#decided to rep their story by having them turn away from the monotone light into a more vibrant world

[mem-fr]

commission for xolrit ( #406313 )

[westywrites]

The Teller of Stories and Keeper of Secrets

Chapter 7 - You’re the What?

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Fall was coming around, though that made little difference seeing as it is Florida that we were in. The children and I had become great friends. Through our consistent weekly sessions we all were getting along much better, Christopher had even stopped with the continuous antagonizing of the others. Seeing as they trusted me at that point I figured it was a good time to tell them. To tell them who I am, who they are.

It was a regular session, Christopher came late, Tanya came early. Perfectly normal, at first. I made the decision to wait until halfway through the session to tell them and so everything started as usual. I asked them how their weeks were and we went around getting everyone's interesting things. This week Christopher had managed to find Elise at the mall with her friends and he followed them around for a while, Jacob had passed his first test of the year with the highest mark he had ever received, Nathanael was living great with the family who had adopted her towards the end of summer and Tanya was chosen to be the school council rep for her class. Perfectly normal teenage lives. I couldn't wait to change that.

Each week at least one of them would complain about how boring life was, how it was uninteresting and nothing good ever happened, and each week I had so much trouble to not just blurt it out. Finally I was going to.

"So it seems like you all had an interesting week." I smiled, it was almost time.

"Reggie, geez." Christopher looked me in the eyes. "How many times do we have to tell you, being a kid is boring." Everyone nodded or made a face of agreement.

"You will always have to tell me." I looked at each of them. "For I will never understand."

"Wasn't your childhood boring?" Tanya asked. "Everyone I know says being a kid is great but that their childhood sucked."

"My childhood was very interesting." I couldn't think of how to word it. "I have many things I could tell you."

"Then why don't you tell us?" Jacob asked. "You never tell us anything about you."

"I guess that's right." A perfect opening. "And I guess I should,maybe, tell you about me."

"Really?" A light of excitement sparked on Nathanael's face.

"Should we start with the past or the present?" A slight smirk danced on my lips as I looked over their excited faces.

"Wouldn't the past make the present make more sense?" Christopher flicked his hair out of his eyes trying so hard not to appear interested.

"OK, if you say so." I paused for dramatic effect and launched into my story. "I have always been a strange person, even more so when I was child. I was probably the most curious kid on the planet and I felt the need to know everyone’s secrets." The next 30 minutes were spent in the stories of my life and it ended on this note: "I have made it my job to gather these secrets and tell these stories and I have been recognized on many occasions for my good deeds done through this gathering and sharing. As such I have been given a title. Highly recognized throughout the world, highly appreciated by many. I am the Teller of  Stories and Keeper of Secrets and you, well you are my new recruits. If you want to help me that is."

"You're the what?" Elise had raised her eyebrows so high they look as though they were trying to fly away.

"How could we help you?" Tanya looked mystified but doubtful.

Once again a smile graced my lips. "I have been given the title of the Teller of Stories and Keeper of Secrets by the Council of Being. It's long and hard to explain. Essentially it is my job to collect stories and secrets, you can help me because, well let's just say you all have some secrets of your own that make you very special. Also very valuable, many would kill to have you but I will protect and watch over you."  I looked over each of them stating their stories over again in my head. "I need people like you to keep my operation going, the United States is the last place for me to dig my claws into so I need a particularly good team."

They all looked extremely confused, some of them almost looked scared. Eventually, after I explained the same things multiple times they seemed to grasp the concept and come to an agreement. They decided to help me!

"Thank you so much." I hugged each of them. "I am forever indebted to you. Even though I will pay back more than most debts could ever be while you are under my service."

"Don't say it like that, you make it sound like we agreed to be your slaves." Elise slapped Christopher’s for that comment and the look he gave her when he said it.

"Don't say things like that." She snapped at him.

"Woah just harmless statements." He raised his hands innocently. Christopher and Elise went on to bicker for a while as Tanya and Nathanael made hearts at them with their hands.

"OK guys there are a few things I need to talk to you about," I interrupted, "come sit."  

"What more do you need to say?" Jacob asked.  

"Well there are some..." I had difficulty finding the right words. "There are some terms and conditions you should be aware of as well as some things you need to tell each other."  

"Terms and conditions?" Tanya gave me a strange look. "That's a really weird way to say it."  

"Well there really isn't any other way." They all took seats around the circle again slowly falling silent.

"To start you must understand that the people here in this room, only the people here in this room, will be the ones to know the real you and you must trust everyone with your life," I looked towards Christopher who was leaning towards Jacob with his hand out stretched and his finger wet with spit, "and you must not give people wet willies." Jacob whipped around, swatting Christopher’s hand away and his face turned bright red.

"Please understand this, most of your lives will now be spent here or elsewhere doing things for me." I looked at each of them. "It is highly likely that starting after the next few weeks you will be living with me at my beach house. We will be each other's' family and all other family you have will have to be forgotten."  I was met with puzzled gazes. "I know it sounds harsh, but it is absolutely necessary. As you will soon learn you all are not quite the same as you and others think you are. I'm aware it sounds cheesy as I say this to you, but it is the honest truth. You all are capable of things that put not just you but everyone around you at risk." Christopher glanced at his hands as I said this. "As well as the risk you pose there is also the risk of those that I mentioned, you are the playing pieces in a game that could decide the fate of this world."

"Calling us playing pieces makes us seem like we have no minds of our own," Nathanael was biting her lip, "and besides it's not like we have super powers or anything." Everyone looked away from Nathanael’s vaguely panicked eyes. "Guys?"

"And that leads perfectly into what you all need to tell each other." I was planning on saying only that as prompt however after a few moments silence I decided to start to much needed conversation with this, "I, for example, have the power of premonitions in the form of dreams." This was not exactly true, but I had to give them reason to confide in myself and each other. "How about we go around the circle now?"

Christopher, who sat to my left, sighed. "Fine if I have to. My ability is to control people like they're puppets, as long as I can see them I just," He flicked his right hand, causing Elise to hit herself in the face.

"Hey what the hell Christopher?" Elise yelled at him standing from her seat and crossing the circle over to him as he laughed. She grabbed his wrist, whispered something and his face immediately went blank.

"I am a complete and utter moron who doesn't know how to be nice to others." He said in a monotone voice. Elise let go of his wrist and turned flipping her hair as she returned to her seat. Christopher’s face lit up again and he shook his head blinking a few times. When he looked up his face was marked by a strange partial anger, however before he moved his hand I grabbed onto him.

"Enough." I looked directly into his eyes until he looked down. "Thank you. Now Christopher your power, as well as the one Elise so kindly demonstrated, falls under the category of controlling powers, more specifically titled 'Marionette' or 'Puppet Master' for you Christopher and 'Guiding Touch' for you, Elise. Please explain yours a little more, if you could, Elise." I looked towards her, taking note of how red her face was.

"I don't exactly understand how it works, all I know is sometimes when I'm angry I can touch people and they will do whatever I say." She shrugged lightly. "I'm sorry Chris."

"Christopher." He hissed.

"Jacob, you next." I said, hoping the tension would diffuse soon.

"Well I-I can turn invisible." Jacob disappeared and reappeared quickly. "It's no big deal and I don't have much control over it." He mumbled.

"That's so cool!" Tanyas smile stretched across her face, a stark contrast to Nathanael's stunned silence. "All I can do is smell, see and hear things I couldn't before." She shrugged and looked towards Nathanael.

"Stop looking at me." Nathanael was very obviously on the edge of a breakdown,"I can't do anything like y-you freaks." She blinked hard to fight back tears.

"Nathanael it's okay," I was and still am very bad at comforting people,"you do have a power you just haven't found it yet."

"What if I don't want a power?" The tears in her eyes and my keen sense prove she was lying.

"Well then I would tell you that sadly you don't have a choice." I looked over the circle again. "None of you exactly have a choice, these powers would have and will continue to develop even without me. However on your own you have no hope of learning to control yourselves and will end up in huge messes and eventually dead, a lot sooner than you should be." I knew by the looks on their faces that they did not like being told they didn't have a choice. "I know it's not a favourable circumstance to have to leave what family you all have left but trust me, for people like us a lot worse happens if we don't stick together."

Eventually after some convincing and negotiating Nathanael was calmed and an agreement was made. They were to start living with me after the next weeks session. I miraculously managed to convince them that sooner was better than later and even those who have something to live for outside of our little sessions had few worries.

[quillyfied]

make this place (our) home

so i finally decided to tackle trying to describe the oddity that is my Pokemon Sun and Moon otp; in a nutshell, it’s Gladion/Hau/Moon(Selene)/Lillie, though more accurately, Gladion/Hau/Moon(Selene) and Lillie/Hau/Moon(Selene) are happening simultaneously. No incest.

Anyway. Some domestic fluff for your viewing pleasure. Shockingly devoid of Pokemon presence but I never claimed to be good at this, so.

The Alolan view never got old, Selene decided as Charizard swooped across the sky. Hoenn’s tropics were pretty in a wild sort of way, but she preferred Alola’s sweet-scented wilderness, herself. Not long, she thought, and felt the warm glow of anticipation spread through her chest. Mount Lanakila loomed, and she’d definitely stop by later, but other things required her attention.

She had Charizard drop her at Route 1. “Thanks,” she smiled, tossing a berry in the air for Charizard to gulp down. It did so, growled a thanks, and took off. Selene watched it fly for a moment, then took a deep breath of sultry Alolan air, thick in her lungs after the thin atmosphere of Sinnoh. The walk to Iki Town was one of her favorites, despite it being completely uphill and a little overgrown. She’d go see her mother soon, but other people with much more sporadic schedules took priority at the moment.

It was on the twilight side of evening when she made it to the village. Most folks were inside eating dinner, which was fine by her; her adoring public tended to slow her down at the exact wrong moments (not that she was at all complaining about being famous). In the center of the square, where the battling platform stood, she heard the sound of battlers in training and grinned, because booming over the top of them…

“That’s really great!” Hau yelled as Selene cleared the crest of the hill. “Keep up that pace, you guys! One more rep! One, two, three—” Selene kept to the edge of the square, positively beaming now. Hau seemed to have lost his shirt again, displaying his impressive collection of tattoos as well as his impressive collection of muscles. Lights were on in the Kahuna’s hut, so it was a good chance someone else was also home—

“Selene!” Hau roared, and Selene braced herself for the incoming bear hug as Hau launched himself off the platform and ran at her in a dead-out sprint. His mega-watt smile only grew once he had her in his arms, swinging her around and shouting her name as she laughed and wrapped her own arms around his neck. “I didn’t know you were coming! The Champion Summit was supposed to last—”

“I cut out a little early,” Selene said breathlessly as Hau set her down, only to twirl her once and dip her, grinning. “What, a Champion can’t want to hurry home to see her beautiful wife and husbands?”

“Not if it gets you in trouble!” a voice said behind them, and Selene tilted her head back, grinning as Lillie walked up, long blond hair pulled back and green eyes sparkling. Selene tilted her head a little further and kissed Lillie as she leaned down to meet her. Upside down angle aside, Lillie kisses were the best, and Selene was a little sorry when she pulled back, though Lillie’s smile was just as great. Selene’s regret was forgotten when she lifted her head back up and Hau took Lillie’s place for what most bystanders would call an embarrassing amount of time (but in Selene’s book, time spent letting Hau physically express his affection was well worth it).

“Where’s Grumpy Gills?” Selene asked, grinning when a pointed cough behind Hau’s back revealed Grumpy Gills’ location.

“That is not my name,” Gladion said flatly, stepping around Hau as he set Selene on her feet and keeping a straight face as Selene hugged him. His arms locking tight around her betrayed him. “Welcome home,” he whispered into her hair, and though he rolled his eyes, he rewarded Selene’s upturned pout and tiptoed straining with the smooch she desired.

“It’s been a while since we’ve all been home,” Hau said, putting his arm around Lillie’s waist. Selene noticed the platform was deserted and decided Hau’s class considered itself dismissed once their teacher disappeared. “I’m thinking game night!”

“Arceus, no,” Gladion growled, then swore in a much higher tone when Selene sneakily tickled his side. He took several steps away from her, scowling and crossing his arms, but moved no further when Selene closed the distance again.

“Aw, babe, come on,” Hau pouted, following suit with Lillie as she stepped closer to Selene and Gladion to hold Selene’s hand. “That was one time!”

“We do not speak of that incident,” Gladion grumbled.

“Your hair grew back just fine, though,” Lillie said, and Gladion glared at her. She smiled her sweetest Little Sister smile and he rolled his eyes. “I think it would be quite fun!”

“It’s not fun, because Selene cheats and then we spend the rest of the night trying to figure out how she did it,” Gladion muttered, but as the rest began walking towards the hut his complaining petered out. Selene grabbed his hand as well and swung her hands back and forth, absolutely relishing the feeling. It really had been a long time since all four of them had been together at once.

“So that’s a solid maybe, then,” Hau said, and Gladion tsked as the girls laughed. Selene was pleased to find the inside of the Kahuna hut was well-kept; Hau had a tendency to rush around like a hurricane made of sunshine, and mess followed in his wake (Hala would have been horrified at the sight she found after a months-long trek through Kanto and Johto, he had always kept the place neat, but he knew his grandson better than most, so maybe not). The king-sized bed that took up nearly the entire bedroom space was a tangle of dirty laundry and sheets, which led Selene to suspect Lillie had been the one hard at work cleaning and not Hau, but that was also normal. Once inside she made a beeline for the refrigerator, but Lillie’s hand pulled her back.

“I haven’t had a chance to go shopping yet,” she said.

“Lillie threw out all of my very tasty and definitely not spoiled takeout leftovers,” Hau sighed, hopping up on one of the kitchen counters.

“Most of them were growing mold, Hau, that isn’t healthy,” Lillie protested.

“Excuse you, it is very healthy. Check me out!” Hau said, flexing. Gladion punched him in the gut and Hau wheezed, doubling over.

“This moron wouldn’t be alive if Lillie and I didn’t stop by now and then to make sure he eats real food,” Gladion sniffed, settling back against the counter with his arm resting on Hau’s leg. Hau scrunched his hand through Gladion’s hair, then pulled it a little, grinning when Gladion smacked his belly again.

“Well, if there’s nothing left in the kitchen, I can order stuff,” Selene said.

“Selene, you buy food for us all the time, surely we—”

“It’s my pleasure, Lils,” Selene interrupted, bringing Lillie’s hand up to her mouth to kiss her knuckles. “I’m never home as much as I want to be, so let me use up this ridiculous Champion’s salary on the people I love most.”

“Hey, I bet between your stipend and Lillie’s Aether Foundation fortune, we could afford a summer home in every region,” Hau said thoughtfully.

“The upkeep would bankrupt us,” Gladion monotoned. “One home is enough.”

“I guess so,” Hau said, then laughed. “A private island would be way more exciting!”

“Hau, you’re an idiot,” Gladion muttered as Selene laughed and Lillie smiled.

“That’s why you love me,” Hau said, and Gladion’s cheeks turned pink as he folded his arms.

“I admitted to no such thing.”

As one Hau and Selene shoved their left hands in his direction, and Gladion sighed loudly as Hau waggled his ring finger, on which was a triple-stacked wedding band; Selene and Lillie had the same. Gladion flexed his own ring-bedecked hand and then shoved both hands in his pockets, grimacing as Hau planted a sloppy wet kiss on his cheek.

“So, takeout?” Selene said, and without waiting for a reply began placing an order to the nearest Malasada Shop. While she talked, the others moved to the living room, sitting on the couch and chairs (or in Gladion’s case, artfully draping himself across his armchair). Selene caught bits and pieces of their conversation in between talking to the shop’s employee, and heard her name frequently. Once the order was placed, she divebombed the couch, setting her head in Hau’s lap and legs in Lillie’s, and wiggled around to make herself as comfortable as possible.

“You’re needier than most Lillipups,” Gladion said loudly, to which Selene replied with a rude gesture and an equally rude fart noise. Lillie slapped her shin, but lovingly; Selene knew Lillie was far too used to her brother’s antics and Selene’s, for that matter, to care much. Hau was stroking his fingers through Selene’s hair, anyway, so that’s where she was, headspace-wise.

The evening turned to night. The malasadas came, and were eaten (Hau’s with gusto). Jokes were made, tales were told, stories were swapped, and by the time Selene started to get sleepy, the four of them were tucked up on the couch together, Lillie and Gladion bracketing the sides, and they had all lapsed into the comfortable silence of people who had known each other for too long to be worried about filling it. Hau was humming, sifting Lillie’s hair through his fingers, and Gladion had allowed both Hau and Selene to capture his hands, though Selene was situated more securely in his personal space and the angle was a little less awkward. Through the open windows of the hut, cool night breezes caressed exposed skin and ruffled leftover malasada wrappers, and the sounds of nighttime Pokemon calling to each other made for a pleasant melody.

“How’s your mom?” Selene asked, and while the quiet that followed was not nearly as leaden as it used to be when anyone brought Lusamine up, it was by no means comfortable.  Gladion’s fingers tightened around hers.

“She’s been asking about you,” Lillie yawned. “And about ‘sweet Hau’.” The sweet Hau in question flashed a crooked smile but didn’t open his eyes. “She fades in and out, most days.”

“I should go visit her,” Selene said, almost to herself. Lillie made a small noise of agreement. Behind Selene, Gladion released a measured sigh.

“I should go with you,” he said, but grudgingly.

“She’d love to see you, too, Gladion,” Lillie said through another yawn. Gladion grunted.

“We can all go,” Hau said, his voice roughened with tiredness. “Tomorrow. We’ll make it a day trip.” A quietly expectant silence followed, which was punctured by another sigh from Gladion.

“Yeah,” he said, “yeah. Sure.”

Another long moment of silence, and then Lillie said, “We should really move to the bed. All of us sleeping on the couch is uncomfortable.”

“Speak for yourself,” Selene yawned, snuggling a little more securely into Gladion’s chest. He shifted and dumped her into the floor, to which she responded with an injured mewl and puppy-dog eyes.

“Come on,” Hau said, dislodging Gladion and Lillie by moving, and in a tired camaraderie they all four went through an abbreviated nighttime routine—changing into pajamas, those who wore them, brushing teeth, braiding back hair, or in Selene’s case, flopping right in the middle of the bed and refusing to move until Hau picked her up again so Lillie and Gladion could clear the debris of Hau’s “bachelor living” from the bed. Once that was taken care of, Hau and Selene as one collapsed back onto the mattress, and when Lillie crawled in on Selene’s side, Selene latched onto her and took a deep breath of Lillie’s scent, exhaling in a contented sigh. A muffled argument between Hau and Gladion slipped in and out of Selene’s conscious mind, though it was resolved at some point by Hau hauling Gladion up onto his chest, because she felt both Hau’s overwarm skin and Gladion’s chilly fingers against her back.

“I love you,” Selene murmured to the air, and was answered back by three sleepy affirmations in kind. For a Champion living the traveling, demanding schedule her station came with, Selene had to admit, she had the best home life of all time.