#do you think they meet big and small for like brunch or something

[muppetoftheday]

they are both British puppet men but you may know hacker from this clip:

and you may know basil brush from this post

hope this helps

[megalomaniacz]

A GIRL IS MISSING: SMALL TOWN, BIG PROBLEMS 🪰🔎🚬

synopsis: what happens when a young girl goes missing and you volunteer yourself to help find her?

a/n: this is like…i’m trying something new okay! let me know if you want a part 2 i hope you like my experimental mystery/thriller. please give feedback it’s highly appreciated! 🙏🏽

masterlist

everyone had gathered at the church on joneston, down the road from the chicken shack. you can’t miss it. everyone had been gathering there for days in the sharp cold of the winter. runny noses and swollen eyes. some crying, some from lack of sleep.

a young girl was missing. that was the headline of the town newspaper for the past 48 hours. missing poster plastered on the front. sweetest smile you’d ever seen.

dina woodward was witty, quick on her feet and excelled in all her classes. graduated from high school and went on to work at the local bakery for her gap year. just saving up for a car. she was in plays, never missed a festival, and lit up every room she walked into. that’s what everybody said. that’s what you wished you could say.

the truth is, you didn’t know her very well. you’d gone to elementary school together but she was bit off and hung out with a different crowd. all the way up till senior year. her friends were the ones with the tear swollen eyes.

ellie williams, her neighbor and girlfriend, had chosen the picture for the missing poster. you talked to her once and the conversation went like, “hey, do you know what time it is?” “2:30.” “thanks.” lined lips, freckled face, smelled like car oil and the cigarettes she pretended not to smoke in the stairwell.

abby anderson, her enemy turned friend, couldn’t even look up. her face was in her hands as she hid her wails. they had gotten into a fight about some miscommunication during lunch one day. threw the whole middle school into a ruckus. team dina and team abby. the brunch moms talked about it on weekends, you’d heard them while you sat off to the side as your mom waited tables. drunk ladies blabbering on about who should apologize first. they ended up settling it after a game of volleyball. real dramatic handshake. some people clapped.

jesse, last name unknown due to you never being awarded the chance of knowing it, was her ex boyfriend and right hand. as an outsider you predicted that it would’ve been messy. the way they’d broken up and she was seen slipping off into dark corners with ellie a few weeks after, but there was no war. no bloodshed. only whispers of drama from bored admirers and jealous bitches.

your eyes were sunken on account of your lack of sleep. days at the post office, mixed with nights at the police station, molded with mornings in the church for the search party meeting was a recipe for disaster on your sleep schedule. not that you could sleep anyway, too busy dreaming about finding her dead in a ditch somewhere. waking up sweating like a whore in church-

“alrighty! thank you all for coming again today. looks like the crowd is a bit smaller than it was yesterday, but let’s not fret. we’re all going to work together to find her.” maria, leader of the search party, wavers her gaze to the three close friends of dina. face falling into a sympathetic gaze. “we’re going to find her.”

that second sentence sounded far less convincing than the first one. you knew, and they knew, that with this shit weather there was no way she could have disappeared for a week and survived out there on her own. she could’ve been kidnapped, oh god that’s worse. let’s stop thinking.

since the crowd had gotten smaller, the groups maria had configured were forced to shrink. too many lone soldiers and people without partners. she had to start being strategic. playing on the strengths of each individual, hoping they’d all make well rounded teams. then she pointed her finger at you, then at the blonde, then at lips in a line, then at sweet jesse and she smiled in your face.

“and you guys will be team 4.”

[kinzis-writing]

Christmas Tree Farm | Josh Allen

Kinzi's 25 Days of Christmas: Blogmas Day 4

It is Y/N's first Christmas living with her fiance, Josh. Y/N had a Christmas tradition to wear her family and/or friends always went to a Christmas tree farm to pick out their live tree. Y/N is sad when she feels her tradition has to stop because of a new developed allergy to her favorite kind of Christmas trees. Josh makes it his mission to keep the tradition alive, even if he has to improvise a little.

Pairing: Josh Allen (Bills/NFL) x Fem! Fiance! Reader

Warning(s): mentions of allergies? Christmas traditions, and I think that is all.

Christmas was Y/N's favorite time of year. She loved living in New York because it had a higher chance of snow then what she was used too, where she was from the south. This was her first Christmas in her new house, well their new house. It wasn't new, but it was new to Y/N because she had moved in with her fiancé after six months of being engaged and wedding planning. Everything was perfect, until Y/N had an allergic reaction to something that she used to love and was forced to get allergy tested. Y/N was devastated when her allergy test came back that she was allergic to the type of trees that she loved to use as her live Christmas trees every year.

Looking back, she should have known something had changed. As she kept what she thought was a sinus infection all winter until she took her tree down. She was just in denial and refused to think it was an allergy. Her love for the holiday still existed, but it saddened her to not be able to have a live Christmas tree just like all those years of traditions.

"Josh, I already told you that I'll decorate this weekend. It's going to take me until after Christmas to find a free that I like." Y/N complained as Josh had mentioned them going to the store and finding Christmas decorations for their house. He had known the toll the allergy results had taken on his fiancé, and he hated that there was nothing he could do to fix it. "Going to the store isn't the same as going to the tree farm." She mumbled in disappointment.

"I'm sorry, baby." Josh mumbled leaning over a placing a tender kiss on her head. "I know how much it bothers you to have to discontinue a tradition you've had since you were a kid, but maybe we can start a new tradition?" He suggested hoping to make her feel better. "One of our own."

Y/N gave her husband a small smile. She was beyond grateful to have someone like Josh in her life, "Thank you, Joshy." she replied to him. "I just, it's such a big part of this Holiday that it stings a bit to let it go."

Once brunch was finished, Josh headed out to go meet his teammates for workout and practice. Y/N had been around his teammates plenty of times, whether that be after games, or at parties or hang outs. She was the closest to Stefon, which is why Josh had taken the problem to his teammate and asked for help. During their workout, the two men talked about what they could do to help Y/N feel better.

It had taken them a while to figure out how to keep her tradition but make it to where her allergies would not bother her. Until the men had an idea, once they approved that it was worth a try. They had a plan in motion and pulled some strings. Which is why when Josh came home from practice all smiles, Y/N was a bit unsure of what had happened that day.

"What's got you in a good mood?" Y/N asked, wanting to know what had happened that day.

Josh gave her a smile as he walked forward and wrapped his arms around her. "Get ready, I'm taking you out." Josh replied giving her a quick kiss before letting her go get ready.

It was cold in New York, so Y/N dressed warm and put on some makeup really fast. She didn't feel like going out but she would see what Josh had planned. She knew that her fiancé was only trying to make her feel better about the whole situation.

The couple left once Y/N had gotten ready and they had warmed up the car. Josh then handed her a blindfold, to which she protested at first but eventually gave in knowing that he was trying to make her feel better.

"Where are we?" Y/N asked once the car had stopped, probably after around 30 minutes, and Josh was helping her out.

"You'll see." Josh promised as the two continued walking with Y/N being led by Josh. He stopped her at the entrance that him and stefon had threw together. He carefully took Y/N's blind fold off.

Y/N stood in shock at what she was looking at. A light snow dusted the ground making it even better. A homemade sign reading "Christmas Tree Farm" hung up over a simple but cute arch that was clearly homemade as well. At least a dozen artificial trees were stuck in the ground, with who knows what, but she could tell that they weren't the cheaper trees that she had been looking at. These trees actually looked like the real Christmas trees that she usually used.

"I know this still isn't the same, but I wanted to try to make you happy." Josh rambled as he got nervous when his fiance did not say anything.

"It's perfect." she spoke softly, tears welling in her eyes. She turned to face her man with a grin. "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, thank you."

A smile grew on Josh's face, "I'd do anything for you baby." He assured.

"Hey!" A voice broke the couple out of their moment. "I helped too." The voice of their best friend reminded.

Y/N smiled at her man's teammate, "Thank you, Stefon." she thanked him before walking and giving him a hug as well.

"You're welcome, anything for Mrs. Allen." He shrugged but then smirked when he noticed how red her face had gotten from his comment.

Y/N made her way back to Josh as they made small talk and walked around the homemade farm to pick out the Christmas tree that they would be decorating for their living room. Once she had found the perfect tree, Josh had gotten the tree to their house and got it set up in the place that she was wanting it.

"Thank you again, Joshy." Y/N spoke up as the pair decorated the tree together. "I know I was a downer this morning, and I am so sorry. But I am forever thankful for what you created." she promised.

Josh gave her grin knowing how much his plan had helped her get over her sadness. It was all he was hoping for because he knew how much Y/N loved Christmas. "When I say I would do anything for you, I seriously mean that I will do anything for you." Josh explained. "I love you and I promise to take care of you and fulfill your needs and wants. You're my world, and you always will be."

Author's note: This could have ended better, but I have been trying to write so many of these and I keep on getting behind. Also, I have to go back to the doctor tomorrow because they think I have a heart condition, so I have to go get that checked out at 10 in the morning. This past week I had multiple tests done to check my heart so I have been stressed out since I went to the dr the first time. I'm hoping for good news but you never know.

[huenation]

who you are / csb

word count: 3,180

genre: soft angst, fluff, slice-of-life

warnings: not much happens in this and it’s almost a vent piece so you probably wont love this — mentions of nervousness, family issues, mc has a big family

synopsis: when soobin finally meets your family, he learns something about you (and he can’t help but love you more)

soundtrack: lovelovelove by baek yerin and can’t you see (acoustic) by matthew and the atlas

soobin is never home on weekdays in the mornings because of work, happily assisting the newbies at his barista job, since he’s been working there for three years now. he didn’t remember what nine am’s in his home looked like until now. he paces his hallway, awaiting your text message to let him know you’re outside to pick him up. it’s the big day after all, the one where he meets your family.

it’s been roughly eleven months since you both started dating and you’d just been introduced to soobin’s family a week earlier from now at a brunch. his sister and brother had finally decided to both visit his family home at the same time. despite the great harrowing pill of trepidation taken at meeting your boyfriend’s family, they had been so graciously welcoming and accepting of you. their questions were mere softballs, compliments and genuine interest in you that didn’t at all feel too much. you and soobin are familiar with the weight of stares, certain tones, and body language.

you had understood that floods of words could be conveyed through touch. being held by his family, a gripping hug, tearful thank you’s told you everything. it just meant a lot of love. soobin’s parents had embraced you so tightly that night, his mom more than kind and thankful when she held your hands and told you how special her son was to her, how dear you were to him and for that, she thought of you that much as well.

it all made sense that night on the drive home — it made you comfortable, knowing and seeing how soobin was raised well and so loved. he’s his own guy, but he is definitely a fragment of all those around him: infinitely precious.

so, when time allowed for him to meet your own family, despite the fear of jumping off your comfortable cloud into oblivion, you and he felt it was time. sure, he was beyond nervous when you both agreed to today as he’s currently anxious out of his mind, but you are, too. eye twitches, shivers, and that swirling pit in your stomach are all little footprints of this feeling.

really, as long as you have each other, just the knowing of it, that’s what matters.

he feels his phone vibrate and your contact name and picture pop up from a message that lets him know you’re outside. a small grin sprouts between his dimples at the sight of that photo. in it, you’re wearing his hoodie with the hood over your head so only your mouth is showing, a big smile worn. of course he had to set his contact photo as that. your contact name has your name with a single white heart.

just by seeing it, thinking of you… this warm feeling washes over his freezing shivers that wrack him from anxiety. you melt it away. you make a typo in your message as he’s already exiting his place, meeting you, stepping in your car, greeting you with a gentle but wide hug, kissing your cheek and thumbing the ends of your pretty eyelashes.

so, even if he’s nervous, you were able to do it, and it is about time, after all. he can do it. he holds your hand the entire way.

amazingly enough, the drive draws his anxieties away, your hand in his, and far too distracted by your chatter and the way his legs must bend to fit in your passenger seat. you chat about work or school, or something an online player from his game did that was funny, even jamming out to your shared playlist. but then when you start slowing down, pulling into a street, hitting stop signs, it gets quiet.

“we’re acting like we’re going to the police station…” you point out, sharing a little laugh with your boyfriend, whose eyes are bouncing around as they always do. there’s lots of cars down this specific street. it’s why you have to park just a little ways to your destination, beside the curb, soobin gaping at the environment and litter of cars that definitely signifies there’s a lot of people inside. the growing clamminess in his palms only intensifies.

“soobin, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, baby,” your small flame of reassurance has him turning back to you, a crease between his eyebrows and a pout on his cute lips. you have this effect; the world can start spinning far beyond a speed he can keep up with, but there you go, slowing things down. “what?” his question comes out a lot louder than intended, making you both laugh. “i wanna do this… i’m just nervous is all. that’s normal. i’ll be fine, babe.” you don’t seem satisfied with that, nodding and trying to smile it off. he sighs, deflating into the seat.

“i just… i don’t want to leave a bad impression on your family.” he mumbles, ears growing crimson. you coo and he scoffs a little, fake annoyance at your touched reaction. soobin’s legs are folded, knees pulled up high from his great height, but they also surround a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that sit in a timeless vase he bought. those familiar, luscious gardens are so full, you can even catch a glimpse of their edges and you’re down the street from them. all in all, it’s a very sweet gesture — you paid witness to him tracking down multiple florists and online shopping for a pretty vase.

“that’s how i felt about your family! and look what happened? i’m still alive and it’ll be the same for you!” you wrap your hands around his bicep in an effort to warm him up. your cheek presses on his shoulder. his head angles down and your eyes lock. oh he’s a very weak man when it comes to you.

“that’s not fair!”

“what is?”

he exhales, eyes dropping to your steering wheel.

“no one could hate you. you’re basically perfect!”

and if you’d been an anime character, your nose would’ve for sure bled. it’s silly how he thinks this way of you when he’s got it flipped. he doesn’t even know how special and loved and wonderful he is. to you, at the very least.

after giving soobin a few more moments to prepare, you both unload your car once he feels ready to enter.

he watches with rapture at the way you look around at what he is seeing for the first time. it’s different the way you do it. you look at things with familiarity and this far away look that can’t decide itself between nostalgia or simple history. soobin’s heart thumps something harder because he’s about to see who you came from and how you came to be.

the door opens once you knock and there’s a few kids lingering in the hallway, waving at you, staring a little too long at soobin. you introduce them as your younger cousins, and all hell breaks loose once you tell them it’s your boyfriend. soobin’s eyes grow so big at their loud excited voices, all asking questions about his height, if he loves you, if he has a lot of money, et cetera — all silly questions that feel like practice runs for when it comes to the adults. he allows himself to be shy, to stutter and make mistakes, expecting harsh reactions for doing so but your girl cousins simply coo and call him cute. the boys ask if he plays any games and right when an interesting conversation is about to start, you hear your mom’s voice before she makes her way over to you, grinning ear to ear.

looking down at others physically-wise is not new to him. he’s just been tall since he could remember, shy, too, might he add, so standing out isn’t a new concept. however, now as he meets your mom and slowly the rest of your immediate family bleed into the living room, he feels so exposed and naked, watching from above, like he can’t control his real body. he finds himself particularly scared. what grounds him is the way you hold his hand or link arms with him, turning your head all the way to face him, smiling at him like you’re the only two here. the littlest contact does wonders for him.

all good?

your eyes deliver this message in the shadows. his dimples flex.

all good.

for the first hour or so, it’s just introductions and endless flow of compliments. all your relatives call him cute, handsome, charming, and oh so very tall. he hides his blushes as best he can despite towering over you. everyone’s having dinner by the time you and he arrive, so you just assume your plates and eat at your own little table, talking and fighting the nervous sweats. soobin finds that the new foods he’s trying seem to distract him with how good they taste.

then, it gets a little… soobin doesn’t know how to put it. nor did he think it was his place to have an opinion. well, at least at first. one by one, some cousins and relatives come by to your table to get to know more about soobin. he gets flustered easily, so it was expected that he wouldn’t be able to handle everything perfectly. but, he did, not that he had a choice. you would be speaking for him, but they would cut you off, demanding he answer instead. you’d seemed flustered, apologizing, squeezing his palm and looking at him expectantly.

it became more than that.

soobin might not know the ins and outs of girl talk and well, the inner workings of your family, but he senses the backhandedness of the constant surprise your family members show at seeing you together. they choose their words incisively. his heart aches for you when they do so. your mom even jovially points out your flaws to contrast his strong points he’s only revealed to answer their question.

you just fight it off with an embarrassed grin, gripping onto soobin’s big hand from under the table.

there’s no place to try to even talk about what’s going on. not without any prying eyes following you or him. he has no ill feelings — well, maybe a little — towards your family, but he doesn’t understand why it is the way it is.

it’s getting awfully late, the party definitely running on momentum to carry on past the dead hours of the night, and you know it’s more than ready to begin bidding goodbyes. you rise from your chair, sparing soobin a tight smile, excusing yourself from your parents first before making any moves with soobin.

leaving seems a lost cause when you keep getting pulled aside by a relative or two. right when each conversation is done, your mom is calling you over to the kitchen to take leftovers. as you should.

it’s when he’s briefly alone, a few family members turn to him, simple questions on their tongue. his heart beats so fast and irregularly, but he somehow finds the strength to ask a few questions.

all he gets is one in, and somehow it is enough to answer a lot.

what were you like as a child?

he is met with inconsistencies or things that seem to be the opposite of you. they fumble softball questions, so obviously unaware of your hobbies, your favorite color, your passions, drawing assumptions of your character on the way they treated you as a kid. soobin smiles and nods, internally confirming his previous thoughts, though it makes his stomach ache at the thought of it.

sunshine comes around the corner in the form of you, speeding over with a large tupperware of food, nearly tripping with the bustling kids running around without care. your smile is stretched so big and he knows more than anything that it’s because you can’t wait to get out of there.

instead of excusing yourself individually from everyone with soobin like you’re supposed to, you both just get up and head to the door, waving and giving one big verbal goodbye. soobin holds the tupperware for you in one hand and he has your purse hanging over his shoulder, bowing his head a few times and smiling while you wave and keep saying bye until the door shuts behind you. you deflate with relief once it does that.

the walk to the car is quiet. both of your stomachs are turning with anxiety because you kinda do have to talk about it.

soobin opens the passenger car door, setting the bins down on the seat before closing, turning to face you as you lean on the car next to him. he moves away so, you can lean on where he was standing.

he can’t really let it go. they don’t even know you. maybe you gave them the opportunity to, while you grew up, maybe you didn’t. but, you just now are old enough, their lack of empathy and familiarity a result of their own carelessness. you were just a kid.

soobin turns on his heel to face you. his shoe twists the gravel beneath, dull against the incoherent beats of crickets chirping and cicadas buzzing. the streetlight above attracts a few fluttering moths, dim in its function, enough for fireflies to float around in the air. the world moves around you both, never pausing for either of you to try and catch your breath. literally. it spins on its axis at 1,000 miles per hour.

it is pretty baffling when he thinks about it. the way you do so much for him, calming down his faint heart, and his chest clenches at the annoyed urge that he can’t have the same or a better reciprocation of providing shelter, happiness, and love.

your eyes are still stuck on your dress shoes, head hanging low and back slumped against the passenger door of the car.

“sorry, you had to see all that.” you finally manage, moving upwards to look at him with a humorous smile.

the world moves fast regardless of what happens. soobin doesn’t know why he gets so hung up on the mountains he can’t move.

he blinks down at you, watching the way your curtain of eyelashes reflect a shine from the lamp post near you, fingers twiddling in real time at the speed of your thoughts. you are everything to soobin. he loves you and declares himself the happiest person ever being with you. isn’t that enough?

there’s a lot he knows he can’t do. but one thing is sure, he loves you endlessly.

“don’t be sorry, babe,” he takes another step closer to you, smile widening and at that, your mouth follows his expression. like magic, lighting a flame in his heart and tummy, your hands reach up towards his, and without sparing another moment, he takes them in his hands. you intertwine your fingers, moving your wrists a little, hands playing around.

there’s a part of him, wide and conquering, that has him unsure of what to say, no room to figure out the best thing to open up with or explain what unfolded. you yourself look overwhelmed with this very burden. even if your smiles say otherwise.

he makes a little noise that is somewhere between a gasp and a hum before sealing the proximity. soobin slides next to you against the car and gently rounds his arms over you, pulling you in for a hug that knows no end to comfort. he curls his hand in your hair. his fingers stroke softly through the area closest to your temple and your own hand fists into his clothes. a kiss is pressed to your crown and your eyes sting.

the crickets chirp so loudly around you. the bass of the muffled music booms from the inside, but it doesn’t reach your ears. he kisses again this time with an audible pucker, making you snicker into his bicep. your hand shifts up to drift over it. you wrap up in each other like two snakes on a caduceus.

soobin is so thankful you let him in to your little world, even if it meant you nicked yourself while opening the door to your background. it adds up as to why you’re so resilient and strong, characteristics he could only dream of being able to call himself. he thanks you for allowing him the honor to knowing you, understanding you, and loving you. the people you consider family don’t know you one bit, but he feels lucky because you let him know you. and you are so beautiful. he has to blink aggressively so as to will the stinging tears away.

“do you think your parents liked me?” he murmurs and you snort, angling your head to now face up at him.

“soob,” your tone is in warning, but he knows you’re joking. “you know they loved you.” with that answer, you reach up and stretch to peck the corner of his lips.

“and your family, too?”

“especially my family.” you chuckle, feeling the fabric of his sleeve. soobin holds back a sigh. guilt and a sort of odd tension bubbles in his gut.

“thank you for letting me meet them,” he mumbles against your hair. you hum out a response, but it mainly comes out as an acknowledgment. “now, i know we have tupperwares of food, but what if…?” you can hear his smile.

“what if we go get mcdonald’s and watch a show while we snuggle?” at the last word, soobin brings you closer in his chest, laughing at your muffled yelp and own laughter.

you angle your head to peck a kiss to his wrist, looking up at him and he is already gazing down at you, eyes full of love.

your heart races just a bit at the excitement but also because you know you are due to talk about how you felt during the dinner. the drive home is going to be filled with your favorite songs, you and your boyfriend singing along to the lyrics while the other one talks or comments on tonight. soobin drives this time, ordering and picking up the food, your order memorized. you feed him some ice cream while practically downing your own. once the show is on, food is settled, you and him are wrapped up in blankets. you bring it up on your own accord, talking about how your family made you feel and how you already would rather spend heaps of more time with soobin’s than your own. soobin will stay quiet for a bit, hand rubbing your back in circles until he tears up, making you tear up, leaving you two to have quite a heart to heart. the forecast has already played out, but it doesn’t matter; none of it does since you have soobin and he makes you so happy. so, you pull away, giving him a big smile, which makes him light up like a star, and say,

“i’d want nothing more.”

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　 ੈ✧̣̇˳·˖✶ ✦　　

ending note: if you have any ideas or requests that have actual plots and want to spare me one and do me a favor, please hit me up T_T i feel like i give you guys nothing and i’m so sorry,,, if you made it to the end, thank you 🙏

[fleetingofthegretas]

Slow or fast? Danny Wagner x reader

Preview: Your boyfriend Danny Wagner, the drummer of Greta Van Fleet invites you to the bar with his bandmates but you decline, having to get things done around the house. Your boyfriend returns home drunk as ever & comes home with one thing in mind, one thing that he wants. You. How can you say no to your greek god of a boyfriend? Not to mention what you know will happen when you wake up, some fluff & sweetness with a side of hangover to fill your morning.

MENTIONS OF/ TW: !Drunks3x, fluff, Oral M receiving, teasing

November. Its a calm chilly day in the city of Nashville, Tennessee where you reside with your boyfriend Daniel. You're home alone, despite the company of your old grumpy cat, Greta. Danny gave you Greta as a valentines day gift when you hit 2 years of dating. Seems like it was just yesterday when she became a new edition to your small little family you were slowly building.

A smile creeps upon your lips as you recall the memory of when he brought your sweet kitty home. You were stuck in Traffic so you had shown up after Danny was already home. You walked into your house to see Danny sitting on the couch with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey honey sorry I'm late I totally got caught behind an accident. Just looked like a fender bender so I don't think anyone was hurt. What's up with that smirk on your face? What did you do?"

He erupts with laughter at your remark. "I didn't do anything sweet girl. I did get you a gift though".

He scoops you up in his arms and lays you on your shared bed.

"Oh? Is this the gift?" You ask as you start to undo his belt, looking up at him with big eyes.

Something furry rubs against your back scaring you halfway to death. You immediately drop your hands from his belt to see what the heck is with you in bed, only to see its the elder cat you've been keeping an eye on at the nearby shelter for the past few months.

"Daniel oh my god! When did you get her??"

"Last night before I came home. I had forgotten what you said her name was but I did remember that she was gray and orange. They only had 2 gray & orange cats but the other one was a kitten, so I decided to get the older one instead. Funnily enough her shelter name was Greta, so I felt like it was meant to be."

"Where was she this whole time? & how did you know I wanted the older one instead of the kitten?"

"Well I asked if any of the boys could watch her just while I waited to finally surprise you. Sam of course replied with he hates cats, and Josh just never answered his phone. Jake ended up offering to take her in for the night. I think he secretly loves cats and doesn't want to admit it. As for getting the older cat instead of a kitten, that's because kittens will get adopted faster than the elders, and I had seen that Greta was at the shelter for so long, I figured you and I could give her a new life".

"Oh Daniel you are too kind for this world. I think I want to keep her name as Greta, it seems to fit her and you're right. It is meant to be".

Gray and orange fur rubs against your foot, waking you up from your daydream. You glance at the clock which loudly reads 3pm. 2 more hours till Danny gets home. Luckily you have a lot to do today which keeps your mind occupied. The entire day you've been out and about. At 10 you had brunch with your friends, just catching up and drinking mimosas together. By 12 you were shopping on your own getting things for the house. You had an odd list of things you and Danny needed.

Avocados, Planter pots, Organizing containers, guitar picks, toothpaste, and laundry detergent

You smirk a bit at 'guitar picks' in Danny's messy handwriting, probably written this morning when he was rushing out the door to meet at the studio with the boys.

Danny's guitar picks have been going m.i.a. recently as Greta has found a new love for smacking them off the coffee table and scattering them around the house.

You are so focused on repotting plants & putting your shared record collection into new organizers that you don't even hear the door open. Before you know it, you feel two strong arms wrap around your waist and pick you up off the floor, making you scream.

"Hi babygirl I've missed you, crazy day in the studio" He sets you down to give you a quick kiss.

"I've missed you too! Could've used your help reaching the box of screws in the garage today, I hate using the stool. I'd rather just have a big tall man like you to get it for me" You give your biggest pout you can and look up at him with your big eyes causing him to blush

"Oh I'm so sorry I wasn't there to assist you, my princess."

"I love it when you call me that. What are you up to tonight? Hanging out with the boys or what?"

"Yes, actually. We made plans to try out a bar we've never been to before. I'm super stoked. You can come with if you want"

"That sounds like so much fun but I have to finish getting stuff done around the house tonight. I'm in cleaning mode so I can't stop now. I hope you and the boys have lots of fun though! Send me a text when you're on your way home but I might be asleep depending on how late you'll be."

"Sounds good baby. I love how well you take care of the house. I'm not sure when I'll be home. Maybe 11? 1? I'm not sure. If you get lonely, there's a bottle of Moscato in the fridge & a fluffy friend to cuddle with. Love you my sweet girl."

He gives you a kiss, holding either side of your face with one of his hands.

Before you know it, he's gone again. You don't mind it though, because you have to deal with him being gone for tours and such. God you loved watching him play, and got excited every time the band would come close to home so you could see it in person. Not to mention the after show sex. Danny would always wait for you backstage super sweaty, pumping with adrenaline. You loved when you got to see that side of him. He was always super confident and aggressive, which you don't get to see too often with your mellow & kind-hearted boyfriend.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You just changed into pajamas, the red satin set Danny got you for your birthday this past year. You sit by the fireplace, incense freshly burnt, book out, cat on your lap, with a cold glass of wine in hand. You think about your rockstar boyfriend and how truly amazing your life is.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Glass breaking. You jolt upwards, finding you have fallen asleep on the couch, right where you were before.

What the hell was that?

"Hello? Danny?" you yell out into the darkness

no response. You walk further in the dark, met with a light from the kitchen. Danny is stood over the sink trying to clean up a broken glass he had toppled over.

"What the hell Danny? What time is it?"

"Please don't be mad baby. It's 3 am"

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? I heard the glass break."

You walk over to him and start turning his hands over. Front and back. Left. Front and back. Right. You look up at his face with concern. Not a single cut. You look back up at him and meet his eyes. He has been watching you the entire time. Examining him with deep worry just for nothing to be wrong.

"I'm fine, my princess. I just had stumbled a bit and the cup fell over. Not even a scratch on me, I promise."

You stand on your tip toes to wrap your arms around his neck, the type of hug you always give him after he causes you to lose your shit. This time being that you thought there was an intruder in your house. You sigh heavily into the nape of his neck and then release. You give him a small smile and walk to your bedroom, his drunk ass following lazily, and a little zig-zagged. You wonder how much he's had to drink if he's having this much of a hard time. After all he drinks with the Kiszka's all the time so he has built up his tolerance.

You yelp after feeling your boyfriends hand slap your ass and give him a glare. Danny is simply grinning ear to ear, eyes squinted. You finally approach your bed. All of a sudden you're in the air, then you're not.

You look up, out of breath, to see Danny standing above you with a look in his eye. "Have you been good for Daddy while I've been gone?"

What the fuck. WHAT THE FUCKKKKK????

You stare at him with your mouth open, completely in shock of what he just said to you. You can't help but admit to yourself that this turns you on and you're already becoming a waterpark in your panties. You gather yourself enough to respond after realizing he's waiting for you to answer.

"Yes sir"

"Good girl. Go into the bathroom. I'll be here. When you come out I don't want you wearing anything but those pink panties of yours."

"Yes Danny"

He gets off of you so you can stand up. You look at him and can tell he knows you like this. Which you do, its pretty obvious based on how you're holding up. You do as you're told and walk straight into the bathroom without looking back. You take off your top first. You then take off your silk shorts and take a glance at yourself in the gold mirror in the corner of the bathroom. You feel a rush of nervousness run over your body. To see Danny look at you in this sense. It is your first time having him be so dominant. Sure you've done stuff close to this in the past- but never this level. But god its hot. You take a deep breath as you fix your hair and open the door. You gasp at the sight before you. Danny is sitting on the corner of the bed closest to you, laid back with his elbows propping him up, completely undressed with his hardness laid out before you.

You don't realize what you're doing until he points it out.

"Close your mouth Darling. Come close, I don't bite- unless you want me to of course. Come take your seat."

You understand exactly what you're supposed to do in that moment. You make 3 swift movements, now almost straddling him save for a few inches. You hover your center above his length, until he locks eyes with you. You make direct eye contact as you slowly sit down and grind against him. He lets out a breathy sigh

"Fuck baby. But that's not what I planned."

He rolls you flat onto your back so now you've switched spots. He hovers his hand over the spot you want him to touch you at but never makes contact.

"Do you want me to touch you baby? Say it"

"I do"

"Beg"

He crosses his arms and looks upwards, waiting for you.

"Jesus fuck danny please just touch me"

"Yes my princess"

He starts rubbing you in circles, making you release stiff breaths from beneath him. He suddenly moves your underwear to the side, slipping two fingers deep within you. You start panting from the feeling building inside you. He's going so fast you feel like you will erupt. He pulls his fingers out and completely stops.

"Danny what the hell?!?" You start getting frustrated with him. You jump at him trying to get him to come back down on you. He instead pushes you off gently without saying a word. He grabs the hairtie off your wrist and puts your hair up for you. You know you now have to pay the favor back to him. He tilts your head back to face him to show you his dark eyes, suddenly darker. He doesn't even have to say anything. You move to the edge of the bed and take him in your mouth. Deep. You swirl your tounge around his tip and use your hands, twisting them as you pump him off. He knows how much you enjoy doing this for him. You continue pumping him while sticking your tounge out. You look up at him but all you're met with is his adam's apple. He has his head thrown back, feeling into every movement you give to him. This only makes you go faster, as more motivation of what its doing to him. Your rockstar boyfriend. He starts to twitch from within your mouth.

You stop. Just like he did from you, teasing, taking the release that he needed. He looks at you angrily and frustrated. "Y/N, now you're gonna get it." Your face displays a wicked smile because you know exactly what you're doing and you disobeyed him. He pushes you backwards and immediately is in you. Kissing you. hands propped on either side of your head. His balls are slapping against you every second. You've never had a fast fuck, let alone a frustrated one. Your eyes roll back into your head due to the intense feeling he is giving you.

"Fuck you feel so good baby. You're so wet"

"Danny- f-f-uck" You mutter as he puts his one hand on your throat and slams into you even harder. He keeps going, but eventually slows down. You have no idea where this comes from, but you somehow flip him and are now riding him. Making out, both giving each other the same look, the same look of need. You need him and he needs you. You start to feel yourself giving in so you slow down. He feels this too- He grabs you to hold you in place and starts thrusting in to you from below. You cry out to him "Fuck!" and a tear falls down your face from all the emotions of ecstasy you're feeling all at once. Danny finishes inside you simultaneously.

You ride him slowly, giving him soft kisses before dismounting him and falling into bed beside him.

He goes to the bathroom to return in boxers & holding a washcloth. He cleans you up and puts a new pair of underwear on you, while planting a kiss to your forehead. You slowly fall asleep knowing you're in his comfort.

"Goodnight, my princess" You hear him say softly as you go in and out of sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Light. There's light in your eyes as you squint and stretch yourself awake. 10 am, the clock reads. You roll over to see dark curls, the curls that you adore so much. You smile widely at the thought of last night. You look around your room only to see Greta sitting on the floor, glaring at you. Poor kitty normally sleeps in your bed. You giggle to yourself at the thought of Greta being "punished" because her parents were busy making love.

You turn to give danny a kiss on the cheek as a good morning attempt. You brush your hand over him, to find out that he had discarded his boxers sometime in the nighttime and had morning wood.

"Why goodmorning my sweet boy" You say while running your left hand over his happy trail, right arm propping your head up. He stretches out, putting his arms out to pull you in closer to him.

"Good morning baby girl. I hope I wasn't too much for you last night. I had a lot to drink at the bar."

"Oh baby you're never too much for me, and you won't ever be, even if you make me call you daddy"

"I did what"

You both start laughing together, which ends in a tired make out session interrupted by yawning and something poking you in the leg, which turns your face red.

"Danny?"

"Yes baby?"

"You can do anything you want to me and I will still love you. I don't think I will ever stop adoring you"

He replies with a big smile, as you then kiss that big smile of his, and line him up with you. He smirks at the touch and goes in. You both release a breath, facing each other in bed. Slow, soft, and lovingly. This type won't ever beat anything, not even post concert sex. It is the most loving thing to experience and you know Danny feels the same way.

So there you are, looking at each other completely glazed over with love while he's inside of you, making love lazily to you.

The end!! <3

NOTE from the author: None of these pics are my own and I do not claim them. All found from Pinterest. This is my first fic/ smut I've ever wrote so I hope at least one person out there likes it.

[speakeasyaoi]

Mitzi May x F!Reader

> Requested by anonymous | Mitzi makes me question my sexuality sometimes I won't even lie- I love her. She needs more recognition. She's wife material

PROMPT: N/A

After the fallout of her marriage with Atlas, Mitzi is a little desperate to find some way to fill that hole he left in her heart. Though she tries to cling on to the fleeting memory of her ex-husband to the best of her ability, finding someone new to take his place is a necessity for her to eventually move on, a necessity which you end up fulfilling. By the time you meet her, and even when you start a relationship with her, she's still rather attached to her previous marriage, in both big and small ways, but over time she'll gradually grow more open to her new relationship and start to move on from her previous ones.

And on that note, Atlas's recent passing makes her take steps in her relationship with you much slower than she would in other situations. As much as she yearns to be close to you, it's a long while before she's able to shake off all that lingering guilt that comes with finding someone new in her life.

Mitzi feels the need to be a bit secretive about the fact that she's dating another woman--her business is already in shambles as it is, rumors and gossip about Lackadaisy's newfound owner being a sapphist* will only make her financial situation worse--but despite that, she's more than willing to be with you out in public in ways that aren't as blatantly romantic. She keeps you on her arm like a piece of eye candy, taking you out to the shops or to brunch or just walking around St. Louis and seeing the sights. Once she's warmed up to you, you're practically inseparable.

She loves dancing with you. She's more keen on more tender dances, like slow dancing, but in all honesty she's more interested in the intimacy of it then she is in following any silly rules or steps. She thinks it's rather endearing if you're a bit clumsy or not well versed in dancing, and guides you through it to the best of her ability.

In private, she's significantly more flirty and romantic than she'd be in the presence of a crowd, practically smothering you. She finds it entertaining to come up behind you and wrap her arms around your waist, kissing along your neck without warning to watch your reaction and leaving a trail of lipstick stains along your skin.

Despite it being a rather unintelligent business decision, she likes to treat you to the Lackadaisy bar on the house. ("On the house" being on Wick's tab. Not that he'd notice.) Her ideal date is something along the lines of spending a night alone with you and a bottle of fine alcohol, and once that's said and done, you're probably going to have to nurse her through her hangover in the coming morning. ...On the bright side, it only serves to make her even more infatuated with you.

After a long, tiring day at work, Mitzi likes to unwind by setting you down in her lap as she brushes and/or braids out your hair. It's a quiet ritual for her to just take a bit of a break every once in a while. She also enjoys doing your makeup for you and dolling you up in the morning.

Mitzi is a very praising partner by nature, and while words aren't her main love language, she's more than generous when it comes to petnames and compliments. She'll frequently call you 'sweetheart', 'dear', or 'honey', likely paired with a chaste kiss on your cheek or jawline.

She cherishes every little gift and bit of your attention you give her, and holds it very close to her heart. If you give her a peice of jewelery, she wears it practically daily (think of Atlas's pearl necklace), and if it's something else, say a practical item or article of clothing, she makes sure to use it at every opportunity she can. While she loves to be spoiled, smaller, more personal things warm her heart.

Other notes: *Sapphist in this case is historically accurate terminology for a women who likes other women- sapphic, queer or bisexual would be a more modern term of the same meaning. Or maybe it isn't that historically accurate. I don't really know

[scottstreetbell]

Harry's "best friend" is the best boyfriend in the entire world.

Y/n loved her boyfriend more than she loved most things. He called her all sorts of beautiful things, would give her beautiful gifts for no good reason, and most importantly, he loves her and doesn't let her forget it. Amongst their friend group, they are the perfect match. Never apart. Never not talking to each other. Completely connected. It's been like this for the past year, and she loved it.

It took a while to get used to the constant flow of compliments, but she soon learned to bask in them. She still blushes and giggles at them because she still got butterflies whenever he showered her with love.

Harry hated it.

He hated how his best friend asked out the girl he had a crush on for the last year of uni, the one he befriended first. He hated how happy she seemed under his arm. He hates everything about them.

But

He still likes her. He loves whenever he is lucky enough to catch her alone. He loves catching her eye in a crowded room. The thing he loves most is when she smiles at him. He would give up a lot of things to just see that smile more often. It's not like she doesn't smile. In fact, she is smiling almost constantly, but it never quite meets the eye.

It's another one of the friend groups' weekly brunches where Harry overhears a conversation that piques his interest.

"We need to talk, and I think we should leave." The once warm voice of Y/n sounds upset and shakey it makes Harry feel uneasy.

"Let's just talk here. If we leave, people will think something is wrong." Dean's voice is stern and unmoving.

"Fine." Harry has never seen her this upset. "I know that you're cheating on me. I just need to know what I did wrong." To add salt into the wound, she reaches out for his hand, and he pulls back.

"Y/n, I'm not talking about this here." This is what made the tear fall from her big eyes. Harry just wishes he could reach out and wipe them away.

Taking a shakey breath, "You treat me as if I hung the sun, so I don't know what I did." A small sob is let out. "I love you so much. You mean everything to me. I'll fix whatever is wrong with me, just please don't leave me for her." Y/n's begging and pleading is a bit louder than she intended.

"You need to leave. I'll tell everyone you have a family emergency that you need to tend to by yourself. Go home and pack your shit because I'm done." Never in Harry's life has he ever wanted to physically hurt someone until this moment.

"No, you're not doing this to me. You can't be." She's in complete disbelief. "You said you were going to marry me!" Y/n semi shouted. Everything is falling apart in front of her. The man she so deeply loved destroyed her with so little words that he deserved a prize.

He built up her confidence with his sweet nothings. He overfilled her with love and words of affirmation. He made her feel seen. Then he took it all away with an affair.

They talked about marriage and kids and a future where they would have a porch swing and watch their grandkids run around. He said he was looking at rings.

They were supposed to be together till the end, but now...

Her mind is racing. Was she not pretty anymore? Was she ignoring him? Was she just simply not enough for him?

As she is stuck in her mind, she doesn't realize Dean has completely left her.

She's slowly losing the ability to breathe, and she can't feel the ground beneath her feet. Harry watches it all, and he can't bear it anymore.

"Y/n, I'm so sorry, but we need to take deep breaths." He holds her shaking hands gently.

"I'm not enough for him anymore, Harry, I'm not enough." She sobs into his chest. He's now holding up half her body weight, and he cradles her head.

"He doesn't deserve you. How about we leave through the back door and we can go back to my place and change out of these uncomfortable clothes and watch some movies?" Harry whispers gently to her as her tears stain his shirt.

Although something he would never admit, his heart broke for her. Not because he was upset that the pair was officially broken up, but because of how much pain she is in from it. He knows how difficult this is all going to be on her, especially since her and Dean lived together.

For now, he just wants to be there as a best friend. He'll help her get back on her feet. He'll be the best person possible if it means she will be smiling and not crying.

She simply nods at his suggestion and whispers a small "please" that makes him frown at how meek she is.

"Ready to go?" Another nod follows, and they are on their way out, leaving the weekly brunch.

[weixuldo]

Enigma// ch 13

anakin x reader

a/n: sorry for the wait!!! i started a summer job and i’ve been hellllllaaaa busy lol- dw tho, im still writing!!

You have a relaxing dinner with Ahsoka until the end of the year approaches

warnings: cursing, cannon disabled character, insecurity, mention of periods, possible pregnancy mention,

_______________________________

More time passed and you prepped for finals; luckily this year you were able to exempt most of your sit in exams and instead only had one big project and a 20 page thesis due. 

You had been feeling nauseous for the past few days but the 20 page paper’s deadline was looming over you, so it was probably the stress from that. You also hadn’t had much time to eat, so you could also just be hungry. 

You ignored the feeling and went back to typing.

The paper was almost done, only two more pages then you were free for the weekend.. Just two more.

Ring Ring

Ahsoka was calling, you finished the sentence you were on before picking up the phone.

“Hey”

Hey hey! Are you busy tonight?

“I should be free after one more page of this thing”

Damn! Congrats! You've been at that shit since mid terms! I think that deserves celebration!

You laughed, hopefully she wasn’t proposing a party because you weren't quite feeling up to that.

“What do you have in mind?”

I dunno… wanna  just grab take out and eat it by the koi pond? I kinda just want a chill night before I have to start practice for nationals. 

“That sounds wonderful”

Cool! I'll see you at 6:30?

“Sounds good to me!”

Oki bye bye!

The end of the line clicked as she hung up and a small smile settled onto your face; even though you hadn’t known Ahsoka that long, the two of you just clicked and were almost always on the same wavelength.

Some of you wanted to tell her about Anakin, but you just felt like at this point it would add drama to the already stressful end of the year. 

You were seen as the baby of the friend group, so you wouldn’t know how they would feel if you and Anakin officially confirmed the relationship…Also Ahsoka could be a little dramatic at times and you were afraid she would become too involved and make jokes or treat you and Ani differently.

And you had known Anakin long enough to know that those small changes would piss him off and he might accidentally take it out on the relationship.

You got back to your computer when you got a really bad cramp in your abdomen. 

Oh fuck, you hadn’t gotten your period on its normal week so apparently its deciding to come now…great, something else to add to your delightful week.

You finally finished your paper and let out a long groan as you stretched your back. You grabbed your keys and headed down to meet Ahsoka outside the dorms. Once the two of you met up and got your food, you walked to the koi pond on the northern side of campus. 

The sun was setting and the sky was a mixture of beautiful oranges and pinks; you took a seat on the iron bench that overlooked the gardens surrounding the koi pond. 

“This is so nice, I needed to chill,” Ahsoka said, breaking apart the cheap wooden chopsticks that came with her bento box. 

“Yea, I feel ya” you said opening the box of lo mein you ordered. 

“Ya know, I cant believe i’m gonna be graduating in just a few weeks… Like what the actual fuck, I swear I was just a freshman like two weeks ago” Ahsoka baffled as she watched the fish swim laps around the pond. 

“Oh yea, I wanted to get a brunch with all of us next sunday before I have to go to nationals, would you be able to come?” she added.

“Yes! I’d love to” you responded, before remembering that would be one of the last times you would see her before her graduation. 

“I’m going to miss you so much Ahsoka” you said sadly, “Will you keep in touch?”

“Does a fish need water? Of course y/n!” she smiled; “you’re my best girl friend; sure sky guy and Ben are nice, but they're not another girl. And I like Satine alot, but she's older and in a totally different place in life than us, ya know?” 

“Yea, I’m glad we met too” you smiled. 

You conversed over random topics and future plans-

“Do you think you’ll party a lot next year?” she asked you

“Hmm, I don’t think so” 

“Why not? Don’t you wanna find a partner or atleast a hook-up?” She asked, biting down on her last California roll.

“I’m actually pretty content, I think most of my party phase was exhausted freshman and sophomore year” 

“Yea, I get it, I really only kept going out cause the team likes to go to the big parties. Kinda changing topics though, are you interested in anyone this year?”

You froze for a split second before bringing the noodles to your mouth, “Not really, I mean I’ve been seeing this guy off campus, but I wanna keep it on the dl and so does he” you responded (you didn’t have the heart to completely lie to her).

“Ooo, is he cute? How old is he? What's his name? Does he have socials? I gotta make sure he’s good enough for my girl”

“Hah, that's a lot. Umm, I think he's cute, he doesn’t use social media much, and he’s just a bit older” (yeah right, more like twice your age).

“Ok….what's his name?” she asked again, a devious grin on her face.

You smiled and looked away, “Ahsoka, I love you, but I can't tell you, I promised him we’d keep it under wraps… He’s a very private person” 

“Do I know him?” she definitely was gonna guess it if she kept at the questions.

You took all the power you could to construct a final lie, “no, I met him on a dating app”.

“Oh, never mind I guess, I’m happy for you!”

Phew.

You were not practiced in lying.

“Thanks, I really like him… I think I may be in love…I’ve never felt this way before” you smiled. 

“That’s amazing, y/n. Will I meet him some day?”

“Of course” 

The rest of dinner was pleasant, until your stomach started hurting again.

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing, I think I'm just gonna get my period soon” you said.

“Wait, shouldn’t you have gotten it like two weeks ago?”

Huh?

“Yea, remember, we’re kind of synced, You’ve been starting yours half way through my cycle since like September”

“Oh, I think it's just late from the stress”

“Hopefully so” she laughed, “Wouldn’t want that mystery man to have knocked you up”. 

She was joking, but something in you became worried… it had been a long time since your last period… and you and Anakin had been pretty busy…but wait

Anakin couldn’t have kids. 

The doctors said so.

But what if…

You shook the thoughts from your head and asked Ahsoka if she would come with you to the drug store to pick up some tums for the stomach ache.

She went off to go look at the shampoo because she needed some more and you sneaked off to grab a pregnancy test.

While you were in line you decided to update your boyfriend on the night’s conversation

“Hey babe, just fyi Ahsoka was asking about who i was seeing so i lied and said a guy from tinder, just wanted to lyk”

In no time your phone buzzed

Alright, thanks for covering, have a good night princess.

“Goodnight my love”

___________________________________

The week went by and you only had the project to finish. Most of your academic stress was subsided, but your personal stress grew by the day.

You hadn't opened the pregnancy test you got last week… you couldn’t bring yourself to.

or

Maybe it was because you hadn't had time…

oh who were you kidding? 

You were scared. 

But if you were pregnant, you should probably find out soon. Right?

Right.

You went into the bathroom and locked the door.

This was it.

The moment of truth.

***

a/n: so this ch was more of a filler to get to the next few chapters…. the plot is thickening and i hope your interest stays!! ty again for reading :)

taglist: : @dnamht @sxoulohvn @angeelcoree @wtf-andys @httpeachesblog @katsukiswrld @jetiikote @poisonedsultana

[bamboobrat]

succession s4 e5 recap: swedish elon and his logan roy tribute band

time is a flat circle and we are back to ken hyping himself listening to rap, driving to the office.

anyone feeling nostalgic yet?

he is immediately caught off guard by the fact that roman and shiv are already there.

also he seems like the worst boss ever.

i really don't like ken when he is not hitting rock bottom.

(there is a movie about a sleeping robot in a cave that takes up too much time in this episode. let's not get into all that)

the old guard checks up on the CE-bros before their trip to norway.

matchy matchy&lt;3

turns out mattson wants them all there (why wouldn't he?) so THE GANG IS GOING TO NORWAY! lets bleed the swede!*

*as a norwegian, i approve this message

mortality has set into team krank, as they put on compression socks before the flight.

krank is not here to have fun. krank has no young mistress to impress. krank is serious.

shiv has noticed ken's leaks to the media from last week because she is boss. it's the comeback we've been waiting for.

but most importantly, she is waging a very important war against tom and his stupid new sneakers:

the sibs say they can kill tom for her. that's brotherly love.

hugo is not having a good time.

i am tho.

gerri rallies the troops by shitting on europeans.

yes mommy tell me i'm weak because i have free healthcare! sit on my face

gerri for CEO. always.

they accurately depict what it is like driving in norway:

(this is why i don't have my licence)

the gang arrives in the motherland and it's beautiful, but rainy (so authentic) and are all like WHY THESE WOOD CABINS SO SMALL?!

ironic because jeremy lives in fucking denmark.

anyway, whatever this is:

I DO NOT APPROVE!

the trip up to mount olympus is interrupted by con saying he can send a picture of their dead dad to the group chat.

nobody wants to see it.

also, marcia is putting logan in a kilt like the fucking bay city rollers and con had to cancel a room full of working class whites in cleveland. the sacrifice.

they give con carte blanche for the whole funeral thing, which is probably a terrible decision.

the funeral is going to be one big campaign rally, i'm serious.

the others have to settle for a nice lil scandi brunch spread. what a hard life.

i don't say this often, but i would be hugo in this scenario, piling onto my plate like it's nobody's business.

karolina has a cute lesbian moment.

she says something in swedish at some point, but let me tell you, i understand swedish and i didn't even pick up on it. no shade to dag, but lol.

hugo doesn't understand how ski jumping works.

i thank the writers for putting this joke in there, even if literally no one other than random scandi people will get it.

it's like the opposite of danny boyle's the beach<3 give back to the community<3

roman enters negotiations and puts his fingers in the caviar.

you think i didn't notice? after all this time, you must know i notice everything.

the CE-bros make the village elders proud, as mattson offers 187 per share as long as he gets ATN.

also, gerri does a second take looking back at roman. these are the crumbs i am destined to live on, i guess. roman doesn't want to give up ATN tho, probably because 1) his dad wanted ATN 2) his dad told him he wouldn't make it at pierce and belongs at ATN 3) he is, somehow, the most rational of the siblings right now????

speaking of rational: how are we feeling about the shiv/mattson potential here? i honestly have zero objections.

shiv is like fuck yeah, sell ATN, that shit is toxic.

agreed, but who gave mencken an open line to ATN-meetings? sounds like something logan told cyd to do during one of those late night calls.

"even dad had a line" rings true zero percent. pass.

get rid of atn. word is, they don't even have tucker carlson anymore? just keep a sweater, much less racist.

we get some important leo dicap representation:

and greg is the bringer of all that is exposition, telling us there is a kill list with 8 to 9 names, ever evolving.

now, as most readers of these recaps would know, i would like to avoid spending any time on greg whatsoever (made even more poignant by the recent rumors about nick), however, this must be one of the best exchanges of dialogue ever made:

greg: da fam shiv: da fuck

that's all.

tom tells the swedes that americans don't care about the rest of the world and it's funny because it's true.

and alex being like "you're ALL related?!"

i see you, succession writers, i see you.

mattson calls waystar a parts shop and has a good take on right wing media:

"i dont think news for angry, old men works"

instead, he opts for bloomberg grey: simple, cheap, huge, ikea'd to fuck. i do love ikea.

he calls the sibs a tribute band which is harsh. even for a scandi, it's fucking harsh.

anyway, SAUNA! SAUNA! SAUNA!

GERRI. IN. SAUNA! (chant with me)

i will never forget what the succession writers took from me.

krank out here just chilling.

i've never shipped anyone more.

we are introduced to ebba. i can tell i'd have more to say on this in any other situation, but it just feels weird (all norwegian know each other, i guess).

anyone else here for the shiv/mattson dynamic?

i'm sorry, i kind of ship it????

ken wants to tank the deal and roman immediately calls him out on his destructive bullshit:

and then immediately caves.

"i think we are good at running the ship" they say after doing it for approximately 24 hours.

i wish i had their confidence.

also, pinky can't dance, according to ken, so they keep shiv out. meanwhile, she gets cozy with lukas, who asks her about her marriage (bad) and tells her he sends liters of blood to ebba (also bad).

shiv shows us why she is paid the big bucks for political advice:

we don't see the end of their night, so i'm just going to assume they fucked. because she's worth it.

also, talking up gerri and karolina? girlies stick together<3

big bi vibes here. huge. idc if she's pregnant and drinking.

meanwhile, the CE-bros use greg to leak that the negotiations are souring. why would you trust greg with anything?

in an attempt to fuck the deal, the CE-bros show a terrible film to the swedish team, as if being scandi doesn't mean you've sat through enough terrible cinema already....

we get the strangest fight in tv history:

lol @ us for thinking this was an important moment for the two of them and then it's a fight about white sneakers and fat earlobes.

i sure hope shiv fucked lukas.

roman receives a photo of his dead dad and it doesn't really put him in the right place to negotiate with mattson:

ouch.

leave it to kieran to make an emmy-worthy speech across from alex skarsgaard peeing.

the plan was: tank the deal, but in a subtle way. what they did: try and tank the deal, but in a not very subtle way. did the deal tank: no.

i hope you understand.

the question is, if a deal collapses in the woods and no one hears it, is it a SEC violation?

mattson ends up offering 192 per share. karl jizzes his pants.

shiv gives the little spelunker tom a lil treat, telling him to fire cyd.

then she asks him out?

and ignores him again because she is taking a call from mattson?

idk my dudes, but i'm into this shiv comeback.

mattson seems happy and flirty and i sure as shit hope this goes somewhere.

as long as it doesn't involve liters of frozen blood.

i have a feeling it will be all good vibes until he learns about her pregnancy. there's always something rotten in the state of denmark (or norway, or sweden, but it's all the same).

the waystar-team receives the kill list after the offer and it's very stressful for a few people who made themselves suffer through a session in the sauna:

not on the kill list: karolina gerri tom because shiv fucking did the thing!!

oh, and karl and frank are on the kill list, but i think they are just fine.

maybe the real treasure was the compression socks we made along the way.

[tiddiewitch]

Second Chances - Ch. 2 pt. 1

Description: Agathrio AU / Wagatha

Warnings: Drinking, religious trauma, 18+ at the end

Wordcount: ~7,500 (two separate posts)

Notes: Posting chapter 1 made me excited to edit and post chapter 2. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: pt.1

Agatha lay there in her queen sized bed cradled in a cocoon of comforters and pillows. Dawn was just beginning to glow on the horizon as she felt a soft thud at the end of her bed followed by the tiny approaching footsteps of Mr. Scratchy, her cat. She peered down and wiggled her fingers inviting him to come and settle on her chest. His little, pointed feet pressed down on her as he made biscuits before settling in with a nice hum of a purr. As she began to scratch him in his favorite spots the tight anxious knot in her chest began to melt away. He always knew when she was beginning to spiral and would come and comfort her. He also knew she happened to be awake which meant he would be fed soon; sooner if he could make himself a nuisance. 

She took a deep breath and stretched her arms out of the covers with a groan. 

“Fine mister, breakfast is on its way.” she told him as she sat up and flung the covers to the side. She slid on a pair of sweats and headed to the kitchen. She prepared his food and started brewing herself a cup of coffee. Though she wished she could sleep longer she did love this time in the morning. Everything was quiet, the world was just waking up and she could feel a sense of peace. She sat with the warm mug facing the floor to ceiling windows of her living room. From here she could look out across the city below her and see it slowly start to wake up with her. 

By 9:30 Ralph had woken and joined her in the living room. 

“I didn’t expect to see you until noon - what time did you end up getting in last night?”

“Ugh, I ended up with a 2 hour delay so I didn’t get here until almost one. But today is a big day! I wasn’t going to sleep it away! Have you eaten yet?”

“No, not at all. Just starting to get hungry.”

“Perfect! Go get dressed, we're going out to brunch. I think I might die if I don’t have a mimosa in my hand within the hour.”

“Give me 20 mins and we can go.”

They headed out to a local brunch spot. As they went inside a familiar face greeted them.

“Happy Birthday, Agatha!” Jen squealed as she rushed to give her a hug. 

“Don’t remind me.” Agatha grumbled as she begrudgingly let Jen hug her.

“Oh, girl, I thought you were over that. We’ve had a blast these last few years.”

“Good to hear, I don’t remember the last few birthdays thanks to you two. I cannot handle the hangover this year. I am officially too old.”

“So what’s the plan for today?” asked Ralph

“Well I’d like to go to the bookstore, I have a sweater to return, and I have to have dinner with my mother at 6.” Jen and Ralph simultaneously gasped. 

“You’re kidding!” Said Ralph “You’re seeing her on your birthday? Do you need some backup?”

“No, I’ll be fine. She says she has something for me. Can’t imagine what it could be so I agreed to meet her. I also didn’t realize she meant today when she asked but I’d rather just get it over with than fight her about it.”

“You are better than me, I can’t stand that woman.” Jen shuttered. 

“At least I have an excuse to leave by 7. Are we still picking you up on the way to the bar?”

“No, I'll have to meet you there. I have a last minute staffing meeting for next week.” Jen said. “But here, I did want to give you your gift now” She handed Agatha a small gift bag. She pulled out 3 items and slowly unwrapped them. The first one was an amber and musk scented fragrance oil that smelled intoxicating, a set of lip sticks, and a vibrator. 

“Jen, wtf?!”

“It has been 7 years Agatha, you need to get back out there and get laid. I do not know how you’ve managed this long.”

“Who's to say it’s been 7 years, I could have had a few one night stands here and there”

“But you haven't, right?”Jen said with a smirk. 

“Oh don’t be so self-satisfied. I’m doing just fine in that department.” Jen and Ralph exchanged looks. 

“Enough about me, what have you been up to, Jen?” 

“Well I’m supposed to go out of town next week but we’re two nurses down during busy season hence the impending meeting.”

“How do babies have a busy season?” Ralph asked

“This time of year we’re getting all the New Years and Valentines babies. Very busy and very unpredictable. Next week we could see anywhere from 10-40 babies born.”

“Horrifying! I can barely imagine even one child.” Ralph said pointedly, eyeing Agatha.

“What about you Ralph? Have you met anyone lately?” Agatha said.

“Ugh, not to say it’s dismal, but this last contract left much to be desired. Too much drama, even for me, which is saying something!” They continued to delve into Ralph’s sordid details as they finished brunch. They all parted ways and Agatha wandered to the nearby bookstore. 

She loved the shops on mainstreet. All the buildings were over 100 years old which made her feel as if she was stepping back in time. She loved to imagine another life she may have lived generations ago, popping into the bakery and butcher shops to do her weekly shopping with a basket. She came upon her favorite shop at the end of the block. It was on the corner made of brick with large display windows. Old scripted letters were etched into the glass displaying the name, Literary Curiosities. As she pushed the wooden door open a bell chimed above her. The smell as she entered the bookshop brought her warmth and calmness. As she made her way through the shop the floor creaked beneath her feet. She took her time browsing the new arrivals, and staff pics. Eventually she made her way up the narrow wooden staircase in the back. 

In the far corner of the small second floor was their selection of poetry. She had many, if not, most all of the few books they had, but would often check to see the new additions. Nothing on the shelves caught her eye this time and she began to make her way back down the stairs. As she turned into the doorway she collided with another person coming up the stairs. The person reached out to grab her as they nearly slipped off the top step. She shrieked as she quickly grabbed the frame of the doorway and prevented both of them from tumbling down the stairs. As her heart was still racing from the adrenaline she caught the woman’s eye, then her heart skipped a beat. A mix of chocolate, amber and honey, they were warm and inviting on the surface but had a burning intensity that made her stomach flutter. The only thing that outshone their splendor was her radiating smile. Agatha took a step back and the woman’s hands fell from around her shoulders. She tried to speak and found herself breathless and stuttering. 

“Sorry, that was completely my bad, I was going too fast up those stairs. I didn’t see you coming at all. You OK?”

Further caught off guard by the woman’s ease and concern she felt panic rising in her chest. Embarrassed and feeling insecure she spat back at her, “You should watch where you’re going. Someone is going to get hurt.” She pushed past the woman, stumbling into her one last time as she rushed back down the stairs. 

She had made it a block before she realized she was practically running. She stopped suddenly leaning against a building taking deep breaths. What the fuck had just happened? Why had she turned into a bumbling idiot? She closed her eyes, trying to crush the memory and the feelings. It was just an awkward encounter with a stranger that she will never see again. It didn’t mean anything. But the woman’s face kept coming to mind. Those eyes, that silky dark hair, and she smelled… like fresh rain and earth with a hint of incense and honey. She opened her eyes and shook her head letting out a frustrated sigh. She took a deep breath and began to walk back to her car, telling herself she wouldn’t remember this in the morning. 

She quickly ran and returned the sweater and then rushed home to get ready for dinner with her mother. Her mother; a woman she definitely needed time to mentally prepare for. Evanora was a brilliant and ruthless woman. Co-Founder of the New Horizons Baptist Church, Evanora judged Agatha through the eyes of a wrathful God. Agatha was required to excel academically, maintain a rigorous extracurricular schedule, as well as manage the home chores and church youth community. Her only saving grace at the time was Violet. They had grown up as practically sisters, her family being among the first congregation. They were close and would share their hopes and fears. As they entered high school they were nearly inseparable, and the likely choice to lead the summer youth church camping expedition. 

The 3 night backpacking adventure was a test of their survival skills and intended to bring them closer to God in their suffering. 12 in total they were paired off with limited supplies and each other. They led the pack through mountainous trails, stopping each night to make camp. On the last night as everyone else trailed off to bed she and Violet sat around the fire, telling each other stories and gossiping about the church elders. As the night thickened and the air got cooler they moved closer, sharing each other's warmth. Eventually she found Violet’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, their heads leaning against one another as they stared up at the stars. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever known or loved anyone as I have loved you.” She remembered Violet whispering into her ear. Agatha stared into her emerald green eyes as they flickered in the firelight. Their faces inching closer with every breath. Before she realized it she had closed the distance between them, her lips now pressing against Violet’s. They stayed connected for a moment until they heard the snap of a branch behind them. 

“What are you doing?” came the panicked voice of another camper. The girls quickly separated creating a large distance between them. 

“Nothing” muttered Violet. Agatha was too stunned to speak. 

“You two are heathens, wait until the elders hear about this.” 

“Please…please don’t tell my mother.” Begged Agatha

“And now you’re tempting me to lie? I’ve always known you were wicked. I will not let your immorality corrupt me. Prepare to face the consequences of your actions.” 

From that moment on she never said another word to Violet. Upon their return Agatha planned to talk with her mother but she never got that chance. The other girl had immediately cornered Evanora and the pastor who were now glaring at both the girls. Evanora stormed over and grabbed Agatha by the arm pulling her away toward the car. As soon as both the doors were shut Evanora began her tirade. 

“I should have known from the very beginning. You and that girl were always entirely too close. I’ve sensed this wickedness in you from the beginning and I prayed that God would have taken you at birth rather than have you cursed as such. I don’t know what I’ve done to have angered him so to give me you as a daughter. The shame you have brought upon me, upon yourself, and upon this church. I cannot allow you to return until these maladies are driven from your spirit.”

“Mother, what are you saying?” Agatha cried out as tears began to form

“You are going away.”

“Where? For how long?”

“I’m sending you to a camp that specializes in eradicating this wickedness. When you’ve completed the program you will finish out your schooling at Massachusetts Reformatory for Girls.”

“Boarding School? You mean I won’t graduate with my friends?”

“My dear, you’ll be lucky to graduate at all! If you think my expectations have been unreasonable, this convent will surpass your wildest expectations.”

Agatha managed to survive her final years in the most oppressive boarding school at the top of her class. She applied on her own to New Jersey State, intentionally selecting a state school as she knew this would anger her mother the most. From there she was entirely on her own, free to finally explore herself and her sexuality. When she eventually met and married Wanda, Evanora declared the daughter she had was dead, declining to ever meet the woman, which was for the best. Agatha had done all she could to write the woman off and this gave them a clear break. Eventually Evanora got word of Wanda’s disappearance and sent Agatha a congratulatory card claiming God was giving her a second chance to redeem herself, now was the time to come back to the church. This, Agatha ignored, throwing the card out immediately. On and off since, Agatha would get congregants visiting her door, offering to take her to church. If they were lucky she would ignore them. If not, they would get the brunt of the anger and resentment she still held for her mother.

Then, a month ago, she got a text message from an unknown number:

Agatha, this is your mother. I need to see you, I have something for you. This is important, do not ignore me. 

Her mother didn’t text. She didn’t realize she even had a phone, let alone Agatha’s number, but she wasn’t surprised. Evanora had always kept tabs on Agatha’s life somehow. She didn’t respond. A week later she received another text.

Agatha, are you seeing this message? It is important that we get together soon. Call me at this number. 

Again, Agatha ignored the message. She had nothing to say to her mother and nothing she could think of that her mother would offer her. Then finally a week ago she got a voice message. 

“Agatha, this is your mother. I now know this is the correct number! I need to see you dear, it’s about your grandfather, he’s left something for you and I know you’ll regret it if you ignore this. Call me back when you get this.” She stood in her kitchen stunned. She hadn’t heard her mother’s voice in nearly a decade. She hadn’t known her grandfather had passed or when, though given his age she wasn’t surprised. They had always shared a special connection as he was the only person who showed her any true form of love and kindness. If it was truly on her grandfather’s behalf that was different and she owed it to herself to see this out. 

It still took her two days before she shakily redialed her mother’s number, a glass of wine in hand. 

Ring…ring…ri “Hello, Dear! I’m surprised I’m finally hearing from you. How have you been?”

“What do you have for me?”

“Ah straight to the point, I see. Well, you know your grandfather passed and he’s left me a few items to give to you and some documents to oversee. I’d love to meet on Friday to go over everything. I’ve made reservations at 6 for us at La Fete de Nuit. You still live in Westview, dear?”

“Yes, mother.” She sighed “Fine I’ll see you at 6” She hung up the phone then chugged the glass of wine. Better to get this over with than draw out what was likely to be a disastrous encounter. Only when Ralph was confirming birthday plans the next morning did she realize she agreed to meet with her mother on her birthday. 

As she was getting ready the day of, did she realize she wasn’t going to be changing after dinner before the drag show and would just have to wear her birthday outfit to dinner. She had picked out a lavender cowl neck dress with spaghetti straps that flowed down just above her knees. The top was fitted but draped around her chest. She wore a silver charm around her neck that featured the 3 graces and dark plum strappy heels. Her hair was long, down around her waist, and tousled in beachy waves. She finished her makeup off with a dark plum lipstick from Jen’s gift. She opened the amber oil and took a whiff, it was sweet and musky with a hint of spice. Definitely something she wouldn’t have picked out on her own but as she put it on, realized it really suited her. 

She looked at the clock, 5:45, shit she was going to be late. She quickly grabbed her long navy trench coat and her purse and headed out the door. She drove in silence as she armoured herself for the stress she was about to undergo. She pulled into the parking lot and as she turned off the engine took a deep breath. 

In and out, rip it off like a bandaid. She told herself. It’ll be over before you know it. She swung her car door open and headed inside. She walked up to the host stand, “2 under Harkness I believe?” She glanced around the restaurant checking to see if she could catch sight of her mother before Evanora found her. As she caught sight of her mother at a far table she could hear the hostess say,

“I have a Harkness for 4 right this way.” 4? Who else would she have dragged to this dinner. She regretted ever agreeing to this, it was obviously some sort of trap. For what, she wasn’t entirely sure yet, and to use her grandfather’s death as a ploy to see her?! She could feel the fury building inside her as they approached the table. She could now see a man and another woman sitting with her mother. 

“And here she is my dear daughter, Agatha, so good to see you dear!” Her mother rose from the table reaching out to surround her in a limp embrace. What the fuck was happening? She expected her mother to behave as if they were on good terms, but now with the others in attendance she could tell this was going to be a show. She looked at the woman who appeared to be around the same age as her mother. Her grey hair pulled back in a severe french twist, her lips pursed in a crude half smile. The man seemed to be younger, closer to her age. He was in a navy suit with a red tie and had the face of a man who bought crypto and drove a cybertruck. 

“Mother, who are these people?” She muttered through a cringed smile. 

“This, dear, is Christian and his dear mother Janice. Christian has been helping us sort through your grandfather’s affairs. Sit down dear we were just about to order.” Christian, because of course his name was Christian, stood up and pulled the seat out for her. She strained every muscle in her face not to roll her eyes at the gesture and instead shared a half smile. She hadn’t looked at the menu but knew she didn’t need to, her mother had a terrible habit of ordering on her behalf. It didn’t matter though, she was planning to eat and debrief with Ralph afterward. 

“So Agatha, your mother tells us you now work with the symphony?” Janice inquired, trying to strike up conversation.

“Yes and no. I support their marketing team and am a donor engagement coordinator for Music Hall. I manage a lot of independent events and fundraisers.”

“Oh that sounds exciting. And they pay you to do that?” Janice followed up. Agatha, once again restraining the rage inside her, checked her watch. 6:10. Honestly a record for how quickly dinner with her mother could derail.

“Yes ma’am. I have a whole salary with benefits and everything.” She said with as much sincerity as she could muster. 

“Oh, that must make it difficult to find a man and settle down. I’ve heard you’ve not had good luck in that department.” Wow the sheer audacity of this woman. But somehow, knowing Evanora, this wasn’t entirely a surprise. This is what she had dragged her into. She reached for a wine glass that wasn’t there, of course there was no wine. She, instead, grabbed the glass of water and took a few gulps. 

“Oh, I’ve had my ups and downs there. MOTHER, you mentioned items from grandad? Can you tell me about that now please?” Desperately trying to move the conversation in any other direction. 

“Oh yes dear, your grandfather, rest his soul, has recognized you in his will.” She gestured at Christian to take over the details. 

“Your grandfather has left you the estate in Boston, including all items found within.” She sat frozen, staring questioningly at her mother. 

“Why me? Why not you?”

“If I could only ask your grandfather that very question! In his infinite wisdom he left everything to you.”

“I don’t know that I even want that!” She exclaimed

“Don’t be so insolent!” She snapped “You should be grateful!” She glared at her mother before turning to Christian.

“What happens if I don’t accept?” 

“He has instructed all items, including the house, to go to auction should you be unable or unwilling to inherit.” 

“So you get nothing either way.” She directed to Evanora. She could see the anger and resentment filling her mother’s face.

“Despite the care I provided that man throughout his life he has tossed me aside in favor of you. However undeserving, and ungrateful you may be.” Glaring at her mother she began to rise from the table, deciding it better to walk away than encourage this behavior further. 

“Agatha, sit!” Her mother commanded. As a reflex she returned to her seat silently. “Whether you accept the property or not we cannot finalize your grandfather’s estate without executing these documents and since you are still living you are required for that.” Christian opened a manilla folder he had brought, handing over a series of documents to Agatha. 

“I don’t have time to read through all of this tonight and I’m not signing anything I haven’t fully read.”

“You are more than welcome to take them with you; however, you should be aware there is a 30 day window from receiving these documents in which the parties must accept or decline and sign, otherwise you automatically forfeit any rights to the inheritance. My, uh, my phone number is on the front when you’re ready to return everything, give me a call.” Christian said with a wink. Agatha swallowed to keep herself from vomiting. 

“Is that all?” Agatha questioned her mother 

“Well dear, it has been quite some time since we’ve seen each other, thought you might like to catch up.”

“You seem to be all caught up on my life already. Besides, I’ve made plans that I can’t be late for.”

“You’ve made other arrangements? Tonight after agreeing to meet with me?”

“Mother, I’ve had these plans long before I agreed to meet with you. In fact, I adjusted my original plans to accommodate this given your texting and calling. I have the documents and I will have my lawyer reach out to Christian. Again, I hope you all have a lovely evening, goodnight” and with that she snatched her things from the table and left. 

https://www.tumblr.com/tiddiewitch/776932231310639104/second-chances-ch-2-pt-2?source=share (pt.2)

[rallis-fatalis]

One Grand Adventure

As a newly fledged member of the Champions' Guild, Rallis is excited and ready to tackle a whole league of new adventures. What starts as nothing more than a simple task and teatime with a friend quickly turns into a deadly scandal that is all but guaranteed to spiral into something worse in the future. Join Rallis on my retelling of a classic quest and a personal favorite: The Grand Tree.

Life was always nice when it ended up taking Rallis to Elena’s neck of the woods.

After the brutal task of slaying Elvarg, Rallis started off with some rather tame job assignments from the Champions’ Guild, with the latest being a simple task to help the Ardougne Zoo procure some new animals and find their missing wrangler. The zoo was one ferret and zookeeper richer, and Rallis had gathered a pile of giant eagle feathers for her own personal use. And to top it off, she and Elena had time to meet up for brunch and tea the next day. Truly it was the perfect outcome to a fun adventure.

“So, where to next, adventurer?” Elena teased over tea. She and the dragon were seated at a small outdoor table by Elena’s place, overlooking the river that flowed through Ardougne.

“Back to Varrock, I guess. But I don’t want to leave yet! I like it over here.” Rallis munched a scone in a single bite. “There’s so much to see on this side of White Wolf! I feel like I’ve barely explored it at all!”

“There is a lot to see,” Elena agreed. “Gosh, I wish I was as adventurous as you sometimes.”

“You’re plenty adventurous! Otherwise I wouldn’t have had to break you out of a mourner prison!”

“I suppose that’s true,” Elena giggled. “But I mean more in the like of exploring the world and taking on wild tasks in other kingdoms. Perhaps one day…”

“Well, I bet you know a lot about this area,” Rallis said. “Tell me; where do you think I should go next around here?”

Elena thought for a moment. “Have you been to Baxtorian Falls yet? It’s a beautiful place and makes for a great picnic site.”

“Oh yeah! I went swimming too but the water is a little too dangerous for me to try it again. It was super pretty though!”

“Hmm… Well, you went to Eagle’s Peak, but did you stop by the gnomish lands? I bet you would really like it. Very foresty.”

“Is that the place with the super big tree? Like the size of a whole castle? Because I saw that on top of the mountain peak yesterday!”

“That’s the one,” Elena said. “I’ve visited a couple times to exchange medicinal practices. It’s a wonderful place for nature lovers, and most gnomes are surprisingly open to human visitation.”

“Hopefully they wouldn’t mind a dragon visitor,” Rallis prayed.

“Honestly, they’ve probably never seen a dragon before. You might be welcomed and then some, like a celebrity,” Elena laughed.

“I’m gonna go then!” Rallis cheered. “This is gonna be fun!”

_____________________________________________________________________________

Rallis greatly underestimated just how big the gnomes’ home was. She had seen a gnome only a couple times and was startled at the fact that they were barely half her own size, so she expected the entrance to their home to be perhaps not too large.

Oh was she mistaken.

A set of double-door gates loomed before Rallis, the entrance to the gnomes’ home which she now knew was called the Gnome Stronghold, and ‘stronghold’ was indeed the correct word. Natural defenses of earth and tree and river and cliff protected the stronghold on every side, but if that wasn’t enough, enchanted wooden and rope barriers circled the perimeter of their land. It didn’t matter if you could hop over or crawl under or what have you; strong magic held back any intruders that didn’t fly in.

‘No wonder these guys don’t care about human visitors,’ Rallis thought. ‘They’re more protected than a king in his castle!’

At the gates to the stronghold, Rallis looked around for a way inside. There didn’t seem to be a handle on the doors and she couldn’t push them open. A gnome in leather ranged gear with a bright red pointed hat came up to the dragon, one hand on a sheathed bow and the other sassily on her hip.

“Can I help you with something?” the gnome questioned, eyeing the dragon suspiciously.

“Hello!” Rallis waved cheerfully. “I was hoping to visit! I’ve heard so many cool things about this stronghold and seen all the big trees from a distance and really want to look around. Is that okay?”

“Just a look around, huh? Fine, but tell me what you’re from first. We’ve had humans, elves, dwarves, and more come from their kingdoms, but you…” She motioned to Rallis’ general being. “What should I report you as, visitor?”

“Ever heard of a dragon before?” Rallis said cheekily.

“No, actually. I’ll report you to our king. Name, please?”

“Rallis!”

The gnome made a mental note of it and let the dragon inside. She hurried off toward the farthest end of the stronghold, mumbling ‘Rallis the dragon’ under her breath so she wouldn’t forget. Rallis was surprised the woman left her alone. It seemed gnomes were much more relaxed than humans when it came to strange entities entering their home. Perhaps she would make some friends while she was here!

The inside of the stronghold was beyond enchanting. It was like walking into a magical forest where every tree in the world grew. Great oaks and maples spiraled into treehouses where the gnomes made their abodes. Willows dotted the riverbanks, while yews and shimmering magics provided shade like a rainforest canopy. Flowers of every color of the rainbow carpeted the grass, and birds like Rallis had never seen flitted through the sprawling branches overhead. She looked in awe with the largest grin on her face as she slowly made her way around the stronghold.

The gnomes she walked by took note of her presence, but unlike humans who would immediately show hatred or fear, the gnomes were curious. They whispered and pointed, but Rallis could tell it wasn’t mean-spirited. Some even walked right up to her to ask what she was, to which she happily informed them, and they in turn taught her some things about gnomes. It was heartwarming and rather exciting to have found a people that saw past her scaly exterior to reach a polite and academic understanding.

At the western end of the stronghold was a raising area for giant flightless birds called terrorbirds, battle-ready avians gnomes sometimes rode to battle, and Rallis immediately fell in love with them. Within minutes, Rallis had a baby sitting in her lap while the parents nuzzled and licked her, making the birdkeepers laugh and smile. And of course when Rallis saw the giant tortoises next, she couldn’t help but nuzzle them and feed them some leafy treats. After scratching one giant tortoise on its chin, Rallis had decided: this place was a slice of heaven on earth.

On everyone’s recommendation, Rallis headed toward the largest tree in the stronghold, very aptly named the Grand Tree. The tree stood larger than a castle and housed whole stores, bars, homes, and even the gnome king’s own palace! It was a must see destination.

As Rallis neared the tree, the sun grew dimmer and the sound of chatter more plentiful. Up above her for what seemed like an endless height were branches that reached out and wove together to make bridges and platforms and stairs, all alive and growing. Gnomes scurried about, shopping for clothes or eating out at a restaurant or performing their jobs. It was fascinatingly breathtaking.

Unfortunately in her awe, Rallis had not been looking at where she was going and stumbled right into a gnome, landing them both flat on their rumps. The dragon jumped up quickly.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking.” 

She held her hand out to help the fallen gnome. He was absolutely furious, grumbling and gritting his teeth. His attire was far different from the bright and cheery clothing the other gnomes wore; a dark gray top with army green pants and a metal helmet that masked part of his face. A wicked black dagger, or she supposed sword in the gnome’s case, was strapped on his belt.

He swatted her hand aside and stood on his own, mumbling something about not needing help. He took a moment to process just what he had bumped into, gaze of fury turning into more one of confusion and disgust.

“What are you supposed to be?” he spat.

“I’m Rallis, a blue dragon. Sorry for bumping into you, but it’s nice to meet you anyway!”

The gnome did not share the sentiment, spitting to the grass in disgust. He shoved the dragon aside and muttered to himself as he made his way to the tortoises Rallis had been petting earlier. The dragon pouted.

‘Well, I guess not everyone would be happy to meet a stranger. Oh well, his loss!’

And thus she continued onward to the base of the giant tree.

To say the trunk of the tree was huge would be an understatement. Rallis nearly cramped her neck trying to look up from the trunk to the rest of the tree above. It would take nearly forty men holding hands to encircle the tree, maybe more. She placed a hand on the bark, ears shooting up in surprise as faint magic flowed from the bark to her fingertips.

‘I guess it would make sense that this thing is magical. There’s no way it could grow this big all by itself.’

Two doors carved into the trunk opened into a very regal-looking room. It seemed as if the gnome king called this area home during his work hours, though Rallis didn’t see him presently. Stairs carved out of the tree led to the upper levels, and Rallis’ first inclination was to scramble all the way to the top. She smiled and giggled as she climbed as fast as she could, surpassing storey after storey, until finally the steps stopped. At its peak, the tree had a flat platform that looked out over the Gnome Stronghold and all the surrounding lands. Rallis could see the mountains to the south, Eagle’s Peak to the west, Baxtorian Falls to the east, and the open ocean to the north. If she squinted, she could even make out part of Ardougne.

“Wow,” she whispered. “What a wonderful view.”

“T’ain’t so wonderful when yeh’ve been stuck up here fer a whole week!”

Rallis spun around to see a human man in rather ratty gray clothing locked away in a small cage very obviously not meant for his species. A pair of other empty cages connected to his, like a miniature jail cell, one to intimidate those scared of heights.

“What the–?! Why do they have a human locked up here?!”

“I’d like ta know the same thing!” the man shouted indignantly.

“Well what did you do?” Rallis questioned.

“Nothin’!” he shouted. “I was jus’ payin’ a visit, tryna get some good booze ‘cuz boy do these gnomes know how ta drink, and boom! Arrested! Somethin’ or other about tryna kill a tree. I ain’t no lumberjack so I dunno what they’re on about!”

“Huh. That’s weird,” Rallis had to admit. “Let me see if I can talk to someone about this.”

“Oh I’d be forever in yer debt if yeh help me out! Thank yeh, eh, what’s yer name?”

“It’s Rallis.”

“I’ll be sure ta remember it! Mine’s Charlie.”

“I’ll hopefully be back in a bit then, Charlie.”

Just as quickly as she scrambled up, Rallis scrambled down. She plopped back into the king’s chamber, but still no one was there. She guessed she would have to ask around. 

Going one level up into the tree led her to a bar. Many gnomes were drinking merrily, telling stories and having a laugh. The first gnome she found, one donning robes similar to a human wizard’s, was drinking a sickly sweet smelling drink alongside a fluffy white creature unlike anything Rallis had ever seen, like a six-legged spider with the head of a rabbit. He was having a rather loquacious one-sided conversation with the creature, who was staring blankly at the gnome.

“Um, excuse me sir,” Rallis said as she tapped his shoulder. “Could you help me with something please?”

As the gnome turned around, he spat out the sip of drink he still had in his mouth, alcohol spurting out of his nose as equally as his mouth. The white creature recoiled and hid under the table. Rallis reached to offer the gnome a napkin, to which he grabbed her clawed hand.

“Great Guthix below, you’re a dragon!” he shouted. “A talking dragon! In the Gnome Stronghold!” He glanced at the drink at his table. “My goodness, Blurberry, what are you putting in your drinks nowadays!”

Rallis grabbed some napkins with her other hand and gave them to the stunned gnome. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m looking for your king. Do you know where he is?”

“Oh sure, sure, I can lead you! I’m Brimstail, the Gnome Stronghold’s resident mage. It is a wonder to meet you!” He vigorously shook her hand, nearly wrenching her arm out of its socket.

Rallis carefully grabbed his hand to force him to let go. “I’m Rallis. Thank you very much for your help.”

The gnome hopped from his seat and pulled Rallis along. “Come, Izzie!” he called back to the fluffy creature hiding under the table. “Go find Narnode!”

The creature’s two fluffy ears perked up, twitching around as if looking for something, and jolted as they locked on. The creature scuttled toward the tree stairs and skittered down the steps to the bottom floor. Brimstail dragged the dragon along back to the royal room at the tree’s base. The creature, Izzie, was stood behind a regal throne, scratching at a trapdoor that led into the earth.

“Good girl, Izzie,” the gnome said and gave the creature a pat. “King Narnode appears to be in a meeting right now and can not be disturbed. We shall have to wait here for him.”

Rallis frowned. There was nothing for it. “Oh well. Thank you for the help though.” She plopped down on the ground and leaned against the wooden wall. To her surprise, Brimstail also sat down beside her, a childish grin on his face.

“So~! What brings a dragon to our neck of the woods?” he asked.

“Just exploring,” Rallis shrugged. “And now getting into another adventure it seems.”

“Fascinating. Are there other adventuring dragons?”

“Not that I know of,” Rallis said.

“Then you are truly one of a kind! What an extraordinary meeting!”

“You know,” Rallis started. “Most people aren’t this excited to meet a monster like me.”

“Monster?!” Brimstail gasped. “Nonsense! I’ll find a human to be more of a monster any day. I’ve been fascinated by magic-wielding creatures ever since I was a child and dragons are at the top of that list! You are a mage, I assume?”

“Sure am,” Rallis confirmed. She pulled out a fire rune from one of her pouches and cracked into a flame she tossed around and played with in her hands. Brimstail could hardly hide his squeal of delight at the display, weirding the dragon out a bit.

“You’ll have to excuse my enthusiasm,” he coughed. “Magic is a lost art to us gnomes. I’m really the only one left in the entire stronghold. Witnessing someone else of such caliber perform a spell right in front of me is a treat.”

“Maybe we can share some spells some time then!” Rallis smiled. “I always love learning more about magic.”

Brimstail’s eyes sparkled with joy, but before he could gush much more, the trapdoor behind the throne swung open. Out came a pair of gnomes, one similar to the rogues one might find in Burthorpe with his shadowy clothing and black face mask, and another very obviously the king with his regal robes and golden crown and scepter. The two whispered something and the rogue hurried outside. The king sighed and took a heavy seat in his throne, only noticing his two guests at the last moment.

“Goodness me, visitors,” he said. “I hope you have not been waiting long, Brimstail.”

“No, not at all, Your Majesty! It is not actually I that wishes to speak with you anyhow, but our visitor. May I present Rallis the dragon, an adventurer-mage from beyond the stronghold!”

“Quite the introduction there,” the king chuckled. Rallis rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. “My name is King Narnode Shareen and I am king of the Gnome Stronghold. What business do you have with me today, Rallis the dragon?”

She gave an awkward bow, still unsure of how to act around royalty. “Hi, um, thank you. Sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering why you had a human locked up in your tree.”

The king went slightly red in the face. “That dastardly man! He is an attempted murderer! We kindly allowed him into our home and he planned to destroy our beautiful Grand Tree. He is awaiting further interrogation.”

“One human tried to cut down this big old tree?” Rallis questioned. “How did he think he was gonna do that?!”

“It was no axe he attempted to use,” the king clarified. “But I shall not reveal details to an outsider. Suffice to say that man is being held here for a very valid reason. There is no need for you to investigate. We have our own on the case.”

“If you say so,” Rallis shrugged. “I told him I’d figure out what’s going on too. Is it okay if I look into this myself as well?”

“Hmm… I suppose it can cause no harm,” Narnode nodded. “But I would like a gnome to accompany you, just in case you might say something you shouldn’t.”

“I volunteer!” Brimstail piped up eagerly. “That way we can continue our chat!”

“Thank you, Brimstail,” the king smiled. “Do come see me if anything comes up. Now I do have work to do so if you’ll excuse me.” He reached for a small stack of papers on a nearby table and quickly grew lost in their words with a thoughtful frown. Rallis silently motioned for Brimstail to follow her up to the top of the tree.

“Oi! Dragon! Any news?”

Charlie was eagerly leaning against the bars of his cage. Brimstail crossed his arms with a scowl and a huff at the man.

“Not great news,” Rallis said. “But I’m on the case! The king thinks you were definitely trying to kill this tree. Why does he think that?”

“I don’ know!” he shouted. “One sec I’m drinkin’ at the bar, an’ the next I’m gettin’ arrested!”

“But why?” Rallis asked.

“I didn’ understand it all, but when they searched me, they found some weird rock in my pocket. They got real upset over it.”

“A daconia rock,” Brimstail clarified. “They’re used to kill the grand tree in case it grows out of control.”

“Yeah, that thing!” Charlie said. “But I don’ know where it came from! Maybe I got a li’l too sloshed and someone snuck it on me. They found it in my jacket pocket and I had it thrown over the chair while I was drinkin’.”

“Certainly sounds like it could’ve been snuck in,” Rallis thought. “What do you think?” she asked Brimstail.

“Well, I think no gnome would dare harm the Grand Tree in its current state, so he had to be the culprit. But I also will say that I’ve never heard of humans having daconia rocks. They’re not exactly used by anyone other than gnomes.”

Rallis frowned in thought. “This is confusing. Someone who doesn’t want to kill the tree and shouldn’t be able to get the rocks that can kill it somehow had them. Maybe we need to think about this differently. Why would anyone want to kill the tree? Does something good happen if they do?”

“‘Good?!’” Brimstail spat. “Certainly not! The tree is our main defense against the outside world! It provides us with the enchanted barrier that keeps unwanted guests out.”

“Well, do you have any enemies?” Rallis asked.

“The goblin tribes, but they aren’t exactly the brightest of species. They have not been a threat for some years.”

“What about them people fightin’ yeh guys near Ardougne?” Charlie spoke up.

Brimstail barked a short mocking laugh. “Khazard’s men? They would be fools to attempt an attack on us. Are you saying you’re one of them?”

“O’ course not!” the man defended. “I’m jus’ sayin’ maybe there’s some other person that’s tryna attack you guys. Someone other than me.”

“Could be someone was about to get caught and slipped the rocks into the nearest place they could find,” Rallis guessed. “Can we find out who else came into the stronghold the day Charlie was arrested?”

“Actually, I think we can,” Brimstail said. “We would just need to ask the head tree guardian, Glough. He keeps note of every visitor to pass through our gates.”

“Then we’ve found our next lead!” Rallis cheered. “Where is he?”

Brimstail turned to the fluffy white creature Rallis forgot for a moment was there. “Izzie, go find Glough!”

The creature fluffed up and ran down the stairs. Brimstail chased after his pet while Rallis waved goodbye to Charlie. “Hopefully we’ll be back with some information soon!” she shouted as she followed the gnome down.

The creature led them to a series of trees just southeast of the Grand Tree that spiraled into the shape of a living space. Izzie stopped at the base of the carved stairs leading to the entrance of the abode. 

“Oh good, he must be home,” Brimstail said. “Let’s go up.”

The gnome slipped through the hole above the stairs and into the house. Rallis felt like she shouldn’t follow, like she was just barging into a stranger’s house. But she supposed if Brimstail thought it was okay…

The dragon poked her head into the house and timidly looked around. It was rather small, though she supposed gnomes didn’t particularly need much living space. The ceiling was made of the branches and leaves growing from the treetop and the walls enchanted living wood and bark. Everything was carved of wood, from the cabinets to the chairs to the kitchen table, and some of it was still alive with little sprouts popping out between cracks.

“Just because my door is open does not mean you have the right to barge into my house, Brimstail,” a gruff voice said. “I’m tired of you making this a habit.”

“Well then you really should hang a do not disturb sign or something! Or just close the door!”

“Or just stop coming in!”

Rallis slithered into the room, making herself as small as possible so she wouldn’t accidentally break something or knock anything over. At a little table across the way, Brimstail was pestering a rather angry-looking gnome, one Rallis had seen before. He was the one she had bumped into earlier. Hopefully he wasn’t still upset with her.

At the sight of the dragon, the gnome froze. It was as if the mask over his face melded into his expression, making his scowl even more menacing. Rallis smiled awkwardly and waved hello.

“Rallis! This is the high tree guardian, Glough,” Brimstail beamed, ignorant of the other gnome’s glare of death. “Glough, this is Rallis, an adventuring dragon who’s here to help us solve a very despicable crime!”

Glough pushed away his bowl of half-eaten salad, appetite gone. “An outsider should not be interfering with gnomish business. And I do not want one in my home.”

Rallis flinched at the virulence in his voice. Everyone else in the stronghold seemed so kind and cheerful. Why was this gnome so full of venom and spite?

“Oh don’t act like that,” Brimstail dismissed. “Rallis is quite helpful. She has even volunteered to help us figure out who tried to harm the Grand Tree.”

Glough snorted. “That’s already been solved. It was that stupid human that’s currently imprisoned.”

“Ah, but we might have found a new lead!” Brimstail said excitedly. “Tell him, Rallis.”

“Um, yes, I, or we, think he might have been framed. We wanted to ask you if you saw anyone else enter the stronghold the day he was arrested.”

“Of course I did,” Glough scoffed. “I know everyone who enters and leaves.” He marched over to a shelf that held a collection of well-used books and took the closest one down. He flipped it open with precision to a page dated some days ago. He slammed a finger down to an entry: ‘Charlie Tobias - Human Outsider.’

“As you can see, he was the only human to set foot inside the stronghold within the last week. Once he was found with suspicious items on his person, the stronghold went into lockdown and no humans were permitted entry for three days until all suspicious items were accounted for, and no humans have entered since the lockdown was lifted.” He slammed the book shut and filed it back on the shelf. “An open and shut case.”

“Where did Charlie get the daconia rocks then?” Rallis asked.

Glough bristled. “Who told you about those?” He could see Brimstail smile guiltily. “You fool, you should know better than to speak about those in front of an outsider! Now I have another possible security breach to worry about!”

“Oh, psh,” Brimstail dismissed. “I doubt someone who volunteered to help us solve a crime would try to commit the exact same one.”

Rallis nodded. “Yeah! Besides, I could never hurt such a big beautiful tree!”

Glough glared at the dragon like he didn’t believe a word she said. “Whatever, I don’t have time for this. The human did it, likely to lower our defenses so his kind can invade. I’ll be sure to learn more after an interrogation.” His hand went to rest at the hilt of the wicked dagger hooked to his belt. “Stay away from him from now on. You’ll only be interfering with my work. Now leave. I have things to do.”

He shooed them out and slammed the trapdoor-like entrance behind them, this time making sure he locked it. Rallis huffed and leaned against a tree. “Well he’s pleasant.”

“You’ll have to excuse him,” Brimstail said. “Glough has never taken to outsiders the way everyone else has, and he has a rather well known hatred toward humanity. It’s honestly part of what makes him so good at his job.” The mage sighed. “A shame we didn’t learn anything new though.”

“Actually we did,” Rallis asserted. “If he’s good at his job, then you trust that book of his is correct, right?”

“Oh most certainly,” Brimstail nodded. “Glough has never made a mistake. He keeps very good track of security threats.”

“Then we can make one conclusion. Whoever put those rocks into Charlie’s pocket was already in the stronghold when it happened. Which means it’s probably a gnome that’s the criminal.”

“Impossible!” Brimstail shouted. “No gnome in their right mind would commit such an atrocity!”

“That’s why it’s so perfect,” Rallis insisted. “None of you would suspect your own. But as an outsider, I have no reason not to. Tell me, have any gnomes been missing for a few days? Maybe since the incident happened or around that time?”

“Sorry, but I couldn’t tell you. I’m usually holed up in my den tinkering the day away. The one who could tell you best just kicked us out of his home.”

Rallis grimaced. “Yeah, I’d really rather not bug him again. Anyone else?”

“When in doubt, see the king?” Brimstail suggested.

“Wow, you guys go to him often, huh? The king I’ve met gets fed up any time he’s bothered and won’t let most people even see him.”

“Well that’s rude! The point of a king is to hear and help his people!”

“Right?! That’s what I thought! You know, I think the humans can learn a few things from you all.”

The two chatted until they reached the king’s throne room once more. Thankfully, he had a moment to spare for them, so they informed him of their findings and asked if anyone had made themselves scarce or gone missing lately.

“Actually, now that you mention it,” Narnode said. He pulled some papers out of a locked drawer and flicked through them. “Yes, here we are. Three days ago, Caranock left the stronghold and has yet to return. Normally that would not be cause for alarm, but given the situation…”

Rallis and Brimstail gave each other a look. Could this be their next lead?

“The cause for alarm may be more justified than you think, Your Majesty,” a new voice said.

Poking out of the trapdoor behind the throne was a gnome, face completely obscured by a black mask. Rallis recognized him as the roguish-looking gnome the king was speaking with earlier.

“Daero,” Narnode greeted. “How much have you heard?”

“Everything and more,” the gnome said as he properly entered the room. “Glough isn’t the only one with eyes and ears trained on the going-ons of the stronghold,” he directed to Rallis. “I’m apprised of the situation.”

“Then your input will be greatly appreciated,” said the king. “What is it you meant?”

“Like Glough, I too aid in the security of our stronghold,” Daero clarified for Rallis. “Only, what I do is much more behind the scenes. Caranock is one of my officers, a type of spy if you will. And while it is the norm for him to leave for days or even weeks on end, this leave of absence was not cleared by me first.”

“That is suspicious,” Rallis nodded.

“Indeed, and even more so due to a different incident.” Daero glanced at the king. “The ‘situation’ with the hangar we spoke of earlier? I have found proof it was Caranock’s doing. It appears as though he is attempting to flee the scene of the crime.”

King Narnode gasped. “One of our own, attempting to commit such a horrendous act?! This is an outrage! He must be caught and brought to justice!”

“I agree,” Daero nodded. Noticing Rallis and Brimstail looking rather lost, he clarified. “A secondary incident occurred only a couple days after the human’s imprisonment, one that is not to be discussed with the public. Although I can not provide you with details, it is guaranteed to be directly tied to the incident with the daconia rocks.”

“And if this Caranock is responsible for one issue…” Rallis said.

“Then he must be responsible for both!” Brimstail declared.

Daero nodded. “That is what I believe anyway. And the fool left behind a trace of where he fled to. It won’t be long until he’s caught.”

“Where did he go?” Rallis asked.

“Karamja. That makes me nervous for a slew of other reasons I hope are unrelated. Finding someone to make the trip all the way down there will be a struggle.”

“I’ll go,” Rallis volunteered. “I’m way too invested in this already. I just have to know how this ends, so I can go for you!”

Daero eyed the dragon, slightly bobbing his head back and forth as if mulling something over. “Perhaps… How much do you weigh?”

“Excuse me?!” the dragon sputtered.

“Our gliders don’t take kindly to weight over 150 pounds,” the gnome explained. “That would be the fastest way from here to Karamja.”

“Well I definitely don’t weigh that much!” she asserted. “What’s a glider?”

“Oh, they’re great fun,” Brimstail smiled. “They’re like a set of wings that ride the wind and let you get to destinations far across the world in the blink of an eye!”

Rallis’ eyes sparkled and her tail began to wag. This glider must be like the replica she saw in the Varrock museum! Were they really saying she was going to fly to Karamja?! “Yes, yes! I want to fly! Please let me go!”

Even the king had to hide a laugh at the dragon’s enthusiasm. “I’ll be! Never thought I’d see a foreigner so eager to meddle in a stranger’s affairs! And I mean that in the most positive way. If you would take on this task, I would be very thankful.”

“Of course!” Rallis cheered. “Helping people is what I do! Now where’s that glider thing? I wanna get going!”

“It is at the top of the Grand–.”

Before Daero could finish his sentence, Rallis zoomed out of the room and up the stairs to the canopy. Brimstail chased after her, a ‘wait for me’ lost to the wind. Daero took his time and made his way up in a much more civilized manner.

By the time Brimstail reached the top of the tree for what felt like the hundredth time today, he was rather breathless. This was much more exercise than a wizard should ever receive in his opinion! Rallis was excitedly updating Charlie with the news, and the man found himself growing hopeful he would be freed soon.

Daero appeared beside them moments later, offering to stand guard by Charlie in case Glough showed up for ‘interrogation,’ as he overheard. By his side was someone new, a gnome dressed in thick brown leather lined with fluffy layers of wool. A pair of goggles hid his eyes and a short windswept scarf trailed behind him.

“This is Captain Errdo,” Daero introduced. “He’s the head pilot for our stronghold. He will be flying you to Karamja.”

“Nice to meet you,” the pilot greeted. “Ready to get this show on the road?”

“Yes, sir!” Rallis cheered.

“Perfect. I’ll show you how to get hooked into the glider then.”

“Ah, just a moment!” Brimstail said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a seed pod half the size of his fist. “Take this,” he said and handed the seed to Rallis. “This is a seed pod from this tree, and it’s quite magical. If you crush it, you will be teleported back to right where you stand instantaneously.”

“Mm, good thinking,” the captain nodded. “You can nab Caranock and toss him in a cell in a snap.”

Rallis gently took the pod and carefully placed it into one of her pouches.

“Alright, let’s get you hooked up then,” Errdo said. He led the dragon over to a platform that rose above the canopy where a glider sat fastened to the platform beneath it. Rallis’ eyes sparkled. The glider in the museum was nothing compared to an actual one; it was way bigger, like a set of giant bird wings. She could barely hold in her excitement.

The captain hooked the two of them into a harness, ensuring they wouldn’t fall mid-flight, and waited for a strong enough breeze for take-off. Once the leaves began to rustle, Errdo grinned and secured his goggles.

“Here we go! Hold onto the bar in front of you.”

With the pull of a lever, the fastenings clicked open, and the glider shot into the sky! Wind carried them away, yanking them high above the Grand Tree and the stronghold. Rallis couldn’t hide her scream of delight as the ground grew smaller and the wind rushed through her wings. The glider spiraled higher and higher, until Errdo pulled a series of levers and they leveled out, now facing south. A dip of wings and one gust later and the glider shot off to Karamja with the speed of an arrow fired from a bow, the only trace it had ever been being the echo of Rallis’ joy-filled screams disappearing on the wind.

_____________________________________________________________________________

By the time they reached the ocean bordering eastern Karamja, the sun had begun to set. Nightfall was sure to arrive in only a mere couple hours. Watching the sun set behind the clouds as she flew gently through the sky was an absolute dream, one Rallis didn’t want to end.

“We’ll be landing soon,” Captain Errdo called over the wind. “Get ready to fall.”

With a shift of gears, the wings of the glider folded in ever so slightly and the device began to dip. The feeling made Rallis’ stomach do flips and the captain couldn’t hide his laughter at the change in look on the dragon’s face.

“We’ll make land around there,” Errdo said as he pointed to a semi-clear patch in the jungle up ahead. “One of Daero’s scouts is hiding out around there, and if anyone has seen anything suspicious lately, he has.”

Rallis nodded and swallowed as another dip downward made her stomach churn. Why was going down so much worse than going up?!

They were close enough now where they could see shapes moving in the jungle below, hulking green blobs the size of giants. Hopefully they wouldn’t run into any while they were looking for the scout.

A shrill whizzing sound suddenly cut through the air, followed by a splintering crash. Before Rallis could even ask what that was, the glider folded in on itself and the two plummeted toward the ground like stones. Rallis screamed as an entire wing of the glider twisted and fell away, taking the broken wooden beams she was strapped onto with it. They were now in freefall, with only a single paper-thin glider wing to slow their descent. Rallis grabbed Errdo’s hand mid-fall before the broken glider could yank him away and toss him out to deadly choppy sea somewhere. The ground was coming up fast! What were they going to do?!

Mere moments before they would smack against the ocean with the force of a rock hitting concrete, Rallis’ wings began to burn. A burst of magical light exploded forth, coating her own useless bird-sized wings with a glowing pair of wings akin to an actual dragon’s. They flapped gracefully and slowed their descent to a near halt, leading the two freefallers to the closest shore. Rallis and Errdo hit the sand with enough force to throw them some feet across the ground, but not enough to cause any harm. They rolled into the dirt with an undignified flop, Rallis holding onto her small companion tightly in hopes he wouldn’t get hurt. At the realization they were safe on stable ground, the magic in Rallis’ wings fell away with the sound of shattering glass, leaving behind only faint green wisps on the breeze. She sighed a huge breath of relief and let go of the captain and sat herself upright in the sand.

Errdo groaned as he got to his feet and shook the sand from his scarf and jacket. He flipped up his goggles, red circular rims around his eyes sure to turn into bruises later. “Goodness me, are you in one piece?”

“Somehow,” Rallis sighed thankfully. “What happened?!”

The sounds of wood and leather and parchment and metal hitting the waves echoed ashore. The two turned to see the last fragments of the broken glider hit the water and vanish into the depths of the sea.

Errdo growled. “It would appear we were shot down.”

“By what?!”

“Perhaps Caranock, perhaps a jogre, perhaps something else entirely. My bet is on the first of those options. It’s a miracle we survived. What did you do?”

“Oh, just a little magic, I guess,” Rallis said bashfully. Godly intervention probably wasn’t the best thing to advertise to a near stranger. “I’m just as surprised as you we didn’t end up a splat on the ground!”

“Then I offer you my thanks, my good savior,” the captain smiled. He then quickly frowned at the setting sun. “We need to find the scout quickly. If there are hostiles on the island like I suspect there are, we should hurry. This is an unwelcoming place once night falls. The meeting point isn’t too far; let’s go.”

Rallis nodded and the two swiftly made their way into the jungle.

The swaying trees and gangly undergrowth cast warped looming shadows over the jungly scape. While Rallis maneuvered skillfully through the cascade of vines and ferns and carnivorous plants, Errdo grumbled and groaned as he tried to keep up. Every trip over a root or vine resulted in a swear that would have made a druid force soap down his throat.

They soon came across the clearing they spotted from the sky, a large area of jungle thinned for easy traversing. A mound of dirt hid a pattern of small boulders that looked rather suspicious to Rallis. Captain Errdo caught his breath and looked around the clearing.

“Penwie!” he sharply whispered. “Penwie, are you here?”

Rustling so quiet no human ear could pick it up made Rallis’ ear twitch. She turned toward the noise, but she could find no movement. All around her was a sea of green, nothing more.

“He should be around here somewhere,” Errdo muttered.

Another small sound made Rallis’ ear twitch. “They are. I can hear them.”

“Ah, but you can not see them, can you?”

Rallis leapt out of her skin at the sound of a new voice. It was so close, yet she couldn’t see a thing!

“Stop playing, Penwie, this is urgent,” Errdo commanded.

What looked like a moving shrub made its way to Rallis and Errdo, flickering shades of green in and out of existence. In one grand flicker, the greens condensed into a shape, one of a gnome dressed in reflective verdant clothing unlike Rallis had ever seen.

“Glad to see this old thing still fools people,” the gnome, Penwie, laughed. “It’s starting to lose its effect. What brings you down to my neck of the woods, captain?”

Errdo and Rallis summarized the situation at the Gnome Stronghold, making Penwie’s face grow darker at each revelation.

“And that’s why we’re here,” the captain finished. “Have you noticed anything unusual?”

“I have, and it most certainly relates to what’s happening back home. Caranock is not far from here, and he’s been making negotiations with some rather rough human company.”

“What has he been doing?” Rallis asked.

“To the northeast of here is a newly made dock. The defenses are nothing more than meager wooden gates and the occasional seaman patrol. The dock has only existed for perhaps a month, with nothing more than shoddily put together piers and a basic straw hut. Although the operation seemed like nothing out of the ordinary at first, Caranock joined their ranks three days ago, and I suspect he has had communication with the dock workers for longer. He has been attempting to make his presence scarce since his arrival, likely aware that I am here.”

“Why would Caranock care about human shipbuilding?” Errdo wondered.

“He spends most of the day in the hut on the shore of the dock, and there is much paper correspondence that makes its way through his hands. I tried to sneak in to learn more, but blast this glitchy suit, it doesn’t work outside of the jungle growth anymore.”

The three thought for a moment. “Well, if we need to be sneaky, I’m pretty good at getting in and out of places without being seen,” Rallis said. “Especially in the dark.” She pointed to the sun, now perhaps half an hour from vanishing.

“If you can get into the hut undetected, I’m certain you’ll find both the proof you need and even Caranock himself,” Penwie said. “I’m sure you can find a way to capture him, strong-looking adventurer you are.”

Rallis nodded with a grin of determination. It was time to catch a bad guy!

“Don’t suppose I can stay here with you for a bit, Penwie?” Errdo asked. “Buggers shot down my glider.”

“Sure.” Penwie walked over to the boulders embedded in the dirt mound and easily pushed one aside. It led to a hole in the ground, one Rallis could see had chairs, a table, and even a bed inside. “Ready to dorm like the good old days?”

“More like bad old days,” Errdo laughed. “If anything comes up, come hide out here,” he told Rallis. “Otherwise, I’ll hopefully see you in the near future. Now go catch that dastard!”

“Will do!” Rallis cheered. She waved goodbye and dashed back into the jungle.

The jungle thinned as Rallis made her way toward the shore where the dock was supposed to be. The sun had now set, and the moon lit the way. She could easily make out the scene with her vision; the docks were empty, save a trio of men drinking beers on a pier and chatting. One other man was half-asleep on a stool by the gated entrance to the dock. He looked easy enough to slink by.

Staying low to the ground and hiding under the brush as much as possible, Rallis snuck up to the low wooden fencing of the dock. She was right; the ‘guard’ was far too inattentive to notice her presence. She silently hopped the fence and made her way inside.

The piers themselves were almost completely empty, save the skeleton of one massive ship. Piles of lumber and metal sheets were stacked on the shore, alongside buckets of tools. Whatever they were building it was way larger than anything the dragon had ever seen in Port Sarim.

She slithered past the three men on the pier, too caught up in their own stories and drinks to hear her, and made her way to the ramshackled excuse of a hut. How the thing managed to stand with two floors was an achievement on its own. The hut held no door, making things far easier for Rallis. She slipped inside without the worry of a door hinge or floorboard creaking. The bottom floor was very simple, nothing but a table with some chairs and a desk covered in papers. A ladder on the far end of the hut led to the top floor. Rallis eyed the ladder uncertainly; she could hear footsteps up above. She would have to make this quick.

Rallis flipped through some of the loose papers on the desk, setting a clipped set of them aside. Diagrams of the ship being constructed outside were drawn on one page, with supplies and instructions detailed on the back. Definitely something important to smuggle back to the stronghold. At the bottom of one supply sheet, someone’s name was penned. Thankfully, it was easy enough to sound out for Rallis to figure out Caranock had signed it. She flipped through more pages.

There were many supply order forms, all signed by Caranock. Many stated he would be providing a mountainous amount of lumber for the building of these ships. There was enough being demanded Rallis was sure he would have to cut down an entire forest!

‘Or one very grand tree,’ she realized. ‘How horrible! Cutting down such a beautiful tree to make some stupid boats.’

But why would a gnome need such militaristic ships, adorned with cannons and ballistae and other such weaponry? Was there some secret battle being waged Rallis didn’t know about? The next paper she found, folded and scrawled in much different handwriting than the order forms, answered her question.

First fleet, attack Misthalin from the south. Second fleet, attack Asgarnia from Crandor. Third fleet, sail north to attack Kandarin from the south. Foot soldiers will join from the stronghold.

Take no prisoners.

Rallis paled. These were war plans! Someone was planning an attack on the human kingdoms! And it wasn’t just Caranock. The name scribbled at the bottom was illegible to Rallis, the language rules she learned not making sense here. Best to pocket the document and show it to king Narnode or Daero or Brimstail. She folded the stack of papers as best she could into one of her pouches.

“What the–?! Who are you?!”

Rallis spun around. A huge man was at the base of the ladder, dressed in sturdy construction gear.

“Hello! I was uh looking for Caranock! Is he here?” the dragon played.

“No he ain’t,” the man said. “And he ain’t said nuffin’ about no lizard comin’ over.”

Rallis bristled at the moniker but kept her cool. “That’s odd. I was here to provide an update on the lumber order. Do you know where I can find him?”

The man crossed his arms. “Course. But I ain’t tellin’ you. I don’t trust you. You can give me your message an’ I’ll pass it along.”

“No, this needs to be delivered in person,” Rallis tried.

The man took a step forward. Lord, he towered over the dragon. She really didn’t want to get into a fight right now.

“How’s ‘bout you tell me who sent you an’ I’ll think ‘bout givin’ you an answer.”

Oh to have access to the correct answer but not know how to read it! Perhaps Reldo was right saying reading practice would save her life one day.

“Sure! I was sent by… um… Gl… o… Glow?”As soon as she said it, she knew it was wrong. Rallis smiled like someone who just got caught sneaking into the cookie jar might, and took a step back.

The man cracked his neck and his knuckles. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He barrelled at Rallis, launching his whole weight at her. The dragon yelped and dodged out of the way. The worker spun around with a speed she wouldn’t have thought to give him and punched her hard in the side. The dragon was thrown to the wall from the force and the wind knocked from her. He hit with force like an angry troll!

Rallis unfurled her icy whip and latched it to his arm, catching him on the wrist and above. She yanked back and the man screamed. The whip came away bloody and ice-crusted grooves slashed into his arm. Rallis readied to strike again, thinking she had quickly gained the upper hand, but the man took no time to stop the violent bleeding in his wrist and instead punched the dragon again with his other hand, this time square across the jaw. She fell to the floor with a strangled whine, her own dagger-sharp tooth biting a hole through her tongue at the force.

She reached for one of her pouches. A little spell would put this brute in his place! But before she could grab her runes, the man hefted her up by the neck. He threw her against the wall, hard. The hut shook, the wall splintered, and something popped under her weight. One moment, Rallis looked up to see the man ready another swing, and the next, a swirl of greens and browns and the colors of autumn leaves filled her vision. The colors vanished just as quickly, leaving her to flop ungracefully to the floor, no wall present to support her. She groaned and looked around to see… the top of the Grand Tree.

“What the…?!” Rallis rubbed her aching jaw. “I must’ve hit my head.”

“It appears so. Would you like some ice?”

Rallis jolted at the voice to find Daero, calmly seated atop a stool, taking a knife to a piece of wood. The carving looked almost like a miniature glider, though it lacked the winged membrane. Charlie was sound asleep on the floor of his cell.

“I don’t see Caranock with you,” the gnome said.

Rallis hissed as she rose from the ground, still clutching her jaw. “Yeah, well, I didn’t expect to be back here yet. Why am I?”

“Did not Brimstail give you a seed pod for your return trip?”

The seed pod! Had it burst in the fight? Rallis reached into the pouch that held the seed only to find the little pod squished flat. She frowned sadly at the thing.

“An accidental return, was it?” Daero said. “It happens more often than you’d think. That’s why I don’t trust those things. I’ll take a glider any day.”

“Well that broke too,” Rallis huffed. “Someone shot our glider down on the way to Karamja.”

“And you’re alive?! You must be made of hardy stock, adventurer.”

Rallis caught Daero up on the case, detailing the crash and jungle adventure and incident at the dock. She pulled out the stack of papers and handed them to Daero. The gnome’s face darkened as he came to the same realization as Rallis; Caranock had intended to kill the tree for lumber for a mysterious war fleet.

“There’s one paper in there,” Rallis started, “that says someone else’s name. Caranock is working with someone! It’s spelled G-L-O-U-G-H.”

Daero suddenly dropped the stack of papers, his face ghostly pale. “Wh-what did you say?”

Rallis scooped up the papers and picked out the one paper with the instructions about the war fleets. “See here?” she pointed to the signature at the bottom of the page. “G-L-O-U-G-H. Glow. Do you know them?”

The gnome would have laughed if the situation weren’t so serious. “That spells the name of our high tree guardian, adventurer. It’s pronounced ‘Gluff.’” He couldn’t believe the signature he was reading. This was a scandal on a whole new level. “The king needs to see this immediately.”

The two dashed downstairs to the throne room, but found it empty. “Oh no, where’s the king?” Rallis whined.

“Likely asleep. It is late.” Daero fished an odd-looking key from his pockets. “I’ll take over from here and inform king Narnode of the situation. In the meantime, Glough needs eyes kept on him.”

“I can do that,” the dragon volunteered. “Brimstail showed me where he lived earlier today. I can make sure he stays put in his house.”

“A good plan,” Daero nodded. “I will assign others to stand guard nearby in case you need assistance. Now excuse me.”

He unlocked the trapdoor and hopped down into the depths beneath the tree, leaving Rallis to her duty. The dragon ran down to Glough’s treehouse, stopping only for a moment to think if she should grab Brimstail as well. No, that would be risky. If Glough was violent enough to try and wage a war, getting the eccentric wizard involved was a risk that shouldn’t be taken. A solo mission this would be then.

The door to Glough’s treehouse was shut, and it didn’t take a jiggle of the lock for Rallis to see it would not be opening any time soon. She peered through the leaves and branches to get a good look at his house from outside. The windows were shut. No way for her to get inside quietly if she needed to. But there were windows, so it wouldn’t be hard to take a peek inside to see if the gnome was actually home.

Rallis scrambled up the tree and its winding branches and coiled around a load-bearing branch right beneath a window. She slowly carefully peeked through the window into the darkness of the home. There was the room she visited before, with the kitchen and seating area and what have you, but no gnomes. The home spiraled into a small second floor, almost like an elevated loft, presumably where a bedroom might be. Careful not to rustle any branches, Rallis climbed her way up to the next floor to peer through a small window there.

As she thought, the bedroom was up here. A tiny bed and bedside dresser sat close by, with a rather large wardrobe for gnomish standards resting on the far end. Someone’s picture was framed on the dresser, a happy woman smiling for the painting. It was odd to think someone ready to start a war would have a special someone in their life, or perhaps it was just a family member. But there was something far more important in the room, or rather a lack of something. Glough was nowhere to be seen. His home was vacant.

Rallis hopped down from the tree and went back to the front door. With a simple delicate slash of her claws, the lock was broken. She stealthily hopped inside and confirmed the gnome’s absence. The dragon crept along the ground, the seating, the cabinets, anything and everything in hopes of finding a hint to where Glough could be.

She crawled the steps to the bedroom loft. The bedsheets were undisturbed; he had obviously not been home yet. The dragon checked under the bed, through the dresser drawers, pushed at the walls and ceiling, but there were no secrets to be found. She grabbed at the wardrobe handles and was startled to find it would not open. That was strange. Were the doors jammed? She gave them a much harder tug, yielding the same result. She could feel something far more sturdy than a simple door catch or lock holding the doors in place. Upon closer inspection, Rallis found small designs carved into the wood, elegantly scripted letters and shapes that hid in plain sight with the grain of the wood. She ran a finger over them and found them raised and able to be pushed down. Her ears shot up. This was like a secret entrance she read about in one of Reldo’s cool spy books!

She pressed down the first figure she found, a little tree in the shape of a T. Then a round-bottom valley shape, something that looked like a Z, and a circle that could’ve been anything. The wardrobe made a sharp click; the lock was opened. Rallis opened the doors to find hanging clothing attempting to hide a ladder that went down deep. It was carved into one of the supporting trees that held up the loft, hidden in plain sight to anyone who walked by! Rallis had to give Glough credit; it was rather genius. Step by careful step, Rallis crawled down the ladder.

Wood turned to earth which turned to hard rock. This secret tunnel went down deep! It opened out into a massive cavern, filled with rocks and tree roots as thick as a cart. Rallis scoped out the cavern, but other than the giant roots, there was nothing unusual. Up ahead, the cavern narrowed into a deep tunnel, one Rallis couldn’t see the end of, but she could hear someone coming. She panicked and looked for somewhere to hide. That cluster of stalagmites by the ladder! If she ducked just right…

She huddled behind the stalagmites and rocks in the corner of the cave, waiting and watching. To no one’s surprise, Glough emerged from the darkness, carrying something small, dark, and round in his hand. It was a rock. Was it daconian?

The gnome stopped short once he entered the cavern with a strangled angry gasp. He swiftly pocketed the stone and drew his dagger.

“YOU?! That meddlesome beast adventurer! Don’t bother hiding; you’re fooling absolutely no one.”

Rallis reluctantly removed herself from her hiding place. Glough was glaring daggers at her. If his animosity wasn’t apparent in their previous meeting, it certainly was now.

“How did you get down here?” the gnome snarled.

“We’ve been busy, my new gnome friends and I. We found out so much in only one day! Like how you’re working with Caranock to kill the grand tree, and you tried to frame an innocent man for the crime. Or how about how you want to start a war and use that beautiful tree for nothing but boat wood. How could you do such a thing to your own home? Your own people?”

“Pah!” Glough spat. “Don’t even try to understand what’s really going on here, fool. Your little reptile brain couldn’t begin to comprehend it. I am preparing my people for a war that is coming! I am saving them!”

“By killing the thing keeping your stronghold safe?!”

“There are others that are dying at the hands of humankind all over the continent. Goblins hunt us! Humans raid our villages! The elves abandoned us in our time of need! This world wants to drive us back underground like rats and I will not stand for it! I will give us the tools we need to survive, starting with the weapons necessary to wipe humanity off the map!”

“You’re crazy!” Rallis sputtered. “What has humanity done to you?!”

“More than you could ever know,” he growled. 

Rallis unfurled her whip. “I’m not gonna let you do this. You might think you’re the good guy here, but you’re not, and I’m taking you in.”

The gnome threw his head back with a maniacal laugh. “You think you can stop me, you pathetic beast? Fool… I’m not working alone!”

Glough readied his dagger, but instead of pointing it Rallis’ way, he slashed the blade across his palm. Rallis winced. What the hell was he doing?! His twisted laugh grew as the blood dripped from his palm to the floor, pooling into a circle with bizarre shapes and figures around the circumference. Suddenly, the blood began to glow and the cavern shook with dangerous magic. Rallis stepped back in fear as something huge began to form in tangible darkness, pouring out from the bloody sigil. Two huge cloven hooves stepped forth, followed by a pair of spined arms as thick as a tree trunk, a whip-like tail with bladed bone at the tip, two webbed wings of fuligin, and a twisted malevolent head adorned with curved white horns and warped jagged teeth. A pair of yellow-red eyes stared down at Rallis from the height of the cavern, making the dragon cower. A black demon, the largest she had ever seen, stood before her, stepping from its world of fire and shadow to bring her death.

The gnome cackled at the dragon’s plain to see fear. “Have fun with my pet, adventurer. It will be the last thing you ever see.” He slowly turned and walked back down the tunnel, laughter echoing throughout the caves.

The demon slammed a fist down, dragon escaping the blow of certain death by a hair. She threw herself behind the stalagmites in the corner, the alcove ceiling too low for the giant brute to reach. It roared and bent down, scraping a clawed hand at the rocks and tearing them away by the fistful. Rallis whimpered and fell flat to the ground as the hand went over her head. She had seen black demons rather frequently back home in Taverley Dungeon, but she was never foolish enough to actually fight one. Her parents always warned her and her brothers to stay far away from demon territory, because as much as they were loathe to admit it, a dragon stood very little chance against a black demon when on equal ground. And Rallis was hardly a dragon, and she stood in this battle alone.

The demon snarled and reached for the dragon again, ripping away another fistful of protective rocks. She was losing her cover too fast! She couldn’t think of a plan this quickly! She looked down the tunnel for hope. The ceiling grew lower as the tunnel went on. Perhaps Rallis could simply escape and bring back help to deal with the beast. That was a good plan!

The demon scraped the remaining few rocks from the dragon’s hiding spot, and that’s when the dragon ran. Rallis bolted out of the alcove and made a dash toward the tunnel. The black demon roared and threw its fistful of rocks at her. While most crashed into the dirt around her, one struck her back, knocking her over. A huge hoof slammed down next to her, nearly crushing her tail. Rallis screamed and scrambled back on all fours, too scared to get up and run. The demon readied to swipe at her with a set of claws longer and sharper than any sword.

Rallis reached into her pouch, yanking out as many runes as she could fit in her hand, and smashed them together. Right as the demon’s claws were about to make contact, a huge explosion shook the cavern. Rallis screamed as the blast threw her backwards against a wall, making her vision spot black and white as if she was about to pass out. The demon staggered back with an ear-splitting screech as it clutched its hand. Half of its hand had been blown off, its foul black blood staining the ground with a molten sizzle. 

Rallis groaned and gathered herself. That explosion threw her farther away from the exit! And now the demon was far more furious. It unhinged its jaw and spat a ball of fire at her. Rallis ducked and rolled, and the demon slammed a foot down in front of her, hoping to squish her. She caught herself mid-roll and lashed at the beast with her icy whip. It wrapped around its ankle, and with all the strength she could muster, she yanked it back. Black blood sprayed over the ground and the demon fell to a knee. It couldn’t move its foot any more! That was a move she would have to remember.

The demon’s bladed tail slashed through the air out of nowhere, hitting its target dead on. Rallis gasped as the bony tip sliced through her side. She doubled over in pain as blood soaked her top. The demon grabbed her with its one good hand and brought the squirming beast to its face. It smiled wickedly as it began to squeeze, enjoying the feeling of blood dripping between its fingers. Rallis cried as she felt one of her shoulders pop out of place, a cracked rib joining it next. Through tears, she roared and chomped down on the beast’s hand. The demon shrieked and let her go, but the dragon stayed firm. The demon shook its hand, screaming at the little dragon that wouldn’t let go, but that only made her bite harder. She twisted and thrashed her head until, with a wet slice, she chewed right through its index finger. The demon reared back with a scream so strong it shook stalactites from the ceiling. Rallis fell to the ground with a nasty thud alongside the severed finger. She gagged and spat out its vile black blood.

Her vision was starting to waver. This was not a fight she was prepared for, especially not after having been up all day and being thoroughly exhausted. With a burst of energy, she grabbed her whip and made a run for the tunnel. The black demon howled and yanked a fallen stalactite from the ground and threw it at the tunnel. It soared over Rallis’ head and blocked her path. Before she could change course, she ran right into the rock, knocking her to the ground.

The demon dragged itself over, lame foot dragging behind it, and cornered the dragon against the stalactite. One hulking arm on either side, a rock to her back, and a screaming visage of fury before her. This was a nightmare scenario there was no escape from except through death.

The demon growled, its throat burning molten hot. Another blast of fire was coming! The monster opened its mouth, the full fury of hellfire on display in its throat, ready to incinerate the dragon to dust.

Instinct overriding all thought, Rallis unhooked the pouch that held her runes and threw it into the demon’s mouth, mere seconds before it let its flame loose. The fire incinerated the woven bag and runes poured down its throat; fire and air and chaos and death and blood sparked and cascaded into its gullet. For a moment, the demon’s attack stopped as it choked on the river of magic pebbles, and in the next…

One final blast shook the cavern, a screech prematurely silenced by the boom of a fiery explosion. Chunks of blackened flesh and viscera spattered the cavern. Hot sticky blood splattered the floor and over Rallis. She held back a gag and eyed the cavern. Chunks of the demon decorated every rock and wall, leaving only its legs and part of a spine behind. As the corpse fell over from gravity, internals spilling to the ground in front of her, Rallis could hold back no longer. She joined in on the mess with the contents of her stomach. Thankfully, as demons do in death, the pieces of gore began to fizzle away to ash and return to whatever hellish dimension Glough had summoned it from.

After one final retch, Rallis fell back against the broken stalactite with a choked sob. This was way more than she signed up for and she was ready to fall asleep and not wake back up for a week. In the back of her mind, she knew she should have risen to chase after Glough down the tunnel, but she was far too beaten and the adrenaline was wearing off. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself, distracting her terrified mind from the fact that she could have died today to focus on something else, anything else.

What felt like an eternity later, footsteps broke the silence of the cavern, followed by gasps and mutters. Four gnomes had entered the scene, wholly unaware of Rallis’ presence and focused on the demolished battleground. There was Glough, bound and cuffed with Daero holding him hostage, as well as another gnome Rallis had never seen before, and king Narnode himself. Rallis breathed a small sigh of relief. They had caught him.

“What happened here?” the king whispered.

Glough laughed his maniacal laugh. “It seems my pet did its duty! That foolish adventurer is no more!”

“I’m right here, actually,” Rallis responded tiredly. Glough spun around, eyes wide in shock. The dragon tossed him a weak wave, making the gnome’s face burn red. She couldn’t hide the smile on her face at his rage.

“Oh great Guthix!” the king exclaimed. “Rallis, you’re hurt!”

Daero muttered a ‘hold him, Waydar’ to the gnome beside him and rushed over to the dragon’s side. “Here, let’s get you up and to a healer. Come on now.”

The gnome heaved Rallis up by her hand, much to her pain. Her legs wobbled and her head spun. Daero was disturbed to see a large puddle of blood beneath where she was sitting.

“I don’t feel good,” Rallis whimpered. She started to sway and barely caught herself from falling. One step later, she blacked out and face-planted in the dirt, exhaustion and blood loss taking their toll.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Rallis awoke to sunshine and the chirping of birds. She blinked the bleariness from her vision and found herself not in a damp dark cave, but in an open-air facility somewhere in the Gnome Stronghold. She was in a bed, albeit far too small to properly support her, with bandages wrapped around torso. She was clean too, with no demon or her own blood caking her scales. On a table at her bedside was her whip, still stained and wrapped in a cloth since no one could touch it, and some water which she downed immediately. She sighed in relief and reached to place the glass back onto the table. From behind the small table, a fuzzy white head popped up with a chirp, scaring the daylights out of Rallis. She screamed and dropped the glass, which thankfully didn’t shatter. From behind the table scuttled Izzie, her creepy black eyes staring at Rallis intently.

“What on Gielinor?” a familiar voice cried from another room. Brimstail turned a curtained corner, face breaking into a grin at the sight of Rallis awake. “Rallis! I’m so glad you’re awake! I was quite worried, you know. Was that you just now?”

“Yeah, sorry,” she said. “Your friend here just startled me.”

Brimstail frowned at his pet and pointed an accusatory finger at her. “Bad Izzie! No scaring injured people!” The creature stared at him blankly and sat down by his side. That seemed to be good enough for the wizard. “Speaking of injured, how are you feeling?”

Rallis tried to swivel her torso and yelped in pain, but it certainly didn’t hurt as badly as what she assumed was the day before. “Better,” she concluded. “But still hurt. I think I’ll be taking a little break from adventuring, that’s for sure!”

“A wise decision,” Brimstail agreed. “While you recover you can tell me all about how you saved the day! Everyone is dying to know.”

Rallis regaled him with the tale of the battle against Glough’s demon, a rather shocking revelation, and answered the gnome’s many questions. Once she got to the part where she actually felled the demon, Brimstail nearly fell over.

“You blew it up?! With magic?! How?!”

“I threw my rune pouch into its mouth. Its fire set off the runes as it swallowed them and they blew it up.” Rallis went pale at the memory and shook her head. She did not want to remember the details that came next. Puking again was something she would rather not have on her agenda today.

“Incredible!” Brimstail exclaimed. “Oh I wish I was there to see it! You must show me some of your magic some time, once you’re feeling better of course.”

“Sure,” Rallis chuckled. “So what happened with Glough and Caranock?”

“Glough has been arrested and Daero has currently taken over his job. As for Caranock, well no one has seen any trace of him. It’s as though he’s vanished.”

“Hmm,” Rallis mumbled. “Well hopefully when Errdo returns there will be news. Is the tree okay? I saw Glough running off with those rocks before the demon cornered me.”

“Yes,” Brimstail nodded. “The king rounded up a search party to scour every inch of the grand tree’s roots and every trace of daconia was found and locked away. The tree will be going nowhere any time soon.”

Rallis smiled. “That’s good. What about Charlie? And the fleet of ships?”

“Free as a bird! But I don’t know about any ships. You would have to ask Daero or the king.”

Perhaps that was a detail they would rather not have the general populace know about. Hopefully the matter was handled and there would be no threat of war.

Rallis’ rumbling stomach broke their conversation, making the dragon’s cheeks dust red. Brimstail simply laughed.

“I would be hungry too after such an adventure! I’ll go get some food. Any preferences?”

“Anything that’s not reptile or eel please. Or frog.”

“Can do!” Brimstail saluted. “Come, Izzie. I’ll get you a snack too.”

The creature bounded after her master, leaving Rallis in peaceful solitude. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but that fuzzy critter made the scales on the back of her neck flare. But Izzie had been very helpful on this adventure so she couldn’t hate the creature.

King Narnode and Daero came some time later to also give their personal thanks to Rallis, with the king vowing for her to be welcomed with open arms as a hero any time she wanted to pay the stronghold a visit. Rallis thanked them for the kind reward, happy to be of help. She also learned the Karamjan shipyard would soon be decommissioned, so there was no chance the fleet would ever finish building even so much as a single ship, an outcome she was most thankful for.

A week later, Rallis was healed and ready to go back to work. As she bid everyone goodbye, King Narnode stopped her.

“Before you go, I just wanted to say once more that we are truly in your debt for all the help you have given. Is there anything we may give you as reward for your journey home?”

“Really, don’t worry about it,” the dragon began. “I don’t need anything! I just like help–.”

She stopped, an idea popping into her mind. “Actually, there is one thing…”

_____________________________________________________________________________

Atop the tallest point of Eagle’s Peak, with the glorious view of the gnome stronghold in the distance, Rallis stood proudly. She breathed in a breath of fresh air with a smile.

“Today is the day! I will fly like a real dragon!”

Behind her, hidden between the rocky outcroppings of the peak, was a gnome glider, a gift from the king. Only this one was a bit different, with the large wings being disconnected from the wooden frame and made to be strapped onto something.

Rallis took each wing and strapped them to her arms. A mechanism connected them on her back, giving the wings some boosted power for takeoff. Once secured, Rallis gave them a few test flaps. They were sturdy and remained in place. She grinned the biggest grin of her life. It was time to fly!

She took a step until she stood dangerously over the edge of the mountain, a deadly sheer drop below her. She held her winged arms out to the sky. “Look out, world! This dragon’s gonna fly!”

Rallis leapt from the rim of the mountain peak and held her arms out like a pair of glider wings. A great breeze whooshed from behind her, launching her perhaps twenty feet from the mountain peak. The dragon cheered and screamed in joy. She was flying! She was actually flying! Now to go higher! 

She tilted the wings upward, but felt herself begin to drift downward, not up. She frowned and gave the wings a few good flaps like a bird, and with that, her fate was sealed. 

Like a foolish character out of a comic strip, Rallis plummeted to the ground, screams of joy turning into ones of terror. She yelled and cried out until she hit the mountainside, the tall trees of the forest below, and finally the solid grassy ground at the mountain base. She collapsed with a thud, her glider wings torn and broken, but thankfully nothing else. She groaned and splayed onto the ground, a confused and curious ferret, rabbit, and chinchompa trio coming over to investigate. The rabbit nibbled at the shredded parchment of the wings, making Rallis groan and scare the animals away. In the back of her mind, she swore she could hear laughter, deep and disembodied, trying and failing to not enjoy her foolish stunt. She moaned into the dirt, muffled and pained.

“Oh, shut up, Guthix…”

[notroosterbradshaw]

Get up, A. I've got some fic to catch (and make up) for:

maybe flirting one of the many tag chasers that frequented the Hard Deck.

Bradley Bradshaw, ladies and gentlemen.

The woman that he has spent the last three months trying to get over.

Oh, Bradley. I’m just sitting here judging him like the ruthless love of my life that he is.

He was just boring as fuck. 

How Bradley is well aware he’s the sexiest mf’er in the room. And nobody can deny 🎶

Politely chuckling with Zach fucking Collins instead of unabashedly laughing with him. 

Zach fucking Collins needs to be seen to as per DM.

“Wait, what?” he asks settling a hand on your waist to turn you towards him. He genuinely had no clue where you’d gotten that from, “I didn’t want to break up.”

Oh dear. This can only end… sexy.

You look so hurt, and all he wants to do is pull you to his chest. 

Don’t think, do!

“It doesn’t matter now. What’s done is done,” you tell him quietly as you walk back to Collins where he was still wrapped up in whatever small talk Nat had been forcing on him.

“The hell it is,” he says to himself, resolve firm in his chest. 

Get her, Bradley. Something tells me… he may not have to work very hard.

You hadn’t been back to the Hard Deck since you ended things with Bradley.

Reminding EVERYONE, nothing good happens here.

And god, you feel terrible about thinking about him like that when you’re literally on a date with another man. But not guilty enough to stop yourself from checking him out every chance you got.

Not a date, just a placeholder.

Concern turned into flirting, “you’re too pretty for a concussion” he’d told you. While the line was cheesy, the snug denim shorts he was wearing were decidedly not. And then flirting turned into an invitation to meet up later that day where he could properly apologize in the form of a great night out and drinks on him. 

An ode to jorts.

There was no way you could ever forget the way he had worked you with his fingers in his Bronco parked at a scenic viewpoint along the coast. How it felt to writhe on his lap with your dress rucked up your thighs as he rasped dirty praise in your ear. 

It would be impossible, impossible to forget!

“Baby, Collins is as bland as that gluten free bread you keep trying to trick yourself into liking.”

Howling, howling, Alexa! You know I love a good one liner and jfc, this has me pinned up against a wall, gagging for air.

“Biblically,” you hear him huff under his breath, for your ears only.

Cackling still. I will never not love unexpected humour amidst drama.

“Well, the dart board is finally open. How about we play couple rounds?” Zach suggests, settling his hand on your shoulder.  

Oh, this poor boy and his reality check. Completely oblivious.

Having been banished by Jake for being “pathetically sulky”, he was sitting at the bar by himself staring into his untouched Old Fashioned. Which worked just fine for him, he wasn’t in the mood to be around anyone other than you.

When the captain of the sook brigade calls you out, you must be showing how bad you’re doing haha

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees you turning down the hallway towards the bathrooms, and he struck with another bad idea. Probably the worst one of the night. 

The timing as this song just starts on the telly. Oh, the tension as it mounts. This fic is building PERFECTLY remembering i've been reading this over many disrupted hours.

“I’m the only one who gets to see these on you,” he growls as he pulls out his hand to yank down your zipper.

Contentious as it was date three with fucking Collins?! Begs for extra drama gotta say.

You look like you’ve been fucked.

As it should be frankly.

“You owe me a favor,” she says pointing at him, before turning that finger on you, “And you, owe me brunch. Preferably with bottomless mimosas. Because I just saved both your asses from getting caught by Penny. And now I owe Jake a favor. So, you owe me big time.” She gives you both a knowing look before walking away.

God’s work, Phoenix. As always. Saving her men… or finding ways to destroy them later.

Per-fucking-fection.

Bad Idea

Summary: After being deployed, all Bradley wanted was to have a fun night out with his friends and let loose. That is until he sees the woman who broke up with him, who he still isn’t over.  At his bar. With another man. And then he is in the mood to make some bad decisions. 

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Female Reader

Warnings: mutual pining, a little angst, smuttt. Minors DNI

Length: 6.3K

After being deployed for three months, Bradley had been looking forward to getting off that carrier and having a night out with his friends. Having a couple more beers than he should, kicking Hangman’s ass at pool, maybe flirting one of the many tag chasers that frequented the Hard Deck.

He wants to let loose a bit. Just for a while. 

The team is scattered around the bar. Some are hovering around the pool table, a few others hogging the dart board. He’s seated at one of the stools around the pool table, half listening to Fanboy recount some of his amusing antics during basic flight training in between lining up his shots, when he feels Phoenix nudge his arm to get his attention.

“Oh shit, is that…” she starts and trails off. 

He turns around in his seat expecting to find some friend from a former squadron or someone they went to TOPGUN with, and instead he sees you. 

The woman that he has spent the last three months trying to get over.

And you’re here in front of him looking entirely too comfortable with another man.

Keep reading

[negasonicimagines]

Afraid / Part 11: An Unwavering Flame

The White Queen coordinates a surprise attack against you. You meet a friend of Wade’s.

You brush nothingness off the skirt of your dress as you anxiously wait for Miss Frost at the reservation stand. Damn her, she’s late on purpose, you know it. 

“It’s been a while since we’ve been here,” Eloise comments. You rode here with her upon her insistence that her hatchback sedan would be a safer choice for the big city roads. It was a quiet ride, neither of you liking small talk. You pretend to be distracted so you don’t get caught in the trap of reminiscing. It’ll only hurt you, and to make matters worse you could slip up and recall something that she doesn’t. 

That dress is so pretty. I understand why Levi doesn’t dress like this more often, but I’m with Miss Frost on this one. She looks… Darling. 

Eloise’s thoughts have plagued your mind since the two of you met up this morning. She needs some practice shielding her thoughts. Of course, she looks like a rockstar in her suit/t-shirt combo, but you don’t let her hear that — it’s an unfair comparison to make, but you’re still frustrated nonetheless. 

The hostess puts down the phone with a sigh, waving the two of you over. 

“Ladies, it looks like Miss Frost won’t be able to make it today. She has insisted that you two stay and take advantage of the reservation, though. Her card is already on file, so you won’t have to worry about the bill, either,” the hostess informs you.

“Um… Okay,” Eloise replies. “Are you down for that?”

“Sure, why not? It’s a free meal at one of the nicest restaurants in town. Who could turn that down?” You, not wanting to be alone with her in an intimate setting like this. That’s who. 

But you don’t turn it down. You’re like a moth to a flame. You can’t let yourself be consumed by her, but you want to be as close as possible. 

“Follow me, then,” the hostess replies brightly, grabbing two menus and guiding you to a corner booth in the back. 

You both look over the menus. 

“It’s not going to bother you if I get a mimosa or two, is it?” you ask. 

“No, it’s her money and I’m driving either way. Get five for all I care.”

You nod.  

“I didn’t mean that- I mean, I wasn’t trying to be rude.”

“I didn’t take it that way. It’s annoying that she stood us up like this, especially since I’m supposed to go to the optometrist with her this afternoon.”

“Really? How’d she get you to agree to that?” she wonders.

“She’s going to play nice with Cheryl.”

“Sounds like a bargain, then,” Eloise remarks. 

“Yeah, but I’m sure she’ll come up with some other way I need to repay her later, especially considering she’s missing brunch.”

“I can’t believe I ever envied you.”

“To be fair, I am getting a free meal and medical care. It’s just on her terms. I think I’ll get this bagel casserole with bacon. What about you?”

“The vegan crepes.”

“Oh, those do look good. A little sweet for my taste.”

“That’s right, you don’t like chocolate. I’d forgotten that.”

You’re not sure how she’d remember. The way she found out was a memory you’d erased completely. 

“Who’d you make your valentine for?” Eloise asked one afternoon after the two of you returned to your dorm after school. You two were in different class blocks for art – yesterday was Eloise’s, today you had yours. This year, you made origami boxes, the paper itself having a note written on it while the box was filled with different goodies provided by the school, as well as anything you as a student could provide that would fit.

“You, actually. I hope that’s not weird, I just didn’t feel like I knew anyone else well enough to give them one,” you awkwardly admitted. You filled hers with gum and stickers, two of her favorite things.

“No, it’s cool. I made mine for you, too. Wanna trade early?”

“Sure,” you replied. You gave her hers, and she unfolded it carefully to reveal the items as well as your notes. 

“Thank you,” she said, before adding in regards to the note: “I appreciate your friendship, too.”

You opened yours next. Truffles and a silver locket around the size of a nickel. 

“It’s, uh… It’s just something I had laying around. I never wear it, but I thought you might like it,” she clarified quickly. 

Y/N, 

You’re probably gonna get a lot of these, but whatever, mine’s cooler because I drew all over it instead of being lazy and just covering it in glitter. Happy Valentine’s Day. You’re a great friend. I don’t say that enough. I really care about you and I hope you enjoy the stuff I put in here. 

Sincerely, 

Eloise

P.S. You’re still allowed to call me that, but maybe don’t do it so much in public. It’s starting to catch on. You’re the only one allowed to.

You smiled. 

“Thank you, Eloise.”

“Go on, have one,” she said, chewing the gum rather proudly. 

“I’d rather save them for later,” you replied, shaking your head. 

“I once watched you finish a bag of saltwater taffy on the way back from the store Miss Frost bought them for you from. Since when did you learn restraint when it comes to candy?”

“Oh, well, um…”

“You don’t like chocolate,” she realizes quickly. “Damn, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, no, it’s okay, there’s no way you would’ve known. It’s the thought that counts, and besides, this locket is really pretty.”

“How’d you know?” you wonder, but you regret it instantly as she racks her brain trying to figure it out. 

“I’m not sure,” she admits. “I just know.”

You close your menu as the waitress approaches.

“What can I get you ladies to drink?” she asks.

“I’ll have a mimosa. You?”

“Just a Coke, thanks.”

“Thank you. I’ll be back shortly to take your orders.”

“So… Our second date already,” Eloise jokes. You chuckle, hoping it doesn’t sound too bitter. “Jokes aside, I’ve enjoyed hanging out with you these past couple of days. We should hang out more often. What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I have to teach at 10 and 2… Then there’s a swim meet at 3:30… After that, I’m supposed to grab dinner with Wade and Vanessa. Well, if Vanessa still wants to stick around after I talk to her.”

“Oh, wow. Shouldn’t that be Wade’s job?”

“I volunteered. I thought it might be easier coming from me. I met her before, when I was looking for him. I didn’t tell her who I was, I just pretended to be an intern for the P.I. I was working with… But she liked me. Maybe she can still like me, or at least tolerate me.”

“I’ve met her a few times. She’ll love you, I know it.”

“You think so?”

God, she’s so cute. I’ve never had such a strong urge to hug someone in my life. Maybe if I talk to her about my stepmom, she’ll feel better? 

“Totally. I was nervous about meeting my stepmom… I mean, my parents divorced because my dad was cool with me being a mutant and my mom wasn’t, so I was really worried about ruining another relationship for him. It turned out that she’s a mutant, too, and bi, so I felt a lot safer coming out. She can talk to animals. She’s the one who inspired me to become vegan – she never forced it on me or anything like that, though. We’re really close. She even went to Xavier’s.”

You already know all that, but she doesn’t know you do. 

“That’s nice,” you reply, nodding in understanding. 

“Okay, Negasonic, I was gonna leave you alone, since you’re clearly on a date, but am I right that you guys are talking about Vanessa being this girl’s stepmom? As in, Wade is her dad?” a woman you’ve never seen before in your life asks as she approaches the table. You hadn’t even noticed her, so focused on Eloise. 

You do a quick skim. Neena Thurman, AKA Domino, worked with Deadpool in the now-disbanded X-Force, thinks he’s nice but incredibly immature, not to mention crazy. She’s a mutant with the ability to manipulate probabilities. Cool. 

“He’s my biological father. I was adopted.”

“Thank goodness! Wait, nevermind, you’re Leviathan! Holy shit, I didn’t even recognize you,” she responds, looking at you with fascination. That’s almost worse than an angry stare. 

“We’re not on a date,” Eloise clarifies, blushing. 

“We got stood up by our former academic advisor. Her card’s on file, though, so she told us to take advantage of the reservation,” you explain. 

“So, your former academic advisor set you two up on a date,” Neena surmises. 

“Surely not. I’m in love with someone else.”

“Not to mention, I just broke up with Yukio, like, the night before last.”

“Right, right…” Neena says. “Well, you two look really cute together. You might wanna give it a shot one day. I’ll leave you alone now.” She heads back to her seat, clearly in the middle of some sort of meeting. 

“Jesus,” Ellie sighs. “Birds of a feather, I guess.”

The waitress returns with your drinks, getting your orders and your menus before leaving once more. 

“But we probably do look pretty cute together. That’s a nice dress.”

“Miss Frost likes it when I dress like this, too.”

“It suits you. But if you don’t like it, you shouldn’t wear it.”

“I don’t think I know what I like,” you admit. “Nothing makes sense anymore.”

“If you’re saying that, I should be scared.”

“No, just… I went from being completely alone to having… Everything I ever wanted and more,” you confess. You’re developing a good relationship with your biological parents, Logan’s back, Eloise is by your side again, the operation is in the best shape it’s ever been, the foster program is coming to fruition… You’re even making amends with Miss Frost. 

“Really? Even without her?”

“She’s happy. I want that for her.”

“That makes sense.”

“What about you, Ellie? Are you happy? I mean, Yukio aside?” you pretend to wonder. 

“Yeah. At this point, it feels like a weight off my shoulders. I didn’t realize how forced everything was until… Well, until I heard you talk about that girl, to be honest. Loving her comes as naturally to you as breathing. I didn’t realize it was supposed to be like that.”

“I think it’s a mix. The initial spark isn’t a choice. Tending the fire is. But if a fire takes too much fuel, especially from just one person, it’s best to part ways,” you share. 

“Well said,” Eloise agrees. “And I think it’s really beautiful that you’re still tending to the fire in her absence. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it one day.”

“Still stuck on that, aren’t you?” you ask. Her preoccupation with ‘the girl’ is concerning, but it makes sense considering she’s developed a crush on you. She wants to know what kind of girl would have someone as powerful as you hopelessly devoted. 

“I think after everything you’ve done and been through, you deserve to be with the person you love most. You better hope I never figure out who it is, ‘cause I’ll tell her right away.”

“And if she runs, screaming?” you half-joke.

“I’ll sic Wade on her,” she retorts with a smirk. You giggle. 

“You’re right, I hope you never find out who it is,” you agree. “...As funny as that mental image is.”

Your food is brought out. 

“Jeez, I forgot about how big some of these meals are. Makes me feel better about the price… And glad we didn’t order an appetizer.”

“Right?” Eloise agrees. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving after all that talking. I usually don’t do that much.”

“Me either.”

“Yet, here we are,” Eloise notes. She’s just so easy to talk to. I want to share everything with her. 

The two of you chow down, sharing your opinions on your respective dishes and chit-chatting about movies, music, and almost everything you already know about her and she doesn’t remember about you.

[l-sincline]

Girlish Whimsy - Chapter 6

AO3 Link

Previous / Next

AO3 tags: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, Ootori Kyouya/Original Female Character(s), Ootori Kyouya, Suoh Tamaki, Original Characters, Original Female Characters, Morinozuka Takashi, Haninozuka Mitsukuni, Fujioka Haruhi, Hitachiin Hikaru, Hitachiin Kaoru, Slow Burn, Acquaintances to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, smart people that arent smart about romance, Oblivious, Battle of Wits, Ouran High is one giant social chess game

Asuka has her eyes on the prize as soon as she steps foot on Ouran High School grounds. Her goal? Impress her father enough to convince him to let her remain as heir to the company instead of handing the title down to her younger brother. She knows going to school at Ouran will be one big chess game, especially coming in late at her second year- but she’s up for any challenge.

Asuka finds herself intrigued by the Host club and the inner workings of it. More than that, she sees untapped opportunities to grow her resume. Now all she needs is a partner on the inside who’s equally as motivated, and he was easier to find than she thought.

“So how was it?” Mayu’s eyes gleamed from over the rim of a teacup. 

Asuka sighed and rolled her eyes, tapping her small spoon gently against the rim of her own cup with a ‘tink’. 

This little brunch spot was so quaint, and usually pretty devoid of anyone familiar to them. They sat by the window overlooking the street, well loved plants lined the windowsill and a fresh vase of flowers adorned the round table they sat at. Asuka gently picked up her cup and took a sip of the tea before responding.

“I know you want juicy details, but it was really fine. We just worked all day.” 

“So many girls at that school would kill to be in your shoes right now. Can you please spare me just a little detail?” 

“What? Being able to tell them ‘I’m friends with the girl that went over to the Ootori estate’ isn't enough?” She teased.

“No!” Mayu cried indignantly. 

Asuka sighed and placed the tea cup back on its plate. She reached for a croissant and took a small bite, staring out the window. She certainly wasn’t about to talk about the only real conversation they had. A) That was for her own little project. B) She was quite sure Mayu would be devastated at the notion of Kyouya possibly finding her annoying. He hadn’t outright said it, but they all knew how ‘You’re not anything like this other person that I thought you were going to be like’ usually sounded.

“I’m sorry, Mayu, there truly isn’t much to say.” She put the croissant down, “We even worked in a room entirely dedicated to group work. The most I can tell you is that the maid was nice and we finished the project.” 

Mayu sighed sadly, leaning into her hand and propping up her chin as she looked out the window. 

“You have no girlish whimsy.” 

Asuka sputtered on her tea, coughing a few times before putting the cup down and wiping her mouth.

“What's that supposed to mean?!” 

“I mean, you never want to talk about boys! You always wear pants instead of skirts! You cut off your hair to your chin!” 

“Is that really that bad?” Asuka asked incredulously. 

“No…” Mayu sighed, “You do it all so well. You’re so cool.” She abandoned looking out the window to stare Asuka down with her sad eyes, “But it makes me sad for you. There's so much wonder to be had with a group of girls… sitting around and painting nails and talking about boys. The perfect teen movie picture- don’t you ever dream of it?”

“Uh, no. I think going to that Host Club every day is making you crazy.” 

“I think you’d get it if you went.” 

“Somehow I don’t think I would.” 

There was a moment of silence and Asuka braved lifting her teacup to sip once more. 

“Well, they’re hosting this ball tonight…” 

“There it is!” Asuka declared, “I knew there had to be something else.”

“Please come with me!” Mayu reached across the table and grasped Asuka’s hands in her own, “I know it's not typically your scene but you could meet some other girls in our class! I think it’d be nice for you to get out!”

At that moment, Asuka’s phone chimed. She slipped one hand out of Mayu’s grasp and flipped it open. 

Kyouya Ootori

Three years starts now. Total transparency- understood? 

The corners of Asuka’s mouth twitch and she shuts the phone with a clack.

“Fine. I’ll come. But you better provide a dress for me.” 

[martieshub]

A laugh escaped him and shook his head. ❛Oh no, I think when she's here for brunch and to take Dolly with her. You should tell her. You two have this connection together that I am not getting in the middle of. Besides, she'd like to hear it from you I'd bet fifty bucks. ❜

The gravity of the statement she had just said, made him pause for a moment. There were times before when they would be in the same room and he could feel there was a barrier between them, no matter how much she tolerated him in the moment, there was that wall that made him feel that she kept her distance not wanting or ready to let him in. And her reasons were valid, at least to him they were. Hence why he never pushed the issue. If people didn't give out trust easily, he knew nothing would make them. It was a distrusting's person's best alley. Keeping things close to the chest, him above anyone else knew that. But the fact that she had said she trusted him made a small tender beaming smile cross over his features. ❛Sure. I can do that, maybe for bedtime? Or you know, before I go back to the apartment and definitely before I leave for my flight. ❜ The hardest parts for him were leaving her and flying back home to where he actually resided. He'd have no issues with the back and forth but now that they were more, he knew it'd be harder for him to leave. ❛Fair enough. I think that's part of my charm. Though you were highly resistant to, all things considered, glad you saw past that.❜

❛To be fair I can see it. He had that look on his face the first time I met him. Accidentally since you didn't really want that happening for some reason.❜ He ribbed, smile clear on his face. ❛ Do you already have what you're gonna say to deflect?❜ Knowing too well how she worked and not helping himself from laughing a little to himself. Something in the way her features showed on her face made him go quiet or a brief moment. He wanted to ask what had her mind in a knot of a thought bubble but chose not to. At least not now. If she was in therapy, he knew the answer he was seeking wouldn't be his to know.

❛Hmm well, I've been heavily flirting with you for a year which is a long time in dinosaur time. So, me walking away after you were honest with me would be a little ridiculous from me. ❜ The grazing of his dimples made him let out an amused chuckle. ❛Be honest, how long have you waited to do that? ❜ Something he was used to with family but had now been made special by her. The softness of her touch made him smile to himself. To be fair, these moments that they were sharing, carried weight more so than they did when they were just friends. His head joined the top of hers as he played with her fingers. ❛I can now do this and don't have to think twice on how you'll take it.❜

He nodded his head that now rested on the sofa. ❛It's the start of the summer, meaning we have a BBQ and the bayou party. Something that is similar to Mardi Gras but specifically applies to my family.❜

Frankly, having her meet his family was a little overwhelming. He hadn't brought someone home before, like legitimately home. His past relationships didn't go past the first few dates and then work took over. Elizabeth being the first one to come down in a girlfriend capacity would be different and he didn't want her to feel like she was being pressured to join the family so soon. They had been them for a little over a year so technically they were used to one another. ❛I want to make sure you're okay with going. It has nothing to do with me, I'll be more than happy to have you there just so you know. I just know it can be a lot. If you thought Easter was a lot. I'll say Bordeaux Summer Bash tops that. Also my mom is there so that is the only big difference from when you came with me before. ❜ His thumb gently pressing circles on her chin, as he smiled at her. ❛Are you ready to bring me everywhere you go now? You know, not as a friend anymore?❜ Someday he will learn not to tease her as much as he does but that day was not today. Clearly, she had no pass even once she admitted her feelings.

❝ Yeah, I think she should be the first you tell about this. ❞ The wound healing in her side pained her for a moment reminding her of how this journey she was on began. ❝ I don’t want her to be mad at me if she ends up hearing it from someone else. You should tell her. ❞

A song that reminded him of her? Now she needed to know. ❝ How about you read them to me. Make up for not being able to send them. I want to know which song this was. And I don’t want to go through your phone. I trust you Wally, I have for a long time in many ways. ❞ Shaking her head, she smiled at him. ❝ No, not ridiculous. A little annoying at times, but not ridiculous.❞ There was no nastiness in it, the words were soft and a hint of a giggle laced them. Though he had annoyed her in the beginning as he befriended her she came to see that it was just who he was. Then somehow slowly, it became something he loved about him. Missed if it wasn't there and knew something was wrong if it was completely missing.

Future her? That was a concept she had never thought about. Amsterdam taught her that tomorrow could be something that she would never see and began to focus on what was right in front of her. Always living life as it came, she hadn’t thought she’d ever make it to 30, but here she was. Wally thinking about her still being around when she couldn’t even imagine making it to her next birthday was something she had to bring up at her next session. For now, she’d focus on this. On him. On the words that he said. The reassurance, the fact that he didn't make it seem like this would be a walk in the park. This wasn't something that like in movies and books would just magically be easy because they had admitted their feelings for each other. As much as she would like that to be the case, she knew it wasn't. ❝ For me, I'd have to say Charlie. He has a way of trying to hold things over my head when he was right. ❞

The smile on her face was effortless as she sank into the couch comfortably and listened to him. She shrugged at his question, the smile never leaving her face. ❝ I don't know. In all fairness, I was prepared for you to tell me that I was being ridiculous and walk away. So this is all new to me. ❞ The dimples on his face had her hand moving, tips of her fingers grazing it in a way she had wanted to for months but never dared to do so. Then it landed on top of his as she turned into his hand and kissed the palm of it. ❝ Summer bash gala? ❞ she asked curiously. With a small contended sigh, she rested her head on his shoulder. Interlocking the fingers of their hands together. ❝ If you want me to go, I'll go. I've been your plus one to tons of things before. Why would you let me wiggle out of that one? Unless you'd rather me not, then I won't. You do realize as well when I go back to New York they're going to tell me to bring you, right? ❞

[justlookfrightened]

Father's Day

“You sure you don’t want to come, Bits?”

Jack was standing by the door with his golf bag slung over his shoulder.

“It wouldn’t be any problem to add a third,” Bob said, with the confidence of a man who always got what he wanted from service workers, no matter how many twenties he had to slip them.

“No, y’all go and enjoy your game,” Bitty said. “They’re sure to be busy on Father’s Day. I’m sure they’ll pair you with another twosome.”

“No, they won’t,” Jack said. “I paid for a foursome. Avoids the awkwardness of getting paired up with fans.”

“Or worse, people who aren’t fans,” Bob chimed in.

“Of course you did,” Bitty said, shaking his head. “You go on. I’ll have everything ready for the grill when you get back. I gotta call my dad anyway.”

“If you’re sure,” Jack said. “Say hi for me.”

“Will do!” Bitty said, knowing his enthusiasm sounded forced even as he said it.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Bitty took a deep breath in and blew it out. Bob had been in town since Friday, on his own since Alicia had some board commitments, and the level of togetherness had been a bit … much.

Which was weird, because Bitty loved Bob. Jack was usually more likely to be annoyed by Bob’s big personality and the way his gregariousness drew people to him like a magnet.

This time, Jack and Bob had gone running together (with Bitty) and skated together (with Bitty). They’d gone out for meals and visited a history museum (with Bitty). When Jack had to go to a meeting with Falconers management, Bitty and Bob had made sourdough and whole wheat breads before Bitty showed Bob how to make pitas. Bitty, frankly, was ready for some time alone.

Bitty connected his phone to the Bluetooth speaker, selected a playlist and got to work.

He cleared the brunch dishes from the table, loading plates and flatware into the dishwasher before tackling the pans that were soaking in the sink.

He stripped the sheets from his and Jack’s bed, threw them in the washer, and took a load of T-shirts, socks and underwear from the dryer to fold them.

This was a chore better done without an audience, he thought to himself with some satisfaction. That wasn’t fair, though. Bob wouldn’t mind; he’d probably help.

Once the clothes were put away, Bitty gave both bathrooms a once-over, wiping down surfaces and refreshing towels. He straightened the sofa cushions, shelved the books scattered on the coffee table, watered the plants and ran the vacuum.

There was still at least an hour and a half before Jack and Bob would get back, and Coach and Mama would have been home from church in Madison for hours now. If he was going to call, now would be a good time.

Bitty turned the music off and found the contact for his parents’ landline. It wasn’t like he needed it; it was the first phone number he ever learned, the one that was written inside his jacket when he was in kindergarten and the one he had called for rides home from the rink more times than he could count. But he hardly used it anymore. Now when he talked to Mama, it was almost on her mobile, so they could switch to videochat while they baked together or when he wanted advice for what to do about the ailing tomato plants in the tubs on the terrace.

The phone rang once, twice, three times. Maybe they had gone out? Neither of Bitty’s parents’ fathers were alive anymore – hadn’t been since Bitty was a very small child, and really, his father wasn’t much older than Bitty was now when Grandpa Bittle had passed – but maybe one of the aunts was hosting something for Father’s Day?

But Mama probably would have mentioned it when they talked on Thursday.

Four rings, and then the click of the receiver being picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Coach,” Bitty said. “Er. Daddy. It’s me. I called to say happy Father’s Day.”

“Thanks, Junior,” his father said. “It’s nice of you to call. I got your card, too. Do you want to talk to your mother?”

Bitty bit back the response that formed in his mouth, the “Why don’t you think I want to talk to you?” Or maybe it was, “Why don’t you ever want to talk to me?”

“Not just yet,” Bitty said. “I called to talk to you. Are you having a good day?” “I suppose,” Coach said, like it might be a trick question. “It’s hot, so I’m sitting here in the den watching the Braves. I cut the grass yesterday, in the morning, before the heat got too bad. And of course it rained in the afternoon. Probably not so hot up north.”

The weather?

“No, it’s not,” Bitty said. “It’s actually a beautiful day today. Jack went out to play golf with his dad. He said to say hi.”

“He’s doing all right?” Coach asked. “Not too down about not making the final this year?”

“He’s good,” Bitty said. “He’d rather be playing – of course – but they had a good season, and he could use the downtime.”

Silence.

“So, how’re the Braves doing?” Bitty asked, desperate for a new topic.

“Winning today,” Coach said. “But there’s still time for them to blow it. Your mother just came in from the garden, let me get her. Suzanne! Junior’s on the phone.”

His mother picked up the phone in the kitchen and his father hung up the phone in the den, and Bitty asked, “Everything okay down there? It’s hard to get much out of Coach.”

“You know he’s not big on talking on the phone,” Mama said. “But he does miss you. Your coming for the Fourth of July, right? You and Jack both?

“Yes, ma’am,” Bitty said.

“What did you settle on to make for dinner?” she asked.

“We’re just going to grill some kebabs,” Bitty said. “Easier to get meat and veggies in that way. And I made some pitas with Bob the other day. But I should get going – I wanted to get a pie in the oven before they get back from their golf game.”

“Alright, then,” Mama said. “Say hello to Bob for me, and to that handsome man of yours. I love you, Dicky, and your father does, too.”

“Love you too, Mama,” Bitty said, and ended the call. Then he started putting together dough for a pie crust, to make what he told his mother true.

By the time Jack and Bob came back, sweaty and tired and a little flushed with the sun, the pie was baking and the kebabs were marinating. The condo was as clean as it ever got, and Bitty was clean in a fresh polo shirt and pressed shorts.

Jack glanced around, waited for his father to head to the guest room to freshen up, and said, “Everything go okay?”

“Great,” Bitty said. “We managed to talk for five whole minutes before he got Mama on the phone.”

“That must be some kind of record,” Jack deadpanned.

“You know, I think it might be,” Bitty said.

Just then, his phone dinged in his pocket. It was a text from Coach, who hardly ever used his mobile when he was at home.

Braves won.

And if I forgot to say it, I love you, son.

Or read it on AO3