all? But before he could say anything else or before Rael could join Yda and Papalymo, the Lalafell shot a fireball at the mechanism that held the palace gate open and with a roaring sound it crashed down and cut of the path between the two of them and the rest of the group. It would give them some time but neither Minfilia nor A’viloh seemed to be willing to leave without their friends. Helplessly and pleading the Miqo’te reached through the bars with one arm and stretched out a hand towards his friends. A’viloh and Yda had quickly befriended each other after meeting for the first time. They had spent a lot of time training together and Yda had soon become one of his dearest friends among the Scions. The thought that something could happen to her was unbearable for him. “Yda! Please!”

But the girl laughed at him and locked her fingers with his for a second. “Don’t worry, A’vi! We’ll see you later!” Confidently she smiled at him before she let go of his hand and turned back around to face the soldiers that had almost caught up to them.

The others called out for them and reluctantly Minfilia and A’viloh followed. There was nothing else they could do now apart from making Yda’ and Papalymo’s efforts worth it and get out of here before more soldiers appeared.

In a haste they ran through the decorated corridors of the palace district and luckily the entrance to the secret passage was exactly were Thancred had suspected it to be. The tunnels were bigger and more complex than A’viloh would have thought and for quite a while they ran through dusty old corridors trying to find the right way that would lead them out of the city.

After a while the echoes of yells and footsteps appeared again and unlike them their pusuers seemed to know the ways down here. They tried to hurry but in no time the voices were coming closer and closer.

“I will stop them.”, Y’shtola exclaimed and abruptly stood still, making everyone else pause for a moment as well. “You go on ahead!”

“No…”, A’viloh protested, he wasn’t willing to leave any more people behind. But Thancred nodded. “Then I will stay too! It would be rude to let you fight alone…”

“No! This is all wrong!”, A’vi repeated a little more loudly. “Let me and Rael fight them, we can defeat them surely.”

Y’shtola shook her head. “Not that many of them…” and Thancred agreed, “The two of you are far too important to get captured...” He didnt say or worse but it was clearly there.

“But…” A’viloh wanted to protest but what was there to say? So he just helplessly stared from one of them to the other. Instead Rael nodded. “Alright!”

“No! Nothing’s alright!”, A’viloh exclaimed pleadingly. „There has to be another way!“

“No, there isn’t.” Thancred said and put his hands on A’viloh’s shoulders. „Listen! There is no time. You have to get out of here, do you hear me? And you have to get Minfilia to safety. Look at me A’vi!“

He slightly shook him and despite the closeness between them A’vi did as he was told.

“Can you promise me that? To get yourself and Minfilia to safety?”, the Hyur asked with a serious voice.

Pleadingly A’vi stared at Thancred’s face wondering if it would be the last time he was going to see it. He hadn’t stopped shaking since Ilberd’s soldiers had put him in chains but now it got worse again. Nonetheless he nodded slightly.

“Good.“ Thancred said and nodded too, but hesitated to let go of him.

A strange expression appeared on his face, one A’viloh never had seen on him before. A mixture of doubt and maybe fear? Thancred sighed and muttered “Just in case…“ more to himself than anybody else but A’vi was close enough to hear it anyway.

A’viloh hadn’t expected at all what happened next. Before he even realised it, Thancred had leaned down, closed the gap between them and kissed him. He was too shocked to react, too confused as well, so he just let it happen. Weirdly this made him feel better but also hopelessly sad at the same time. What was he doing here? This was crazy! Maybe he would later curse himself for allowing this or he would wish he hadn’t wasted this moment like this but before he had figured out how to feel or to react the moment was over. Thancred pulled back a little and looked like he already regretted either what he did or simply having to let him go. Or maybe that was just how A'viloh felt himself. “Consider this my lucky charm…“, the hyur whispered, barely audible, and weakly smiled at him.

Then he pushed A’vi away, as gently as the urgency of the situation allowed, and spoke up louder to all of them.

„Now, get out of here!“

„No!“, the Miqo’te whimpered, his hands tried to hold on to Thancred’s arm but he ignored him and looked at Rael instead. „Get them out of here, please. I’m counting on you.“

The viera looked annoyed, more than usually, but nodded without a word and only when A’vi felt their hands at his arms pulling him away, he realised they were all still here watching him. At any other occasion he would have felt horribly embarrassed now but all he could think of right now was that he couldn’t leave all of his friends behind here to fight, and possibly die, while he fled to safety. He didn’t want to run any longer. But Rael seemed to share Thancred’s opinion.

“Come on, A’vi. We can’t waste time now. Every single soldier in this twelves-forsaken city is after us now, we can’t fight our way out of this. There’s no way to set this right if we don’t get out of here first.”, they explained as calmly as they could in this situation, then grabbed A’vi’s hand and dragged him along as they ran. A’viloh followed on stumbling feet but only because his body had long since stopped listening to anything his brain screamed at him. Stop! Go back! Fight!

Rael’s words made sense but still… weakly he tried to look back and see what was happening behind them but then Rael and Minfilia took a turn into another tunnel and he lost sight of Y’shtola and Thancred. For another while he just numbly let the viera pull him along until they abruptly stopped at an intersection.

“There is light! The exit must be right around that corner!”, Rael announced pointing to one of the tunnels.

Minfilia nodded. “I think so too. But I have somewhere else to go. Hydaelyn speaks to me, I have to stay behind but you two, you cannot stay with me.”

Rael shook their head: “We promised to protect you and I don’t plan to break that promise.”

Minfilia smiled kindly.

“I release you from this promise. Instead promise me to flee and clear our names for us! You are the only ones who can do this. I have a different task to fulfil. Please, you must go on! You are the Warriors of Light! You are hope - for the Scions, and for all the realm! As long as your flame continues to burn, the light of the dawn may ever be relit! You must escape, and save Eorzea from those who would plunge it into darkness! This is the only way...”

Rael grimaced but nodded. “Fine…”

A’viloh on the other hand just weakly shook his head. Words had long failed him and with every minute all of this felt more and more like it was happening to someone else and not him. Like all of this couldn’t be real. Like it was a horrible, weird dream that he would wake up from every second now! How had everything escalated so fast?

Minfilia saw his expression and put her arms around him in a tight hug. “Don’t blame yourself for this, A’vi. None of this is your fault. Everything will be alright, I promise.“

Then she ran in the opposite direction and all A’viloh could do was watch her vanish in the maze of tunnels.

After a few seconds Rael took his hand again and A’vi snapped back to attention watching the Viera’s free hand point towards the light. “Let’s go, the exit is right there.”

But A’viloh refused, even if his voice was nothing but a weak whisper. “No, please go alone. I’ll follow Minfilia. Someone has to protect her.”

Rael growled. “Were you listening at all? Do you want all of this to be in vain? I know this is difficult for you, but so it is for me!“

“But-“, A’viloh tried to protest but Rael looked like they almost wanted to hit him and angrily yelled at him. “I want you to be safe too, you know?! I would gladly stay behind and fight if it meant you and the other’s were safe but the best we can do now is run!”

Before A’vi could say anything else a deafening crash sounded through the tunnels. Alarmed they both stared back the way they came. The walls and the floor seemed to tremble and a roaring sound echoed down the tunnel and came closer and closer.

“Oh no!”, Rael gasped. “The ceiling is coming down! We have to get out of here! Now!”

“The ceiling?!”, A’vi shrieked. “But what of the others? We need to �� Let go of me!!”, he protested as Rael tried to drag him out of the tunnel.

“It’s too late now, A’vi. Please!”, the viera pleaded but A’vi struggled and screamed. They almost wouldn’t have made it out in time. Just as the cloud of dust and rubble hit the protective barrier Rael had summoned up to shield them they were catapulted backwards by a burst of magic the last few meters out of the ruins and into the late afternoon sun.

Both of them coughed from the dust and it took a moment until they could see anything again. The entrance to the tunnels had collapsed entirely, lots of small and bigger pieces of stones lay in a huge pile in front of what was barely recognisable as the tunnel entrance anymore.

Shocked A’vi stared at the rubble for a few seconds before he began to scream again. Quickly he jumped up and tried to get the stones out of his way, to find a way back in, but of course it was hopeless. The old broken stones were too many and too heavy for him. They wouldn't give in to his pleading. "No! Please, no..."

As calm and soothing as they could Rael took his hands and spoke to him. “A’vi. Not now. There’s nothing we can do now…”

Slowly he let Rael turn him around. He looked at the viera, his eyes filled with tears, before he wordlessly threw his arms around Rael‘s neck. „I‘m so sorry…“, he whispered after a moment of just silently clinging to them.

Rael shook their head. „Not your fault…“

A’viloh didn’t answer to that. Instead he sullenly looked at Rael for a moment before he dared to ask, „Do you think they are dead?“

Rael sighed and then grimaced. „I’m not going to lie to you, A’vi. I honestly don’t know, but it really doesn’t look good…“

The Miqo’te just nodded weakly, the corner of his mouth twitching for a second. He appreciated the honesty but he had hoped for something a little more reassuring.

Rael carefully squeezed his shoulder. „But maybe they aren’t. We will figure that out, I promise. But first we have to proof that we did NOT kill Nanamo... We should really go now…“

„Thank you. I would be lost without you…“, A’viloh muttered and followed Rael along the railroads leading towards Blackbrush station, defeated and disheartened. Silently he wondered if there was a safe place now for them at all and how they possibly could manage to clear their names…

[6316454]

I write now because I feel I have been given no other choice. When I started writing as a small child it simply came out of me. I had no choice but to write. The endless possibilities I was capable of harnessing and combining were irresistible to me. I study the practice I had as a child like expressionists studied the art of all children. To discover something about the nature of the creative process.

Writing is to me now something I do in a perfunctory way. In academics I was given an assignment and I struggled the whole way through. Regardless of the perceived value of the outcome I struggled. This I believe is the result of having that childlike approach beaten out of me. This does not make me unique. I write this essay to express this fact about myself. It is not a unique circumstance and the road I am on is not a unique one. "Bigger idiots than I have accomplished it."

I have been told that art should have a point. You should seek to accomplish something with a piece or collection of works. This was a surprise to me, when I was at my most artistic and prolific. As a teenager I wrote reams of poetry, because I had no choice. There were things I could not tell a single soul, not even a journal. I wrote because I loved words. I loved learning new words, discovering new words excited me. I loved choosing words based on the feel and flavor and exoticism. Using as many strange and unusual words was reason enough to me to write a poem. One or two particularly expressive words could motivate me to write dozens of verses. As an adult I learned that this is called pretentious or inaccessible or overwrought or flowery. Not a good thing. I learned that a writer should consider their audience and what the piece communicates to them. At first I dually accepted this but attempted to seek a balance between my manic compulsion for verbosity and restraint for the sake of consumption. But "God didn't make you crazy for no reason!"

Eventually my artistic practice withered and died in the specifically controlled hothouse of the collegiate level art class. My desire to achieve and have my art recognized was stunted by inability to understand the principles being taught to me. I felt stupid for not having the foundation to keep up with the course material or understand the point of the exercises. I panicked under the immense pressure of producing master studies or a certain number of still life sketches in charcoal. Despite multiple efforts to reconnect with my artistic practice over my years, you cannot water a dried, yellowed husk of a begonia back to health. Regardless of how much you would like it to be true.

I am not an artist, I accepted. It was a bleak realization to have. For much of my life I eschewed traditional milestones or achievements in favor of art. Now as an adult I feel I have nothing to show for it. No marketable skills, no achievement in non artistic arenas. I'm not an academic, or a designer, or a singer or an actor or a writer or an artist. I turn in my resume to multiple places a day with the help of the internet. But it is difficult to market oneself when you feel there is nothing to market.

As I feel doors have been closed to me I have grown bitter. I have experienced loss and grief beyond my years. I do not want to recover. I do not want to "work harder." And yet I struggle to be "kinder" to myself. My self expression is almost completely dammed up. What would be the point in a poem? What would I want the reader to take away? Would my essay have a compelling structure, and appropriate narrative? What do you write about when you have spent over a decade stagnating in obscurity? What experience do you draw on?

I am writing this essay to make no point. I am writing the words which occur to me. I am imparting no wisdom. I am telling, arguably, a fragment of a narrative. But when you have no skills, any output is progress. Nonlinear progress can still be important. In a way I am my own audience. Maybe my thesis is an apology. For abandoning my artistic practice. For neglecting my best and most reliable audience: a little girl who loved the thesaurus and Edgar Allen Poe.

[mareenavee]

From the OC asks, but I am a cheaty mc-cheat and an incorrigible crow, SO... these are for your version of Ondolemar, in your future project. Yes, I'm mean like that. Hey once an NPC is a POV, that's pretty much your OC, same rules apply. :-P 2, 14, 29 and just for fun and to balance it out, 33.

Skyrim NPC-to-OC ask for a technically-unannounced spin off fic I have brewing in the background LOL (Please feel free to ask more of these! Post is here.)

You really are an incorrigible corvid, aren't you LOL But no, thank you for this!!! Really. It's only been brewing in the back of my head, and in tiny fragments, so I really had to put some thought into these answers!!

First I'll say this fic is going to be a thing. It's not necessarily a sequel, but more of a spin off. I hinted at it in this post here.

As the ask states, this one is for Ondolemar (:

2. Do they worship any deities, be it aedra or daedra?

Maybe not worship specifically, but he does acknowledge the Aedra and not just to put on appearances. He will repeat the general Thalmor things regarding Auri-El and the other divines when he has to. He admonishes Talos when he has to, and, truthfully, he doesn't actually understand the point of that god to begin with, even without the influence of the Concordat.

He's truthfully not overly religious, really, but he feels indebted to Mara, the goddess of compassion, among other things. Without spoiling too much of the fic, one of his main goals is to help his people get out from under the thumb of the Thalmor. Considering his legacy and parentage, he could have easily been as indoctrinated as the rest of the Thalmor, but he isn't and doesn't subscribe. Something or someone cared to spare him from that or gave him the strength to be able to avoid falling into the whole thing far too deeply to get back out again.

On the other hand he finds Daedra worship repulsive, again due to backstory things that will spoil World and this fic, so I can't reveal here. (:

14. What's their morality like?

It definitely would depend on who you ask. By association with the Thalmor, a lot of people assume he's terrible and evil. He leans into this to keep up appearances, but certain characters know it's not like that at all. He might not be the kindest person on the face of Nirn, but he's got noble goals in the grand scheme of things. Those who really know him and his goals know to trust him, even in situations that would seem otherwise impossible.

The thing is, he still needs to keep up appearances in order to further his goals. Sometimes he has to do things in the name of the Thalmor he'd rather not to protect himself, because he absolutely cannot be caught. Too many lives depend on him. This can sometimes bother him, he does still have to deal with the consequences of behaving in the expected way. He likes to pretend he doesn't care and will do whatever needs to be done, but certain things will weigh on him. Imprisoning a Talos worshiper for appearances? No. But other things will be much more of a struggle for him.

29. What do they think of Skyrim politics? (Jarls, Thanes, empire, high kings, etc)

Skyrim itself is not his primary concern, personally, but because of his job and his status within the Thalmor's presence in the province, of course it has to be front and center in his mind. He needs to know the details of all of this in order to function and to keep blending in. In all, he doesn't mind the idea of Jarls governing huge swaths of lands and working together to select the most qualified High King/Queen.

He believes it could, under normal circumstances, be a decent, almost fair system, if not for general hubris and corruption that power often brings. But then again, he's used to something of a totalitarian government in what's now called Alinor. Now regarding the Empire...he's not impressed with how they've failed to stand up for its people. But he deeply, deeply understands that individual states cannot easily stand up to the Aldmeri Dominion. He knows how bad things can and will be under their complete control. So while he doesn't like the idea behind them at all, and honestly, in another life, would prefer if they'd just collapse already, he recognizes them as perhaps the last line of defense against a greater evil.

33. Do they have a specific color scheme?

WELL. We kind of know his color scheme already, at least in his Thalmor regalia, right? Black and gold. But I'll describe him more generally, I suppose, for this question.

So yes, he still wears his black and gold uniform. He's got a very warm, gilded skin tone. He's a little more on the light skin tone side, probably by virtue of being stuck in Understone Keep more hours than he'd normally prefer. In my hc, he has grown out his hair in recent years, but still keeps the sides shaved/undercut more or less. He ties it back out of his eyes, normally. I figure occasionally, he'll wear a man bun instead of a ponytail lol. Speaking of, his hair is silky, shoulder length and silvery-blonde. His beard is the same color, when he lets it grow out more than it already is. When he's in civilian attire, he'll usually wear light gray clothing. Maybe a slate blue-gray travel cloak, depending on what he's up to out of uniform, anyway.

I know this was only little glimpse of this project, but I hope it was fun to read anyway! And that there's some hype for the story, maybe? (:

[electrivolt]

// Volkner's Zeraora is, alongside Zapdos, one of the least known 'mons to outsiders under his care.

The circumstances behind obtaining this 'mon were a bit messy. It happened during the later stages of a World Tournament in Unova, on one of those occasions where Volkner had enough free time to allow himself to wander for once and take in the sights, considering how difficult and rare it is for him to leave Sinnoh. Of course, being who he is, he just can't keep himself out of trouble on a regular basis, can he? Not when he finds something odd going on.

Poachers weren't an uncommon sight to him. This particular group seemed to have created a good enough plan in their own minds, using the Tournament as a cover to slip by unnoticed with the increased traffic both national and international, and waiting until the later stages to run into less threats in the form of powerful trainers. They were already preparing to set up their auction and count their future profit when Volkner took matters into his own hands, never one willing to let this kind of crime slide.

To make a long story short, a lot of fighting later and poachers mostly taken care of, and Volkner found a 'mon he's never seen before among the rare catches they were holding among their cargo. While the rest of the 'mons were handled by nurses and officers, as soon as it was clear that this unknown one was an electric type, Volkner decided to take care of him himself, as the electric specialist available at the moment and with enough electric types available to handle whatever may be needed. And that's how after much struggling, coaxing and emergency patching up, Volkner managed to bring the Zeraora back to the shared hotel room. He had just a few things to explain to Roark after the hours he spent outside without much communication.

Initially, the plan was to simply nurse the Zeraora back to health, to then bring him back to his home and release him. With Rotom's translation assistance, it was at least easier to pinpoint this location back to Alola and both treat Zeraora and tend to his needs while recovering from the poachers' captivity, and after much trial and error, Volkner did manage to establish some trust with the disgruntled 'mon, until eventually, when the time came when he was deemed fit to be brought back to his home, he just... decided to stay, finally considering this odd human to be a good fit for a trainer and companion. While not entirely convinced at first between much self doubt and debating whether or not this would be a good choice for Zeraora himself, Volkner ultimately agreed to take in the 'mon as one of his team. For such a rare 'mon that not many know of, being under the care of a skilled trainer that could provide shelter and safety would certainly be for the best, and there's no telling when the next group of greedy poachers would come around.

For these same reasons, Volkner makes sure to not let Zeraora's presence be widely known to the public, not willing to let him or his team become targets. The people allowed to know of him are few and far between, but at least between him and Roark they have enough secluded and open spaces to allow Zeraora to wander freely if he so chooses, not wanting to force him to stay cooped up inside simply to keep him safe. Due to his lack of electricity generating organs, Zeraora tends to absorb most of his electricity off of Volkner's other 'mons, to help keep the balance and avoid anyone overloading, especially a certain Electivire walking around.

Volkner doesn't battle much with Zeraora either to avoid prying eyes, but if he wants to, Volkner will bring him along for a battle or two. He does see more action during Volkner's battle facility head years, though.

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E04: The Enemy Within

Original Thoughts

"So The Enemy Within was a legit tense episode of Star Trek. I’m a sucker for the whole good/evil sides of a person being split into separate beings kind of scenario, and the contrast of the Kirk's is interesting and freighting. The Good Kirk struggling as he slowly loses his ability to be decisive without his more assertive half was also compelling and helped give more insight to his character, which again I’m a sucker for. The final breakdown of Evil Kirk was also intense and helped give some personification as well. A well-played scenario all in all. However, the episode is bogged down by one big factor: the outright tasteless treatment of the attempted assault on Yeoman Rand, or at least the aftermath. It’s unfortunate, but the story and conflict with Kirk was still a worthwhile watch."

(Original Post, edited from original)

Rewatch Thoughts

You ever had an episode that you like about 95% of, but there's a moment or two that really bogs it down? Yeah, as my original thoughts alluded to, this is one of those cases.

I'm going to avoid going into that scene. I did it before, and I was able to at least tolerate it this time (though fast-forward also helped). I also don't want to risk triggering anyone on a topic that I myself don't feel qualified or comfortable talking about from a show that took place in a different time. That being said, the scene still made me uncomfortable, and even moreso how the aftermath was handled. That is all I'm going to say about it, let's move on.

Thankfully, I have nothing but good things to say from this point. Even despite what I said above, this was one of the episodes I had really enjoyed the first go around, and I'm happy to say I still felt that way. This one has so much that I can go into concerning the plot, the philosophy, and Kirk himself and how his relationships with Spock and McCoy are showcased here. I don't know where to start... but I guess we're gonna try.

I love the concept of having Kirk split. His good half and his bad side as separate entities. The good Kirk seems like how Kirk would normally be, but as time goes on he deteriorates into being indecisive, lacks any ability to assert himself, and just seems to be becoming more meek and insecure. The Bad Kirk is, as Kirk so elegantly puts it, more like a wild animal. Aggressive, violent, easily-provoked, and while by no means unintelligent, he's prone to being driven by fear and instinct. He does, however, have the strength, assertion, and ability to act that Kirk needs to be an effective captain and leader.

We tend to look at our worst traits and try to lock them away. It's terrifying, the thought of having this potential ugliness inside you. An ugliness that could drive you to doing unthinkable things. The Bad Kirk, with the lack of morality, threatens McCoy, is willing to harm other crew members, and what happened with Rand can speak for itself. Kirk would sure as Hell never do anything like that unless he had a good reason under any circumstance. But without the good half to balance it out, the bad half is in its most raw form. Unable to be tamed or controlled, and without that self-control, who knows what a person could be driven to do.

But in the end, without any darkness, what are left with? We lack a certain will-power. A certain assertion. A certain strength that can only come from feelings such as fury and desperation, for example. Anger can be a powerful motivating power, as we've seen in real life for both good and bad reasons. It's as McCoy told Kirk, we need the darkness. It doesn't make you automatically bad, it's a part of what makes one human. Makes one whole. Without that darkness, the good Kirk cannot be the captain that he needs to be and he can't afford that. He still has the traits he needs, such as his logic and morality, but without the balance he is giving into passiveness and uncertainty. Neither the good nor the bad can exist and function apart. They need to exist together, no matter how unwanted one may be.

The episode handles it incredibly well. Honestly, I think that this was the episode that really sold me on Kirk as a character. Up to that point I had only the pop-culture depiction of Kirk to go on. Which came off as a reckless, womanizing, arrogant hot-shot. I could not have been more wrong. This shows Kirk in one of his most vulnerable states. He can't perform the duty that defines his identity. Yet, as Spock points out to him, he can't let it show because otherwise it will cause unrest among the rest of the ship. He sees himself at his worst, and the fact that he has to merge back with it is terrifying. Why would he want that? How can he accept that such a feral being is a part of himself? Is himself? And what is he himself left as without it? Seriously, I just wanted to hug the poor guy through most of the episode. And despite it, he still shows his dark side so much empathy and care.

I think what most helps represent this struggle is his interactions with Spock and McCoy. I detailed a lot of it here, but here's the brief version.

We have Spock with Kirk as his second-in-command and trusted friend, having been asked by Kirk himself to speak up if he feels that he is slipping. He has to remind Kirk of what happens if he tells the ship the full scope of the situation. He's the one that Kirk trusts to help him face the Bad Kirk in the lower decks, unwilling to let anyone else see it. He's the one who has to inform Kirk of what he is losing and what the end result will be. He's not doing it to be cruel, but it is the reality, and it can't be ignored. That's Spock's job as First Officer, to be able to keep the captain on track and step in when needed. He's also ultimately willing to take the risk of merging Kirk back when it could kill him, certain that such a thing will not happen and even if so, it must be done so that they can rescue the landing team. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.

Then we have McCoy with Kirk. We don't get it as much as with Kirk and Spock, but it's very much still present. He tries to assure Jim that he can still act as captain, seeming almost offended that Spock would seem to question him. But he does ultimately admit that Spock is right, comforting Jim and talking with him to help him find the self-assurance he needs to go through with it. Then he refuses to allow Jim to go through the transported, utterly against risking his life despite the lives of the landing party in the balance. McCoy is worried about what is of concern at that moment, as we already saw in The Corbomite Manuever, and in this case it's Jim.

Kirk is left in the middle. He sees both sides, but in his current safe that's as far as it can go. He can't make a decision on what to do. He can't make any command decision, even needing Spock to take over talking to Sulu at one point. Thus, Kirk's left with the two and can neither choose nor compromise, ultimately just having Spock keep working on the transporters and McCoy conduct an autopsy. It shows how important both perspectives are, but as his role is to normally mediate it, we also see how it is when he can't. The two sides are left unresolved. It ends well enough with Kirk ultimately going through with the transporters, but it still shows how much Kirk both needs Spock and McCoy and how much they need him.

So with all that said, my final thoughts? This is a great episode. Great plot and concept, great pacing, great character moments with Kirk especially, it's all very well done. I guess Shatner's acting isn't going to be for everyone, but I think it worked alright, and I think he did pretty well with Bad Kirk's breakdown at the end. The only thing holding it back is that one part that unfortunately bogs it down enough that I can't give a perfect rating still. But all that said, this is one I'd very much revisit if I felt like it. I had a lot of fun coming back to this one, and I'm glad I did.

Original Ranking: 4.5/5.

Rewatch Ranking: 8/10

[My TOS Reviews]

[TOS S1 Reviews]

[Previous Review] / [Next Review]

[ren-shonen]

Returning fire: time to Be Seen friendo

"There's A Lot Going On Actually And It Can Get Messy" is a favorite genre

Likes blue as a motif color (for various symbolic reasons but if I had to pick one, maybe a hint at the ever lingering sense of feeling "blue"/lonely that they just can't shake?)

Very inspired by music, but especially lyrics

Drawn to characters who are "fishes out of water" so to speak, whether they're in a different physical environment from where they grew up, or in a new social circle/status that they're not used to having (shoutout to Rhenbraen for ending up in BOTH types at once)

Also characters who struggle with the balance between maintaining their independence and leaning on others for help/support

Symbolic 👏 Locations 👏 and/or Landmarks 👏👏 (whether for in-game screenshots like FFXIV or fanfic settings for characters to meet up at)

(Much like you did I kinda cheated for some of these since we've talked about favorite themes and motifs before but I can point to your writing entries and go "Right there, Exhibit A")

(Hello! This lovely ask prompted an absolute ramble, but since I intend to reblog this to my FFXIV blog also, I must apologize in advance for not putting this under a readmore)

A Lot Going On: You're SO right. 😅 I do like the layers, and I like peeling them back.

blue: Yes, I sure do end up with a lot of OCs with blue theming, don't I? Also, I had it pointed out once that blue shows up more than once in my BNHA fics, specifically as the color of the sky in the early morning, before sunrise. I promptly went "y'know.... huh" because I associate that time of day with having been up all night and, yeah, with a certain deep loneliness or sometimes solitude (perhaps funnily, my motif color for myself is red!)

lyrics: very yes. Especially lyrics. Almost all of my BNHA fics and FFXIV writings have a song associated with them, and several of the fics have lyric titles (as is tradition XD)

fish out of water: You're on to something here for sure, because this is true of very many of my FFXIV characters!

I suspect this may stem primarily from my enjoyment of Putting Characters in Situations that they then have to deal with, and being far from home and the familiar is a great way to do that. FFXIV's setting also makes it easy (practically necessary) to do this with any character whose lore origins place them outside of Eorzea, since they'd have to have a reason to travel there. As a result, I often employ it as a plot device to "shake things up" — like the most minor version of the isekai trope, perhaps. So I'd say it's less "drawn to" and more "tend to deliberately engineer," lol!

It may amuse you to know that Rhenbraen actually was very firmly embedded in their home environment for a BIG initial chunk of their story, and trying to figure out how to maneuver things so they would leave it was a major undertaking. (They were so stuck. SO stuck.)

...arguably, "being forced out of one's home environment" in my writing is usually a spur toward growth and positive change, even if it comes with significant growing pains.

Relatedly, I do have a personal theme of "you can't go home again" that shows up for almost all of my OCs, even the ones who have literally returned to their home environments.

I'm not sure if this also shows up in my BNHA stuff. I think there, it's more general sense of the world changing around the characters, and changing the characters, too? of time continuing and bringing with it new circumstances and situations, some of which are painful? Like Izuku having to confront being touch-starved for the first time when he moved into the dorms ("Distance and Weight"), which is a not-uncommon teenage/young adult experience. Now that I think about it, that's a good example of the second type you talked about (different social circumstance).

independence/support: oooh that's a fun one to ponder. (I wonder if I have any characters who lean toward the be-supported side? Maybe Renan? Zedyr?) Definitely shows up as a prominent theme in my BNHA stuff, though, at least on the "trouble asking for help" side. *cough*Izuku*cough*

landmarks: ooh interesting one. You know, this one actually is a bit personal/about me as the writer, even if I'm not totally sure it reaches beyond Rhenbraen's symbolic attachment to the Lominsan lighthouse (have to think about that one! but it feels right....) I'll message you to tell you more about the specifics. :D

[thesolemnhour]

Hello Lairiend :) 3, 4, 15, 17 for Agria?

omg hey dujour! nice to meet you! i love all of your writing you were a huge inspiration to me to start sharing my stuff!❤️

tysm for asking these are such fun questions! sorry this got long under the cut lol

3. Companions: your OC’s platonic best friend?

LANN. Agria thinks Lann rules and likes him immediately. He also agrees with her choices maybe twice in the whole game, so it's the duality of man(n), I suppose. Agria recognizes qualities in him that she really wishes she had herself: honesty, stability, straightforwardness. Lann takes slightly longer to warm up (he rightly thinks she's annoying), but he similarly appreciates things Agria has that he lacks in comparison: she's outgoing and sensitive in a way that he struggles to be.

It strikes a nice balance, and she basically considers him family by Act 3.

4. Companions: your OC’s rock / person they go to for reassurance?

Agria trusts and admires Seelah tremendously. Early on, she's kind of in awe and crushes on her for a hot second in Act 1. Faith is one of Agria's very few insecurities, and she's deeply impressed by Seelah's confidence in hers, even when what she wants to do might be at odds with conventional doctrine. In the moments where she is truly unsure of what to do, she goes to Seelah.

Later, as they start to get closer, she also goes to Woljif! He is the one she really trusts to understand her, whatever the circumstances may be. She spends so much time trying to get a read on him and anticipate his choices in Acts 1 and 2 that it actually really takes her by surprise that he was watching her back just as closely.

She is briefly mystified by the realization that all her little tricks for deflecting and getting people to only ask her the questions she wants to answer suddenly aren't working anymore. That kind of awareness of her would be terrifying, but there's a real sense of safety there. It's just us; what's there to be afraid of?

15. Your OC’s backstory?

This got so, so long, and I can only apologize.

Agria is a card-carrying member of House Lebeda, one seven great houses of Brevoy, but she's not an important one. Her father Victor was a deeply disposable fourth son, which meant that he would inherit precisely nothing but was afforded a certain level of freedom his brothers never got.

The first thing he does with this freedom is make himself a very unconventional love match with one Lady Alase Istul. The Istuls are former Sarkorians who only gained lands recently: wild choice for the son of a great house, but everyone decides that at least the novelty keeps them entertained.

For a while, everything is great! The junior Lebedas certainly don't have the kind of status their cousins have, and Alase and the in-laws don't get along, but that's to be expected. And, hey! Agria is born an aasimar! That's probably a good sign, right?

Even if Victor is busy all the time, Alase and Agria get along just fine. Mom cultivates in her daughter a deep love of Sarkorian culture and history.

As she grows, she picks up the typical knack for fire magic common to ember-kin aasimars. Trouble is, little Agria is igniting the drapes, so she's going to need some help here. Dad had some instruction as a kid, so he pulls himself away from work for once to teach her the basics.

And, wow, uh? She's really good? Huh, interesting. Victor has spent enough time desperately trying to break into the world of politics to know an opportunity when he sees one. When the ruling Surtovas start making noise about turning Brevoy into a legit hub for magic in the north, he can't raise his hand fast enough to volunteer his daughter.

He moves his family to the capital, and for the first time, the junior Lebedas matter. Agria thinks, "Well, maybe I'm working really hard, and I don't have time for stuff other kids do, but it's for magic!" And she loves magic!

That is, until her mom dies when Agria is fifteen. Agria was so busy she barely knew she was sick. Then, she thinks, "Uh. Um. Guys. Maybe I should slow down?" Dad reacts like she just stabbed him.

It takes a few years, but eventually she does blow up her life spectacularly. Agria limps out of New Stetven with a ruined purpose in life to match her new broken leg. No one who she loved will speak to her after that.

The only one who will speak to is her mother's sister-in-law, Dalla. She has a young daughter, Gwyneth, who only just started doing magic herself and needs a teacher, and this is the pretext Dalla uses to justify inviting her to stay with Clan Widowknife for a while. Agria, nursing a leg that will not heal, is determined to hate life, but but Gwyn wears her down. Damn that sweet kid and her bug collection.

Over time, she starts actually listening to Aunt Dalla, who becomes her guiding star. Aunt Dalla is the coolest person ever, so why not do everything she does? She starts worshipping Desna because she so admires the way that her aunt sees the world.

But she's still Agria, and love is an action, so she needs to do something meaningful for the Istuls and Clan Widowknife. After a few years, Gwyn wants to learn the kind of summoning magic the Godcallers of Clan Widowknife did before the Worldwound. But they can't find a single person who still knows it! This sparks her grand quest to seek out the scattered Sarkorians to collect their lore for future generations, which leads her to Mendev!

17. Your OC’s high point?

Right after the Mephistopheles fight on the Azata path in Act 5!

Agria is not a good Desnan and is so desperate for clear instruction that she doesn’t really suspect “Early Sunset” until Arue points it in the Abyss. Then, it seems completely obvious. No Azata would ever have made it this easy for her!

So, going into this fight, Agria keeps the mythic powers, choosing to take their manifestation in this particular way as a sign that she’s on the right path. But she doesn’t feel great about it yet. It’s the kind of going out on a limb that free-spirited Desnans live for and that she is terrified of.

Going back to the island for the first time since Act 3 is a little bit like facing that unsure version of herself that still needed Early Sunset to feel confident in her choices. She figures killing Mephistopheles properly is more work than it’s worth, but making sure that he knows she’s better than him feels pretty great.

The big moment for her really comes when Maitresse Olla Devara tells her that Elysium backs her up on the decision to keep the mythic powers. She says, “it doesn’t matter who or what was the original source of your powers. What matters is where your heart calls you.”

It’s the first time Agria really feels sure in her faith, and it’s an incredible feeling.

She also gets the “run away with me” event in the Woljif Romance Mod right afterwards, which is both the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her and the moment she knows she’s in love with him. I will happily elaborate on that if anyone would like lol!

[constellationcrowned]

Is there a particular character that you write that you feel deserves more attention? Do you as a writer have a 'type' or trope you're the most drawn to? Out of your cast of characters, who's the best prepared for a crisis? The worst? Who has the best singing voice? Who could be really good at it with some practice? Who has the weirdest hobby, like does someone grow flowers to make their own paints and dyes?

How would (blorbo of your choice, my pick is kariom) react to 'You're just like your mother and/or father'?

((Slapping this under a read more only because I have to answer multiple questions and I might be....wordy. Might.))

Is there a particular character that you write that you feel deserves more attention?: From a general standpoint (and in the interest of just being frank) all of them do considering this blog is incredibly fuckin niche and getting engagement is.....difficult. Not that I'm going to let that stop me, obviously.

Coming from a place of bias personal standpoint it'd be nice for my oc Sishel to get more attention if only so I can flesh him out more, finalize some things, etc.

Do you as a writer have a 'type' or trope you're the most drawn to?: As is the case on my other blog I am heinously in love with sad, damaged men; especially those struggling with what makes them 'human' (or not human, in certain special cases) and how that shifts their perceptions about the outer world and their own internal world. All of the muses on this blog are walking a fine line of some sort---some realize they're on it, some don't---likewise some know that it will kill them to remain/keep walking but, for a variety of reasons, circumstances, etc, refuse to step off said line. I've always loved complex characters that are far, far, far removed from a mere black and white view and I get that in excess here for every character and I love that.

Out of your cast of characters, who's the best prepared for a crisis? The worst?: Sishel is best prepared for a crisis Not only was he trained for such things for one his perspective in a general sense is broad and as a result he's hard to truly surprise. He's not the only one well equipped to handle things, obviously, but he's one of the best.

The worst prepared? Kariom. Sometimes. His dependency upon those he trusts---Flynn, Bo, Milosh, etc---can potentially (if not drastically) hinder him in regards to figuring out, ultimately, what to do during a crisis if they're not actually there beside him. He has a tendency to go from point to point, one thing to the next, and so on, in a very narrow view until the wider issue becomes more manageable which can easily be both a good and bad quality. He won't give up when there's a problem in front of him---and that saves him often, his determination is one of his strongest assets, after all---but he might be slow to act initially or doubt himself if he's alone, stressed, undergoing a shuffling or suffering from do-de, etc.

Who has the best singing voice? Who could be really good at it with some practice?: Kariom is one of the characters with the best singing voices---a talent only further helped by the fact that his head is nigh constantly filled with the various songs and voices of the stars to the point where (provided he's not being hurt by those same voices, that balance is one of his walked upon lines) he'll even try to sing and/or hum them aloud himself, not only as a way to remember them/potentially write them out later, but to share them with others.

In regards to a muse being good at singing with practice Flynn doesn't need it, per se, but you will practically have to pull teeth to get him to sing for you in the first place. If he does it without much fuss/coaxing/begging it's generally for a special occasion like Tigla-Dera or a Rite within the clan that might call for it. Sometimes he sings while he works---usually he just hums while working the field but sometimes he'll sing to the plants and crops---but that's usually only when he knows he's alone. He used to sing to the kiddo when he was little, he even taught him a few songs that he could, at the very least, hum along to if the words were hard to remember.

Who has the weirdest hobby, like does someone grow flowers to make their own paints and dyes?: The Traveler's collection thanks to her 'job' somewhat falls under this; considering she's close to an masterless melalo and yet her explorations, documentations, experiments, and crafting go far beyond mere spiritualism or mysticism and as a result ends up being incredibly physical/tangible in nature. Melalo are hands on too, obviously, but there's a quality of alchemy to the Traveler's work that marks a clear division between the practices.

She's very, very, very hands on with her work; be it for herself or for someone else that she's trying to aid in some way, and that has led her to witness some very astonishing and nightmarish things (to say nothing of how she ultimately interacted with said things) and as a result her 'collection' can be seen as 'strange' by someone viewing it from the outside. Flynn, Junyver and Mares would certainly appreciate it. The distance between benign and pleasing to stark and deadly is incredibly thin with her. And she doesn't know when to stop.

How would (blorbo of your choice, my pick is Kariom) react to 'You're just like your mother and/or father'?: For a multitude of reasons I can't answer this in regards to Kariom (yet) but if you were to say this to Roui---specifically in regards to his father, Churi---he would not take it well in the slightest. Roui would be deeply hurt for the most part; especially when you take into the account the work he puts forth in order to avoid the pitfalls that plagues his entire family line (with incredibly mixed success mind you; not to mention some of the toxicity he doesn't seem to realize that he's already internalized), and saying something like that without keeping his efforts of growth in mind can and will set him off. Roui is working hard to better himself as a person first and foremost and his primary associations of his father are steeped in feelings of pain, abandonment, etc, and are, understandably, hard for him to see past much less reconcile. Yet. It doesn't help that he practically refuses to talk about it in an honest or open way because he's afraid of being judged and misunderstood by others.

He would respond more positively to being compared to his mother (although she too has some rather stark issues that Roui was (and still is) negatively impacted by) especially she's actually present in his life and that gives them the opportunity to repair their frayed relationship and move forward in a healthier and closer way.))

[tuesdayisfordancing]

Interesting thing that I can’t quite decide how to react to: my parents and I are visiting some relatives, and my sister (who lives in the apartment beneath my parents) declined to look after my parents’ small dog, with no reason given other than she doesn’t much like having her around. Now, I’m a believer in the fact that no one but you can decide what obligations you have to the people around you. Well, that’s a simplification, but the core of it is that no one else can tell what “minor” obligations are Just Too Much. Not having a legible reason, (such as being bad with dogs or having a dog unfriendly apartment or being very busy and stressed that week) doesn’t mean you are being overly selfish or should be reprimanded for not helping out. What looks like a minor sacrifice that people who care about each other are expected to make, may not be so minor! Or may be technically minor but unavoidably in placement such that it is effectively not minor.

But I struggle to get a handle on my sister and her husband’s views of like. Obligate social ties etc. I know that a decade ago my sister strongly disagreed with the idea that she hadn’t owed me her friendship or affection when we were kids. (She felt that I did not owe her anything at the time this came up, but because she had messed up, not because we didn’t inherently owe each other anything. This could partially be at play with my parents.) They periodically talk about the value of community and front porches and speak negatively of modern American atomized life. I associate these views with certain attitudes towards family as well, but those often don’t seem (to me!) to be present in how they make decisions around our family.

It’s also relevant that I wasn’t there for the conversation and I think part of my parents’ startlement was that there wasn’t much or maybe any apology/strong regret expressed? Like, under that circumstance I would have said I was so sorry and also tried to balance between a legible vs honest answer for why I couldn’t do it. So maybe it’s that social ritual that they didn’t do that my parents find confusing and off-putting. Who knows.

[helpsinglemothers]

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Navigating the financial landscape as a single mother can be overwhelming. Rent is often one of the largest expenses faced, making it crucial to find support when needed. Fortunately, various programs exist to help ease this burden and provide assistance tailored specifically for single moms.

Federal and state governments offer several initiatives aimed at improving housing stability for families. These include rental assistance vouchers, emergency funds, and other resources designed to alleviate housing costs. Many local organizations also work in tandem with these government programs to ensure that eligible individuals receive the support they need.

Single mothers may qualify based on income levels or specific hardships they face. Understanding the details of each program will empower you to make informed decisions about your living situation while ensuring you have access to vital resources.

By exploring available rent assistance options, single mothers can take significant steps toward securing safe and affordable housing without adding unnecessary stress during challenging times.

Overview of Rent Assistance Programs

Rent assistance programs are designed to help individuals and families facing financial difficulties. For single mothers, these programs can be a lifeline, ensuring that they have a roof over their heads while managing the challenges of parenting alone. Various government initiatives and local organizations offer support tailored to different needs.

Many rent assistance options provide financial aid directly to landlords or property managers on behalf of tenants. This helps prevent eviction and keeps families stable in their homes. Programs may cover partial or full rent payments depending on individual circumstances.

Some states also offer emergency rental assistance for those experiencing sudden hardships—like job loss or medical emergencies. These funds often come with quick application processes to address urgent situations effectively.

Additionally, nonprofit organizations frequently collaborate with government agencies to expand resources available for single mothers. By combining efforts, they create comprehensive support networks that include not only housing stability but also additional services like job training and childcare resources.

Eligibility Criteria for Single Mothers

Eligibility for rent assistance programs varies, but there are common criteria that single mothers should be aware of. Many programs require applicants to demonstrate financial need. This often means proving a low income or facing significant expenses related to housing and childcare.

Age and residency can also play crucial roles. Most programs are designed for adults over 18 who live in the area where they seek assistance. Additionally, documentation may be required to verify your status as a single mother, such as birth certificates or custody agreements.

Some programs prioritize households with children under a certain age, typically under 18 years old. Others may have specific requirements regarding employment status or participation in job training programs.

It's essential to research local resources since eligibility can differ significantly between states and municipalities. Gathering necessary documents ahead of time will streamline the application process and increase your chances of securing assistance.

Application Process for Rent Assistance

The application process for rent assistance can vary by program and location, but it generally follows some common steps. First, gather all necessary documents such as proof of income, identification, and rental agreements. Having these ready will streamline your application.

Next, check with local or state agencies to find available programs specifically targeting single mothers. Many organizations have their own websites where you can find detailed information about eligibility requirements and the types of assistance offered.

Once you've identified a suitable program, fill out the application form carefully. Be honest and thorough in your responses to avoid delays in processing. Some programs may require an interview or additional paperwork.

After submitting your application, keep track of its status by following up with the agency or organization handling it. This proactive approach ensures you stay informed about any required actions on your part.

Additional Resources and Support for Single Mothers

Single mothers often navigate a complex landscape of responsibilities and challenges. Fortunately, various resources can provide much-needed support. Local non-profit organizations frequently offer assistance tailored specifically for single parents, including financial aid and counseling services.

Community centers are another great option. They often host workshops that cover essential life skills such as budgeting or job searching. These sessions can empower single mothers to gain confidence in managing their finances and careers.

Online platforms also play a vital role in connecting single mothers with support networks across the country. Websites dedicated to parenthood feature forums where individuals share experiences, advice, and emotional support.

Government programs further enhance resources available to single moms. Food assistance, childcare subsidies, and healthcare options help ease daily burdens while allowing them to focus on creating a stable environment for their children.

conclusion

Navigating rent assistance can feel overwhelming for single mothers. However, knowing your options provides a sense of empowerment. Various programs exist to offer financial support and alleviate some of the burdens associated with housing costs.

Understanding eligibility criteria is essential. Each program has specific requirements that can affect whether you qualify for assistance. Take the time to research what best suits your situation.

The application process may seem daunting, but careful preparation makes it manageable. Gather necessary documents ahead of time, and don’t hesitate to seek help from local organizations or community resources.

Support doesn’t stop at rent assistance. There are numerous additional resources available focused on empowering single mothers in various aspects of life—be it childcare, education, or employment opportunities. Explore these avenues as they can significantly impact your journey toward stability and independence.

FAQs

Navigating the world of rent assistance can be daunting, especially for single mothers who often face unique challenges. Understanding your options is the first step toward securing financial stability.

Many programs cater specifically to single mothers, offering various forms of support including financial aid and housing resources. The key is to explore all available avenues and determine which programs best fit your circumstances.

Here are some commonly asked questions that might help clarify any uncertainties you may have:

**What types of rent assistance are available for single mothers?**

There are several types of assistance, including federal programs like Section 8 vouchers, state-funded initiatives, and local charity organizations that provide emergency funds or temporary housing solutions.

**How do I know if I'm eligible for rent assistance?**

Eligibility varies by program but generally considers factors such as income level, family size, and current living situation. Most programs prioritize low-income families with children.

**Can I apply for multiple rental assistance programs at once?**

Yes, applying for multiple programs can increase your chances of receiving help. Just ensure that you meet each program’s eligibility criteria before applying.

**How long does it take to receive rent assistance after applying?**

Processing times vary by program; some may offer immediate relief while others could take weeks or months. It’s important to follow up on your application status regularly.

By utilizing these resources effectively and understanding the processes involved in seeking out support systems tailored for single mothers, you can find a path toward a more secure living environment.

[janzenv]

5 Ways to Balance User Productivity with Solid Authentication Protocols

One constant struggle in offices is the balance between productivity and security. If you give users too much freedom in your network, risk increases. But add too many security gates, and productivity can dwindle.

It’s a fine balance between the two, but one you can achieve. Organizations need to recognize the importance of both. And not sacrifice one for another.

A recent report from Microsoft notes a dangerous lack of authentication security. Just 22% of Azure Active Directory users had multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled. This means that over three-quarters were at a much higher risk of an account breach.

Why do organizations fail to adopt important security protocols, like MFA? We know that it’s as much as 99.9% effective at stopping fraudulent sign-ins. Yet so many companies aren’t adopting it.

User inconvenience is the biggest reason. MFA is not expensive. In fact, it’s free to enable in nearly all cloud applications. But if users say that it’s hurting productivity and is a pain to use, companies may not bother with it.

But sacrificing security can hurt productivity worse. Downtime due to a data breach is expensive and can put smaller companies out of business. The main cause of data breaches is credential compromise. So, if you’re not protecting your authentication process, the risk of becoming a breach victim is high.

35% of data breaches initiate from breached login credentials.

There are ways to have both secure and productive users. It simply takes adopting some solutions that can help. These are tools that improve authentication security. But do it in a way that keeps user convenience in mind.

Solutions to Improve Security Without Sacrificing Convenience

Use Contextual Authentication Rules

Not every user needs to go through the same authentication process. If someone is working in your building, they have a certain trust factor. If someone is attempting to log in from outside the country, they do not have that same trust.

Contextual authentication is used with MFA to target users that need to reach a higher bar. You may choose to limit or block system access to someone attempting to log in from a certain region. Or you may need to add an additional challenge question for users logging in after work hours.

Companies don’t need to inconvenience people working from normal locations during typical hours. But they can still verify those logging in under non-typical circumstances. Some of the contextual factors you can use include:

Time of day

Location

The device used

Time of the last login

Type of resources accessed

Install a Single Sign-on (SSO) Solution

A report on U.S. employees found they use a lot of apps. Workers switch between an average of 13 apps 30 times per day. That’s a lot of inconveniences if they need to use an MFA action for each of those logins.

Single sign-on applications solve this problem. They merge the authentication process for several apps into just one login. Employees log in once and can go through MFA a single time.

Using multi-factor authentication isn’t nearly as inconvenient. Users gain access to everything at the same time. SSO solutions help organizations improve their security without all the pushback from users.

Recognize Devices

Another way to better secure network access is to recognize devices. This is typically done using an endpoint device manager. This automates some of the security behind user authentication. Thus, it doesn’t inconvenience the person.

First, register employee devices in the endpoint device manager. Once completed, you can then set up security rules. Such as blocking unknown devices automatically.

You can also put in place device scanning for malware and automated updates. Both these things increase security without sacrificing productivity.

Use Role-based Authentication

Your shipping clerk may not have access to sensitive customer information. But your accounting team does. One can have a lower barrier to authentication.

Using role-based authentication saves time when setting up new employee accounts. Authentication and access happen based on the person’s role. Admins can program permissions and contextual authentication factors once. Then, the process automates as soon as an employee has their role set.

Consider Adding Biometrics

One of the most convenient forms of authentication is biometrics. This would be a fingerprint, retina, or facial scan. The user doesn’t need to type in anything. It also takes just a few seconds.

Biometric hardware can be costly, depending on the size of your organization. But you can introduce it over time. Perhaps using biometrics with your most sensitive roles first, then expanding.

Additionally, many apps are now incorporating things like facial scanning. Users can authenticate using a typical smartphone, making it much more affordable.

Need Help Improving Authentication Security?

Don’t give up important security because you’re afraid of user pushback. Give us a call and schedule a security consultation.

[gardendoves]

“Such a pretty bird”

I run my hands along your feathers, watching you struggle to keep your balance with your toes barely touching the floor. At least the cuffs on your wrists are expensive, perfectly designed to lift you without causing much harm. They’re meant more for circumstances where suspension like this would be consensual.

“Can you beg for me? Whimper behind that gag of yours and make your eyes all wide and fearful? If I were you, dear, I’d try and look as cute as possible. You might be able to get me to take pity. Probably not, but you can’t be too certain.”

I smile as I pick up a knife, and lift the hem of your shirt. I slowly trail the knife along your belly, smiling at the beads of blood that form.

“So pretty. I should carve my name in your back… or brand it into your skin. Branding sounds more fun. How about we get the fire going, and while I wait for the poker to heat up, I can cut little shapes into you.”

I place a crumpled paper into the fireplace under the partially burned logs and light it with a match.

“Does that sound fun, little dove?”

I desperately tug at the restraints as you speak, my heart pounding in my chest as fear courses through my veins. The idea of branding scares me enough me, but the thought of what you might burn into me is what really fills me with sheer horror and anxiety.

I try scream at you to stay the hell away from me, but the gag in my mouth renders my words unintelligible, only serving to frustrate me more.

As you continue to build the fire, a sickening knot forms in the pit of my stomach. The combination of the restraints, the knife you were tracing along my skin, and you’re threats overwhelm me. My mind races, desperately searching for a way to escape.

So far, the only thing I can think of is to try and kick you as soon as you're close enough. I know it’s not going do anything to help my situation, and will probably just make you want to hurt me more. But if you are going to hurt me, I’m going to fight back any way I can.

[cwlsmelbourne]

All You Need to Know About Gastric Banding and Orbera Balloon

Are you struggling with weight loss and looking for effective solutions to achieve your desired health goals? Gastric banding in Melbourneand Orbera balloon in Melbourneare two popular weight loss procedures that have helped numerous individuals in their journey towards a healthier lifestyle.

In this blog post, we will dive into the details of these procedures, their benefits, and what you need to consider before making a decision.

Gastric banding, also known as laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), is a surgical procedure designed to aid weight loss by restricting the amount of food your stomach can hold.

During the procedure, a silicone band is placed around the upper part of your stomach, creating a small pouch that can hold only a limited amount of food. This leads to a feeling of fullness with smaller portions, thereby reducing calorie intake and promoting weight loss.

Key Benefits of Gastric Banding:

Minimally Invasive: Gastric banding is a laparoscopic procedure, meaning it requires only small incisions, resulting in shorter recovery times and less scarring.

Adjustable: One of the significant advantages of gastric banding is that it's adjustable. The band's tightness can be modified as needed, allowing for personalized weight loss progress.

Reversible: Unlike some other weight loss surgeries, gastric banding is reversible. If necessary, the band can be removed, and your stomach can return to its original size.

What is Orbera Balloon?

The Orbera balloon is a non-surgical, temporary weight loss solution that involves inserting a soft silicone balloon into your stomach through an endoscopic procedure.

Once inside, the balloon is filled with a sterile saline solution, partially filling your stomach and creating a feeling of fullness. It is designed to stay in place for approximately six months, during which it helps you adapt to smaller food portions and healthier eating habits.

Key Benefits of Orbera Balloon:

Non-Surgical: Orbera balloon is a non-surgical procedure, meaning no incisions or scars. It can be an attractive option for those who prefer a less invasive approach.

Temporary: The balloon remains in your stomach for only about six months. After that period, it is removed, and your stomach returns to its normal size.

Supervised Weight Loss: Throughout the six months, you will be under the supervision of medical professionals, including dietitians and nutritionists, providing support and guidance to maximize results.

Which Option is Right for You?

The decision to undergo gastric banding or opt for the Orbera balloon is a personal one and should be based on your unique circumstances and weight loss goals. Here are some factors to consider when making your choice:

Surgical vs. Non-Surgical: If you are wary of surgery, the Orbera balloon might be the better choice for you. However, if you are comfortable with surgery and desire a more permanent solution, gastric banding could be the way to go.

Commitment to Lifestyle Changes: Both procedures require a commitment to long-term lifestyle changes, including a balanced diet and regular exercise. Consider which option aligns better with your lifestyle and willingness to embrace these changes.

Medical Considerations: Consult with your healthcare provider to determine if you are a suitable candidate for either procedure. Certain medical conditions or previous surgeries may impact your eligibility.

Conclusion

Gastric banding Melbourne and Orbera balloon Melbourne are effective tools that can assist you in your weight loss journey, but they are not magical solutions. Remember that success in achieving your health goals ultimately depends on your dedication to making positive lifestyle changes. Whichever option you choose, seeking guidance from healthcare professionals and maintaining a healthy mindset are crucial for long-term success.

Make an informed decision, stay committed, and embrace the positive changes in your life. Your weight loss journey can lead to improved health, increased confidence, and a better quality of life. Good luck on your path to a healthier you!

[axl-ul]

The Flight of the Western Crane: Chapter Three

(A reupload/repost of my fic/dark retellingof Journey tot he West because the whole AO3 site, where I originally posted this, got taken down for now)

(General info about this fic/wip/retelling is here)

****

It was early morning when the indigo clouds fled away. The rain was long gone and the sun showed its glamour. Because it was summer, the temperature was rising steadily and so was the humidity. It turned into a white mourning veil of weeping flowers sitting in their place, forced to stay on the lonely mountain. Wild partridges, yellow warblers and noisy jays quickly gathered to find some earthworms before the golden light became too strong for them. Their squabble was the only noise filling up the large foggy forest. No matter how much ears pricked up, no murmur of a brook was nearby. Nothing that would satisfy the thirst of bears, wolves, deer, boars and hawks or larks. All which can be found is countless caves, cliffs, pines and bushes. Among them the undisturbed grass is like a soft blanket covering the bed of the hills. Various spirals form on straws and branches while the wind brings some fresh breath to its home. Only a rocky path tears apart the emerald meadow. For it was still covered by the haze, a dozen feet carefully considered where to step without tripping over. Only two people from the travelling group didn’t have to walk with their heads tilted over. Sanzang gladly took Mei to sit with him in the saddle. Her injury was in a significantly better condition but nobody wanted to risk anything. Circumstances concerning Sanzang, too, allowed him not to ride the dragon-horse without being judged. He walked most of their days so taking a ride here and there was understandable. Especially since the passage was eight miles long.

Starting the day with playful banters they eventually grew calmer and fell into a bothersome silence. They walked for too long in a too silent place. Wukong, naturally, was the first to doubt the decision. He opened his mouth to growl something but a low thump of a hatchet shut him up soon. The brief chat with a blind woodcutter led them to his old shed. Watching how he and his son struggled the group pitied him. They promised to repair the roof as soon as they saw the holes in it - Wujing and the woodcutter’s son brought the needed materials while Bajie and Wukong balanced on the girders. The setting sun’s warmth fell on the four men. After some time and a considerate portion of hard work they decided to drop a few layers of their jackets, tunics or vests. While the monkey danced on the rooftop he felt a set of eyes on his bare shoulders. His back straightened meanwhile he casted a sidelong glance. Although she was offering a small teapot to the rest, Wukong was certain the witch had been watching his every single step. Not only that. His trained eye noticed Márgerdra was scanning the surroundings beside him, too. “At least I’m not the only one who’s being suspicious about the mountain,“ he thought to himself and remembered the odd rustling which rang in his ears the whole way. Strangely, it stopped as soon as they approached the old man. Wukong casually fixed his eyes into the distance. The endless green and brown lay in front of him. Tiny fireflies danced under the shadows. Flaming dots emerged one after another and in turns reappeared in various spots after the light vanished. Only two of them never left each other’s side. They floated side by side on the same level. One time they went to the side, later they repositioned above the rest. Yet they never left the late evening’s darkness unlike the other fireflies which courageously came closer to the Monkey King. For a moment, he locked eyes with the insect. Their colour undoubtedly caught his attention – the light had nearly golden hew and a weak glow followed anywhere they moved to. It was so strange yet felt so familiar. Certainly, it didn’t mesmerise him as the witch’s eyes but he still couldn’t look away. Then the breeze blew around him and tickled the torso. The sudden cold was enough to drag him away from the thought process. His chest trembled especially on the parts that were completely hairless and thus exposed to the harsh weather change. He quickly put on the dark undershirt he hung on the pillar nearby. Glancing back at the spot nothing was there any longer. The pair of insects probably found a better bush or a flower. Thus, the Great Sage returned to his duty not leaving his brothers anymore.

In the meanwhile, Mei and Sanzang took care of Bai Long Ma and later joined Márgerdra to help the old man with chores such as sweeping or preparing the dinner. The small talk was inevitable, meanwhile they enjoyed the tasty cabbage soup, some vegetable rolls and wild berries. Once the old man heard Sanzang was a monk he bowed and didn’t hesitate to offer some housing for the whole night. The blind man showed them some benches and a pile of dried grass the family gathered for their goat. After that he welcomed them to a tiny room with furniture as simple as one could expect from the mountain folks. In the bright fire of candles a pleasant atmosphere fell upon them. Everybody was smiling and chatting. Not one of them didn’t sigh with delight at least once after they tasted steamed dumplings that were prepared for the guests. A proper meal after hours or days was a win for anyone. Except for one person.

Wukong glared at the witch who sat next to the young man in the dark corner. Their conversation didn’t strike him right. He hated how close Qiang became with her. Wukong noticed the affectionate looks he gave her. She returned them the moment she thought nobody was looking. Everything was there - mischievous glint in eyes, a perfect smile, arms humbly hugging torso, legs shyly clutched together. But Wukong wasn’t stupid at all - he knew it was all a game for her. She was playing with a new toy. Pinching at the right angles, trying out new possibilities. Sooner or later her soft hand would come slowly up around his neck and squeeze. The grip wouldn’t loosen, no. The woman will continue to watch as all the life escapes from the man just to throw him away and find somebody else.

In Wukong’s eyes, that’s all she’s ever been. He notices it with Bajie, he sees it with the Princess and Master, he watches it on Qiang. To his dislike, nobody seemed to believe the old monkey. His blood boiled again and the anger spread in his veins. The pounding in his ears got louder. He was prepared to leave for fresh air outside when an unexpected twist occurred.

Qiang carefully slid his hand up Márgerdra’s knee to which the witch didn’t protest at all. The strange breaking point occurred once the young woodcutter leaned over and whispered something to her ear. The advisor’s grin froze. She kindly excused herself. Although she made sure to leave discreetly the monkey saw how brisk her steps were. It took less than five steps and she was out. No further hint for the woodcutter to follow her was displayed. Using the sudden reaction to gain his own answers he promised his concerned Master to keep an eye on her - the forest was dark and full of danger for everyone.

Outside the hut a light breeze caressed his form. He sniffed and once he picked up the trail the Wolf Witch couldn’t escape the Great Sage. The Monkey King trod like a mouse. Under his feet, not a single branch was broken. That couldn’t be said about a skirt being dragged behind its owner which helped Wukong to locate the advisor. He found her sitting on a trunk, palms entangled in hair. He stopped and just watched her for a while. No sound was made so as not to startle her. Her breaths were steady, head facing the floor. Back was bent as if pure melancholic boredom hit her. To be honest, her behaviour puzzled him. Only a few minutes before, he saw a feral beast in disguise of a temptress. Now, a loner was left in that shell of a body. A question popped in front of him - is she really bad? Or does he wish for her to be like that? Is it his own need to hate?

She sighed and raised her gaze, surprising him,“What do you want?“ An exhaustion could be heard in between the lines.

“Just checking. You don’t look well, blondie.“

“You don’t look well all the time so what’s your point, imbecile? Can you not afford sticking your nose somewhere else?“ she crossed her arms. Though her confidence was back, a certain gloom remained around.

Wukong somewhat got used to her being uptight but this time it felt personal. “Now, I really can’t. I’ve been looking for someone important. All I found is just you. Not much of a win but it still counts. So take your whiny ass and get inside the hut.“

“Do you know what privacy means?“

The monkey snout drew a simple pout,“No.“ Both of them were visibly annoyed. However, the Monkey King couldn’t let go of his chance to gain more information. “Or you might have another option. I’m going to ask you several innocent questions. In return, you’re gonna be offered some time before I’ll return for you. If I may advise for your own good I’d choose the latter. A less violent pick.“

The witch eyed him suspiciously. Small fumes formed around her nostrils while she stood up. Step by step, the woman closed the distance between them,“Insolent, brutish, cheeky ape. Are you threatening me?“

His reply was nonchalant at best. “Depends on your future actions.“

A gulp silently slid down her throat where a vein emerged. She didn’t trust him in the slightest. But he seemed to respect his Master’s decision, the only seal that kept the wild fiend away from harming her. How long is it going to last until the imp breaks it?

Balancing on the thin ice, the Lady Wolf Witch returned to the trunk and with an annoyed voice slowly started undoing the two long braids hanging from her low pinned bun,“You have three questions which I will respond to truthfully. After your limit is up we’re done, Great Sage. That I swear on both my title and the Princess’ well-being.“

“Good. Let’s not waste our precious time, blondie.“ Again, Wukong disappeared. Once he emerged next to the blonde, strands of hair slipped from long fingers as the heart missed a beat. Quickly, her palm clutched the hanfu covering her chest.

“Can you not do this ever again?“

“I am asking. Not you. Get in the line,“ he smiled from ear to ear. There was a slight tremor in his words. The monkey’s tail wiggled while the small nose sniffed. Then, the husky voice spoke,“I’ve never smelt anyone like you. Your perfume is too strong…“

She wrinkled her nose remembering the sweat and mud on his tunic and trousers and uttered another snarky remark. Frankly, her robes hadn’t been in a better condition since the cliff incident. The behaviour was met with honest unconcern. “You don’t need it that much even when you’re on the hunt for lovers. Witches are mortals who possess magical abilities gifted by either a pact with a god, a demon or gained through various rituals. Yet, they still smell like humans because they are humans. That being said, it’s only a camouflage, I suspect,“ his brown eyes lingered over the view of silky hair. It looked soft. Strange but soft and so long it had to measure by the middle of her thighs, at least. Curiosity about whether it was only regular wavy hair made his palm itchy.

“What are you?“ Like being in a trance, he stretched out his arm, never leaving the place he was squatting at.

“Wow, you’re such a gentleman. My perfume disturbs you so much you need to make a whole new scheme around it. Don’t I look human enough to you, monkey?“ an eye-roll was followed by a cheeky grin. Soon, it vanished into thin air. Red lips squeezed. The woman’s intense gaze lowered to the ground once more as she spoke in a fatigued whisper,“Next question.“

“You didn’t answer.“

“I’m annulling it. You still have three left. Don’t waste it. I’m not giving you another chance.“

Surprisingly, the monkey man nodded in cooperation. After all, there was plenty of time ahead of them.

“Is the capital which you’re leading us to a trap?“

“No, it isn’t. I’d be foolish to risk angering you and leaving Mei vulnerable.“ After the realisation of her word slipping kicked in, she cringed. Alas, too late. The Monkey King has already seized the chance.

“I see you two are close. But to refer to the Princess by her name…that doesn’t sound like your typical protocol rubbish. What’s the relationship between you two?“

The advisor resumed undoing her hair,“I admit I let myself to be quite…attached to the girl. I’m not even certain why exactly. I just know I must keep her safe.“

“Sounds dangerous.“

“Anything can be,“ tiny flames burned in both blue eyes and her voice carried a sheer determination when she continued,“That’s why I don’t plan to backaway. That is not how I was brought up. She deserves a better life.“

Thin fingers were only an inch away when Wukong paused. Corners of his lips twirled up, the gaze softened though it was brief and barely noticeable. He downright hated the witch, her manipulative and calculating manners. But under that mask of a cold-hearted temptress, there was something soft, kind. Loving.

The monkey demon took a deep breath through nose when he said calmly,“While we were at the hut you were getting…intimate with the man. Then he said something upsetting. What was it?“

A moment of complete silence surrounded them. Only cicadas dared to play their loud melodies. The moonlight shone on them brightly like the second sun.

“He expressed an interest. Which would be understandable. Look, I have my needs and I try to be as discreet about them as possible. So sweet little whispers and soft touches here or there shouldn’t pose a problem but…He apparently isn’t the brightest. He…wanted more,“ she fidgeted in her place and let the strands freed from braids flow around her shoulders like a veil that mesmerised the monkey. “I know what you’re thinking. That I’m a shrew who could’ve gone after your handsome master any time. But I have some morals, though it’s hard to believe. And the woodcutter is no different… I think I feel a bit bad about leading him on, now that you’re making me think about the encounter. Strange, so far I’ve always enjoyed this chase. But rules probably change over time,“ she sighed bitterly.

For some reason, Wukong didn’t believe her words much. Rather, he felt she wanted to tell more, however struggled to find the trust in him. He couldn’t blame her. After all, they were just strangers with a boulder around their hearts.

“I don’t think so.“

“Huh?!“

“I don’t think you mind being reminded about your looks by a toady. What or how he said it wasn’t at all what affected you. The happiness of your Princess is everything in this world, am I right? Seducing a man blindly falling for you and having remorse? I haven’t known you for long but that doesn’t seem to be your style. Instead,“ he felt the delightful warmth radiating from her when his index nearly touched the light blonde strand,“it brought up a memory, didn’t it? It reminded you of something. You feel guilty. Not towards anyone but yourself.“

Her jaw dropped slightly however the Great Sage paid it no attention as he went on,“What are you running from?“

Wukong’s boldness hit the witch’s nerve. On the other hand, she couldn’t hide the pain inside. She felt how the cold grabbed her frame. It was as if the night was devouring her slowly. The unfavourable teeth of forest shadows pulled her back to reality. “You’re calling me selfish but look into the mirror. You defied the Heavens…“

“I had my reason.“

“So did I!“ she snapped her head sideways. Both eyes widened and the witch jumped away as far as she could. Her pretty face twisted into a hellish mask fueled by fury. “What do you think you’re doing? Stop touching my hair! Or I’ll cut your tongue out, brute! Besides, you’re past your limit. We're done. Imbecile.“ she shouted at him.

The sudden change in her behaviour caught him off guard. The pitch in her voice crawled under his skin so badly he, too, jumped up. Not thinking straight he yelled back. Getting back at each other’s throats the Wolf Witch rather walked away before a serious fight erupted. The Monkey King at least held onto his part of the deal and finally left her alone in the dark. Despite gladly walking the opposite direction he was fighting the urge to look behind.

****

“Finally. Almost didn’t hold it in,“ Bajie swiftly dashed towards bushes opposite the humble shed. The liquid inside splashed against his whole belly and the burning only reddened his face. He was aware how well they renewed the host’s accommodation. Considering the rest was in relatively good mood he chose to just run out to relieve himself and not disgust their benefactor. He was lucky - Bai Long Ma was led to the pen where the last goat resided. So the whole place was completely private to him - nobody to chuckle at the demon’s satisfied expression.

He flapped his ears when he was done. Of course, the pig demon made a small mental note to drink less water by the evening. On the other hand, the delicious memory of overly sweetened zhou made his throat demand a drink even by this moment.

Wide hands tied up the knot around his waist so Bajie could return, at last. As he was turning on his heel suddenly a noise of a tiny object falling to the grass caught his attention. A weak glint lay among the tall straws under the cloudless sky nearly five feet from the demon. Slowly, step by step, Bajie approached it. He was hunched over, big ears tightly stuck by the sides of head. His lungs filled only with a minimum of air so the breaths would be as shallow as it was possible. He squatted by the strange flask and took it in his hands. It was light, filled only with few drops of liquid he did not dare to identify. Several dark green threads twined around the spherical glass by which the small vessel could have been carried on the neck. 

Pigsy thought hard for a second - how was it possible for such an object to lie abandoned here just like that? There’s not a single living soul around. On the other hand, the wind is picking up and the flask is not at all heavy. Trying to remember details of his own possessions an image of balms, oils and other items obtained by the apothecary entered his vision. Surely, his clumsy Junior must have lost some of it. 

Shrugging his shoulders, the pig demon lifted himself up, the discovery trapped in between his fingers. With a wide smile and satisfaction in his mind, Bajie stepped out. Alas, the night wasn’t done with him, at all. An eerie distant whistling echoed through the space. The sound itself was weak and brief. It was enough for Bajie to start hurriedly checking his surroundings. Cold sweat poured down his cheeks. His whole body was shaking. If it weren’t for him being quite the distance from the front door he’d let out a shriek. But now, it’s only him and the dark shadows of the desolate forest.

He repeated a mantra several times under his breath, though he doubted it would be of any help. Then, it happened.

While he was squinting into the forest a herd of five or six deer ran in front of him. The stags fumed as they raced with the wind itself. Bajie relaxed. No threat, no danger. Only wild animals.

Still chuckling, he faced the hut once again. Looking over his shoulders as if bidding farewell to the cruel joke his sight was rewarded by a cute view on a pair of fireflies. They flew around freely. Their constant movement was leaving golden ribbons of light behind. 

“Strange. Those usually fly closer to the ground. Not so high among the treetops,“ Bajie snorted and entered the building.

****

The following morning was quieter than usual. Young fledglings replaced fireflies on the scenery and loudly cried for their parents to come and feed them. The ears-piercing noise woke up the hosts. Upon seeing the two monstrous demons sound asleep they no longer held their trembling breaths. Nor did they avert petrified eyes. After all, the venerable monk assured them his disciples truly meant good. 

The smooth-skinned man was lying on the nearby bench, too, just like his disciples and two women. All five of them under one roof. Wait, five? There were six of them last night, except for that odd horse outside. Where’s the…?

“Good morning, benefactor,“ like a ghost the monkey disciple whispered and leaned over Qiang’s shoulder. The poor man’s soul almost left his body. “Sorry I scared you. Didn’t mean it. Not in a bad way,“ he added mischievously,“By the way, I brought some fruit. A little token of gratitude for sheltering us. Here.“

“You have our everlasting gratitude, Great Sage.“

“No need to bow, old man. I just wanted to repay our debt. Qiang, would you mind a word?“ With a pretended kindness he shifted and grabbed the man in a tattered jacket around shoulders. He walked them outside the hut just right where the unnervingly strange horse with snake eyes awaited.

The morning dew filled the air with freshness and tickled the nostrils. The four-legged creature snorted. Its salivas mixed with the snot. The repulsive mixture hit the young woodcutter in the middle of the face. Qiang felt like puking.

“Look, I’m not going to beat about the bush. What sort of demons have you dealt with? Your home’s full of the stench. So try to keep your answer short and straight-forward.“

Qiang shifted in his spot, the cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He had a feeling as if the Great Sage saw right through him with his wild look. Clouds above them fell hard on the woodcutter’s bull neck. The cold blue cornered him and the solid floor didn’t let the body get dug in it. Sage’s gaze held smouldering coals which continued the bright of blown out candles. Needles in the man’s stomach poked him at various angles only to let him feel the string of uncertainty and dread. Indescribable stubbornness and intransigence radiating from the figure in front of him plagued every inch of Qiang’s body. He hunched even more than Wukong himself and replied,“Well, I-I think so… I’ve lived in these mountains for twenty-seven years. My mother told me stories about various demons inhabiting some peaks when she was still alive. She used to tell me not only I should be aware of vixens but lizard demons, too. Those are even worse. Also spiders…“

“Benefactor, Brother Monkey wants details about recent sightings. No need for your family’s records and tales.“ The neigh-like voice made Qiang jump up. However, as soon as he turned to the creature Wukong was already standing there and petting the elongated snow-white snout. 

He soothingly shushed the stallion and continued in his interrogation. Although his firm shoulders were rising slowly with deep breaths the hectic twitching of tail and the slight pouting gave his real mood right away. “Alright, let’s take it from another end. Did you see anything suspicious? Eyes in the shadows, stuff being placed where it shouldn’t be, claw marks? Voices after sunset?“

“Ah, y-you meant this. Yes, I did. Well, no. Sort of. There’s been a lot of animal corpses scattered around lately. Didn’t Lady Wolf Witch tell you?“

Wukong’s hand froze.

“I told her that three of our four goats had been found half-eaten in the forest. We’ve never had such a problem as they’d be locked up. But something found a way to get inside their pen. Apart from that, my father claims to have heard footsteps yesterday.“

“Do you know when exactly?“

“Around midnight. When Lady Wolf Witch returned and everyone finally went to sleep.“

“I see,“ Wukong murmured under his breath. The pointy ear with a golden circle twitched as the monkey scratched it. The hope of the mystery starting to unravel in front of him was slowly growing. He knew they were watched. He knew the witch held a grudge against him. But she really doesn’t need to endanger the whole group. Except if she were…“Listen, boy. What do you think about the blondie?“

“Excuse me, Great Sage?“

“The witch. What are your thoughts on her?“

“Oh, I can’t express how much I envy you. You can be with her all day long while I must part ways with her soon. If only she had agreed to stay. But I see I’m not fit enough.“

Wukong rolled his eyes in annoyance. His tone was irritated when he spoke,“Sure. Such a great stuff to have her by my side all day long. At least she can get on my nerves routinely.“ His ears filled with Márgerdra’s voice cracking in pitch as she yells at him for refusing to give Mei more food. “And the smell?“

“Breathtaking. Just as her eyes. She’s such a sweet and heart-warming person. Lovely.“

“Of course. What else? Don’t you think the perfume is too strong?“

“Ehm, when you’re mentioning it, yes. I think my head could have been spinning last night because of that. Otherwise, it’s pretty.“

“Her hands? Are they smooth? Or do you think you noticed something, let’s say…unusual?“ The man couldn’t be completely dense, even though he did possess an expression of an oblivious youngster blessed with ignorance.

“No. Long and milky,“ he replied dreamily. “G-Great Sage, I’m sorry. But how is this relevant? If you have something on-going with the Lady Wolf Witch then I profoundly apologise. I’m not a ladies’ man. I’d never dare to intervene in anyone’s relationship.“

It was as if somebody threw freezing water into Wukong's marked face. “What?!“

“You…don’t like her? I thought when you went for her to the forest that you two cared for each other. Now, you’re posing questions about my feelings toward the lady.“

“Moron! That shrew can’t be of any good. I went to check up on her. So what? No big deal. I had to. Otherwise I wouldn’t even lift a limb! I’m telling you she’d rather see me stuffed with my head hanging beside her from the ceiling,“ the monkey demon lashed out. Every word was spat with an evident hatred. It wasn’t enough for him, though. Bai Long Ma quickly rested his head on Wukong’s shoulder in an attempt to soothe the provoked monkey. Fortunately, the Sage quickly came back to senses. For he must always have the last word, he murmured for the last time in a prideful tone,“Besides, I’m above this nonsense. I’m a disciple of a monk. I respect our precepts. Chances I’d look at a woman are zero. And vice versa.“

Qiang’s curiosity and obliviousness to the world and manners got the better of him. He uttered before he reconsidered his words,“Because you’re ugly or because you’re short, Great Sage?“

“Both, in fact. If I may, I’d like to add a third reason - he’s nasty. Good morning, by the way,“ the royal advisor answered instead of the monkey. Two men were so occupied by their conversation they didn’t notice how or when the woman had scuttled her way toward them. Her radiant smile was shining on them both, intoxicating as ever. Looking closer, something didn’t let Wukong’s mind rest. What was it, though? Its perfection? Then, he caught a glimpse of it. He’s never seen teeth so white…and so big. His index finger twitched, the demon wanted, needed, to raise her lips so he could observe it better. Why on earth would anyone need teeth this strange, this sharp, bestial almost? 

Wukong wrinkled his brows and furiously corrected her,“I’m average height. Just hunching over. What are you doing here, anyway? I think I heard Bajie calling for you to make him breakfast.“

“He’s already doing it himself,“ she hissed back at him. Bending down, the woman pressed her forehead against his. “I heard your Master calling for you to pack our things. We’re setting off, pipsqueak.“

Qiang cleared his throat before speaking up,“I’m sorry, my lady. May I be of some help?“

Márgerdra jumped back as soon as she realised they weren’t alone. Masking her true nature with another perfect smile the witch excused herself,“Oh, my dear, thank you but such a thing won’t be needed. This charming monk over here will do. He must stay in shape and not fall lazy. Am I right, Brother Monkey?“ she petted his head,“However, the Princess asked for some water. Could you fetch some, darling?“

The moment the young man vanished for a small ceramic jug Wukong grabbed Márgerdra by her wrist. The manoeuvre was abrupt. It twisted her forearm to the side and yanked the witch back to her place. She squinted briefly while sucking on the air.

“Why didn’t you tell me about those corpses?!“

“Imbecile, let go of me. You’re bruising my arm.“

“Answer me, bitch.“

“Language!“

Wukong yanked again. Márgerdra silently cried out. “Answer me. Why?“ His angry snarl revealed a set of white fangs.

“I wanted to. But there wasn’t time or place.“

“No time or place? Alright,“ he squeezed further,“now we have some. Talk quickly. Or are you afraid I’ll find a solid proof of you not being entirely human?“

“I told you I’m. I just look different because I’m a foreigner, imbecile.“ The woman didn’t hesitate and growled at him in an equally wrathful manner.

They locked eyes. A second seemed to have become an hour as they held it. Not one of them was willing to back away. Yet something broke inside Wukong. Corners of her lips twitched once again - she was worried. About what, though? Herself? Sanzang? Mei? Him? The Great Sage still didn’t fully trust her. Whatever intention she had, the blonde would never reveal it to him. Like the tiger, whose skin he was wearing as a kilt, he had to wait a little longer. Thus he relaxed his palm before saying quietly,“Sorry. Ask Ol’ Sha for a balm when you see him.“

Márgerdra hesitated for a second. She expected for the outburst to continue. A manchild with a hurt ego to force its way to the surface. However, now it was her who felt that way. “You’re right. I should’ve told you earlier… Qiang said those goats didn’t have heads. Their organs were also removed. He found one each night. After that, nothing repeated.“

“Did he say where he found them exactly?“

“The western path from here.“

“The one we must use. Damnit.“

“We can take a detour.“

“So we'll walk another week? No.“ He put one hand on his hip and scratched his head.

Both turned their heads towards the dragon-horse who’d been standing beside them in silence until then. “Bai Long Ma? What do you think? Which way?“

He lazily chewed on hay when he decided to take the offered role in the debate,“Take the western path. Even if we chose the other one there’s still a possibility something will track us down in the forest. In other words, it’s still the same risk. Just one dives right into the eye of the storm. The latter just takes slightly longer.“ 

Rivals came to an agreement with the Dragon Prince. At that exact moment, the rest of the group marched out of the hut putting their sleepiness aside. Before their departure, they quickly thanked their benefactors once more who in return gifted them with a portion of food supplies and fresh water. Of course, the repeated warnings about local monsters and rumours had an everlasting lingering in their farewells. Tripitaka Sanzang was the holiest of them all, what a pity it would be for him to perish.

They set off in an order they were more and more getting used to - the leading scout of the pilgrims Sun Wukong, right behind him the Lady Wolf Witch, then Tripitaka with Princess Mei were both riding on Bai Long Ma and on the very tail was smiling Sha Wujing carrying the luggage and his frowning Senior Zhu Bajie. 

Rocks under their feet crumbled and fell down the steep hillside. The daylight, fortunately, didn’t plan on vanishing soon, thus they agreed to continue in their journey without a break. At least, not until they can find yet another shelter. Strangely enough, the unpleasant weather of autumn wandered into the wrong season. The sun hid its crowned head behind the grey clouds by the early afternoon and the cold spread quickly among the foggy hills as the travellers ascended to the greater heights. It didn’t take long for it to claim its first victim.

Mei trembled against Sanzang’s chest. Her tiny palm clenched onto the light fabric she wore. A second later, a squeaky sneeze escaped from her. “I’m sorry, Tripitaka Sanzang. I didn’t mean to scare you out.“

“That’s completely alright, Your Highness. No need for an apology. I myself am starting to be a bit unwell.“ He spoke to her gently, as it was usual for him. In the meanwhile Wujing quickly threw a blanket over them which he managed to dig out.

The princess’ fingers were already so numb with cold that Sanzang had to help her to hold onto the warm piece of wool. Her high pitched voice shook but she followed her thoughts anyway and spoke them outloud,“Thank you kindly, Ol’ Sha. By the way, don’t you see a good cover for us? A small rest could be a helpful idea…“

“We’re going on. There’s no evening in my sight, Your Highness. This place is full of monsters, too. I see that even my Shifu needs to catch a breath. But we can’t afford to look for a break until we get closer to people. Besides, the sky has only been getting heavier since we set off…“ The monkey stopped and pouted. 

“Stop giving me this look, Wukong. You know well that I won’t support your manners though you may be right. “

“And you know well I value your life more than our comfort, Shifu,“ Wukong snapped his head back to Sanzang. The disciple looked up. 

The monk shook his head with a heavy sigh. The cheeky demon is once again being stubborn and talking back. “Wuneng, lead the way, please.“

Well aware it was pointless to state another ton of facts Wukong retreated. The urge to smack Bajie when he smugly smirked built up instantly. A question full of concern stopped Wukong from doing so. A question that made his blood freeze. “Lady Wolf Witch, what happened to your wrist?! It’s terribly swollen! How blue your skin has become!“

“Oh, please, don’t worry about such a trivial matter. I probably accidentally hit myself yesterday night. When I was in the forest I must have slipped and fell on my arm so unfortunately it bruised me.“

“It’s all around, though. I suppose I can see a handprint, Márgerdra.“

“Your eyesight must be affected by the weather, Your Highness. I’m sure it happened because of my own clumsiness. In fact, if it weren’t for the monkey’s earlier directions I’d be stranded to this day,“ the advisor assured both of the protected individuals though Sanzang looked over Wukong suspiciously. For a second, the monkey’s heart stopped beating. His lips trembled. The unmistakable pressure around his head reminded him of its presence. Mentally the disciple started counting when his Master would begin to chant the mantra. He feels his eyes being gouged out by the tightening headband. It’s burying into the fur, through it and into the skin, scaring it, hot metal burning everything. His eyes water even before his skull crumbles. The feral scream forces the way out of his throat which is so sore from the desperation. Thin legs give out and he falls on his knees. Then the whole body collapses on the ground. Arms can do little more than gather fingers around the cursed object and vainly attempt to remove it. When he was younger he dreamt of immortality and eternal life. Now, all he wants is to die.

Wukong slowly shut his eyes. He is prepared.

But nothing came. Listening more to the witch’s honeyed words the monk pitied her. The mount followed his Master’s instructions and began to move forward passing by the relieved Monkey King. The Tang monk simply petted his hairy head from the horse’s back. With a warm voice he said,“Thank you, Wukong. I knew there’s some good hidden inside.“

Dumbfounded, the Great Sage stood firmly in his place not moving an inch of his body. There was still a great portion of bitterness every time he saw the blonde woman. Yet, he was willing to admit he was grateful for her approach.

Big eyes were gazing to the distance and registering nothing around. Only the sweet flowery scent pulled him out of the thoughts. He silently murmured,“Why?“

She stopped in her footsteps. “Excuse me?“

“Nothing…Thanks, though.“ The rough reply left her astonished. Immediately, Wukong turned his back toward Márgerdra and followed his Master’s tracks.

“Well, you’re short-tempered. But you were sincere with your apology. I’m sure your Master only must appreciate your effort,“ she ran up to him. She was lying. Again.

****

By the evening they were lucky again. Once they found a small path, travellers succeeded in arriving at a small inn. The place was bustling with life of fellow wanderers, from local hunters and lonely merchants to the family running the business. There were five of them - the eldest was the old lady with thin hair, then it was her son alongside his wife and their two children who were either too curious about the newcomers or downright disobedient. Those little rascals whispered one to another whether it would be funnier to scare the fragile fish monk or his pig-like brother. Once they set eyes on the first disciple their mischievous smiles froze and eyes filled with frightened tears.

“Scaring people again, Wukong?“ Sanzang sat next to him on the bench. Bald head was freed from the traveller’s hat. Sweat drops occasionally covered the face however it only highlighted his soft beautiful features. The rain drummed against the window shutters as if the Dragon King lost his mind.

“I would never, Shifu,“ he chuckled in response, lazily turned his head toward the source of the voice and put both legs on the table in front of him.

“At least they learn some manners and won’t bother us,“ he continued and scanned the surroundings. He noticed some men gathering around laughing Márgerdra even though she and her princess were covered with cowls and cloaks,“Unlike some.“ 

He didn’t blink twice when out of the blue three pairs of smooth hands landed trays on the furniture. “Hope you don’t mind, Great Sage,“ the familiar voice spoke to him when he dodged the serving by a close shave. It was the princess accompanied by the innkeeper’s wife and a merchant. To be honest, to see her eyes beaming with happiness and freedom, he was quite glad she was warming up to them. On the other hand, she could use letting go of some manners oddly similar to those of her witch protector. “Me and Már…my sister were welcomed by the sheer kindness of these strangers. They even bought some food for us. Take a look!“ She was right. There was everything the travelling monks needed - both sweet and salty congee, some noodles, a soup, fruit, vegetable dumplings, water and a small hot teapot with six cups. 

“I don’t think we can repay you in any way possible, Your Hig…Ah Xiuying,“ Sanzang bowed. The princess in undercover smiled shyly.

“We took care of the rooms, too. We’re allowed to stay overnight. But there are only two rooms for six people in total. If you’re not against it we could…“

“Oh, please. Forgive me but that is not possible. Not at all. You see I am a monk…“Sanzang blurted out and blushed.

“...split rooms among us two so you and your disciples could share the other one,“ Mei finished in a hushed voice although an amusement coloured her bright eyes. “I meant this. Of course, I will understand if you don’t agree with the proposal. After all, these rooms have three beds at best. Which means somebody will either share a bed or will just sleep on the floor. However if one of you would like to come with us I see no problem with such a solution.“

“That won’t be needed, thank you,“ the monk stuttered. Subtly, he wiped away the cold sweat from his thin eyebrows with the wide white sleeve. A gulp fell down his dried-up throat. Thankfully, his slender arm stretched out and poured a cup of tea when he registered it. With a radiant, yet somewhat nervous smile plastered on his face, Sanzang invited the rest to have dinner with him.

The first one to jump in on the invitation was Pigsy. Not only he grabbed anything in his near sight he saw no problem with talking while chewing either. Pieces of food splattered all around him, salivas flowed down his unkempt stubble. 

“So, three beds, four guys,“ he began,“I don’t have problems with sharing my bed with you, Shifu. Or you, Ol’ Sha. But if ladies truly need a protection of a strong warrior against the terrors of the night…I’m willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good.“ He smiled at Mei who rather pretended to pour Sanzang the next cup of tea.

“Ol’ Sha, you’ve been pretty quiet since we left the woodcutter’s shed. Why don’t you tell us something?“

Friar Sand put away his chopsticks and nervously rubbed his hands. “Oh, truly? I’m sorry, Shifu. I just simply have nothing to share with you. By the way, Your Highness…“

“Ah Xiuying!“ the group collectively let out. Their shout was so loud the whole tavern confusedly looked over to their table. Soon, everyone went back to their business. One monk and his ugly disciples scared them away and though two women were as kind as the monk himself the scarves around their heads made them look either funny or weird. 

Sandy let his puppy eyes fall to the floor, shiny head drawn in between strong boulder-like shoulders,“Sorry, Ah Xiuying. I was wondering whether our food is enough for you?“

Mei shot a confused look,“Excuse me?“

Bajie quickly joined in,“Yeah! Excuse me?! Is it anything about me? Or my appetite?“

“No, Brother. I didn’t mean…“

“Oh, really?“

“Brother Bajie, I’m sure Brother Wujing didn’t mean it in the wrong way. He’s just concerned about my well-being. After all, I’ve been brought up differently than the rest of you.“

“She’s right, Wuneng. What’s more than enough for us, monks, doesn’t necessarily have to meet the standards of a higher class,“ Tang Sanzang weakly smiled toward Mei who in return apologetically squeezed both Wujing's and Bajie’s hands. “We are on a holy quest. So please, behave accordingly.“ As soon as the monk finished his sentence he turned his head where Wukong was sitting. The demon had his feet back on the table. He was leaning against the wall with arms crossed behind the head, elbows faced the ceiling. Dark eyes narrowed and pierced the space in front of them.

“Wukong, you’re not an exception, please. We’re eating. Sit properly and take a bite.“

“Yes, Great Sage. You’ve worked the hardest. You deserve the cabbage soup, at least.“

“Thanks, Shifu, Ah Xiuying,“ he chewed on his cheek instead,“I’m not hungry.“

“Great Sage, are you certain? You haven’t had anything since this morning. Even yesterday, I remember you barely touching any sort of meal.“ Mei pushed a small bowl with rice and tofu. 

“Wukong, please. At least one bite.“ Sanzang was, too, getting desperate to make his eldest disciple eat something. 

Alas, the monkey couldn’t have been more stubborn than wild rams,“Apologies, Shifu,“ he finally adjusted himself properly on the bench and focused his gaze on Márgerdra silently eating her noodles in front of him,“my teeth aren’t strong enough to chew on it. Maybe a particular strange fellow could help me with this.“

Bajie pushed away his meal,“Good Lord Buddha, not this again.“ Ol’ Sha resigned similarly by putting his elbows on the piece of furniture and sighed into his palms.

“Wukong, what does this mean? Hold your tongue and eat.“

“Yes, monkey. You better eat. Or flies may land on it.“ Márgerdra finally raised her eyes. Although half of her face was covered by an old scarf everyone noticed wrinkles around the root of her nose.

“Wretched shrew. Why don’t you come out with the truth yourself.“

“What truth, imbecile?“

“First the smell. The magnolia perfume. Bah! More like a cover for your real scent.“

“It was a present. From a friend.“ She squeezed the chopsticks so hard her knuckles turned completely white. 

The Monkey King paid it less attention than to the Tripitaka who was fuming beside him. “Then the friend must be the Emperor himself. No royal advisor could afford such luxury. But let’s continue, shall we, Lady Wolf Witch? You’re so open to anyone yet you speak about yourself less than the girl you’re ‘protecting’.“

“Wukong. Stop it. Now!“

“My life. My secrets. My business,“ the Wolf Witch proclaimed confidently.

“Why don’t you tell us more about your regeneration, huh? How is it so effective?“

“Like how?“ she crossed both arms on her chest.

“Like this,“ Wukong didn’t hesitate anymore. Every dish loudly bounced against the thick wood when he stretched out for a knife which was brought with the servings. It was old, the rust began to claim parts of it by the wooden handle. Everybody’s eyes widened and jaws dropped. Mei immediately threw herself on Márgerdra. Her small frame enveloped the older woman as the princess hugged her tightly. Petrified Sanzang let out a small cry when he swiftly tried to grab the Monkey King’s arm. Wujing’s vision went black for a second. He was brought back to reality by Bajie and both of them jumped at their brother to tackle him down. The fallen warlord was too slippery for all three of them. In the heat of the chaos, he raised the blade and cut his very own palm with it. Blood started pouring from the wound. The Sage stretched out the marked hand to the foreigner. Now he was so confident in himself he remained completely calm in both voice and manners. Not even his naughty tail dared to interrupt the tense moment. Only his chest was rising heavily. The fumes filled the room deprived of noise. Guests and the family either slowly locked themselves in their rented bedrooms or they froze on the spot. The thick darkness spread around and blew out the weak candlelight.

“When I broke your nose the bleeding stopped too soon,” the cut healed with each word spoken until there was no evidence of it,“ I beat you up severely with my cudgel, yet you’re relatively fine - breathing, walking, snarling like a mad wolf that is prepared to strike because it’s being cornered.“

As it wasn't enough for him he added the last drop when the witch didn’t respond,“Show your teeth.“

“No.“

“Show them.“

Sanzang quickly shouted,“That’s enough! You swore to protect. How can you be a monk when you’re still a fiend at heart? Don’t make me chant the mantra, you hear me?!“ The monk wanted so much to distract his disciple. From day to day, he felt a disgust and a hatred building towards the headband and the spell. Although, seeing how bestial Wukong could become Tripitaka was willing to turn blind eye to it. 

Márgerdra remained silent, unfazed. The scrawny demon locked eyes with her - they were cold just like when they first met.

“Let me guess. Your fangs are elongated, sharp. Nonhuman. Demonic…“

“Lunatic…“ the princess murmured against Márgerdra’s neck.

“What did you say?“

“That you’re a lunatic,“ Mei faced him with clenched fists,“Buddha did the right thing when he cast you out under the mountain. If only your Shifu didn’t release you. If only you’d be still locked up. There’s a saying that demons don’t have a soul. Probably not even a heart. I thought it must be nonsense. They’re just as alive. They must feel. However I see that you’re nothing but a prime example. Heartless, soulless, self-absorbed devil. I pray you’ll be punished for your repeated insolence.“

Márgedra stood up and leaned over to the girl whispering,“Mei, that’s enough. Let’s go.“

The young princess was shaking from anger. She had to take a few breaths before she agreed to finally visit their humble room.

The monkey, on the other hand, didn’t see her confrontation as the end. He was right. He had to be. “If I were you I’d pray for your new ‘mother’ not to get you killed.“

That was the last drop. Márgerdra couldn’t contain herself any longer.

As they were passing another table she grabbed a big bowl with soup. The woman clawed onto it and threw the boiling liquid into the imp’s face. To Sanzang’s dismay, the eldest disciple didn’t duck down in time. After his blood-freezing howl occurred the witch leaned over his arched back. Only then Wukong caught her holding back tears.

“I know you’re trying to protect your Master. But it gives you no right to spit in my face.“

Though his vision was blurry at best he heard how women’s fast footsteps ended with a loud slamming of the door. Soon, the tavern came back to life. People attempted to forget the horrific incident by playing a game of Fan-Tan or by discussing the current state of the market.

Once the Monkey King straightened his back, his eyesight was restored with no sign of injury. The same couldn’t be said of the Sage’s conscience.

He turned to Sanzang whose lips were clenched tightly together. His tall figure suddenly burst out of the tavern, all three disciples rushing and shouting after him. 

“Shifu! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t my intention to belittle you.“

“You insolent ape! You didn’t belittle me! If so you should ask for forgiveness from the princess and the protector! I thought I taught you something. That you were finally on the right path. But no. Everywhere you go you make trouble. You’ll never learn, will you?“

“Shifu…“

“I care about you, Wukong. We all do. Is it too much for me to ask you to do good?“

“Shifu, I know there's not much evidence but these are important enough. She’s a demon. The girl is either another liar or she’s being deceived, as well. You must believe me!“

“Don’t touch me!“ the monk shrugged off Wukong when he tried to stretch his hairy limb. “I should have used the mantra. But I was too foolish.“ Sanzang swiftly repositioned and focused his hands into a praying manner. Wukong fell on his knees, eyes widened with pure terror, and pleaded like never before in his life. His brothers asked for forgiveness on his behalf, too. Three demons were now a little more than three terrified children.

A heavy silence fell on their shoulders. Tang Sanzang shook his head with an ache coming from his chest,“I hate doing this. I really do. But why won’t you listen? Do you really need to see evil in anything that moves?“

“S-shifu…“ the monkey let his head down and sobbed,“I know she’s deceiving us. I saw her fangs. That wicked witch is…she is…“

“She has her ups and downs. Just like any of us. She protects her princess in the same way you protect me.“

“Wukong, I’m not going to chant the spell today, I promise,“ Sanzang finally proclaimed and helped his disciple to stand up,“but you will apologise to Princess Mei and Lady Márgerdra.“

The Sage wiped away the rest of his tears and began to reason with trembling lips,“Shifu, but…“

“Tonight. Is it clear, my disciple?“

He hesitated before giving in,“Crystal clear, Shifu.“

“I don’t know whether I should be glad you can seek out your mistakes or disappointed that you always happen to make some…“ With that being said the holy man took away to the rented room and left his disciples under the ink clouds where the harsh wind whipped their miserable bodies. Naturally, the eldest disciple still wasn’t fully back to senses. Humiliated and like an abandoned dog he arched even more than it was usual and hugged his own torso.

When an arm gently tapped his shoulder the demon jumped up a bit. It was Wujing. “Let’s get inside. It’s going to rain soon. And the tavern is more than cosy, right“

“We should get a cup of peach tea, too. What do you reckon, Brother Monkey? You like that one,“ Bajie, equally concerned about his senior, walked up to him from the other side.

An ear-rupturing thunder echoed through the high peaks. Once they stepped in, rain fell down on the ground heavily.

****

“How do you feel? Better?“ Sandy asked his eldest brother. Wrinkles around his wide lips deepened when Wukong kept on being silent instead of choosing the usual energetic yells. To think about a better idea on how to cheer up the much admired senior Friar Sand looked around for inspiration.

The majority of guests had already gone to their beds to find soothing kind dreams. Their warm blankets and general welcoming cosiness of the spacious tavern were in complete opposite of the storm raging outside. While the harsh whips of mountains made the sky-reaching treetops bound to the earth, the candles were barely affected by the slow walking of the innkeeper’s wife. Shoes unpleasantly scratched against the floor, it sent shivers down the spine. She put down the small teapot and poured simple cups from the green pottery. Massive hands with hide-like skin of Zhu Bajie took the first shot. The mighty burp made the belly bounce, which earned a disapproving grimace from Sandy. Pigsy saw no problem with such an attitude. Huge portion of scallion pancakes vanished behind the tusks at once. Pigsy ate dish after dish, not sparing a single crumb of offered pancakes, biscuits or congee. Sandy didn’t mind sharing his portions. Once Bajie started peeking at Wukong’s bowls the sand monk immediately drove him off as a fly.

“Wukong, c’mon, Big Bro. Talk to us. Y’know we can keep our mouths shut. Not even Shifu will hear what you’re about to say. I promise you that. Really. Me and Bajie just want you to know that we’re here for you any time.“

“Stop it. Thanks for the meal. But go to sleep now. And leave me alone.“

The last phrase froze the blood of both demons,“Alone?! What do you mean? No, we can’t. If we do, you'll land yourself into bigger troubles.“

“So what? Shifu doesn’t want to hear the reason. Why would he? I’m but a fiendish monkey, after all. Nothing but a ball of fur and fleas. A parentless bastard…“ He paused. Realising his tongue slipped too much the monkey hunched over once more. Tips of his ears reddened. Lips no longer formed a pout but wrinkles of shame fell upon the sharp features. Carefully, he brought his fingers closer to his cheek. Under the soft touch, he ran over the skin.

Bajie jumped in before the monkey had another chance to bury himself into a deeper hole of misery,“Stop right there, Big Bro. A few days ago you had no problem with calling yourself ‘handsome’. So show us that smile you’ve mastered so well, heh?“ He elbowed the smaller demon by his left.

“Turn yourself down, idiot. Or the princess will hear you and you’ll be in trouble just like me.“

“Are you afraid of them?“

“I’m not. What sort of a question is that?“

“Then why do you insist on the Lady Wolf Witch being a demon like us?“

“Because she is! I know it. Proofs have also been presented. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice…“ Hoping to see some indications of general understandment but finding none, Wukong shook his head and began to stand up. “Enjoy your meal. Bajie, you can have mine.“

“Are you really not hungry?“ 

“No. Even if I were, I wouldn't eat. I don’t deserve it, anyway.“ Ear-piercing dragging of the bench was stopped by one sticky hand from left and the other, pink and bulky, from the right side. Body parts made the Sage sit down at lightning speed. At the same moment, Bajie lost his nerves. He took the bowl with rice and steamed vegetables, and nodded to Wujing who fixed Wukong’s jaw so the middle brother could feed the monkey. Chopsticks rapidly went in and out the imp’s mouth who desperately tried to fight them off. Once the bowl was empty both smirked simultaneously.

The monkey was of a different opinion - being fed as a small child was enough for him to become even more irritated. Quickly, his palm scrabbled around the table for a cup that would be still filled with the peach tea. 

“Now, when your stomach finally stops with the terrible growling, you can talk with a clearer mind. Don’t you think, Brother Wujing?“

“Surely, that must be the case, Brother Bajie.“

“To hell with you both,“ Wukong coughed. Although, he felt slightly stronger than before.

Wujing opened his mouth, hope radiating from him that the Monkey King is going to listen to the youngest for the final time, “The princess needs someone who’s going to take care of her. You saw how delicate, soft-spoken and fragile she is. She’s never been completely out of her palace. Suddenly, she’s thrown into the unknown world. Our Shifu is quite similar, don’t you think? Both need somebody they can rely on. Someone strong, wise and a skilled fighter. Lady Wolf Witch…she is the one. Look at yourself. Doesn’t her oath sound familiar to you? Protect with your very own life. When you mentioned your first meeting she seemed to be willing to die for her safety. Aren’t you the same?“

Cogwheels moved in Wukong’s mind. Her wounds were bleeding, life was escaping from her shaking body but the determination to protect never dared to leave her side. Words of poison, scolding aimed towards him and his brothers, yet it is all for the girl. The witch was mean, humiliating at times. But she backed away from ratting on him. Why did she do it? On that night when it was just the two of them, the strange woman was so soft. So warm. The witch was slightly more than a fragile doll. She lost herself in that dark place. Far from anyone else. As if she wanted to escape. From who, though? When she talked to Wukong he wanted to listen to her. But he couldn’t. At last, those eyes. Her deep blue eyes scarred with tears he made her shed. Though the woman had been wounded by him physically, seemingly it had never occurred to her to curse the monkey. Only his heavy words cut into her cold chest too deeply. It broke the thick ice and ripped the beating, lonely heart. No cudgel. Only Wukong’s unpredictable nature nearly ended it all.

Another memory popped in front of the Monkey King. His monkeys. The clan who took him in and brought him up. Oh, how they played, how they joked and how they enjoyed the freedom on the sun-kissed island crowned with the colossal Mount Huaguo. His family was big and loving. Although he had no birth parents they didn’t mind. He was a gem for them. The smallest of all young monkeys and yet he had the biggest heart. Big eyes gleamed with child-like mischief every time he appeared. It was no big deal the nameless baby monkey jumped on the elder and let himself be carried further. The monkey demon thought such kindness was everywhere wherever he set out his foot. It changed upon encountering the macaques and baboons outside his kingdom he left to pursue the goal of achieving eternal life. They were marked with cruelty in the same manner as humans were. A king of what? One miserable mountain in the middle of nowhere. That was all he was for them. They’ve never heard of the place of never-ending summer, blooming with joy and laughter. Where the hibiscus and peaches bloomed every night and day and where the waterfall rivalled the roar of the lion. Wukong, still a nameless monkey, was a simple target for them. He naively believed he could hide from them in the same way he managed to escape the tigers and bears. Unfortunately, he ran out of luck quickly. Wukong’s eyelids shut tightly, his pulse quickened. It’s the middle of the night. He’s so tired of hiding. When will he finally find someone to make him and his family immortal? Suddenly, he’s grabbed by the armpit. Sticks and stones come down on him. There’s growling, yelling, screams rupture his eardrums. The big macaque male with a ripped ear grabs him by the hips and pulls him closer. In his hand, a sharp rock glistens in the weak moonlight. The young monkey knows he’s an unwelcome guest. But all he desires is to just pass through. No, he must pay. They don’t know his pure mind is oblivious to their customs. The leading male can’t let such a youngling pose a threat. For that and many other reasons the hand fell down. Wukong cried out and kicked the bigger monkey. The manoeuvre had to break the jaw. The young king used the created chaos to his advantage and fled the group which assaulted him. Running until the sun came out, his breathless shaking frame stuck to the bottom of a wide rock under which he found an abandoned den. Tears fell down his gaunt cheeks. He was ready to thank all the Gods and saints that the stone didn’t crush his skull. When he got on his knees a sharp pain flashed through his head. His left eye, the vision in it was blurry at best. What’s worse, his nose caught the ironic smell of blood.

“You’re right. She deserves some respect.“

****

Márgerdra was sitting on the old bed, her back leaning against the cold wall. Her hair was naughtily slithering around her shoulders and hips, freed from the tight braids and bun. The lightning outside illuminated her wet cheeks. Under the woollen blanket, Mei was still cuddling her. She, too, was dressed in a similar undergarment with her long hair messily splattered around.

“Is it better now?“ She gazed up at her protector. 

Mei felt a heartfelt gratitude from Márgerdra. When the royal advisor turned to her the boulder fell from the princess’ heart. The blonde smiled, at last. “Yes, little one. With you, it’s always better,“ she hugged Mei tightly and lightly kissed her forehead.

Márgerdra peeked out through the tiny slit between the wall and the window shutter. Storm was still at its best outside. The whole sky was covered in ink. Returning her attention to the long candle on the table opposite to them she sighed with disbelief. The flame was already eating the base wax. “I’m sorry, Mei. You had to listen to me for an hour at least. I should’ve let you rest after such a tiresome day.“ The blonde began to stand up.

“No, you’re not going anywhere. I don’t mind listening to my friend. Everyone needs a shoulder they can rely on. You’re no exception,“ Mei blushed upon remembering her own memories and how many times she was so embarrassed with herself. The young beauty couldn’t imagine her life without the foreign woman. “Actually, I’m quite happy you don’t mind being yourself around me. Even if that devious, nasty meanie said such atrocities about you…I’m glad you trust me as much as I trust you, Márgerdra. Since mother died, you really are a blessing from her to me.“

“Oh, stop it right now, little one. You’re gonna make me cry again,“ the witch giggled as she hugged the girl again. The impact was unexpected and they both fell on the bed, chuckling to themselves.

“Márgerdra, you’ll need to move a bit. It’s getting uncomfortable.“

“I’m sorry. I’ll be off to the other bed, then.“

“No, you silly. You’re gonna get lonely. When you’re lonely, you’ll remember that stinky monkey. When you remember him you’ll cry again.“ The princess furrowed her brows which gave her the air of a child and she tucked her head under Márgerdra’s chin.

“Alright. Then I’m staying here.“

The raindrops hammered against the building. Strong wind threw several thick twigs or something similar to it on the rooftop. As the sound echoed through the small room with a dim light green silk rustled against the rest of the white sheets. Another thunder made the princess hold her breath.

“Are you still afraid of the storm?“

“And you aren’t?! Look how dangerous it is!“ Mei exclaimed. The poor girl soon added,“What am I saying? You never fear anything.“

“I think you’re wrong about this point, Mei. I’m scared of many things.“ Thoughtful expression landed on the witch’s soft face. “I can’t stand water. I hate it.“

Mei chuckled,“So you’re like a cat?“

“Well, yes. A cat, if you will.“ She then hissed like a feline to which both women laughed.

“My oldest sister, on the other hand, you can call her fearless. Yes. A brave warrior at heart, though she’d say she has none. She’s a liar, in fact. Ulfu always gave me the best hugs. Udu, my second sister, was close behind. Though Udu had always made a better honeyed porridge, I must admit,“ she touched her chin with an index finger and rambled about her elder sisters for a while.

Mei listened to her with great interest. “Wow, they sound pretty cool. What happened to them? Where are they now?“

Márgerdra’s enthusiastic smile froze. She had to blink several times to bring herself back to reality. A gulp formed inside her throat. “They’re gone. Unfortunately, I don’t know where exactly.“ Márgerdra wiped away tears forming in her eyes.

The princess rubbed her arm carefully. “I’m sorry to hear that.“

“Yeah, me too.“ The blonde looked the black-haired girl in the eyes and gave her the most radiant smile. “But since I have you, little plum Mei, everything’s great again. Don’t worry about me, alright? I need to see my little princess proud and happy. Especially since your big day is coming closer.“

“Yeah, my wedding…“

“What’s up with that frown again, huh?“

“I’m just…I don’t know. I feel like I’m not suited for this. It feels weird. I've never met my groom before. I wonder what it is like. You know, to fall for somebody real.“

“It’s beautiful. Sometimes it cuts you until you bleed,“ the witch paused for a second. She pursed her full lips. “But then that person comes and helps you to heal. When you feel abandoned they remind you that you’re the one who saved their world and became the most wonderful part of it.“

“Sounds like you’ve experienced it.“

“Yes. I did. Multiple times. Well, you don’t need to have romantic feelings for the person. All that’s needed is when you know they’re going to have your back no matter what. Sometimes it was my sisters. Sometimes it was my friend,“ her laughter rang again. It seemed to have lifted Mei’s cheerful spirit.

“I totally agree. I feel the same thing with you. My best friend,“ the girl winked at the blonde. Then she offered her pinky and waited for a response. It didn’t take long for Márgerdra to offer hers.

“I don’t want to be nosey. But have you ever had ‘those’ feelings?“ Mei widened her eyes with flaming interest.

The witch turned to her hesitantly. She gave in after several heart beats,“Yes. Now I suppose you’d like to know more about him, don’t you?“

“Yep!“

Márgerdra sighed. Strangely enough, Mei had always had an impact on her which made her feel much younger. She couldn’t complain, though. It was a nice change from time to time.

The sparks in her burnt brightly when she recalled him,“Looks or personality first?“

“C’mon. You’re not making this easy for me. But I guess, looks first? They say the best should be saved for the last.“ She giggled and lay her head on Márgerdra’s shoulder while intently she was  listening to every word.

“He was tall, handsome, and strong with dark green eyes. He had long hair as black as a raven's feathers. Oh, when I remember how nicely formed arms he had. Beautiful shoulders too. Broad and muscular. He had probably the smoothest voice I’ve heard. It was great for singing. Though, don’t think he was too soft for the world. No. In fact, quite the opposite. I remember when I used to tell him not to rush things and to be more patient. He actually listened. Unlike some. Those were times when he’d take my hand in his, caress it and whisper to me he’d return just for me if for nothing else. He was the kindest person around. No injustice would escape his keen sight. The true leader of his people. There wasn’t one soldier who’d dare to go against him.“ Her dreamy eyes stranded in the distant warm gaze of a man. She felt the strong arms gathering around her waist. His hot breath was so close to her hair. His fingers play with her braids she let him do.

“You sound like fate brought you two together. Where is he now?“

“You know the saying. The right person, the wrong time.“ Or was it the wrong person and the right time?

****

Sun Wukong let out a stream of hot air through the nose.

“Bajie. How do you talk to pissy ladies?“ the monkey rolled up sleeves on his tunic.

“Finally! Time for my advice to shine!“

“Could you be even louder? I barely heard you over the silence, idiot.“

“Brothers, please. Not so...“

Both elders blatantly ignored him and began to form a plan,“You see, you pissed her off. Like extremely off. If I were the witch you’d already be castrated at best…“

“But you aren’t, clearly. So go on without all this rubbish.“

“Right. So where was I? Oh, yeah. Walk up to the door…“

“Alright.“

“Knock on it.“

“Can’t I just barge in?“

“Have you lost your mind?“ Bajie slapped his forehead with a palm. “You want her to scream at you and to wake Shifu up?“

Wukong unwillingly rolled his eyes. “You’re right. Go on.“

“You knock, you wait for her to open the door and then you tell her you’re sorry. That’s it.“

“Bajie,“ Wukong placed a hand on Bajie’s shoulder with a proud look,“I thought you were the idiot here. But no. It was me for the whole time. Because asking you for advice is even worse than smearing honey over my face and running head first into an anthill thinking I’m going to find sutras there.“

Pigsy’s face reddened. Big tusks protruded through his mouth. He stamped on the floor and almost yelled if he weren’t shushed by Wujing,“Fine! Next time go after Bai Long Ma and ask him.“

“Bai Long Ma?“ Wukong cast a puzzled look.

“The dragon-horse.“

“Idiot, I didn’t forget who that is. I’m just wondering why I’d go to him.“ The monkey snorted and continued,“Fine, sorry that I snapped at you. Now, how do you apologise directly? How do you word it out? Keep in mind, I want to sound sincere about the whole situation.“

The pig demon frowned. Eventually he agreed to help his senior brother in both arms and beliefs. “Prick up your ears, Big Bro. Tell exactly this. Not a single word can be different. My Lady…“

“Pff. Alright. Wujing, give me the honey.“

Wukong was ready to wave over but Bajie forcefully grabbed him by the collar and sat him down. With an irritated voice, Pigsy whispered,“My Lady, you deserve every single bit of my profound apology for my incompetence and horrible behaviour. I belittled you in front of Her Highness, my Shifu and my sworn brothers. I can only imagine how deeply hurt you must have been. You’re just as wise as you’re beautiful though the most beautiful is Her Highness herself. I humbly ask for forgiveness and I swear on my very own life, no…, existence that such an incident won’t occur ever again for such a loyal soul could never be compared to a low-life.“

When the boar was done he looked around for a well-earned recognition and gratitude. All he found, though, was Wujing walking away to check up on sleeping Sanzang and Wukong scratching his armpit while yawning. Pigsy knew this was the moment for the ace up his sleeve. His brother just needs a little push or two. With the rest of the guests already sleeping tightly the whole situation only played into his cards.

“You don’t have the courage to talk to a woman.“

“What did you say?“

“That you’re a coward.“

The word resonated strongly within the monkey. He pouted, eyes narrowed and piercing Bajie through and through,“Repeat that, idiot.“

****

“He sounds like someone out of the sweetest dream.“

“Oh, and trust me he was, Mei. Like those times when we lay under the starlit sky and he whispered sweet nothings to me…“

Both young women sighed with a dream-like state.

“And then we have those like Great Sage himself…“

“No, don’t mention him anymore. Maybe he’ll hear you and he’ll barge in with another spit into your face, Márgerdra.“

“May he suit himself and show his true colours again. I dare him.“

“Not that I want to defend him. Sun Wukong brought your wrath upon himself by his own foolishness. To count in the insolence from this evening he does deserve a punishment. But you had your own remarks, didn’t you? You may say it’s just teasing. However it often grew into something more malicious. At least, that’s what it sounded to me like.“

Márgerdra paused in thought. An invisible worm gnawed her brain. The Monkey King wasn't the kindest of people and he truly had his shortcomings. Then she recalled his look. Once again, those damned warm eyes followed her everywhere she stepped in. Horrified cries of innkeepers resounded in the Lady Wolf Witch’s ears. An ugly monster. A disgusting runt. She too poked fun at him for his height and his face. Yet it wasn’t his fault. She cruelly provoked him for the sake of amusement.

The foreign beauty lowered her eyes. She used to live a tough life. Only her sister shielded her while being called the most humiliating names. Yet, Márgerdra honestly loved and cared for her well-being despite all. Why should the monkey be any different?

‘If I were you I’d pray for your new ‘mother’ not to get you killed.’ The sentence stabbed Márgerdra’s heart every time no matter how much time had passed since. Such a hateful creature yet she can’t bring herself to banish the thought of him. Maybe because she saw someone in him. Or because they were both equally lost. The Wolf Witch couldn’t answer it.

She must act somehow. Either she’ll make their journey a walk through Hell or Heaven. The choice was solely hers. For the sake of Mei the advisor chose the latter.

“I should find him.“

Mei, caught off guard, sat up,“Wow. From all the time we’ve spent together I’d expect much longer time for you to admit your fault.“

“Would you like to help me out?“ Márgerdra threw a jacket over her nightgown,“Or should I just give him a sweet treat in hopes of him realising I’d like to put the strife aside?“

****

Dark silhouettes swiftly zigzagged among the thick forest cover. The cold raindrops mercilessly wetted their garments. Outlines of their hunched bodies resemble snakes prepared for a deadly strike. Unfortunately, their true intentions didn’t differ much.

“Hey, pst, do you think this is the place?“

“Yeah, the guy said the monk resides in that tavern.“

“But they pay us every month so we don’t attack them anymore. If we do, the ruler won’t be happy with us.“

“The ruler doesn’t need to know. And if she does she’ll only try to bargain the monk for a good deal of money. I mean it’s still not as good as immortality. We kinda promised the monk to that guy, too. But consider all the other benefits we could try to force out of her. We’d be her right hand. We’ll have riches and also bitc…“

“Yeah, you. The dude with no maidens…I don’t know. The guy still doesn’t sit right with me. A cloak over his head, never coming out of the shadows. And those eerie burning eyes like two smouldering coals…He sounds fishy. Since he mentioned some darn monkey warlord we should pack our things even quicklier. The risk is bigger than the profit.“

“Brother, c’mon. One runt shouldn’t be a problem.“

The second person with protruding cheekbones smacked his hissing friend’s head from behind,“Moron! The ‘runt’ is the Great Sage. The demon king who fought Heaven itself.“

“And he was subdued and put under the mountain for who knows how long,“ the bandit with slit pupils massaged the stinging place. “We’re younger and have strength in numbers. Right, boys?“

He looked around. At least three dozen crawling bodies surrounded the wooden building. Some of them made their way into stables where they masterfully put out all the horses. Only one of them nearly gave them away if it weren’t for a massive blow into the white stallion’s head. Strangely enough, no blood appeared around his collapsed body.

“Weird creature. I’ve never seen a horse with a webbed-like mane,“ said the one with sharp cheeks. “Hey, so what about the ape guy?“

“Calm down. Relax. The cloaked guy took care of it. He said the group should have found some weird potion. He can’t show himself much so we need to take care of the rest. That means we need to make the ape drink it.“

“How?“

“Watch,“ the snake-like man insidiously smirked and pulled out a gifted whistle from his pocket.

****

Bajie gnawed his teeth and brought out hands of pockets. There was a small dot on his hand. He shook his head. Mosquitos aren’t an extraordinary discovery during the summer, especially in mountain forests like this one. Suddenly a genuine smile plastered over his wide face. “Brother, look. This was dropped by Ol’ Sha. I don’t know what kind of medicine it is but it may help you with building up confidence!“ Pigsy cringed to himself. His brother was the last person that needed any sort of such help. At the same time, an invisible force squeezed his neck as it was a punishment for thinking otherwise.

Wukong eyed him up and down. “What are you talking about, idiot? Give it back to Wujing. You know nothing about treatments. And I can’t tell you even from standing here it’s no ‘confidence helper’ like you want to believe.“

“If not then what is it, huh? C’mon. Tell me, you overclever boaster.“

“I don’t know. But there’s no way I’m going to drink it.“

“Trust me, brother. If Wujing’s been carrying it around with telling us it must have something to do with confidence. You know how shy he can be.“

The Monkey King showed Pigsy his back and checked his nails. None of them seemed to be broken.

“You’re just being prissy. Cowardly ape.“

“I’m a monkey,“ Wukong gritted his teeth and whipped his tail around.

“Cool. So you’re a cowardly monkey who’s too afraid to say sorry to one damned woman and to carry consequences from his Shifu. Also, did you drop your boots? Seems like you’re shorter than yesterday.“

The Sage froze on the spot. Even though his face wasn’t visible to Bajie his junior was sure the furry disciple’s eye twitched uncontrollably. He was well past the phase of pouting. This was getting dangerously serious.

“Give me the potion,“ in a second he appeared next to him like a ghost. The slender hand grabbed the small flask and mixed it with the rest of the peach tea Wukong found in the green teapot. In a matter of a second, the substance was finally circulating his insides.

****

“What did you do?“

“I activated the small magical rope which will make sure the one carrying it will deliver the substance to the target,“ the whistle carrier smiled from ear to ear. Hundreds of tiny teeth flashed through the stormy night.

His sworn brother smacked him again,“How do you know the monkey will be there and not scouting the area? Or that he will drink the liquid, huh? What if he refuses and finds out about the sting?“

The snake man widened his eyes. He swallowed hard before saying,“Well, I…kinda didn’t think of that option…“

“Moron! You want to have the monk yet you can’t come up with a good plan for kidnapping?! All you can do is to rely on pure luck!“

“You can try it next time yourself! All you do for the whole day is eat, take a piss, sleep and fart!“

“What did you say?!“ Both rogues threw themselves on each other. They pulled their clothes, bit and kicked each other.

One of the dark silhouettes stopped by them and whispered,“Boss, what now? Should we prepare for getting inside and subduing the rest of the pilgrims?“

The fighting duo stopped. The taller man with wolf-like cheeks and growling voice commanded,“No, we’re going back to the cave. Tell the troop to crawl out of the ro-“ He never got the chance to finish his sentence. A cold blade slicing his neck open released his last breath which was carried away by the howl of the storm.

The rogue spat on the corpse. “Never trust a snake, brother. I warned you when you decided to make our blood pact,“ the treacherous rogue wiped off the bodily liquid and continued in his newly found leadership,“Tell the boys to kill the fishman and the pig. The princess and the foreigner will be taken hostage with the monk. They’ll be a fine snack. Oh, last thing - don’t harm the monkey. The cloaked one wants him for himself.“

****

All of a sudden, Wukong had the urge to sit down. Despite his own displeasure something inside him poked him to laugh. Cold sweat rose above his eyebrows. Both hands began to shake uncontrollably. 

Smiling widely he asked,“Bajie, what was it really?“

“An ego booster.“

“You sure? Hehe.“

“Not completely. I just suddenly had the urge to give it to you. Strange…Eh, Big Bro? You okay? Your smile’s scaring me.“

Out of the blue, Sun Wukong jumped to his feet. He boldly stepped out and kissed Bajie on his cheeks. Throughout the movement the demon nearly lost balance. “Thank you, B-Bajie. I had to give you kisses for a goodnight. Because after tonight I’ll make s-sure to give you solely nightmares.“ The senior patted him and with wobbling pace he set out for the door of the princess’ bedroom.

Once he was there he leaned over the door frame and knocked. The Monkey King didn’t forget to wink back at his middle brother who gave him uncertain thumbs up before quickly returning back to Shifu and Wujing.

Nothing. Nobody responded. Wukong pressed his ear to the door and listened. There was hectic rustling of sheets and muffled female voices.They seemed to have repeated something over and over. The little stage was put aside once the monkey knocked again.

Instead of the tall blonde a black-haired girl peeked out from behind the sliding door,“Great Sage?! What are you doing here, this late at night? It must be well past midnight.“

“Your Highness,“ he tried to bow but considering his head started spinning Wukong chose to nod his head instead,“I wanted to s-say my sorry to you and your protractor, protu-protector. It was completely wr-wrong of me. You are on your way to secure your country. The road is dangerous. And Lady Márgerdra is more than suitable with h-her skills to prot-protect you.“

Finally, he succeeded in stammering out everything in a muffled voice that lay heavy on him. Unaware of the stunned witch listening to him hidden behind a corner he continued, ignoring his rising temperature,“Speaking of whom, is she here? I mean, she’s gotta be here. It’s her room, too, after all. Can-can I talk to her? P-person-nally, I mean…Your Highness.“

Márgerdra touched the shoulder of hesitant Mei,“Yes, you can.“ She whispered kindly.

Before she walked out of the room she didn’t forget to tuck Mei back to her bed. Following the swaying monkey demon she stepped into the dim light of the empty hall. She had a suspicious look. To Wukong, it reminded of the combat zeal she possessed on the day they first met. Candles gave her beautiful face a mysterious touch. He wasn’t sure if it was the effect of the potion or her eyes really glowed in the darker parts of the inn.

“So, Lady Márgerdra? Really?“ she raised her eyebrow and sat on the bench opposite to Wukong. She crossed her arms and legs simultaneously while listening to his odd rambling.

“What’s your problem now, blondie? Look, I’m sorry I spat in your face in front of the others. That was pretty child-dish of me. I just…I’m not s-sure what to make out about you. I’m just afraid my Shifu will be hu-hurt. And I partially took out my fr-frustration on you. You’re a solid guy…woman. You know w-what I mean, blondie. You’re a strange fellow, you see. And sometimes it can be kinda d-difficult to live up to Shifu’s expectations. Oh boy, it’s getting hot here, isn’t it?“ Wukong’s shaking fingers undid the sash around his waist so he could throw away his tunic. Once he was freed of the uncomfortable layer he wiped the sweat off of his brows and continued blankly staring into space in front of him. The dark undershirt was already soaking wet with his sweat. It stuck to his body, perfectly outlining every single muscle he possessed. Márgerdra wondered how long it took him to achieve such a well-defined build.

“Monkey?“

“Yep? All ears for you, blondie,“ he puffed and leaned with his back against the table behind him.

“Did you drink?“

“Me? And drinking? Are you m-mad, blondie? Nooo,“ Wukong tilted his head with laughter and stuck out his long tongue.

Another branch hit the shutters. The storm doesn’t seem to be satisfied with the havoc it’s causing.

When Wukong thought he was done he noticed what she was wearing. The nightgown was all too revealing for his taste. What a shame it would be if somebody saw her dressed up in thin white silk. It didn’t matter that she was pulling closer her jacket. Even worse for him. A monk should be sound asleep and not engaging at such a late hour with a woman in her best years. Nobody would listen to the poor monkey and his Master proving his disciple never looked over a single skirt in his entire life. It saddened him because he knew the witch had to be aware she’d be unrightfully degraded into a similar position. She doesn’t deserve it. Not after all she went through that day. He noticed she was rather sweet now. Not once did she raise her voice or scolded him. It was quite the other way around. The advisor watched him with sympathy. Wukong was slowly beginning to get lost in her big eyes. The Monkey King couldn’t help himself but raise the corner of his lip. He has to ask her now or never again. He must know the truth.

“Tell me - are you really such a bitch you like to pretend to be?“

If looks could kill and Wukong wouldn’t be immortal his body would be lying on the ground ripped to pieces. “What did you say?!“

“Not in a bad way,“ the demon shushed her down,“I noticed you l-like to be uptight, prissy. Y’know, a lady from the upper class. But you throw pretty good blows for somebody with a different up-bringing.“

There it was again. His deep look with the smug face she despised so much. His cover up.

“Maybe. I don’t want to talk about it.“ She slowly responded and watched the monkey demon as he stretched out for the peach a guest left on the table during the dinner. 

“Alright. As you wish, b-blondie. But is it true? Now, I don’t wanna generalise but there’s a lot, and I mean a q-quant-tum, of people who achieved similar positions by doing ques-stionable stuff…“

“So now not a shrew or a demon but a low-life, as well. That’s new. Thanks a lot.“

“Whoah, hold your reins, blondie. All I’m saying is that a rat can be any of us. Not that I’m into that stuff. But I’m not blind either. I see you’re rat-ther p-pretty. So…“

He stood up with difficulties. When he hunched over her Márgerdra felt his hot breath on her neck. Oddly, his odour wasn’t as disgusting as she remembered. Although sweaty, his body possessed, in fact, a pleasant smell. It was weak but still there. It was an intoxicating mix of salt, wet fur and bitter herbs. The witch breathed it in and out. She was surprised his own smell had a similar effect as she hoped so for her perfume.

About which she was right. Wukong knew what he was doing. On one hand, what he was about to say, he wanted it to be their little secret. Also, there was a need to get closer to the irresistible magnolia.

“Márgedra…“

“Did you just say my name?“

He ignored her stunned voice. “I was harsh towards you. Sorry for that. I think we should start over. W-what do ya think?“

When she remained silent he added,“Listen, if anyone happens to bother either you or Mei…just let me know, alright? I know you can take care of yourself. But sometimes it’s better when there’s someone having your back. I’ll make sure you…that you…“ 

‘…you’ll be safe’ was what he initially planned to say. However, he couldn’t find the will to say it outloud. An image of Qiang and Márgerdra and how fast she ran out of the shed unnerved him for some reason.

“I’ll tone myself down. I promise you that, monkey. And I’ll make sure your Master stays unharmed during our travels, too.“

“So, is it a deal, blondie?“ He locked eyes with her, their noses nearly touching. For the first time, Márgerdra thought she saw not only the familiar warmth but also honesty and kindness there.

She smiled weakly. “I guess so,“ she replied with a sweet whisper and grabbed the offered hand welcomingly.

Wukong’s knees gave up and he collapsed on her. While she tapped and gently caressed his back they both let out a silent chuckle. Wukong thought his new friendship couldn’t have started out better.

“Sorry, I forgot to mention something. Though I noticed it just a few seconds earlier.“

“What is it?“

“Duck behind the table, blondie.“

The Wolf Witch gave him a puzzled look when she heard a hissing from the corner of the room,“Get’em, boys.“

Somehow she managed to throw the simian from herself and jump behind the table, shielding herself from the whirlwind of daggers. All the candles were suddenly put out leaving the witch in absolute darkness for several heart-clenching moments. Before she cast the spell to summon the blinding light another light cut the black in half.

Two flaming dots moved at a lightning speed across the whole room. Once they were in the height of the human, the next moment they lit the corner of the ceiling. Apart from the terrifying sight of two demonic eyes the hectic movements were accompanied by dull thuds of a metal.

The witch’s face twisted into unholy contours. She grabbed the nearby dagger and followed the trace she found. Fearlessly, she stabbed several slimy bodies she saw in her way. Once she took out the weapon a sticky ooze poured out from the fatal wound.

In a few heartbeats, it was all over. A strong blow and the candles were finally lit again. Both Wukong and Márgerdra were covered in the unfamiliar liquid.

“How did you know we were going to get attacked?“ she threw away the dagger. Soon, she got frustrated by her vain attempts to wipe away the ooze.

“I told you I got a good n-nose. By the way, how did you see in the dark, blondie?“ Wukong, slightly more sober, made his way toward her. He still nearly tripped over his own legs.

The witch couldn’t let out a single word as a slow clapping of hands cut their conversation in half. However, the owner was nowhere to be found.

“Yeah, he warned me you’d be a tough nut to crack.“

Wukong growled,“Who are you, demon? Show yourself.“

A tall slender person walked out of the dark corner of the hall. Their head was bald and covered in dark green scales. Their yellow eyes with slit pupils targeted both rivals. The person stopped.

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re him,“ the snake-like person had a problem to contain his laughter. The man gestured with his hand as if trying to guess out the height difference between him and the demon he was hunting down.

Wukong sighed and rolled his eyes. He threw Ruyi Jingu Bang over his shoulders,“You got a problem?“

“Not me. But you, runt.“

“Careful. You have no idea who you’re speaking with, boy.“ The monkey demon confidently took a step closer.

“That’s the catch, old man. But why don’t you introduce yourself. I can do the same.“

Márgerdra nervously shifted in her place,“Monkey, no. He’s provoking…“

She didn’t finish her sentence because the impish disciple already took off. He landed a powerful punch into the rogue’s face. Several shards of knocked out teeth sank into his knuckles. “It’s Great Sage Equal to Heaven for you next time. No old man,“ the imp shook his palm and looked down at the astonished opponent who was thrown to the wall.

“Damnit, you’re still in shape. But how? You should be poisoned…“ the snake hissed back. Blood trickled down his short chin. The rogue demon’s dismay was short-lived - Wukong managed to grab his spinning head and painfully hissed. The golden cudgel slipped from his hand.

Márgerdra then realised something. The branches falling on the roof…weren’t branches. Horrified, her eyes widened beyond belief and her breath trembled. All she was able to say was,“Mei…“

She turned to run back. But, alas, it was too late.

“Boys! Plan B!“ The snake yelled out. Gathering the last strength he spat venom into Wukong’s eyes who had to lean over a wall to catch a breath. The monkey roared in pain. Right when he thought he was finally half-sober the opponent had to play dirty tricks on him. Same as Márgerdra, Wukong, too, remembered his brothers and Shifu. Unlike her, he had no way to run. The poison circulating in him made sure he stumbled and collapsed on the cold floor. Though the venom missed his eyes by an inch, the wound still hurt. Suddenly, something as black as a coal surrounded him and blocked his vision. A stinging stench hit his nose. He tried to move but an indescribable weight pushed him to the ground. He heard screaming, both male and female. The furniture was being destroyed in absolute havoc.

The Sage’s eyelids became heavy. His head wasn’t in a better state. It fell on the ground, the circlet rang against the floor. Sanzang calling his name in hopes of waking him up was the only thing Wukong was aware of before his body gave out and he passed out.

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Taglist (let me know if you'd like to be added): @vanessaroades-author @rubywrite @aohendo @rbbess110 @jgmartin @outpost51

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List of chapters:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Epilogue