#dead magic would probably taste foul as all hell

[courtofstarsanddreamers]

The Cost of Survival

Deleted scene from Rhys's time with Amarantha UTM

Content warning: torture, violence, blood

You can read it and comment on AO3 here

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A fresh trickle of blood ran down Rhysand’s chin as he stared at his captor through narrowed eyes. His wrists were strung up in chains, those damned chains from Hybern that rendered his own powers, or whatever was left of them, utterly useless. 

Another blow landed then, right at the top of his cheekbone, and he had to close his eyes against the sudden sharp crack of pain. The way the room began to spin. A laugh sounded through the ringing in his ears that made his blood boil, and then one, sharp nail met his skin, traced the planes of his bruised and battered face. “Welcome to my Court of Nightmares, Rhysand. So glad you could join us.” 

The blood in his mouth tasted too sharp, metallic, but when he spit it out against the dirty stone floor, it only earned him another sharp blow to the ribs.  

The noise that came out of him then did not make him feel particularly dignified.  

The one saving grace about this whole situation was that Amarantha didn’t seem to remember.  

That fact alone infuriated Rhysand to no end. That she could slaughter his warriors in front of his very eyes, keep him pinned like an insect with ash arrows, keep him crippled and absolutely helpless in her clutches, and not even remember who the hell he was.  

But he couldn’t deny her piss poor memory had its advantages.  

Namely, that she didn’t remember his wings.  

As soon as he’d realized that truth, he knew he would never reveal them willingly. Not while he was trapped down here. Rhys would never let her in on that one, crucial part of himself, lest she use it to her advantage and further torture him. He’d been lucky enough to escape with brutal but repairable damage after her games during the war. He didn’t fool himself into thinking he’d be so lucky twice.  

And though his every bone screamed in pain at the relentless beating, the fractures he was sure he had already sustained, the blood dripping into obscene puddles on the floor beneath his feet, Rhysand knew it was one tenth of the pain he’d be in if she got her hands on those wings.  

He swallowed, mouth suddenly dry at the thought.  

No, he had somehow gotten very, very lucky despite his own stupid mistakes that had landed him here.  

An icy hand gripped him by the jaw, and even that made him hiss in pain. He wondered idly if it was already dislocated.  

His poor, beautiful face. What a pity.  

Squinting as he gingerly opened one eye, then the other, he peered into Amarantha’s sneering face. “Come now, Rhysand. No clever words?” Her grip turned harsh, and he couldn’t hold back his scream. “Your father certainly had plenty to say about me.” 

His father. She was doing all this because of his father. His dead father. It wasn’t as if the prick was around to see any of it. Hell, if he was alive he’d probably let her do it. He had never been the protective type. Especially not when it came to his half-breed disappointment of a son.  

Rhysand ground his teeth and tasted blood. He resisted the urge to spit this time.  

His next swallow tasted foul as it worked itself down his throat.  

He let the moment steady him. Shock his senses back into some semblance of working order.  

He needed to think.  

He couldn’t die down here. If he died, Velaris was at risk. The entirety of the Night Court, or what was remaining of it, was at risk. He had lost half of the ones here, Under the Mountain, already. He wouldn’t lose more. Couldn’t. But how?  

How to get this murdering, sadistic bitch on his side? To keep her eyes anywhere but on his territory? His people? 

Her magic clawed at his throat, angling his head up as it squeezed like a powerful fist, choking off his air, cutting off all oxygen until he was on the verge of passing out, blackness edging into his vision– 

In a blink, it disappeared, and Rhys gasped for breath right as another blow landed hard against his right flank. Amarantha’s laughter rang through his aching head.  

“My fa–” His words were cut off as a sharp wave of pain rolled through him, his cumulative injuries threatening to overtake his ability to speak at all.  

Amarantha just angled his face up again with those icy fingers, her smile cruel and unfaltering. “What was that, Rhysand? You’ll have to speak up.” 

He took a shuddering breath. “My father,” he continued, each word raw and painful as it clawed its way out of his throat, “was a fool. And I am glad that he is dead, so he can no longer poison my court with idiotic decisions that yield us no benefit.” 

Her eyes narrowed, head angled. She was listening.  

He braced himself for another blow, but it never came. The faerie at his side, the one who had been gleefully pounding his body to a pulp while its queen watched, had fallen still.  

“Go on,” Amarantha crooned.  

“He was,” Rhys gritted out against the blinding pain in his face, “blinded by foolish ideals. I rule my court… very differently.” 

A mix of truth and lies. Just as he had always been taught.  

Amarantha’s grin pulled wider, her interest obvious now. “Oh?” 

“I bow to no one but you.” He swallowed down another mouthful of blood and his own pride. His ego bruised along with every inch of his body. “You are the only one with a vision for Prythian. A unified Prythian with the High Fae on top where we rightly belong.” Despite the pain in his split lip, despite the ache in heart screaming at him that this was wrong, he smirked up at the woman who he hated more than anyone else and told her, “Why should the weakest vermin among us stand on equal footing with the strong? Forget my father, and let me help you, Amarantha. I could be a valuable asset. More valuable than you even realize.” 

She hummed, and it was a cold, slightly bored sound. But her eyes… he could see that she was considering it, and in that moment Rhysand knew, he knew, that he could do this. He could make this work to his advantage, in whatever small way. “I suppose,” she mused, tracing a sharp, well-manicured nail up his bloody cheek, “that it would be a shame to waste such a pretty face.”  

He swallowed hard.  

She turned his face this way and that, admiring her handiwork with heavy-lidded eyes. “You want to get out of these chains so badly,” she taunted him softly, leaning in so her breath ghosted the shell of his ear, “to ally yourself with me?” Rhysand nodded the tiniest bit, every muscle screaming at him. “Then beg.” 

The words hit him like a wall of ice.  

Beg.  

Beg Amarantha.  

His teeth ground despite the ache in his jaw.  

He was a fearsome warrior. The most powerful High Lord of any of the courts. And Amarantha had tortured and murdered his own troops all of those years ago.  

He wanted nothing more than to see her dead.  

Nausea roiled in his stomach.  

But Amarantha just stared, smiling expectantly, and he knew deep in his heart that there was no other way. It was this, or condemn himself, and in turn condemn his people.  

He dropped his gaze to the floor and released a shaking breath.  

“Please.”  

She waved an imperious hand and the chains dropped lower without warning, Rhys’s whole body dropping until he collapsed to his knees, blood soaking through the material of his pants until it was sticky against his skin. Against the tattoos adorning each knee. He could practically feel their disappointment in him. What he would allow himself to become.  

“Please what, Rhysand?”  

“Please,” he gritted out, voice hoarse, “let me help you rule this land. Whatever you need of me,” he promised against another violent wave of nausea, “say the world and it will be done. I can help you, Amarantha. The others… they already fear me. Already know that I am capable of doing horrible things to those who get in my way. Use that. Use me. I want to assist you. To see you become the ruler you were always meant to be. Let me,” he begged her, voice cracking from the strain of his screaming. “Let me help you.”  

The silence that followed was so dangerous and deadly that it chilled him to his bones. She had just used the opportunity to humiliate him. She had no intention of keeping him alive. Panic fluttered like a caged bird in his chest, and he sent a silent prayer to the Mother to protect his family back in Velaris once he was gone.   

But then, “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to try you out.” With great effort, Rhys picked up his bowed head, glancing up into dark, calculating eyes. He kept his own face as carefully neutral as he could, given the circumstances. “I’ll see you at this evening's entertainment,” she told him, dismissive as she stepped away, waving a hand in his general direction. Rhys had to fight to hold back a sigh of relief. The first step. He had done it. He could do this.  

And once he had her trust, it was only a matter of time before he found a way to finally kill her.  

Amarantha paused by the door, slowly glancing back over her shoulder at her crony still lurking somewhere to Rhysand’s right. “Give our dear High Lord a bit more of a welcome before you send him on his way,” she commanded, smile turning cold as she fixed her icy gaze on Rhysand. “A small taste of what I might do to you if you betray me.” She turned away as the faerie stepped closer, claws already piercing their way through Rhysand’s bruised and battered skin. He arched away from the searing pain, but the movement only amplified its effect. He swallowed down his scream and glared at her retreating back, silently vowing to enact his revenge one way or another. “I’ll see you in a few hours, Rhysand. Do wear something nice.”  

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[magical-xirl-4]

This might sound weird, but anyone else think that magic in the realm of magic would taste like chicken soup? Ever since I saw it, it gave off that vibe.

Like, why does it look so good??

[loki-hargreeves]

You Flower, You Feast - Loki x Reader [PART 2]

[PART 1]

Warnings: pregnancy, relationship issues, morning sickness, angst, fighting, flinching, falling ill, magical medical procedures, mentions of death (possibility of dying, but no one dies), mentions of torture, hurt/comfort, bittersweet fluff and implied smut (love making) at the end

Word Count: 8,1K

Summary: Part 2 of ‘you flower, you feast’. You’re pregnant, but you’re hiding the fact from Loki. After his return, he has been different and you haven’t been able to confide in him like you did before. The truth is revealed after you end up in the infirmary after getting sick. The fear of almost losing you makes Loki realize that things need to change, and he finally tells you what happened to him after he fell from the bridge. It seems like he’s finally back again. 

Author’s Note: You don’t really have to read the first part in order to read this, but it would help paint a fuller picture. The first part has smut, but the plot is quite long as well. I hope you’ll enjoy this! Requested by @sunshineyrosie​

   THIRD POV

The sickness took over Y/N by surprise. She had just woken up and she immediately knew that something was wrong. Without wasting any time, she got up from the safety of the warm bed, running toward the bathroom that was in her and Loki’s shared quarters. By the time she reached the toilet, everything she had eaten the previous day came up, making her eyes and nose sting. It made her stomach sick when she coughed up everything which left a foul taste in her mouth. 

She couldn’t remember the last time she had woken up so abruptly. When she was finished, she cleaned up after herself and had to rinse her mouth thoroughly. 

A thought crossed her mind as she wondered why she was so nauseous. Could it be? Could she be pregnant? 

It had been a few weeks since she and Loki had decided to try for a baby. For countless nights, they had been tangled in a rough dance and her body had every mark to prove that. Not that it didn’t feel great, because the rough sex with Loki was mind-blowing, but that was all it was; rough. Loki was still not letting her in. He was hiding behind his tall and strong walls and she was afraid he’d never break them down. It felt like he used the sex as a distraction. 

Y/N put a hand on her stomach and realized that if she was carrying a child - their child - it would change their lives. Would Loki change? What if he stayed the same, distant and rough man. Could that be good for a child? 

“Are you in there?” Loki’s voice startled her. He hadn’t been in bed when she had woken up, but now he was right behind the bathroom door. 

Although she was still in shock, she tried to push her thoughts away. Her hand dropped to her side and she cleared her throat, “Yeah,” letting him know she was awake and well. 

“Is everything alright?” Loki wondered. It was sweet of him to care. Perhaps he was hoping to hear some positive news, but she wasn’t going to tell him. Not yet. 

Y/N took one last glance in the mirror, noticing just how tired she looked. Perhaps a bath would make her feel better and more at ease? She decided to get the water running.

“I’m fine, Loki. I’m going to take a bath,” She let him know, leaving an open invitation for him to join her. 

The door opened and Loki walked in. He had magicked his clothes on because once they were in private, they came off by vanishing into thin air. “Mind if I join you?” 

The water began to flow silently into the big bathtub. Surely, the hot water would make her feel better. Perhaps Loki would benefit from the relaxation it offered too. 

“Sounds great,” She smiled, but she didn’t sound too convincing. Her morning sickness was fresh on her mind and all she could think about was the possibility of being pregnant. For some reason, it absolutely terrified her. If only Loki was alright, so she could confide in him. How would he react to the news? Would he be mad if she hid it from him? 

As the two of them sunk into the water that smelled of lavender and other expensive herbs and oils, Y/N leaned against Loki’s body. She was still exhausted and she wished that even for a moment, they could just be like this. It reminded her of the good old days when they were so happy. Everything had changed. Being like that, so close was lovely. 

Loki’s skilled fingers traced patterns over her exposed skin. He was careful not to apply too much pressure to the fresh love-bites and bruises among the old ones. If anyone saw her like that, it would be obvious that she was his, and vice versa. Loki’s back was certainly covered in scratches.

Y/N wondered if Loki could feel the way her heart was pounding in her chest. She wondered if he could tell she was troubled by her own thoughts. Did he still care? 

“What’s on your mind, dear?” He noticed that something was different. For weeks, everything had been out of the ordinary. Was he simply imagining it or was she distracted by something? 

She blinked a few times, hoping to get rid of the sleepiness that still had a hold on her. Then she faced Loki, searching for something familiar in his eyes. She knew that he was still in there, and sometimes it showed, like in moments like these. 

What is on my mind? She thought. She wanted to know what happened to Loki on the bridge because Thor and Odin refused to tell her the details. What happened to him after that? Where had he been and who had he been with? Why did Loki show up on Midgard with the goal of taking over the realm? Why had he visited Earth out of all places before coming to her? Had he missed her? Because she had missed him more than words could’ve ever expressed. The nights she spent in the palace where she couldn’t escape his memory, thinking he was dead, had been absolutely dreadful. She had thought of him every single day. 

“Nothing, I’m just tired,” Y/N sighed and decided to keep things to herself, for now. It was better that way. Perhaps Loki saw that she was lying, but he decided not to poke holes in her story. Deep down, he feared he might’ve already known the answer. Guilt was tormenting him already but he had no clue how to deal with it. Where would he even begin? It was easier to shut her out. 

                                                           A few weeks passed, and she held tight onto her secret. By now it was clear as daylight that she was expecting a child, their child. It should’ve been easy to tell Loki, but so far she kept it to herself. Sometimes it felt like Y/N was trying to fool her own mind and lie to herself. Despite it all, she knew that it was wrong. At some point, he would find out whether she liked it or not and she knew it would be best if Loki heard it from her. Yes, he wanted a child. But how would he react? Was he ready? Was he having these fantasies merely so they would stay together? What if he didn’t actually want a baby and he’d be mad? 

Y/N hated the thoughts she had. She absolutely despised the fact she feared him for no good reason. Loki had never hurt her and he had never implied that he would, yet her mind twisted things. He had changed, and she still didn’t know why. Would she ever see the old him again? 

It was midday and the sun was bright enough that even inside in the great library in the palace, she could read with ease without additional lights. With a cup of tea by her side and a book in her hand, she focused on the fictional world she was reading about, completely blocking out her real life for just a moment. In stories that had never happened, nothing mattered. She could look into a character’s life and worry about their problems instead of her own. Besides, for a few days now she had felt sick to her stomach and a headache had been prominent for days on end now. Not even her own magic had pushed it away which was unusual, but she assumed it was because of the pregnancy. Therefore she didn’t think to mention her odd symptoms to anyone. Not that anyone would’ve cared much of a headache anyway. 

When she put the book down, it was much darker. Through the sheer curtains, she could see the sun was setting, which painted all of Asgard golden and pink. When had she finished her tea?

“Y/N?” Loki’s familiar voice caught her attention. Time had passed quicker than she could’ve expected, and she realized that she had forgotten to meet him. They had planned on eating dinner together that day. 

Quickly, she put the book down and she got up, noticing how stiff she felt after having been frozen on one spot for several hours probably. For a moment, she felt dizzy which she blamed on for standing up so fast.

“I’m here!” She let him know about her whereabouts as slowly the occurrences of the protagonist faded away from her mind. 

As Loki walked up to her, he seemed relieved - but only for a short while. 

“I was worried when you didn’t show up,” He said honestly. It was possibly the most caring thing he had said since his return, yet he was probably disappointed. Y/N quickly wiped away her bitter thoughts and focused on the brighter side. Despite how guilty she felt about missing their dinner date, she thought it was a great opportunity to try to dig deeper into what happened to him. Perhaps he’d open up?

“I’m so sorry, Loki, I am,” Y/N apologized sincerely, closing the gap between them. She felt hopeful when Loki let her take his hands in hers. His were always so soft, even when his touch was rougher than before between the sheets these days. His hands never changed. “I wasn’t feeling well and when I opened the book, I didn’t even notice how much time had passed until now.”

Loki overlooked what she said about feeling unwell. Perhaps it was wrong but he assumed she was avoiding him. Truthfully, he knew he had been a lot to handle recently. Hell, if he had been in her shoes, he would’ve probably avoided himself too. Loki couldn’t be too mad at her, because he did blame himself a lot. If only he knew how to change. His mind would surely be the end of him. 

“Hey,” Y/N noticed how lost he seemed in his own head, “Are you alright?”

A smile spread on his face, completely disregarding the sad trace that glimmered in his eyes a moment ago. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

So defensive, she thought. “If there’s anything you want to talk about, I hope you know I’m here for you.”

Loki recognized that look on her face. It was pity, and he hated it. Loki didn’t want her pity, he didn’t feel deserving of it. 

He pulled his hands out of her gentle grasp, “Do you think I can’t take care of myself?” 

The way he assumed things that she would never think was infuriating. Perhaps he was taking a toll on Y/N’s nerves because her headache was getting worse and she felt her blood boiling beneath her skin. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold up with his, and pretend as nothing had ever happened, or how long she could keep it a secret that she was carrying their child and she was unsure whether or not it was a good idea to have this baby. The guilt and pain were tormenting her. 

“That’s not what I said, Loki-”

“You were thinking it, were you not?” Loki didn’t know why he said that, but now it was too late. He didn’t wish to fight with her, but it seemed like his own thoughts and feelings were about to pour over the brim. 

A sigh escaped her lips and she felt like sitting down. The world around her was spinning and she wasn’t sure if it was just her nerves burning up that was causing it. It grew worse at an alarming rate and she felt cold sweat on her skin. 

“Don’t twist my words, Loki,” She groaned, more annoyed at the sick feeling that was overwhelming her rather than his attitude. 

Those words she said were a sharp reminder of the moment Loki shared with Odin. When he lifted the ice casket, when he confronted his so-called father and found out that he had been taken from Jotunheim as an infant. 

Loki’s heart was breaking in his chest piece by piece. The lie he had grown up in was now shattering and he saw through the cracks. Everything was beginning to make more sense. The pain and pure agony he felt was barely contained. He kept his teary-eyed glued onto his father, Odin, who wasn’t that much of his father after all. 

“The casket wasn’t the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?”

Odin looked shocked, but he didn’t look sad. It was like he cared more about being caught in a lie rather than being caught as a liar and a terrible father. Odin never cared about Loki, did he? Loki began to believe that he had never even been loved by him. Why did Odin know about Loki’s blue skin? Why did he know that it wasn’t a curse? It should’ve been a major shock to anyone, but Odin knew...

“No,” Odin eventually answered him.

Loki stopped walking once they were close enough for his liking. He wanted Odin to see his wrath and fury, and he wanted to see the shame on Odin’s face. 

“In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple and I found a baby - small for a giant’s offspring,” Odin recalled the day he found Loki. Of course, he didn’t tell Loki the exact story of the events that occurred. Odin wanted it to seem more glorious and heroic than it actually was. Loki would never know. “Abandoned, suffering....left to die.”

“Laufey’s son,” Odin confirmed.

“Laufey’s son,” Loki had to repeat that in order to process what he just heard. They were only two words, but he felt tears gathering in his eyes and he was choking up which he tried to ease by swallowing thickly, nervously. 

“Yes,” Odin nodded. He was oddly calm.

Loki stood there in shock, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. As if it wasn’t worse enough that his family had lied to him his entire life, now he was hearing that his actual family hadn’t wanted him either. Could it be true? That he was a prince that no one wanted to see become a king? Had he ever been worthy of love? What would Y/N think of him once she’d find out about his true origin? Would she stop loving him? 

“Why?” Loki struggled as he searched for the words he wanted to use. His thoughts were racing in his head and he felt like he would go mad if he tried to think too much right now. “You were knee-deep in Jotun blood, why would you take me?” 

“You were an innocent child-”

Loki could smell Odin’s lie from a mile away and it fueled his rage, “No. You took me for a purpose, what was it?” Loki had to know, even if he feared it would torment him for the rest of his life. There had to be a reason, Odin didn’t care for abandoned babies - otherwise, the palace would be full of children.

Odin was shocked that Loki had interrupted him, let alone refused to listen to his sorrow story. How would he react if he told him the real truth? Odin wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

The silence in the vault was uncomfortable, and it was burning on their skin. For Loki, the silence was dreadful and he couldn’t take it, 

“TELL ME!” He demanded loudly, his painful cry echoing throughout the entire room and surely beyond the golden walls. 

Odin couldn’t look Loki in the eye, “I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about permanent peace through you.”

Tears rolled down Loki’s face now, which he couldn’t control anymore. What Odin said was almost worse than not knowing at all. Odin had only seen an opportunity in Loki as an object, as a piece in negotiation. 

“Why?” 

“But those plans no longer matter,” Odin was quick to reassure him, but Loki doubted that. How could he ever trust another word that came out of his mouth ever again? That man had lied about Loki’s entire existence, made him believe that his own race was the pure evil enemy of the nine realms. Loki had heard Odin bash about how he had defeated the Jotuns in battle, and killed unimaginable amounts of Jotun soldiers. He had said those things as he kept the secret of Loki’s true nature. It was gross, it made Loki taste muck in his mouth.

“So I’m no more than another stolen relic,” Loki looked at the other stolen things in the vault that he was surrounded by, which was incredibly ironic, “locked up, here, until you might have use of me?” 

Odin didn’t enjoy being talked back to. He couldn’t foresee this ever happening and he couldn’t imagine what Loki was going through. The old king could only think about himself, about how he had faced this before with Hela. Why were his children not good enough? 

“Why do you twist my words?” 

Odin’s question echoed in Loki’s head and for a moment, he forgot the conversation that he had with his wife, one that was quickly escalating into a fight. It was a miracle it hadn’t happened sooner.

“Loki,” Y/N noticed that somehow, her words had affected him terribly. She wanted to know why. One side of her mind told her to give it up, to keep pretending like everything was fine because clearly Loki was still hurt. Another part of her wanted to encourage him to open up, to trust her again. She wanted to help him. The rough sex and silence afterwards would only get toxic and it wasn’t good for any of them long term. 

“You wouldn’t understand,” Loki made up his mind. 

Being pushed away constantly was not only frustrating but painful. When they got married, they had become a team. They had to be there for each other through the good and the bad. She had promised to be his rock, to be the one he could confide in no matter what. Suddenly, guilt overwhelmed her. He had promised that to her as well, and yet she hadn’t told Loki about the baby. 

“How can you say that if you don’t even try to make me understand?” She wondered, almost demanding him to say something, anything at all other than dismissive sentences and strange gazes.

Where would he even begin? It had been so long, and Loki had seen so much. Would he tell her about what happened on Asgard? Or should he begin with the titan that still haunted him like a shadow. 

“Loki, what happened to you on that bridge?” Y/N dared to ask him about something that surely was a sore spot. No one had told her, although she had asked many times. Thor had tried to come up with a heroic explanation for it all, but Y/N knew it to be all lies. Something darker had happened and she wanted to know so that she could help Loki. 

Had they really not told her? Loki was surprised at how little she truly knew. A broken smile spread on his face. Odin and Thor hadn’t had the guts to tell her the truth. They were so cowardly, it was almost comedic in a way. 

“What did they tell you happened?” 

“They told me lie after lie. I don’t care about their version of the story. Loki, the only story I care about is yours,” She let out a shaky breath. The spinning was getting worse by the second. Had she consumed something bad?

Loki wanted to tell her, but he knew the truth would put her through a lot of sorrow. Would she still care for him if she knew everything?

He held onto his words for a while longer. Every cell in his body was burning with longing, wanting to tell her everything, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Besides, he kept thinking about Odin which agitated him. Why did he have to make it into every aspect of his life? 

Loki fell silent and watched her walk away. Instead of trying to reach for him, she walked to the nearest bookcase and leaned against the fine wood. 

“What’s going on?” Loki realized how oddly she was behaving. Perhaps she was genuinely feeling under the weather? His anger began to fade as it was replaced by worry. 

“Nothing!” She hissed, lying, but only because she didn’t want to focus on her. 

Loki couldn’t bear hearing her lies, as ironic as it was. “Don’t lie to me, Y/N, I can tell that something is off!”

As he spoke with a loud voice and walked towards her, Y/N flinched. She didn’t mean to, but the loud noise and his abrupt movement had startled her. Her hand quickly covered her stomach, which was completely unintentional and her eyes widened in shock. Why did she react like that?

Loki stilled completely, unable to believe what happened. Did she think he would harm her? Was she afraid of him? 

“Did you think I was going to hurt you?” He muttered in disbelief. Seeing the look on her face made Loki feel disgusted with himself. He felt like a monster. 

Y/N let her hand fall to her side. 

“No, I just...I don’t know, Loki,” She felt awful for even thinking about it. That was Loki! Her husband. The man she was in love with. If it wasn’t for the torturous headache and nausea she was suffering from, she would’ve hugged him and reassured Loki that she wasn’t afraid of him, but right now all she could do was  lean against the steady bookcase. Y/N was convinced that her balance would betray her if she tried to stand all on her own. 

It was definitely not something she could’ve ignored furthermore. In a desperate attempt to make things right, she tried to walk to Loki. Although she was lightheaded and everything around her began to turn into a blurry mess, she knew one thing; she needed Loki. She couldn’t let him think he was a monstrous creature. She hadn’t meant to flinch like that - it just happened. 

Whenever times were troubling or she was afraid, she always wanted to be with him.

Loki noticed how quickly her demeanor was changing. It almost looked like she was intoxicated. The way she massaged her temples and how she leaned into her own touch, looking dizzy even though she was standing, was strange. As he looked closer, he noticed that her body was trembling ever so slightly. The sight of her like that calmed his anger since it got replaced by worry. 

“Y/N?” He wanted to see her face. Was she crying?

She took a step toward him and almost tripped over her own feet. Loki caught her in his arms just in time. 

“That’s it, I’m taking you to the infirmary,” Loki made up his mind, past conversation now long forgotten. The only thing that mattered was her well-being. Frankly, seeing her like that terrified Loki. During all the years they had spent together, he had never seen her like this and it was more than alarming. 

The walk from the palace library to the infirmary wasn’t that long, but it felt like it took them hours. With every step they took, she seemed to get weaker. By the time they were walking down the hallway to the infirmary, Loki had to wrap his arm around her waist to keep her on her feet - otherwise she would’ve fallen on the cold, hard floor. 

The healers had seen them coming. Without a shared word being said, they took Y/N from him and placed her on the bright inspection bed nearby where they could figure out what was wrong with her. Loki wanted to stay, but everything escalated incredibly fast, leaving him in the side. There was no way he would’ve pushed himself between the people who were trying to help her.

The words everyone said merged together, and it seemed like he could only hear his own heartbeat ringing in his ears. He just stood there and watched as the love of his life was surrounded by the best healers in the nine realms and even they seemed panicked. Something was terribly wrong. 

The gold magic surrounded her and Loki caught a glimpse of the soul forge that the healers were examining. Even if he had wanted to focus on it, he wasn’t sure if he could’ve. Loki looked at Y/N again whose eyes were closed by now and she looked to be asleep, only he knew that she wasn’t resting. 

He didn’t really phantom how much time had passed until a healer walked up to him, gesturing Loki to walk further away.

“We need to use drastic magic in order to heal her,” She explained carefully, not wanting to upset the prince.

“What’s wrong with her?” Loki had to know, worry clear in his voice. 

The healer looked lost, almost nervous. “There is a blockage in her head. The magic it requires to heal her is strong and we do not know if the baby will survive it.”

The baby?

Loki’s mouth fell open but he didn’t find any words. He was already in shock when she fell ill so fast, but to hear about a baby was like a bucket of ice cold water was doused over him. She was pregnant?

The lady knew that there was no time they could waste, so she was forced to move on, “Since you are the father, we need your opinion on the procedure. Are you willing to risk losing the baby-”

“Yes!” Loki couldn’t believe they were asking him that. “Yes, please, I just need her to survive.” He didn’t want to lose the child that he just learned existed, but most importantly he couldn’t imagine losing her. Nothing else mattered than his wife’s well-being. If he lost Y/N, he would lose himself. As tragic as the idea was of possibly losing their unborn child, it would be even worse to lose her. After all, there was only one of Y/N. They could always try to start a family of their own again if they wanted to.

They took her away and Loki was forced to wait outside the infirmary. He had no clue what they were doing to her, and he couldn’t just stand in the hallway and wait. Loki was going to retreat to the privacy of their shared quarters, but it felt like his legs had turned to pillars of ice. As he stood there, taken back by shock and tears that threatened to spill from his eyes, he heard footsteps coming his way. As Loki glanced in the direction, he saw Lady Sif walking there along with Frigga. Right now, the last thing he desired was to talk to anyone. 

“What happened?” Frigga seemed concerned, looking into the infirmary and then at her son who had tears in his green eyes. It hurt her to see him like that. 

“I don’t know,” Loki realized he hadn’t spoken in  a while. He wasn’t sure how long he had stood there, but by now it was dark outside. His heart was still racing and it felt like the world was caving in on him. “She fell ill so suddenly, they said it’s serious,” Loki pushed the words out of his mouth. Saying it out loud just made it real, and now he felt like crying the pain away. 

Lady Sif didn’t say anything, but Loki felt a pair of judging eyes on his skin. She probably thought it was Loki’s fault somehow,

Was it?

He couldn’t help but wonder if he had noticed these signs sooner, would she be alright?

Frigga pulled Loki into a hug and he didn’t resist it. In fact, it felt comforting to be held. Had it been any other day recently, he would’ve pushed her away but not now. Loki hugged her back and wished that Sif would turn around. As he leaned against his mother’s touch, he felt his own tears rolling down his face silently. 

Y/N was pregnant, but he wouldn’t tell them. Not now. 

“She’ll be alright,” Frigga attempted to comfort him. There was a certainty in her voice that Loki wanted to find solace in. He knew there was no way she could tell whether or not Y/N would be alright, but in that moment it was nice to believe that. 

               The headache had turned into a dull pain, which felt so good compared to what it had been before. It was warm in the air around Y/N and she felt oddly comfortable. She was waking up from sleep, but she couldn’t remember falling asleep. Why was it so dark? 

As she opened her eyes, she quickly learned where she was. The palace infirmary. The healer’s weren’t anywhere to be seen, but someone was holding her hand. 

It was Loki.

He was awake and he looked at her with glistening eyes. She noticed just how exhausted he looked and it made her heart sting. 

The baby!

Y/N had to know the baby was safe. In a moment of worry and confusion, she put her hand on her belly and opened her mouth, “is it safe?” 

Then she realized she had never told him. For so many mornings now she had been woken up because of the feisty little thing, that she had grown accustomed to it. If Loki hadn’t known, now he certainly did.

“The baby is safe, Y/N,” Loki finally spoke. He didn’t sound resentful at all. Instead, there was a calm in his voice, because of how relieved he was. Not only did the baby make it, but so did she. The healers had worked their magic just in time and therefore both of them had been saved. For a moment, Loki had been afraid that he had lost them. 

Guilt began to crawl beneath her skin. Although she rested comfortably on the soft bed, she didn’t feel good. Nothing had gone to plan. Loki had deserved to find out about the pregnancy differently. 

“I was afraid I’d lose you,” Loki admitted, his grip on her hand tightening ever so slightly. It felt so good to hold her, to know she was alive and well. 

Slowly, she tilted her head so she could face him. Had Loki been crying? The sight of him like that, with slumped shoulders, messy hair and sad eyes was heartbreaking. As if he hadn’t gone through enough already. 

“Thank you,” She barely got the words out of her mouth. Loki had been the one who took her there in time. Surely, if he hadn’t come to the library, she would’ve been sprawled on the couch, book in hand and with a terrible headache  - or worse. She didn’t want to think about it. 

“They said you had something in your head. It could’ve...it could’ve taken your life,” Loki recalled what the healers had explained to him as he had listened half-heartedly. His mind had been tampered with worried thoughts and guilt-riddled ideas. All that mattered was that they were both safe and sound. 

Whatever it was, Y/N was just glad they were alright. All she could think about was the baby. She felt bad for ignoring her symptoms for so long. Had she endangered the fetus? What had caused it? Would she ever know?

“I’m sorry you had to find out like this,” By now she had teared up. The words struggled to pour from her quivering lips. 

Loki brushed his fingers on her face, attempting to comfort her the best way he could. His touch was so gentle, so affectionate. It sent shivers down her spine. The gentle touch reminded her of how things used to be. 

“How long have you known?” Loki was almost afraid to ask. 

“A few weeks. I wasn’t sure until recently.”

“Right…” He couldn’t blame her for hiding the fact. During the several hours he had spent sitting by her bedside, he had thought over the time they had spent together in the past few weeks since his return. The fact that she could feel guilty about it was mind boggling to him. Loki was angry at himself for just how much he had pushed her away. It was no wonder she didn’t fully trust him. Each time she had tried to connect with him, he had turned a blind eye or he had distracted both of them with sex. As he thought of it, it made his stomach twist in knots. 

Y/N could tell that Loki was deep in thought. She squeezed his hand lightly, “I was going to tell you. I just didn’t know how.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Loki was quick to reassure her. Once again, he felt tears in his eyes, blurring his vision. He hated crying, but sometimes he couldn’t make it stop. It was time for them to fix things.

“I’m sorry,” Y/N blinked and felt tears sliding down across her face and her neck. Despite his comforting words, she felt guilty. The pain she had carried in her heart for weeks now was seeing daylight and it felt fresh. It was all so overwhelming. 

Loki leaned closer to her and pressed a kiss on her forehead. She could feel how his lips were trembling ever so slightly.

“It’s going to be alright,” Loki whispered after a while. “I promise. I’ve shut you out for far too long.”

Was he going to open up to her? 

Loki recognized the hopeful gleam in her teary eyes. He knew how important it was for both of them to discuss what had happened. They couldn’t move on if they pretended that he had never been gone in the first place. But he wasn’t going to speak of it now when she was recovering. 

“I love you, Loki,” She murmured softly and managed to crack a smile. 

His heart swelled with affection. God, he loved her more than she could ever know. Loki couldn’t understand how he had treated her, it made him angry. 

“I love you too,” He returned the words to her. Loki might’ve been a master at lying, but when he professed his love to her, no one could deny the sincerity in his words. 

Carefully, he moved his hand and placed it over her stomach, where he figured the baby was. He felt goosebumps all over his skin as he laid his palm flat over her. Knowing that their child was growing there was astonishing. Loki felt so lucky that he was going to start a family with her. 

No more words were needed. Y/N could tell what he was thinking. He loved both of them so much.

                                A few days later, she was feeling much better. The healers had told her to take it easy for a while, especially now as she was pregnant. Returning to her and Loki’s quarters was exciting. Finally, some proper privacy. 

Ever since the incident, something changed in Loki. Perhaps it was the startling revelation that he almost lost her that changed him. Time was precious, even for them. He had been away from her long enough and he wanted to make up for the wasted time. 

Although they had been quite happy for the past few days, he knew it would all come to an end, at least for a while as he’d open up about what he had gone through since he last was on Asgard. 

Candles had lit the room, making it comfortable and warm. There were a few candles on their nightstands, others on the shelves nearby and some were levitating midair with the little help of magic. 

Loki had certainly made her feel welcome in their private space again, after she had stayed away for only a few days. As she saw the tea on a tray by the bed, her heart swelled in her chest. It was so sweet of him. 

“You didn’t have to,” She turned to Loki who was right by her side. The joy on her face was irreplaceable to him. 

“But I wanted to,” Loki reassured her.

It had been yet another long day and they couldn’t wait to get wrapped in the blankets and fall asleep in each other’s arms. Despite how scared they both had been when she ended up in the infirmary, the time afterwards had been wonderful. Loki had finally softened up again, at least to her. 

The two of them sat down on the bed with warm teacups in their hands. For a while, they embraced the silence that settled around them. It was nice. 

“You know,” Y/N was the first one to speak, “I’m having a great time, but I was wondering if you’d like that. It’s okay if you don’t.”

“I suppose now is a good time,” Loki’s reply surprised her.

She put her nearly empty cup away as Loki magicked his on the nightstand. The mood shifted slightly, but it was less dramatic than anything that they had went though in the past few weeks. They sat on the bed in a way they could face each other and they were still cosy. 

“Where do I even begin?” Loki laughed, but he didn’t sound full of joy. He was genuinely nervous. No one had ever heard this story. No one knew. 

Y/N put her hand on his shoulder, attempting to make him relax as much as he possibly could. She sensed that whatever it was that he was going to say, it would be extremely difficult for him. “Were you alone?” She asked him, initiating the conversation. By now, even her heart was racing in her chest. The thought of him being all alone for so long made her sad. She hoped he had good company at least.

Although he sat safely on his bed, Loki could feel the vastness of space around him. He could see the darkness and the stars that were so incredibly far away. There was nothing but stone beneath his feet and he was cold, inside out. 

“I was found by a titan, who calls himself Thanos,” Saying his name felt wrong. It was like fire burning on his tongue. “For a while, I was trapped with him. Wherever he went, I did too. I didn’t have much of a choice.”

Loki’s entire demeanor changed. He couldn’t look her in the eye. It almost seemed like he was mentally in an entirely different place. Seeing him like that was so unusual for her, and it made her feel terrible. 

She put her hand on his arm, running her fingers up and down his skin every so softly, to remind him that she was right by his side.

“When he found me, I was weak. I tried to put up a fight, and he saw what I was capable of. When his puppets showed up, I was outnumbered,” Loki felt ashamed that he hadn’t been able to fight them off. They were more powerful than he liked to admit. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” She reassured him as she recognized the hint of guilt and shame on his face. Loki had been weak when he fell. Most would’ve died after being sucked up by the portal and being thrown out into the emptiness of outer space. The energy was so strong it could end someone’s life in seconds. It was a miracle he survived that alone.

“Thanos wanted me to work for him, to do his dirty work. I refused,” He smiled but it was an empty smile, “which resulted in months of torture.” His smile vanished completely, leaving behind only a shadow of misery. 

Although she had expected something awful, she hadn’t thought she’d hear that. Suddenly, it made sense why he had been like that when he returned. Why it looked like he hadn’t slept in months, why he was afraid to put pressure on his other leg almost like he was in pain. Why he had shut everyone out completely and distanced himself physically and emotionally. 

Y/N wanted to say something, but it felt like she had eaten flour. Her mouth was dry and she was speechless. Instead, she pulled him closer ever so slightly, hoping to comfort him with her actions. 

Loki let himself be embraced by her. In fact, when she wrapped her arms around his body and his face nuzzled the crook of her neck, which made it so easy to inhale her sweet scent, he realized how much he needed it. Loki thought he would have spoken more without getting so emotional, but to even think about the pain he had endured was hard. It made him cold to his core and he felt nauseous all over again. When he hugged her back and let himself get lost in her arms, he could begin to heal. 

“I don’t think...I would’ve survived if I hadn’t thought of you,” He said so softly he wasn’t sure if she heard him.

She did.

Picturing Loki being tortured by a titan made Y/N so angry. She hated the fact that someone had made him feel so terrible, forcing him to feel so much pain after everything that he had gone through. Hearing that he thought of her when he was going through it all broke her heart. If only she had been there, right by his side. 

“You didn’t deserve that, Loki,” She was surprised she was able to speak. Her lips were quivering as she tried to stay strong for his sake. 

Her words were warm. They pushed the cold he was surrounded by away. Perhaps she was right?

Loki pulled back ever so slightly, because he wanted to face her. When he did, he was surprised to see that she was holding back tears. He already had silent tears on his skin that he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. What had he done to deserve her?

“I agreed to work for him,” He revealed, skipping ahead of time because there was no way he could’ve gone into details about the nightmare Thanos put him through. Most of the memories were dark, just barely there. It was like his mind didn’t want to remember the tiny details. 

“I saw places I didn’t know existed - far beyond the nine realms. I became friends with Nebula. She was Thanos’ daughter,” Loki wasn’t sure if they were quite friends, but she seemed to understand him despite her harsh words and mean attitude. Out of all the children, only Nebula had been someone Loki could tolerate. “We were supposed to find something. I suppose they were called the infinity stones.”

Y/N could’ve sworn she had heard someone mentioning them before, but it didn’t ring any bells now. It did make her curious. Why wouldn’t Thanos go seek them himself? “Did you find them?”

“Well, soft of, yes. Thanos sent me to Midgard to fetch the tesseract. In exchange I was going to be freed,” He explained why he had gone to New York. It had been quite recent, but it felt like so long ago. Loki had been so scared but incredibly determined to get the job done too. He thought it was the only way he’d ever get to see her again, and live a day without excruciating suffering. 

Y/N suddenly understood more than before. He hadn’t wanted to go to Earth out of his own will. He was on a mission to win his freedom. She wondered what had happened. Thanos didn’t have the tesseract, but Loki was right there by her side. Did it mean he was safe and free?

“I’m happy you’re here,” She let him know. Having Loki back was the greatest gift she could’ve ever asked for. Although the things that had happened on Midgard weren’t good, she wasn’t mad. She was more furious over the fact that Thor, and others who had done much worse things, pretended that Loki was some kind of villain and they were the heroes.

“I was so scared that Thanos would come here,” and I still am, he thought but left it out. “I failed to deliver the tesseract,Y/N. They…”Loki couldn’t say it. He blinked, and remembered the Other who had threatened him repeatedly. 

...If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can not find you. He will make you long for something sweet as pain… 

“You don’t have to say it,” Y/N noticed that he got lost in his memories again. She understood if some of them were too hard to speak of now. He had said so much already. It couldn’t have been easy for him. “You’re safe, you’re here with us again. We have all the time in the world to speak of this, one step at the time.”

Gosh, her words were keeping him sane. Loki was able to take a deep breath as he heard that, keeping himself grounded there. He wasn’t with Thanos, and he certainly wasn’t being harmed. He was in the arms of his wife and they were in the palace of Asgard with numerous guards and warriors outside their door. It was quite the resistance if Thanos or his children would show up.

“I think I’ll have to continue tomorrow, dear.”

“That’s okay, Loki. I understand,” She was so understanding.

As Loki looked at her, the daggers in his heart twisted. Thanos knew that she existed. Thanos also knew how to torture others, and the worst torture Loki could’ve possibly imagined was that Thanos would find her. There was no way he could ever let that happen. Loki knew he had to do something to get Thanos off his tracks. Could he make the titan believe he had died? It was something he had to think of sooner than later.

“I love you,” Loki had to voice his feelings. He caught her by surprise when he leaned in for a kiss, but she didn’t seem to mind it. Instead, Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head, deepening the kiss ever so slightly. This time it was sweet and tender. His hands cupped her face and the back of her head and it was sincere. The kiss was bittersweet. It tasted salty like their tears, but it was so passionate. They truly loved one another. 

When their lips parted, they stayed close. Their foreheads touched gently and they both closed their eyes, enjoying each other’s presences for a moment. They let reality sink in.

For the first time in months, Loki felt more like himself again. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He was beginning to deal with his issues. There was hope for the future. 

“I love you too,” Y/N exclaimed after a while. She placed a sweet kiss on Loki’s neck, then another. There were so many kisses they had to catch up with. She wanted to touch him with love and kindness where others had hurt him, until there wasn’t a trace left of the others. 

And Loki wanted to be pampered by her, to get lost in her and forget about all the rest. 

His hands travelled down her side, slowly but surely making their way to her hips. Loki wanted her closer, but for the first time in so long, he didn’t know how to ask her. Usually, it was so easy to pull her in and take her, but not now. Everything felt so much more intimate and he felt slightly lost. It had been so long since the last time they had made love. 

She felt the way he touched her, so needy, silently asking her to get closer, so she did. Carefully, she straddled his lap which made it so much easier for her to hold him, to touch him and to kiss him. Loki’s hands never left her body as she sat on his lap. There was no rush whatsoever. They wanted to enjoy every little moment they could share. 

“Are you sure you want this?” Y/N wondered. After all, he had talked about quite heavy things. Was he in the right mindset? 

Loki almost yelled out how much he desired her, but managed to contain himself. “I need you, Y/N.” He needed to feel her, he needed to make her feel his love. He needed to be one with her. 

“Okay,” She quickly replied with a small smile. Once again, their lips met in a loving kiss. It felt wonderful. Between the kisses, she made sure to tell him sweet little nothings, “I’m here,” “I got you,” “Everything’s going to be okay.”

A/N: I hope you liked it! I originally planned on having fluffy smut in this, but it would’ve been so long. I’ll have to write sweet Loki smut separately in the future. Please leave your feedback. It always makes me so happy and it means a lot to me. Thank you!

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[kezibun]

A storm of a hunt part 3

Part 1

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You hesitantly tell him your name, maybe he was actually just being nice?

"Huh… cool name..." He mumbles.

A waft of coldness crawls over your skin, making goose bumps rise. You can't stop the shiver that follows it.

 "Oh shoot." Papyrus sighs. "That damn heater." 

He stands up, then kicks the little heater a few times and presses the button, but nothing happens. He seems to give up on the heater and you watch him as he walks over to the box labelled torture. Your whole body is tense but you keep you're eye on him as he rummages through the box. He's looking for something that you can be sure of.

 After all this was he really going to hurt you? After what's been said? What will he find in there? What does he want? Maybe he's looking for something to tie you up with. 

 He's just playing some kind of sick game again, like everyone else in this hell hole. You shouldn't trust anyone, not even down here. You just can't especially since all you've been met with is manipulation, lies and treachery. 

Maybe now you could try to escape, slip away while his back is turned. But as you try and sit up, a sharp pain burns in your side, there is no way you're going anywhere while you're in this agony. You sit back down and instinctively hold your injuries, not that it helps. Why does everything hurt worse once you've had a minute to rest?

 Papyrus comes over with something. It looks like a big metal tin. How Is he going to hurt you with this?

He kneels on the floor, setting the tin down, he's filled it with wood and sticks. Then he snaps his fingers over it, an orange spark floats down settling on a twig, it fizzles briefly as it sets alight. The fire is slow to grow but it already feels warmer than the small space heater. The flames grow and dance as they cast an amber glow. You're mesmerised for a moment.

"Do your injuries still hurt?" His question snaps you out of it.

"Yeah, those traps did quite the number on me." You say with a nervous laugh. 

"Let me check your HP."

"Wa-"

In that second the world around goes dark, an encounter? You feel fear creep over you, this wasn't good. 

"-It…."

Damn is he going to fight you? Or just check you like he said? If this was going to be like any of the other monsters you'd encountered before? you're sure it won't be fun.

You look over to your HP. There's something weird about it, it doesn't seem right, and that makes your stomach churn with even more nerves. You don't know what's wrong but It can't be good.

 He stares at you intently for a second.

'Papyrus cheeked your stats he doesn't seem happy with what he sees.' 

It's your turn now. His name is yellow, you know what that means. You're tempted to take a peek at his stats but you really don't have the energy right now and you're pretty sure he won't appreciate it. You are definitely not up for a fight, so you choose mercy. Everything fades back to normal. That wasn't so bad.

He then just walks out, leaving you behind and alone. The only sounds that keep you company are the crackling fire in front of you and the howling wind outside. 

You sigh and huddle up by said fire, pulling the jacket around you again as you wonder what on earth he saw that he didn't like. You hope whatever it was won't get you hurt. How did you ever end up in this situation? If only you could remember.

 You feel the warmth of the fire almost wrap around you as it seeps in and you finally start to thaw. Your toes almost sting like pins and needles as the feeling starts coming back to them. 

It wasn't long though until Papyrus was back, he entered silently like he'd just appeared in the room.

He holds a brown paper bag out to you, "Eat this." 

You take the bag, inside is a donut with black icing and a purple cobweb design on top. You usually would have been suspicious of such a gift, just in case it was poisoned. But at this point you don't really care, you're just happy to get some food. All you can do now is sort of trust him right? as much as you might dislike it. What other choice do you have?

"Thanks." 

You take a bite of the donut, the first flavour you get is sugar, it's very sweet, there also seems to be a bit of a spiced flavour then you taste the weirdest thing, you're hit with a faintly meaty flavour like chicken, mixed with a slightly fishy taste? and there's a dubious crunch to it. Then following it is a sandy texture that tastes smokey, but it's all then taken over by the alcoholic aftertaste that hits next. Despite the weirdness it's actually pretty good, better than snail pie to say the least, possibly the second best thing you've eaten since falling down here, the first being that candy that kept you alive through the ruins. You finish off the whole donut.

Wait. A sudden strange feeling washes over you, you feel the urge to check your stats. Did you just level up? That's kinda mysterious but cool, why would that have happened?

He then sits in front of you.

"What are you doing?" You ask.

"Your wound…How's it?"

"It um... feels a little better."

"Let me check it?" He asks.

You pause and take a moment to think. "I… don't know…" Is the only reply you could conjure up.

"It's ok."

He pulls the jacket off your shoulder.

"Hey don't." You grab his wrist.

He takes your hand and moves it off his wrist with a scowl. Then he pushes your ripped top up enough to see your wound. 

You flinch as his cold phalanges brush against your skin. 

"Sorry." He mutters, but he doesn't stop what he's doing, he looks over your badly wrapped wounds.

Now that he's so close you notice how his cheekbones seem to have a faint rusty glow to them, and he's actually pretty cute. No you can't be thinking like that. He's a skeleton monster that just hunted you down in a snowstorm, and scared you half to death. Not to mention you're now in his torture shed.

"The trap had some magic that stops it healing. I'm gonna to treat it. Can I… um...?" He gestures to your injuries and you fill in the gap.

You think for a minute… Is it smart to let him treat you? Probably not. But it might be your only chance, if anything he's saying is true.

"I did a pretty shoddy job with wrapping it up didn't I? Just be careful... I'd rather not die today you know…" You mumbled. Maybe that hint was a little too obvious, you feel like you basically just yelled please don't kill me. Would it be better to just beg for your life? Would that get you anywhere? Could you let go of what little pride you have left?

"You're lucky. I... can't have you dying yet." He takes his phone out and gets a first aid kit from his inventory. "Could ya hold your shirt up?" 

You do as he asks and hold up your top, the cool air is sharp to your newly exposed skin, you can't help but shiver some more.

"You humans sure feel the cold don't ya?"

Is he trying to strike up a conversation? Or just making an oddball comment?

Either way you don't really answer him… 

And with that he quickly warms his hands over the fire before he ever so carefully unwraps your bloody makeshift bandage. You watch his every move carefully, making sure there's no foul play. He then gets out a small round pot from the first aid kit, it's white with a green symbol on the lid.

"This'll sting but it'll help."

He applies the light green cream, it has a peculiar scent that can only be described as warm and kind, but it feels like he's just rubbed nettles over your flesh, that means it's working right? For you're benefit you hope. He then wraps your wound up, it's not too tight but definitely tighter then whatever you'd managed before. He pulls his jacket back around you. 

"You should try and get some sleep." He pats your head before he sits down next to you. 

"Are you staying?" 

"Yeah. Rest. I'll stay guard."

"Why are you helping me?" You query.

"It's complicated." He huffs. "No more chit chat. Just sleep already." He pulls the hood over your face roughly.

"Ok." You yawn as you lean into the corner of the shed, the wooden wall is cold and hardly an ideal pillow but you are so tired it barely bothers you, you close your eyes and soon enough you're asleep. 

. . .

"MUTT! have you lost your mind?" 

"Hush M'lord, They're sleepin'."

"YES SLEEPING AND NOT DEAD." 

"I can't kill em." 

You open your eyes slightly, stirring awake from the commotion and loud voices. 

You see Papyrus and the other skeleton, his brother?

"Then let me at the darn human." He snaps.

"M'lord you can't." Papyrus stops his brother from getting closer.

"AND WHY NOT!?"

"I told you. I need to figure it out. Trust me."

"You're going soft, don't forget your duty Papyrus! You have a week! NO THREE DAYS! Figure out whatever the heck you need to then get rid of that pest, that rodent." He starts walking off. "If Alphys finds out, I'm dead, this will be the end of my malevolent career. The Queen will have our heads for this! YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT?" He huffs as he storms out. 

You're still so tired… your eyelids are too heavy to keep open… With this new silence you can't stay awake for even a second more.

[bluem0use]

It's about time I introduced you to the cast of The Crackin'-Up Studios. Don't worry. You'll be seeing them again, especially in the mini-comics!

**In order from top to bottom, left to right**

Billie Bob Willie-Nillie Black Sheep: The overall face of The Crackin'-Up Studios itself. She is the ring leader to the whole circus. The pilot to all the flight attendance. The manager to a corporate office. You get the whole idea. She's one poppin' fire-cracker (A.K.A. has a short temper) that's all for the business, but doesn't mind getting silly from time to time. On screen, she is the definition of unpredictable and crazy, fun and silly. She's a gun happy country gal that started off small and came out big with her talents for making people laugh. She worked hard to get her way to the top. And all of it has obviously paid off. If someone was to use words to describe her, it would be fun, loving, friendly, brave, courageous, generous, the list could go on and on. This gun-loving  little lady, no matter where she goes, always somehow seems to change people's lives. And for the better.

Poochie Pooh Poodle: Billie's partner-in-crime. Her bestest friend since her younger years. Her ride or die buddy. Poochie is the main co-star to the series, and a serious eye-candy to men. While Billie is featured as the funny, wacky, unpredictable, quirky character on-screen of the trio, Poochie is often featured as the sex-appeal. The sex symbol. The hot mama. She also models as a little side job whenever necessary. She's the sweetest sweetie-pie you will ever meet in your life. However, proceed with caution. When provoked, she's one sassy gal and won't hesitate to give you a mouthful (and probably a gun wound) if you mess with her, or her friends.

Wolfie Blackfang Wolf: What's the three musketeers without a male in the picture? Wolfie may not have known these two women as long as they've known each other, but their his closest family he's ever had since he left the orphanage. He is also the main co-star to the series, accompanied by being the musical genius of the three. Since a young boy, Wolfie has practiced music as not only his hobby, but his life. His alluring ability was able to trap the young black sheep and poodle in a trance on a fateful night in a club where he worked to try and make a living, thus landing him a job and a ticket to materialization through the ladies. From there, he has always acted as the stud of the three, protecting them whenever they needed an extra hand and also charming women with his attractive voice along the way.

Candy Bat: This "monster", this "usually nocturnal creature of the night", this "mysterious shadow" is nothing but a sweet treat in the eyes of many who travel far and wide to Nightwalk Bay to get a taste of his sweet treats at the local candy shop. At least, that's what Billie, Poochie, and Wolfie will tell ya. Famous for his line of business, Candy Bat is a harmless, humble candy man..err..bat that seeks nothing but to fill the mouths of the fortunate with a sweet after-taste. His delicious pastries, frozen desserts, and fizzy drinks aren't the only thing that appeals to the eyes of many. He's also a support character at The Crackin'-Up Studios during the day and a friendly (but hissy, due to his uncontrollable excited hisses whenever he meets someone new and/or is excited) candy shop-keeper at night.

Scratches: Whoa, watch out for that web! There's a BIG spider up there! And his name is none other than Scratches, yet another support cast character for The Crackin'-Up Studios. When in the presence of my six-armed friend, be cautious. Scratches loves the ladies and will go through extreme lengths to entangle you in his web, if he deems you a worthy enough mate. Don't worry fellas, he doesn't swing that way. Though..spider's gotta eat, right? What? Spiders only eat insects? Not this playful, flirtatious one. Note that this spider is dead, and has been ressurrected after a deal made by Ozzan (scroll down to reference Ozzan's bio). Therefore, Scratches likes human flesh too. Dont worry too much though. He's too busy chasing both Poochie and Billie around the studios, trying to declare his love for them. Though...something about a huge demon spider just..turns those two ladies off.

Honey Hyena: As the name implies, this hyena is sweet as honey! Raised on a bee farm, this little lady never expected to end up being a supporting cast character to The Crackin'-Up Studios. That was, until a little Black Sheep mozied on over and decided to offer her the position and the materialization process just like everyone else. She figured the nice lady would need the money boost besides "Milkin' bees all day long" - Billie. Honey loves bees. In fact, on her days off from woking at the studios, that's all she does! Is work, work, work at her long-descended family bee farm, making honey and selling it for some dough (money) as a side job. She is also the motherly figure to all the cartoon ladies on set and often tries to share her knowledge with them in hopes she can help guide them on the right path. I mean, not everyone is perfect, right?

Bon Isabell Bunny: Daughter of a long deceased magician (who was, ironically a white bunny), she has seeked to find more support by becoming a supporting cast character to the TV series. However, though, she wasn't looking to be a supporting character when offered the job by Billie Bob. Bon has a bit of a...strong hatred for Billie Bob. Bon saw how much love and respect the black sheep got, even from her "enemies". So, what does this tempered (its just as bad as Billie's, trust me), quick-to-anger, grumpy gal do? Well, it's like they say, "Kill the sheep, take her wool!". That is...if she could catch her first. Forever caught in this game of cat-and-mouse on screen and off screen, Bon decided to settle into this position for now. Hopefully one day, her magic tricks and traps can pay off and actually earn her a spot in the lead position.

Bon Iseah Bunny: Twin brother to the other Bon Bunny, this bunny seems the complete opposite of his sister. This magic bunny doesn't mind being a supporting cast character, and instead enjoys making others smile with her magic tricks and qurkiness. After all, its what his deceased magician father would have wanted. He admires Billie and everything that she does not only for everyone else, but herself. He just hopes with time, his sister can see that. For now, this calm bunny will just have to play as yin to his sister's yang (A.K.A., trying his best to calm her in her most stressed and ferocious moments).

Molly Cow: Before her rise to fame as another member of The Crackin'-Up Studios crew, Molly Cow, the half-pig half-cow offspring, could not keep a job to save her life! She was lazy, less focused, often slacking or ducking off, and/or giving up before she even set foot in the door! The funny thing is, she wouldn't care, and just go back to living with her parents. Seeing as though Molly's confident and care-free attitude was a necessity to bring on some laughs, all Billie had to do was offer a hand to the voluptuous, intriguing young woman and for some odd reason, this cartoon has managed to keep the job ever since. Side note, if you ask her what her "other" job would be whenever she brings it up, it would be shopping. She is ALL about the fashion!

Malachi (formerly known as "Michael Jamesking"): Yes, Malachi is actually an angel. AND, he is also a featuring asset to the team whenever needed. With the help of one of Veronica's potions (scroll down to reference Veronica's bio), he has the ability to shrink down to size on command. He also is a good line of defense if life-threatening danger ever be-falls the company, for even if he is a judgement angel, he is considered very powerful against a mortal (unless demon weapons are used against him). He is pure, friendly, and kind, however, you must not associate yourself with the presence of evil upon first meetings. He IS a jugement angel after all and will be quick to judge you and shame you for your choice of sin and avoid you like the plague while also be-littleing you. Ironically, the only exception to this treatment is Ozzan (his best friend in all universes) and Bendy (in the head-canon canon universe). Also note, Malachi was never always Malachi. Malachi was once Michael, a regular, normal, working business man who unfortunately got hit by a car on his morning rush to work.

Ozzan: Oh boy. This one's a bad one. If you thought Scratches (scroll up to reference Scratche's bio) was bad, wait until you get a load of this one! This foul-mouthed, ill-mannered, obnoxious, flirtatious pervert is somehow a necessity to The Crackin'-Up Studios. His crude sense of humor and anctics tend to get a good laugh out of adults more than oblivious children. He will flirt with anything, sleep with anything, hell even risk catching some sort of SEXUAL DISEASE for anything that has legs. This man lives, breathes, and embraces everything that is bad at every cost, every time. Its possibly why he was so close to Lucifer (the Devil) back when he was in Hell. Though, take caution. If you piss him off (which isn't really hard to do), he WILL tear you to bits and peices with his bare fists. Also, beware of tentacles and trendils ladies. He has them everywhere and can use them not only in battle, but also for...other things. So beware and..make sure your doors are locked.

Veronica Bat: Born "Daddy's Little Monster", Veronica is the daughter of Candy Bat and Valentine Naxxremis (formerly Bat)(She will be referenced in the next ref). For most of her life, she has lived with her mother and embraced her witch-hood, which usually ends up with the little gloom and doom bookworm getting bullied for being a "half-breed". However, her luck gets turned around when she meets Billie Bob (like a lot of these people's do) who helps instill in her to be happy to be herself and to screw what everyone else says..and to also get back at them at all costs. She looks up to Billie and Poochie as her "Aunties", though, has trouble getting along with her father. She was raised to believe she had left her and her mother and never really loved them. Which, is obviously not true, but, she has a hard time believing that. Once welcomed to the cast, Veronica is a huge hit with the goth little teen girls who aspire to be like her: beautiful and mysterious. Let's just hope she gets he powers under control first, for she struggles with that a great deal on screen for comical effect and off screen.

Patricia Greene Pig: (A/N: She probably has had the MOST change out of all of them, so beware) Patricia is Delloris's (scroll down for Delloris's bio) bestest friend since childhood. Snobby, rude, sassy, class. All of these combined makes her perfect for scenes where she's the girl that thinks she's too good for the male trying to win her heart. Likes are, their only trying to "woo" it for her money. Oh, did I mention she's very wealthy? Her and Delloris aren't friends for nothing. You have to have some sort of status when it comes to getting in goods with the mayor's one and only daughter. Also note that Patricia is an EXTREME germo-phobe and will pelt you down with germ-x if you've so much as TOUCHED an un-sanitized door knob.

Hank Kat: Hank Kat has been an aspired musician since he was a little boy. He has really known the struggles of what it's like to be broke from both of his poor parents. So, as a way to raise some money, he went out on the streets and played his father's old rusty trumphet for some pocket change. Crowds were so awed at his talent, before long, Hank was hitting the clubs to try and win over some cash to take care of his parents once he became of age. Similar to Wolfie, Poochie had just so happened to stumble upon him. Though they didn't exactly see eye-to-eye due to species war, they were able to put their differences aside the night they had spent together, dancing the night away. As they danced, Poochie would listen to this party-goer's story and become sympathetic for the poor fellow. Thus, she figured his wallet could be fed a little more and thus offered for him to be a support character on the team. With his toe-tappin', feed stompin', hand wavin; jams that he can play on trombone, trumphet, pretty much just about any instrument he could blow into, he would become not only a major asset to the supporting cast, but also the music, both at his day job at the studios and his night job in the clubs.

Puncho: This "unstoppable brick wall" can take a punch and also pack it. After all, they don't call him "Puncho" for nothing! Though he's not much of fan favorite unless it comes to his famous boxing episodes, Puncho is a well-served supporting cast in the crew. He's often seen alongside his partner, Scraps Skunk (scroll down for Scrap's bio), no matter what the situation. He has a temper just like Billie, girl Bon, and Ozzan, however, instead of unleashing it by yelling at coworkers and throwing large objects (Billie), chasing someone down the hall with a chainsaw (Girl Bon), or spewing a bunch of curse words that's enough to make a sailor blush (Ozzan), he lets out his steam in the ring. He is the undefeated champion (if you don't count his and Billie's first brawl in one of her posters) within the boxing ring and anyone who dare wants to challenge him in taking his belt, well. Better be prepared for the pain. Bring a lot of ice.

Scraps Skunk: A timid, shy soul who is pure and good at working the ring as a referee. He plays fair though, he always will support his bestest friend, Puncho no matter what. His often scared, frightened, shaky attitude is welcomed on screen whenever needed. He was often bullied through his childhood and unlike those who have toughed up from it, he only seemed to soften. Hell, even Billie has chewed him out for his overly push-over nature. Though, she gives up. For nothing can change this poor man's soft heart and kind ways.

Wallis Moose: What else to say about this guy besides him obviously being a horrible detective? After his first appearance as one in one of Billie's episodes, Wallis fell in love with the idea of being one and even off screen, tries to solve "mysteries" wherever he is needed. However, he always slips up short and makes himself to be a fool. How did he even earn a spot on the team? Well, to put it simple, Wallis is a stone cold, hard drunk. He drinks and drinks and drinks, and when he's hiccuping and stumbling all over the place, Billie couldn't help but find it amusing the first time they met. After all, the first night they met, they both danced drunkinly through the streets of Nightwalk Bay, where they somehow met. As kooky as it sounds, it actually happened. Believe me.

Chico Georgina Chick: This once poor broken flapper was able to leave her broken past of having to prostitute herself on the streets and go some nights starving behind. Coincidentally, Chico was given another opportunity at a better life by Hank Kat (scroll up for Hank's bio), who happened to run into her at one of the clubs and show her a much better life than what she was living by offering her a position at the studios and materialization through the machine. Now a re-born, classy lady, this former flapper...heh...well, let's be honest. Girl loves to party and dance like there's none tomorrow, is ready to bring all the club's joy and bump to the table on screen. Hank is often seen by her side, playing away on his trumphet while she dances on top of a table. Nothing too promiscuous or provocitive. Want to keep the adult's attention but not as much. She's known as the party girl out of the group and also knows a thing or two about fashion. Also, keep her as FAR away from Molly (scroll up for Molly's bio) as possible..they fight a lot.

Delloris Acorn: Delloris is the beloved daughter of the mayor of Toon City, within the alternate world where cartoons "live". Her mother died giving childbirth and though she never knew her mother. She was always expected to act lady-like and proper, is why she carries herself that way. Though, the day Billie met Delloris and her father and was allowed to spend the day with her, Billie turned her upside down and all around. To the point Delloris came home, dress cut into a tank-top, short short overalls, knee-high socks, messy hair, and busted shoes. Billie's excuse was they were pig wrestling (no pun intended Patricia). Her father was awfully upset and almost demanded Billie to be arrested, however, Billie's sly deal to offer Delloris a spot at the studios was the only thing that saved her from some jail time. Now, while away from her rich and perfect life as the mayor's "little princess", she's allowed to get down and dirty. Especially on screen where down and dirty are necessary for some laughs.

Mad Mouse (also known as "Maddison K Mouse"): Why is this mouse so quiet and mysterious? Why does he never speak or even take off his goggles? Wait, is this mouse even a "he" at all? Well, yes and no. To put a long story short, back in these days and times of the early 1900s, women weren't taken seriously. Even toon women. Born a genius, the only way to get people to notice her freakishly large brain talent is to disguise herself as a man and as to go as "Mad Mouse" instead of "Maddison Mouse". However, her little secret couldn't be kept that long, for an incident in her labs caused her to lose part of her disguise and have to come clean to Billie, Poochie, and Wolfie. It was through them who helped her realize that, no matter who you are, your voice deserved to be heard no matter what. From that point on, this support cast member decided to cease wearing the disguse and be her actual self. Though, I wouldn't mess with this quiet little genius. She's a little...mad (crazy), as the legends and cartoons portray her as.

[darkredehmption]

A Retreat

#SL #ARetreat

Written by @DamagedBrother and @PanwerePredator 

***

Hadrian:

I flung away the cords for the cardiac monitor with a snarl. 

Thankfully, at five o’clock in the morning, there were no doctors or nurses rushing in to tell me not to. I probably shouldn’t have. Most mornings, the incessant beeping as my heart raced out of control was the only thing that pulled me from the nightmares that triggered it in the first place. 

But every time I heard the frantic beeping it just reminded me where I was. What had happened. And that even now, Amos had a grip on me I couldn’t seem to shake.

Getting off the bed, I was relieved when I didn’t stumble, my legs finally strong enough to keep me upright as I stalked toward the bathroom. The simple shirt and sweats I’d been given by the doggen clung to me with sweat. Cranking on the heat, I peeled off the clothes and tossed them into the wash basket, then stepped into the spray. 

The heat chased away the chill that came with the nightmares; the terrors Amos had soaked me in and made me live through night after night. Turning my face up into the spray, I tried to imagine the fears, the insidious whispering, running down the drain. But even if I stood here for hours, I knew they weren’t going anywhere. That tonight I’d go through the same routine of trying not to sleep, failing, then waking in terror. 

My fingers curled into fists as I held in a soft, angry sob. 

Zsadist:

I’ve been on a mating ceremony high that I almost forgot to check in on our patient, Hadrian. Fritz was about to bring him down some fresh clothes, but I grabbed them from the Doggen and headed straight for the PT suite. I needed to check on the male, and well...I had a proposition for him. Hadrian was an important part of this family whether he wanted to believe it or not, so if I could, I would prefer to have him close. I mean, he wanted to help us fight lessers. 

When I rounded the corner I instantly tightened, I could feel that something was wrong. Tossing the clothes on the bed as I follow the trail of dirties to the bathroom door. Pausing as I listen to the shifter’s heart racing followed by his heavy breathing. 

“Hadrian…”

Chest rumbling as I spoke, eyes flashing to the handle as I murmur. “You alright?” Scrubbing a hand over my nape. Of course he wasn’t alright. Fuck, I was never good at this kind of shit. Letting out a soft sigh. “I brought you clean clothes…” Eyes the shirt and sweats that were scattered on the floor.

“Can I come in…?” I didn’t like the idea of the shifter being upset. “I...know what it’s like to be someone’s prisoner.” Gazing at my slave bands. “Spent most of my life as a slave, taken away from my parents as an infant.”

Hadrian:

It wasn’t until Zsadist was at the door, saying my name, that I even realized he was down here. With the water running, not to mention my racing heart and fractured headspace, my hearing and sense of smell was limited to the bathroom. Glancing to the door, I took a deep breath and tilted my head into the spray, washing away any trace of tears. 

The water might’ve washed away the lingering stench of fear, but I knew it clung to the sheets I’d tossed and turned in. Knew that Zsadist was well aware of the nightmares that’d chased me from the bed. Then there was the fact that he knew what it was like. Hell, he’d had it worse than I had; held as a slave and used for decades by some mistress monster. I’d endured Amos for barely a couple weeks. But it didn’t change the fact that it felt like a piece of my soul was missing. That Amos had taken it with him to whatever section of Hell he was now in.

Reaching for a towel, I wrapped it around my waist before clearing my throat. “Come in.”

Trying to straighten, I didn’t flinch as the male came in. He filled the smaller space, not just with his size but the strength of his personality. His golden eyes gleamed, watching me through the last tendrils of steam that wafted through the room. I glanced away and cleared my throat again.

“We… we don’t have to talk about it. I… I don’t know how to,” I add quietly. “The fact is I should be grateful I’m alive. I should be dead,” I said flatly, moving toward the door. “An animal to call isn’t supposed to survive the death of their master…”

Master.

The word was revolting, even in my head. My Beasts rumbled their discontent. All except my Lion, who remained painfully quiet. 

Zsadist:

 Finally I was let into the bathroom, seeing the male clearly even with the steam that surrounded us. I listened to him as he made his way out. He didn’t want to talk, and I understood that more than anyone. I spent decades not wanting to talk to anyone. 

“I kept her skull beside me on the floor, where I slept.” I blurt out.

Nice one Z. Way to fucking scare him even more. Scrubbing my hand over my scarred face as I exit the bathroom, reaching for the fresh clothes that I brought down, and tossing them at the shifter. 

“I went back to kill her, and took her skull home with me as a reminder. So that every time I looked at it I knew she was dead. Knew that she couldn’t come back to hurt me anymore.” 

I was unloading a lot on the poor male, which was something I really didn’t do. Hell, I haven’t even told Mal all the dirty details of my past. 

“But even then, even with her dead, with her skull beside me, I still had nightmares. Constantly worrying that she would come back and take me. Enslave me once again.” I didn’t want to mention that Amos made me see her, then again he probably already knew. 

“So I get it. I get what you are feeling, and I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m just…” Pauses as I touch the edge of the stretcher. “I’m glad you are alive, Hadrian. I did everything in my power to make that happen.”

Hadrian:

There was a sentence to stop you in your tracks. And despite myself, my need to take those clothes to a private room and dress like I could hide what I was feeling under layers, I paused. 

Zsadist had never said much about his past. The slave bands tattooed around his wrists and neck told the world only a snippet of the story, and while I’d yearned to know more, I’d never pushed for that tale. It wasn’t something you asked of someone. It was something they shared when or if they were ever ready.

Listening to the male’s confession, I wondered if that would’ve made any difference for me. It was doubtful. For one, vampires of Amos’ breed didn’t leave anything behind in death. Other than the foul memories they’d created. Comforting as Amos’ skull turned paperweight might’ve been, it wasn’t part of this reality. And Z himself knew, it didn’t stop the nightmares. 

Finally looking up to meet his eyes, I chose my words with care.

“You would know better than anyone what it means to serve another,” I agree. “I just…” I groped for the words, to try and help him understand. He’d given me this insight into his past, and I wanted him to know that I was grateful. For the fact I was living when I should’ve been dead. “When a lycanthrope is bound to a vampire,” I managed finally, “their will is forfeit. Your… mistress…” The word tasted foul on my tongue. “She owned you, but… your body, right? You… you still had the ability to tell her ‘no’, even if she possessed the means to overpower you… right?” 

It sounded crass, and cruel, and that wasn’t my intent, so I ploughed on. 

“With Amos… he didn’t just own my body. He owned my soul. My mind. Every thought if I wasn’t careful. Every fear, like they were books in a library he could pick up and read. If he ordered me to kill you,” I whispered, remembering that particular nightmare he’d inflicted on me, “then I’d have been helpless but to do it. Even if my heart didn’t want to. I /had/ to obey. The metaphysical bond…”

I shook my head and looked away. Bitterly ironic as it was, I’d have preferred to be a pet to Zsadist’s mistress than an eternal servant of Amos’ will. At least I could’ve defied orders. Had a will of my own. Against the magic that had bound me to Amos, I’d been less than nothing.

“It feels like he took a piece of me with him,” I whispered finally, looking back up to Z’s golden gaze. “It feels like he’s in hell, and whatever part of me that was bound to him was dragged there too. And you…” I stepped closer to the male, oblivious to the towel that was my only covering and the water that still gleamed on my skin. “...you are the /only/ thing that kept me here. The only good thing in my life…”

And the only thing that kept me from walking off into the darkness, and letting it claim me. The bond I felt to Zsadist, for what he’d done, went beyond gratitude and friendship. I owed him my life.

Zsadist:

I take in a deep breath as Hadrian’s words hit me hard. Yes, we both dealt with similar things, but it was still different. The only thing I could do was be there for him. Hadrian was the first real friend I ever had. Sure, I had my Brothers, but I never took the time to talk to anyone else. To truly find myself a friend. Though at this moment I was very grateful that we met, even though it involved me stabbing him in the chest. My lips twitched at the thought. 

“There was no telling her no. I could scream it all I want, but it still happened by force.” Nods. “But yeah...I get what you mean.” Scrubbing a hand over my nape. “You were truly enslaved to him.” Looks away as I process it all.

“Well, I’m sorry I’m the only good thing in your life. Cause hell, I’m nothing special.” Snorts at that. “But if what you are saying is true, then I have a proposition for you. If you are physically up to it, I’d like to show you something.” Says as I take in the male, wondering how he’s been feeling. 

I glanced at the clothes that I tossed aside when I entered the room. “Maybe put those on.” Smirks as I move to stand out into the hall. It was times like these where I wished I smoked, like Vishous, give me something to do with my hands. Instead I just awkwardly leaned against the wall, waiting for the shifter to get dressed. 

Hadrian:

I snorted at the idea of being ‘physically up to it’. If it meant getting out of this med wing for a while, I’d body crawl my way out the door. 

Nodding my acceptance, I caught the clothes thrown my way and barely waited long enough for the vampire to leave the room before I ditched the towel, throwing it into the same pile as my sweat soaked night shirt. Dragging on fresh, clean clothes helped me feel a little more… well, not ‘human’ per se, but definitely closer to normal than I’d been feeling before my shower.

Pulling on a pair of boots, I glanced back toward the med suite and suspected the docs and their team would know I hadn’t skipped town. Besides, wasn’t like I could go far. I barely knew where this place was.

Emerging from the suite, I nodded to Zsadist as he pushed off from the wall and fell into step beside me. A comfortable sweater had been among the ensemble of clothing brought down, the kind with big pockets at the front, and I stuffed my hands into them as we walked.

My ears picked up the faint sounds of life though a few doors, though largely, the tunnel was quiet and empty.

“So… what are you showing me?” I managed, my voice soft enough as to be part of the tunnel ambiance and not break it.

Zsadist:

 Scrubbing a hand along my skull trim as I head down the tunnel, in the direction towards the garage. “Ah...you’ll see soon enough.” 

Not like it was some big surprise, I was more worried that the male would decline my offer if I just straight out told him. So figured it be better to let him see for himself, and for me to explain once we arrived. 

There weren't many around, which made this a lot easier. Brothers on rotation, the King in his study, and Doggens busy cleaning the Mansion. So naturally we just slipped outside without anyone noticing. 

The cool night air caressed my face, taking a moment to breathe it all in as we headed for the woods behind the mansion. We had a good amount of acres to give us some nice land to roam. Which was great since we wanted to be far away from civilization. 

Then I see it.

The cozy cabin that was originally designed for me when the Brotherhood all moved to the manse. You know, back when I was a black eyed bastard and didn’t want to be around anyone. Well, things changed. Moving here changed me, and I decided to not distance myself from the Brothers who meant a lot to me. 

I only hoped that there wasn’t a pallet on the floor. Should have given it a look before I brought the shifter here. Oh well. 

“This cabin belongs to the Brotherhood. It was originally supposed to be mine when we moved here.” Grunts. “I...wanted to know if you’d like to have it, to be close to us.” Rubs at my neck. 

“I know it’s not much, but the Doggens and V can fix it up anyway you’d like. And you can even keep your apartment in the city if you want. I mean fuck, the Brothers have other places they call home. Just thought this would be a nice place for when you start fighting with us.” Nods as my eyes take in the view of the lake. 

“Lots of room to run…” I barely let out. 

Hadrian:

Rather than push for information, I simply nodded. Some part of me trusted Zsadist, almost more completely than I trusted myself. I didn’t challenge, didn’t question. Instead I just kept pace with him, until the night air reached out to stroke at my skin and I shivered in relief and anticipation.

As if waiting for the glimpse of freedom, of the world beyond, my Beasts all stirred, lifting their heads and breathing in the scent of the trees, the earth. A full moon was maybe a week away, and I felt the faint thrum of power as that moonlight hit my skin. Moving toward the tree line, I wondered if the vampire could sense how grateful I was. Even if I was tired, this was what I needed; the crunch of grass and branches under foot, the stars above and the call of wild things.

Then, amongst trees and shadow, the smaller structure emerged. A wood cabin, the scent around it undisturbed. The trees and woods embracing it rather than rejecting it. And then the Brother’s offer.

I glanced at him sideways, unable to hide my shock. Then I was looking at it again, trying to imagine… And it wasn’t hard to do. A moon was only a week away, and I wasn’t about to stay in the manse for it. But here? Amongst trees and the wild? I could actually run. Let my wolf hunt. My cats prowl. 

Stepping closer, I swallowed the lump in my throat as emotion rushed me. This small slice of peace and paradise… Z was giving me that. Offering it to me.

“I can live here? By myself?” I whispered hoarsely, not trusting myself to be louder. “‘Cause… that’d be fucking beautiful,” I manage, finally reaching the side of the cabin and putting my hand to the wood. It was rough and scratchy and cool and I loved it.

Zsadist:

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Somehow I let myself believe that the shifter wasn’t going to accept my offer. To think that maybe he was fed up with all of this, all of us, and wanted to just be alone. 

But that wasn’t the case at all.

“Yeah. It’s yours. I discussed it with the others and they don’t have a problem with it. It’s actually safer for us and you, to have you close. Lessers love to track. Which also reminds me, Vishous wanted to add some extra security to your apartment. If you want to keep it.” 

Nods as I gaze at the cabin. “It needs some work, but it isn’t dirty inside. The Doggens have always kept up with keeping it clean even though it was vacant.” 

I dig into the pocket of my dark jeans, retrieving a key, and handing it over. “So if you know what you’d like...it can be furnished. There is a working kitchen as well as two full bathrooms. Even the upstairs bedroom has a balcony. So let me know what you’d like, or Fritz, and it’s done. And if you don’t...they will just order you stuff.” Chuckles.

Hadrian:

Somehow, against all odds, I’d managed to find another home. A place to recover. Where it didn’t matter how loud the nightmares, no one would have to hear me.

Accepting the key, it was still warm from Zsadist’s body heat as I curled my fingers around it and held on. His words provoked thoughts I hadn’t ventured toward yet, and unbidden I thought of the apartment downtown, the floor to ceiling windows and marble kitchen countertops. Not to mention the panic bedroom still drenched in fear.

“Can… can the doggen go there too?” I asked quietly, looking back to Zsadist. The moonlight touched his golden eyes and made them unbearably, breathtakingly bright. “To… clean.”

Clean away the stench of Amos and the terror he’d soaked the place in. Vishous could wire the place to high heaven. He could make it a backup location for the Brothers when they were downtown for all I cared. But I couldn’t go back there yet. Not until every essence of Amos had been scrubbed away.

“The moon is coming,” I continued, turning away from Zsadist and his perfect gilded gaze, instead looking up to the waxing moon. “You’re sure the Brothers are alright with me running wild under the moon out here?”

Zsadist:

I blinked at the shifter’s words. “Of...of course they can. I’ll make sure I tell Fritz right after we head back.” My golden eyes flickered up to the evening sky, taking in the bright moon that was due to be full soon.”

“Yeah. The doors to the mansion lock with a code, and I’d like to think your...animal friends can’t punch in said code.” Chuckles slightly at my joke. 

“They know, and probably will make sure their shellans stay inside when you are running around out here.” I let my eyes meet the shifter’s once again. “Then again, that leopard of yours is a big softy.” Says with a snort as I think back to that night when...you helped me stay grounded. Having a good friend like that stay close, sounded like a great idea to me.

“Well, I think it’s time we head back…Unless you’d like to stay and explore a bit.” I left Mal resting in bed, and didn’t know if he was up or not. I’d hate for him to wake and not see me there after the shit he just went through. 

“I’m really glad that you want to stay…” I breathe. 

Hadrian:

Giving the cabin one final, long look, I nod slowly and turn around. My fingers curl around the key even tighter, feeling the metal bite into my skin. Managing a faint smile, I move to stand by Zsadist, matching his pace as we head back toward the mansion. 

“I’m grateful you offered,” I admit, thinking of what this future could be like. “I’ve spent my life running from what I am and vampires and… it still did me no good. Now I have a place amongst vampires that… that want to help me. Protect me.” I actually managed a short chuckle. “Oh how times have changed…”

Shaking my head, I stepped around a tree, trying to fill my lungs with the scent of the forest before I returned to the sterility of the med wing. 

“So… thank you. Thanks for…” I looked up, meeting those golden eyes as we paused by the door. “...keeping me alive. And giving me a reason to… keep going.”

My smile was a little more real this time. A little more at ease. Because tomorrow I was moving into that cabin. The med team could visit, if they wanted, but considering I was still on the grounds it wasn’t like they could go nuts. And I needed it. Needed this.

And somehow Z had known.

“You’re a good friend.”

#SL #ARetreat 

[peter-pantomime]

IT Fic Recs

Richie/Eddie

the years go by like days

It’s Eddie he wants to get a hold of, though, and he does, tucking him under his arm, and ruffling his hair, making him laugh. He’s startled when Eddie looks at him with such happy, shining eyes. And, for a split-second, he’s tempted to kiss him right then, right there in front of everyone.

He wants to. Badly. He doesn’t.

He leans in, instead, and he smacks a loud, wet kiss to Eddie’s cheek, punctuating it with a “mwah!” He does it again and again. “I’m so proud of my little Eds Spagheds!”

“Get off me!” Eddie says, laughing and shoving him away, swatting at his hands.

AU. in the 27 years in-between, Richie and Eddie forget a lot, but they don't forget each other.

just be still with me

Eddie Kaspbrak is 38, working as a driver in New York. Richie Tozier is a stand up comic who comes to New York on a one way ticket to audition for SNL, and his agent has hired Eddie as his driver. There's something familiar about Richie, though Eddie knows they've never met. While Richie insists on sitting in the front seat and making something more than small talk, Eddie struggles to maintain professional distance.

Basically - what if Eddie and Richie did forget, and didn't see each other for 25 years, but they fell in love anyways.

If You Believe

What if Eddie held on just a little bit longer? What if the losers figured out how to kill it just a little bit earlier? What if Eddie made it out of Neibolt, injured and barely holding on, but alive?

-

When Eddie emerges from the cavern to see Richie floating, he just about shits himself.

hit me baby one more time

Richie reaches up a shaking hand and puts it on Eddie’s stomach.

“Uhhh,” Eddie says. “Is this a bit? Is this a really inopportune bit? ‘Cause I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Richie, but this is kind of an important moment-”

“What the fuck,” Richie says, not for the first or last time, and lurches forwards to hug him.

(Or, Richie gets stuck in a time loop.)

in the morning

Beverly knows there’s something going on with Richie. The way he had lost it, the way he had cried—she’s not sure if he would ever cry like that for her, or Bill, or even Stan. He had always been particular about Eddie. She pets his hair back again and rests her head on top of his, sighing and closing her eyes. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’s more than she thinks. Either way, she’s sure he’ll say eventually. Richie’s never been good at keeping secrets.

This Is the Way It Ends

An AU in which everything is the same, except Reddie disappear to have sex through most of the plot points and Eddie doesn't have to die to save the day.

Love Me Like You Do

“I need you hear you say it.”

“I want it,” Eddie says back. He’s surprised by his own words, how concrete they sound, how they break through the wall of nerves that’s shrouded over him.

Richie, in all of his confident-not-confidence, leans down and kisses Eddie. It’s gentle at first, the rough chap of his lips barely grazes Eddie’s over moisturized ones but the electricity rockets down his spine and bursts into tiny electrodes all over his body. He immediately leans up, chases Richie’s retreating form and captures him in a kiss that Eddie never knew he was capable of giving.

Men of Fall

Do you remember? He watches his own hand slide closer along the armrest. Do memories transfer by touch, in this fucked up magic town? Remember, Richie, please, and tell me I wasn’t imagining things.

put it all aside and hold me tight

"I'm not sad," he lies. He thinks of how his hands had trembled after he'd gotten the phone call from Mike, the foul taste of bourbon and breath mints and his own bile in his throat. Every morning he's alone, even when he isn't. He isn't afraid, except for when he is. And he isn't sad, not really, but he is.

Not that it's any of Eddie's business.

Eddie's gaze feels like it goes right through him. There's little Richie hates more than being read, especially when it's by Eddie — there's always a split second of bone-deep terror that whispers he knows. It's familiar, something that goes way back to childhood. Still just as shit-your-pants terrifying.

Or: After the reunion dinner from hell, Richie and Eddie have a long overdue conversation about, like, feelings and shit.

up off the floor

"In a world where we can kill a fucking clown from space, Eddie Kaspbrak doesn’t get to die from a stab wound."

still it’s so

Beverly screamed when she saw them. Then she covered her mouth with her hands and just stared, tears standing bright in her eyes. Bill stood up so fast his armchair jumped back, and beside him Mike did the same. Ben got up slower, a painfully hopeful look on his face.

“Surprise!” Richie said. “We lived!”

Things that Happen after Eddie Lives

In a world where Richie manages to save Eddie from It after the deadlights, they still have problems on their to-do list. Featuring everything from Derry to Los Angeles—Richie Tozier's murder trial, Eddie Kaspbrak's divorce proceedings, bedsharing of the platonic and non-platonic varieties, an investigation of magic, a truly disgusting séance, the quintessential morosexual road trip, and OH MY GOD THEY WERE ROOMMATES.

swallow your heart

When he’s 24, at least once per night, Richie has what he would describe as an erotic nightmare. He never actually has sex in these dreams, nor does he die or even get seriously maimed. But they’re still definitely erotic, and they’re definitely nightmares.

Prompt: "I swallow your heart and it crawls right out of my mouth."

With a boulder on my shoulder

Feelin' kinda older.

Or, Eddie Kaspbrak has his fifteenth birthday party.

we’ve been migratory animals

As they reach the town limits, he sees the sign up ahead: You are now leaving Derry. A thrill shudders through him — they’re out. Things will be different now, no more deadlight-visions swallowing him up inside. Richie rolls down his window, and before anyone can do more than look at him quizzically, he unbuckles his seatbelt, lifts himself up out of his seat somewhat, and leans out the window to flip the sign off. “Fuck you!” he bellows. The wind whips his hair into his eyes, and he lets out a slightly manic laugh. Then he feels hands grabbing at his shirt, and Eddie is yanking him back into the car.

--

Or, the Losers take a road trip to Florida, and Richie's having nightmares from the deadlights that he can't seem to shake.

if the children don’t grow up

Richie Tozier dreams, sometimes, of heat soaking through the soles of his sneakers from the July tarmac in the town where he grew up, the name of which he can’t quite remember when he’s awake, and of someone small and warm and familiar pressed up against him everywhere.

(Some scenes from a life – Richie and Eddie at 40 and at 13 (and beyond) and at 40 again.)

Richie Tozier Versus The Flu

“His parents don’t take care of him,” Eddie had told Bill, shaking his head, “He’s probably holed up in his room with a flop sweat, and neither of his parents have ever been bothered to help him. We should go see him.”

“G-Go see him?” Bill asked, alarmed, “I d-don’t mind, b-b-but I thought you’d n-never -”

“He’s sick! Richie’s sick, Bill,” Eddie insisted, thinking Bill was not nearly as upset as he ought to be, “Richie’s sick, and no one’s gonna take care of him, if we don’t.”

last ones out

Richie wonders if it’s always been this hard for him to touch Eddie. It hasn’t; they were incredibly touchy as kids, falling all over each other, gangly limbs intertwined. Even as adults, a few days before, Richie had barely been able to keep his hands off of him. Eddie almost dying did something, though. Chipped away at something deep within Richie. From the bed, Eddie laughs.

Talk So Pretty (And Love So Sweet)

Eddie was going to kill him one day, in his lace and crop tops and knee high socks.

Let’s Hear It for the Boy

“Oh, before I forget- keep this one.”

He pulled a tape from his bag that he hadn’t played yet, and Eddie took it with a look of distrust on his face. It had his name scrawled across the label in Richie’s awful handwriting- looked more like it said Edota on it- but the thing that caught his attention was the very obviously scribbled out heart in front of his name.

“Welp,” He snapped his gum again. “I gotta go. See you later, babe. If you miss me when I’m gone, just listen to the tape. Plenty of gushy shit on there.”

June

He can’t handle being alone with Eddie anymore.

He squats next to Eddie, brings their faces close, and he looks at the freckles on Eddie’s cheeks, the familiar chestnut hair perfectly quaffed at his fringe, how long, and thick his eyelashes seem against his sunburnt cheeks.

He wants.

Desperately.

Blood Runs Cold

He wants to say the feeling in his gut is foreign, but the truth is it’s been flowering for years, vines twisting and growing in the pit of his stomach, just waiting for him to open his mouth so they can finally see the sun.

(or a short fic about Richie Coming out to Bevvie while they smoke in his room)

Show Me a Good Time

This wasn’t the first time that Richie had brought Eddie to one of his meetings. Meetings, used very loosely, meaning they were at a restaurant with however many Michelin stars, while his agent talked to him and whoever else decided to show up to the dinner. There were currently about eight of them, Eddie and Richie shoved into the corner of a booth, while someone told a story about their latest stent on tour. Lucky for Richie, the story actually happened to be good, because if not, well, they might have seen just how often Eddie was leaning over to whisper in his ear.

we’re f***ing killing it, babe

Richie has been back in Derry for three days and murdered an Eldritch horror-esque monster from space or possibly from some weird meta-verse, who knows, and faced both of his childhood fears of clowns and his own death, as well as the possibility of losing his first love just as he remembered they fucking existed, he’d like some slack cut for him on the emotional front, thank you!

OR

Eddie is dead, but the Losers carry him out of the house on Neibolt anyway. Which is good, because Eddie is not dead.

Roads

Richie pulls out of the Orient parking lot first, and stares at the headlights of Eddie’s car in his rearview mirror.

The drive back to The Derry Townhouse is short, scary, and not well lit.

“It’s just Eddie,” he tells his reflection, trying to give himself a pep talk, but that’s the problem.

It’s Eddie.

Lakes

Ben holds Bev’s hand as they walk. Richie feels sick with grief, staggering along behind them, carrying Eddie’s dead, heavy body on his back.

Intro // Skydiving

Eddie Kaspbrak is ten years old. It's his first time at the quarry with his friends.

--

The descent feels like it lasts both for a few seconds and for eternity. Free fall is terrifying, but his hand is still latched onto Richie's, and it tethers him, makes him feel like he isn't just lost in space.

soul, I hear you calling

He catches a glimpse of himself, bruise-eyed and unshaven, in the bathroom mirror as he turns to leave, and that's when he sees Eddie Kaspbrak.

"At least wash your hands, you nasty fuck," Eddie says.

"Holy fucking shit," Richie screams.

Eddie comes back, sort of.

[mileheitcity-blog]

Three Days in Iceland

Pre-Trip

I had planned on hitting Iceland on my way to Europe for some time.  It was around 2012 that I first heard of the extended layover on Icelandair, but never really thought to look much into it, at least until I had a reason to.  Study abroad finally gave me that reason. Turns out you can stay up to seven days in Iceland on your way to wherever you want to go without incurring extra service fees.  Combine that with relatively cheap airfare and it seemed like the easiest way to beat jetlag and see somewhere new.  I figured a place like Iceland would be a little expensive, and not wanting to blow my entire wallet before I even hit Amsterdam, I decided on a three day layover.  It seemed like enough time to see some of Western Iceland and maybe get a feel for the place.  I made sure to pack for some outdoors: raincoat, hiking shoes, swimsuit, sweatshirts.  When researching places to stay, I found my hunch about price was correct: Iceland was more than a little expensive.  Staying in Reykjavik was out of the question, so instead I found a guesthouse in the village of Akranes, about 45 minutes up the road. After the quarter ended in early June, I flew to Denver to see my parents and tie up some important loose ends before my trip.  On June 17, I caught my first flight from Denver International Airport and tried to sleep on the seven hour flight to Keflavik.

Day 1

Our flight was a little late getting out of Denver, so we landed at around 9:30 local time in Iceland.  Running on about 3.5 hours of sleep, I got my rental car and headed straight for my 11:00 appointment at the Blue Lagoon.  I was running about an hour late, of course, but they didn’t seem to mind at all.  In fact, it was one of the best customer service experiences I’ve ever had.  If I went down the wrong hallway, they immediately pointed me in the right direction or let me through with my wristband anyway.  The sushi I had was nourishing after all that time in the air.  The water was nothing short of spectacular: milky white, warm and relaxing.  Two steam baths and a sauna were open and accessible in the corner and both were quite necessary.  One kiosk on the left hand side sold mud masks, like the Dead Sea, and offered a silica one for free.  Two rounds of the silica mask made the skin on my face feel as happy as it had been in years.  Another kiosk in the corner sold beer and drinks, so I got the Icelandic national brew: Gull.  Drinking and driving in Iceland is strictly forbidden, so I wanted to make sure to limit myself to only two drinks on my trip, this being one of them.  I’ll get to the other one later.  Gull isn’t too bad, but not too great.  Something of a standard macro lager, a few shades better than Rainier.  Enjoying my drink slowly allowed me to make friends with some folks around me from the Pacific Northwest, which definitely made the transition to a foreign land a little easier.  My only regret from a place like this is that eventually you’ll have to leave.  But I’ll be back...

Feeling refreshed, relaxed, and sobered up from my one beer, I hopped in the car and went to Reykjavik.  It’s a fairly small city: you can see much of the main areas in a day.  The main landmark in the city is Halgrimskirkja: the cathedral of the Church of Iceland.  It’s fairly impressive, with a really cool looking pipe organ and a statue of Leif Erikson in front.  I had forgotten he was of Iceland, that his father was Erik the Red.  Not far from Halgrimskirkja was the Laugevegur, the main restaurant and shopping district.  It was along this street that I knew where to find my second and final drink in Iceland.  Many of the hot spots along this street carried oddly American names: the Chuck Norris Grill, a pub called Boston that looked like it was taken directly out of Cheers. I finally came upon the one I wanted: Lebowskibar.  It was absolutely kitsch, sure, but I’m a sucker for anything to do with The Big Lebowski.  I had to have my White Russian, and a “hell of a Caucasian” it was.

About 3000 ISK later, I took a short walk to the Icelandic Punk Museum to sober up a bit, but it was nothing special.   The coolest thing there was a little joke at Hitler’s expense, which is never a bad thing. After the Punk Museum it was time to head on up to Akranes.  There was no one at the desk, but my key was waiting for me inside, with the sun still shining at around 10pm.  I took a walk down to the lighthouse at the end of town to catch the closest thing Iceland has to a summer sunset, and caught the midnight sun as I got back to the guesthouse for the night.  A solid day one.

Day 2

Got a late start after sleeping off the jetlag and went right for what I really came for: Hákarl.  I knew that fermented shark was pretty gnarly, but I wasn’t gonna miss it. The spot to go find shark is on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula at the  Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum.  The museum is located pretty well out in the middle of nowhere, about two hours up the road from Akranes. I didn’t get on the road until almost noon, so I thought I was out of time.  I quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and a full tank of gas (around 250ISK per litre!) found my way.  I found out later I had quite a bit of sunlight to work with. The Shark Museum itself is a small house on a windswept headland on the northern side of the peninsula.  A spectacular view.  Undaunted, I paid my 1000 ISK to see the place.  The museum itself is a rather eclectic collection of maritime memorabilia and Icelandic antiques.  The collection seemed almost unorganized, but I wasn’t there for the collection, I was there for the shark.  The presentation was short, but interesting: a burly Icelander explains how the shark is poisonous when eaten fresh because it doesn’t process urine, so they have to basically let the thing rot in wooden tubs before letting it dry out back for a while, leading to its notorious smell.  The smell can best be described as a mix of ammonia and urine, which makes sense, and though it is indeed quite foul it’s not nearly as strong or permeating as I expected it to be.  It tasted much better than it smelled: like a slightly buttery fish, nothing too offensive.  After a short peek at the collection, the burly Icelander directs you to the drying house out back.  That’s where the magic happens, and the food gets its stinky reputation. Where the fish was pretty mild, the drying house is extremely pungent and stings your nose.  The visual appearance of the shark as its cured is no more appealing: brown, crusty, and oozing with liquid.  Overall though, the shark wasn’t too bad.  A man in need could almost make a meal out of the stuff, and definitely could make a side dish.

Next stop was Kirkjufell and the town of Grundarfjörður about 30 minutes further out along the peninsula.  Kirkjufell was featured on seasons six and seven of Game of Thrones, which was totally why I wanted to see it and not because it was a symbol of Iceland.  But that was a nice perk too.  I grabbed a hot dog in  Grundarfjörður and found a nice little cafe that was also a small library, a great find along the trail.  The mountain itself is impressive, and the nearby stream is fed by a sprawling waterfall across the highway. Very picturesque.  

My third and final stop was the Vatnshellir Cave on the far end of the peninsula, about another hour out.  I pull in at around 17:50, about ten minutes before they close for the day, and this place is remote.  I mean even the WiFi router I brought in the car with me, the one that worked for my entire Iceland trip, couldn’t find anything out there.  If there was an “end of the Earth”, this was it.  The cave itself is an experience onto itself.  They fit you with a helmet and a flashlight, and a friendly guide takes you down a long spiral metal staircase made slick by constant water dripping through the soil.  The cave was created by a volcanic explosion, like pretty much everything else on this island, and is layered with eons of nature’s bidding.  Afteer some time exploring the worn lava rock, you go down another staircase: this one even longer (about 40 meters) and slicker.  At the end of the cave tour, the guide has us all close our eyes and turn out our lights. When we open them, all language barriers between the tour group disappears with a loud “whoa!” in relative unison as we all process the complete lack of light.  Pitch black has new meaning there.  The darkness is absolute, whole, enveloping.  There really isn’t a way to describe just how dark it is with absolutely no sunlight whatsoever.  After a few meditative minutes we all climbed back up, glad we had made the trek down.  On the way out, I happened upon what looked like the keeper of the lighthouse at the end of the jetty lowering the Icelandic flag for the night.  Felt like the perfect symbol to cap off a truly Icelandic day.  

Day 3

My final day in Iceland I wanted to pack in anything else I missed before I took off to Amsterdam.  I got up and headed straight back too Reykjavik.  The Alþingi building is beautiful from the outside, and claims to be the oldest active parliament in the world, however, they had no tours for the day.  Undaunted, I stumbled to the Settlement Exhibition up the street, colloquially called 871+- 2, in reference to the probably year Iceland was first settled by Vikings, within a range of a year or two. The Settlement Museum is very interactive, and contains replica models of some of the houses the original settlers built.  The Settlement Exhibition is part of a museum network with two others, of which I only went to one: the oldest extant house in Reykjavik.  The house held a small photo exhibition of Icelandic life in 1918, and was fairly well curated.  

My second stop of the day was...shall we say a little different: the Icelandic Phallocalogical Museum.  This guy, for some reason, had a large curated collection of animal penises, and somehow found it within himself to mount and display them in a complete museum dedicated to his collection. There are large penises, like that of a blue whale, and small penises, like that of a hamster. He even has a couple of bronze casts of human penises.  The voice on the audio guide never explains why he has such a collection, and why he decided to display it on the wall for everyone to see, but boy does he go into detail about each penis.  Far more than I wanted to know, but still worth a chuckle.  

The Icelandic Rock and Roll Museum was only 30 more minutes down the road in Reykjanesbær , and contained a well curated mix of materials dating back to the early days and some bands I had never heard of. I mostly just went to geek on bunch of Björk and Sigur Rós and Of Monsters and Men.  The collection did not disappoint.  The museum was interactive, and even had a karaoke booth (that wasn’t soundproof, as I found out later).  I was able to get my fill of guitars and strange costumes and even a band made out of wood.  Fans of MoPop in Seattle (formerly known as the Experience Music Project) might be a little underwhelmed, but this was a fun tribute to the fascinating music history of such a tiny place. I may have spent a little too much time and energy in the karaoke room singing some of my favorites; the woman working at the desk barged in about halfway through song six (I think?) to tell me the room wasn’t soundproof. Oops.

My next two stops were a bit far away, and it was already 3pm, so I needed to hit the road. Only about nine more hours of sunlight.  Reykjadalur Hot Springs got some rave reviews on YouTube, and was only about 90 minutes up the road. Or so I thought.  The parking lot sits down at the bottom of a steep mountain pass near the town of Hveragerði.  A little coffee shop greets visitors, but it had shut down for the day.  It was pretty chili outside so I grabbed my sweatshirt for what I thought was a short walk to the river. Turns out the springs itself is a three kilometer walk up the hill.  And people swim in the river.  I immediately regretted forgetting both my hiking shoes and my swimsuit.  The hike up to the springs is stunning.  Sweeping valleys and steep canyons give way to open fields full of sheep.  So many sheep.  They graze in the valley, drink some of the colder water downstream, and even walk right up towards the trail for the freshest grass.  Off in the distance steam literally billows out of the earth.  The only time I’ve ever seen anything like it was at Yellowstone, but this was different. It was....quiet. Peaceful. The smell of sulfur carries with the wind.  Near the end of the hike, you walk right through one of those steam vents, which was somehow simultaneously refreshing and blinding.  The hot springs themselves are more like a spot in the river.  Something in the soil is volcanic, so the ground heats the water to some naturally balmy temperatures. The bathing area is nearly the opposite of the Blue Lagoon.  There are no amenities, there is no one bringing you a drink or offering you a mud mask.  There are no saunas or steam baths, or any real facilities of any kind for that matter. Not a roof in sight, not even a restroom.  Only a few privacy barriers indicated a potential spot to change out.    I wasn’t exactly prepared for a full swim, so I took my shoes off and soaked my aching feet a while.  The hot mineral water was quite soothing, really softened up the calluses.

The hike up and down created quite an appetite.  I saw a sign on the road back to the main highway for a pizza bar and geothermal brewery: Ölverk. Good enough for me. The place was a little fancier than I expected, but the food and service were both really delicious.  Got a pizza with dates, bacon, and blue cheese on it, and it’s probably the only pizza with fruit I’d do again.  I passed on the beer: around 2700 ISK for a taster flight of four, 4000 ISK for a draft pour. Makes the ballpark seem cheap. Turns out the geothermal thing was just how they generated their power anyway, which is kinda cool I suppose, but that’s how they generate much of their electricity there. That’s like saying a brewery in Seattle is hydroelectric powered.  It was getting late in the day at this point, but my friend recommended I hit a spot a little further up the road: Kerið Crater. It’s a sinkhole, but an impressive one.  The parking lot backs right up to the crater, and there’s a short hike around and a staircase to the bottom.  At the bottom is a pool of clean, cool groundwater. Like everywhere else in that country, it was created by volcanic activity.  Some kind of sinkhole type process. I took the staircase to the bottom, took a drink of the water (tasted great!), and had a lovely conversation with some folks from Russia.  A chat with some folks from the other side of the world seemed like a good way to transition to the next portion of my trip.  I took a windy route back through the southern portion of Þingvellir National Park, but it was around 10:30pm at that point so I knew I needed to drive the couple hours back to Akranes to make my flight.  The back roads were wide open and peaceful: for kilometers on end I might have been the only person.  There was also some gravel, but some experience living in the Colorado mountains served me well.  I cranked up the tunes and thought wistfully of the summer ahead of me.  Amsterdam, I’m ready.

Final Thoughts

Iceland is a place unto itself.  My only regret is that I didn’t allow myself one more day.  More than that though, oof.  It gets expensive.  Outside of Reykjavik is extremely rural and provincial, and Reykjavik is indeed lovely, but not exactly the most cosmopolitan or bustling city. I would go back, and would recommend it to almost everyone, but unless you plan on doing some hardcore expeditions you can see pretty much everything in three to four days.  For me, it served its purpose: I relaxed at the Blue Lagoon, ate Hákarl, slept off the jetlag, and adjusted to some of the differences of European culture.  Overall, a lovely experience. Oh, and be aware the tap water smells like sulfur.

[taocastleprincess]

inktober for writers - days 10 + 11 - honor + seaons / eijiroctober - days 10 + 11 - fantasy outfit + dragon Kiri

A/N: I reaaaaaaaally like what came out of this little writing exercise. like, i’m considering a longterm multi-chap?? esp since i left this REALLY open ended. sooo like tell me what you think? i love comments/criticism/love/suggestions!!

fic under the cut!

Dragons have always been ostracized. They’re too big, too destructive, too brutish, too inhuman. They are said to be too dumb to control their fire breathing, killing crops and animals and even children in fits of irritation or anger. Their transformations hint at a demonic origin, they’re Satan’s spawn, grandmothers whisper to their toddlers after tucking them in at night. They are dangerous, mystical beings that ought to be left alone. Or killed. Kirishima is sure that in another world, another universe or time or place, dragons would be appreciated, celebrated even. There would still be tales about them but only ones that paint them in a light that inspires hope or courage. They’d team up with princes and knights to take down wicked witches or evil kings. They’d have power and influence running hot with the blood in their veins, like the blazing red of molten lava. They would be heroes. Would be. If the world were different and humans were more understanding. Less cruel and more loving. If they’d only try to get outside of their own limited understanding of the world things would be different... So different that he wouldn’t have to be hauling ass through the expanse of a dark forest to get away from men who wanted to rip him apart and skin his dragon form for their winter boots. Kirishima runs. Keeps running until he’s blue in the face and, after that, he pushes himself to go even further. He’s weighed down with the heavy feelings of fear and guilt, stomach knotting more from intense sympathy than the burst of personal despair gripping his heart. He didn’t even think twice before leaving his friend behind... His only friend. The person who had saved him from certain death, going out of their way to help him recover from a critical sword wound, giving Kirishima his time, his magic, risking his reputation, his freedom to help a dragon that laid quickly dying on the side of a road. Why did he leave him behind? How did he leave him behind? What kind of dragon leaves behind a friend in need at the drop of a pence? As soon as a little trouble starts brewing? When did he become so cowardly and disgusting, being able to leave behind the only friend, the only family he’s ever known, to deal with bloodthirsty scoundrels on their own? Kirishima trips. His foot catches on a vine, sending his whole body flying forward at high speed. He hits the ground with a loud thud and an eery CRACK of bones breaking. His side immediately lights up with searing pain, the impact of such a rough landing obviously jostling the placement of a few of his ribs. As the bounty hunters quickly close in on him, Kirishima starts to feel hot tears run down his face in rivulets. He’s so ridden with guilt he isn’t even crying over his almost certain death at the hands of these men. He can’t tear his thoughts away from the alchemist-in-training who has probably already met a worse fate. His body shakes violently at the thought of his soft-hearted green-eyed companion. His tears burn his skin, the memory of Midoriya being roughly restrained and tied up in preparation of a probably violent interrogation makes him sick. Midoriya was only a target because of his ties to HIM and Kirishima had the audacity, the sheer cowardice, to leave him alone and defenseless in order to save his own ass. He deserves to die. He stares at the men approaching him through watery eyes. The black of their clothing blend in seamlessly with the darkness of the forest. A sharp contrast to the glittering silver of their sharp sabers, sparkling menacingly under the cover of moonlight. He doesn’t move, doesn’t blink, doesn’t even breathe as the leader of the group steps forward to finish the job. He’s over six feet tall, bald, and ugly with a taunting face and a bulging neck. He walks forward slowly with his saber drawn and pointed towards Kirishima’s throat. He chuckles darkly, a hollow sound that chills the redhead’s spine. “When I finally get back home, after hanging yer scaly ass head from my fireplace, I gotta go to the temple ‘n’ thank the gods for this piece o’ shit death trap.” He opens his arms and slowly turns in a circle, faux-marveling at the forest. “Ya almost got away, ya little shit. Didn’t even know scum like you could run that fast when yer outta yer real form. Shit. Thought ya were high off some witches’ salt or somethin’,” he laughs. The sound grates Kirishima’s nerves. He glares at the man but he doesn’t dare speak. If anything, he’ll just earn himself a painful death. If he’s going to die like this, he’s gonna go out as painless as possible. “Ya can’t speak, dragon?” Kirishima blinks wordlessly and the man laughs again. “Oh, I get it. Yer gonna go out bein’ all dignified ‘n’ quiet ‘n’ shit, yeh?” The smile on his face twists into a thing of wickedness. “Let’s see how yer friend’ll take it when we come back with ya cut up into tiny pieces ‘n’ we tell him that you took it like a real man,” he smiles devilishly and starts waving his sword about. “Don’t you fucking dare,” Kirishima’s voice comes out in a hoarse, pained whisper. The toll of broken bones and a crushed spirit affecting his ability to speak. Another laugh. “Just jokin’ wit’ ya! I only get paid the full amount if ya come back chopped up ‘n’ the kid gets delivered in his right mind. The gruesome truth will be just between ya ‘n’ me.” He winks at Kirishima with a creepy amount of enthusiasm. “Ya know what they say?” Kirishima continues to glare at him, so much hatred seeping out of his pores it is almost tangible. “Two can keep a secret if one of ‘em is de—“ A crudely made arrow slices through the air and pierces the man’s neck. The man looks terrified and confused, mouth moving and trying to communicate around the arrow currently lodged in his throat but his damaged voice box and the blood pooling out of his mouth prevents him from offering up more than watery gurgles. Another arrow flies from above Kirishima’s head and lodges itself into the man’s heart. He falls backwards, body lifelessly collapsing to the ground as blood continues to overflow from his open mouth. A stronger wave of fear takes Kirishima by surprise. He can’t fight an enemy he can’t see. He can’t fight at all, actually, with his body in such a condition and being too weak to switch forms. The biological alarm that’s telling his entire brain and body and soul to GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE is useless. His energy is sapped, his limit reached. Not even the healthy dose of adrenaline pumping through his veins are enough to help him escape. He watches on in terror as the arrows start traveling through the air at now rapid rates, effectively killing or incapacitating the rest of the five or six men that had come with their now-dead leader. The entire ambush only spans about two minutes, but Kirishima’s anxiety leads him to believe he’s been vulnerable for hours. Watching the dead or fallen men around him become decorated with arrows pains him. Not because they didn’t deserve it. They most certainly did. If he’s being honest, they deserved an end even less merciful than this for harming Midoriya in the way that they did. However, as easy as they got off in Kirishima’s eyes, it still looked like an anguishing death. The screaming, the wide eyes of confusion and fright. Looks of horror overtaking entire faces at the realization that they were dying finally set in. It looked like something he didn’t want to experience first hand. Kirishima waits for his arrow. He squeezes his eyes shut, some childish part of him still believing that not seeing something makes it less unbearable. He shrinks himself into a ball and waits. He prays to any god that will listen to a pathetic dragon like him that he’ll luck up and get an arrow that kills him instantly. He also sends a prayer up for Midoriya, asking the god of luck and fortune to make a way for him to escape the clutches of the men who captured him. He prays for other things, little things, like good otter tail in the afterlife and a some dwarf-made beer just to whet his tastes. It’s been so long, so, so long since he’s had a decent meal and something to drink that wasn’t dirty river water.... Maybe dying wouldn’t be so bad. If what the templars and priests were always saying was true, maybe he’d have a better time after death. With endless food, kind neighbors, angels with locks like gold helping him along his w— “You gonna stay like that, Scales-for-Brains? Get the fuck up, you lazy piece of shit, we gotta get goin’. Fuckin’ hell, look at your sorry ass! I was thinkin’ that we could fly off real fast, but you smell like someone kicked the shit outta you.” When Kirishima looks up from the ground, he sees a man about his age peering down at him. He’s shirtless, necklaces of red- and blue-dyed sharkteeth adorning his neck and chest, with a red cape lined with fur decorating his shoulders. The moonlight catching the fringe of his bang reveals his hair to be a dirty blond color, wild and unruly. Kirishima doesn’t have to guess about the color of his eyes either, as they glow supernaturally bright, crimson colored irises glaring down at him in irritation. “Can you understand me, dumbass? I said I can smell all the internal bleeding you got right now! You’re gonna fuckin’ die if you just lay here, get your sorry ass up.” Before Kirishima can even process what’s happening, he’s yanked to his feet by the foul mouthed blond. Sharp pains rake his entire side, broken bones jostling and hitting places that they really shouldn’t. Kirishima fights the urge to punch the man in his face. “If you can tell that I’m hurt why the hell are you dragging me around like a rag doll? And what’s your deal? You just meet random people and start cursing them out?” The blond rolls his eyes. “Shut up, Scales-for-Brains. You don’t know me, but I know you. So just get with the fuckin’ program already,” the man huffs and Kirishima feels like he’s a wayward child being scolded. “Gods, I fuckin’ swear, anytime that little dick Deku needs anything from me I end up getting the shit end of the stick. One day I’m just gonna tell him to fuck off.” Kirishima forgets the gravity of the situation for a bit as his curiosity piques. “You know me? From where? Have we met before?” The blond gives him a look of irritation and starts stomping off, away from the carnage. “He— Hey! I’m talking to you!” “I know that, dumbass, keep it the fuck down before you wake up a demon boar or something. I’ll leave your ass quick and in a hurry. And don’t forget it,” Kirishima scrambles after him as quickly as he can with broken ribs. “We haven’t met, I just know about you from that shit ass alchemist that you follow around.” Kirishima’s heart races. “You know Midoriya?!” “Didn’t I just say that?” Kirishima can’t see the blond’s face but he’s almost sure that his face is scrunched up in a mean look. Since when did Midoriya hang around such..... unfortunate company? “You said he contacted you? How? When? He’s in a lot of trouble right now! Those guys attacked us at his home and they have him tied up! I know that they just wanted me but they’re ready to kill him if he doesn’t cooperate! And now that I’m gone and their acco—“ “Do you ever shut the fuck up? Shit. Obviously, he’s not too bad if he had the energy to summon a pigeon to get my attention.” Kirishima continues to shuffle after the blond, but the latter slows down, so he’s able to catch his breath a bit. “Just now?” “Probably an hour’s passed since then. Maybe two. I don’t know,” he pauses for a moment. “And those guys weren’t after you, dumbass. They probably just saw a fuckin’ dragon and decided to take advantage. Dragon hides go for big money these days. Could feed a whole fuckin’ village with just your right claw on a fuckin’ stick.” “Yes, I know,” Kirishima responds bitterly. The blond whips his head to study Kirishima’s face. “Apologies. That was shitty. But, yeah, they’re not after you. They’re after shitty Deku and whatever fuckin’ shit he found out after he stuck his nose in the king’s business. Idiot.” He turns his head back around to continue navigating and Kirishima thinks about all of this information quietly. Was Midoriya working on something that dangerous without telling him? Of course, he knew that the only reason Midoriya wouldn’t have told him about whatever he discovered was because it was potentially life-threatening information. Unfortunately, though, the truth of the matter doesn’t make the betrayal sting any less. “So are they going to kill him? For knowing whatever he knows?” “Nah, they’ll interrogate him for awhile. The king loves torture. It’ll probably be months before they finally let ‘im kick the bucket.” The other boy relays this information to Kirishima as if they were discussing the upcoming weather in Driwox. The casual tone of his voice prevents the knowledge from numbing Kirishima’s brain. “And you’re not gonna do anything about it? Didn’t he call you for help? I was assuming you guys were friends, but you’re just strolling along after you acknowledged that he’s gonna die in the span of a few months if he doesn’t get released! That doesn’t bother you? What the hell is your issue?” He doesn’t realize that he’s yelling until the blond whips around and smashes his hand over his mouth. “Shut the fuck up, Scales-for-Brains. We’re trying to get back to my place without getting mauled!” The blond is whisper-yelling, his face so close to Kirishima’s he can smell the hotness of his breath as he speaks. Cinnamon. The shirtless man sighs looking Kirishima in the eyes with a solemn look. “Look, I know firsthand about how shitty he’s about to have it. If it were up to me, I’d be treating the rest of the king’s lapdogs to some Stfkier arrows right up the ass.” Kirishima watches the man’s face alight with a strong combination of sadness and unbridled anger. “But that’s not what that shithead told me to do. He asked me to find you, make sure you’re safe, and to run some errands for him.” Kirishima’s eyebrows unconsciously rise. The other man laughs. “Yeah, fuckin’ errands. Like the little dick is goin’ off on vacation and not being fuckin’ targeted by the monarchy.” He shakes his head furiously, but the look on his face is a tad bit fond. “He sounds crazy, but whatever he found is apparently worth securing by any means necessary.” The blond moves his hands away from Kirishima’s mouth. The redhead was already feeling drained with all of the trouble accumulating around him, but now he’s discovering a level of fatigue that he never knew existed before. “So he’s sacrificing himself.” It’s meant to sound like a question, but his tone falls flat.

He feels like sleeping for a thousand years. Maybe he will. Without Midoriya there’s nothing to stick around for anyway. “We’re not lettin’ him, Shitty Hair. So stop lookin’ like a lost puppy,” the blond’s voice cuts through his thoughts and brings him back to attention. “We’ve got a little time between now and Deku’s execution. If we can follow-through with everything on his list, we can get him released. Whatever he found must be enough to throw the entire royal court up in flames.” Kirishima’s eyes widen with surprise. “‘We?’ You’re trusting me to help you with this? With whatever could destroy the stability of an entire kingdom? Yeah, no. Not even Midoriya thought I could handle that.” At the last statement, his heart drops. It was his own fault for getting his hopes up, though. Humans aren’t wired to trust dragons with their whole, entire beings. Their distrust of dragons is biological, built in. Not even a kind soul like Midoriya was exempt from something that ingrained. “Hey. Don’t be a little shit. Deku was protecting you.  And you know that. He’d trust you with the entire moon if it were his to give. Believe me. I get sick of hearing about your dumbass all the time. You’re his closest friend. Have a little more faith in him.” After letting his words sink in for a bit, the blond folds his arms over his chest and fixes him with a challenging stare. “So you in or not? Say no and I’ll kick your wingless ass.” Kirishima rolls his eyes. “You don’t even know me. You’ve only heard about me. I doubt I can help you complete whatever tasks Midoriya laid out for you. I’m just... Just me. And ‘just me’ isn’t enough to save anyone. I’ve tried before,” Kirishima explains. He thanks the all-encompassing darkness shrouding them as steamy tears threaten to fall again. The other man is quiet for a long while. They continue walk in silence until they reach the edge of the forest, the trees thinning to reveal a large field of grass as far as the eyes can see. Now that they’re out of the forest, the moonlight is bright enough to illuminate the world around them. The field of grass seems almost unreal, the light giving it an ethereal glow. Kirishima wonders if they’re about to cross a faerie field. “Look,” the blond begins, cutting into Kirishima’s thoughts for the countless time tonight. “You’re right. I don’t know you, don’t know shit about you. All I know is that I gotta get Deku outta whatever shit he’s tangled up in now and this time I need help.” His crimson eyes glow even brighter under the moonlight, more intense than they’ve ever been so far. “I’m not asking you to be anything more than what you are.” “A dragon?” “A friend,” the man corrects. “You think this whole deal is complicated and out of your reach, but it’s not. The most important thing he needs right now is people rallying behind him makin’ things happen. That’s all. I just need you to be a friend. We can figure the rest of this shit out as we go along.” Kirishima wavers under his heavy gaze. He wants to be agreeable, to help Midoriya but... His mind flashes back to a scene from only a few hours ago. It keeps replaying desperately he ran from Midoriya’s attackers instead of staying and fighting for him, with him. He’s not at all qualified for this. He isn’t a friend. He’s a traitor, a coward. Lower than scum. “I left him there,” Kirishima says simply. His body heaves in despair and a sharp pain shakes his whole body. Hopefully one of those broken ribs will pierce his heart. “So redeem yourself. Grow. Make this a fuckin’ quest to redeem your honor. I don’t know, Shitty Hair. I really don’t. All I know is: sitting on your ass and crying about what you did in the past ain’t gonna help anyone. You’re just abandoning him again.” The blond gently places a hand on Kirishima’s shoulder. The redhead dares to meet his eyes and is surprised to see them holding an emotion other than aggressive irritation. His gaze is gentle, careful. “Buck up, Scales. Seriously. He wouldn’t have wanted you to fight them anyway. You definitely woulda got yourself killed.” And just like that, the gentleness is gone, compassion evaporating like a shallow puddle on a midsummer’s day. “So what now? What’re you gonna do, Scales-for-Brains? I ain’t got all night. I need to sleep.” The blond holds Kirishima’s gaze while the latter drowns in his own thoughts. “Kirishima.” “What?” Kirishima shrugs the blond’s hand off his shoulder. “It’s Kirishima. Kirishima Eijirou. If we’re going to work together stop calling me dumb names.” The blond rolls his eyes. “Dumb name. I’ll stick with ‘Scales,’” he comments as he gently wraps Kirishima’s arm around his neck and snakes his other arm around the dragon’s waist to give him some foundational support. Kirishima huffs in response to his statement but is otherwise grateful for the help. “Bakugou. I would say it’s a pleasure but it’s been a real shitshow.” Kirishima laughs for the first time since nightfall. “That’s putting it nicely.” Bakugou spares him a smirk. “So you good to go? We’ve got to basically fly across this field if we don’t want any fuckin’ faeries messing with us tonight.” “You live in a faerie field? Do you have a death wish?” “They can’t fuck with you unless you give them your name,” Bakugou turns his head and gives his companion a look of muted irritation. “Like you just did. Now we have to hurry up just in case one of them fuckin’ heard you. Damned moron.” Kirishima sputters. “Bu— Bu— Okay, I didn’t know, you could’ve said something or cut me off! You’re not the nicest guy, it wouldn’t have been to hard to do.” Kirishima gives a half-hearted glare in the blond’s direction. “And you gave your name too! So what about that?” “That’s not my given name.” Kirishima immediately looks slighted and Bakugou laughs. “Calm yourself. Nothing’ll happen. We just have to hurry up, which is why I asked if you’re good to go.” “I’m not, but I wanna get out of here as soon as dragonly possible. So let’s make it happen. Ribs and bruised insides be damned.” “That’s the spirit, Scales. That’s the type of shit I was always hearing about from Deku.” Kirishima looks at Bakugou. “He talked about me that much?” “All the fuckin’ time. Fuckin’ annoying. But I’ve heard some wild shit about you, Scales. We’ve gotta sit down and compare notes after all this shit is over. You’re my kinda guy. Real rough an’ fuckin’ tough. Don’t know why you’re palling around with Deku’s nerd ass.” Kirishima’s face heats up under the overwhelming praise. “He’s a good person,” he manages to answer through embarrassment and... pleasure? “Yeah,” Bakugou agrees, completely oblivious to Kirishima’s malfunction. “Yeah, he is. That’s why we’re gonna rescue him. So let’s go.” Quickly, the two of them start moving through the field. Side by side, they navigate around faerie fields, dodge pixie stalks, and other traps set by the mischievous little folk. While they hustle, Bakugou tells Kirishima stories about Midoriya and the trouble they used to get into as children and young teens. Kirishima wonders how such a wild, obviously inhuman, creature like Bakugou grew up with Midoriya, a sweet human from the very literal middle of nowhere in the Driwox kingdom.

He supposes he has a while to figure that out though. He’s going to be spending at least a couple months with the explosive, wild creature currently helping him to safety.

He hopes that Midoriya can hold out for that long.

[swordslinger95]

The Devil’s Advocate: Chapter 1.

If a person were to ask me, be it demon, angel, human, elf, dwarf, orc, goblin, etc etc, where did I see myself in five years, I’d have to give you a rain check on that, and then go hit the nearest bottle to drown my sorrows. I usually prefer whiskey, but I found vodka or bourbon was a viable choice as well.

 It was always a question I was asked a lot during my studies, my teachers were never big on it, but it was a question that lingered in my brain like an annoying song a jester played right outside your dorm-room window. But the thing is, it was always a hard question to answer, I’m a very straightforward person, I like to have a plan, or plans, if the need arises, but I never found myself able to plan for five years straight. There’s so much that could change in that time, a kingdom could rise or fall, lines across the maps could change, new people are born into the world and old ones are taken out of it. Or maybe vice versa, but all the same, it was something I could never truly plan for…

 Which, unsurprisingly, may be the reason why I’m stuck in the place I am now. Where was that? Well...let me be completely honest with you, it’s a literal sinking house. No, I don’t mean like, a sinking ship, a sinking house. Or mansion if you wanted to be generous, it had all the workings of one, but the poor state the woodwork was in cast a shadow of doubt in my mind. The mansion’s foundations were starting to sink lower and lower into the marsh it stood upon, the cause was probably the years and years of disuse this house had suffered, the foundations probably hadn’t see a day of repair work in years. The surrounding environment probably played a large part in that as well. It was, for the lack of a better word, a swamp. No, not a magical swap, not a forsaken swamp, just a swamp. It was about a mile hike away from the port town that was nearby, which I will go into later, but back to the swamp.

 It was dangerous, but nothing supernaturally so, it was foul smelling, but not enough to drive a person away. The water was murky, but not so much that it was hard to see through. Basically, the swamp was a boring, old, regular swamp, with bugs and crocodiles. The only thing that connected the house to the mainland was a small wooden bridge that I was currently standing upon. I suppose, once upon a time, that the house was an actually pleasant place to live in. It was actually somewhat pretty to look at, it was a bonafide mansion, an older model to be sure, but still a mansion. The walls were a drab brown, the windows were shattered, and the interior probably wasn’t faring any better...considering I could see the foyer through the door frame. The doors, or lack thereof, were now sinking in the swamp.

 So, to sum it up, it was a dump in a swamp. A swamp dump. A dump swamp. How did I get his dump stack of a place? Believe it or not, I think it’s karma that landed me here. As a principle, I didn’t really believe in karma all that much, I’ve seen good things happen to bad people, and vice versa. The gods that lived in this world would be strange indeed to allow such a contradiction in the system, and yet, here I was. In retrospect, I really should have seen this coming.  I was sorta asking for it when I told the dean that, as an aspiring ruler, I had to make sure my soon to be powerbase was easy to maintain, and I needed a down to earth place to start. Add to that, well, few sly words to the headmistress here, exploit a loophole there, and bingo bango, I got me a castle.  

 And, as it turns out, it’s hard to get more down to earth then “castle” in a swamp.

 Yep, was totally asking for it.

 At that point, I was honestly considering going back to the port town of Andros and renting a room at the inn...but this was the “castle” I was given, so I had to, at the very least, scope this place out for a night or two….or, at the very least, figure out how hard it would be to burn.

 Heading inside, making sure to deposit my heavy plate armor and shield on solid ground, or, at the very least, the inside of the doorframe, I kept my arming sword at my side, fully drawn and ready to be used. It was a short thing, really, only three feet long and the hilt was only big enough to accommodate one hand, but it was useful if you paired it with a shield. I know some people prefer bigass swords, but those people were either usually very skilled, or very dead. Odd how there wasn’t any in between, but eh, getting off topic. Casting a low-level fire spell in my left hand, I levitated the fire above my open palm and held it aloft as a makeshift torch. Doing this would eventually take it’s toll, but for the moment, it served my purposes.

 Walking through the ground floor of the mansion, I was surprised by how much of it was intact. There were candles inside, actual gods be damned candles that aren't melted away or dusted to hell and back. The carpentry was also being well maintained since, there wasn’t a twig or a branch on them, despite the shattered windows. It was these trivial things that kept adding up as I continued to explore the mansion. The kitchen was clean, like someone had gone and scrubbed everything, then made sure no rats got into the pantry. The bedrooms had been used as well, if the sheets that had been tucked were anything to go by, finally, the fireplace had brand new logs of wood in them, and I could easily spy the cinders from previously used ones.

 What all this meant was that either the house was occupied by a neat freak of a ghost, not an impossibility, or someone was still using it.

 ….Well, if someone was, they would have to settle for the inn tonight. This place was up to snuff, if only barely.  

 What really sealed the deal though was the clean mirror I had passed by. Mirrors, by their very nature, were bound to get dirty sooner rather than later, the glass could catch dust in the air, dirt being thrown about, and collect the mist that would enter in through the windows. But this mirror, this hallway mirror, was still as shiny as crystal. As I looked in the mirror, I found myself surprised by the reflection it showed back at me, someone had cleaned this, and very recently too. It showed all my features very well, long brownish red hair, dark red eyes, somewhat shapely figure (I really should have listened to mom), all dressed up in basic leather armor, arming sword in one hand, fire spell in the other. Oh, and my horns were looking as lovely as ever, even if they made brushing my hair back hard. Stupid receiving goat horns.

 As I admired my reflection in the mirror, something quick caught my eye. Funny thing about eyes, they're designed to catch motion and high speed movement, as any half decent rogue would say, the key to moving silently isn’t quickly, but slowly. As such, it was easy for me to turn around and catch the mop being swung at my head.

 It’s wielder, dare I say it, was an old human woman in her fifties. She still had some color in her hair, but it was fading. She was dressed in a well-worn apron and dress, the marks of recent upkeep all over the once white outfit.

 “Who are you?” I asked, calmly, keeping my sword away from the old woman, but still at the ready in case she tried anything.

 “Who are you?!” The old woman snapped in return. It was a good question, really, it’s not everyday someone like me saunters into a seemingly abandoned mansion….okay, yeah, that happens a lot actually. Stupid heroic trespassers.  But still, I was the legal owner of this place, according to law, she was the one trespassing now, so I was well within my rights to throw her out if need be. But I was curious, what was she doing here? Did she know the former owner of this mansion? A lover? A sister?  I had to know.

 “I asked you first.” I said, smartly.

 She tried to put more strength into using the mop, but fifty-year-old woman versus a young lady in her prime? Not happening.

 I would’ve rubbed my head in annoyance, but both of my hands were taken up at the moment.

 “Okay, fine.” I growled, “My name is Maleah Sakall.”

 “And?” The woman snarled, she had a nice glare, clearly, she was used to scaring people. It wouldn’t work on me, but I wasn’t exactly a normal person myself, so can’t blame her there.

 I rolled my eyes, I knew what she wanted. Info, everyone wants info about everyone else, it was natural, I wasn’t any different mind you, I just like to point this out from time to time. Anyway, I realized it was easier to just come clean with the old woman rather than dodge the question, “Annnd I’m the new demon Overlord of this place, nice to meet you.”  

   From what I learned from the old woman, who I learned was named Rosalina Jackson, colorful name, she used to know the former owner of this place. Apparently, the guy was something of an entrepreneur, always on the move, buying, selling, and whatever else came to mind. I must confess, I never had a good grasp of the business world, exports and imports, sure, but the subtleties that came with predicting the flow of goods? Not happening. I still stick to my day job thank you very much.

 At the moment, however, we were sitting down at the dining hall table, a cup of tea in both of our hands, with each of us sitting across from the other. I was worried about being poisoned for a moment, but I cast aside such doubts when I actually tasted the tea. Poison always had a taste to it, after all, you couldn’t just slip something into a warm pot of tea without it affecting the rest of the water. Besides, I was fairly certain my demonic nature was robust enough to handle anything an old woman could throw at me. More to the point, if there was such a thing as a tasteless poison, I’m pretty sure Rosalina couldn’t get her hands on it.

 Taking a small sip, I savored the bitterness she put in the tea, but I must admit, I honestly would’ve preferred coffee. During my college years, it was my lifeline, my hope, my shoulder to lean on, my-you get the idea. Point is, I’m an addict and I’m missing a fixin’.  I did keep the need from showing on my face though, I suppose I might have a good poker face, but I never actually played myself.

 Chess for life, scrubs.

 “This is good tea.” I said, trying to be diplomatic.

 “Thank you.” Rosalina replied.

 “....” I sighed, and put the tea down, the cup clanging against its plate, “If you have something to say....” I prompted.

 “You don’t belong here.” Rosalina said, bluntly.

 ...Well! At least she was honest.

 “I gathered that.” I said calmly, “But in my defense, I wasn’t expecting to be given...this place, as a home.”

 “What were you expecting, a castle?” She sneered.

 “Yes.” I said, bluntly. The look I got from her in return was a flat one, and I could see I needed to elaborate more on that statement.

 Humans, always so curious.

 “Well,” I began, “I have just recently graduated from Hellsing college, and after...applying, basically throwing my name in a hat,” not the entire truth, seeing as how I tricked the headmistress and Dean, but not exactly a lie either. Like I said before, I did use a few tricks to...shift the odds in my favor, as it were. Not that Rosalina needed to know that, “I was given this place to monitor and regulate.” I glanced out the window, making sure to keep my stare long and level, as if considering the worth of this place. Purposely looking back at Rosalina, I bowed my head respectfully, “I assumed that all of the necessary paperwork had been finished prior to my arrival, I apologize for seemingly appearing out of the thin air.”

 Which was a total lie, I wasn’t sorry at all. This place was a wreck, I wasn’t planning on staying very long, the only way I would even consider staying would be if something made it worth my while, and let’s be honest here, that was not happening.

 Rosalina thought about what I said for a moment, obviously trying to decide on whether or not I was lying. I mean, I was about the “coming out of thin air” thing. But I really had assumed that any previous owner of the house would be made aware of my arrival...unless…

 “Tell me something,” I began, “Are you the legal owner of this house?”

 Rosalina narrowed her eyes and said nothing, but that silence answered my question anyway. So, she wasn’t the legal owner, nor a resident. She was simply a good friend, holding onto a memory of someone that she knew.

 Commendable, but nevertheless, as of this moment, she was the trespasser, and I was not. I was well within legal rights to throw her out on the street….or grass, or stone. I would try for grass, stone and concrete hurt.

 “I can understand your desire to keep this house clean, but is it really worth it?” I asked.

 “Yes.” She replied.

 I studied her face, there was only steel in her expression. She wouldn’t leave, short of death...and I’m pretty sure not even that would stop her. Wish I was that determined.

 “Very well.” I said, “I can’t stop you from coming back here, but I must inform you that I will be staying here for the time being.” Which was true, I didn’t really like the look of this place, and despite my grief, not to mention my desire to leave, I would give this place a fair shot, “So, if you wish to stab me while I sleep, I encourage you to give it your best shot.” That was an actual legitimate move, believe it or not. If a Hero (aka murderhobos) be they sponsored by the guild or otherwise, killing a Demon like me and taking all of their stuff was allowed. I mean, I wouldn’t like it, but if Rose, or Granny as I’m going to call her, wants to, then she is allowed. I wouldn’t like it, but I can understand why.

 Standing up with a dramatic flourish of my arm, I made for the front entrance.  “Where are you going?” Granny asked.

 “To the town, I need to scope a few things out.” I said, glancing over my shoulder at her.

 “...There’s a coat in the hall closet, grab it and put it on.” Granny stood, “I need to pick up a few things as well.”

 I blinked, I hadn’t expected that. Nodding, I allowed Granny to head out the door before me and followed her.

 Opening the hallway closet and grabbing the coat. I threw it over my body and adjusted the sword at my waist. It was itchy, and hard to get used to, but it was warm, so it would do. Running a hand through my hair, I contemplated tying it up in a pony tail for practicality’s sake, but I decided against it. I probably looked enough like a murderhobo already. I still had my leather armor on, after all. As for my horns...well...That was always tricky. They sat on top of my head and poked through my hair, I couldn’t just wear a hat, nor could I just cast an illusion spell. Even if I could hide my horns, I couldn’t hide the space they took up. As for a hood...well, that was so cliché that I didn’t even wanna think about it.

 So, horns up it was, if people didn’t like it, too bad. They would just have to get used to it.

 Following Granny through the forest path that lead from her...my estate, which I later learned was called the Gillman estate from Granny. I would have to change that when I get the chance….Anyway, we headed into town and took stock of the living conditions. From what I could gather with a single glance, most of the people there were fishermen and sailors. Understandable, since this was a port town. Despite what that implied, this town wasn’t faring so well, as it was just a small blip on the map, stuck in between large, empty plains to the east, a corrupt duke to the north, and another Overlord to the south. So yeah, not in a great place. Their waters were heavily polluted and taxed, so any income the town could bring was meager at best, practically non-existent at worst. If anyone stayed, it was only because they had to. Be it because of familial ties, or economics.  

 So, yeah, the port town of Andria wasn’t exactly faring well. Even less of a reason for me to stay. The streets were muddy, with only token wooden planks to serve as a sidewalk. Fishermen were starting to haul their bounty into their chop-shops, if you counted small salmon as bounty, that is. From what I could remember from my readings about this place, that wasn’t right. There should have been a variety of fish in these waters, tuna, red bass, the works. It also couldn’t be the weather, it was as sunny as it could be, not a cloud in site. The perfect day for some fishing to be done.

 Was the Duke responsible? Was it the Overlord? Or was it just simple overuse? All things considered, it was probably all three.

 So, what’s a girl like me to do then? This was a question I pondered as I walked through the town with Granny, stopping at various shops in order to browse their goods. I got some looks, a few glares, but for the most part, people kept their distance from me. Fine by me, I wasn’t here to cause trouble anyway.

   After touring the town for long enough, I came to a conclusion. I should really get out of here, there was no future here for anyone, monster, human, or otherwise. I was about to inform Granny of this, probably to her immense gratitude, but unfortunately, something started tugging on my coat tails.

 I turned around fully, and saw a little muddy elf girl holding onto my coat.

 What.

 Elves were not supposed to be little girls, they were supposed to be either inhumanly beautiful women, or inhumanly beautiful men (Odd how there’s very little distinction between the two, huh?). In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a genuine elf kid at all. I mean, I know I’m young, even by human years, but I don’t think…Well, whatever the case was, the young girl was looking up at me expectantly.

 Brushing her hand aside, I kneeled down to her level, “Yes?” I asked.

 “Are you a demon?” She asked.

 “Yes.” I responded.

 “Are you here to rule us?”

 “...I don’t know yet.” I said.

 “If you did, what would you do?”

 I thought about her question. well, first, I would need to figure out why the fish were being overharvested, somebody was obviously trying to exploit a legal gray area in the human laws, or was being spectacularly stupid. Second, I would have to set up some farming areas for the townspeople so the fish could repopulate, which would be a problem, as these were either fishermen or sailors. Not exactly farmers, and it’d be like teaching a fish to try to dig.  I, in turn, didn’t know anything about farming, so I couldn’t just say, “Hey, start farming you idiots!”  Without setting proper economic reasons. Thirdly, I’d have to take care of that other Overlord at some point. If I settled down here, it was likely that he/she would see it as territory infringement and take...issue with what I was doing.

 So, in a nutshell, “A lot.” I answered the kid.

 For some reason, the girl seemed disappointed with my answer. I guess she was expecting more, but what could I say? I mean, aside from the above, that would probably fly over her head.

 “Oh.” She said, and despite my best efforts, I felt my heart take a stab of guilt. I hated feeling guilty, I was a demon damnit, I liked being self-centered, but when something causes me to feel something other than smug self-satisfaction….Urgh! Stupid Dad! Just had to beat some basic morals into me, huh!

 Digging into her muddy tunic, she pulled something out. It shiny, see through, and…

 Huh.

 “I would’ve given ya this thingy.” She said, the little minx. What she had in her hands was either a sparkly but useless rock, or star metal. No, I don’t mean meteorite metal, I mean, literal star metal, as in metal that was forged using star as a furnace. That kind of thing was exceptionally rare, mostly because, yeah, what are the odds of that kind of thing hitting our tiny planet? And also, because a lot of people just didn’t know what Star Metal actually was, it’s not very well documented, even in Demon records. But, to those who got their hands on it, Star Metal was a valuable and infinitely useful mineral. Some used it in their swords, wizards would use it as a focal point, and for Demons like me? I couldn’t even begin to count the things I would do.

 Still, it wasn’t a full sell, this rock the girl had on her could just be a bit of nickel or something. But...was it really Star Metal? Time to investigate.

 “Where did you get this?” I asked, peering closely at the metal.

 “My dad gave it to me, said it was my savings.” The girl said, “It’s shiny.”

 “It is.” I nodded. By this point, Granny came up to us, noticing my conversation with the small and giving me a level stare. Was she thinking that I would corrupt this girl somehow? As if, I’m an Overlord, not a maniac.

 “What are you thinking?” Granny asked.

 I stood up, and placed a hand to my chin in thought. If it really was Star Metal….I had to take this chance, if I wanted it, I’d have to rule over this area.

 ….Oh well, I could always just leave when get it from the girl.

 Turning to Granny, I nodded at her, “Take me to the mayor. It’s time to introduce him to the new boss around these parts.”

 As it turns out, no, the mayor of this little town wasn’t given the most lavish home around (I’m guessing that’d be mine), but when Granny lead me to what had to be a middle class looking home in a low-class town, I knew who it belonged to immediately.

 The big sign on the fence helped, mind you.

 Now, when entering a building, particularly when it belonged to someone of high importance, your entrance was everything. If you opened with an overly dramatic one, the owner will wonder who the hell are you and why you are ruining his carpet. Enter quietly, and the owner will wonder who the hell you are and why are you intruding on this stuff. So, the point of this little drabble is that, when you enter a mayor’s house, you had to conduct yourself properly….and to make sure he knows you own the place just by walking into the room. It was a thin line to walk, but I like to think I was a high liner by now.

 When the double doors opened on their own (because of a wind spell) and the lights flickered around me (because of a light spell) I knew that I had done my job right. From any viewer’s perspective, I, and Granny now that I think about it, would be a black silhouette against a white background. It would send the necessary message to anyone who was watching.

 ...Of course, they had to be watching first, which, of course, meant that no one was. As my spell’s effects faded, I looked around the front entrance of the house, lo and behold, there was no one there to watch my awesome entrance.  Ugh, stupid mayors….at least pay attention when a Demon Overlord enters your house!

 Looking back at Granny for an explanation, she shrugged in reply. I sighed in exasperation and resisted the urge to just shout for the mayor to show himself, instead, I took stock of his house. Like I said before, at this point, I was sure I was the one with the fanciest home around, which was fitting, but if the bar was so low that “sinking mansion” was better than, “somewhat clean home,” then I think I needed to adjust my standards a little. The building itself was a one story, with stone, or at the very least, material that looked like stone, walls, clean windows, clean carpet (I seethed with jealousy), and, of course, clean countertops. Truly, I was in the lion’s den.

 Actually, on that topic, the countertops were littered with stuff. I mean clocks, paintings that hadn’t been set up, books, papers, and a whole lot of other crap. Either the guy was a natural pack rat or…

 “Oh, guests!”

 Or he had someone in the middle of cleaning.

 Emerging from a corner, a young girl in her teens, wearing a black and white uniform with a small white cap. I balked in disbelief as I saw her big brown eyes widen at the sight of me, her green, braided hair flowing over her shoulder as she came to a stop. Which, come to think of it, was quite a feat, considering she was wearing heels. Either this girl was a natural dancer, or she was just used to running in heels. Either way, I had to commend her, there’s no way I could ever do that.

 Oh yeah, she was pointing at me, presumably in shock, and screeched out, “D-DEMON!”

 Yes, that’s what I am, how kind of you to notice Ms. Maid. Raising my hand, I waved at her, “Hello.” I said, politely, trying to keep my annoyance from showing on my face.

 “Get thee hence demon!” She said, then pulled out a cross from...somewhere. I dunno, her maid outfit was poofy….actually, on that note, why was she dressed like a maid? I looked her over, if she was a maid, then, logically, she should have some dirt on her outfit, or some other sign of use. But she didn’t, her outfit was clean, so, either she had just started...or someone else was doing her job. As I looked her over, she took notice of my purposeful stare, blushed (Why she did that is beyond me), then threw the cross at me. “Cast your gaze elsewhere, you filth!” She yelled, then threw her cross at me.

 It was a good throw, really, but it was still a cross, not a weapon. It went through the air slowly, and I caught it with ease, looked it over, then handed it to Granny. All of this was done in a nonchalant manner, as if I had just picked out a book from a library shelf.

 The girl’s color drained from her face. I shrugged, oh well, the poor girl was probably going into shock, and she was starting to eye my sword. Did she think I was going to use it on her?

 Yeah, like I was going to skewer some girl out of the blue just for defending herself. Approaching her, I kept my pace steady before stopping in front of her. Now that I was closer, I was able to take in a few details more, I was taller, thank the gods, but I couldn’t help but notice that her chest was slightly bigger than mine. Slightly. Not to mention, the girl had a cute outfit on, the kind that would really draw the eye. Overall, I gave the girl a 7/10.

 Oh yeah, she was also starting to sweat under my gaze, her breath was coming in slow and ragged, she was obviously scared out of her mind.

 Well, time to knock her out of it….not literally mind you.

 “What’s your name girl?” I asked.

 “A-Alice.” She said.

 “Alice.” I repeated, “I’m here to see the Mayor, my name is Maleah Sakall. He should be expecting me.”

 “Uh...uh…” Alice choked, “I...I…”

 I took a step back, giving the girl some breathing room. Glancing at Granny, I shrugged at her, who, in turn, rolled her eyes.

 I must admit, I was actually starting to like Granny.

 “Uh, uh, what is the purpose of your visit?” Alice managed to squeak out. Yes, I do mean squeak. She’s like a mouse, really. I mean, she’s small, cute, makes a squeaking sound, and while I would have loved to tease her, I really had to get this little gravy train going.

 “Like I said, your mayor should be expecting me.” I replied, then tilted my head, “Or haven’t you heard? I’m your new demon Overlord, it’s nice to meet you.”

 Annd there went the rest of the color from her face. Her eyes rolling into the back of her head, Alice fainted, crashing to the ground like a looking glass that had been knocked over. Walking over to her, I put two fingers to throat and counted her heartbeats. Yep, still alive, she just fainted from shock. Looking over to Granny, I shrugged, there wasn’t much I could do. I wasn’t an expert on healing magic, but I was aware of the fact this situation didn’t really require it. She’ll probably be up and about by the time I leave, probably with a headache, but she would fine regardless.

 As Granny came over to me, I lowered my head, “Think I came on too strong?” I asked.

 To my relief, Granny just shook her head, “No, poor girl’s always had a weak spine when it came to your kind. From what I heard though, she took this job to help pay for her little brother.”

 Huh, well, that was nice of her, “Always look out for family,” that’s what mom liked to tell me.

 ‘Course, that would also mean looking out for any of my half brothers or sisters, and there was nnnoo way I was doing that. Stupid half human/demon Gerald, trying to be some awesome hunter with a really cool sword. Always had to angst about his birth while at the family reunion dinner.

 ...I should really send him a letter one of these days, I miss him.

 But, back to the matter at hand, there was a girl lying on the ground, and I don’t think she would enjoy being there when she woke up. Picking her up in my arms, bridal style, I found a nearby couch and deposited her on it as gently as I could.

 “Do you know this girl?” I asked Granny.

 “Not very well.” Granny replied.

 “Hm.” As I mulled on this, a thought occurred to me, “Hey Granny-”

 “Granny?”

 I brushed her off, “What is it that you do for a living?”

 “I’m a writer.”

 It took a second for that to sink in, but I managed to get out; “Huh, what about?”

 “At the moment? Nothing, I’m on break.”

 “Ah, writer’s block?” I guessed.

 “You could say that.” Granny shrugged.

 Well, that was interesting, I should try finding a book of her’s sometime. Who knows? Might even be worth a read or two. But, back to reality, where was the mayor? I should probably find him before he finds his maid passed out on the couch, that would send the wrrooonnngg message. Like, I’d have to run out of town before they came at me with pitchforks...before they were supposed to, that is.

 Standing up, feeling my back creek as I did, I looked around. Was the mayor home? I should probably-

 “What the hell?!”

 Oh, found him! Turning, I saw the man, and...well, he really wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought the mayor would be a fat, greedy bastard, the type with a round, funny hat and a twirly mustache, the kind that would chuckle whole-heartedly as people died in his name. Not a reasonably good looking man with a firm jaw line, short dark hair, brown eyes, and who just looked like he had run a mile in somewhat formal, but worn clothes.

 Oh, wait, he found us...while I’m standing over his maid with a sword at my waist, staring at him with dark red eyes. Yep, sent the wrong message, yay.

 Hoooo booyyy, how was I talking my way out of this?

 As it turns out, hiding behind Granny did the trick.

 I say that without irony, nor any hits to my pride, as inconsequential as such a thing was, because holy crap the mayor was a badass. By the time, I had raised my hand in greetings he was already on me, and not in a good way either. The only reason I managed to avoid a hard-right haymaker to the face were my reflexes kicking in, and even then, it was by scant inches did I avoid being plastered on the floor. I’m not a bad fighter by any stretch of the means, but it’s hardly my get-go profession, if anything, it’s more like a hobby. But that hobby saved me when I managed to deftly move the hell out of the way and duck behind Granny and use her as a shield.

 By some dumb luck, or hellish intervention, the mayor stopped his attack and screamed at Rosalina, “Get out of the way!” He yelled, “There’s a demon behind you!”

 “She’s the new Overlord you nitwit.” Rosalina replied, her voice like steel. Yeah, you go girl!

 “What, no she isn’t!” The mayor rebuffed, his face one of confusion and anger. Gah, you suck man. While he digested this piece of information, I took my chance and spoke out.

 “She’s right.” I said clearly and firmly, the effect was diminished somewhat because I was standing behind a woman at least three decades older than me, but still, “You should’ve received a message of some sort from the Hellsing college.” There was a brief flash of recognition in the man’s face, taking a chance, I stepped out from behind Granny and looked the man in the eyes.

 “But-”

 “My name is Maleah Sakall,” I said, confidently, clearly, “And I’m-Oh come on man!”

 I barely managed to avoid a clock being thrown at my head by ducking. Real great first impression here Maleah, being intimidated by the guy you’re supposed to be ruling over. Yeah, this will get you respect, I’ll never get into Overlord’s weekly at this rate.

 “John!” Granny yelled, “Enough.”

 This seemed to have the desired effect, as “John” began to calm down, I managed to rise to my feet, “Yes, well,” I said as I began to dust myself off, “That’s one way to make an introduction.”

 John coughed, putting a hand to his face, clearly feeling some discomfort for some reason. Probably because of the fact he just assaulted his Demon Overlord and was probably expecting to be put on the chopping block. Well, lucky for him, I neither owned a chopping nor a block, so that was out of the question. Turning my attention to him fully, I nodded in greeting, “Yes, like Rosalina said, I am your Overlord, Maleah Sakall. My friends call me Mal.” Or they would if I had any, at least, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, John, was it?” I stuck out my hand

 “John Roman, ma’am.” He said, taking my hand in his and giving it a firm shake.

 “Oh, please, no ma’am stuff.” I said, trying to a keep smile on my face and trying to keep the pain from it. The guy was strong, almost crushing my hand. What, did this guy wrestle bears for a living? Or Sharks, for that matter? “I’m barely into my twenties.”

 “Twenties?” The man repeated, clearly surprised by this information. Behind me, Granny suddenly had a coughing fit for some reason. Ha, ha, laugh it up you old hag, it’s coming out of your paycheck.

 “Yes, and I don’t mean like twenty thousand, or something absurd like that.” I insisted, “Double digits.”

 “Oh,” His eyes glanced over to Alice, “Then, um, Ms. Sakall, what happened to my...um…”

 “...Girlfriend?” I suggested. Behind me, again, Granny choked on something while John sputtered and his face flushed.

 “No!” He said firmly.

 “....Wife?” I asked again.

 “NO.”

 I took a stab in the dark, “...Mistress?”

 At this point, I could see some veins forming on John’s head. Wow, he was really getting mad about this, was it something I said? Humans are weird.

 Grasping me by my shoulders, I almost couldn’t suppress my wince as he did that, he looked me dead in the eyes and said firmly, “I am only her employer, and she is only my employee, understand?”

 “Yes.” I nodded. Geez, just could’ve said that to begin with, “Anyway, to answer your question, she merely fainted upon seeing me. Clearly, you should inform your workers that I will be visiting often, since our positions of office mean that travel to our respective homes will be frequent.”

 “Um,” He nodded dumbly, “Yes, I’ll be sure to do that.”

 “Good.” I said, “Now, could you let me go?”

 Realizing that yes, he was still holding onto me, John released his grasp from my shoulders and rubbed his head. It was at this point, I realized just how tall he was. I mean, I’m not short, in fact, I dare say that I’m above average when it comes to height, but John made me feel tiny, but that could be the fact his muscles were the size of my head. That was probably it.

 Moving to check on his employee, I walked up to Granny, who was still having a choking fit, and patted her on the back twice to help her out.

 “Maleah, you can’t just say that to people.” Granny said, bluntly.

 I shook my head back and forth, as if considering her words, “Well, at least he’s not attacking me anymore.” I said.

 “Still, you should-” Granny was cut off, thank the gods, when Alice began to rouse from her impromptu sleep. Realizing that seeing me first thing as soon as she woke up would probably send her back into la-la land, I motioned to Granny to follow me into the dining area, where, hopefully, I could discuss things with Mr. Roman in a more suitable environment. As I did, I couldn’t help but hold back a sigh, things were starting to look down before they even started to look up.

 Ah, but such was my life in lot. But regardless, it was time to get this show on the road.

 Time to be the Devil’s Advocate.

[okayideas]

Chef’s Notes for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition Monster Manual, E-L

continued from here

Eagle, Giant: Not much different from common eagle. Thicker cuts should be bisected to ensure they cook through. Giant eagles are sometimes friends of wizards, so cooking and serving a giant eagle of unknown provenance is not recommended.

Ear Seeker: Often harbor strange diseases with no known cures short of experienced divine intervention. Do not eat.

Eel: An acquired taste at best, but a cheap source of meat if they are common in a local river. Keep alive in water, kill immediately before cooking.

Efreet: Inedible without rare and expensive magical protection.

Elemental: Air elemental is an insubstantial meat, but a notable novelty. Magical handling is required, of course. Earth and fire elementals are inedible, and a killed water elemental is no different from any other water.

Elephant: Similar to mammoth or rhinoceros. May be taboo in some cultures.

Elf: Eating an elf would be interpreted as act of war. An elf carcass should be delivered to the nearest elven community for proper burial there, if possible.

Ettin: Extremely fatty. Organ meats are tasty but have been known to carry disease. Despite pretentious claims to the contrary, there is no flavor or texture difference between the left and right heads.

Eye, Floating: Causes extreme numbness. May be useful in potion crafting, but not in a kitchen.

Eye of the Deep: Not meaningfully different from beholder.

Flightless Bird: Cook as you would a turkey, and expect similar results.

Frog, Giant: The legs are as delicious as those of common frogs, and easier to eat. Even poisonous varieties are edible; simply skin thoroughly before cooking.

Fungi, Violet: Do not touch.

Gar, Giant: If there is any sign a giant gar has been eating human, it should not be served. Cut the stomach open and look carefully. Otherwise similar to tuna.

Gargoyle: Can be transmuted to a tender flesh between pork and goat using a Stone to Flesh spell.

Gas spore: The remnants of an exploded gas spore can resemble truffles, with application of appropriate seasonings.

Gelatinous cube: A wild gelatinous cube will contain too much dirt and debris to be edible. Farm-raised gelatinous cube should be purchased live, fed already cooked food to infuse it with a desired flavor, then killed and served chilled.

Ghast: Obviously not something you want in your kitchen.

Ghoul: The common ghoul is essentially already rotted. Rarer non-undead varieties of ghoul are intelligent and relatively peaceful and should be given burial in accordance with their own culture.

Giant: All giant flesh is essentially indistinguishable once cooked. Do cook very thoroughly, as any unkilled parasites in the meat are likely to grow to at least 2 hit dice.

Gnoll: Similar to dog, or somewhat less similar to goat.

Gnome: Like dwarf or elf, too intelligent and civilized to seriously consider as a foodstuff.

Goat, Giant: Spoils quickly; what can’t be cooked and eaten immediately should be thrown away, not saved.

Goblin: Generally unpleasant, occasionally diseased.

Golem: Depending on the specific method of preparation, a flesh golem might be essentially a large quantity of jerky, as might a stone golem subject to a Stone to Flesh spell. Other golems are inedible.

Gorgon: Similar precautions apply as with basilisk and cockatrice. Flavor resembles beef with a slight reptilian hint.

Gray ooze: Usually fatal. If prepared with exceptional care or a successful save vs. poison, may only cause horrible diarrhea and vomiting instead.

Green slime: Very small amounts are a powerful tenderizer; rinse the meat or vegetable thoroughly once it has softened. There is a market for green slime as a spell component, but the quantities you would need are affordable nonetheless.

Griffon: The lion and eagle portions can be prepared respectively. There is no good way to prepare the transitional portion.

Groaning Spirit: While there are ways to bind this noncorporeal being to a tangible form, there are no edible ways.

Halfling: Stringy and usually tobaccoey, also intelligent.

Harpy: Only the wings have any edible meat, and there is not much meat on them.

Hell Hound: Dried hell hound meat can be very useful when traveling, as it will not only add flavor to a stew but also cook it without a fire.

Herd animal: Most animals that behave similar to cattle or deer also taste similar. Poisonous exceptions may exist in some regions.

Hippocampus: The horse portion should not be considerd edible. The fish portion resembles trout but with a firmer texture.

Hippogriff: Lore regarding the hippogriff is unclear. There may be separate subspecies of hippogriff, some better prepared as poultry and some as red meat. Trial and error may be needed.

Hobgoblin: Slightly less inedible than goblin, but still sometimes disease-ridden.

Homunculus: Essentially a being of pickled meat.

Horse: Vaguely similar to goat or deer. Taboo in many, but not all, cultures with mounted warriors.

Hydra: Usually poisonous. It is unclear how to find the exceptions.

Hyena: Simply foul-tasting.

Imp: Spicy to the point of excess. Dispel Magic should be cast on the flesh as a precaution during the cooking process.

Intellect Devourer: Poisonous, even to non-psionic diners. While it is possible to neutralize the poison, the result is no better than any other brain meat.

Invisible Stalker: A slightly tougher, less fatty aerial servant.

Irish Deer: Resembles both mammoth and venison, closer to mammoth.

Ixitxachitl: Not distinguishable from an unintelligent ray. A cookable but not desirable fish.

Jackal: More edible than hyena. Similar taboos may apply as with dog.

Jackalwere: A dead jackalwere is essentially the same as a dead jackal.

Jaguar: Stringy and flavorless even in comparison to other big cats.

Ki-rin: Excellent in stir-fries and noodle dishes. Unicorn can be substituted where ki-rin is not available.

Kobold: Extremely difficult to cook properly. Cutting away the toxic and disease-bearing portions of the meat leaves very little.

Lamia: Sometimes poisonous, though rarely lethally. The poisonous and non-poisonous varieties are difficult to distinguish.

Lammasu: Intelligent and lawful. The animal portions of the carcass could be cooked separately, as with a centaur, but expect repercussions.

Lamprey: Not enough flesh to be worth eating. More useful as a potion ingredient.

Larva: A damned soul, and thus technically cannibalism. Flesh is slimey and tasteless in any event.

Leech, Giant: Requires a very light touch; must be cooked thoroughly, but not so much that it dries out. Do not serve a giant leech that has been feeding on human or demihuman blood.

Leopard: Resembles giant rabbit. Generally hunted for its pelt; if the meat is put to market at all, it is lilkely to be inexpensive.

Leprechaun: May induce unusual curses; avoid.

Leucrotta: Combines the least edible portions of each of its component animals, and is thus wholly unsuited for the dinner table.

Lich: Not edible in any way whatsoever. Of menu-planning interest is the fact that a lich's lair may (25% chance) contain 3d10 bottles of fine wine, aged 20+1d100 years.

Lion: The most tableworthy of the big cats, but ultimately still not much different from rabbit.

Lizard: Most lizards are a basic mild-tasting meat. Fire lizard resembles red dragon in its ease of preparation and texture, though not its flavor.

Lizard Man: Closer to man than lizard for meal purposes, and should probably not be eaten.

Locathah: Similar to lizard man, but can be dried to a seafood-like jerky.

Lurker Above: More edible than its appearance might suggest, but tends to stick to the roof of one's mouth.

Lycanthrope: As a lycanthrope reverts to its human or demihuman form when killed, hunting it for meat would be pointless.

Lynx, Giant: A beast of quantity rather than quality. Best with heavy seasonings.

[hoenn-hakase]

I don’t babble about my personal stories very often, but I really wanted to share this for some reason and I’m not sure anyone is interested enough for me to babble directly. But I can’t stop thinking about it. -rolls around whining-

I ended up going through some old notebooks the other day and a specific group has been on my mind. You ever just sit back and think, not on just the plot, but the overall consequences and go “DAAAAAMN I am horrible to my characters D8” Like, in the series I’m working on, there’s a group of seemingly unrelated characters but they all have one very big event of importance to their back story. And while this major connecting plot element explains their individual situations, motivations, and character relations (as well as possibly being a cause in the motivations of other characters), it’s…. not a good thing.

Keeping this vague to stick to the basics. So the main characters involved in this backstory were a group of six who during “The Great War” were part of an experimental military unit after the government had spent several years testing and honing this mysterious Substance they discovered could be used to “improve” their troops. There were already other units of “super soldiers” who had done well and were already in combat, but this group was to be like the next big thing since even with their enhancements, it had only turned the war from a losing battle to even ground. The country needed something to give them an edge to officially turn the tide. Long story short, they discovered some serious dark magic but the experimental unit was fine for two years and proved fruitful to the cause, so they decided to expand on the project. This backfired horribly because the “power source” couldn’t handle being the overload of new members and, being sentient, decided to fulfil it’s new requirement by taking a few “shortcuts” which in turn created a living nightmare for those caught on the wrong side.

Of after these six characters supposedly got their “happily ever after” for escaping the nightmare:

-       Character 1 ended up leading a massive rebellion, creating a civil war in the already broken-by-the-big-war kingdom, and eventually overthrew the government that had forsaken him and others like him. This created something of a power vacuum that lead to the rise of the Big Bad in book One. Since then, Character 1 has become somewhat disfigured by his extensive exposure to the “Substance,” and disillusioned to find that the new tyrant is no better than the last one, his rebellion has instead turned into a resistance movement. Instead of trying to fight back anymore, he’s become the leader of a highly-fortified township that serves as a refuge for those wanting to escape the reign of the Big Bad. Unfortunately, while he can help train those still wanting to fight, he fears his fighting days are over. As the Big Bad has weaponized the Substance in a new way, Character 1 can’t shake the internal fear that coming into direct contact with that stuff wouldn’t kill him, but instead send him back to the hell-state he fought so hard to escape from.

 -       Character 2 and Character 1 stayed friends for some time before events with the Big Bad made it hard to stay in touch. Unlike Character 1 though, 2 doesn’t have a fear of the Substance or of the Big Bad. Having gotten a taste for the power Substance can provide, he’s continued the experimentations on himself for several years before the start of the series and by the time our Protags meet him, he's in WAAAY over his head in his struggle to control the power he's obtained. And yet, he still feels like he’s not strong enough, because as powerful as he is, Character 2 wants to somehow become strong enough to take on Big Bad and all his armies by himself with the possible intention of taking over as he wants to be powerful enough to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. His obsession has caused him to spend a lot of time alone due to people being scared of him and unfortunately, he really SHOULDN’T be left alone as it just leads him to making himself worse.

 -       Character 3 was VERY young when he entered the program, and really only got in due to his father’s connections in the military. He still passed all his preliminaries to see if he’d be suited for the program, and the logic of him going into this unit instead was the promise that it kept him far from the frontlines and guaranteed him to return home safe. Physically, he returned just fine, though his father kept saying he felt that somehow he had returned… wrong. After he went home, he managed to settle down and had a kid before the civil war broke out. As the one leading the rebellion was an old friend of his, Character 3 was more than happy to join in the fight again. And his growing aggression only seemed to continue even after returned home. He had plans, BIG PLANS that didn’t sit well his elders and after being deemed dangerous, he was somewhat sent into exile back to the lands he seemingly belonged to. Years later, no thanks to help from the True Villain of the series, he finally made it back with the delusions of him having some “great destiny” to fulfil and was going to reclaim his birthright by force if need be. He could regain that “happily ever after” if he followed the True Villain’s instructions, leading to him playing up the role of the Big Bad in book 3. …Until his role in the “grand scheme” caused him to be betrayed by one good friend, costed him his entire army and one of his dearest and most loyal companions, and almost lost him his daughter. Not to mention, even after he came to his senses, he’s physically looking to be as bad off as Character 1 now due to being exposed to Substance once again to great extent. While he does want to help the good guys (because damn the foul creature who used and abused him), it’s really hard to accept such help because of how mentally troubled he is. Not very dangerous anymore, but his previous connections with the True Villain have lead to some severe paranoia, and sometimes his explanations just don’t make any sense.

 -       Character 4 and 5 were both able to go home quietly to their individual families and tried to settle down. They both are parents to some of the protags in Book 2, though neither plays a vital role in the main series itself. Character 4 however never truly got over things and spent a rather fruitful, though somewhat lonely, life as he remained distant to his friends and family. He never made contact with the other five ever again, and seems to tense up when they’re mentioned. His strained relations with his son, unfortunately, are a key fact in the entire series’ events as his son is basically the cause of like EVERYTHING after accidentally getting his hands on the power source to the Substance. (Honestly, protag looks at Character 3 after he’s been defeated and realizes they did have a few things in common. It’s enough to make him at least want to sit down and have a talk with the old man about what the heck happened.) While Character 4’s fate by this point is still pending…. It’s probably not good considering he’s either missing, dead, or unknowing being held to the whims of his son; which considering their relationship would not be a good thing.

 -       Character 5 probably got out the best of all of them, as he lived a seemingly normal life with the only major tragedy coming up during the civil war. It was because of that event he cut off ties all together with Characters 1, 2, and 3 (4 had already cut off from them by that point anyway), and he became something of a recluse within his hometown. Not that he avoided people, he still loved company, but he never really could integrate back into their society. Ended up being a stay-at-home dad and claimed he didn’t go out much due to some “injury” he received during the war, although what exactly no one is really certain, but the odd scars on his back serve curiosity well enough to believe him.

 -       Character 6 has me worried because, while she is spoken of often by the others in fond memory or her importance to the war is noted, she’s currently only a backstory character. As in, while she was important for that point in history, she hasn’t shown up in the main story. Which would be great to think she went home, settled down, maybe had a family (maybe is a relation to someone we know in the main story), the fact we don’t know what happened after “happily ever after” gives me the hope that she had no major tragedies to draw her out of hiding. I’m worried though because, as my characters tend to do so, IF she should show up in the series, I’m afraid we’ll find out all kinds of heartsick that’s happened either since then or that she WAS living her life happily until story events came up to bring skeletons out of the closet. Either way, STAY WHERE YOU ARE, GIRL! I LOVE YOU, BUT YOU DON’T WANT TO BE INVOLVED HERE! Seriously though, my brain has been trying to look at some other characters who don’t have a backstory and going “… Is that secretly you? Some twenty years later in the timeline, did I finally finds you?”

I just… damn though. The worst part in thinking about all this though is WE NEVER ACTUALLY SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE GUYS! We get told what happened from Characters 1 and 2, and we find out about Character 3’s involvement even if he doesn’t explain what happened to him directly, but even then it’s more of a summary to what happened. Like I know this happens a lot in series where there’s some major event that happened before the plot that’s constantly alluded to but it’s just sort of bizarre seeing how many different directions the group took from going through the same thing.  Ranging from utterly broken to possibly moved onto to bigger and better things. I just… -rolling around in feels-

[44dagainagain]

Diablo Beta Quest Text

The Diablo Beta only contains 10 quests:

The Butcher

Butcher Portal (partial)

Poison Water

The Skeleton King

The Maze (not really a quest)

Stones of Blood (partial)

The Magic Rock

The Bone Chamber

Halls of the Blind

Zhar the Mad

But there’s just over 100 lines of quest text in the beta EXE! There were clearly ideas for other quests that are missing in the beta. Either they were in the caves and beyond, or still in development.

Let’s take a look! Most of this is speculation based off previous musings at Diablo Evolution: https://diablo-evolution.net/index.php?pageid=quest

Andariel

  Men have been disappearing from the village!  I have seen a strange glowing light in the woods right before some of the men vanished. That's all I know!

  Human, your life is forfeit and your soul is mine! I shall enjoy ripping you apart for eternity!

  I don't know what else to tell you! Maybe you should go and look into the strange lights I've seen out in the woods.

  Demons that look like beautiful women! That's horrible! You must stop this madness, or we may all perish!

While neither Andariel nor succubi are explicitly mentioned, “demons that look like beautiful women” makes it pretty clear that this quest evolved into the (unimplemented) Andariel quest.

The second line, based on voice, seems to be something spoken by the boss.

The other lines are likely delivered by the quest-giving NPC. It’s unknown who that NPC is, but it’s assumed to be Gillian. Gillian’s not in the beta though but -- since Bmaid31.wav is in the MPQ -- she was definitely planned. The first line is the initiation of the quest, and the third and fourth look like nags. It’s weird that there are two nags (probably based on whether you’ve found the problem), typically there’s only one. This makes me think that the fourth line is the completion of the quest but it’s not quite worded to make it sound that way.

The Imprisoned Warlock

  YOUU...HUMANN! I...WWILLL...REEEWARD...YOUU...VVVERY...WELLLL...IFFF...YOUU...HELLP...MEEE...ESSCAAPE...JUSSST...REEAD...TTHAT...BOOOK...

This quest is also unimplemented in the final release. It is unknown who the enemy is, where the quest takes place, and what the reward is.

Lazarus

  I bring word from the Church.  Through dark means, the Bishop Lazarus was corrupted. His betrayal has allowed Diablo to gain a foothold in our world, and now he works in futherance of Diablo's schemes. We have divined his current location as being sixteen levels under the church. He must be stopped, and his soul put to rest.

  Interloper! You dare to interfere with our destiny! You shall suffer a slow, painful death!

  You are too late! Now you will feel the wrath of hell!

  Why do you delay?! Lazarus' actions doom us all. Hurry!

  It is a weight off of my heart. Rest in peace Bishop Lazarus. I believe you are worthy of one of the Church's holy weapons. The Church appoints you charge of the mace Lightforge. Use it well, and God speed!

  This is terrible, I don't know when we will get another chance. Well it was worth the try. Good luck my son, I feel that you will face more horrors, be strong and you will succeed.

This one’s actually already documented here and the later variant here. Interestingly, though, it looks like Tremain was still plan-of-record at the point (early November 1996).

Izual

  I don't know if I should be telling you this, but I overheard the new priest talking yesterday. He was having a quiet argument with someone I didn't recognize.  The stranger said that you should not be told about something he called Azurewrath, or the Angel named Izual! There was something about a key in a barrel. I'm sorry but that is all I heard, I hope it helps.

  Another mortal seeks his death...

  Maybe it wasn't a key in a barrel, but rather that a barrel was the key.

  Azurewrath is a magical sword! And Izual was a Fallen Angel! I hope you didn't get hurt, and I'm glad I was able to help you! Good luck, I know you'll do your best to save our land from the darkness.

Anvil of Fury

  The weapons you got from that Hellish place are far better than any I can make.  How can there be so many magical weapons in that place!. When I was a boy, my father told me of a magic anvil.  Any weapon made with this anvil would also be magical. He called it the Anvil of Fury. I don't know where it would be, but the magic weapons would need a really hot tempering.

(nice typo)

  The Anvil of Fury would allow me to make magical weapons for you! Magic weapons would need a really hot forge to temper.  I hope you can find it. Good Luck!

  Wow! You found it... oh... that looks really heavy! You can put it down right over there! Perfect! The first weapon I make with it is yours my friend!

This one made it to retail, with slightly different text. Here’s someone beating it for comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P2dhG84IgA

Ah the prototypical quest. I call this the intro, nag, and end respectively:

intro is delivered when first talking to the NPC given that quest conditions are met.

nag is given the subsequent times that the NPC is talked to, before the quest is done

end is spoken at the completion of the quest, usually accompanied by a reward. The quest might already be gone from the quest log at this point

I’d say Andariel also follows this formula.

If the caves were still in the Beta, I wonder if this quest would have been playable...

Island of the Sunless Sea

  Hey, yyou..friend...thhank you...thanks...the Angel island where Angels watch...watched...you neeed...the...chchoose the rright rrock...and...shield you eyes...shield everything...you......

Not a lot to go on here, but this is probably the unimplemented Island of the Sunless Sea.

Fleshdoom

  I represent the Church on this matter. We believe that through the Cathedral you are entering Hell itself. This provides a unique opportunity...Many years ago, a demonic beast rose from the depths and razed entire villages. We finally vanquished him, only to have him return twice now, to repeat this foul cycle. Perhaps if he is destroyed below, in his own plane, he will forever be defeated... If Fleshdoom possesses a blade composed of the blackest metal, do not use it! Bring the tainted weapon to me, so I can dispose of it. I believe he resides in the deepest levels under the cathedral.

  I wish you luck in hunting Fleshdoom, his evil goes beyond words. Remember, the accursed black sword he wields should not be used by mortal man. Bring it back to me, only my powers can destroy it.

  Good..but we must also destroy the sword, for this evil to end...

  You did it! Lord be praised! Please, let me now destroy that evil weapon of Hell!...Oh, no...what's happening...it isn't working...Quickly! Our only chance now is to cast this weapon into the Forge of Hell, from whence it came! Try further still...into the depths...Oh, my...god...

  YOU HAVE TAKEN YOUR LAST BREATH HUMAN! MY BLADE SHALL FEED ON YOUR FLESH, AND I SHALL TASTE YOUR PAIN AS YOU DIE!

Lachdanan

  Please! Don't kill me...I was once human...I have been looking for a cure to this curse, but it is locked away far beyond my reach...If you help me, I will help you...Look for a Golden Elixor.

  No elixor? I fear that I am doomed for eternity...Please keep trying...

  I owe you my life. Take this helm! It was my prison here in this realm, but now maybe you can use it to avenge this evil!

Map of the Stars

  Damn...Where is that map...Dad said it was between the rock and the tree...before the bridge...It should be right h- OH! Hi...uh...didn’t see ya there...uh...

  What have we here? A map... ...hmmm...This bodes of great ill...You must work quickly now! Diablo readies his armies for impending attack. Take back this map and check it often. When the two stars align, Diablo will complete the final ritual necessary to open a full gate into our world. Our only hope is that you stop him before this confluence. Go now! And Hurry!

  We have very little time...I sense Diablo's power building...

Tasks

  {I can brew better potions if you can find this for me:}

  {I can brew better potions if you can find this for me:}

  {Great! Here's a sample.}

  {I could write a book of magic if I could study these scrolls:}

  {I could write a book of magic if I could study these scrolls:}

  {Thank you, I will teach you what I learn.}

  {Great power can be found in iron figurines below the church. I can work wonders with these:}

  {Great power can be found in iron figurines below the church. I can work wonders with these:}

  {This is amazing! Now I need a specific staff to invoke its power:}

  {I need a staff to invoke the power of the figurines.}

  {That's just what we need! I hope you like the results.}

  {The king's army is in need of supplies, these items will fetch a special price.}

  {The king's army is in need of supplies, these items will fetch a special price.}

  {Excellent! Here is your reward.}

  {I've got an idea I want to test. Find me this weapon and I think I can make it better:}

  {Find me this weapon and I think I can make it better:}

  {Let me just...It works! Take this back and give it a try!.}

  {I'm working on a method for toughening armor. I can try it if you bring me this:}

  {I'm working on a method for toughening armor. I can try it if you bring me this:}

  {Good find! See if this works any better for you.}

  {If you come across enchanted equipment, I can try to use its methods on my own creations. Here is what I seek:}

  {Here is what I seek:}

  {Thank you! This will take some study...}

  {Keep your eyes open for an iron figurine. I have special knowledge about these:}

  {Keep your eyes open for these:}

  {This is amazing! Now I need one of these, and I will make it gleam with power!}

  {Now I need one of these, and I will make it gleam with power!}

  {That looks just fine! I believe you will like this alot.}

  {A traveller passed through recently wielding a unique weapon. He believed that killing a certain monster with it would invoke its true power. As he has not returned, I fear he is dead.}

  {Have you seen the traveller with the enchanted weapon? I fear he is dead.}

  {That is the traveller's weapon. He was hunting this monster:}

  {One of my regular patrons seeks vengeance for her slain brother. She will reward you if you bring me evidence that you have killed this monster:}

  {For proof of vengeance fullfilled I need this:}

  {Ahh! I hope this put's her mind at ease...Here is your reward.}

  {A nearby home was ransacked by a group of foul beasts. They killed the owner and took a chest full of valuable belongings. You will need the key first, so look for these creatures:}

  {These creatures hold the key to a valuable chest:}

  {I see you have the key, now find the chest that it opens.}

  {You'd be my hero, if you slayed this monster for me!}

  {Won't you prove your worth by besting this demon?}

  {My! Aren't you brave!}

  {It is said that, on this day, if you leave a token in the cemetary, tomorrow it will be altered. Try one of these:}

  {It is said that, on this day, if you leave a token in the cemetary, tomorrow it will be altered. Try one of these:}

  {I had a dream that you punched a demon and it exploded into fabulous treasure. I think the beast had this name:}

  {I had a dream that you punched a demon and it exploded into fabulous treasure. I think the beast had this name:}

  {Hey! Its my best customer! My partner had an accident and I need some help refilling my inventory. I'll trade you my best item if you can bring me these:}

  {I'll trade you my best item if you can bring me these:}

  {Thanks! This should tide me over 'till I find a new partner. Here's your half of the bargain:}

  {I've got something special today. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I can tell that it's great...So, I'm gonna offer you a bargain: 1000 gold takes it. No questions, no returns.}

  {I've acquired a certain rare tome. This book requires a crystal eyepiece to read, however, and I don't have it. The book is useless to me. I will give it to you if you give me these things:}

  {Give me these things and I will give you a rare tome:}

  {You got it all! Here's the Tome. I hope you find the crystal eyepiece, without it you will never be able to read it.}

  {I must speak with you! While calling on a villager, I came upon a Demon! I left the door open for you. Please investigate!}

  {These creatures must be banished! I left the door open for you.}

  {The village is once again in your debt.}

  {I am in need of a certain reagents to help heal the plagues that the demons bring. If you gather these things, I shall reward you well:}

  {I am in need of a certain reagents to help heal the plagues that the demons bring. If you gather these things, I shall reward you well:}

  {You bring light to this dark and troubled time...I wish you to have this...}

  {I ask that you find a pool of clear water. Fill these containers and return. Then I will concoct a useful elixor.}

  {I ask that you find a pool of clear water. Fill these containers and return. Then I will concoct a useful elixor.}

  {Very good! Just give me a minute to mix the ingrediants... ...Ah! Here you go!.}

Farnham

  {I wanna tell ya...and I know this stuff...this's's what ya might call my espesiality, so lissen' up...this here is the best...thee best...you lissen' ta me...}   ...no one ever lis-HICK...lissen's to me...sumwhere...I ain't too sure...sumwhere...just unner the church...is a whole pile o' gold...gleemin' an' a shinin'.. jus waitin' fer sumone to get at it...this kinna monster hazza key...}

  {I know ya gots yer own eyedeas...an' I know yer not gonna baleev zis...but that weppon' yer holdin'...they jus' aint no good aginst yer tuffer beasties...}

  {If I was you...an' I aint, but if I was...I'd'a sell all a that stuff, et least mosta' it...That boy out there...that poor kid wif' no leg...no foot...he got sumpin' good...But he ain' even gonna offer it to ya, 'less you got sum gold...an' lots of it!

The Skeleton King

  I would like to ask your help. Years ago a corrupt king destroyed the land with necromancy.  He used his dark powers to kill all before him, then he would raise the dead to join his army of evil.  One of the king's own knights finally struck him down; now he rests in the catacombs of the cathedral.With evil upon our land once more, I fear that the Skeleton King is again at work; building an undead army.  If you slay the evil king, he can not raise his army of skeleton warriors to destroy our land.You will find the king's tomb 3 levels below.

  The Skeleton Kings undead minions still plague this land! You must kill the Dark King or the walking dead will destroy every thing! His tomb is 3 levels below.

  You have saved this land from a terrible evil.  With the King again resting in peace, the undead hordes will not return. Thank you.

The Butcher

  Please help....! I barely escaped from ....... the Butcher...! He killed .... my wife ... my children! I beg of you ...... in the name of God ......... avenge them.........

<..........> The man's body appears to be twisted in agony!

<..........> The man appears to be in peace.

The Magic Rock

I have a story that I think you might be interested in. A few weeks ago a star fell from the sky.  A caravan carried a piece of the sky rock to the royal capital for the King's wizards to study.  On the road north of here, they were ambushed by evil forces eminating from the cathedral.  I looked among the refuse and carnage for the sky rock, but it was no where to be found.  If you can find it, I will try to make something out of it. If it is magical, it might be of some use to you!

  I'm still waiting for you to bring me that piece of star that fell. If it is magical, I could make something that you could use to fight the evil in our homeland.

  Hey! It looks like that could be it! Give me some time.....Ah! Here you go....I made a ring out of a small piece.  I hope its of some use to you. Good Luck!

The Bone Chamber

....and so the knowledge was too great. With reluctance, the power of the awesome and destructive spell was sealed forever beyond the Chamber of Bone. A magical stairway marks the way to the Chamber. Many have tried to recover the power sealed within, but all have fallen prey to the Guardians. You have been warned.

  Here is the nova spell huhh..hhuhhhh. words....

The Maze

Beyond the Hall of Heros awaits the catacombs. Be warned: He who would steal from the dead. Traps and more await below to deal with would be thieves.

Ogden

Thank goodness you've returned! Much has changed since you lived here, my friend. All was peaceful until the dark riders came and destroyed our village. Many were cut down where they stood. Those who took up arms were slain or dragged away to become slaves - or worse. The church at the edge of town has been desecrated and is being used for dark rituals. The screams that echo in the night are inhuman, but some of our townsfolk may yet survive. Follow the path that lies between my tavern and the blacksmith shop to find the church and save who you can. Perhaps I can tell you more if we speak again. Good luck.

There is an old woman who lives across the river to the east. It is said that she knows much about magic. She may be able to help you in your quest.

Continue on your quest, my friend. Only the destruction of the evil that binds us can bring us peace.

Poison Water

  Everyone is sick! The demons have tunneled into our well sources and fouled our water. Find the tunnel and stop them or we will all die!

  Please, you must hurry! The demons have tunneled into our ground water and are poisoning it.

  Thank you so much! If you had not stopped them, we would all have perished! Let me express my gratitude with this magic ring.

Butcher Portal

  Here over, pssst! Chamber Butcher the from spell portal town the cast!  Saying I am what?

Garbud

  No hurt! Not Kill! Keep alive, next time good bring to you!

  Something for you! Again, too! Garbud live! No hurt!

  Nothing! Could not get! Stop! Live! Live! No pain!

  Garbud big! You weak! You scared! Now you die!

Halls of the Blind

  I can see what you see not. Vision milky then eyes rot. When you turn they will be gone, Whispering their hidden song. Then you see what connot be Shadows move where light should be. Out of darkness out of mind, Cast down into the Halls of the Blind.

Stones of Blood

 ...and so, locked beyond the Gateway of Blood and past the Hall of Fire. Valor awaits for the Hero of Light to awaken...THIS QUEST IS NOT WORKING YET...

Zhar the Mad

  What?!...Why are you here?...All these interuptions...Here, take this and begon! Trouble me no more! NEXT TIME...

  Arrgghh! If you insist on disturbing my work, then I must put an end to your curiosity!

Infested Cellar

  I was calling on one of the townsmen who is very ill, when I made a bone-chilling discovery. Odd sounds...and a sick sweet smell rising from the cellar. I looked below and saw monstrous demonic worms shift and squirm. They must have tunneled up from the underlying catacombs...I emplore you! You must slay these worms! I left the man's door open for you. Its that house right in front of me...

  I fear that the worms could soon overrun the village...I think I heard them under my house. Please, seek them out through that house opposite mine...

  Once again you have saved us from the encroaching evil. We are forever in your debt.

Black Mushroom

  What do we have here?...Interesting...It looks like...Keep your eyes open for a black mushroom, it should be fairly large.

  A mushroom? Oh, yes...This will be perfect in my stew...By the way, I heard the Healer is looking for the brain of a demon...

  Why, thank you...Oh, could you bring this elixor to the witch, as long as you're going that way?

  What?! Oh, I don't need that anymore...Keep it.

Ogden’s Sign

  I don't understand why the demons stole the sign to my inn, but didn't burn it down or kill me and my family. It's so strange... don't you think?

  Hey! You that manling kill all! You get me Magic Banner or die! You no leave with life! You kill big uglies give back Magic! Past corner and door are uglys! You give you go!

  You kill uglies give banner!

  You give! Yes good! Go! Go good! We strong good! We kill all! Now magic strong!

  Oh! You didn't have to bring back my sign! But I am very glad you did. Here, take this cap, it should be of some value to you.

Some details have changed, but this is pretty close to retail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMf1-2CwoA0

[bondedbrotherhood-blog]

Family SL on TL

Family SL

Phury: -Phury stubbed out the blunt and set the ashtray aside. Falling flat onto his back, he stared up at the ceiling without actually seeing it. Man, he was tired. This had been the week from hell, forcing all hands on deck every night, doing their best to turn back a fresh wave of civilian attacks. The Omega’s  forces had somehow re-surged to a number that they hadn’t faced in years.  Even with their new trainees on deck, the Brothers had been pushed to  their limits, with more than one serious injury resulting. Having sole   responsibility for the Chosen who were called to the manse to aid  Doc  Jane and Manny in caring for the fighters only added to Phury’s  exhaustion. A few of them hadn’t yet acclimated to life away from the   Sanctuary and being trust into the middle of a chaotic battle-hospital   setting had been traumatic for them. He knew that  he was letting all of   them down, that he should have been able to ease  them into a new life  here.-

“Fuck!”

-Phury ran his hands through his  hair and sat upright  onto  the edge of the bed. Feeling sorry for his  lot was not going to  do  anything good for anyone…except  maybe the damn  Wizard that haunted  his  dreams. Reaching for his  prosthetic leg, he  slipped his stump  inside and  fastened it tightly.  It was past time he  pulled his head out  and got  up. He knew that he  was needed down in the  infirmary where his  Chosen  and the wounded  were staying.-

Lassiter:   I was too tired to even hide the remotes during a Maury marathon. So /that/ was saying something. Adrian was somewhere else, probably considering mutiny and pissing off back to find Eddy after the week we'd had. We were lucky we healed faster than the vamps - a little time in the sun and the bullet holes at least sealed over. The problem was finding the time around carting the Brothers back and forth to emergency rooms and making sure the females were okay. At least I got along with all the ladies. They found me deplorably adorable They were the bright side to every evening after I was shot at, stabbed or mangled in the efforts of protecting these males I cared about like they were my own flesh blood from centuries ago. Trudging back down the stairs from my bedroom after a shower to wash off the yuck, I almost ran over Phury in the hallway. "Oh, hey, sorry man," I managed, pushing my shorter, wet locks back out of my face. "Was just heading back down to the medwing. You aight?"

Phury:  -Phury dodged the angel and slapped his hand against the wall to study himself.- "No worries...and yeah, headed back down. This has been one hell of a week." He walked along beside Lassiter and marveled at how different things were now between the glowing wonder and the rest of the residents of the manse. There was a time, not too long ago, when everyone viewed the fallen angel as one big-assed thorn in their backsides. But the wind had slowly shifted, and Lass had really stepped up. Phury almost hated to admit it, but he'd come to really count on the angel...at least where he and his Brothers were concerned....but HIS Chosen, now that was another damn story.- "So, you headed back out tonight? I hope you don't plan on just hanging around down below. Lass, not going to have you teaching your yoga, or new-age dancing, or whatever it was I walked in on the other night, to my females. Got it? Some of them are having a hard enough time learning about life here. Just keep your distance and we'll be fine...get it?"  

Lassiter:  "Calm your farm, Primale," I replied wearily, working hard not to roll my eyes. Not that it would've mattered. White eyes n' all. "Anything I offer to show those females is simply to see if it interests them. Like you said, they're trying to figure shit out over here, right?

Well yoga seems a pretty mild way to find out if they like something. N' dancing is fun. Now, if you think m' interested in sleeping with them?" I stopped dead to turn and give the male the full weight of my gaze. "You're dead fuckin' wrong. Got it? So quit your growly male shit with me. M' like, the least threatening dude in the whole fuckin' place," I mutter, shaking my head as I lift one hand to rub at the scar at the top of my spine. This round with the Lessers had at least not shown hide nor hair of Lash, and I thanked the Creator and the Scribe for that every minute. It would be foolish of me to hope that the miserable fucker had gotten over his hard on for my angel blood, or owning me, but still it was there. Call me a fool. "I'm on standby for tonight. If they need me, I go flyin."

Phury:  -Phury stopped short when the angel quit walking. He'd heard everything Lassiter had said and had to consider quickly if he really /did/ worry about the angel gettin' nasty with any of the Chosen. He decided that sex wasn't what was behind his uncomfortableness. It was that the glowing wonder would "corrupt" them. It was obvious that he had no filters, or boundaries, or real taste most of the time. Phury didn't want any of his Chosen modeling themselves after Lassiter. They were completely impressionable at the moment, having never been exposed to ....shit, ANYthing really. Phury met the pupil-less gaze and realized that maybe, just maybe he was being a stick-in-the-mud. Had he really become such a prude that allowing the females to sample new things he didn't agree with upset him? Whoa. He was going to need more than a minute to process that Freudian shit. With a simple, "Eww" Phury brushed past Lass and continued on towards the MedWard.-

Lassiter:   "Ew? Donchu 'ew' me," I replied, following the male down into the tunnel, all the way to the medwing. "Okay, who needs angel lovin down here? I spared you all my leopard print g-string; didn't think the heart monitors could take the strain."

Grahve:  Ow. Ow. OW. Did I mention ow? Cause dayum, this hurt. Hadn't broken a bone in a while (other than Murh breaking my damn jaw) but shattering a bone was a new one. Still, better my arm than a Brothers head. Which, as it turned out, was exactly what had happened.  Still, my shattered arm with its bullet hole was nothing compared to some of the other wounds, so I sat in the corner and kept my mouth shut, waiting my turn under the scalpel. With the arrival of the angel though, I considered voicing a complaint.  "G-String?" I managed. "Now there is an ass that shouldn't be flossed. Ever."

Lassiter:   "Ungrateful much?" I muse, striding over to the trainee waiting not-so-patiently for his turn with a doctor. "If you like, I can give you something to really cry about?" I offered, lightly tapping at the males bandaged arm.

Grahve:  I hissed through my teeth and shot the angel a dark look. Angel? Fucker was surely straight from hell. Especially in a leopard print g-string. "If I still had my gun I'd shoot you," I muttered, closing my eyes and dropping my head back on the gurney.

Lassiter:   With his eyes closed and head dropped back, I swept my hand over the male's broken limb, letting a little angelic healing energy fill it up to ease the pain. Sadly, it was all I could do for now. Before he could sit back up and wonder at the advil-magic, I moved off.

Zsadist:   *I was in a foul mood. A cloud of de ja vu followed me down to the medwing. The night had been hell, clear up to and including the approaching dawn. It was as if the Omega and his Lessers had become a varied version the fabled three-headed Hydra: stab one of the pale fuckers back and three more sprouted out of thin air take it's place. It was a brutal night, for them. Injuries were common, and this night only claimed the trainee that showed serious promise with his self-learned abilities. Once the cleaning crew -V and Cop- showed up and everyone  was accounted for, one by one each male headed back to the manse. I demated as well, only stopping in to give Wrath a short report before stalking out to check on the trainee. Faint voices carried through the tunnels, just enough to announce our resident PITA (pain in the ass) and mine twin before being cut off behind closed doors. Barging in, I parked my frame against the wall out of the way, arms folded over my chest and waited for assessment.*

Phury:   Phury more than agreed with @ToTheGrahve about the sight of Lassiter's ass, covered or uncovered. He would have offered the trainee a high-five if it weren't for the obvious arm injury. Instead he clapped the young one on the shoulder and tried to give him a positive nod. His attention was pulled away by the arrival of his twin, @ScarredNLethal. Stepping over to Z, he gave the huge male a quick once over to assess for himself that he was uninjured.- "Welcome back... You get everything out there wrapped up?"

Grahve:   In the blissful darkness of behind my eyelids, I felt warmth run through my arm. By the time I blinked through it and looked up, the angel was gone. Instead I had the intimidating duo of Phury and Zsadist, the Brothers somehow, despite my injury, making me sit up a little straighter on the gurney. I was relieved to see both unharmed though. "Is everyone okay? What about the other trainees? N' Crhis? Qhuinn?" I bit my tongue after that, forcing myself to shut up.

Phury:   -Trying to reassure the injured man, Phury touched his shoulder.- "Qhuinn was in good shape as I departed back here, he was the last one I saw." Turning back towards his twin, Phury hoped he might have more news.- "Do you anyone's status Z?"

Zsadist:   * I nodded once to Phury's question.* I'm good, mine twin. V and Cop were doing the final sweep though and getting ready to drive back when I dematted. *I looked to the trainee, the hard look on my face not so tense at the male's question. A decent male, Grahve. Always worried * I nodded once to Phury's question.* I'm good, mine twin. V and Cop were doing the final sweep though and getting ready to drive back when I dematted. *I looked to the trainee, the hard look on my face not so tense at the male's question. A decent male, Grahve. Always worried.  Could be why it's been so quiet.

Phury:   -Phury shook his head sending waves of multicolored hair into his face.- The calm before the storm. We need to find out where all there deaders are coming from. Hopefully V and Butch will have better intel when they get in. Look, you need me, don't hesitate to come get me. I've got to go and check with my Chosen, but I'll come if needed, don't go back out there alone." -He squeezed his twin's arm hoping it help his words to sink in. With Zsadist you just never knew. Raising a thumbs up to Grahve, he moved past them down the hallway towards where where the Chosen were being housed.-

Rhage:   A night with minimal injuries. It was a lot to ask for and yet it seemed like we were gonna get away with it. The trainee looked a little green around the gills as he waited for the docs to get to the medical part and stitch his arm, but I was damn grateful.  Especially since it was my head he’d taken the hit for. Trying to put down a squad of the black blooded bastards, I hadn’t seen the stray coming at me from behind. Cemetery had. I owed the kid a helluva lot more than a few stitches. As Phury moved off to see his Chosen, I sidled in beside Grahve and gave Z a thumbs up. I could feel Lassiter watching me from the corner but ignored him. The lightbulb had been offering a chat to deal with the whole ‘me not with Mary’ thing for a while and wasn’t about to take him up on that.  Puking my emotional guts to the resident spandex wearing maniac? Pass. “Thanks for your help kid,” I murmur instead, focusing on the trainee. “Wouldn’t be standin’ here right now if you hadn’t taken the hit.” I doubted even the dragon would protect me from a straight shot to the head. Even it had its limits. “I owe you one, aight? Anything you want or need, you name it. I’ll take care of it.” The kid blushed. Bless him. As he struggled to find a response, the med wing doors burst in. I spun as the scent of blood hit me, nostrils flaring hard. Butch staggered in, half dragging the weight of Vishous. My gut flipped as I darted over, taking up the slack of the goateed male and getting a whole lotta nothin from him as I called his name. “V? V?! What the fuck happened?”

Butch ignored me, shouting for Doc Jane and Manny instead. Together we laid the male out on the nearest gurney, Z coming to lift V’s boots as Lassiter ripped open the nearest door and shouted for the Doctors, his white eyes blazing.  “Phury!” I yelled instead, looking around. We were definitely going to need a Chosen.

Vishous:   Consciousness seemed like an optional extra I couldn’t quite select. I knew Butch was there. It was the one thing I knew for sure, and it kept me from panicking in this fluctuating darkness. In flashes I saw the car ride back to the manse.  Heard Butch calling my name. I remember looking down at my chest to the hole oozing blood and thinking ‘well fuck, how did that happen?’ There’d been Lessers, and Cop had been in trouble… I groaned as I felt myself being lifted. Someone else was holding me. I recognized the male’s scent. Forcing my eyes open, I saw the med wing. I saw Zsadist and Rhage and Lassiter. A trainee trying to get up. I saw Jane run through a door. I saw the ceiling as they dumped my useless ass on a gurney.  ~ “Ow…” “He’s conscious!” Yeah, not really. “Vishous? Stay with me okay?” Where the fuck else was I gonna go? The darkness came back but I could still hear everybody. Jane and Manny calmly asking for instruments, moving my gurney. Butch demanding to be there. That was the upside I suppose. He might’ve been ‘dating other people’, but he was still snarling to be in /my/ operating theatre. Silver linings n’ all that shit…

Manny:   *Why was I even here making the effort like all this shit mattered to me. It didn't damn it! I was a prisoner of war a goddamn POW. Fuck! Tyey came in one after one though, bleeding like I nevet seen any of them bleeding and even if they were fighters, vampires and what the fuck not, there were a shit load of injuries....bad ones even for them. Something had happened out there, something bad and if we all didn't work on this together the likelyhood of one of them dying was bigger than great. Wouldn't that be lovely. With a sigh I continued, asking for the next instrunent I nerded to stitch Vishous, or whateber this diamoned eyed fucker was called, up.* *Ok, needle and thread. Chop! Chop damn it. Some airhead woman was fluttering around doing more damsge than good but eventuslly she gave me what I needed.* You better fucking appreciate this, you asshole. *I mutter to myself as I started to sow him up.*

Blay:   Manny, you still pissed about heing here. I thought we gotten over that part. *I slide up to stand next tp the good doctor. I hadn't heen out today since it been my day off but the ruckus got me down to the clinic to help out. It didn't happen that often that there wereThis many and severe injuries at least not on one and the same male but today Vishous had bern handed him his ass so everyone were stressed, including Manny. The poor chosen who was trying to help him was terrified of him and that' s were I stepped in.* Gotten over what?  He asked without looking at me.* That you are abunch of kidnapping assholes. Nope, Blay, not today. *He grinned though and his bark had always been worse than his bite, something I koticed as I started hanging out with him.* Awe  you remembered my name Manny I feel all special now. You love me don't you. * I batted my eyelashes at him and made him blush and go speechless until he managed to collect himself and curse me under his breath. I grinned, this was good. I looked down on V on the table wjo was starting to move and mumble some. Turning to look at Manny I said sincerely.* Thank you for help saving our brother, Manny.  

Phury:   -Phury heard Rhage scream his name before he'd gotten very far. Shit! Something bad was surely goin' down for the brother to sound that excited. Sprinting back down the long hallway, he caught sight of a very bloody Vishous being dragged into the nearest operating room. Sliding to a stop at the door, he snagged a cloth face mask and held it to his face before speaking.- "Holy shit! @InADiamondEye what... hang on brother, you'll be good as new real soon." - Phury directed his citrine gaze at @Warrior_MD. He knew the human surgeon was still fighting the surprise-adoption that had been committed on him, but so far, the good Doc had lived up to his medical oaths and down what was needed for his patients, whether he wanted to or not. Phury intended to make sure that continued. Whatever happened going forward wasn't any of his concern...but here, right now, Doc Manny's saving of his brother was completely his concern.- "@Warrior_MD, anything I can do to help, just direct me."

Manny:   Yeah, how about you and Blay here *I say without taking my eyes off from what I'm doing* get all these extra no good people out of here so those of us who actually need to work can do so. And while your at it have someone pack my things, call me a cab so I can. You can thank me for saving you and your friends ass /again/ by letting me go back to /my/ life. *They were all getting so sick and tired of my nagging I knew I was wearing sown on them and by any chance that I was wrong I had a plan forming in my head of how I'd get out of there. Finishing the final stitch on that particular wound I went to start fixing the next couple ones, less bruital and not as severe and located on Vishous shoulder.* Excuse me, *I glared at Blay,* trying to work here. *The damn red head just chuckled and moved to the side giving me the room I needed.* I don't like you. *I muttered.* Yes, you do but for tge sake of argument I'll pretend to be hurt. *I heard Blay speak behind me and I knew he was smiling, I could gear it.*

Rhage:   If the doc wanted space, I was more than happy to give it to him. Seeing the insides of my Brother wasn't high on my 'to do' list, and frankly the docs attitude was rubbin' me the wrong way. Jane was def my favourite doctor. "Aight, m' goin. Anyone needs me just shout."

Zsadist:   *After getting V's half-conscious body on the gurney, I backed out of the way and let the human doc do his thing, all the while, WTF was pinging my frontal lobe. I was fucking positive before dematting that the area was clear of viable threats.  Nothing I could do but be in the way while the doc fixed V, I followed Rhage out the double flappers to clear the smell of antiseptic from my nose.* Wrath will want the DL.

Phury:   -Even with Rhage and Z both following the Doc's order to bail, Phury stood firm at the doorway. He knew there really wasn't anything that he could do at that precise moment, but he still felt the pull to stay. Slipping completely into the room, a fixed the drape over his nose and mouth and continued to hug-the-wall staying out of the way.-

Mary:   Not aware of the ruckus, Mary was walking down the long hallway in one of her atempts to make herself busy. Ordinary housework had never been her favorite thing, but it kept her from going insane in her room. For today she had been in the laundry room to handle the massive load of dirthy linnen and clothing from the manse, despite the doggen making a fuss about her helping out. Mary hadn’t cared though and was now headin towards the medical facility with fresh supplies that were ready and sterilized for use. She stopped a bit away, seeing both  Rhage and Zsadist exit the room, looking beyond grim. Something would have had to have happened, and this was hardly a good time for the delivery. Nor was it a good time to see Rhage, but mary was too far now to just turn around. She continued towards the door, huggiong the supplies and headed into the facility, not weven greeting the two males in fear her voice might crack. With a quiet knock on the door, she tried not to look at who was on the gourney at all ”Uhm,… Supplies…?” she spoke out carefully.

Phury:   -Phury was so intent on watching @Warrior_MD do his thing that the knock on the door and it's slight opening caused him to jump.- "Oh...hey, thanks." -He took a large part of the cleaned whites from Mary and looked around for where to put them.- "Uhhh, just a sec." -Moving to a set of metal shelves in the corner he quickly left his load and moved swiftly back toward the door not wanting to disturb Manny's concentration. Silently letting himself out into the hall, he gave Mary a smile.- "Nice of you to bring those down here. I'll say thanks because I know Fritz probably won't. You doing okay? Did you see @FearMyRhage he was just down here with Z?" -He looked down the hall to see if they were still within earshot.-

Mary:   Mary smiled to Phury as he took the supplies from her and stashed them away. She quickly stepped out of his way, so he could exit the clinic safely. Seems it was a brother on the operating table afterall, though Mary dared not ask who. She lowered her eyes as Rhage was mentioned and nodded her head softly. ”I did see them, yes. In passing only, though” she said and raised her eyes, giving Phury a nondescript facial expression. ”Thank you… For the thank you, I mean. I’m just doing what I can here”.

Manny:   *Looking up for the first time since I started working on Vishous I look around me and at the all of them.* For the fuck sake, can you babbling teenage girls take your fucking sleep over elsewhere! This is suppose to be an OR not a damn VIP lounge. *My tone harsh and cold. I was getting tired and hungry. I wanted to be done and get these annoying fuckers out of my face.* Do you realize one wrong move and he's as good as dead? *I stopped mid speech and grinned.* Oh, there's a thought.

Phury:   -Phury heard the angry comment from Manny, as well as, the insinuated threat to Vishous. He chose to not respond, but couldn't help the low growl of warning that escaped his lips. Forcing his attention back to Mary, he shook his head to clear it of the hate.- "Sorry... yeah, I hear ya. We're all just trying to do what we can these days."

Mary:   She shook her face at Phury. "Nood need to apologise at all", she said and heaved a soft sigh. Hearing the doctor's demands, she took a few steps back. "If you want to support your brother, I can go. I'd hate to disturb the doctor anymore than nescesary, so..."  Her voice faded out as she had no clue where to really take that sentence at all. Instead she tok a few more steps backwards in awkward silence.

Lassiter:   While everyone else evac'ed the OR, I stood sentry, pushing out all the calming vibes I could muster toward @Warrior_MD. With V under anaesthetic, I laid my hand across his forehead and shared a little healing energy with him too. "You good Doc?" I murmur.

Phury:   "Manny's as disturbed as they come, I think...come on." Phury took her arm and led her away from the door to the operating suite, she didn't need to see what was happening. He hated to admit it, but he was thankful that @LordshipHalogen was keeping watch.- "Lassiter will keep an eye on things. I was just checking on the Chosen who've been helping the injured. About to go and see if last meal is about ready, want to walk back with me?"

Mary:   She hardly noticed Phury talking her by the arm and moving her along. She blinked a few times and got back to earth. She looked to Phury and nodded. "I'd be happy to. I was going to swing by the kitchen to see what else I could do" And of course snag herself some food, to eat In her room. Though she had a feeling Phury would get over worries if he knew of this plan of hers. "So... How are things? I haven't seen you in a long while"

Phury:   -Phury ran his hand through his hair as they walked along.- "I know. Feels like I haven't been around in forever. Things have just exploded around here lately, everyone has been needed. An all hands on deck week, for sure."  

Mary:   Mary looked to Phury and offered him a faint smile. "Yes indeed. It's good you're back. With all the chaos it's good to see the family come home and join the fight", she said and nodded. "Besides, a fresh face in this house is always a blessing"

Blay:   *Everyone was getting aggitated and my bet was that Vishous wouldn't be a happy camper either and with Manny getting more and more riled up, this wasn't going to end well.* Manny how about you finish up what you're doing and then let Purhy and the chosen take over We can go see a male about some first meal good for last meal. I know how you love breakfast for dinner. And I'm sorta hungry myself. How about it?" *I was hoping that the friendship we started meant there was some sort of trust.*

Tohrment:   *Walking into the clinic the last one to come back after dealing with the clean up the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife.* How is he? *Look at the human doctor for an answer, his mouth draw into a thin line.* Fine. *The one word answer wasn't really what I was looking for but it being Manny I knew it was all I was going to get. Dealing with this himsn and his stubnorn ass was nect on my agenda. He was going to deal with his new life or deal with other consequences.* Good idea Blay. Why don't you leave the clean up to us Manny and you go with Blay. You did a great job, Doctor. Thank you. *Manny met my gaze and opened his mouth to speak but the tone of my voice must have left no room for argument not even for him. With a shrug he went over to the sink to clean himself up only to leave the clinic a few minutes later together with Blay.* Huh, wonders never cease after all.

Doc Jane:   *Nights like these were a straight up mess.  We had too many injured and only two doctors.  Ehlena was as usual a huge help, but right now I felt like I needed to split myself into 4 or 6 to be able to tend to everyone.  We had enough operating rooms, medical suites, recovery rooms etc, but it was only Manny and myself to perform the ops and right now we had a patient in almost every room.  As the brothers, warriors, and trainees started piling in, I did a quick assessment to ascertain priority status and sent them into the rooms accordingly with a person to keep an eye on them and shout if anything changed, while Manny and I started on the most severe patients first.  Murh had a gunshot wound to the leg and shoulder.  Vincent had a gunshot wound to the leg and one bullet that skinned his neck.  After stabilizing both males I did a quick check in with a few of the other injuries and gave Ehlena a few instructions.  She could assist with a few of the clean ups and monitor them while Manny and I worked our way through.  The sound of males rushing and shouting had me leaving Murh's room to see what was happening.  Butch was carrying an unconscious Vishous in and for fuck sakes.... I wanted to be the one to attend to him.  I wasn't even supposed to be working on Murh.  Wrath's orders.  But this was an emergency and I couldn't just let him bleed out.  I shouted over the noise but nobody heard me.  I wanted Manny to swap patients with me, but he was already seeing to V and V would be in good hands.  Shaking my head I walked back into the room and closed Murh up.  Next was Vincent and only after about 45 minutes I got around to go see how V was doing.  I drew a deep breath in and released it as I walked into the recovery room.  Butch sat next to V's bed looking like death warmed up.  A quick once over gave me the idea that he wasn't injured, but he had had a rough night.  I closed the door behind me and walked over to Butch, placing my hand on his shoulder*  Why don't you go have a shower and I will have something ready for you to eat when you get back here.  I will stay with V until you return *I could see Butch was in two minds.  I suppose he wanted to be the one to be here when V woke up, but right now he needed to take care of himself, and he knew I would take care of V.  With a slow nod, Butch got up and headed out the door.  Walking over to the other side of the bed, I picked up V's chart and started checking his vitals.  He was recovering well and in about an hour he should be good to feed.  My hand slid into my pocket and pulled my cell out.  Phury would be around here somewhere but I didn't want to leave V to go look for him.  Instead I fired off a text to @BondedPhury requesting a Chosen for a feeding*.

Phury:   -Phury stopped walking beside @MaryMadonLuce when he felt his cell vibrate. Pulling it out, he read the text from Jane.- "And I'm going to have to leave you here, sorry Mary. Doc Jane needs the assistance of one of the Chosen." -He looked up at her and smiled.- "Have Fritz save me a plate or something for later, will you?" -He gave her arm a squeeze and then turned to retrace his steps down to the Medical Wing, already mentally deciding that @ChosenUnBound was his first choice for this new request.-

Cormia:   -the hospital was ordered chaos. The staff, the doctors all working like clockwork, but there was a panic there as well, well hidden. The Brothers and Trainees being brought in were known to them and they were all close. The female doctor I gathered was the partner of one. But none of that mattered. Everyone was doing their jobs and as I stepped away from the entrance to the room where I was seeing everyone being brought in I realised I was in a sight state of shock. This was what it was to be like. To help the Brothers in the real world. To help the Primale. I was flustered as I saw Phury, round the corner and I sat down in a chair near by closing my eyes for a moment to catch my breathe-

Vishous:   I could hear the world again. Someone had turned the sound back on. It was soft, but it was there. After a minute, or five, the decibel level went up gradually, until I could open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. Well... plus. I was still alive. "...'ello?" I rasped.

Phury:   -Phury spotted the one he was looking for as he rounded the corner into the medical wing.- "Oh Cormia, great, I was looking for you." -It only took him a minute to realize that something wasn't right. Rushing the last distance between them, he laid his hand on her shoulder and leaned closer.- "Hey...you alright? Is something wrong?" -He could tell that something had her out of sorts. He mentally kicked himself for bringing her here to help for this crisis. Cormia had only been living away from the Sanctuary for a very short time and he knew transition was really difficult for some of them in the beginning, how could it not be. He squatted down beside her so that his head was level with hers.- "Talk to me Cormia. Is everything alright?"

Vincent:   *WTF?! Everything hurt like a muthafucka.  I forced one eye open and then another.  Besides bullets finding a cushy resting spot in my flesh earlier, I had gone blow for blow with a couple of lessers and didn't I feel that fucked up shit now.  I had bruises in places I didn't know was possible.  Fucking black blood slimy bastards.  As I looked around the room, I figured I was in some medical room down in the medical wing.  Fucking great.  The nurse stood at the end of the bed with my chart in her hand.  Fuck it.  I closed my eyes and willed myself back to la la land.  I needed more sleep before I could deal with this trainwreck of pain*

Mary:   Mary looked to @BondedPhury and nodded. "I'll be sure to have Fritz save you some food" she said and watched him run off. She continued upstairs herself to the kitchen.

Doc Jane:   *I knew V was waking up before he spoke.  My eyes did a quick scan of the stats on the monitor before I moved over and smiled down at him* Hey you.  Welcome back.  You took a bad hit out there, but manny fixed you up and after you've fed from a Chosen, you'll feel even better.  *Instinctively I lowered myself onto the bed and leaned over to brush some of the black hair out of his face*   Butch has been here the whole time.  I sent him to go have a shower a few moments ago.  He looked like hell.

Blay:   *Coming out of the OR, a feelung struck me and a scent hit me something familiar.... someone familiar. Holding up my hand to Manny's chest to stop him.* Wait a minute I have to check something out. *I didn't wait for his reply but stalked to the other room bursting through the door with my heart hammering in my chest. There on a bed was Vincent, he was pale, asleep....and pale.* No, Vincent.... *Why the hell was he in there alone where was Jane! Why hadn't anyone told me he was there!* Why didn't anyone tell me he was here! * Stalking back to the door I rip it open.* Manny get in here! Now! *I turned my back at him walking back to Vincent's side taking his hand in mine with one hand, letting my other hand stroke his forehead.* You're going to be okay.

Manny:   *Raising an eyebrow at Blays snappy command. He wasn't the snappy kind as far as I knew which sort of made me curious at what had made the man lose his shit. I followed him into the clinic room finding Blay standing next to a stretcher holding one of the trainees hand.  Walking over to the clipboard hanging off the bed to check it out.* Boyfriend of yours? *Blay didn't look up.* Something like that... Will he be fine? * Well that was vauge.* Yeah,  busted shoulder and a neck injury but he will be fine. Jane patched him up. I bet she just gave him something to sleep. *Blay, like Butch, had been desent to me so I felt like I had to return the deed. Besides the sad puppy dog look on Blay's face was to sad to use against him.*

Cormia:   -I always noticed The Primale, his presence like a bell to me, it made me calm and less so, like a storm under my skin. So as he came closer my breathe shuddered and I was broken out of my anxious daze. Taking his hand, I was in a state to do that but I knew it would bring me peace, looking him in the eyes- It is all of this around. I'm adjusting to the way of it, my Lord. The chaos of it is alarming. But I assure you I will be up for the task. I am here to do what I was made for. -I offer you a soft but stronger smile-

Vishous:   Butch... Huh. Go fig. The stupid heart rate monitor beeped a little harder. Motherfucker. Coughing, I cleared my throat and closed my eyes again. I was glad it was Jane here. Regardless of our history, I trusted her implicitly. "Is he okay? Not... hurt?" Scribe damned stupid heart monitor. Shut. Up. "And the others? What's the damage?" Other than my dumb ass.

Jane:   *My eyes flicked over to the monitors as it started picking up, and I looked over my shoulder half expecting Butch to be standing there, but he wasn't.  I waited for V to finish speaking and placed my hand on his hand*  Try to take it easy.  You were the only critical patient and the next high priority was Murh.  After that it was non fatal gsw's and flesh wounds etc.  Manny and I have seen to all the injured.  Some of them are still in recovery, but most have been released.   Butch wasn't hurt at all.  Now I need you to be a good patient so we can get you back on your feet and in good health *with the last words I heard a soft knock and the door opened with a doggen stepping in with the tray of food I ordered*

Vishous:   I was relieved to hear I was the worst. If I was the worst and I was awake, shit wasn't too far sideways. And Butch wasn't hurt. "Thanks Jane," I mutter, flipping my hand over to lightly take hers and squeeze. Eyeing the doggen and the food. I held off asking for a vein Jane would get me that as soon as she could. "Are you doin okay?" She looked tired but in control. Exactly how I expected her to be. It was reassuring. Fuck I wanted a smoke so bad.  

Blay:   *A while after Manny checked Vincent's chart and assured me that he was ok Manny somehow managed to coax me away.* Come on kid. He'll be fine and he's resting. Let's go see that butler about breakfast for dinner that you promised me. *Manny even smiled and a real smile who could have known he had it in him but he did.* Alright, I guess I could spare an hour or so to keep you company condidering what you did tonight for my brothers. Thank you buy the way. *Manny smiled again nodding.* Sure thing, kid, it was my pleasure...*he stopped talking catching himself and seemed to ponder what he just said causing me to chuckle.* Really? Your pleasure huh. *I couldn't help hut to tease. His eyes narrowed some,* I swear to god kid, if you tell anyone I said that I'll kill you in your sleep. *The threat might have sounded sincere if there been any heat behind his words but there wasn't. Holding my hands up in mock surrender,* I promise, your secret is safe with me. *He snorted,* Uhu, I'm sure, *he muttered as we walked through the tunnels to the main house.*

Mary:   Mary returned to the kitchen to gather up a plate of food so she wouldn't have to show her face at last meal. She hopped around the kitchen making herself a fast turkey sandwich and a big glass of coconut yoghurt with granola on top. She flagged down Fritz and asked the doggen to Save @BondedPhury a plate from dinner, before she went back to scavenging the kitchen for food she could bring to her room.

Murhder:   *Loud!  Too fucking loud!  Every vein in my head felt like it was bursting.  Beeping sounds echoed through the room and bounced off all the walls back to my skull.   What the fuck is happening to me?  Where am I?   A red light flickering next to me forced me to open my eyes a bit wider to have a look around me.  Tarzan's balls!  I was in the medical room.  One of them anyway.   Jane must be close.  I could smell her. My gut and leg ached as I tried to get up and the beeping next to me went into high gear siren type alarms.  Fuck. The spin top room forced my ass back down on the bed.  There was no fucking way I was getting off this thing*. JA..ne! *Ouch.  That came out weaker than intended*. JANE! *That's better*.

Phury:   -Phury was impressed with Cormia's courage in the face of chaos and he stood up offering her his hand.- "I knew that you would be, never a doubt. Come on, lets find @TenaciousDoctor and see who is in the greatest need of your help." -He wasn't exactly sure where to look first, damn he hated it when a place like this had to be full. It took a couple of opened doors, and "oops I'm sorries"before he finally located Jane.- "There you are doc, Cormia and I are here to assist, where do you need her most?"

Lassiter:   Ignoring the clatter of noise from outside Murh's room, since everyone else would deal with whatever happened next, I dragged a chair closer and flopped into it. "You hurt yourself enough to need a doc and you aint gonna get the one you want sugar. My advice? Stay calm. Be patient. They rotate relief shifts and she'll have to come by eventually. You wanna get back on her good side? Show a little restraint as well as attraction," I mutter, looking around for a magazine.

Jane:   *Minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days.  After a couple of days all the injured had recovered and been discharged.   Feeling completely drained, I took advantage of one of the beds in the med wing and closed my eyes for some much needed rest knowing the rest of the family were doing the same.  Everyone had had a rough couple of days and Wrath put a hold on rotations for these two days*   #FamilySL