#ended the night with another mountain top meteor viewing

[raspberryspace]

8/13/23 - Meteors & Meditation & Manual & Makers

[ey8508]

Rumors & Secrets LZ

Totally more contents about LZ : )

[Finally, we meet again]

Note:

R&S for this card (CG above)

Chapter SPOILERS up to chapter 37 (read with your own risk)

Contains 5 chapters

Translation isn’t 100% accurate (or grammar errors)

This is mostly in Li Zeyan’s POV before he meets MC (in the past original timeline) and ends with the iconic “Evolver?” question (where it all begins in chapter 1)

Do not repost to any other site (reblog is fine)

Chapter 1

Page 1

The sun is slowly setting...

At the horizon, a large rose color slowly fainted from the golden sunlight, soaking the low-hanging cloud curtain, allowing the color of the stratus clouds to burst out, reflecting the blue sea surface that meets the sky.

The extended Bentley drove away from the bustling part of the town and moved slowly along the winding road. It rained at noon, and the air was full of the smell of wet soil and raindrops soaking leaves. Li Zeyan lowered half of the car window and turned his gaze to the red-brick and white-walled building under his feet, unconsciously a little surprised.

Eze, one of the most beautiful towns on the Mediterranean coast, is also the former residence of Li Zeyan's grandfather and grandmother.

Page 2

Since he can remember, he has often come to Eze with his mother to stay for a while. The leisurely and beautiful memories of his youth are composed of the humid sea breeze here, the touch of the ankle being drawn by the low bushes, and the moment when the eyes are filled with bright and full bouquets.

Mother always likes to go to the market in the early morning to buy a few bunches of flowers, before he gets up. He then will put the flower branches in various containers or clay pots or glasses as the way he likes.

When grandpa and grandma were still alive, they would have a richer breakfast. Although they had settled in Eze early in the morning, they still had a Chinese stomach. They wanted to eat porridge and noodles. When they passed away, breakfast becomes a little simpler, only bread, omelette, or instant cereal...

Page 3

Of course, his mother is also studying cooking seriously and wants to cook some complicated dishes for him, but progress is slow.

Although these memories became more and more blurred with his busy life, as soon as he returned here, the images of sunlight, green trees, ocean, and flowers in his mind became particularly clear.

The corners of Li Zeyan's lips showed a faint smile.

The video conference is already being connected, and Li Zeyan withdraws his gaze and sets his sights on the laptop in front of him. Soon, several young people in suits and leather shoes appeared in the meeting room. Although their hair colors were different, their pupils were different, the confident and relaxed look on his face was particularly noticeable.

Page 4

They are several industry stars recently discovered by Li Zeyan. They have been successively arranged in several venture capital companies established by Huarui overseas. In Li Zeyan's view, the times have changed. It is no longer the person in the investment department holding a bunch of industry data. In financial statements, you can easily figure out whether a company really has the stage of commercial value. They need to work hard in a field, understand every link that a student can accomplish, understand the most innovative business models, and look at all new things with suspicion and surprise.

They can contact any field they are interested in on the platform of Huarui, accumulate experience, and become Li Zeyan's eyes for exploring new tracks.

Page 5

The car drove halfway through the mountain, and the cascading sunset cast a golden glow on Li Zeyan's face, covering his smiling eyes in a warm color.

[They're talking in EN]

"Li, looks like you've got a brilliant sunset."

"It sure is."

[Back to CN]

"Isn't it Eze? It's a place worth sitting on the balcony all day."

" Indeed. "

Page 6

[Now they're talking in French]

"Better to drink good wine and appreciate the scenery."

"D'accord."

Chapter 2

Page 1

The relaxed video conference ends when the vehicle reaches the top of the mountain.

Li Zeyan got out of the car, strode forward, and a gentle breeze came towards him, messing with the strands of hair on his forehead. He fastened the suit that was blown up by the wind, took the rose bouquet from the entourage, and walked to the corner he knew.

Only a little golden light remained in the setting sun, hooked in the dark blue of the starry sky, quietly spilling on the white marble tombstone.

"mother."

Page 2

Li Zeyan put down the flowers, took out a brown handkerchief from his pocket, and knelt down to wipe the floating dust on the monument. Although there are people taking care of it every day, the tombstone is never slender. Every few days someone will come to replace a bunch of flowers, they are all taken care of and was cleaned with moisturizing liquid in the crystal vase that was placed in front of the tomb.

"Father was originally going to come over, but something happened temporarily. He asked me to bring you this bouquet of roses to make amends."

Li Zeyan slowly stood up as he spoke, looking at the sun that had completely sunk at sea level, inadvertently folded his fingers slightly, and clenched into a fist.

Page 3

On this day of the year, he will definitely take time to return to Eze. Although the schedule is tight, sometimes he can only stand in front of the grave for a short while, and has to rush to the next meeting. However, he still insists on coming in person...

His mother's death day is of extraordinary significance to him.

Li Zeyan breathed the cool air at the top of the mountain and talked about trivial matters for no reason.

"The charity project I talked to you last time is fully operational. I have found a lot of professional teachers who are willing to teach music to disabled children. Many of them have experience in caring for disabled children. Some also have a background in music schools. It should not be an issue to send gifted children to regular schools in the future-"

Page 4

"By the way, I saw the Moments two days ago. Aunt Gu said that she wants Wenwen to accept the wedding, as she has a very good boyfriend. Given her previous battles with Wenwen to urge her to marry, I think they will be urged to get the certificate soon."

" Do you remember Ronan? He went to Italy two days ago and sent me a two-meter sculpture, the sculptured piece was me.

...It is really difficult for him to spend such a large cost to let the world's best sculptor accompany him to do such boring things."

After a moment of silence, he remembered another thing.

Page 5

"Father’s favorite program "Discovering Miracles", the ratings and profitability of the last year are not good, Huarui is preparing to divest. Although it is a pity to say that, in the process of fast-forwarding, many people have been left behind, and "Discovering Miracles" is just one of them."

The hands on the dial had reached the time when Li Zeyan planned to leave, but he was standing in the dark, looking deeply at his mother's silent gravestone.

A breath of wind was quickly blown away by the night wind, and his voice became lighter while he was talking.

"All leads are broken..."

"I still didn't find her."

Page 6

After that, Li Zeyan sighed slightly emotional. He retracted his gaze from the tombstone, raised his hand to shake off a leaf hanging on the neck of his suit, and then strode away.

As if responding to his lonely back when he left, a quiet meteor suddenly struck across the endless night.

Chapter 3

Page 1

On the tarmac, Li Zeyan's private jet had been waiting for a long time. The weather tonight was good and the field of vision was wide. When boarding the plane, the captain rarely suggested that he could take a look at the sea covered with white moonlight from the porthole.

As soon as he sat down, Wei Qian walked over with his tablet computer.

"President. Regarding today's schedule, there are some parts that need your confirmation."

"First of all, the equity investment plan of the SE network video platform has been formally established. The relevant meeting is scheduled at 2 pm, and the representatives of SE will land at 12 noon, and the airport pick-up personnel have been arranged."

Page 2

"But you have promised Mr. Chen to attend his cocktail reception at 7pm on time, so the dinner after the meeting with the SE representatives..."

"Just say that we understand their hard journey, postpone the meal for one day, let them rest for the night."

"Understood. Also, Yaoxing Circus has accepted our invitation and is willing to come to Lianyu City for performances. However, they still have some doubts about the performance venue and performance permits, and they want to determine the original schedule. Is it possible to successfully obtain the performance license? Regarding this point, I have asked the relevant person in charge to prepare the materials required to apply for the license. I apply in the name of Hua Rui. I believe that it is not a big problem to get this license. So please ask the president, can you give them a positive answer directly?"

Page 3

Li Zeyan nodded faintly, and turned his sight out towards one of the porthole. The plane was flying over the city, and the star lights were gathered in his eyes. In the darker glass, a pair of eyes were also as deep as night.

"President Mr. Bao's payment for this month has passed, but he replied to this email and asked me to convey it to you."

"He said that he has only found some useful clues in the first few years before. In the last year, almost nothing was collected. He loves money very much, but he does not want to take your money for nothing. None of these investigations have yielded much. He is willing to help you do some commercial work. Business. No additional fees will be charged to you. He has a wide range of knowledge and resources. If you can find some news, you can help your friends... "

Page 4

Lao Bao's original words were "commercial espionage," and Wei Qian thought about it repeatedly before coming up with this rhetoric.

Li Zeyan couldn't help but smile faintly when thinking of Lao Bao's joking expression.

"Tell him, we don't need it for now. Hua Rui's information channels may not be less than his. Let him take money at ease and do things seriously."

Wei Qian replied in a low voice and stopped talking. The silence in the cabin was comparable to that of the night. The plane traveled steadily in the quiet, clear night, repeating the journey it had traveled countless times without moving.

Chapter 4

Page 1

Half an hour later, Li Zeyan finished shower, changed into a white bathrobe and sat on the bedroom sofa.

The red wine in the decanter has reached its best taste. Li Zeyan poured himself a half glass and tasted it, his expression was neither salty nor light. He vaguely remember that this 85-year-old Romanee-Conti seems to be a gift specially given to him by a director of Yuelai Entertainment at the auction.

At Yuelai Entertainment, Li Zeyan was tasting the wine, and a few projects that could work with them flashed in his mind, but when then changed his mind, as he puts it down.

Can wait, they are not qualified now.

Page 2

Li Zeyan leaned on the sofa, turned on the computer, and casually browsed the letters in the mailbox and the approval process.

An e-mail with the subject "Facial Structure and Profit Prospect Analysis Report" was lying on the first line of his mailbox. He clicked it in and glanced at the conclusion part 1 hastily.

According to the final data analysis, the film company’s only variety show "Discovering Miracles" lost about 80% of its audience in the last year, and its ratings ranked thirteenth (that is, third from the bottom) among the programs at the same time. At the same time, the film and television company has changed the person in charge a few months ago. The investigation showed that the person in charge had no experience in program production, company management, business negotiation, etc. before officially taking over the company. Accordingly, the venture capital department requested the president and the board of directors to suspend the continued capital injection of the company.

Page 3

Li Zeyan replied to the email with one hand with little thought: Approval of the withdrawal.

It never takes him too much time to make such a decision.

In the last two weeks, Li Zeyan has divested five companies, and this film and television company is the sixth. At the same time, he also made a lot of investment transactions, such as SE.

Huarui's capital chain is operating at a high speed, quickly responding to the market.

Page 4

Many people think that there is a gamble in this. Li Zeyan never denies that Huarui's style of offensive and never procrastinating seems too "aggressive" in the entire industry. But it doesn't matter. He knows better than anyone that the steady fight of the so-called industry giants is just a strategy that has to be adopted without an efficient business promotion mechanism and redundant management structure.

In a few years, perhaps Huarui will do the same.

But it doesn't matter, before that, he will lay the best foundation for Huarui, so that Huarui can still maintain active and vigorous vitality in the continuous expansion.

Page 5

After drinking the red wine in the glass in one sip, Li Zeyan pressed the sleep mode on the remote control, the light-shielding plate slowly fell, and the surrounding lights dimmed a little bit. He walked into the bathroom again to brush his teeth and wash to end the busy day.

This night, Li Zeyan had a deep dream.

In the time of emptiness, countless spots of light flowed slowly between his fingers. He tried to hold one or two in the house, but every time he made a fist and opened it, his palm was empty. Someone was smiling in front of him, her long light brown hair was slightly curly, and the corners of her lips were slightly raised with a smile, that was his mother. She smiled at him, her eyes calm and gentle, as if looking at a unique treasure in the world. She seemed to be asking something, but she also seemed to be just smile quietly.

He couldn't keep up with her.

Page 6

He knew that he had been waiting for a long time in a strange vortex, but who was he waiting for?

The indicator light on the wing is not clear in the thick night, the whole continent under the clouds is sleeping, and the time is as quiet as stopping, freezing the whole world at this moment.

In the sky, the stars are shining, and the whole Milky Way witnesses him breathing while in a dream.

Page 7

In the same deep dream, a girl was holding a mobile phone with a flashing light in her arms, and she was talking indifferently in a drowsy sleep.

As the two ends of the world are finally connected, the trajectory that continues to move forward is quietly changed.

The smoothly moving plane passed the sunrise scenery on the horizon.

The light-shielding board was slowly raised in accordance with the program instructions, and the first ray of sunlight in the morning shone into the porthole, covering Li Zeyan's bed.

Chapter 5

Page 1

Li Zeyan originally planned to go directly to Hua Rui, but halfway through, he received a message that Mr. Cai said that he had committed rheumatism and wanted to ask him for two days off.

He was a little worried, and after hesitating a little, he decided to visit.

Coincidentally, it was close to the meal time when he went to visit. The elderly eat early, and the house is full of plants when he enters the door. Mrs. Cai said that it would keep her down for a casual meal. He couldn't refuse the meal, so she took over the dishes.

Li Zeyan held a bowl straight at his waist, eating, and asking about Mr. Cai's condition. He had already arranged for a doctor to follow up for Mr. Cai before he finished the meal.

Page 2

Mr. Cai was grateful, and remembered some gossip he had seen on the Internet before, "I saw a lot of people commenting about the restaurants on the Internet. You must have seen it, manager, don’t keep it to your heart."

Li Zeyan smiled, he did not expect Mr. Cai to comfort him in return, "Mr. Cai, I never care what they think, how the restaurant wants to operate, I have always been aware of this, please rest assured. You can rest in peace in these two days. According to what I just said, Souvenir will be out of business for a week. Firstly, see what the doctor says."

Mr. Cai pounded his long-painful knee with a smile on his face, "I am old and useless. You don't have to do it for me"

Li Zeyan remarks "It's nothing"

Page 3

Then Mrs. Cai silently took a thin blanket from the living room to cover her husband. The two couples looked at each other for a short time, and said nothing. They still followed the topic just now and started talking cheerfully. The restaurant diners praised the manager’s craftsmanship.

Li Zeyan took the scene in his eyes, and a faint smile flicked across his lips.

After finishing light meal with a cup of tea, Li Zeyan did not want to disturb the couple too much, and left after that.

When he came, the weather was fine, the sun was fragile, and there was a leisurely sunny day scenery. Unexpectedly, when Li Zeyan walked to the intersection across the street from Huarui, there was both the sun and rain.

Page 4

He thought of the evening reception, thinking about whether to let Wei Qian bring him a clean suit. At this moment, a petite girl suddenly stood in front of him.

The green light on the crosswalk turned red just after the countdown, the vehicles coming from a distance did not slow down at all, and the girl was still standing in the middle of the road slowly, not aware of the coming danger!

It happened too suddenly, and two rapid bangs rang out.

Page 5

Li Zeyan's expression between his eyebrows changed slightly, and all the noise around him stopped in the moment.

He took a step forward and held her in his arms.

The girl stared at him with stunned eyes.

"Evolver?"

When time stands still, raindrops hover in the air, he also stopped his gaze.

[cellmint]

Star Gaze

Human Revenant x Wattson

Word count-1981

Warning/Tags-red tears, comfort, stars

Rating-G

Summary-

Human Revenant takes wattson for a night stroll under the stars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Revenant woke up from another nightmare. The image of him coming out as a simulacrum turned his guts upsidedown. He felt worried and scared. He fixed his scarf and walked silent in the dark. He rubbed his forehead looking confused. He got himself a nice cold water and drank it he washed his face after a while trying to focus on something else.

He wonder what his favorite defensive legend was doing. He walked down the hall each step he made was silent than the next. For a trained assassin that woke up from cryostasis it was fine. He looked thinking for a while of how he got to the Apex games. He was put to sleep by Hammond Robotics next thing he knew was waking up by the sound of Wattson opening the chamber.

Then he joined the games somewhere or another? Thinking about it made him feel sick. He could have sworn he died by an explosion. Then again he had a few adjustments and improvements on his body and gear, prosthetics perhaps maybe hammond removed some of his limbs.... Nono that be sick he looked down at his prostetics..

He heard someone pacing around he moved his face forward reading the room. He saw Wattson bitting her thumb nervously pacing around. She seemed to be thinking about something. She looked to the side and saw Revenant.

"Rev!" She spoke.

"W...what's wrong?" He looked at her.

"I locked myself out of my room and another experiment end up  failing."she looked down.

Revenant looked back and side to side in case some legends would be walking around the hall but it was only them. He took a few steps seeing as she was crying and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.  He lifted his finger and removed a single tear away from her soft face. He gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

"Hm... Come on." He spoke in a soft tone.

She look a bit confused and decides to follow.

"We are sneaking out of the dropship. I want you to look at a surprise" He smile.

The drop ship was located on the ground getting repairs and supplies. But legends are supposed to stay at night within it for protocol.

"Isn't it bad to leave the dropship?" Wattson ask as they kept walking.

"Nobody is going to find out relax" He held her hand leading the way.

As they both walk into the hallway they could hear some workers within the drop ship talk. There sounds getting closer to them. Revenant stop and took Wattson into a door opening it and going inside without being detected. The room was pitch black super small it was a janitors closet. Revenant look feeling wattsons breath on his neck as the space was cramped. She stayed still focusing on the sound of Revenants chest. He was so silent it was as if he didn't have a heartbeat. Revenant focus on the workers keeping his body away from Wattsons as respect.

"Did you hear something?" A voice ask.

"Don't know don't care. I just want to go sleep man." One of them responded tired.

The footsteps got far away and revenant open the door and walked out with Wattson. She was a bit nervous following him. He was blushing a bit rubbing his neck.

They went downstairs and got out threw the back of the dropship. Revenant could feel Wattsons hand grab his. He look a bit surprised. Her blue eyes could put him in a trance the more he kept looking. Her hair was uncovered since she was just wearing the jacket. They walked into skyhook. The town was alive with people, merchants street food and music. The smell of food hit there noses making them hungry.

"Want something to eat?" Revenant ask.

"Qui." She smiled.

Revenant bought some street food, eat it while walking and looked around.

Wattson followed eating the piece of meat on a stick. The taste was so smokey and the bbq sauce just combined perfectly. It wasn't too bitter or sweet the sauce was wonderful. Almost as good as Mirage's pork chops. She smile looking at Revenant as he kept walking, she noticed as he sometimes start peeking looking at her. She made a small smile going to his shoulder walking.

"Like it?" He ask.

"Magnifique." She smiled.

"Street food always taste best at night. Want some more?" He ask.

"No thank you, what kind of meat is it?" She ask taking another bite of the meat enjoying the flavors

"Leviathan." He respond.

"Wow!" She looked surprised.

They reached a mountain and she looked surprised.

"Come on take the zipline." Revenant spoke.

She took it first and he followed. They reached the top and walk to the opposite side walking on the edge. Wattson look around following Revenant. It was pretty dark to see anything.

The cold air could be felt blowing behind them as it slowly died down, Revenant didn't worry about the cold he enjoyed it. Wattson had a bit of a shiver and look at him.

"Its about to start." He spoke.

He grab wattsons hand and walked to the edge and sat down. He eat some small pieces of bread from the street food. It felt so warm, it had a bit of sauce on it. They where located in snipers mountain so the view of the sky was crystal clear. 

He looked up at the sky closing his eyes. She look at him as the sky was pitch black and got uncovered by a black cloud. Suddenly the sky glowed a faint blue and a lot of stars could be seen. Some meteors and even an aurora showed up.

Wattson was surprised by the sudden change of mood. She smile watching the sky. Revenant opened his eyes and felt Wattson plce her head on his right shoulder, he placed his arm around her giving her a kiss.

He felt her soft skin brush against his lips. Felt almost like kissing a scented flower and cotton. She grab his hands and shiver a bit do to the cold.

"Merci." She spoke softly and quietly.

"That's why I'm here." He respond.

"Whenever you feel alone, sad, frustrated, angry, im here for you." He spoke.

"Aren't you a bit nervous if we get caught outside of the dropship?" She wonder.

"Of course not because I'll make sure we don't get caught." He spoke.

She look up at the sky. So many different worlds and universes out there. So many planets each of them with living beings and even with there own ecosystems. Wattson wonder if she would be able to see some of them. She felt hypnotized by the stars and the colors of it. Purple, blue, black all of the colors shining brightly. The stars gleam some shooting stars could be seeing catching her attention. She lied down her back against the short grass it felt soft instead of prickly. Revenant join her and watched the show.

It was as if the stars wanted to put a show for them to enjoy. Each of them danced around one and another. The colors where just so soft, warm and even cold. Revenant took a deep breath calming down. He saw as just for once he could be happy and take his mind off Hammond robotics. Being frozen for so many years no contact with the outside world, unable to eat or even live his life. He wonder what happen to the people that he once knew.

Wattson look at Revenant as he got lost in his own thought. His gaze wasn't even focusing on the stars it was as if he was trapped in his own mind with his own problems. He's always there for her but he never wants to talk about his problems to feel better. Is it because of humiliation or fear that she won't handle it?

"Rev?" She ask.

Revenant kept thinking what would happen if he lived his full life, without being involved with Hammond. He felt a tear run down his face. He felt a soft hand embrace him in a hug. He could hear her heartbeat pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Rev" she spoke with tears seeing him.

He had tears running down his face, he looked surprised being hugged  by Wattson s he realized what she was doing.

"Are you alright?" Her soft words made his ears focus on her.

"I was just thinking." He lift himself up his back no longer touched the grass and he hid his face from her.

"It's alright to cry. What you been threw must've not been easy for you. Its alright, want to talk?" She ask.

"N...no." He look away collecting his emotions.

"Are you sure." She wonder.

"I....I don't know." He look at her with tears.

She look surprised a bit and paid attention. He look at her and moved his eyes away to distract himself. She look surprise when Revenant started to cry red, a red streak ran down his eye to his cheeks. She quickly grab a napkin from her pocket and placed it om his face.

"Your bleeding?!" She spoke surprised.

"I'm fine." He spoke.

Holding her hand. He gave her a kiss and look at her.

"I worked for Hammond as a hired hitman. Sometimes I worked for the person that can pay me the highest. I had a pretty good life until, I was set up. In one of my missions I was sent to kill a a mafia boss he lead me to a Hammond facility he worked in and next thing you know the sound of an explosion gets you deaf and you get burned by it. A scientist took me and repaired me forcing me to live. Next thing I knew I was thrown inside of a claustrophobic chamber and frozen." He spoke.

Revenant looked at his prosthetic right arm as a small little ball came out of it and he played with it. He uses it a lot for the games to cancel peoples abilities.Wattson look at him, and held his hands stopping him.

"The important thing is your alive and you have new friends and you can start again." She smile.

"Start again. I lost my perfect life, they made me this fucked up thing. All the suffering, they removed my spine while I was awake. You clearly don't understand!" He spoke showing his teeth and fangs pissed.

He forced her to let go off his hands and stood up looking away mad.

"You want to take down hammond for what they did to you. Your feelings are completely understandable. But thinking I don't understand you are very wrong. Being pissed at me for something I don't have to do anything with Hammond." She respond.

Revenant looked at her about to talk back and felt her embrace him in a tight hug.

"Nono!" He growl.

He was so mad he just felt Wattson. He looked quiet and embraced her back in a hug.

"Trust me if I put myself in your position I would be very angry and the time to adjust would be overwhelming. Its alright to be mad. But only at the people that did this to you. Not the ones that want to see you better." Wattson spoke.

Revenant look at her and stayed quiet fixing his golden hair covering it within his scarf. She looked down piking up the napkin from the floor.

"Now lets enjoy the night watching the stars together." She sat down and look as the universe itself displayed for them to watch and enjoy every minute.

"Thank you." Revenant spoke looking at the sky.

[dragonleesupporter]

Of Mischief and Magic

Summary: Roman, after using his magic to turn Logan into an embarrassing creature, the logical side uses his new form to tickle Roman silly as revenge. Ships: LAMP and maybe slight Logan and Roman.

“Roman, what are we doing here?” Virgil groaned as all the sides walked into the red trait’s room.

             It had been a long week of each of the sides admitting something about themselves to the others, so the prince had the idea to go on an adventure in his room. He had turned it into a vast landscape, where anything could happen. Mountains stretched to the sky in the distance, valleys dipping so low, they could’ve been made by meteors. Soft, green grass flowed in a steady wind as a forest swayed opposite of the mountains. The blue sky contained clouds chasing each other and taking different forms as the sun split through them, warming the calm land.

             Though it was true that the sides could transform into Thomas’s friends and each other, they had trouble turning into much of anything else, tough it was possible. But in Roman’s room, he had the ability to transform anyone into anything!

             “Well, I’ve kind of had these abilities laying around that I really wanted to try out.” Roman smiled at the anxious trait, who didn’t like the vague answer.

             “Oooo! What is it, Roman? What can you do?” Patton jumped excitedly as the prince turned to him.

             “Well, if you really want to know, then I guess you’ll be first!” The red side snapped his fingers and Patton opened his eyes to see that his head was very close to the ground. He tried to stand up, but not only did it not lift him all that high, but he quickly lost balance and fell on his back, something else following him to the ground. He looked at his arms in shock to realize that they were actually tiny legs, covered in light brown hair, and his feet only had four digits…?

             “Oh my god…” Logan gaped.

             “He’s a…” Virgil trailed off with his jaw as equally slack as Logan’s.

             “A PUPPY!” Patton squealed and jumped onto all fours to run up to the other three, giggling like mad.

             “L-lohohook! I hahave a puhuhupy nose! O-oh! And puppy ehehears! Ahahand ahaha-” The light blue side caught sight of his tail, and instinctively started to chase it. “Aahahahahaha! This ihis sohoho much fuhuhun!”

             The prince shot a mischievous look Virgil, who instantly tensed.

             “Princey, what you thin-” before the darker trait could even finish his sentence, Roman had snapped his fingers a second time.

             Anxiety opened his eyes and looked down to see that the others had become specs in his view. He gave himself a quick look over and smiled down at Roman, who was giving him a thumbs-up.

             “Not gonna lie, this is pretty chill.” The purple dragon took a deep breath and blew dark flames into the air. “Just kidding, there’s nothing ‘chill’ about it.” Even from his height, he could hear Patton’s squeal of pride as he chuckled lightly to himself. “But… don’t you slay dragons?”

             “I slay dragon witches!” Roman shouted irritably, it being the thousandth time he’d explained it.

             “More like eardrums.” Logan rubbed the side of his head from all the loud noises. “Are we done with this ridiculousness? I have things to plan out that are just as boring, but are mandatory.” He grumbled at an offended Princey as the dragon and puppy played in the field.

             “Hrrr… Alright, Logan. Your turn.” Roman growled angrily before gaining a dark predatorial smile. He had a bit of mischief in that moment, a bit of mischief that he could’ve easily restrained but chose not to. A little bit of mischief… that wanted to see how Logan would react, turning him into something embarrassing and feeble. With only Roman’s power being able to reverse it, he snapped his fingers.

             A tiny voice screamed as the puppy and dragon both halted their fun to look at what had happened to the logical side.

             “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!” A tiny voice shrieked in anger as Roman doubled over, laughing himself hoarse. Logan’s voice sounded like it had been filled with helium, on top of the dark blue side screaming out curses and threats. It was sidesplitting to the prince, making him even more hysterical when he saw Logan’s tiny pout. Virgil was having a hard time compressing his laughter as well, but Patton stood in shock, scared that Logan would get hurt…

             “THERE’S NO LOGICAL SENSE IN TURNING ME INTO A BUTTERFLY! CHANGE ME BACK RIGHT NOW! I MEAN IT!” Logan huffed, a little out of breath after another string of curses, just to realize Virgil and Roman were LAUGHING at him.

             His sleek, butterfly wings flapped furiously, keeping him in the air as he stared wrathfully at Roman.

             “You wanna laugh, huh?” Logan also got a bit of mischief, another mischief that could’ve been repressed without a second thought, but there it was. That mischief. Logan decided to chose the same course of action that Roman had, and let said mischief take over.

             Roman had heard Logic’s low growl, and grew nervous once he realized he couldn’t find him.

             “Logan? Where’d you g-?” Roman suddenly slapped a hand over his mouth as he felt a light fluttering at the shell of his ear.

             “I’m going to make you regret this.” A small voice whispered against the soft spot, making the prince recoil with barely contained giggles. Roman then felt something fly into the collar of his princely suit.

             “Ooooohh nohohohohohohOHOHOHOHO!”  The red side started to thrash as Logan skimmed over the skin on his neck, barely touching it. Sending a cascade of tingles down his spine.

             “Oooooo, what’s the matter, Roman? Ticklish?” The tiny voice taunted ruthlessly as the prince openly giggled and surprisingly snorted when Logan decided to use his tiny hands to scribble all over the bare skin. He flew farther down his back and curved around the prince’s sides, purposefully coming close enough to touch, but just barely avoided making direct contact with the skin.

             “St-stohohohop ihihihit!” Roman desperately tried to keep his arms away from his body in fear of crushing Logan, but it became nearly impossible when the logical butterfly started zipping up and down his sides, small hands gliding lightly.

             “GAH! Ahahahahahahahaha!” Roman ended up falling on his back, unable to keep his footing, his arms reached out and his hands clawed for anything to grab onto.

             Virgil snickered at the prince’s predicament, and decided to use his tail to help the butterfly. As much as Roman loved to laugh, his instincts to curl up were getting harder and harder to ignore, and the purple side saw it.

             The anxious trait used the tip of his tail to grab Roman’s wrists and lifted him into the air, to not risk the fanciful side curling up. The prince could usually do a decent number of pullups, but not while being tickled silly. He kicked his feet wildly as the tiny trait took advantage of the opportunity to scratch his puny hands at his underarms.

             “AAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOT THEHEHEHEHERE! LOHOHOHGAN PLEHEHEASE!” The red side shrieked, his whole form bouncing with cackles.

             “Perhaps you should’ve been more thoughtful in your transformation process.” A tiny voice growled, but slid out of the prince’s top for a moment, giving the red side a chance to breathe. The sight was well worth it.

             Roman’s face was scrunched together, with a delightfully bright red glow, his eyes crinkled with a large lip-biting grin on his face, as he tried to compress left-over giggles.

             “I believe there is one more place I’d like to torment. Then I will be satisfied with the compensated embarrassment.” Logan grinned, and Virgil caught on quickly, whipping his tail around to hang the giggly prince upside down by his legs, his feet poking out the other end of the tail.

             The dragon turned to see the Patton Puppy jumping up and down, desperately, wanting to be part of the fun.

             With a smirk, Anxiety lowered the red trait towards the ground, to a point where Patton could nuzzle Roman’s now-exposed belly with his stubby muzzle.

             “Pahahahahat! Nohohohot yohohohou tohohohooo!” Roman whined through his giggles, but his happy expression was enough to show that he was really enjoying this.

             “Time for the final blow!” The blue butterfly announced excitedly, uncharacteristically diving for the prince.

             “AHA- GAHAHAHA! CAHAHAHA-AEEEEEHEHEHEHAHAHAHA!” The valleys echoed with the booming laughter coming from the fanciful side as he thrashed like he was electrocuted.

             “Who knew such a strong prince could fall victim to a few soft tickly tickles?” Logan cooed as the red side’s thrashing increased with the added embarrassment.

             After Logan had finally stopped, Virgil dropped the side on his back, where he lay, eyes crossed as bubbly giggles still streamed from his mouth. He weakly lifted his hands and snapped his fingers, returning all the other sides to their original form.

             “Actually, I think I changed my mind. ~” The dark blue trait teased. “I guess this wasn’t so boring after all.” With a final mischievous poke to his side, Logan offered his hand and the prince took it.

             All four went to the living room for a movie night, leaving at least most mischief and magic behind.

[flutteringphalanges]

Read on FFN or AO3                                 

                                             Chapter Six

"Dammit! This one won't start either!"

Charlie gritted his teeth together as he roughly twisted the car key to an abandoned jeep in its ignition. Of the five cars they found discarded at a ransacked convenience store, three were deemed useless. Not only was their search for transportation fruitless, but the small shop had been wiped clean of everything. Food. Water. The only medicine it carried, if one would call it that, were vitamin supplements. But even those were tempered with, their tops left open. After days of traveling, the glimmer of hope each party member felt when coming across such a place were crushed deep into very ground. There was absolutely nothing.

"There's no gas in any of the tanks," Chloe sighed as she walked away from a van. "It's all been siphoned out."

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Nate hissed, throwing his arms up into the air. "So we're back to square one! We have zero supplies! At this point, we should all just draw straws and decide who we eat first!"

"I can assure you Father frowns upon cannibalism," Lucifer smirked coldly. "But seeing as you're already going where you are, it won't make much of a difference."

"What the hell is that supposed to me?" The other man took a step towards the Devil, his stance tense as if he anticipated an oncoming brawl. "Are you trying to piss me off? I may be damn well starving, but I still have enough energy to kick your ass!"

"Ah, an invitation to duel," Lucifer grinned. "Well, if you really insist, then-"

"Lucifer, that's enough!" Chloe exclaimed, moving to put herself in between the two men. "We're all hungry. And irritable," she met Lucifer's gaze, expression firm. "We've gotten this far and we still have food. The farther we walk, the more likely we'll get somewhere. We're still on track to get up North right, Kate?"

"If we continue with the pace we're going by foot," the younger woman replied quietly. "Then yes." For a brief moment, she paused as if questioning her next words. "I don't think we should be out here in the open. We need to be back in the woods like before."

Charlie squatted down, leaning against one of the cars. With a long sigh, he wiped the sweat away from his forehead, his hand leaving a grease stain in its wake. Ruth moved to his side and bent down, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. The man looked to his wife and gave her a weak smile, placing his own hand over hers. Silence fell over the group until Ruth's own voice broke the long pause.

"Maybe we can stay here for the night and sleep in the cars?" She suggested, her eyes meeting Chloe's in a clear attempt to persuade the other woman into agreeing. "Just for tonight. We can wake up early and get back on our path. It's been so long and I know car seats aren't that comfortable, but anything is better than the ground." Her eyes flickered to the others. "Please, just for the night. For a few hours."

"I really don't think it's a good idea," Kate spoke up once more. "We really shouldn't-"

"For once, I agree with the old lady," Nate butted in. "It's one damn night," he glared at the college student. "This isn't some horror film where the monster suddenly pops out of the woods and attacks us."

Once more, as they always seemed to do, all eyes fell on the detective. Oh, how lucky she always was. Giving the final say in a decision that could either save them or bite them in the ass. She looked over to Kate, a pang of guilt sprouting in her at the look of desperation and fear in the girl's eyes. She may be quiet, but Kate was smart. Maybe even wiser than all of them. But the thought of sleeping on something that wasn't covered in rocks and roots was attempting. Too tempting.

"We'll stay," Chloe exhaled. "But we leave before sunrise and we'll take shifts to make sure we're safe." She tried to catch Kate's attention, but the young woman looked away. "I'll do first shift."

"I'll join you, Detective," Lucifer offered. "Two makes good company, and anyway, we are partners."

The detective gave the Devil a small smile. "And since you're so adamant about the idea, Nate, you'll take second."

"Hold on a minute," the man interjected. "Who gave you the right-"

"You'll take second." Chloe's response was abrupt as she emphasized each word. "Or you don't get a car to sleep in. Are we at an understanding?"

Nate muttered something under his breath that she couldn't make out. Then, to her surprise and his clear disgust, the man nodded. "Fine," he muttered. "Have it your damn way."

Chloe inhaled slowly, taking in the air around her. "Then it's settled," she stated. "Ruth, Charlie, and Kate, you can have the van. Lucifer, Nate, and I will sleep in the jeep."

"Detective! I am certainly most not sleeping with that!" He jabbed a finger towards Nate who looked eager to bark back a response before Chloe cut in.

"You're more than welcome to sleep outside too, Lucifer."

And with that, the Devil fell silent. Time passed as everyone settled into the respective places, Nate stretching obnoxiously in the back snoring as Chloe and Lucifer sat up front. The sun was down and for the first time in awhile, the stars were relatively visible. Chloe couldn't remember the last time she had a moment to gaze up at the sky. The trees obscured most of their view making it seem darker than it really was.

She couldn't help but think of Trixie. Once, when she was three, she and Dan had taken her camping up in the mountains. There was a meteor shower and, little Trixie being who she was, ran back and forth in the open field trying to catch the falling stars. Ultimately, her ex husband found a random rock and gave it to her claiming he had caught one.

Chloe could still remember the excitement and joy in the girl's eyes as she held her prized star. It was one of many happy memories she treasured. And as she sat there, looking up, she tried to picture that Trixie was doing the same. Healthy. Alive. Safe. A lump formed in her throat and she tried to swallow it back down.

"Are you alright, Detective?"

It was almost like memory whiplash when Lucifer's question pulled her back to reality. She looked to her partner who eyed her with obvious concern. Swallowing again, this time harder, she nodded her head trying to compose herself.

"Mhm," she replied, rubbing her eyes hoping it'd appear that she was just tired. "Yeah, just thinking about getting back on the road. Nothing important."

Lucifer placed his hand over hers, his skin cool and soothing to the touch. She let out a shaky sigh, turning her head to meet his eyes. When she looked at him, she felt relaxed. Safe. That everything in the end was going to be okay. Their fingers interlocked and she shivered, but not out of cold.

"We'll find her, you know," the Devil spoke gently. "Your spawn is resilient and dare I say, brave? Perhaps even frighteningly so?" His smile was genuine, unlike the grins he gave whenever he was being cocky. "Trust me, Trixie is okay. A Devil never lies."

The detective yawned softly, moving to rest her head on Lucifer's shoulder. She felt his arm around her, his grip firm yet gentle. "Never change, Lucifer Morningstar," she murmured.

"Tired?" He asked softly.

Chloe could only nod in response, a small smile gracing her lips. She was long gone, pulled into the depths of sleep when Lucifer startled Nate awake. She didn't hear the argument that ensued until the other man reluctantly gave into his duty. Unconsciousness had claimed her and she did not fight it.

"SHIT!"

The sound of a bullet embedding itself into the thick metal of a car door ripped Chloe from her sleep. She looked around startled as yet another bullet apparently whizzed by her shattering a window. Blinking back sleep, she could make out figures shielding themselves around the other unoccupied vehicles, guns raised.

"You bastard!" Lucifer cried out. "You bloody fell asleep!"

"It was an accident!" Nate screamed. "I didn't mean-"

"Get your heads down!" The detective yelled, finally wide awake. "We can point fingers later!"

Doing her best to stay out of range, Chloe peered over the broken window of the jeep. It was hard to tell how many men there were, at least three, but her main concern was the van. Charlie. Katie. Ruth. If something happened to them, she'd never forgive herself. Dammit, they should've listen to Kate.

"We need to get over to the van!" Chloe shouted over the shooting. "Lucifer, I need you to cover me!"

"Are you crazy?!" The man replied, looking at her in disbelief. "If anyone should be used as a target, it's him!"

They both looked to Nate whose breathing was erratic. He was going to have a panic attack. But before either of the two could stop him, the man leaped out of the car intending to disappear into the woods. His second leg didn't hit the ground for the bullet embedded itself in his shoulder.

Lucifer couldn't help but think of mirages in deserts when he and Chloe came upon the house. But unlike those tricks of the imagination, this one was real. With almost too much anticipation, still supporting much of Chloe's weight, he twisted the door knob. Unlocked. It was almost too good to be true. A fact that his mind didn't exactly consider as he rushed the detective inside.

The interior of the home was simple. From the front door, you could see the entrance to the kitchen that also acted as a small dining room, a small hallway that led to what the Devil could only assume was the living room and two doors-probably leading to a bathroom and bedroom. Quaint and anything far from complaining about.

"Let's get you off your feet, Detective, and I'll have a look see, yes?"

Chloe let out a quiet hum in response as Lucifer walked to one of the two doors. Hesitantly, his mind now returning to a state of alertness, turned the knob slowly. With his elbow, he gingerly pushed it open, half expecting someone to either jump out or be met with the stench of a dead body. Instead, he was greeted by an empty bedroom that seemed, except for the unmade bed, completely untouched. Lucifer let out a long sigh he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he moved over to the mattress.

"Just lay here in rest," he instructed Chloe. "I'll find us some water and something to eat."

A part of him was afraid to leave the room. Afraid to turn away from Chloe and move out of her sight. It was a strange feeling. A worry that if he did, she'd disappear. Deep down he knew that wouldn't be the case, but still he felt it. So he watched her for a minute, making sure she was still before he reluctantly retreated to kitchen in the hopes of finding something. Anything.

He went for the cub boards first, digging through the various plates and glasses that filled the top shelves. The fridge too was empty, not that anything in there would be edible by that point. It wasn't until he went to the pantry that he found them. Preserves. Peaches, pickles, olives, peppers-things that he would have avoided in the past, but now were as desired as a meal from a Michelin Star restaurant. He began to unload them onto the counter, the number of jars coming to twelve. It was then, when all the containers were cleared out, that he saw the most amazing sight of all. A single gallon jug of unopened spring water. Never had Lucifer grinned more widely in his life.

"Detective!"

Chloe blinked wearily from her spot on the bed. She was at that point from exhaustion where she teetered between consciousness and unconsciousness. However, when Lucifer pressed the cool glass of water to her dry lips, she nearly snatched it from him.

"Easy," he said, holding the cup steady as she drained it within seconds. "You'll make yourself sick. And," he smiled. "You don't want that to happen, especially when I've discovered food! I've got a jar of peaches with your name on it!"

He was out of the room and back before Chloe could reply. The jar of fruit was shoved into her hands before she had a moment to react, fork already inserted into the topless container. Propping herself up, she looked over to Lucifer who was grinning with a jar of pickles. With an ever big smile, he held his cup towards hers.

"Cheers, Detective," he smiled. "To our home away from home!"

A day passed. Then two. Then three before Chloe had regained her strength again. Empty mason jars were discarded on the counter, the water jug nearly empty of its contents. Lucifer sat on the couch while Chloe watched out the window, her arms folded over her chest.

"We should leave tomorrow morning," she said, turning to look at her partner. "We've spent too much time here."

"Are you sure we aren't rushing things?" The Devil countered. "You still aren't completely-"

"I'm fine," she interjected. "And I'll feel a lot better once we are back on our trail. We can take some of the jars and the jug and fill them up if we come across a river or something." Chloe could see the concern in the Devil's features so she offered what she could. A small smile. "We'll be fine."

Lucifer was quiet for the rest of the day, uncharacteristically so, and Chloe felt guilty about it. She knew he wanted to stay. That in his view, this was a safe haven. That here they were together. But she knew that he too knew they had to move on. So that night, after the last jar of apricots was finished between the two, Chloe grabbed his hand. When his eyes locked on hers, a look of confusion on his face, she smiled.

"Come, I've found something."

Lucifer stood up and let Chloe lead him to the living room. There, on a side table, was a battered record player that looked like it had seen some rough times. She let go of his hand and moved over to the object, eyeing it proudly.

"I found it in one of the closets," the detective explained. "I'm not sure if it works. But I thought if it does, maybe you could do me the honor of giving me a dance?"

The Devil stared at the vinyl in the record player-"In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry. Quite an odd choice in music, not something he would've picked, but when he looked at Chloe, marveled at her smile, it was physically impossible to say no.

"It would be my pleasure, Detective," he grinned, holding out his hand.

When the beat of the music started, the scratchy sound of the disc fading, the rest of the world's problems seem to fade with it. Right now, in that moment, it was just Chloe and him. Not as they had been for months, but in a different place than the trials they faced daily. He held her close, enjoying the sound of her laughter when he spun her. And when she leaned forward, her lips meeting his, he melted into her embrace.

They moved to the music, faster now as the made their way down the hallway and into the bedroom. Her warm fingers slid underneath his shirt, running down his chest. He helped her pull of his shirt as his own hands began to explore her body. The music was distant now, his blood thrumming in his ears as they collided onto the bed. She was straddling him now, her breath heavy and her eyes full of lust. It was then, while he gazed deeply, that he realized how he truly wanted nothing more in his life.

"I love you." He said through a shuddering breath.

"Then show me."

                                                     XXX

When the bright rays of sun cascaded down upon Chloe's face, the detective squinted and blinked back sleep. She looked over and saw Lucifer was still fast asleep. She took him in for a moment, smiling softly as she let her fingers trail down his jawline.

Yawning, she slid out of bed looking around the room for her clothes that had been scattered during the previous night's activity. After gathering them up and getting dressed, she decided to let Lucifer sleep a little longer. Chloe moved through the house and to the front door. Perhaps she could take in everything one last time before moving on. But just as she stepped out the door, something cold and hard pressed against her temple.

"Don't scream," the stranger hissed. "Or I'll blow your damn brains out."

So much for a nice morning.

[jane-argeiphontes]

SOMA: After the Launch Chapter Five “The Mountain of Omega”

Chapter Five “The Mountain of Omega”

Simon looked up at the gigantic barrel of the Omega Space Gun. To think someone actually climbed it to the top. Must have been some climber, or someone couldn’t turn back. He went with the more positive thought. He still held the Phi Storage Bag with some tools Ross managed to fix up despite the lack of legs.

He’d spent some time watching the WAU, talking to it and asking questions. Philosophical debates with one unspoken voice simply watching, answering in silence that spoke with thunder. Maybe the WAU would give him legs again, who knows. It got Simon this far and brought him back from the dead at Upsilon. Why? He didn’t ask. He didn’t want to know. He believed he was lucky to get a second chance. Knowing would break his happy lie. Is that better? 

The creaking metal brought Simon back to the present. 

“Ok, ok, ok, ok,” he muttered to himself. The only thing he even did close to this back in Toronto was the hill Jesse wanted to topple at four in the morning. He slowly eased himself over the railing to the barrel of the gun. The helmet-light sparked up after he messed around with his back. Thus the long journey began. 

Ahead of him he could see only the barrel besides that was nothing. The Abyss illuminated nothing save for the dread of what lies in it. The Leviathan was far off near the WAU acting as the last defense. Did it have a personal connection with it? He didn’t want to know that either. All the faces gave him nightmares that they were actually people trapped forever in the same body, all wondering what’s going on with the only bit of agreement that was there was the need for Structure Gel. It was the only thing that kept some of these creatures alive. Like those drones up at Upsilon when he first found out he wasn’t...human. Who were they? What happened to them? 

 Along the way he found caps to oxygen tanks left behind, still floating up in the deep sea they were trapped in. The climb itself was not hard or confusing, the only challenge was his mentality about the walk. He’s walked the ground of the Abyss itself, the emptiness of it didn’t bother him since the path was clear with him knowing where he would be not long into it. Glasser’s hut, the Light Drone Station, the tunnels near Tau, Site Tau, Alpha, Phi, he could find him. He was guided by Ross and Catherine at the time. That was then.

Now he was guiding himself, the path ahead was sightless and unknowable. Was he really going? It’s been hours and yet here he still was on the barrel separating him from death. The thought of taking the dive etched at him. Scratched, scratched, scratched, scratched, scratching at his walls of resolve. 

Maybe if he took the plunge…

“Stay focused,” he could hear Catherine say. “Keep going. Don’t lose hope. Stick to the bright side. Don’t stop.” 

Simon pushed onward. 

Another hour passed. He saw the roof of the sky and the yellow sun up where it should be. Dark clouds filled where blue should be; Simon wondered if the nights were just as beautiful from before, he hoped so. He reached out and felt his fingers break the barrier, the warmth spread as the rest of him emerged, he got through.

He was finally out. He was out. 

Site Omega wasn’t much in comparison to the others though there were some living areas, offices, and a kitchen. The perfect place to live out the rest of your days with the best view of a dead world. Out on the deck, when he glanced around the corner, was a body. It wasn’t alone, it sat in a chair with books at their side, a bottle of alcohol, and a Power Suit up on a hook. 

Simon recognized the Power Suit’s markings, they were from Phi or Tau, he could never remember which one was which. But someone actually did it. Some regular old joe climbed the barrel all the way here, living out their last moments reliving what they could of their old life, of the old world. A man’s flannel and jeans with the best alcohol there could be around, whiskey from Toronto, nice touch. Blood stained around their mouth and nose, their eyes closed with satisfaction, and the body relaxed one last time. Even when the world ended, someone still managed to fulfill a dream. He wished he could have had the same resolve as her. 

There was one book still open resting atop their legs. It was poems by Keats, a good read for your last moments on Earth. The sun hung low in the sky, vibrant ever so still, yet it now shone light to a dead world, somewhere out there it was still on fire.Everything was either ash or on fire. Do the cities still stand? Does the world still have the memories of Humanity outside Pathos-II? He wondered if Toronto was still there, if his apartment still existed. 

“Simon? Are you there?” Ross’s voice sparked through the radio nearby. “Simon, there’s a problem. Something’s blowing up an old system alarm. The screen’s cracked, I can’t read what it says, is there something wrong? Can you confirm?” 

He hobbled on over to the closest terminal:

DESCENT DETECTED.

BRACE.

BRACE.

SITE THETA: BLACKOUT POSSIBLE

SITE DELTA: BLIMP IN IMPACT PATHWAY

SITE OMEGA: INFORM SITE STAFF

BRACE

BRACE

BRACE

Simon looked out the old glass window to see a streak in the sky. Another comet? Another world ending asteroid, comet, meteor, whatever?! Was it the ARK? No, no, it was too small to be a comet or the like. Too fast to be an asteroid or a meteor. What the hell was it? It got closer and closer, larger and larger, debris broke away and landed in the ocean. It flew past him, too close for comfort, smashing all the windows with the wind and threw Simon back against the terminal. 

“Simon! What was it? Si--bzzzzzzzzzz”

He rushed out to the deck to look at the floating debris passing by. A metal plate marked with the words: PATHOS-II KAPPA SATELLITE 

The ground shook, the barrel wobbled a little bit, Simon lost his footing and fell back. He grabbed the foot of the Power Suit to hold on. The entire thing broke off the hook and came crashing into him. They both fell off the deck, colliding into the barrel and sliding down. He tried to grab the suit and a ledge to hold on only for him to slip. Falling into the deep sea with a large splash, slowly finding his way back down, away from the sky of Heaven, back down to the depths of Hell. 

There is no greater darkness than the very thoughts and the depths they originate from when our minds are alone to think. On top of the mountain or in the depths of despair. That’s what he thought as he and the suit sank back down. The view of Site Omega fading into nothing.

[strayneoculturekids]

Stargazing - Haechan x Reader

Summary: You and Hyuck went out to see the meteor shower that was happening not too far away. While there, you see a lot more than just a meteor shower, leaving both of you in awe.

Genre: fluff

A/N: this was an idea that one of my hyuck stan followers gave to me so credit to my uwu anon~ It’s a lil bit short as well, sorry!

“Hurry up Hyuck! We’re gonna be late!” You shouted, running out of the house

“I’m coming!” He yelled back, appearing in the exit to your apartment that Hyuck came over to a few hours earlier, carrying a telescope

You and Haechan had planned to go see the meteor shower that was happening tonight, that’s been the talk of the news lately. You were planning to also stay back after that and just do some regular star gazing while cuddling, after everyone else that went to see it had left. You seriously couldn’t think of anything better.

You two made it to the mountain where it was said the views would be best. After hiking up and coming to a large open space, you were disappointed to see that there was a much larger crowd than you had expected.

You sighed, ready to accept your fate but before you could, Haechan grabbed your arm and started dragging you away from the crowd and towards the trees.

“Hyuck? Where are we going?” You asked, a bit surprised

“There’s no path up to the top of the mountain, so almost no one will be there, we can make it to the top before the shower starts if we hurry”

“What if we get lost?”

“Don’t worry, Yuta has forced me and the other members to come up this mountain with him way too many times”

He dragged you all the way to the top of the mountain, keeping a tight hold on you, forcing you to keep up with him. By the time you two had made it to the top, you were both a huffing mess. Nonetheless, Haechan started setting up his telescope the second you guys got up there.

You sat down on the plush grass of the small open area, happy to see that no one was anywhere to be seen, except for the sarcastic, slightly evil, love of your life.

As soon as Haechan had finished setting up the telescope, the meteor shower started. You both lowly gasped and Haechan immediately looked into the telescope. You stared with your bare eyes though. The beautiful display of pink, purple, orange and white flying across the sky in a big group stunned you. It was like fireworks but so, so much prettier, it felt so much more right.

After what must have been half an hour of just staring, anticipating when the next meteor would come, you felt a warmth against your side, looking to see Haechan was trying to cuddle. You giggled as he sat behind you and wrapped his arms around your torso, pulling you to lean back into his chest.

Another hour went by of just you two watching, not saying a single thing. It was late and you were both tired, it looked like the meteor shower was coming to an end as well. You closed your eyes just about ready to drift off when you heard Haechan excitedly say something.

“Y/N! Look! A black hole!”

“That’s stupid Hyuck,” You say, not opening your eyes “you can’t see black holes from the earth”

“I’m talking about the bursts of light around the black hole stupid,” he said, defending himself

You cracked open your eyes to see a beautiful display of lights, bursting in the night sky like fireworks. Your eyes shot open and you let out a shaky breath, in awe at how wonderful the show was.

Immediately after the bursts of light left, one particularly large one came out, different colours from the rest. Almost like an explosion of pink and orange in the far, far distance.

“No way!!” You and Haechan said at the same time

“Was that a cosmic collision?!” You asked Haechan, looking at him with wide eyes

He just nodded, mouth agape, still in awe from the light show that only lasted a few seconds at most. You both smiled to yourselves and you once again got comfortable in Haechan’s warm embrace. He looked down at you lovingly.

“Despite all this, why are you the most beautiful thing I’ve seen today?” He said, genuinely meaning it

You blushed “Says the literal sun,” you muttered, complimenting him back

He laughed and kissed your forehead, leaving a warm tingly feeling there.

“I love you Y/N”

“I love you too Hyuck”

[shannie-writes]

Star Light, Star Bright (Oliver/MC)

Thank you so much for the request, to both @ bllover4lif (You’re adorable and hhh I feel so honored to be your first request! Your other request should be out soon.) and my little piglet! Were you both inspired by my HC that Oliver likes to stargaze? Because that’s immediately where my thoughts went with this request.

This fic was written under the presumption that Oliver has also traveled to Cradle from the Land of Reason.

This is for the sensory prompt list (currently closed).

1. Watching a meteor shower.

------

You stood at the east end of Black Bridge, waiting for your boyfriend to pick you up. He had told you to meet there shortly before sunset and you couldn’t help but feel excited. It had been a long time since the two of you had been on a date, not to mention one this late in the evening. Watching down the bridge to Central Quarter, you finally spotted him, walking along with long steps toward you. You wore a bright smile as you ran to meet him partway, coming to a stop in front of him.

“Oliver, hello.”

“Hello. I see you wore your boots like I requested.”

“Of course! Where are we going?” you asked, eyeing the blankets he held under his arm.

Sighing, he gave you a small smile. “I told you, it’s a secret. Come along, keep up.”

Despite his sharp words, he shortened his stride, making sure you could keep up with him as he led you down a side street to a small dirt road leading into the forest. You were glad he had told you to wear the proper footwear as the path branched off and grew smaller and smaller until you were forced to walk behind him. Wordlessly, Oliver held back branches, making sure they stayed out of your face. The attentive care he gave you made you happy and you tucked the feeling away, knowing he would deny doing anything if you thanked him for it.

“Careful,” Oliver said, turning sideways and holding out a hand as the path began to go uphill, tree roots and rocks making it uneven and potentially dangerous in the low light of the setting sun in the forest. You placed your hand in his and he held onto you tightly, making sure you made it safely to the top of the hill.

“Oh, wow!” you exclaimed, the trees spacing out to reveal the view of the ocean from the cliffside, the waves red-tinged from the final light of the sun setting behind the mountains in Red territory.

Oliver moved to a clear area, letting go of your hand to shake one of the blankets out, spreading it on top of the sparse grass. He sank down on top of it, patting the spot next to him. “Come sit.”

Nodding, you did as he instructed, kneeling on the blanket and adjusting the skirt of your dress around you. With a flourish, Oliver unfolded the other blanket and wrapped it around your shoulders, carefully adjusting your hair, his fingers brushing along the back of your neck, trailing down to rest on your hip in a partial embrace. You could feel yourself warm from both his touch and the soft blanket around you and you gave him a small smile in thanks.

“So what exactly are we doing up here?” you asked, watching his profile as he looked over the cliff at the ocean.

“Take a guess.”

You turned to see if you could tell what he was looking at, but didn’t see anything strange. The sky was beginning to shift from reds and oranges to dark shades of blue. The moon was a sliver in the sky, almost new. The skies were clear, not a cloud to be seen. The ocean was pretty, the waves rolling onto the sandy beaches below, but it didn’t seem as though there was anything strange or different about it.

“Uhh…” you trailed off.

Oliver snorted. “Take a closer look.”

You did, eyes flicking across the horizon, truly trying to figure his puzzle out. Surely he wouldn’t drag you into the forest for no reason but to watch the ocean, or the sunset. A couple stars were beginning to peek out through the darkening sky and you pulled your eyebrows together. “The stars?”

“You may be a bit slow, but I knew you’d get there eventually,” he teased.

“Stargazing?” You looked up at Oliver with a surprised smile, but his eyes were trained on the open sky in front of him. “I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.”

“Of course I am,” he huffed. “They are fascinating, from a scientific standpoint.”

You hummed in agreement, knowing there likely was more to it than that, but didn’t want to push him if that was where he wanted to leave it.

The two of you sat and watched as the sun finally set, sinking the world around you into darkness. Far off was Black Headquarters and the homes of Clover Quarter, the distant lights unable to beat the sea of stars that shone through the night sky. You couldn’t help but watch in silent awe. It wasn’t that you hadn’t seen the night sky of Cradle before, but the pure inky black sky filled with millions of distant stars filled you with wonder. It was incomparable to the smoky skies of London, only the brightest of stars poking through the smog.

“I had a telescope as a kid,” Oliver said, breaking the silence. You perked up at the comment. Oliver didn’t talk about himself much, or his past, so you sat still, urging him in your mind to continue, unwilling to say something and have him change his mind. “I would chart the stars, how they changed with the seasons.” There was a rather long pause and you thought he was finished, but he let out a long breath and started again. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over how different they are. I don’t have the time to chart them now, but I like to do it in my mind. No constellation is the same here. Maybe some of the stars are shared, but it’s hard to tell.”

You slipped a hand out of the blanket to set it on his knee, gently rubbing a circle into the fabric of his pants. You hoped it was as comforting as you meant it to be, but he slightly stiffened and his hand began to slip away from your side. You stilled your movements, about to pull back and apologize, but he interrupted you.

“It’s starting,” Oliver said, tone filled with uncharacteristic excitement, his hand moving back to clutch you tighter to his side.

You turned back to the stars, just in time to see a streak of light shoot across the sky, close to the horizon. Your mouth fell open and you were about to ask if he had seen it when another one flashed, this time higher in the sky. Anxiously, you waited in several minutes of silence until another went by.

“Oliver, there’s so many shooting stars!” you gasped, bouncing slightly.

“It’s a meteor shower,” he corrected. “I heard someone in town mentioning there being one tonight.”

You waited anxiously for the next one to go by, keeping your eyes open as long as you could without blinking, in case you missed it. As soon as you glimpsed one, you closed your eyes tightly, bringing your hands up to mesh your fingers together in a silent prayer.

“What are you doing?” Oliver asked, amused.

“Making a wish,” you said. You peeked over at Oliver to see him giving you a patronizing half-smile. “Aren’t you going to make one?”

“Making a wish on a meteor is childish,” he said with a snort.

“Oh, come on, Oliver.” You shifted to face him better, bringing your hand back down to his leg. You held onto his knee and shook it playfully. “Surely even you have a wish you would like to make. Tell me, what would you wish for?”

“Isn’t the whole point of making a wish not telling others, or it won’t come true?” He brushed your fingers off of his lap with his far hand, moving them away from his knee but holding fast to your hand instead. He rubbed his thumb back and forth across the skin on the back of it, tracing out symbols you weren’t sure were words or nonsense.

“I suppose that’s true,” you sighed, slumping a bit.

Oliver cleared his throat and leaned down, whispering a few inches from your ear, “Besides, I don’t need any wishes on falling stars to make my dreams come true. I already have everything I want.” You could feel a goofy grin spreading across your face at the rare confession. You leaned into him and he held you closer to his side, his hand sliding up from your hip to your waist.

You only made one wish, as the two of you watched the intermittent streaks of light cross the night sky. To always be happy and by Oliver’s side. Just like this.

[forlornmelody]

Double the Trouble Chapter 13 – Mirrors

Rating: Explicit (lots of smut. so much smut)

Ship: FemShep x Femshep Clone, Femshep x Kaidan, Femshep x Femshep Clone x Kaidan, OT3

AO3 Link: Here

Summary:  Jane faces old demons, and dares to explore new love.

Note: Whoop. This update is months late. Guess I got a little behind. Good news is that the epilogue is nearly finished, and likely on schedule.

The Alliance detention center lies outside of town, in the mountains, untouched by the Reaper’s destruction. Instead of taking a skycar, Kaidan has Jane and Shepard escorted by shuttle. While they murmur in the corner, Jane stares at the floor, trying to parse out what she’ll say to the woman who brought her to life--what she’ll say to the woman who left her to die.

Alliance soldiers salute them when they land, and Shepard returns their salutes, despite not wearing her uniform.

“At ease,” Kaidan says, though the guards are too busy staring at Shepard to notice. Jane’s okay with it--she doesn’t want to be noticed right now.

The guards lead them inside and start to scan them before Kaidan stops them. “Spectre business.”

When the guards look at each other, Shepard snorts. “Really? Do I need to show you my burnt left side to prove it to you?”

The guard on her left blanches. “That won’t be necessary, Commander.” He waves all three of them through. Another guard leads them to an interrogation chamber, and Kaidan opens the door to the viewing room.

Shepard glances back at Jane. “You sure about this?”

Jane pushes grabs the handle of the interrogation room, pushing it open.

The door clicks shut behind her, and it locks. Rasa looks up at the Clone finally, and she smirks. Something sharp and cold settles in the Clone’s stomach and her skin bristles. She wants to shake it off, but she can’t. She can’t give Rasa that satisfaction either, so she balls her fists behind her back.

“The prodigal returns.” Rasa’s eyes glimmer under the harsh light.

“I didn’t leave. You did. Why?”

Rasa rolls her eyes. “Because you failed. You were a mistake.”

The Clone breathes in sharply, trying to still her shaking. “You made a mistake. I’m not the mistake.”

Leaning forward, Rasa clicks her tongue before she whispers, “she’s standing right behind that two-way mirror, isn’t she? The real Shepard?”

“Does it matter?”

“Don’t tell me you’re content as Shepard’s pet.” Before Jane can protest, Rasa continues. “Don’t bother lying. I have ears everywhere.”

Jane Doe sits back as she realizes it. Honestly, she’s surprised it never occurred to her before. “There’s no substance to you, is there? Just smoke and mirrors.”

“You’re nothing but organic tissue.” Rasa frowns, and so Jane Doe pushes forward.

“You couldn’t feel real emotion even if you wanted. And you have been trying to feel something, anything, haven’t you.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re the fake. I’m the one who’s real. Have fun spending the rest of your life alone, in a cell.” Jane Doe pushes her chair back and stands up, ignoring Rasa’s protests as they increase in volume. They soften as the door shuts behind her.

Kaidan and Jane step out of the control room, concern written all over their faces. Shepard rushes forward, pulling her into a hug. “You okay?”

Jane hugs back woodenly. “Yeah, why?” She asks quietly.

Kaidan pats her shoulder gently, at arm's length. “You’re crying.”

Why is she crying? Rasa is a monster. And she’ll be better off without her. Then why does she feel like part of her just died? Jane pulls Shepard closer, breathing in her scent. She always smelled different--not better or worse, just different.

“She’s awful, isn’t she?”

Jane nods, hiding her tears in Shepard’s hoodie. Kaidan finally removes his hand, only to hug her from behind. “Okay?” She nods again, basking and drowning in them at the same time.

Time slips away as they shuttle back to Kaidan’s apartment. Jane stares at the wall of the shuttle in front of her, exhausted and numb. So many times, she imagined and rehearsed that conversation with Maya, with every possible outcome she could think of. To have it in her past instead of looming in her future? It feels like a dream.

Jane follows Shepard and Kaidan inside their home, wondering if this is what Maya feels like all the time. Shouldn’t she feel happy to see the end of their relationship? She hates Maya more than anything. Maya is a monster. Maya used her. Maya accused Dreya of horrible things because she was a distraction. Yet Jane still feels like part of her has died.

“Hungry?” Kaidan pops open a couple of beers, passing them around. He hands her one, and Jane realizes it’s the same variety of stout she had the first time they--did it count as a threesome if Kaidan wasn’t--?

Oh.

It’s then Jane realizes she hasn’t hardly spoken a word to Kaidan all day. She hasn’t talked to him about the night she broke his heart.

“Jane?”

She blinks, meeting Kaidan’s expectant gaze. “Huh?”

“I’m thinking about cooking up some steak. Want some?”

“...Sure.” She isn’t really that hungry.

“He makes a mean steak,” Shepard drawls as she takes a pull of her beer, “when he doesn’t burn it.”

Kaidan shoots back. “I don’t remember you complaining about dessert.”

Shepard blushes. “Mm. Yeah. It was pretty good dessert.”

“On second thought. Never mind. I think I’m about to throw up.” All three of them laugh.

Clearing her throat, Shepard mutters something about needing a shower, and then Jane and Kaidan are alone. They watch each other from across the room, studying each other’s faces, searching for clues and signs. Instead they find mirrors of their own nervousness.

Jane approaches him like she’s walking into a minefield. Kaidan isn’t Rasa. She must remember that. But her own mind won’t believe her. Swallowing she leans against the counter next to him, Jane tries to think of a good way to apologize? Take back what she said? Swear her feelings have changed? Instead she says, “So how do you cook a steak, anyway?”

Kaidan eyes her up and down, squinting as if that’ll help him read her better. He offers her a hand. “I can show you, if you���d like.”

She allows herself a small smile. “Alright.” Jane takes his hand.

Spinning her around, Kaidan pins her front-first against the stove, so that the aroma of cooking beef fills her nostrils. Suddenly Jane’s starving. Maybe not for steak. Kaidan feels so warm against her back as he takes her hand again, reaching for some sage. “First step is to season the meat correctly,” he murmurs against her ear. His breath vibrates against her amp and she sucks in a breath. A sizzle pops in the air, and it could be the steak cooking...or it could be their biotics interacting.

“Mmhm,” Jane says, trying to pay attention to his cooking lesson, but the feel of his free hand on her hip has her heart racing.

“Don’t add too much at once.” He set the sage bottle down with her hand and picks up the salt and pepper adding them to the steak. “Don’t heat things up too quickly, unless you want to sear the meat.” His stubble scratches her ear. Kaidan clears his throat. “Now, Jane, how do you like your steak?”

A shiver goes down her back as Kaidan steps to her side. “Mm?”

Kaidan grins slowly, tracing her bottom lip with his fingertips. “Do you like it raw or well done?”

“Raw? Isn’t that a bad idea?”

“Uh…” Kaidan reddens like the meat cooking next to them. “Did I say raw? I meant rare.” He backs off slightly, fumbling for his composure. Admittedly, Kaidan’s rather cute when he’s flustered.

Jane seizes her chance, turning on her heel and closing the distance between them. She plays with the top button on his flannel shirt. Her noses brushes against his as she murmurs. “Were you talking about the steak or…?”

Kaidan’s lips crash into hers, tipping her back with the force of his kiss. Jane swears softly as she kisses back, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and holding on. There’s so much of him to touch, to hold onto--she feels like a meteor caught in his orbit. His warmth, his gravity, pulls her faster and harder, and she breathes raggedly against Kaidan’s lips when he finally pulls away. “We…” Kaidan pants, “we should talk about this.”

Even though Jane knows what he means, she’d so much rather touch than talk. Human or not, describing her feelings feels like speaking in Thessian rather than English, and she’s going to describe meat when she really means to talk about her heart. “Pretty sure you already know about my kinks, Alenko.”

He smiles a little despite himself. “Yeah I do. But I don’t know much about you.” His hands keep wandering across her front, her back, her shoulders her hips, like he’s itching to take her clothes off. What’s keeping him? Kaidan’s cheeks flush, his breath comes out ragged. Why hesitate when he wants her?

“There’s not much to know, Kaidan.” She leans forward to capture his lips, and Kaidan pushes her back with a finger.

Biting his lips, he asks quietly, “Is this just about sex?”

“Does it have to be about anything else?” She leans against him, feeling him hard against her.

Kadain swallows a groan. “I can’t do this if...this is all there is.” His hand cradles her face, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I don’t want to just fuck you, Jane. I want to make love to you.”

Why does he have to do that? “People I love either end up dead...or they leave me dead.” Did she ever love Rasa? Can someone who’s dead inside truly love another person?

“I’m not going to do that, Jane.” Kaidan swallows, searching her eyes desperately. She...she hasn’t been looked at like that since...God, and he’s not lying. Jane’s heard stories about what him and Shepard have been through.

Jane trembles with all the feelings she’s kept locked up tight. Maybe...just maybe that’s Rasa’s problem. Love, empathy...they leave one exposed, vulnerable. Rasa spent so long surviving she forgot how to do anything else. “I don’t deserve--”

“Love isn’t about what you deserve.” His thumb brushes her cheek gently, slowly, like an evening tide. “But I think you already know that.” He dares to smile a little, as if he already knows what she’s about to say.

“I already do...love you, Kaidan,” Jane manages to say. “If I’m even capable of such a thing.”

“You are capable of so much more than you think, Jane.” Kaidan kisses her again, pulling her into space with him, like they’re the center of the universe.

Jane holds onto him tightly, kissing back like he’s her only tether in zero gravity.

They break for air after what seems like forever and nothing at all. Kaidan laughs softly against her mouth. “And you probably already know, but I love y--”

The smoke alarm screeches as the steak fills the air with smoke.

“Oops.”

Kaidan swears, turning the stove off and setting it aside. “Pizza?” He says sheepishly.

“Mm... I was thinking teriyaki.” Jane keys in an order on her omnitool. “Done.”

“Mm,” Kaidan agrees. “That place serves everything a la carte. We better make some stir fry.”

“You gonna teach me? Or are you gonna set them on fire too?” Jane grins, drawing a finger down his chin.

“I can be very focused when I want to be.” Kaidan kisses down her neck as if to demonstrate his point.

Jane moans softly, winding her fingers into his curls. “What--what veggies are we stirring and frying?”

“Carrots.” Kaidan pushes a hand up her shirt. “Broccoli.” His tongue and his teeth run across her neck. “Snap peas.” He breathes against her ear, hot and heavy, “and onions” and his biotics stir her hair.

Putty in his arms, Jane manages to undo his shirt, pushing her hands inside to brush the rough knit of his tank top. “Sauce?” She breathes.

“Sesame, of course.” He bites her collar bone as if to illustrate his point. The sound of a cabinet slamming open buries her next moan. Kaidan pulls out a wok, dropping next to the burner.

The next few moments are less about learning how to cook, and more about Jane trying to distract him from cooking. “Do you like having your tits played with?” She says completely out of the blue, pushing his flannel off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor.  

Blinking at her, Kaidan opens the fridge door, biting his lip when her hands sneak underneath his tank top. “Uh...yeah, I guess. Been a while since--”

He manages to get the stove turned back on before she latches on to his nipple. “Fuck.”

“Mm. Sensitive, are we?”

“Nng.” Kaidan wipes his forehead, reaching for the chopped veggies he has waiting in the fridge. “Fuck, Jane,” he swears as her teeth ever so slightly graze his skin.

Distantly, Jane hears a wet towel hitting the carpet. “Hot damn.”

The two of them turn to see Shepard standing stark naked in the living room, just outside the bathroom, with steam still rolling off her shoulders.

“...Oh. I uh, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I can uh...go take another shower.” Shepard turns, muttering under her breath. “A cold one.”

Jane and Kaidan exchange a look. “Get your ass over here, Shepard,” Kaidan says gruffly, and his voice rumbles in his chest against Jane’s fingers.

Shepard saunters over, carrying her towel with her as Jane snickers. Instead of getting between them, she drapes the towel on an empty space on the kitchen island, plopping her bare skin on top of it. Her heels bounce against the cupboards as she munches on some thawing broccoli. “Well?” she says as they stare.

“Suit yourself.” Jane turns toward Kaidan again, finding his nipple still moist and erect from her attention earlier. His head falls back as she takes it in her mouth again. Shepard’s heel stills as her partner moans.

Kaidan pulls her head back up, kissing her ravenously. He leans heavily against the opposite counter, bringing her with him. His fingers slip up under the hem of her crop top, exploring her edges and curves. In turn she explores his mouth with her tongue, taking note of how tentative and cautious he is compared to Shepard. As Jane breaks for air, his thumbs brush the curves of her breasts, and he gazes at her with wonder. She should say something, anything, but her mouth feels so dry.

“It’s okay, Jane.” Shepard murmurs from behind her. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Fingering the edge of her top, Kaidan asks softly, “Okay?”

Part of her brain still doubts this is happening. Jane has dreamed of Kaidan taking her clothes off--more than once--but in real life? “Yeah,” she says thickly, pulling his tank top off so that they’ll be a matching pair.

Tracing the bare skin of his chest, Jane wonders if Kaidan waxes or shaves--if it’s his preference or Shepard’s. Sliding her fingers down the lines of his abdomen, she decides it must be his idea. Kaidan seems like the type to show off, but not in an obvious way. Jane shivers as he follows her lead, skimming the lines of her tattoos one by one, with his lips parted. The sight of those lips does something to her, and she leans in to kiss him again.

“You’re so beautiful, Jane,” Kaidan says softly against her lips. “Has anyone told you that?”

Shepard hums in agreement, and Jane blushes despite herself. They’re making her soft. Somehow, she doesn’t mind. “Quit buttering me up. I’m not on the menu.”

Kaidan laughs. “Is that so?” His knuckles bump the button on her jeans, and Jane sucks in a breath, leaning into his touch as she kisses down his neck. She bites his skin just enough to leave a mark and his fingers fumble as they pull her zipper down.

Jane’s about to reciprocate, but Kaidan starts kissing down her neck, then her collarbone and her chest. She wets her lips, glancing back at Shepard as she moans softly. Shepard herself grins, her hands clenching and unclenching as if she’s itching to touch them or herself. Her thighs rub together almost imperceptibly. Winking at her, Jane steps out of her jeans, shivering at the sight of Kaidan on his knees.

He caresses her thighs, and her ass through her underwear, smiling up at her. “I can’t wait to taste you,” he says softly. Shepard tosses him her box of dental dams, grinning widely.

“You sure I taste all that differ--” Her own words get caught in her moan as Kaidan licks her through the thin rubber. Kaidan takes his time, looking up at her frequently to gauge what works and what doesn’t. Jane’s grip starts to slip on the counter as her legs begin to shake. “Kaidan--”

“I got ya,” Instead of plopping down, Shepard crawls across the counter, her weak knee almost falling into the sink. She takes her towel with her, settling behind Jane’s shoulders, holding her steady with one hand. Her fingers scratch her scalp with the other.

Kaidan murmurs his thanks against her folds, holding up a hand for some gloves.

“Yeah yeah. Make the gimp do everything,” Shepard mutters playfully as she pulls the box toward them with her biotics.

Kaidan pulls away long enough to put his gloves on and shoot back, “Excuse me? Who’s the one cooking dinner?”

“Are you?” Jane glances over, turning the burner off.

“I’ll....warm up something in the microwave.” Shepard slides off the counter, fishing out a can of green beans from the pantry. Must be Kaidan’s doing--Shepard would eat out all the time if left to her own devices.

Jane pats Kaidan’s curls as he finishes snapping his gloves into place. She swallows as a wicked grin blooms across his cheeks. “How do you like to be touched, Jane?”

She quirks an eyebrow at him. “You’ve seen Shepard fuck me how many times?”

“I want to hear you say it.” He says gruffly as he runs his gloved hands up and down her thighs.

Her first instinct is to ask why he cares. Just let him love you, damnit. Shepard squeezes her shoulders soothingly. Jane knows what she likes...but saying it out loud? Goddess, she must be blushing as bright as her hair. “Can I show you?”

Kaidan kisses the back of her hand. “Of course.” His thumb brushes her knuckles.

Taking his hand, Jane guides his fingertips to her clit, circling the edges of her inner lips, shivering at how wet she is already. Together they circle her clit slowly, lightly until she starts to squirm. “Harder,” she croaks, letting go of his hand, so she can take two fingers from his free hand.

Shepards hands scratch behind her ears as Jane closes her eyes. She rocks into Kaidan’s fingers, letting one moan after another slip from her mouth. “You want to come yet?” He looks up at her thoughtfully.

“Y-yeah,” Jane stutters, feeling Shepard’s nails scratching down her skin. Then she feels Kaidan’s biotics stirring against her. Oh fuck, she wasn’t expecting that. Crying out, she swears in at least two languages as she loses herself in him, letting him work his fingers in and out until she’s too sensitive to touch. Grabbing his wrist, Jane croaks “Don’t let me have all the fun.”

Kaidan chuckles, pulling his fingers away, and Jane looks directly into his eyes as she reaches below his belt. “Mm. I know I’ve seen it before but feeling it up close is completely different.” His chuckle turns into a laugh, and then a groan as her touch grows firmer and faster.

“Jane,” he whispers, closing his eyes.

“You like the way that feels, Kaidan?” Jane asks, and Kaidan manages a strangled reply. She reaches over, deftly undoing his belt, button, and zipper, shoving his jeans down his hips. As she slides her hand into briefs, she hears the slick of Shepard’s fingers moving against her own cunt. Glancing over, she finds Shepard watching them both hungrily, drinking in the sight of them as she touches herself.

“If I’m bothering you, just say the word,” Shepard says hoarsely.

“I think Kaidan likes being watched.” She turns to watch Kaidan melt in her hand, “Don’t you?”

Kaidan groans, rocking into her hand a little as she slides it up and down. “Jane...I’m not--bed. Now.”

Jane leads the way to the bedroom, releasing him from her grip so she can take his hand instead. It’s strange--somehow the hand squeezing, and the hugs, even the kisses on the back of her hand--it stirs the heat inside her more than anything else. She sits on the bed, patting the space next to her until he crawls next to her. Shepard leans against the door, holding her arm. “You coming, or not?”

“Uh--”

“There’s plenty of room, Shepard.” Kaidan patted the space beside him.

“It’s a queen size, Kaidan.” Was Shepard...nervous? “It barely fits two people.”

Jane quirked her head. “You ate me out on your couch with Kaidan sitting on it. You didn’t complain, then.”

“That wasn’t our first time.” Ah, there’s that blush. Shepard’s confident--not much can make her do that, and it makes it all the sweeter for Jane. “I want this to be special.”

“It is special. Now c’mon.”

Shepard swallows, sitting on the edge. “If you’re sure.” She watches Jane push Kaidan onto his back, crawling over to straddle his hips.

Jane leans over him, running a hand down his chest, all the way to his navel, relishing in the way it shortens his breath. Her fingers linger at the top of his underwear, grinding up against his length. She closes her eyes, shivering at the way his hips arch to meet hers. “You ready for me, Kaidan?”

“Nng. Almost.” He reaches into the bedside drawer, pulling out a condom from Shepard’s sex toy collection.

“...You bought those recently.”

“Since when do you take inventory?”

“She does that every time she’s in here, Kaidan,” Shepard drawls.

Jane ignores them both, sliding Kaidan’s briefs off so she can slide the condom on, adding some lube just in case. This is it, she thinks to herself, chewing her lip as she looks down at Kaidan. He reaches up, caressing her cheek.

“Are you ready, Jane?”

She answers him with a heated kiss until he grips the sheets. Jane guides him inside her with her fingers, and they moan in unison. Kaidan watches her with half-lidded eyes as she rocks into him. Part of her can’t believe this is really happening. A year ago, the Clone would have laughed at the idea of fucking Shepard’s boyfriend, but her body can’t deny how nice he feels--so full and warm, and--

Kaidan pulls her face down so he can kiss her. They’re a tangled mess of limbs and sweat and with the way his fingers slide through her hair she knows it won’t look the same without a shower. She pulls his bottom lip between hers as she moves faster, and she breathes raggedly against his mouth, their breath intermingling in a way that makes her head spin. “Fuck, Kaidan. You feel so good.”

Shepard groans beside them, and Jane glances over, shivering at the way she eyes them with want. Soon. She tells herself. Kaidan takes in a sharp breath, drawing Jane’s attention back to him. His eyes pinch shut and Jane grins as she gets an idea.

“Getting close, Kaidan?” His strangled moan his only reply. She starts to pull off him, leaving just the tip inside.

“Nng.” Kaidan grasps her hips, trying to pull her back.

“Shepard,” Jane says, nodding at Kaidan’s hands.

“Mm. Need some help?” Shepard smirks, crawling over to the headboard, sitting on top of the pillows behind Kaidan’s head.

“Not...fair,” Kaidan manages to say as Shepard pulls his hands back and holds them down.

“Shh. You’ll love it.” Jane edges her way back onto him, bringing him to the brink before pulling completely out, over and over until he’s begging her to finish what they started.

“Jane, please. I--” His fingernails turn white as he squeezes against Shepard’s grip.

“I got you.” Jane kisses him soothingly, holding a thumbs up for Shepard to release him.

Kaidan flares so hard that all of Jane’s hair stands on end. He rolls them over, plunging in and out of her so hard his balls slap against her skin. Gripping her hips, he changes the angle so that he pushes deeper and deeper inside until they both cry out.

“Holy shit, Jane,” Kaidan gasps softly, pulling out of her and disposing of the used condom.

Jane sits up against the headboard, staring at the door across the room. Usually by this point she’s already reaching for her clothes...but with Kaidan and Shepard it feels different. “It wasn’t too much, was it? You said you liked being dominated somet--”

Kaidan presses a finger against her lips, bonelessly squeezing her hand. “You were amazing. You are amazing.”

Pillow talk feels so foreign to her, but she feels a little bit better. Jane’s ever so much aware of Kaidan’s nearness to her, and every fiber of her being itches to touch him again. Words escape her. She can’t go with snark, or it might come off the wrong way--Hey, you were a better lay than I thought. Or I see why Shepard likes you so much. Honestly, what does come to mind seems so simple and childish, but Jane can’t think of anything else, and she needs to say something. “I think I like being with you.” Her skin must be as red as her hair.

Kaidan’s lips taste like the cherry flavoring of their lube. “I like being with you, too.” He glances to the side. “Speaking of being with.”

Shepard pulls her fingers out sheepishly. “I...should go clean up before we do anything more.”

“We all should.” Kaidan sits up with a groan.

“Whatever you say, old man.” Jane rolls off the bed, following Shepard to the bathroom.

By the time they’re done washing and rinsing, Shepard’s stomach growls. “Shit.”

“Dinner.” Kaidan and Jane say together. The green beans and teriyaki (found out on their doorstep) don’t taste as nice as they would have had they been eaten fresh, but it fills them nonetheless.

Halfway through her next bite, Jane spots something across the apartment, sitting on a stand next to the front door. In retrospect, Jane realizes she never paid much attention to the living room as she came in. Usually her attention was focused entirely on making Shepard come undone. “Is that--?”

Shepard’s eyes narrow and her lips press together in a fine line. “The hamster you put in a dumpster? Yeah. His name is Jeff, by the way.”

Jane blinks, speaking quickly. “Maya wanted to space it with the rest of the stuff in your cabin.”

Kaidan quirks his head, taking her in. “You wanted to save him.”

Focusing her attention on her half-eaten dinner, Jane nods. “Maya would have never let me keep it.”

“Mm.” Shepard hums, probably chewing on an apology along with her food. Kaidan elbows her. “Fine. I’m glad you did the best you could.”

“Thanks.” Jane dares to glance up at her. “...I’m glad he’s okay.”

“Yeah, me too.”

The rest of dinner passes without fanfare, though Jane is painfully aware she hasn’t hardly touched Shepard all night. It’s when Shepard’s dish has finally dropped into the sink that Jane closes in. “Hi,” Shepard says with a smirk. “Looking for something?”

Jane runs her finger down Shepard’s cheek. “Someone, actually.” She eyes Kaidan. “Who wants to be in the middle?” Her heart races as she says it, and her mouth goes dry. Already she can imagine several possibilities and they send goosebumps down her spine.

“You thinking DP or--?”

“Mm... that or doubling down on Kaidan.” Jane licks her lips as Kaidan blushes.

“You down for that, Kaidan?”

“Yeah,” he says breathlessly, his eyes already a shade darker than they were a moment before.

Taking both their hands, Jane leads them back to the bedroom. Kaidan stretches out on the bed eyeing them with that shy smile. Jane and Shepard help each other out of their clothes, crawling towards Kaidan with their lips parted. Each steals a kiss from Kaidan, before descending on each other, kissing each other ravenously, and giving the man next to them a small taste of what’s to come. They work on his cock together, both Jane and Shepard pumping up and down his shaft with their right and left hands. Shepard whispers naughty things in his ear and Jane sinks her teeth into his neck--not enough to draw blood, but enough to leave a mark.

“God, you two are--.” Kaidan groans, one hand on Shepard’s ass, the other on Jane’s back. His distracted fingers fail to find purchase when as they tag-team his body.

“You ready for us, Kaidan?” Shepard whispers into his ear, running her thumb across the tip of his length.

Jane knows she’s ready. Every fiber of her being aches to feel both of them. But in what way? She sucks in a breath when the idea comes to her. Shepard turns to her, grinning as her breaths turn up short. “You know…. I had a turn riding Kaidan. Shouldn’t you have one?”

Shepard licks her lips, unable to help making out with Jane a second time, kissing down her neck to her collarbone before looking at her (their?) boyfriend. “Kaidan?”

Kaidan chews his grin as he makes eye contact with Jane. “So, you’d be the one riding my face.”

“Mmhm.”

Leaning back, Kaidan takes Jane by the elbows. “C’mere.”

She leans over him, letting him taste Shepard on her lips, winding her fingers through his curls. She feels the snap of latex panties against her hips, and she grins as she licks Kaidan’s lips until his fists clench. Parting from his mouth is such sweet sorrow, as he trails his kisses down her neck, then her chest. Just as a moan escapes from her mouth, Kaidan and Shepard switch her around, so that Kaidan lips are on her spine, and Shepard’s are on her mouth.

“Nng. Fuck.” Jane gasps, kissing Shepard sloppily as she feels Kaidan's lips trail down one of her butt cheeks.

“Mm,” Shepard hums in agreement, pulling away for air. She guides Kaidan’s girth inside herself, and Jane sucks in a breath as she watches.

Reaching down, Jane stimulates Shepard’s clit, grinning as Shepard starts to ride Kaidan, losing her rhythm as Kaidan finds her cunt with his mouth. Shepard swallows her cries with her kisses, gripping her head with one hand, steadying herself with the other. At first it’s too much, and Jane is a quivering mess, but Kaidan’s hands guide her hips against his tongue.

And it is beautiful. She feels whole for the first time in her life. Jane is weightless, beyond the atmosphere or the confines of a life-supporting spaceship--but she knows she won’t drift away. Shepard and Kaidan anchor her to Earth, pull her in with their gravity as they writhe and twist in the bed sheets until they are pile of sweat-laden limbs gasping for air.

Later, Jane wakes in the middle of the night to find the First Human Spectres using her shoulders for pillows and smiles at the irony. Never would she have imagined, let alone dare to dream she would end up in their arms. What did Jane ever do to deserve this? To be loved, to be safe? Who is she, but a copy of a real hero?

Staring at the ceiling, Jane chides herself. Stop over thinking it. You’re happy. You get to be happy. Deal with it.

[nelvana]

In which the ninetales is met

First: In which the human is transformed Next: In which they return to the town Previous: In which things go bump in the night

   “I don’t care what marching order we go in, as long as I don’t have to be around him,” Keahi stated, stubbornly avoiding looking at Sableye.

  “Fair enough,” Alex replied, “I can carry him in that case, and then I can take the back, while you go up front with Nel.”

  “I can walk on my own!” Sableye yelled, and to prove his point, he stood up and awkwardly took a few steps towards the others.

  “You can walk, but you can’t keep up like that. The rope limits your movement too much but we can’t untie you,” Alex groaned, giving the pokemon a sideways glare before looking at the others again. “And, I have to carry him because if Tsuki carries him and the rope rubs too much against her, she’ll get too sore,” he added.

    “Very well, but I’ll hang back with you then for the extra defense. The path is pretty straightforward, so I don’t need to lead,” Tsuki responded, “shall we head off then? We’re losing time discussing this.”

    “Great, let’s get going,” Nelvana said, standing off and leading the group out of the cave again, out into the blinding daylight reflecting off the snow.

    After Sableye’s attack, nothing of importance had happened for the rest of the night, much to everyone’s relief. Nelvana had had another nightmare, this one the clearest yet, likely with the midnight event, but she had decided not to bring it up to the others yet.

    The blizzard from the day before had ended, and not even flurries fell during the walk. All the extra fallen snow from that storm had frozen over in the morning’s chill, permitting everyone to be able to walk over it, instead of having to trudge through the deep powder. Tsuki told them that it would only be about an hour’s travel to get to the dungeon, and a quick glance at the map notes confirmed this as well.

    Alex easily scooped up Sableye and began carrying him under his right arm. Sableye struggled for a bit, even attempting to bite to grovyle, but all it took was some sparks to start flicking from his fist for the ghost-dark-type to back off. They took up the previous decided marching order, with Nelvana leading, and Keahi right up beside her. Then Alex and Tsuki about a foot behind them, keeping a slight distance so that the leading pair wouldn’t feel uncomfortable with Sableye so close.

    “Woah! Now that I can really look at this place, it’s really pretty!” Keahi exclaimed, pausing to take in the view of the snow coating the land sparkling in the sun.

    “Yeah…” Nelvana agreed, enjoying the moment as well.

    Tsuki smiled, “one of the positives to staying out here. At night, the sky is clearer than I’ve heard it is in most places, and you can really see the stars. Of course, we couldn’t last night because of the blizzard…”

    “I guess if we ever come back here, we’ll have to take some time for that!” Keahi chirped.

    “No offense Tsuki, but if I can avoid coming back here, I probably will,” Alex admitted.

    “None taken. It gets even colder in the night too, so I wouldn’t recommend going stargazing without being well prepared to stay warm anyway,” Tsuki replied.

    Sableye scowled, not saying anything, unwilling to admit that this was pretty, but knowing that trash talking it to pretend like he hated it wouldn’t help himself much.

    Continuing on their way, the group found that the timing was correct, and they made it to the entrance of the dungeon after just an hour. However, while the snow from before hadn’t snowed in the cavern of Mt. Freeze, it had hidden the storage statue. There was no sight of the stone kangaskhan, it had completely disappeared underneath of the white flakes. Tsuki pawed at the ground to try and find it, but to no avail.

    “Do you remember where it was?” Nelvana asked.

    “I’m afraid not, I don’t come this way often,” Tsuki sighed.

    “Alex, could you just dig and find it?” Keahi suggested.

    Alex shook his head, “unfortunately, that move doesn’t work that way. Even if I found it, I couldn’t exactly stop to reach in and grab some stuff,” he replied, “we should be fine without anything in there though, right?”

    “Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Nelvana agreed, “hopefully we’ll be back home before noon anyway,” she added.

    “Hey Tsuki, what moves do you know anyway?” Keahi asked as they entered the dungeon.

    Tsuki clicked her tongue pensively, “mostly slashing moves. We absols are very physical attackers after all; but I also know ice beam, not that that would help here,” she murmured.

    “Oh, alright! Ice beam is good though, none of us know any ice-type moves,” Keahi replied.

    “Should I demonstrate some of my battling skills? Would that help for planning future fights to know what I can do?” Tsuki questioned.

    “That could help, yes,” Alex hummed, shifting the grip on Sableye, who seemed to be going their best to make this as miserable as possible for the grovyle.

        Tsuki nodded in acknowledgement, and they waited for the first dungeon pokemon to attack. This ended up being a furret, which bounded towards the group to attack right upon seeing them. Tsuki readied herself before bolting at the long bodied pokemon, seeming to gain speed instantly, arriving to her foe in a flash and raking them across the face with her foreclaws. The furret recoiled in pain, arching their back before swiping at the absol in return, which much less effective with their shorter claws. All it took was Tsuki to bat them again with a paw for them to disappear, defeated.

    “Good job!” Keahi cheered, hurrying over to join the absol. “That was quick attack and slash, right?”

    “Yes, it was,” Tsuki answered courtly, “now, we shouldn’t linger here, this is only the first floor after all.”

    “How many floors are there here again? The same as the others or more?” Nelvana asked, glancing back at Alex.

    “I…” Alex paused, looking at Sableye, and then the bag, before dropping Sableye on the ground to pull the map out of the bag. “Says that Mt. Freeze has twenty floors total, five of them being the top floors, after the special room,” he read from the back of the paper.

    “You didn’t have to drop me, you prick!” Sableye snapped.

    “With all that squirming you were doing, I thought you’d be happy to be on the ground,” Alex responded coolly, barely sparing the pokemon a glance from the map.

    “It’s cold,” Sableye mumbled, trying to keep the least amount of them touching the icy ground as possible.

    “Wait, Mt. Freeze? Is that the name of this mountain? I’ve been calling it Frosty Peak this entire time!” Keahi exclaimed.

    “Mt. Freeze is the name of this mountain, and dungeon, yes, but Ninetales… well, she does live on this mountain, but in the one time I’ve met her, she made it very clear that she didn’t want to be related to the dungeon, and only lives so close to avoid guests. So, she lives at Frost Peak, the peak of Frosty Forest,” Tsuki explained.

    “Oh,” Keahi laughed, “that’s relieving. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to have gotten the name wrong this entire time?”

    Before Sableye could even try to make a clever comment, Alex stuffed the map back in the bag and scooped up the dark-ghost-type again.

    “Yeah,” Nelvana agreed, glancing at the others. “But, we still have twenty floors to go through, so let’s pick up the pace a bit, shall we?”

    As with most dungeons, their progress continued in a similar fashion. The extra help from Tsuki made a notable difference, with her able to help out more against numbers, and her quick attack could get rid of some of the dungeon pokemon before they got too close without always having to rely on Keahi using ember or Nelvana throwing her bone club across the room, especially since Alex had one arm full and wasn’t able to fight to his full potential. Like at Frosty Forest, the dungeon was filled with a bitter coldness, and even on a few of the later floors, they got hailed on, which made everyone scramble around until they could find the stairs, trying to avoid getting hurt by the ice pellets. Nelvana found out very quickly that her headgear mostly protected her, and used this ability to her advantage as much as possible on these floors.

    Regardless, they went through it quickly and efficiently, soon finding themselves at the special safe floor of the dungeon. Unlike the other dungeons with this feature, there was no statue to greet them. Or at least there wasn’t one anyway. A pile of unrecognizable chunks of rock lay in the center of the room, giving it an eerie and empty feeling without the stone pokemon all in one piece.

    “Oh that’s… unexpected. What happened here?” Nelvana murmured, hesitantly approaching the stone pieces.

    “A meteor strike maybe,” Sableye joked, earning him a rough jostle from Alex.

    “I’m not sure. It’s been like this ever since I’ve been around, and I haven’t bothered to ask about it yet. Ninetales is probably the only one who knows, but I didn’t think to ask her when I was around. It just isn’t something you ask someone about in a casual conversation,” Tsuki replied, ignoring the comment and instead following the cubone, tapping one of the chunks idly with a forepaw.

    “I wonder what it once looked like?” Keahi asked, more to himself than anyone.

    “Ninetales, perhaps?” Nelvana suggested, couching down and reaching out to gently touch one of the pieces she was standing in front of, and then for a moment appearing almost disappointed when nothing happened. “She isn’t a legendary, but she is the only option that really makes sense, since she’s the only one that lives out here,” she continued, standing up and dusting herself off.

    “That’s true. Wonder what happened to it then? All the others have been in one piece at least,” Alex replied, watching Nelvana curiously.

    “This was definitely intentional. And since no dungeon pokemon can walk on this floor, it couldn’t have been them,” Tsuki inputted, “possibly a traveller?”

    “That sounds likely,” Alex murmured, “let’s keep going though, no sense in staying here for too long.”

    “Yeah! We’re almost there, aren’t we? C’mon!” Keahi exclaimed, suddenly filled with excitement that carried him out of the room.

    This energy filled the group, bringing them swiftly through the rest of the floors, eager to be so close to their goal. They passed through the final five floors with ease, finding them outside once more. The sun’s position shining in the sky told them that they hadn’t spent too much time in the dungeon. Now though, instead of being clear, a light snowfall had begun, but compared to the storm of the night before, it was hardly noticeable.

    “You see that cave up there?” Tsuki said, gesturing to the small entrance up ahead. “That’s where Ninetales is,” she told them.

    “Really? That’s so close! Come on!” Keahi cheered, hurrying forward again. “I can’t believe it! Our journey will finally bear fruit!”

    “Yeah!” Nelvana agreed, the positivity from her partner affecting her as well as she hurried after said torchic.

    Climbing up to the mouth of the cave, they were greeted by an odd warmth radiating from an unknown source inside the cavern, keeping all ice and snow at bay for a few feet away from the entrance. No torches lined the walls, and yet the inside wasn’t swallowed up in shadows. Despite all these peculiarities, there were no signs of life, no immediate evidence that someone lived here.

    Heading inside, an eerie silence clouded the room they were walking through. There were no sounds aside from the tapping of their steps against hard stone as they wandered around.

    “Hello? Ninetales? Are you there?” Keahi called, his voice echoing in the seemingly empty cavern. “Uh… My name is Keahi, I’m one of Blaziken’s kids! And I’m here with my friends, we just need to ask something and then we’ll leave!” he added loudly.

    They waited for a response. There was none.

    “Maybe she’s out…?” Nelvana whispered.

    “Maybe she’s dead,” Sableye snickered.

    Alex huffed, dropping Sableye on the ground again, “you get to stay there until we’re done here.”

    “Ouch!” Sableye yelled dramatically.

    “I suppose we’ll have to wait,” Tsuki decided, sitting down. “It would be rude to start snooping around for her,” she added.

    “What if she’s hurt somewhere deeper in here and can’t respond?” Keahi asked worriedly.

    “If we have to wait for a half hour, then we go look around. Sound good?” Alex offered.

    “I’d probably sense it if something like that had happened to her, but I suppose we can do that just in case…” Tsuki murmured, glancing around the room.

    “Team Galaxy.”

    At being mentioned, the group whirled around in surprise to find the source of the voice, only to see Team A.C.T. standing a few meters behind them, their expressions initially appearing neutral, but a glimmer of harshness showed through Charizard’s gritted teeth and Alakazam’s furrowed brows.

    “Team A.C.T.!” Keahi exclaimed, stepping towards the trio, his eyes lighting up at seeing his idols again.

    “Team Galaxy, you made it,” Alakazam said, “I’d say congratulations, but…”

    Keahi’s expression fell, “but what?” he asked, “what are you doing here anyways?”

    Nelvana reached out to gingerly place her hand on Keahi’s back. Her heart had already begun pounding in anticipation, and out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Alex stiffen. Charizard hissed something to his teammates too quietly to be heard by Team Galaxy, but the way he shifted his gaze to Tsuki told them that he was whispering something negatively about the absol.

    “You’re here to kill me, aren’t you,” she growled.

    “Wha…” Keahi blinked, glancing at the cubone, confused by her accusation.

    “It hopefully won’t have to come to that,” Alakazam replied coolly, “but once Ninetales arrives and confirms the truth, we will have to.”

    “The truth?” Keahi gasped, “you… you can’t honestly believe Gengar, can you?”

    A hint of guilt shimmered in Tyranitar’s gaze, but Alakazam and Charizard remained stoic. Nelvana’s gaze narrowed at the trio, and Tsuki’s fur bristled at the lack of defense from this question.

    “We must remain open to the possibility, especially since we don’t know for certain how she became a pokemon. After all, this is the world’s balance at stake,” Alakazam told them.

    “Ha, is that the excuse you’re using? We all know that the ‘unthinkable’ is the meteor, and yet instead of helping make the solution to that, you’re adding onto this problem,” Alex snarled, “you didn’t even have the decency to teleport us straight here to get the news faster, instead just waiting until we got here to just pop in on your own,” he continued, “I bet you were hoping that Moltres or Articuno would off us so you wouldn’t have to? Too bad for you I guess,” he spat.

    Charizard’s expression twisted into a snarl at Alex’s comments, but he continued to hold himself back and not say anything.

    “Here, since you decided to pay us a visit, might as well make yourselves useful,” Alex said, kicking Sableye over at Team A.C.T. “This little gremlin happens to be a murderer. Heard you were missing some nuzleaves? Sableye is the reason for that. You’re welcome for us doing your job for you.”

    The higher ranked team’s expressions softened for a moment. Tyranitar hesitantly reached down and picked up Sableye, who immediately began kicking at the air and screeching profanities. In this slur of curses, Sableye ended up accidentally confirming what Alex said about what happened with the nuzleaves, leaving Team A.C.T. with no choice but to take this criminal with them. Tyranitar untied Sableye from the rope, only to hold the dark-ghost-type securely in his arms, sealing away the smaller pokemon’s hopes of escaping the rescue teams. Then, Tyranitar handed the rope back to Alex.

    “Oh? Thanks, at least I can count on you to do some good around here,” Alex said, taking his rope back and putting it in the bag.

    “You may have captured this criminal, but don’t let that make you think we’ll go any easier on you if Nelvana is the one from the legend,” Charizard snapped.

    “Why do any of you even think that’s a possibility?” Keahi yelled, “shouldn’t it be easy for you to realize that Gengar is lying?”

    “So much for having an IQ over 5000,” Nelvana mumbled.

    Alakazam stiffened, but didn’t respond. He’s hiding something.

    “How did you get here with such timing anyhow?” Tsuki asked.

    “We don’t have to answer to you, Absol,” Charizard snarled.

    Alakazam sighed, raising an arm to silence his teammate. Charizard shifted his weight impatiently and mumbled something about the team harboring two disaster bringers. Nelvana glanced around, growing quickly more curious about the answer to Tsuki’s question. How could Team A.C.T. have known when they would arrive to Ninetales? Unless…

    “You… you were stalking us with your psychic abilities, weren’t you?” Nelvana growled, her grip tightening on her weapon. “You can’t properly sense Alex or me with our shields, and you can’t sense Tsuki with her typing, but I guess Keahi is just a convenient beacon to you, isn’t he?” Anger boiled through her body at her conclusion, and that this team would use her partner like this.

    “That’s a way to put it, yes,” Alakazam murmured, to the continuous shock of Keahi.

    Tyranitar took a deep breath, “look… we s-shouldn’t… Just… Just, consider us witnesses to whatever Ninetales says, o-okay?” he said, his voice quiet and wavering. “The public will… believe you, uh, more if we s-support you.”

    This statement brought the two teams to silence, in a mixture in agreement at what Tyranitar as had, and in surprise that he had spoken at all. A full, awkwardly tense minute dragged on without a word spoken. Until finally, a soft clicking of claws on stone announced the arrival of another.

    “Hello there,” Ninetales said.

    Walking out from around a corner deeper in the cave, came Ninetales. The fox pokemon slowly walked over to the two groups, her nine, long tails flowing behind her, one of them being more dragged than the rest. Her steps came with a nearly unnoticeable limp from her hind left leg, and white hairs whisked at her muzzle. Her right ear was notched, a scar from an old battle. Despite her age, she evidently carried herself with pride, holding herself to a higher regard than anyone else in the room. Burgundy eyes flecked with wisdom and an old power.

    “I must say, I didn’t expect to have quite so many guests,” Ninetales murmured, looking over said guests thoughtfully. “Team A.C.T…. Absol… Blaziken’s kid… a grovyle and a sableye… and a human,” she murmured, her eyes landing on Nelvana.

    Nelvana’s eyes widened, “you can tell with just a glance?”

    “Yes, I can. I suppose it also helps that I’ve been around humans before. I know how you… carry yourselves, without any of my abilities,” Ninetales continued, approaching more. “You seem different though… less… uncouth. I can appreciate that,” she added quietly.

    Nelvana shifted uncomfortably under Ninetales’ gaze, and Alex stepped closer to the cubone, protectively.

    Ninetales blinked, snapping out of her daze, “now then, what brings all of you here? To ask about my legend, I presume?”

    Alakazam cleared his throat, “yes, as a matter of fact. Is Nelvana, this cubone, the very same human from your legend?”

    “Wha… Good heavens, no!” Ninetales exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise at the very idea. “Why in the name of Arceus would you think that? Of course she isn’t that human.”

    “I don’t know, why in the name of Arceus would you think that, Team A.C.T.?” Alex asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he glared back at the mentioned team.

    “I… I knew Nelvana was innocent!” Charizard lied, chuckling nervously and glancing at Alakazam frantically for support.

    “If only that were true,” Keahi hissed at the fire-flying-type, his tone lower than expected for speaking to the team he once admired.

    “Well…” Alakazam paused, hurriedly trying to find something to cover himself up. “She was recently accused by Gengar of being that human, and we had to make sure.”

    “Gengar…?” Ninetales repeated, and oddly enough, a sly grin grew on her face. “Why, that’s quite interesting to hear, considering he is the human that touched my tail, and abandoned Gardevoir.”

    Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise at this new information. Tsuki blinked incredulously, even without having personally met Gengar, this news of the very one that accused Nelvana of being this person, turned out to be that person, shocked her. Keahi’s feathers fluffed up, and he exchanged looks with his two other teammates. Charizard’s jaw dropped open, and Tyranitar almost dropped Sableye. Alakazam’s moustache sprang out to match his expression of shock.

    “What? It’s Gengar?” Alakazam exclaimed.

    “Then he’s the one causing the disasters!” Charizard roared.

    “He’s… no, he is not. Shin- Gengar may be the one from my legend, but I would never curse someone to end the world,” Ninetales soothed them smoothly, “do what you wish with this information, but don’t go hunting him down just because of a lie.”

    Alakazam huffed, looking away almost sheepishly that not a single part of Gengar’s accusation was correct, and that he had followed it regardless. Charizard’s expression was slowly beginning to settle into a scowl again, giving Alakazam a side glare. Tyranitar shifted in place awkwardly and nudged Alakazam, holding up his badge. Alakazam shook his head at his teammate.

    “Not yet,” he told Tyranitar before facing Ninetales again. “Then what is causing the world’s balance to be disrupted?”

    “I’ve told you before! It’s the meteor!” Alex snapped.

    Alakazam’s gaze hardened at the grovyle, but Ninetales nodded.

    “The ‘unthinkable’ you speak of, it is in fact the meteorite,” Ninetales said calmly, “however, that isn’t your only concern. Groudon has awakened from this disbalance, and they are angry. This is the cause of the earthquakes and many of the other natural disasters,” she explained, “if they aren’t defeated… then the balance will only shift more negatively.”

    “We will fight them then,” Alakazam stated.

    “We can fight them!” Keahi insisted, “we’ve fought legendries before!”

    “But you’ve also made this long journey. You should rest, we’ll handle this,” Alakazam replied.

    “Yeah! Plus, Groudon is a lot stronger than that trio you fought, let the professionals handle this,” Charizard added.

    Keahi’s feathers ruffled with irritation at continuously being underestimated, but he didn’t argue any further. Nelvana flexed her grip on her club from frustration.

    “Now then, we have lots of work to be done now, so we must be going,” Alakazam said.

    Team A.C.T. didn’t wait for any reply, and just disappeared, with Sableye, in a beam of light, leaving just Team Galaxy with Ninetales.

    “I suppose you’re busy too, and will have to leave,” Ninetales said, her voice silvery smooth, sending a chill down Nelvana’s spine.

    “Y-Yeah,” Nelvana replied, “just… one last thing, if you don’t mind?”

    “Go ahead.” Ninetales smiled down at Nelvana.

    “What was Gengar’s name as a human?” Nelvana asked, “do you know?”

    Ninetales’ smile grew, “Shinobi. His name was Shinobi. I hope that helps you out.”

    “Thanks,” Nelvana responded, “now let’s finally get home.”

    With that, Team Galaxy disappeared from Frosty Peak in a beam of light. Finally going home again.

[hillgoers]

First camp of the year

I knew I’d be in the tent last Friday night but I hadn’t decided on the exact location before I left the house in the morning. I did tell Sarah my route though and gave a few options of where I might end up. My first thought was at the col of Lochnagar, just down a bit from Meikle Pap, that’s what we discussed anyway. The forecast was perfect, light winds, clear skies, chance of a meteor shower and perhaps an aurora! I first camped at the col with Sarah circa 1995, can’t remember for sure, but this time I was a little more prepared.…

Before that though I met up with my chum Struan and we took the boys for a stroll to Shielin of Mark Bothy. The hard frost crafted ice formations on the burns and made the usually damp walk to the bothy quite easy across the peat hags. Dropping down to the bothy in beautiful sunshine we had our picnic by the fire (to add to the bothy experience) and played a game of top trumps, in which I came last. We had both carried in and left fire wood for the next visitor. Be warned though, the chimney is a bit like me, no good at drawing!

The 4 of us and very happy dog left the bothy (with fire out) and enjoyed our walk back over the heather to the path. The boys tried to smash as much ice as possible, icicles fascinating them as usual. We met another nice chap outside the bothy, carrying two large cameras and enjoying the sunshine and fading light on the way back. We probably disturbed his afternoon but he didn’t seem to mind. Walking back we admired Lochnagar in the distance and I was looking forward to extending my walk along the road. I walked back to the car park with them and waved them off while I changed over bags and boots. By this time the sun was already getting low and I walked up towards Allt-na-giubhsaich as the light faded.

This was my first longish day since the festive period and I was feeling it with the heavier pack. The walk up the track was quite slow for my usual standards, possibly because of the weight in my bag and around my waist!

At the path junction before the walk up to the col I stopped for a break to decide what I was going to do. The mist was starting to form and I contemplated turning back for a comfy night in the van. I put on my stove for a cup of tea then out of the darkness I heard footsteps approaching. Thinking to myself ‘who could this be’, along walked Bill Dallas. I used to work for the same company as Bill and we’ve crossed paths a couple of times since. I told him I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up that night. Being a member of the Braemar Mountain Rescue Team he probably wasn’t too impressed with this indecision but he did kindly offer me to join him on the top. I would support that view and it’s not advisable to wander in winter if you don’t know what you’re doing. To explain, I gave Sarah a full late back procedure, including route and times of contact. In winter I also carry Spot SOS tracker, I know the area very well and I’m a qualified Mountain Leader. Camping up high in winter is life threatening if you don’t understand and mitigate the risks. Serious stuff over. Bill left me and my boiling stove and I stood looking at the stars, occasionally I could could see him switch on the head torch as he wandered up the hill. It’s amazing the difference a wee hot drink and a snack can make to your energy levels. Inspired by Bill’s efforts I decided to plod on, soon reaching foxes well where I filled my water containers for the trip up top, the best water in Scotland. I didn’t carry my tripod which was a mistake so balancing my camera on a rock I took a couple of poor photos of the corrie before continuing on up the ladder and over towards the top.

There was some ice on the ground but mostly avoidable. A snow patch on the path before the climb to Cac Carn Mòr was avoided by staying closer to the corrie rim. I didn’t continue onto the top, I decided to leave Bill to the solitude he probably went up for. I pitched my tent on the flat spot west of Cac Carn Mòr, by this time getting tired and hungry. I only saw one meteor but the glow of the northern lights and huge skies above was eye opening, utterly beautiful. I pitched my tent with the door facing north, sat in my sleeping bag and watched the display eating a lovely...chicken curry. About 10:30 I was dozing off and I heard another couple of voices and torches approaching near the Cairn. Bill’s solitude was about to be disturbed by another couple of team members as I found out in the morning when speaking with the Aberdeen team who were out training.

During the night the cloud came in and the frost came too. I don’t think it was overly cold but there was a good deposit of rime on anything exposed. I woke up a few times through the night, opened the door at 6 ish and quickly closed it again! Then awoke about 8 for breakfast, still in cloud. After packing up the cloud began to lift and I had a great walk down enjoying the clouds drifting below and chatting to folk as they walked up.

Long story short, pick your day, know what you’re doing and go for it. Watching that sky at 1140m is something I’ll never forget. I’ll keep the camping in winter for myself but if you’d like to experience this in summer get in touch.

Happy New Year all, Garry.

[isablackwave]

Dreamscape ((Project 365 Day 4))

It was the strangest sensation of falling, yet standing still. The rushing wind bit into the skin on her face and whipped her platinum hair around her head in a frenzy. Yet, though the landscape below her was rushing closer, it appeared and felt to all of her senses that it was the ground flying upward to meet her, not herself falling at breakneck speed toward it.

That landscape was a sea of white. A dense, impenetrable layer of fog blanketing the entire span of her vision, save one spot. Peaking up through the cloud bank, a solitary mountain rose like a sentinel, a rocky formation that grew closer with each passing second.

She was filled with fear as she watched the mountain fly closer to her, threatening an impact at any second. She was close enough to see the razor short rocky outcroppings, boulders tumbling loosely down steed cliffs, and the yawning chasm of a crater at the top. It was the chasm that seemed to be drawing her in, pulling her toward the gaping maw of darkness. Or perhaps it was leaping up to swallow her like the mouth of a great whale.

And it did so seemingly in an instant. The bright vision of clouds and a rocky mountain top were extinguished in a blink, as though the entire world were a lone candle being snuffed out in the night. She fell through pure darkness, with no sign of anything below her, or even to the sides. She rolled in the air, trying to look back up behind her to see the oculus hole of the mountain and the outside light shining down, but it was difficult to even tell which way was up, or which way she was falling.

As her eyes scanned the inky blackness, a light appeared to her as a tiny pinprick in the void. Then another. More and more of them winked into existence. Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. Numbers beyond counting. A precious diamond starfield surrounded her on every side. Streaks of light arced across the expanse, a meteor shower of tiny points of light.

The stars began to shift. Drifting outward from some central point she couldn’t quite locate, before settling back in. One ripple after another seemed to flow over the stars, distorting them. Then the ripples grew larger, great crashing waves of foam and water obscuring the vision of the stars, until they were no more.

There was only the great, endless sea below her. Dark waves roared and crashed, sending the salty scent up to greet her. As the gap between them closed, she spotted lights once more, but these were new, different. Tiny, flickering, orange instead of white, little candles of flame in a great black sea. The closer she got, the larger the flames became. Not candles, but great roaring fires in the vast emptiness of ocean.

She could just make out the shapes of them, a trio of burning ships still clinging to flotation in the black water. Sails and rigging were charring and burning, vanishing into dust and ash. The planks and masts and frames burned more slowly, creating massive torches of flame in the darkness.

Time seemed to slow as she fell level with the burning vessels. She saw a banner flying atop the largest of them, the sigil of her House, her father, still feebly flapping as the flames singed the fabric away bit by bit.

Then she looked down, feeling as if she were no longer falling, but suspended in midair. Amidst the flames, smoke, and ash, amidst the burning wreckage of a ship all around, a pair of figures stood. A man and a woman. His face she couldn’t make out, but hers seemed familiar. She squinted. Her mother, the woman who betrayed her father, abandoned her to cruel world. She blinked. No. It wasn’t her mother it was her own face. A twisted mirror, a dark simulacrum of her visage, screwed up in cruel laughter as the world around her burned. She gave no mind to the flames or her impending demise, merely laughed through the horror.

The falling girl turned in the air as time seemed to resume, looking back down upon the water in the instant before she collided with it.

Isabella’s eyes shot open while her lips sucked in a shocked gasp. She was staring at the simple wooden ceiling of her lodgings at the Golden Lion Inn. Her body felt like it was made purely of lead. She couldn’t move. After several minutes and with great effort, she lifted her hand into the air to hold it above her face.

It looked...off. Something about her vision made everything appear partially ethereal, unreal, as if she were viewing everything through a veil. She lowered her hand to her heart, thundering beneath her flesh, and discovered two things. First, the she was completely naked, lying in the bed. Second, she was thoroughly drenched in a slick layer of sweat, as if she had just climbed out of a bath without drying off.

She rested her hand there for a long time, feeling her heart decelerate over what felt like an hour. Her breasts heaved up and down with deep, but unsteady breaths.

Eventually, she managed to recover the feeling in her form to slide over to the edge of the bed and heave herself up to a sitting position. Though worried that she might not be able to balance, she nevertheless threw herself up to her feet. She was, indeed, wobbly, but managed to stay upright. 

The only light in the room came from a pair of flickering, low burning candles, making the ethereal quality of the room seem even more unnerving and unreal. On shaky legs she crossed to the desk, where the rack of vials stood undisturbed. She picked up the offending substance and held it up to her eye once more.

She ran a hand through her immensely disheveled and matted hair. The black ribbon which normally kept her pony tail in place had failed in its purpose and hung loosely between her silvery locks. She pulled the ribbon out and tightly tied it around the neck of the vial. She replaced the vial in the rack and the rack in the box, shutting the lid.

With her first proper breath, she stood, running fingers through her hair once more. Was it a dream? If it was, it was the most real and vivid one she could remember in her lifetime. Was it some sort of premonition? Of what? Or was it simply a manifestation of her deepest fears and insecurities?

Someday, she might learn the answer. But in that moment, the only two things she cared about were a bath, and a drink.

((I was absolutely terrified of writing this, but having done so (twice, thanks to Tumblr’s god-awful mobile app) I am extremely proud of the result. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did envisioning the sequence.

This is the end of the mini trilogy of pieces I started on Day 2, part of my experiments on fleshing out this character.))

[livelikebrent]

Stop 5: Syracuse, NY

“She just has such a natural beauty. She’s one of the prettiest girls I know.” Brent adored Amanda and said this about her on multiple occasions. Brent adored Drew too. They were some of his best friends from back home in Wilkes-Barre. I adore them too.

Originally, Stop 5 was supposed to be Acadia National Park in Maine...but I simply did not carve out enough time for the trip (oops!). So, with that trip being postponed until the spring the obvious second choice was Syracuse to visit 8 month pregnant parents to be, Amanda and Drew! The last time Brent and I stopped through to visit Syracuse (rather briefly) was after we had gone camping in the Adirondacks in July of 2015. I remember we parked the Jeep at Forked Lake Campground and hiked maybe about a half mile to our spot which was right next to the lake and was picture perfect (until it rained later that evening). The site came with a picnic table and benches and whoever had the site before us, placed several tree stumps around the “fire pit”. So we set up the tent, hammock and walked around the area a bit.

I started dinner while Brent went to get more firewood from the car. Then hopped in his hammock with a Bells Two Hearted Ale. Brent came back with firewood and flowers he picked along the way for me. After we ate we enjoyed the fire and beers before it started to downpour. We didn’t mind though as we planned on waking up with the sun the next morning to go on quite the hike.

Pictured above is us a smidge tired and sweaty after an upwards hike for 3 hours and 4,626 ft. at the top of Giant Mountain in New York. I like hiking but I like to work towards something. That something could be a killer view, waterfalls or anything to keep me motivated. This was quite the view and I remember that the camera couldn’t truly capture the depths of the mountains and how beautiful the view actually was. I also remember Brent struggling a bit during the hike...at one point (I think we were about a third of the way to the top) I looked at him and told him we didn’t have to complete the hike and could just turn around. I could barely even finish that sentence before he looked at me and said, “I didn’t just beat cancer.” When he said the word “just” he drew out the “uhhh” in an annoyed voice. He said that if he could beat cancer and he could get to the top of the mountain. Did any of you just chuckle while hearing him say this in your head? I did. He was a determined and smarty-pants at times. That’s what I liked about him. Not only did he have motivation but determination.

Brendan and I pulled up to a cute little house with a Blazer in the driveway marked with a “LiveLikeBrent” sticker on the back windshield. Amanda, belly and all, came out from the garage led by Bear, their puppy. Bear is a gorgeous mix of German Sheppard and who knows what else and has the softest coat I’ve ever felt. Drew and Amanda gave us the tour of their home and property. During said tour, Drew said he was sold on the house just by the backyard. Their home sits on a decent sized lot with a backyard that backs up to the woods. There’s a slight up slope towards the back of their property where they have Adirondack chairs in front of a fire pit. I originally thought it was a pizza oven due to the fact Drew isn’t a stranger in the kitchen. Turns out that’s what he eventually wants to do with it. So obviously I’ll be back but only when that’s completed.

After we got settled we hopped in the car and went to Emipre Brewing Co. for a late lunch and some beers. As we pulled up I didn’t realize how massive of a facility Empire was...I suppose the name is fitting. On the other hand, Drew couldn’t get over how packed it was. I mean, it was a Saturday afternoon. In October. In Syracuse. With perfect weather.

“Empire Farm Brewery, est.2016, is the largest Farm Brewery on the East Coast. Over 22 acres were developed for educational and beer production purposes. Boasting a new 60 bbl automated brewhouse, the Empire Farm Brewery is producing kegs and bottles for regional, national and international distribution. Bottled lineup includes 3 time consecutive Great American Beer Fest gold medal winner; Skinny Atlas Light, White Aphro, Slo Mo’ IPA, East Coast Amber Ale, and World Beer Cup gold medal winner; Black Magic Stout.  Located in Cazenovia, NY, the property also grows hops, lavender, vegetables, herbs, and fruits for use in the brewing process and to support the needs of Empire’s downtown brewpub.

The agricultural component was designed in conjunction with Professor Matthew Potteiger and the graduate student body from the Department of Landscape Architecture, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The Empire Farm Brewery was the class project for ESF’s spring 2012 semester.”

Reading that makes the place sound somewhat dreamy, right? It kinda was. The inside was nice, still smelled somewhat new. The place was jammin’ and as we were ordering our beers and a lemonade for the mama to be, a table opened up. What was neat about the place was that they had long communal picnic tables and “round” tables made out of tree trunks which is where we sat. There is a patio out back with tables, a bar and several corn hole sets. I kept looking around not being able to get over the size of the place. We ordered some food and caught up with one another. Drew knew Brent from back in the day in grade school and had been friends ever since. Amanda met Brent through mutual friends later in life in high school. Brent mentioned to me the first time Amanda told him she liked Drew. It was at a concert of sorts (most likely moe. or something along those lines) where she said it and Brent’s reply was something similar to “Yeah, me too.” ... but she corrected him on what she actually meant. They’re a super sweet couple. The first time I met them was New Year’s Eve 2014. They were staying the weekend at Brent’s apartment in East Falls. I remember Drew cooking dinner for all of us at Danny and Dana’s place. He made quite the meal with nice steaks. The following day I remember learning that apparently eating pork on New Year’s Day is a Polish tradition. I think we even had some venison if my memory serves me correctly. At that point in time, I just knew Drew as the friend that could cook and Amanda as “the most naturally beautiful girls” Brent knew...and his best friends of course.

We ate, drank and tossed around baby name ideas. After Empire we decided to do “fall things” (with the rest of the state of New York) since the weather was so beautiful. We drove to a place called Tim’s Pumpkin Patch. Why did we drive close to a half hour and pass maybe half a dozen orchards and pumpkin stands just to go to Tim’s? Well, first of all it has a 4.4 star rating on Google...so there’s that. But in addition to pumpkin picking they have a brewery, bakery, animals and well, Amanda insisted. When we arrived, I bought everyone some farm feed along with beers and ciders before going to visit the animals. After we cooed over the baby goats, pigs and cows we stopped for some fresh apple fritters before heading into the corn maze. The maze was so difficult we ended up coming out where we began and probably didn’t even touch half of the maze. If the sun wasn’t setting we probably would’ve given it another shot. But at that point we wanted to pick our pumpkins, snag a quick photo of the parents to be and hit the road.

When we got back to Drew and Amanda’s home we were greeted by Bear who quite honestly Brendan and I could not get enough of the entire visit. By the way, he is SUCH a good boy.

We hung out for a while. Amanda and Drew then ended up taking us to a place called Seneca Street Brew Pub where I had a Cider Creek Smoked Up Cider. I thought it ruled and was very much alone on this. Give me anything and everything smoked and I’ll consume it...meat, cheese, beer and ciders. This brew pub was in the basement of a renovated church with a bottle shop on top. It truly didn’t feel like a church by any means but was still a cool spot. The bottle shop had dozens and dozens of locally brewed beers, ciders and some wines. I did fail to take a photo of this place. (I actually forgot to take a lot of photos over the weekend!) After we had a drink we walked down the street in downtown Manlius to IronWood Pizza for some dinner. It had a cool vibe inside and an extensive craft beer list. It had an alternative atmosphere with some cool graffiti on the wall in the main dining room and had somewhat industrial touches around the place.

After we ate we went back and the boys built a fire. There was a meteor shower the night before so we hung out in hopes to catch a meteor or two. Drew said he had been listening to some of Brent’s playlists and suggested that we throw one on. So we did. We played some of Brent’s music from Spotify and enjoyed the night. You can view and play Brent’s public playlists on Spotify right here. Note: I’m not sure if they will disappear once his subscription is not renewed. So please download or screenshot the playlists for future reference if you wish!

Sunday morning was a treat. Amanda and Drew have their Sunday ritual which is checking out the Central New York Regional Market. Brendan had already had his eye on visiting this place. The market has been there for YEARS and has Sunday flea markets, Saturday farmers markets and even serves as a live music venue occasionally. The market has several “sheds” which are extremely long structures with garage doors along the sides where vendor after vendor set up for the day. You can find pretty much anything there. Some people bring their junk, some have brand new items with price tag stickers still on them and then people who have some neat odds and ends. I walked out of there with three silver candle stick holders that just need some polish that I bought for a whopping $2. Amanda and Drew found a metal tub type bucket, kitchen tools and some Simpsons books...yes, as in the TV show. According to Drew the place was “empty” and gets packed in the summers. But I actually thought there were a decent amount of vendors there...but I would have no problem making the trip back up in the summertime. I LOVE flea markets, antique shops, thrift stores, indoor markets, outdoor markets, whatever sort of place that has potential for cool finds.

Speaking of cool finds, we “found” some barbecue too. It was just about lunchtime and before Brendan and I even got to Syracuse that weekend, we decided we would go to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. I actually had no idea this place originated in Syracuse but had been to a location in Brooklyn several years back. We made it right before the Sunday afternoon rush and got a table in a booth. Amanda had mentioned a couple of times that they had solid bloody marys. She ordered a virgin and I told the waitress I’d take Amanda’s vodka. It was a really good bloody mary. It was spicy and whatever dry rub of their’s they rim the glass with was spot on. We started with their fried green tomatoes to share and then ribs, pulled pork, corn bread, mac and cheese were ordered...but I don’t even think that was half of what was order for the table.

This photo above it definitely one of my new favorites. I’m full again just looking at this picture. After I ate my sandwich I could hardly touch the rest of my sides. Or even think about them. Everything tasted so flippin’ good but I felt as though I was busting at the seems. I remember telling everyone I needed to lay down to digest and slumped over in the booth. I have no idea how the boys pack it away.

Just like every trip I take, I find at least one worthy spot for a #LiveLikeBrent sticker. I think that most people would agree that Dinosaur was more than worthy. I spoke to the bartender and gave her the revised version as to why I was there and why I wanted this sticker in their establishment. She gave her condolences but was super touched to hear what I was doing to honor Brent. So if you ever find yourself at the bar of Dinosaur Barbeque in Syracuse a sticker for Brent is there just to the right of the tap system on the back ledge of the bar.

We made our way back to the house to try and digest for a bit.The boys relaxed in the basement (which is massive by the way) and watched some of the Sunday football games. Amanda, Bear and I got in the car and went to Green Lakes State Park for a walk. It was a pretty drive and as you enter the park you also pass through what looked like a nice golf course. We parked the car and started to walk. Turns out the lakes are actually green. The two glacial lakes in the park lie at the base of a gorge. I learned that they are rare meromictic lakes meaning their layers within the water never physically mix. We walked a bit over a mile which made me feel better about the amount of food I had recently inhaled. As we walked we talked about losing Brent, when Amanda lost her father and how the boys have been back in Philadelphia. Ps. Philly Friends - This is the part where I tell you she misses you all and Drew wants me to tell everyone Syracuse isn’t that far...so you all need to visit them.

When we got back, the boys were snoozing in front of the television. Then Brendan showed up in the kitchen and made some coffees. Drew and Amanda’s home is decorated with flea market finds, family heirlooms and pieces they have found along the way. It’s got this farm house vibe but nothing that seems like you can just go and pick-up from the home decor section at Target. (P.S. -  There is NOTHING wrong with Target, by the way. I basically live there myself.) But I started asking about an antique cabbage slicer Amanda had hanging above the kitchen sink. I didn’t know what it actually was until she told me but see them all of the time now when out at antique shops. It turns out it belonged to her grandfather back in the day. They also have a couple of letter trays on the walls that hold little knick knacks. I think at their previous apartment they held stones as well. As I was asking about items around the house, Amanda pulled out a stoneware crock which held kitchen tools...and some actual tools. I didn’t realize it until Brendan started asking about the crocks but there are several around their home. Some for decor and others serving a purpose. They were really cool and completely Amanda’s style. Amanda also collects retro kitchen tools with the green handles. She actually just bought the one dead center in the photo on the counter at the market earlier that day. I think we decided it was a pastry/cookie cutter that you roll along dough. It had the shapes of suits in a deck of cards: heart, diamond, club, and spade. It was kinda neat. Amanda pulled out almost every tool and told us about them. She likes the way they look mainly but said when she’s out at the market a lot of people will try to paint the handles green to make them look like antiques and she tried to avoid the replicas.

We finished up our coffee and played with Bear one more time before packing up. Drew woke up from his slumber but claimed he was awake the entire time. We said our goodbyes, packed up the car and made our way back south.This is the part where I remind everyone that even though Amanda and Drew have a little one due literally any day now...they still welcome visitors. This is also the part where I tell you Brent told me Amanda and Drew are having a boy (even though they don’t know the gender of the baby). Maybe Brent was having a “chemo brain” moment when he told me confidently that it’s a boy or maybe he just knew or maybe it’ll just be a coincidence. Or maybe...they’ll just have a little baby girl. Either way, I’m excited to see the little bundle of joy the next time I go to visit them upstate. Thank you so much for having us for the weekend, Drew and Amanda. We love you, Bear and the little one on the way!

[rajinedgeofdarkness]

The Beginning

Brimebet, a small village surrounded by the forests and mountain ranges beyond. It’s been my home for the most part for many years. My name is Skyfyre, and I don’t have a lot of memories of my childhood oddly as I was orphaned at a young age of 14. Not sure what happened, I just recall one day when I awoke, they were long gone without a trace. I decided to leave the city and come here instead. Life hasn’t been quite the same, some days are better than others. The villagers here are very friendly, much more so than those back in Welshire. They’ve been kind enough let me do odd jobs whether it was cleaning, picking crops, and what have you in exchange for a little money or food. Most of the time I keep to myself as I made a shelter within the outskirts on top of some tall trees. It allows me to get a nice view and get away from the light bustling of small town work. Margaret is one of the nicest women in the entire place. She’s elderly, but youthful in spirit. She often has me over for some home made food and to tell stories of her past and her travels. I always envied her once adventurous spirit and wanted to get out there more myself. One thing I loved about this place was it was frozen in time encompassing medieval based living, a time of castles and knights, preserved in the buildings and it’s people. Huge difference from Welshire, which more modernized. Never really felt comfortable in the midst of the sky scrapers and busy-ness of it all, but my folks were convinced it was the best place for us at the time.

Theobald, the village blacksmith, I always love to watch him from a safe distance. He’s been mastering this art for over 30 years. I often go up to him and ask if he can make me a sword. I didn’t know what I would do with it at the time, but thought it would be cool to have. He always said that for my stature a sword would be too awkward to handle, but a bow, that would be my true calling. I always sort of laughed at that statement, couldn’t imagine me with a bow at the time, do I need a horse too? Of course it wasn’t too much of a laughing manner as not long after I tried my hand at carving one out of spare wood and string, given it wasn’t great, but it made for good crafting practice anyway. Diane the tailor was always amused at my ragged appearance. She’s offered me clean pair of clothes almost on a weekly basis, but I turn her down. I always felt that this raggedy sort of suited me and since I’m outdoors in the dirt most of the time, I’m too worried to mess up a perfectly tailored dress. Diane never had a doubt in my capabilities or my future. I often have said to her once I saved up enough coins that I’m hoping to travel and maybe find my calling out there, whatever it was. At the same time unlike other girls my age, never felt the need to find a man and settling down in a nice cottage to start a farm or move back to the big city to start a business. I hated the idea of being stuck in one place for too long, I wanted to spread my wings so badly. Alas at times I did feel trapped here, but only so much to do, I could of run away, but where would I go? The forests are filled with dangerous beasts and I had no idea how to defend myself enough either. I kept telling myself, someday, though….someday.

I guess I should give a quick overview of my daily life huh? Most days are about the same, waking up early when the sun rises, helped the villagers with some basic tasks. I often worked on the nearby farm aiding Hamlisch and Franny especially during the harvest season. Took up most of the day picking the corn, wheat, among some fruits and veggies. However by day’s end I was always treated to a bundle of the fresh produce to take back with me. Gregory who was the butcher spent a good chunk of his time running his stall in the Main Street of the village. He often sold chicken, but on rare occasions more delicate items hunted nearby like deer and even dire wolf. Sympathizing with my situation, he always gave me a huge discount, so by the end of the week’s worth of pay I was able to treat myself to a hearty chunk of what he had in store. Kids could be heard playing often coming up to ask me things about where I came fro. They always found me as a positive role model and I often engaged in silly acts and stories to keep them cheerful before their parents shouted at them to come back home. Yeah life here was decent for the most part, I’m learning a lot from everyone here and even though it’s hard work too and lonely at times since I have yet to make a close companion thus far, it has its own rewards. By the end of the day, I head back up to my tree house with a open roof giving away to a clear view of the starry sky. I had a concerted area with sand for a small fire pit with some old rusty dishware that I found before it gets thrown out. I cook the produce and meat into whatever I’m able to concoct up. Most of it can be blande without access to spices, but I made due. At least it’s food and it keeps me alive and well for the most part for another day here.

The first days here were hard, but than they turned to years and I’ve grown with the people, seen many leave, and many more come in. One night however, something strange happened. After settling in for bed, there was a bright flicker above, it looked like a normal shooting star, but it exploded in mid air leaving a colorful trail behind in it’s wake, it almost appeared to get bigger. I realized it was about to head towards me whizzing over my head and into the forest. Upon impact, it let out a bright light that faded into darkness as if nothing happened. Of course I was curious, literally the most interesting thing that had occurred since my arrival. I began walking to the entry way nervous as the tall trees engulfed my present making my size seem insignificant in comparison. It was dark and oddly silent. I walked forward a few steps more watching behind me as the lights of the village were becoming blocked by the branches. I began to regret coming in there but something attracted me to continue walking further and further into the unknown. Minutes became hours as I realized how lost I was. How far did that thing go? Suddenly I noticed was a dim reddish glow peaking through the thorny brambles. The glow became brighter as I got closer to it before reaching a clearing scorched by the fire, the object knocked some of the trees away before its landing. A faint moaning sound could be heard coming from the rough rock like mass. I walked closer and the glow became ever so brighter, almost blinding. A small flame emerged from the top and a feeling of energy is felt breaking away the dark chunks that were shielding what was inside. Once fully exposed, the flame grew stronger before going out suddenly leaving a smooth red crystalline structure behind. The glow remained but flickered in and out and the moaning became more audible. Almost began to sound like a rumble or a growl, like something was alive in there. I prudently stepped forward before I was a foot away from it than I kneeled down. Something about the object kept me glued to it, I couldn’t help but want to place my hand on it’s surface. The noises became louder, the object began to glow consistently once more blinding my eyes and directing my focus to it and it alone. Before my hand reached out with my fingers inches away from contact. Everything left me in a trance, I could no longer control my actions or even tune out anything. A painful pulse was felt up my arm as I tried to move my hand away, but was unable to. An intense burning sensation ran through my entire body. I was finally able to free myself, falling backwards writhing in agony as the heat dissipated leaving me numb and motionless. It hurt to turn my head to face the now broken object leaving shards all over the forest floor. My eyes grew heavy as everything faded and became black.

Birds chirping and sunlight directly overhead roused me to open my eyes. I leaned upward, still unsure of last night and where I was. I got up and looked back at the object, that was completely blackened as if it burned to ashes overnight. What happened? Was all of this a dream? Why am I out here? My head throbbed as an ache took over and made it hard to think. My chest felt tender for some reason like a big bruise was present going from one side of my collarbone to the other. Putting my hand on it I felt a rough scaliness texture. Without hesitation, I ripped off my shirt exposing something that brought fear and panic into me. It was a burn mark, but of a very unusual shape, like a creature of some sort with wings out spread from one shoulder to the next. I clenched it and keeled over trying to breathe calming myself. I think to myself that I need to get back to the village and find help. I begin to run in the opposite direction of the clearing tripping over roots rocks along the way finally making it back to the village only to find it up in smoke……..

It’s at this point Skyfyre discovers GenCRYPT attacking the city after gaining intel of the mysterious meteor strike nearby with instruments detecting something living in it’s nature. They threaten to dismantle the village and harm its residents in search for the rock and when Sky rushes to the village to try to help, everything comes to standstill. They realize she carries the same life signal as the mysterious object and redirect their attention to her. It was here where her powers emerge for the first time showing off in a dangerous manner that almost destroys what remains of Brimebet. The same powers aid in her temporary escape as the people of GenCRYPT have no choice, but to follow her.

I awoke, something wet and warm could be felt running across my cheek. I slowly opened my eyes, feeling the hard ground below, it was night again. I could see a blurry reddish figure come into focus. Yellow eyes with slotted pupils big paws with small talons and a stubby tail. Startled I tried to push myself away from it only for it to follow me. It stumbled awkwardly before falling to the ground letting out a high pitched whining chirp before attempting to run towards me once more. I fell back over and it crawled onto my chest getting close to my face. I was nose to nose with the strange creature. It didn’t seem to want to harm me. It placed one of it’s paws onto the middle part of my chest. My eyes widened as I could feel a burning sensation emanate and flashes of memories rushed back to when I was back in the village. I couldn’t even recognize myself my hair was long and bright red, on fire almost matching the glowing from my eyes as I hovered in the middle of the village surrounded by armored men with guns pointed towards me. I looked angry, out of control. I could feel myself letting out a scream as fire emerged from my hands and mouth aiming at everything around me not caring if it was friend or foe. I than found myself blasting off somehow towards the mountain ranges disappearing. So now I’m here. Before I lost control a massive shadow emerged, a winged beast letting out a roar to the heavens before going back into my body causing myself to change entirely without warning. I forgot everything from the day before, I sat up and the little creature slid down my stomach resting on my lap.

Switching back to third person story telling here

“Ugh…..hello?” The creature turns it’s head confused. “Umm so yeah…..this is awkward, but I should be getting back to make sure everyone is okay.” Skyfyre gets up and tries to figure out where she is, she walks out to the cliff edge to see that she is really high up. She feels a tug on her ankle as the critter tries to grab her preventing her from continuing. “Sky…….sky……don’t….go”. Skyfyre in shock looks at the creature, but can’t see any signs of actual speech, it was almost as if she felt it in her head. “Ugh, did you just talk to me?” “Don’t go………bad……..danger…..”. The creature proceeds to run around chasing it’s tail and letting out a snarl facing the outwardly landscape in the distance. “Ugh alrighty than, I’m pretty sure I’m hallucinating….right,…because,….animals can’t talk…..”. Sky tries to walk back casually ignoring the creature who continues to follow her. “Why don’t you go back home,….you know where your kind is from…….?” Ignoring her words, it continues to walk besides her. Sky begins to feel weak as she continues to climb down the mountain. The creature notices her fatigue. “Magic…..fading…..”. It senses it and without warning dematerializes in front of her eyes…..”wait…..stop….STOP…..what are you DOING!!!?” The physical form disappears leaving a shapely blob of colored dust and the mark on Sky’s chest begins to glow as it absorbed the particulated matter. She could feel her mind fill up, and energy returning and heat running from the mark to her mind soothing her stresses and worry. “Ummmmm,….what just happened?” No response. “I’m officially going insane right now?” Skyfyre, confused clenches her chest, her heart pounding slower than normal as she figures out what the hell is happening. She continues her tread down the mountain and back through the forest towards the village, or what’s left of it.

Short summary of what is to happen next (dialogue added later in novel itself and everything else).

Skyfyre finds the village destroyed with many of the villagers gone except for a few who came out from under the rubble, fearful of her. She had to convince them she doesn’t wish them harm and that she has no idea who those mysterious intruders were. Showing her innocence, she is accepted once more, but they remain nervous of her stay and convince her she needs to leave for good because those people will surely come back for her and that it’s no longer safe here and nobody is able to protect her. Sky asks where the men went, and Theobald points towards the mountains close to where she came from and how they most likely saw her come back here and will be turning around. Sky, scared for what is going on, Margaret convinces her of a blessing in disguise and cleverly reminds her of the adventure that she always wanted to have and now she must go and take it. Theobald hands over a professionally crafted bow with a quiver of arrows telling her she can protect herself with this. The arrows are sharp and built to penetrate even the toughest armor. Unsure of the fate of the others, they work to persuade her that they will be okay and that the village can be rebuilt and people will return, but for sure that she must go and not look back. Tearfully hugging the only people she came to know, she begins to run back out to the forested area hoping to veer the men off course to avoid the village to keep what’s left in tact and ensure they keep following her.

The rest of this will work towards telling the story of Skyfyre’s preminary travels before her eventual capture as she constantly stays on the move learning about her newfound powers and training her self with the bow. Blaze once old enough and is able to speak in full sentences introduces himself fully and grows with her just enough to sprout a small set of wings and horns without being much bigger than her. She travels through the forest across rivers as she leaves the valley to see what else is out there trying to stay a step ahead from the army of mysterious figures.

[anodyneer]

25, 36, 38, 64 take your pick for the drabble thing!

Should I be this excited to finally receive a prompt on here? Thank you!! I picked 64 (“Here, take my blanket.”) for now, but I may do the other ones at some point as well.

Anyway, here it is!

Better Than Fireworks

2k/G/Sterek/fluff  (Also on AO3.)

“Wow,” Stiles breathed, “I never realized how peaceful it is outhere at night.”

Derek hummed in agreement as he followed the bobbing beam ofStiles’ flashlight, but said nothing. It was one of his favorite things aboutthe property, really. He’d fallen in love with the large mountain parcel fromthe first time he’d seen it, with its fixer-upper house set way back at the endof a long driveway, hidden from the rest of the world. In the time that he’downed it, Derek had made extensive repairs and upgrades to both the house andyard, but he’d left the surrounding forest largely untouched. It reminded himof home, but without the feelings of loss and pain and failure that had alwayshaunted him in Beacon Hills.

It had taken time, a lot of time, andeven some therapy, for Derek to truly move on enough to return to California.He hadn’t gone back to Beacon Hills, finding himself drawn instead to theforests hours north of his childhood home. It was close enough for his friendsto visit, but far enough away that he never felt the pull to go back to theformer Hale pack lands.

“Hey, Derek, you okay?” Stiles nudged him in the side with anelbow, bringing Derek out of his thoughts.

Years ago, when they’d first met, Derek might have shot back thatit would be even more peaceful if Stiles stopped talking, but things hadchanged since then. Derek had changed since then.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said instead, letting himself appreciate thegenuine concern in both Stiles’ tone and his scent. Derek wasn’t the only onewho’d changed. Stiles had been through so many things since the two of them hadfirst met, and yet he’d somehow managed to come out stronger. He’d justgraduated from college, and after spending part of the summer at home with hisdad and friends/pack, he’d decided to take Derek up on his offer of a place toget away from everything (namely, Beacon Hills itself) for a while.

Stiles had been staying with Derek for a little over a month, andthough there was something well beyond friendship happening between them - hadbeen for years, really - they were taking things fairly slowly.

“So, you still won’t tell me why we’re going to the overlook?”Stiles threaded the fingers of his free hand through Derek’s, squeezing gently.

“You’ll see.” Derek smiled in the dark, his own fingerstightening. He let his eyes glow briefly, the range of his own night visiongiving him a better view than the flashlight. He could just barely make out thesmall clearing that Stiles had dubbed ‘the overlook.’ It extended outwardbefore dropping off into the ravine that separated Derek’s property from theone on the other side, and the unobstructed view of the sky was stunning, dayand night.

They walked in silence until they reached the clearing. Derekreluctantly let go of Stiles’ hand before slipping the pack from his back andpulling out the contents. He unrolled the camping pad and spread it out on theground, then shook out a thin quilt and laid it on top, all while trying tokeep from being blinded by Stiles’ flashlight.

“Dude, seriously?” Stiles sounded completely confused. “We’re justgoing to chill out here? What if we get attacked by a skunk, or a porcupine, orsomething?”

“We’ll be fine,” Derek replied as he handed Stiles a blanket.“Wolves are pretty high up on the food chain.” He pulled his own blanket out ofthe pack before sitting down on one side of the pad and motioning for Stiles totake the spot beside him.

“Okay, so what’d you do, pee around the whole property to markyour territory or something?” Stiles flopped down beside Derek and pressed intohis side, tucking the flashlight between them so that they could see each otherin the darkness.

“They can just tell. I’ve run the borders fully shifted enoughtimes that they can smell my wolf.” He didn’t dare tell Stiles that he had, infact, pissed at the edges of the clearing more times than he cared to count,both shifted and not - not to mark his territory, but simply because he had togo. He’d never hear the end of it.

“Likely story,” Stiles muttered, but he dropped the subject infavor of continuing his interrogation. “So, are there fireworks in town orsomething?”

“No, no fireworks. I’m hoping for something even better.”

“Are we just going to sit here and look at the stars?”

“You could say that,” Derek murmured, hoping his plan for thenight wouldn’t be a complete bust. His wolf was definitely in sync with the moon,but with the stars? Not so much. Still, it felt right, and something deepinside of Derek reminded him that, no matter what the night sky had in storefor them, this was time that he and Stiles got to share, just the two of them.

Stiles seemed to be satisfied enough with Derek’s vague answer. Hewrapped his blanket around his shoulders and settled back in, plasteringhimself against Derek’s side. They sat in silence as minutes passed, and it wason the tip of Derek’s tongue to tell Stiles what he should be looking for, butthen he felt Stiles shiver against him. Even in the middle of August, it couldget a little chilly at night in the mountains, something Derek hadn’t reallyconsidered before they left the house. He ran warm enough that it rarely botheredhim, but Stiles was a whole different being, in more ways than one.

“Here, take my blanket,” he said into the silence, shaking out hisown folded blanket and draping it around Stiles’ shoulders. He let his armlinger along Stiles’ back, and Stiles leaned into him with a contented sigh.Taking that as a sign, Derek gave Stiles’ bicep a squeeze as he pulled theyounger man in even closer. “Better?”

“Much.” Stiles huffed out a soft laugh. “You’re not very subtle,you know. Bringing me out to look at the stars, giving me your blanket so youhave an excuse to put your arm around me. I’m on to you, Sweetwolf.”

Derek smirked at the nickname. “I didn’t think subtle was yourthing.”

“I’m not complaining.” Stiles turned a little and wrapped an armaround Derek’s back. He went still for a moment, and Derek turned his head intoStiles’ hair, breathing in the scent of him as he waited him out. “I - I reallylike it here, you know. I mean, look at me. I’m sitting outside in the pitchdark in the middle of the woods just outside of Nowheresville, and normally,I’d be really creeped out, right? You know, after everything…” He trailedoff, inhaling deeply through his nose. “But I feel safe here. With you. Like,not just here here, but your place in general.”

The words overwhelmed Derek, not only because there was no lie inthem, but because Stiles had just put into words what Derek himself had beenfeeling since moving to the property, and especially since Stiles had arrived.He felt calm, safe in a way he hadn’t for years, and he was finally able to lethis guard down. The nightmares that had plagued him for years had been reducedto the occasional bad dream, and when he awakened from one, he no longer had toresort to counting his fingers - a trick he’d learned from Stiles so long ago.He was able to ground himself in the call of the mockingbird outside hiswindow, or the sound of the breeze through the treetops, or more recently, thesteady beat of Stiles’ heart. The younger man had recently taken to slippinginto Derek’s bed late at night, which helped both of them immensely, thoughDerek still had a hard time admitting to himself that he might enjoy thecuddling even more than Stiles did.

“Oooo-kay,” Stiles said, his pulse ticking up just a bit. “And Imade thing awkward. Way to go, Stiles.”

“No,” Derek blurted, knowing that feeling all too well. “Youdidn’t. I just - I was thinking the same thing. That I feel safe here.” He tooka deep breath and forced out the rest of the thought. “Especially since you gothere.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Derek pulled back just far enough to look into Stiles’eyes in the dim light. “I found this place, and it helped me…find myself, Iguess.” It sounded corny, and Derek cringed inside, but Stiles just looked athim with a deep understanding. He swallowed, his voice dropping to a nearwhisper. “Then you showed up, and everything felt right for once in my life.”Stiles gaped at him, and Derek felt himself blush. “Now who’s making thingsawkward.”

Stiles shook his head. “I wouldn’t say that, exactly.” BeforeDerek could put together what Stiles meant, the younger man’s lips were on his.It was a soft kiss, not unlike others they’d shared in recent days, butsomething about it felt even more perfect. When they finally parted, Stilesnuzzled into Derek’s neck, and it warmed something deep inside of Derek. “So,did you really bring me out here to woo me? Because it’s working.”

Derek breathed a laugh into Stiles’ hair, then gazed back up atthe sky. Sure enough, within a minute, he saw a flash of light streak acrossthe heavens. “That’s only part of the reason,” he finally answered. “Look up.”

“Huh?” Stiles stirred and pushed himself up far enough to tilt hishead back, looking up at the starry sky above them. “Okay, what am I - whoa!”He jumped, his arm going tight around Derek. “Holy shit, did you seethat?”

“I did.” Derek leaned in to press a kiss to Stiles’ temple beforeturning his attention back to the sky. Stiles was now watching intently,sitting as still as Derek had ever seen him, and he was rewarded for his efforta few minutes later.

“There’s another one. Are you freaking kiddingme?” He turned wide eyes on Derek, who couldn’t help grinning at him.

“Perseid meteor shower,” he said simply. “I figured this would bea good vantage point.”

Stiles gave him a soft smile. “Yeah, this is the best.” He leanedback into Derek’s side, a little shiver running through him. The blankets hadpooled around Stiles’ waist during their impromptu makeout session, and Derekreached down to pull them back up, wrapping them around their shoulders withStiles’ help. Stiles curled into Derek’s warmth, and Derek held him as they satand watched the sky, making soft noises of awe every time they saw anothermeteor.

As Stiles snuggled into him, it hit Derek that, in that moment,there was nowhere he’d rather be, and no one with whom he’d rather be sharinghis time.

He was in love with Stiles.

He’d probably known for a long time, but the realization didn’taffect him the same way it would have years ago. Instead of being caught offguard by it or scared of what might happen to Stiles, the understanding that hewas in love with the younger man simply settled Derek even more.

A small smile playing at the corners of his mouth, Derek tuckedhis face into Stiles’ neck and inhaled deeply. Stiles hummed and tilted his headto give Derek better access. Derek’s lips traced a path up to a spot on Stiles’jaw, just in front of his ear.

“So,” he whispered, “better than fireworks?”

Stiles laughed softly, his fingers tickling Derek’s side throughhis shirt. “Well, I love fireworks, but…not gonna lie, this is totally betterthan fireworks.”

And as they sat there, cuddling under blankets as the occasionalmeteor flared across the sky above them, both of them at peace, Derek couldonly agree.

Drabble Challenge prompts

[ntrending]

How to photograph a meteor shower

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/how-to-photograph-a-meteor-shower/

How to photograph a meteor shower

The Perseid meteor shower, likely the best shower we’ll see all year, is fast approaching, with peak visibility on the nights of August 12 and 13. If you want some tips on how to find the best viewing time and spot, check out NASA’s post on the subject. Then, drag out your camera (and your tripod) and try to catch some of those wonderful streaks as they shoot across the night sky.

Note: These tips are applicable for pretty much any meteor shower, not just the Perseids. Check the EarthSky.org calendar for more opportunities to catch some meteor showers.

Find the darkest spot available

If you dwell in a big, bright city with a lot of lights, your chances of catching a worthwhile meteor image are going to be slim. You’re going to be dealing with long-exposures and wide-open apertures, which means any environmental light will creep into the frame and overpower the image. If possible, get out into the country where streetlights and neon signs are few and far between. Apps like this Light Pollution Map can be helpful in finding the nearest bit of clean sky to photography. Just be sure to pack a flashlight for navigating your gear in the dark.

Stock up on coffee (or just sneak in a nap)

The best viewing time starts around midnight, but things will start getting more exciting as the night goes on. Shooters who can stay out until the early morning hours before sunrise will be rewarded with a more active show.

Bring a cable release

Everybody knows that a tripod is an absolute must for long exposures, but the value of a good cable release is often underestimated. Keeping your finger off of the camera’s shutter button will help prevent blurred images, especially if your tripod’s head isn’t the sturdiest one around. If you don’t want to buy a cable release, you can also use your camera’s self-timer to keep your shutter finger from blurring your image.

Consider putting something in the foreground

If you fill the viewfinder with only sky, you’re going to end up with a bunch of light streaks on the frame and not much else. Experiment with putting other things in the frame, even if they’re dark (like mountains) and only create silhouettes. It will up the difficulty level, but will also probably result in more satisfying overall images. RAW capture will also help since it allows you to tweak your white balance later.

Use a wide, fast lens

Those bright little wonders won’t be in front of the lens very long, so in order to make the most of each one, it’s best to keep your aperture open wide. And because they’ll appear so sporadically, having a wider lens will greatly increase the chance that you’ll actually capture one (or more) over the course of the night.

Choose the proper ISO

Here in the day of digital, this is a simple task that can be achieved through trial and error. Each camera model react differently during low-light long exposures, so start at ISO 800 and adjust accordingly. You’re going to get some noise, but it’s best to try and avoid the obnoxious, brightly-colored pixel noise often associated with digital cameras and extremely long exposures. To help, you can try the dark frame technique described here by astronomical photographer, Jerry Lodriguss.

Determine your exposure time

Most digital cameras can easily a handle a 30-second exposure before noise starts getting out of hand. That’s a great place to start. That’s also short enough to keep stars from becoming light streaks due to the rotation of the earth.

Charge your batteries in-full before heading out

Even if your camera isn’t begging for more battery power, it’s worth topping off before heading out for a night of long exposures. With shutter times that long, you’ll find that you’ll get many fewer frames out of a single charge than you would in a normal shooting situation. Lower temperatures will also drag your battery performance down even more, so winter shooting requires even more batteries in reserve to ensure you don’t run out of juice in the field.

Know where to point your camera

The direction of the meteor paths will vary depending on a wide variety of factors, so putting in some research on Google before you head out will likely pay off greatly. One spot may work great for one meteor shower and not work at all for another. Watch for a few minutes without the viewfinder in front of your eyes to get a feel for where they’re coming from and where they’re going.

Keep shooting

Like lightning, meteors are very unpredictable, which is part of what makes capturing them with a camera so satisfying. Don’t be afraid to shoot away, one frame after another. There’s nothing more frustrating than having the shutter snap shut just a few seconds before a choice streak shoots across the sky.

Written By Stan Horaczek