#fox reads green creek

[kindnessinsilver]

Literally just saw this on another tumblr post and my first thought was Carter Bennett (Green Creek)

[dabookgoblin]

Some out of context spoilers for Heartsong

[guardian-of-da-gay]

It Don't Hurt Like It Used To

Read on Ao3

For Whumptober 2024 Prompt 16: Wound Cleaning

tw for assault with a firearm, secret injuries, medical procedures

Sonic was still showing his new friends all his favorite spots.  Like right by Green Hill’s park?  Just off the hiking trail by the river.  If you went down a little embankment, there were a few stones large enough that you could cross to an island.  It was barely more than a sandbar but a small tree had rooted there along with a few wild berry bushes.  It was a very chill place.  Tails hunted for rocks to skip across the water.  Sonic kicked back, sunbathing.  

Naturally, Knuckles couldn’t seem to sit still.  He’d gotten better at chilling out, but it seemed like every time he settled he’d jump up and start stalking around.

“Ya alright there, big guy?”  Sonic finally asked

Knuckles glared at the surrounding woods.  “Fine,” he said unconvincingly.  He jolted hard and slapped a mitt over his arm.

“We should leave this area,” Knuckles announced suddenly.  “There are stinging insects here.”

“Huh?”  Sonic looked up.  He hadn’t seen or heard any bugs other than the occasional dragonfly.

“There’s bees?”  Tails looked up as well, looking around in alarm.

“I don’t know the variety of insect,” Knuckles said, “but I have been stung several times.  We should move on.”

He didn’t need to tell them twice.  They hustled away from the creek.  Tails led the way, flying over the water to the bank.  Sonic followed, moving slowly for once, distracted by watching Knuckles.  Knuckles had the ultimate poker face, but if Sonic watched closely he could maybe see a little pinchy spot at the corner of the echidna’s mouth.  He hopped over the stones and arrived at the bank just before Knuckles.

“You okay?”  He asked.

“I’m fine.”  Knuckles stalked past him and jumped up the embankment, big boots landing with a heavy thump.

Sonic dashed up to stand beside him.  “Says the guy who got stung ‘several times’...  How many times is ‘several’?”

“More than once.”

“More than twice?”  Tails asked as he flew up beside them.  “Doesn’t it hurt?”

“It is a minor sting,” Knuckles started down the path, then paused.  He turned and put his huge mitt around Tails’ shoulder and pushed him ahead of him.  “We should leave,” he said firmly.  “A minor sting for me would probably kill a weakling like you.”

“Aw, you do care,” Sonic said, following the two of them.  “Thanks for the concern, big guy.”

Tails shot him an unimpressed look over his shoulder.

But Knuckles brought up an interesting point: a ‘minor sting’ for him probably was pretty bad for literally anybody else.  And bee stings sucked but they weren’t that bad.

“Did you see any weird bugs?”  Sonic asked.  “Huge brown spiders?  Tiny black spiders?  Big red, hairy ants?  Huge, shiny bugs like ye big–” He gestured to the length of his finger. “--with super big pincers?”

“A-are those real bugs out here?”  Tails asked nervously.

“I saw no insects.  I only felt the sting.”

“A sting bad enough to kill us?”

“Possibly.  Naturally, I can withstand it.”

“Okay.  Cool!  So–I know this shortcut?”  Sonic zipped ahead of them and directed them away from the path.  Knuckles followed easily, herding a more hesitant Tails.  The little fox shot Sonic a nervous look.  He had no need to fear!  Sonic had grown up in these woods.  He didn’t need a beaten path to find his way to Mom’s clinic.

***

“Why are we at Maddie’s healing hut?”  Knuckles asked.

“Because…” Sonic said, bracing himself.  “You should probably get checked out.”

Knuckles gasped in outrage.  “It is merely several minor stings!”

“Yeah, you say ‘several’ and ‘minor’ and I’m feeling some doubt.”

Another gasp.  “You doubt my word?!”

“What if whatever stung you left its stinger behind?  You could get an infection!”  Tails pointed out.

“I have never died of an infection!”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Sonic said.  “And it’d probably be… dishonorable?  To die from an insect bite?”

That stopped Knuckles.  Sonic had been reaching, but apparently the threat of dying a pathetic death was a motivating factor for their resident warrior.

Knuckles huffed.  “Very well.”

Of course things couldn’t be that simple.

Mom was in an appointment.  And not even an appointment she could duck out of–it was a farm call.  She wouldn’t be back for thirty minutes at least.  One of the other vets offered to check Knuckles over and Knuckles just about left the building.  He only trusted Mom to check him over.  Well… and Mom’s vet tech.

She wandered over in the middle of the conversation and jumped in with just the jist.  “What if I checked you over, baby?”  The lady asked.  Her name tag read ‘Jade’.

“I am still not a baby,” Knuckles said.  “... But that is acceptable.”

“Alright!”  Jade threw the doctor a smile.  “Thanks anyway, but I got it from here Dr. J!”

Dr. J shrugged.  “That’s fine.  Good luck finding the stingers.”  He walked away as Jade turned to them.

“Stingers?”

Knuckles looked offended to have to say it out loud: “I was stung by some insects.”

“Oh.”  Jade nodded, her eyes flicking over all of Knuckles.  She couldn’t quite hide her dismay.  They’d just brought her a guy covered in big pointy things and told her to find some tiny pointy things.  ‘Several’ needles in a bright red haystack.  She perked up quickly though.  “Well… I can at least look you over!  Come sit on the exam table.”

“I will stand.”

“Of course you will.”

Knuckles stood on the table with his arms crossed, alternating between glaring at Jade and glaring straight ahead.  Sonic stood by for emotional support while Tails shadowed him.

Jade took it all in stride.  She adjusted the height of the table so she could sit in a rolly desk chair and still examine their prickly little warrior.  Then she set out a metal tray and lined up a pair of rubber gloves, some scissor/tweezer hybrid things, a bottle of alcohol, and a little pile of gauze.  Then she produced a clipboard.  “So did you see what stung you?” 

“No.”

“When did it happen?”

“Not long ago,” Knuckles said unhelpfully.

“Like 10-15 minutes,” Sonic cut in.

Jade nodded and wrote that down.  “Where were you stung?”

“By the river.”

Jade’s lip quirked up.

“I think she means where on your body, big guy.”  Sonic cut in.

Knuckles hummed.  “Several places.”

“So you got stung more than once?  How many do you think?”  She started scribbling away.

“Several times.”

Jade looked to Sonic but he just shrugged.  He only knew that Knuckles had gotten stung more than once and one of those stings was on his arm, because he saw Knuckles react to that one.

“Do you feel hot or dizzy?”  Jade asked.

“No.”

“Nausea?  Muscle cramps?  Trouble breathing or swallowing?”

“No.”

“How much do the stings hurt?”

“One out of ten,” Knuckles said.

Jade paused her writing to quirk an eyebrow Knuckles’ way.  “I think I remember Dr. Maddie saying you weren’t allowed to use ‘one’.”

Knuckles scoffed and flung his arms to the side.  “Fine!  It is a two.”

Jade nodded.  “So probably a five.”  She started writing the number.

Knuckles sputtered.  “It is a three at most!”

“Okay!  A three then!”  She cheerfully wrote three on the paper like she wasn’t a sorceress genius who’d just tricked Knux into giving an actual pain score.

“Okay.”  Jade set her pen aside and picked up her gloves.  “I don’t know if you got any stingers to find, but we’ll see what they look like.  Can you point me to at least one of them?”

Knuckles looked down and perused his body, lifting a leg and setting it back down, holding up one hand then the other.  Clearly debating.

“Yikes,” Sonic said.  “He’s got one on this shoulder, I think,” Sonic said, pointing out the arm that Knuckles had swatted at earlier.

“Sure,” Knuckles said.

Jade shifted a bright overhead light to point toward Knuckles’ arm, then came in close.  “Where about?”  She asked, leaning in.

Sonic and Tails did too.  Tails was the first to spot it.  “Is that blood?”  He pointed to a tiny spot on the backside of Knuckles’ upper arm.  All three of them squinted while Knuckles did his best to scowl at them despite the awkward angle.

“It does look like blood,” Jade said.  She was really gentle but Knuckles still jolted when she touched his arm, parting his fur around the spot to reveal–

“Oh my god what is that?”  Sonic asked in disgust.

“Is that a bug?”  Tails asked, suddenly fascinated.

“What?”  Knuckles asked, jerking away.

“Hold still honey, I can’t see,” Jade said, pulling his arm back a little less gently. 

They all leaned in to look again.  It was hard to make it out, but there was definitely a tiny, pea-sized shape lodged in Knuckles skin.

“What is it?”  Sonic asked, quietly horrified.

“I’m not sure, but I know it don’t belong there.”  Jade grabbed up her tweezer scissors.  “Hold still for a second, baby.”

“I’m not a baby,” Knuckles growled.  But he held still while she struggled to get a grip on the… whatever it was.

Sonic gagged.

“I’ve been reading about Earth species,” Tails said, sounding almost excited.  “Could it be a botfly larva?”  

Sonic gagged again.  He didn’t like that Jade didn’t even answer the question.  He just about lost it when she pulled the tiny dark shape out.  Especially when she held it up to her face.

“Uh uh,” she said.  She sounded disgusted, but not the same way Sonic was.

“What is it?”  Knuckles asked, turned to glare over his shoulder at them.

Jade set the thing on her metal tray and it made a pretty obvious metal ‘ping’.

Sonic and Tails stared at it, Tails with obvious disappointment and Sonic with relief.  It wasn’t a bug.  But then Sonic recognized the dark little shape under the blood.  “That looks an awful lot like a BB,” he said.

“Yeah,” Jade leaned back in her chair.  “Dr. Maddie is gonna be pissed.”

Mom walked in, muddy coveralls under one arm and her field bag in the other.  “What am I gonna be piss–” She saw the three of them there. “--Mad about?”

Oh, how to delicately reveal this?

“I was stung by beebees!”  Knuckles reported.

“By bees?”  Mom looked between the rest of them to confirm.

If Sonic didn’t already know Mom wouldn’t like this, Jade getting all quiet all of a sudden would’ve convinced him.  She picked up the BB and held it out almost apologetically.  Mom stared at the mini bullet in Jade’s gloved palm for a second.

“How did this happen?”  Maddie asked in her ‘I’m inches from being furious’ voice.

Everyone started to explain:

“I don’t know!”  Knuckles said defensively.  “I moved away when I felt the first sting, but the insects followed me!  They only stopped when we left the river bank.”

“Knuckles said there were insects stinging him so we brought him here to get the stingers pulled out but–”

“We were hanging out by the river near Granite trail,” Sonic explained.  “We were just hanging out!”  He felt he needed to emphasize this.  Despite a long history of stalking, hunting, and terrorizing various construction workers and civil servants, Knuckles hadn’t been doing anything wrong this time.  “We were literally just vibing!”

The more Sonic thought about it, the more angry he felt.  He hardly ever got Actually Angry but here it was.  This just wasn’t fair.  It wasn’t nice.  It shouldn’t have happened!  Knuckles was supposed to be safe here!

“Yes,” Knuckles said, determined to keep misreading the room.  “I did not provoke the insects to sting!”

“Dude,” Sonic turned to Knuckles, exasperated.  “They’re not bugs!  They’re BBs–tiny baby bullets.  You got shot!”

“Several times!”  Tails chimed in.

Maybe Sonic should run down to the river and see if the jerk was still there.  It might be time for the return of Blue Justice.

“You got shot several times?”  Mom demanded just as Knuckles replied in a thoughtful tone of voice:

“Baby bullets?  That’s not so bad then.”

They all stared at him for a long moment.

Sonic covered his face with his hand.  “Oh my god,” he muttered into his palm.

“What?!”  Mom yelled.  “What do you mean–no!  No.  I–I need to make a phone call.”  She dropped her bag and tossed her coveralls on the exam table.  “Jade, could you get an x-ray?  Then get the pellet hunt started?  Oh–and let the girls up front know to block off my schedule for the next couple hours.  I’ll be back with you in a minute.”

She already had her phone out.  Stabbing the screen with her finger, she stormed away.  “Tom?  You need to get over to Granite trail.  Some punk ass kid–” she disappeared into her office.  Sonic couldn’t hear what words she used next, but he could hear she was saying them very loudly.

Jade decided to tell the girls up front about the schedule change first.  Probably a good call.  Sonic couldn’t imagine someone bringing their dog in for a cough when Mom was all fired up about Knuckles getting shot.  Sonic could still hear her angry voice.  He was really vibing with it to be honest.

He turned to a very concerned-looking Tails and was about to tell him to hold down the fort while he went and found the guy himself when Jade returned.

“Alright babe,” she said.  “X-ray time.”

Knuckles didn’t move.  “‘M not a baby,” he grumbled, crossing his arms.  He glared over her shoulder at the dark little room where the x-ray machine lived.

“Alright then, big guy,” she said.  “X-ray time.”

Knuckles’ lip curled.  He glanced to his left and saw Tails watching nervously.  Glanced to his right where Sonic was debating when and how to duck out.

Unfortunately, Sonic met Knuckles’s eyes.  One look at Knuckles squashed his visions of dipping to capture bad guys.  Knuckles of all people would probably appreciate him leaving for the sake of serving just desserts.  But his friend slash adopted brother wasn’t great with… unfamiliar situations.  Having another friendly face nearby was probably more important.

And Jade would need emotional support dealing with the Most Stubborn Warrior in the Galaxy.

“C’mon,” Sonic said.  “I bet it’ll be quick!”

It was not quick.

Jade didn’t say it, but Sonic could tell she thought x-raying a patient who understands what you’re saying would be easier than x-raying a dog or cat.  Unfortunately Knuckles was Knuckles.  He didn’t want to lie down and then he jerked away whenever she tried to reposition him.  Sonic and Tails weren’t allowed to help because ‘we don’t have lead gowns in your sizes’.  Sonic found himself debating leaving again, but stopped when Knuckles glanced over at them the second time.

Sonic just had to stand back and button his lips while Jade attempted to give orders to a guy who did not take directions well.  Asking him to ‘move up a bit’ just had him sitting up.  And several times he interrupted to demand what ‘scrooch down’ or ‘skosh’ or ‘titch’ or ‘tad’ meant.  

“Now don’t twist around, you’re all catawampus.”

“You are making these words up!”

Jade kept having to press a button overhead to project a cross on Knuckles’ chest.  The x-raying process was taking so long it kept turning off.  “This guideline needs to go down the center of your chest,” Jade said, pointing to the glowing cross shining down on him.  Knuckles scrooched down a tad and was apparently no longer catawampus.  Jade tapped a button on the floor with her foot.  The machine overhead beeped once.  X-rays complete!

“Now we need you to lie on your side.”

X-rays not complete!

“Are you still taking x-ray–No,” Mom said as she came walking up.  “Of course you’re still taking x-rays.”

Thus a new player entered the circus.

“Okay, Knuckles, head down,” Maddie gently pushed his head down as he turned onto his side.

Jade shifted Knuckles’ arm.  Knuckles raised his head to glare at her hand.

“Head down.”  Mom pushed his head down again.

Jade grabbed Knuckles’ shoes and shifted his legs to lie more centered.  Knuckles sat up to glare at her.

Mom sighed.

It felt like they took a billion pictures.  It was probably more like ten though.  Knuckles had been shot ‘several times’ and in ‘several different places’ after all.  Finally Mom pulled off her lead apron and let Sonic and Tails come into the room.  Knuckles hopped off the x-ray table and crossed his arms, making eye contact with no one.

They all gathered around the small screen to look at the x-rays.  Sonic didn’t know enough about reading x-rays other than to say what was bone and what wasn’t.  He could definitely tell what was bullet though.

Mom held up a finger and counted each BB pellet, clicking between the different pictures as she did.  “Four-five-six…seven. That’s seven ‘baby bullets’.  And,” she tapped the elephant in the room.  “What’s this?”

Knuckles looked at the screen.  Looked at her.  “An adult bullet.”

“Okay,” Mom said in her ‘I’m trying to treat this like a normal thing since that’s where we’re at,’ tone of voice.  “Why—No.  When did that happen?”

Knuckles shrugged.  “Long ago.  Before I came here.”

Ah.  A classic Knuckles story: messed up and doubly troubling because he was only a little older than Sonic so how old was he ‘long ago’ when he apparently got shot with an ‘adult bullet’?  He followed it up with little-to-no elaboration.  Also a critical aspect of classic Knuckles’ stories.

Mom tapped on the ribs in the picture.  “How about this?”

“I believe those are my rib bones.”

“Yes, I mean, when did you break them?”

Say what now?

Knuckles hummed.  “I wasn’t aware I’d broken them.”  He shrugged like it was no big deal.

“It couldn’t have been that long ago,” Mom said.  “It’s healed but it’s not old old...  Like these ones.”  She pointed to some lumpy looking ribs on his other side and shot him a look over her shoulder.  “Did this happen on that Reno trip?”

“What happens in Reno, stays in Reno.”

“Was it when I hit you with that car?”  Tails asked.

“I was merely winded!”

“Was it when I smashed you into those stone steps at the Master Emerald shrine?”  Sonic asked.

“You wish!”

“Was it when you fell off that airplane?”  Tails cut in.

“I did not fall!  That was intentional.”

“Okay, okay!”  Mom waved her hands in front of her like she could ward off the vibes.  “You’re a magnet for danger with a high pain tolerance.  Got it.”  She stared at the x-ray, tapping her finger to her chin and muttering something about gray hairs.  “Okay,” she said at last.  “Here’s what we’re going to do:”

***

Apparently the usual process for this sort of thing was: shave, disinfect, apply a numbing agent, remove the thing that shouldn’t be in there, stitch it up if needed.

Failed step one.

“No.”

“Knuckles.  We have to,” Mom said as she lined up her tools on the exam table.

“No.”  He had to speak up, on account of he was lurking at the door to the x-ray room.  It was as far from her as he could get without actually going into the room itself.

“I won’t be able to see as well with your fur in the way.”  Mom ticked off on her fingers.  “The fur could get caught in the incision when I close up your injuries and cause infections.  And afterward the site will need good airflow–fur won’t help with that and that could cause an infection too.”

“Let’s just leave them in then.  We’ll go home and I will recover on my own.  I’m fine.”

“We can’t leave them in.  You could get heavy metal poisoning.”

“… Heavy metal?  Like the lead aprons?”

“Yes, like lead.”

“Then I will be immune to the deadly x-ray machine!”

“No!  Not how that works!”

Hm.  Mom sounded like she was getting into the ‘genuinely frustrated’ territory.  Time for the peacekeeper!  Sonic zipped in between the two.

“Hey!  How about a quick time-out?  Just… for a little pep talk.”

He knew he’d made the right call when he saw the instant relief on Mom’s face.  “Okay,” she said.

“Alright!”  Sonic gestured for Tails to come with him and dashed to Knuckles’ side outside the x-ray room.  He touched Knuckles’ arm to steer him and the echidna jerked away.  Too late, Sonic remembered that arm had a couple baby bullets in it.  Oof.  Tails came over to stand on his other side, looking a little confused that he was part of the pep talk.

“Okay, it’s just us fur-havers now,” Sonic said.  Beside him, the confusion cleared off Tails’ face.  “I know it sucks to have chunks of your fur out.”  This wasn’t the time or place to explain his history of bad gum-related decisions.  “I know the feeling.  But it’s only temporary, you know?  Just a couple weeks of looking a little bit silly–”

“I will look weak,” Knuckles growled lowly.

“Weak?”  Tails repeated.

Sonic had to suppress a laugh.  “C’mon, Knux you think a couple of short fur patches is going to ruin the Most Dangerous Warrior in the Galaxy’s street cred?”

“I’ll look like something is wrong with me.”  Knuckles’ voice was just as angry but even quieter.

“What?”

“People will think I have the mange or some other sickness.  They will think I am weakened… And my unknown attacker will think they have won.”

“That’s… probably true.”  Tails nodded with certainty.

Sonic cringed.  It did kind of feel like adding insult to injury to have to get a funny haircut after some jerk shot at you.  And there was no guarantee that Tom would catch the guy.  Sonic wished he’d left to catch them.  It would’ve been so fast and easy.  Now Knuckles was kinda right–if they weren’t caught then that chump would get the satisfaction of seeing Knuckles with an embarrassing haircut around town and knowing they caused it.  “Maybe we could just… get you a big sweater?  A t-shirt?  Oh!  A bowling shirt!  You and Wade could match!”

Knuckles did actually raise his head at that.  “The bowling shirt is a high honor,” he said.  “I’m not sure I have earned that.”

“You could just not go into town for a little while,” Tails said.  “Nobody can make fun of you if they can’t see you.”

“Uh…” That idea didn’t sit well with Sonic.  Knuckles shouldn’t have to go into isolation just because of some jerk.

“I suppose that would be agreeable,” Knuckles said.

“But–”

But Knuckles was already stalking past him.  “I will allow the cutting!  Fetch your blades!”

Sonic glanced at Tails who watched him cautiously.  Sonic aimed for a smile and mostly succeeded.  “I guess… whatever works?”  It still wasn’t fair though.

Across the room, Knuckles stood at stiff attention while Jade very gingerly ran an electric clipper over a little spot on the outside of his leg.  His eyes flicked over to a very relieved-looking Mom who was using a syringe to draw a clear fluid out of a bottle.

“What’s that?”  He demanded.

“This is lidocaine.  It’ll numb the area while we get the BBs out.”

“No.”

Jade’s head dropped in defeat.  Mom let out a long breath.  “Knuckles… you are killing me.”

***

Knuckles sat, scowling on the exam table with the big, kinda hot surgery light shining on him.  Sonic knew it was hot because he was also sitting on the table.  Knuckles wasn’t gonna win any awards for patient compliance (unless they were awarding ‘worst patient’--then he was a shoe-in!)  The Most Obstinate Warrior in the Galaxy refused to sit down until Sonic sat beside him.  Then suddenly he was fine with it.  Sonic wondered if this was how echidna warriors showed their nerves.

Tails sat on a stool on Knuckles’ other side, watching Mom work with horrified fascination.

Jade was on standby, watching the whole thing like a hawk.  Anytime Mom lifted her head or raised a hand to reach for anything, Jade was there, passing over whatever she needed, often without being told.  Sonic was kind of impressed.  He was definitely impressed with Mom.  He was used to her being… well, his mom.  Here she was laser-focused and cool-headed.  Once they’d really gotten into it she’d hit a groove and had hardly said anything since.

That is, once they’d reassured Knuckles that he wasn’t actually killing her.  She explained that it would metaphorically kill her if she caused him more pain when she was removing the BBs, so please, let me numb the area?  It will make me feel better.  And Knuckles got all huffy and begrudgingly agreed.

Unfortunately taking BBs out wasn’t as easy as removing bullets looked in the movies.  Apparently when they got all bloody they were slippery.  Slippery round objects were not easy to grab.  At least they hadn’t gone too deep.  On top of his thick skin, Knuckles’ quills acted almost like armor.  One of the BBs they’d seen on x-ray was lodged in a quill.

It was all pretty gross, but of course the grossest part was after she’d taken the BB out.  Tails had watched between his fingers at first, but now he leaned in with horrified fascination.  Sonic avoided looking.  Because Mom was putting in stitches.  Again, movies lied.  She didn’t just use a regular needle and thread.  It was somewhere between thread and wire and it came attached to a super sharp, curved needle that she had to use two hand tools to maneuver. 

Occasionally she’d check in with Knuckles, ask if he felt that?   Anything more than slight pressure?  How are you doing?  Let me know if you feel faint.

Knuckles responded with one word answers and, occasionally, a grunt.

If Sonic was in Knuckles’ place he would’ve been nervously blabbing about anything that popped into his head.  Just the thought of those tools digging around in his skin made him squirm, numbing or no.  But Knuckles was Knuckles, so he sat stoic and silent, staring straight ahead at the line of cages on the back wall.  Even when Mom pulled one of his dreads out of the way and started digging the BB out of his shoulder blade.  It was… actually almost creepy.  But Sonic was used to Knuckles doing unusual things by now.

Knuckles’ quiet and Mom’s focus were kind of contagious.  Sonic didn’t know how long they sat staring in horrified fascination.  Mom had just gently squeezed a BB out when the quiet was suddenly interrupted.

“Hey guys!”  Wade walked through the door.  He paused and took in the scene.  “Uh… Tom said I should come pick up some evidence? … Evidence that like… has something to do with Knuckles?”  Wade’s expression pinched like he very much was expecting and didn’t like that Knuckles would be the perpetrator of whatever crime Dad was investigating.

Which was kinda fair.  The expression ‘woke up and chose violence’ was pretty much invented for Knuckles.  It was honestly shocking he hadn’t been charged with a crime before now, but you couldn’t be charged with a crime if you legally don’t exist!  Plus the town loved him! … Liked him?  Tolerated him… because they loved Sonic!

Wade took in the scowling Knuckles and Mom and Jade leaning over his back with the light.  “How’s it going, Knux?”  He asked.

Knuckles didn’t break his glaring contest with the cages.  “I feel regret for all that has led me here.”

“Oh,” Wade said in a very ‘that’s confirming my fear that you did something wrong’ tone of voice.

“He got shot!”  Tails said.

“With a BB gun!”  Sonic tacked on.  “And one regular gun apparently,” he muttered.

“What?  Like… by mistake?”

Jade let out a snarky laugh.  “If they shot him by mistake they shot him by mistake seven times.”  There was a metal clack as Mom set another one in the tray.

“Technically eight,” Mom said, her voice surprisingly sharp.  “You took one out before the x-rays.”

“Big whoop,” Knuckles said.  “That’s not that many!”

“Uh,” Mom stopped.  “Yes, it is!”

Sonic cringed.  Okay, maybe she hadn’t been super calm and focused this whole time.  Maybe she’d just been simmering.  And Knuckles was nudging her up to a boil.

“It is ‘many’, Knuckles.  Do you know how many BBs I have been shot with?”

Knuckles looked to Sonic like Sonic could save him from the situation.  Sonic subtly shook his head.  “...Two?”

“Zero!  The number of bullets in your body should be zero!”

“I didn’t put them there!”  Knuckles snapped.  Too late, Sonic realized he was also at a boiling point.  “I didn’t even choose to come here!  I’m going home!”  He jerked away and stomped toward the clinic offices.

“Uh…”  Wade looked between Knuckles and Mom and back.  “Should uh… Are there still bullets in him or…?”

“Yes.”  Mom sighed as she set her tools down.  She took off her gloves and flexed her hands, Sonic could hear things cracking from where he stood.  “But I think we need to take a break.”

“You said you needed evidence?”  Jade asked.  “I can get you started.”

Wade frowned, looking toward the door where Knuckles had disappeared.  He trailed after her out of the treatment room, in the opposite direction that Knuckles had gone.

“I’ll go talk to Knuckles!”  Sonic said.  “...Again.”

Mom sighed.  Then she actually gave Sonic a little smile.  “I’d appreciate it… You’re doing really great today.”

“Aw, I’m always doing great,” Sonic said with a smile.  “You’re doing great too!”

“Yeah…”  She rubbed her forehead and looked at the tray of BBs absently.  “I don’t know about that.”

Sonic turned to Tails.  He pointed at himself, a little nervously and Sonic nodded.  Sonic followed after Knuckles while behind him Tails flew onto the exam table.

“That was really impressive, Maddie!”  Tails started.  “Gross… but really cool!”

The office hallway led to the backdoor, which let out into the employee parking lot.  Sonic glanced around, gearing up to run homeward and hopefully catch Knuckles on the way.  Except Knuckles hadn’t left.  He was standing just to the side of the back door, in the shadow of the building.

“I thought you were going home,” Sonic said.

Knuckles scowled at him.  “I was, but then I remembered that somebody talked me into getting shaved so I look like a mangy, forest beast.”

He did look pretty not-great.  On top of the bald spots, he also had a bunch of slightly bloody, stitched up spots.  “Yeah…  Sorry,” Sonic approached, leaning against the back wall beside Knuckles.  “Today has not gone to plan, huh.”

“I regret coming here.”

Yeah, Sonic almost regretted it too.  But he would’ve hated it if those BBs went undetected.  The guy who did it would definitely never be caught then, and Knuckles would’ve just had seven–technically eight–more bits of metal in his body.  He told Knuckles just as much.

Knuckles sighed.  “I don’t like everyone making a fuss.  I just want to go home and be alone.”

Sonic frowned softly.  “You don’t need to be alone, remember?  You’ve got us now.  Look, I know accepting help after you’ve been going it solo a long time… It’s hard.”  Taking care of himself, by himself, had been a tough habit for Sonic to break.

“I don’t care about that, I care about the noise.”  Oh.  Nevermind then?  “Why must they all gather out in the open and paint pictures of all my injuries?  And Maddie announces all of them!  People will think I am weak.”

“This again?  Knuckles, nobody would ever think you’re weak.  You’re probably one of the strongest people on the planet.”  Not the fastest, of course, but strongest?  Sure, Sonic would give him that one.

“Vulnerable then.”  Knuckles straightened, his eyes flicking around as he did.  “Not that I am vulnerable.  Nothing can defeat me.  But if people think I can be hurt then they’ll get ideas.  And it starts with everyone yelling about how I’m full of bullets and lead and damaged ribs.  My enemies will find out I am vulnerable to beebees.  I can survive further attacks, of course.  These are pathetic weapons.  But I would rather not!”  The last part came out almost whiny.

“So…”  Sonic mulled it over in his head.  “Your issue is that everybody is making a fuss and you’re afraid some… mysterious enemy will somehow observe this and realize you can be hurt and try and take advantage?”

“I’m afraid of nothing,” Knuckles said.  He banged his fists together to emphasize: “I know a mysterious enemy will observe this and realize I can be hurt and take advantage.  I have seen it before!”

“Ah… so this is a grounded-in-reality concern… great.”

Knuckle scowled at him.  Then his expression shifted, thoughtful.  “… Did you never face such trials when you lived alone in the wilds?”

Sonic hesitated.  “I… don’t know.  I mean… I guess I’ve never felt like I had to hide being sick or hurt because… I was hiding already?  But I guess that’s a similar ‘trial’.”  He shrugged, a little self conscious.  “I was so used to ducking out of sight whenever someone approached.  Kinda took a while to break the habit and stop vanishing whenever Tom or Maddie walked into a room.”  He let out a little laugh so Knuckles would know that this was totally not something he felt weird about sharing.

Knuckles shook his head.  “It is not quite the same,” he said.  “Lowering your defenses around Tom and Maddie is warranted: they are no threat to you.  Unknown enemies uncovering vulnerabilities in me is a threat.”

Not for the first time Sonic was reminded that he and Knuckles were alike, but opposites too.  They’d both grown up alone, but also kinda surrounded by people?  But while Sonic’s people didn’t know he’d existed, Knuckles’ had very much known about him and weren’t nice about it.

“You probably won’t believe me if I just tell you that you’ll be safe, even if people know you’re hurt now, right?”

“You would be correct.  I was not safe from the beebees even when I was uninjured.”

Sonic winced.  Knuckles had him there.  And that also meant Sonic couldn’t convince him that there were no ‘mystery enemies’ hiding in the shadows waiting to attack.  Someone had literally used him for target practice just that day!

Sonic clenched his fists.  Why’d they have to do that?  Knuckles had enough problems seeing enemies where none were without people coming out and being actual enemies to him.  Why was it every time Sonic tried to teach his friend to relax someone came along and un-taught him?

He sighed.  It wasn’t a problem he could solve right now.  Maybe not even a problem he could solve ever.  What he could try and fix right now was this situation.  “I’m sorry I brought you here,” he said.  “I thought it was just a small problem with an easy fix… Maybe we can talk to Mom?  I mean, we can’t ignore the actual bullet stuck in you.  Probably.  But we could make less of a spectacle?”

He thought about the treatment room.  Only a year ago Sonic had entered every situation looking for the exits or hiding spots.  He couldn’t be seen after all.  Even after he’d ‘come out’ he’d had to break himself of the habit of ducking out of sight.  Where would he go in the clinic, if he didn’t want to be seen?

Below the prescription food shelves.  Under the vet’s desks.  Above the extra kennels in the back laundry room.  Behind the laundry machine.  The employee bathroom had a high window he could squeeze through.  Really, getting outside would be the best thing.  He eyed the cars.  There were plenty of places behind or under them where he could stay out of sight.  His eyes landed on Mom’s minivan.

He wasn’t alone and in hiding anymore.  He belonged in one of those cars now… And so did Knuckles.

“Okay, so I might have an idea.”

When he came back inside, Wade had already left and Mom was gone.  Jade was cleaning up the procedure area and pointed back toward the vets’ offices.  Sonic and Knuckles found her and Tails there, sitting at her desk and doing some deep breathing exercise off of Youtube.

Mom looked up when they came in.  “Okay,” she said.  “Knuckles?  I want to talk to you.”  She stood and looked at Sonic.  “Alone.”

Tails hopped off his seat obligingly, but Sonic stayed put.  Knuckles had gone tense beside him.  “You can talk in front of them,” he said.

Tails paused and looked up at Mom.

The corner of her lip twitched down but she nodded her head.  “Alright then.  I just wanted to apologize for getting short with you.  I know you’re sca–uncomfortable–in the clinic.  I should’ve been focusing on making you feel better instead of feeling mad…”  She looked down at Tails, her expression softening.  “Tails helped me realize that you probably don’t understand why I’m upset.  Do you?”

Knuckles crossed his arms.  He was quiet for a long moment.  “I lowered my guard and got shot and that has caused trouble for you?”

Mom’s face fell.  She didn’t look surprised though, just disappointed.  “No, Knuckles, no.  I don’t blame you for getting shot.  I blame the person who did it.”

Knuckles threw out his arms and snapped.  “Then why are you mad at me?!”

“I’m not mad at you!”  Maddie snapped back.  She stopped.  Closed her eyes.  Took a deep breath.  Opened them again.  “I’m not mad at you,” she said in a carefully calm tone of voice.  “I’m mad for you.  And you’re acting like… like it’s no big deal.  Like we should all just ignore it and go home like everything’s fine and normal and that’s–okay.  Yeah.  That’s making me a little bit frustrated with you.”

She knelt so she and Knuckles were more at eye level.  Oh.  Serious times then.

“I’ll never be mad at you for getting hurt,” she said.  “But I’ll definitely get mad at people for hurting you.”

Sonic nodded along as she spoke.  Knuckles looked at him, questioningly.  “We’re your tribe now,” Sonic reminded him.  “We don’t just let someone in our tribe get hurt.”  Knuckles opened his mouth to speak.  “Or let someone try to hurt somebody in our tribe.  Even if it doesn’t hurt them that badly.”

“You told us when you were getting stung,” Tails added.  “You wouldn’t let someone be mean to us.  I don’t like that somebody was mean to you.”

“Yeah!  How would you have reacted if one of us had gotten shot?”  Sonic asked.

“I would have enacted swift and terrible vengeance.”

Sonic nodded.  That’s what he thought Knuckles would say.  Tails caught his eye and the two of them made eyes at each other.  It was really good they hadn’t been hurt…

“That’s kind of what Tom and Wade are up to,” Mom said.  “I mean… not vengeance, but… They’re looking for the guy who did this so he can be punished.  That’s their job.  My job is to take care of you… Could you help me do that?”

She looked Knuckles in the eye.  Their big echidna warrior tucked his chin and crossed his arms.  He looked away.  “Sonic… had an idea,” he said quietly.

Mom turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

***

Knuckles took up his spot in the shadow of the building, his back to the wall as he purveyed the employee parking lot.

The trunk of Mom’s minivan sat open while Mom lay down the seats.

Sonic had been worried that she wouldn’t agree to his idea.  It’s not like the car was sterile.  But as she explained: “I did ten bull castrations in a field this morning.”  Which was horrifying, but her point was made.  It might not be super comfortable for those of them over three and a half feet tall, but it would work to make Knuckles a little more comfortable.

Sonic still wondered if he’d done the right thing.  He’d brought Knuckles here, blundering into a bunch of baggage that he still didn’t quite understand.  And then he hadn’t gone after the guy who did it.  There was no telling if that would ever get resolved.  But this would get resolved.  If he hadn’t brought Knuckles in, who knew when they would’ve found out about the BBs.  Maybe never!  And if Sonic hadn’t stayed with him, Knuckles probably would’ve left the clinic a while ago.  

Under Mom’s direction, Tails carefully unfolded a bunch of towels to cover the bottom of the car.  Jade came outside carrying a tray with all the supplies.

Sonic was on Knuckles-duty, seeing as he was kind of on a roll with him today.  He glanced over at the big guy and saw him frowning as he watched the other two work.

“What’s up?”  Sonic asked.  “Are you having second thoughts?”  He really hoped not.  He didn’t know if he could keep pulling out successful pep talks.  “The windows are tinted so it’ll be hard for people to look in and you can look out.  Tails promised to keep watch outside.  And I’ll sit with you and watch your back.”

Knuckles shook his head.  “I have no second thoughts… I just… everyone is… doing so much…”

Sonic smiled wryly.  Knuckles didn’t get it yet… maybe someday he would.  “You know, we all make a fuss because we all care.”  He watched as Tails looked over the tools they were going to use and Mom knelt to explain them.  “It’s kinda nice, right?  Having people who care now?”

He watched as Knuckles’ frown shifted from something perturbed to something thoughtful.  His hand touched his side, almost subconsciously reaching for the spot where Sonic now knew he had an ‘adult bullet’ lodged between his ribs.  “I… am not used to it. But… I suppose it is nice.”

[coyote-swims]

hullo! dive on in!!

hi!! my name's Grey, but you can also call me Ollie, Cetus, Ozzy, or Koda! this blog is revolving around my alterhumanity! i am queer, neurodivergent, and my pronouns are he/it.

alterhumanity stuff:

i am a therian, otherkin, and otherhearted. i've been in the community since about the middle of 2022, but i've identified as certain animals for much longer.

my kintypes/theriotypes/kithtypes are:

sea beast/monster, cryptid, coyote, vancouver coastal sea wolf, siberian tiger, amur leopard, iberian lynx, cross fox, north american river otter, nurse shark, leopard shark, some kind of hare, the void/some eldritch horror beyond human comprehension, whale shark, shapeshifter, german shepard

the blue ones are my therio/kin types, italicized ones are the strongest, and the green ones are strictly otherhearted.

if you are any of these or these are also any of your kintypes/theriotypes, please interact! i'm a very social puppy :3

more about me!

i am a trans guy and currently go by he/it. i like drawing, writing, reading, and doing things that help me connect to my kintypes/theriotypes :3

i love swimming in any way, like the pool, creek, or even ocean.

basic dni applies to this blog (racist, homophobic, transphobic, terf, radqueer, etc) nsfw blogs please dni, as i am a minor.

my canine focused alterhuman blog is @crazy-k9

i am also a pet regressor! i regress to a puppy, not sure what breed. my regression blog is @eepyollie

i keep my main separate from this blog for personal reasons, so if you know my main, only talk about alterhuman stuff with me on this blog, thanks!

that's all! have a lovely rest of your day :3

[driedtobacco]

* the truth is just a rule that you can ​🇧​​🇪​​🇳​​🇩 ,​ so you 𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞 the whip , ˢʰᵃᵖᵉˢʰⁱᶠᵗ and trick the past again !

driedtobacco : a dependent, mature blog for redcreekfm, penned by sib.

THE BASICS

full name: thomas sanderson nicknames: tommy gender: cismale pronouns: he/him sexuality: pansexual age: thirty-four zodiac sign: cancer occupation: teacher at red creek k-12. character semblances: fox mulder ( x-files ) ; dale cooper ( twin peaks ) ; tom wambsgans ( succession ) ; mark scout ( severance ) ; mark darcy ( bridget jones' diary ) ; jayce talis ( arcane )

QUIRKS

positive traits: nurturing, empathetic, patient, dependable negative traits: emotionally distant, stubborn, self-sacrifical label: the country mouse likes: southern comfort food, nature, simplicity dislikes: city life, small talk that lacks depth, feeling rushed fears: becoming bitter and closed off phobias: busy highways ( becomes visibly tense ) hobbies: horse riding, garden work, karaoke, whittling, reading skills: proficient in basic carpentry, great cook pet peeves: lack of manners, loud chewing

ETC

favourite ice cream flavour: butter pecan favourite breakfast food: pancakes with cream and berries favourite dinner food: nashville hot chicken favourite colour: sage green favourite songs: we'll meet again - the ink spots ; rebel yell - billy idol ; west end girls - pet shop boys ; brain stew - green day

BACKSTORY / EARLY LIFE

born   and   raised   in   nashville,   tennessee,   tommy   sanderson   grew   up   under   the   wide-open   skies   of   his   family’s   farm,   where   the   air   was   laced   with   the   sweet,   earthy   scent   of   hay   and   tilled   soil.   his   two   older   sisters   treated   him   like   their   personal   doll   —   dressing   him   for   tea   parties,   pulling   him   into   games   where   he   was   a   prince   turned   into   a   frog   or   the   arch   nemesis   of   their   southern   belle   barbie.   his   parents,   the   type   of   couple   who   still   held   hands   on   summer   evenings,   taught   him   the   value   of   the   land,   the   importance   of   working   with   his   hands,   and   caring   with   his   heart. from   a   young   age,   school   was   a   window   to   the   wider   world,   a   place   where   tommy   could   dream   beyond   the   fields.   when   he   got   his   acceptance   letter   to   college,   it   felt   like   a   𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗘𝗡   𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧   to   something   bigger   —   a   life   he   had   always   wanted   but   couldn’t   quite   describe.   and   it   was   there,   in   the   blur   of   new   experiences   and   unfamiliar   faces   at   ball   state   university,   that   he   met   clara.   she   was   his   anchor,   someone   who   loved   him   in   all   his   simplicity,   in   all   his   gentle   ways.   together,   they   created   a   world   of   shared   dreams   and   loud   laughter,   each   planning   a   life   that   stretched   out   before   them   with   a   kind   of   wild   hope.

BACKSTORY / YOUNG ADULT (TW: MENTIONS OF DEATH)

𝗕𝗨𝗧   𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡,   𝗧𝗛𝗘   𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗛   𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗗.   two   weeks   before   graduation,   clara’s   life   was   stolen   by   a   reckless   driver   in   an   instant,   and   with   her   went   tommy’s   dreams   of   a   future   together.   her   death   struck   like   a   𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗠   tearing   through   his   world,   leaving   him   shattered   and   wandering,   trying   to   hold   on   to   the   pieces   of   the   life   they’d   imagined.   so   it   was   grief   that   brought   him   to   red   creek,   clara's   hometown   that   she   had   always   described   with   such   tenderness,   as   though   each   street   and   corner   held   a   part   of   her   soul.   to   him,   the   town   felt   like   the   only   place   where   her   memory   could   find   peace.   and   perhaps,   in   some   way,   so   could   he. now,   tommy   spends   his   days   teaching   at   the   local   school,   specialising   in   teaching   grades   one   to   five.   he   moves   softly,   speaks   warmly,   and   leaves   a   trail   of   kindness   wherever   he   goes.   the   kids   adore   him,   drawn   not   only   to   his   gentleness   but   also   to   the   way   he   truly   listens,   making   them   feel   seen   and   understood.   to   the   parents,   he   is   the   beloved   teacher   who   always   has   time   for   everyone,   yet   there’s   a   quiet   sadness   in   his   eyes   —   a   weight   that   everyone   knows   about   but   no   one   dares   to   bring   up,   as   though   clara's   memory   is   too   𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝   to   touch.

BACKSTORY / NOW

on   the   outskirts   of   red   creek,   his   home   sits   under   the   watch   of   old   trees,   bordered   by   fields.   it’s   far   from   the   town   centre,   but   the   solitude   allows   him   the   space   to   house   his   horses,   to   breathe,   to   let   the   earth   cradle   his   thoughts   as   he   rides   along   the   silent   trails.   his   solitude   isn’t   one   of   loneliness,   but   one   of   REVERENCE   —   a   place   where   he   honours   his   memories   of   clara,   letting   the   air   settle   with   the   quiet   hum   of   the   past. most   nights,   he’ll   sit   out   on   his   porch   with   a   bud   light,   gazing   across   the   horizon,   lost   in   the   kind   of   thoughts   only   the   quiet   can   carry.   it’s   in   these   moments   that   the   silence   speaks   louder   than   words,   whispering   of   what   could   have   been,   what   once   was,   and   the   life   he   continues   to   build.   the   land   around   him   holds   the   echoes   of   both   love   and   loss,   and   although   the   world   is   quieter   now,   tommy’s   heart   remains   open,   patient   —   waiting   for   peace  in   the   silent   spaces   between   breaths,   between   memories,   and   between   heartbeats.

[astragreenwoode]

The Spitfire Curse - Chapter Three

Previous: Chapter Two • Next: Chapter Four • Masterlist • AO3 Version

Rating: Explicit(18+ ONLY)

Pairings: Billy Hargrove x Fem!OC, Steve Harrington x Nancy Wheeler

Warnings: Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-Con, Non-specified Mental Illness, Self-Harm, Drug Use, Hypersexuality, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Hearing Voices

Genre: Adventure, Thriller, Horror, Slow-Burn Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort. Smut, Fluff, Slight Canon-Divergence, Fix-it fic

As always, thank you @take-everything-you-can for your beta reading and all your feedback!

Chapter Three: People Are Strange

Word Count: 11,042

Chapter Warnings: Disembodied Voices, Hypersexual Thoughts, Anxiety, Sexual Themes and Implied Smut, Explicit Language, Humiliation

Chapter Summary: Maeven recalls the last time she was so nervous to be at a new school, and how her father helped her through it. During the school tour, she meets two of her new classmates and catches glimpses of other friends she may make along the way. But whether or not she adjusts well to Hawkins High all depends on her. . .and Billy, of course.

September 1974

The last time I was so nervous about being at a new school, I was about to turn eight years old. Before San Diego, we lived in a small-ish rural community in southern Oregon. After getting married, Mom and Dad decided they needed a break from California, and moved to a place where their children could enjoy life without the world spoiling them.

Our home was five miles outside of town on a dirt and gravel road, in a field surrounded by a ring of trees. The trees made a dome around the edge of our property, covering the front yard and the front of our house in a veil of shade that faced east. The sun shined on the other half of our property, warming up the grass like a heated blanket. The stone path from our back porch led into the wildwood, turning into a small bridge that stood over the creek.

I spent my early days exploring the seemingly infinite woods and warming myself on the grass as I stared up at the tall trees and blue skies; Max was so little then, and Thunder was still alive. He was our family’s big malamute mix they adopted before we were born.

We lived on the edge of one of the Pacific Northwest’s many lush and green forests. Since no one officially owned it and our closest neighbor was two miles away, I liked to imagine it was mine. It was where I discovered my lifelong passion for everything wild when I found friendship with a soft-natured raccoon. I’d later come to make friends with possums, a fox family, and a quiet doe with her fawn. It was comfortable there; cozy in the colder months, and cooler during the warmer months. While it wasn’t perfect, we were happy there. But as Max and I grew, it seemed to become smaller and more crowded.

Eventually, Mom and Dad grew homesick for California and decided to move us back to San Diego permanently. Until then, we had only ever taken long road trips there and back again every Spring and Summer break. Moving transferred our parents’ homesickness onto Max and me. She was as upset by the move as I was, but was more excited; she thought of it as a new adventure.

The day Dad waited with us at the bus stop for our first day at a new school, I was petrified. Max was jumping over the cracks in the sidewalk as I gripped the straps of my backpack and stared down at my feet. That morning, I clung to my mom as I begged her to let me stay home, but she forced me to dry my tears or else she’d be late for her first day back at her old hospital.

Dad surprised us that morning. As I was about to get on the bus with Max’s hand in mine and the bus driver trying to hurry us along, Dad tugged us toward him.

“You know what? I’ll drive you girls today. It’s a special day.”

I was hoping he would just take us straight back home; well, to our new house. I didn’t consider it home, yet. What he ended up doing that day was much better than I expected, teaching me an important lesson I still rely on today.

He drove us to our new school in his jet-black Impala; he bought it the year I was born. Max was in her car seat in the back kicking her feet to the sound of She Loves You by the Beatles on the stereo. It was her favorite. Mine was Blackbird. I loved riding in that car

As we drove up to the building of the elementary school, I curled myself into a ball and sunk deeper into my seat.

“C’mon, Mae-Mae, we gotta go. You don’t wanna be late for your first day,” my Dad sighed, putting his hand on my knee and giving it a gentle shake. I tightened my arms around my knees.

“I’m not going,” I mumbled through my curled limbs.

“It’s not a choice, Spitfire.”

“I’M NOT GOING!” I exploded, uncurling myself and staring daggers at my Dad with tears in my eyes. He was taken aback a little by my sudden outburst but still kept his cool. But when I heard Max start to sniffle at the sudden loudness, I climbed up on the seat and held her little hand. I knew if she started to cry, I wouldn’t be able to get my tears to stop falling.

“No, no, Maxy, don’t cry! I’m sorry!” I whimpered, trying to keep myself composed as I closed my eyes to hold in my tears. After I took a few deep breaths, I heard Max’s cries cease as she started back up with giggles. I opened my eyes to see Dad waving Max’s stuffed rabbit, Flopsy in her face. She had just dropped it. It wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t my fault.

After returning Flopsy to her, Dad turned back to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

“I know this is hard for you, Maeven. I really do. I didn’t want to, either, but we had to,” he tried to explain, but I wasn’t having any of it.

“No, we didn’t,” I whined, tilting my head up to the roof of the Impala.

“We did. It might not feel like it, but we did,” he responded. I turned my back and brought my knees up to my chest as my feet rested on the leather seats. It was something I knew he would prefer I not do. But he didn’t say anything.

We sat in silence for what seemed like hours when in reality, it was probably only five minutes or so. The world moved on outside the car, the parking lot alive with parents and kids of all kinds walking in and out of the building. It helped that Dad just let us sit there and let me soak up the environment instead of just pushing me straight in.

“Do you remember when I first read you Watership Down?” he asked suddenly, breaking the uncomfortable silence. I didn’t understand why he asked that at first, but it was nice to have a distraction from the growing anxiety in my stomach brought on by my fear of change.

“Yeah? What about it?”

Watership Down was one of my favorite books. Mom and Dad took turns reading it to me when I was smaller; a chapter a night. Before that book, I never saw rabbits as exciting creatures. I loved them as much as all the animals I had come to love and study in books, zoos, and in the forest behind our old house. They were never as interesting as the others until Richard Adams turned them into something different.

“Do you remember what you first felt when the rabbits left their warren?” he followed up. I read and re-read that book so many times that I knew it by heart now. I had to think for a minute.

“I was excited. I knew they’d go on to have some fun adventures,” I said. Dad nodded his head at my enthusiasm.

“Yeah. And they did, didn’t they? But why did they leave?”

I had to think about it for a moment again.

“Because they were in danger?”

“Exactly. They left because they had to,” he explained, and I finally started to understand what he was trying to say.

“Are we in danger?” I asked, my shoulders tensing as I frantically looked around the parking lot.

“No, no, Spitfire,” he reassuringly laughed, stroking the back of my head. “It wasn’t dangerous back at our old house. You’re safe. I promise.”

“Then why? Did I do something wrong?”

“Of course, you didn’t, Maeven. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just that. . .things just happen, sometimes. Unexpected things you didn’t prepare for, and the best and only way you can make things better is to change.”

I stayed quiet a little bit longer, my shoulders now relaxing. Dad gave me as much time as I needed to reply.

“But that’s sad,” I whined.

“It can be sad. And that’s okay. Do you remember when you were so upset that you couldn’t wear your favorite coat anymore when you played in the snow?”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, but what did we do that day? I took you to get a new one, and you ended up liking that even better.”

I nodded my head. I did love that coat. It was a deep vibrant shade of purple with snowflakes along the trim. And of course, I missed my old one. I had a good reason to; it was rainbow striped. But Mom gave me striped rainbow leggings for Christmas I could wear instead. Everything worked out in the end, even if I didn’t feel like it would.

“The point is, Maeven,” Dad continued. “nothing can always stay the same. And when the rabbits had to fight the general, weren’t you scared?”

I was scared for them. I was afraid of what would happen to their warren; their new home they fought so hard to find and make their own. I wanted everything to be alright.

“Mmm-hmm. . .”

“Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, and Holly were scared, too. But what happened?”

Even though they were scared of what Efrafa would do to them if they lost, they did it, anyway. They were brave.

“They did it anyway?”

After so many hardships, the rabbits of Watership Down were fine. “Be cunning and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed,” the book's words echoed in my head.

“Exactly. And when they did, they ended up happier, safer, and stronger than they were in Sandelford, weren’t they?”

“Mmm-hmm! They adaptated!” I mispronounced.

“It’s adapted, Maeven,” Dad laughed, fluffing up my hair.

“Oh, okay. Adapted,” I corrected myself.

Going to a new school didn’t seem so frightening, anymore. If rabbits were smart and stubborn enough to dig themselves out of every bad situation, I would be fine.

“You are an animal, Maeven. You’re smart and strong, and wherever you go, I know you’ll adapt. You’re gonna do great in there. I just know it.”

. . .

Billy turned the radio on at full blast for the remainder of the ride, filling the awkward silence with the thrashing of Motley Crue. Maeven kept bouncing her leg and tried not to let the volume bother her. Snapping the rubber band against her wrist helped keep her calm, even if it hurt a little.

Maeven caught a quick glimpse of the campus the other day when Billy picked up her and Max from the arcade. The school was a lot less intimidating when looking at it up close. It was underwhelming compared to what Maeven and Billy were used to, but she saw that as a good thing. It meant there weren’t as many people, so maybe she wouldn’t be as nervous when caught in the crowds. Unfortunately, it also meant she would be noticed in a small school where everyone knew everyone, and word probably spread faster in the rumor mill than back in California.

“They’re gonna find out, somehow,” the voice taunted. “And when they do, you’ll be dead. You never even had a chance, Not here, not anywhere. Just run away.”

“No! Shut up! Just shut the hell up!” Maeven yelled, not hesitating to slap herself in the face. But as soon as Billy caught her wrist to stop her from harming herself again, she remembered that she wasn’t alone, and suddenly realized they were parked in the parking lot now.

“Sorry! I’m sorry, it’s just. . .”

“The voices?”

“Yeah. . .”

“It’s okay. Just ignore them and they’ll go away.”

“Easier said than done,” Maeven said to herself.

The look in Billy’s eyes broke her heart. It had been a while since she snapped like that.

The campus was most definitely smaller than Newport’s. It was more similar to the size of the Junior High she and Max attended back in California. The Junior and Senior Highs were in separate buildings, spread out amongst the campus with a few disconnected buildings where they probably had extracurriculars and clubs. Maybe the auditorium was there, too. It would be easier to navigate once they were done with the tour. And Maeven liked that she could keep an eye on Max.

Max and Susan got out of Neil’s station wagon before he drove off, as he had to finish last-minute transfer paperwork before he started his new gig at the bank. As Maeven and Billy stepped out of his Camaro, he stood close to her with his hand on the small of her back. It was something that usually kept her calm, but he did so in a way so that no one in their family would notice.

“You’re gonna be fine, okay? Just keep your head down, and don’t give anyone a reason to stare at you.”

Again; easier said than done.

Maeven just nodded, lingering on the comforting feeling even after he pulled his hand away from her back. She tightened the straps of her backpack onto her shoulders, thinking how she probably looked like a total geek right now bringing her backpack to school when she hadn’t even started classes, yet.

Walking to the front office of the high school was oddly refreshing to her. She had always liked being in school. She loved learning and the feeling the environment gave her. Maeven just wasn’t always a fan of the people who inhabited them; especially when they were teenagers.

As they walked up to the front desk, Susan took the initiative and leaned on the front counter as she waited for the secretary to notice her.

“Hi, there! Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m Susan Hargrove. My kids are starting here tomorrow and-”

“Not your kid, Susan,” Billy interrupted, making sure to sound as stern as possible. It caught Susan off-guard as she flinched and turned to him, giving a timid smile. It was a little scary to Maeven and Max how much he sounded like his father at that moment.

“Of course. My daughters and stepson are starting here tomorrow and we were told we’d be given a tour of campus,” she elaborated to the secretary.

“Oh, yes! Give me just a minute,” she said, turning to her phone.

Maeven clasped her hands in front of her as she swung her hips slightly to make her long skirt twirl. Max crossed her arms and tapped her fingers.

“Sir. Mrs. Hargrove and her kids are here to see you.”

Maeven could tell by the look on Billy’s face that he wanted to correct his relation to the Mayfields again. She knew why; he was still bitter about his mother, and she didn’t blame him. As much as he hated her for leaving him the way she did, she was still his mom. He would always miss and love her. He was determined not to let Susan take her place.

The sisters tapped their feet in annoyance. How well did these phones work? How talkative was this principal that he made his secretary stay on the line for so long?

“Mmmhmm. Alright. You can head on in, Down the hall, last door on the right,” she finally replied, hanging up the phone. Max let out a sigh that said ‘finally!’ Maeven wasn’t as vocal, but she felt the same.

“Thank you.”

Susan took the lead as they followed the secretary’s directions, knocking on the door before entering. Maeven took a look at the plaque by the door; Principal John Higgins. She knew a kid with that last name once. He looked like a principal, as if he was born to be one. She was curious to see what kind he was; an uncaring hardass with a god complex or a decent person who actually saw his students as people.

“You must be Susan. Principal Higgins. We spoke on the phone last week?” He reached out to shake her hand.

“Billy.”

“Yes, hi. Nice to meet you.” she smiled widely as she accepted it.

“And this must be Margaret, William, and Maxine?” he guessed.

“Maeven.”

“Max.”

They all corrected in unison. 

“Of course. My apologies. Please, have a seat.” He was a bit overwhelmed but pretended not to be as he gestured to the chairs and couch by his desk. Susan and Billy sat in the office chairs while the sisters sat on the black and yellow checkered couch. Maeven pawed at the backpack in her lap, bouncing her leg and scratching her hands.

“I’m sure you won’t find this school any different than your last one,” Higgins said, pulling out three separate manilla folders. “But, it might not be what you’re quite used to all the way down in sunny California.”

“It’s definitely a lot smaller,” Susan laughed, putting on her smile as Billy rolled his eyes. He leaned back in the chair, his legs spread wide as if he owned the place. His sudden attempt at displaying his brawn made Higgins clear his throat.

“So, Billy. From your transcript, I can see you’re the average student and have some trouble with authority. But it seems that in California, you were quite the star athlete.”

“Yes, sir,” he smiled.”Quarterback, Designated Hitter, and Power Forward.”

Maeven had experienced attraction to all kinds of people, no matter their clique. She had gone on dates with jocks before, even if she found most of them to be jerks. But Billy stood out. It bugged her that she could never the exact reason why.

“Perfect, son. Sports are an important part of the culture here, so I’m sure you’ll fit right in,” Higgins said, closing the file before opening another, turning his head to the younger of the Mayfield sisters.

“And, Max. I can see you’re also an average student. But you do seem to be exceptional when it comes to math. We have clubs and tutoring programs where I’m sure you’ll be welcome. Been in trouble a few times, but nothing too extreme. I know starting a new school at your age can be scary and frustrating. Am I going to have any trouble with you?”

Max blew her hair out of her face, her arms still crossed. She had never been one for clubs, but who knows? Maybe that would change at Hawkins

“As long as no one else here dumps their crap on me, I’ll be good.”

“Max!” her mother scolded her. Billy and Maeven chuckled as she gave her little sister a playful slap on the arm.

“No worries, Mrs. Hargrove. I’ve heard worse. I’ll take that as a ‘no.’” Higgins laughed.

Maeven’s file came last, which made her heartbeat quicken a little. She knew he wouldn’t be as lighthearted and upbeat as he was with Billy and Max.

“I understand there are some matters you and Margaret wish to inform me about privately,” he said. All eyes in the room were now turned to Maeven as she squeezed her backpack. She hated when that happened; it fueled the fire of paranoia in her.

“Yes, sir,” Susan answered for her daughter once she recognized she wouldn’t speak for herself.

“Billy, Max, why don’t you two go wait outside?” Higgins turned to them. “This shouldn’t take long. Doris should have your class schedules ready for you.”

Max gave her big sister a calming squeeze on her hand. Billy shot her an encouraging nod of his head and a wink of his baby blue eyes that made her stomach flutter and thighs squeeze together instinctively. As they left the room, Maeven switched herself over to the chair Billy previously occupied.

“Now, Mar-Sorry, Maeven. I understand that you’re a repeating junior. From what your mother tells me, you had sort of a tough time last year.”

Susan turned to her daughter when she didn’t answer Principal Higgins. Maeven kept bouncing her leg as she scratched the back of her hand with her nails until the skin was red. She hated when she did that; mainly because it came off as rude to those unaware of her. . .condition. It also broke her heart to see her little girl hurt herself, especially when it would bleed and scab. Susan reached her hands out to her daughter, one steadying her leg while the other rested atop her hands to stop her scratching.

“Sorry. She’s a little shy,” she apologized, bringing Maeven out of her self-induced trance.

“Yes, sir. I am. I mean. . .I did,” Maeven softly said.

“That’s certainly not a problem,” he stated, looking over her file. “I called Newport High last week and spoke with a few of your teachers. They all said you were a pleasure to have in class and your test scores are. . .intimidating. But they said that around the second semester, you sort of. . .lost your way?”

It was nice to hear that the staff back at her old school still thought about her that way. Although, Maeven wouldn’t blame them if they happened to feel anything negative toward her. Her decline in the social and academic hierarchy and eventual expulsion weren’t exactly a pretty sight to witness.

“Yeah. . .that sounds fair,” she replied.

“I can understand that,” Higgins said, seemingly empathizing with her. It was oddly refreshing. “We have a few other kids here who’ve had to repeat grades due to their struggles in life. I see you have a history of fighting and skipping classes, and that you’ve dealt with emotional problems in the past.”

Before Maeven could say anything, her mother interjected.

“She has, yes, but she is doing much better, sir. We’re hoping a change of scenery will help with that.”

Susan and Higgins didn’t need to pry further, as Maeven knew what they were talking about. She hated when her mother did that, refusing to talk about her daughter’s past of pain as if it was more devastating for her.

“Slap her, Maeven. You know you want to,” the voice instructed, but Maeven just shook it off, literally; her head and body twitched almost as if she was seizing before stilling itself. She gave her mom a reassuring nod before turning her attention back to Higgins.

“I’m not looking to cause any trouble here, sir. I plan to stay focused on my grades this time around. I promise,” she smiled, trying her best to imitate the one her mother used.

“That’s good to hear. You seem to have been an over-achiever back at Newport, so we have more than a couple of clubs that’ll keep you out of trouble. We have a science fair in the spring, and from what your teachers told me, you’ll win first prize. Of course, I still expect you to meet with the school Counselor, Miss Kelly, once a week.”

“Yeah. I’m good with that,” Maeven nodded.

“That’s what I like to hear. Lastly, you’ll be needing accommodations due to your. . .condition?”

Once again, Maeven could tell exactly what he was referring to. It wasn’t that much of a surprise that a middle-aged white principal didn’t want to speak so openly to one of his students about how painfully crippling her periods had become these last nine months. And, of course, her brain condition wasn’t exactly easy for those outside a doctor’s office to comprehend.

“Yes, I do. Is that okay?”

“I’m not able to provide them all, but I can help you with most of them,” he stated, handing Maeven a laminated Hawkins High hall pass with her name at the top and his signature at the bottom.

“Here’s a hall pass for your classes when you’re. I put down a note so that all your teachers will allow you to take tests under the supervision of the school librarian. Unfortunately, I cannot grant you an all-access hall pass; too much opportunity for it to be abused. I’m sure you’re a good kid, but I just can’t afford to take the risk.”

Again, she wasn’t surprised at this. Maeven figured she wouldn’t get an all-access pass for when her brain decided to shut down or go full panic mode out of the blue. Her father’s motto was always ‘ It never hurts to ask.’ Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard for people to understand someday, but not today. She had no choice but to power through.

“It’s alright. Completely understandable,” she lied.

Principal Higgins closed her file before getting up from his desk to put it in a random drawer. When he led Susan and Maeven out to the front office, Max and Billy were chatting with three other students.

“Oh, good! I see you’ve already met,” he announced himself. The kids all stood up from the benches and chairs, turning themselves towards him. Maeven shrugged her backpack over her shoulder as she stood between Max and Billy. She gave her little sister a pat on the back that she instinctually returned.

“I thought it’d be helpful for you guys to meet a couple of your classmates before tomorrow. They’ll be giving you a tour,” Higgins spoke.

Maeven bit her lip. When she pictured the day as she woke up that morning, she didn’t anticipate meeting other kids face to face immediately. She figured there might be students around campus, but didn’t plan on meeting any new kids her age until tomorrow. She didn’t prepare for this, and Maeven dreaded being unprepared.

The mismatched siblings stood in a row of three facing their future classmates in the same formation. 

“Billy, Maeven, this is Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler. And Max, this is Jennifer Hayes. Guys, this is Billy Hargrove and Maeven and Max Mayfield.”

Maeven took them in one by one, sizing them up.

Jennifer looked and seemed friendly enough. She seemed like the classic social butterfly; a good girl who surrounded herself with as many people as possible. However, those kinds of people, more often than not, were more shallow than they liked to admit. Maeven had experienced that first-hand in Middle School. Besides, she seemed too girly to be a friend of her baby sister.

“Hi,” she waved at Max.

“She seems boring. Basic. Max definitely won’t get along with her,” the voice whispered. Maeven looked down before rolling her eyes, not wanting to draw attention to herself before her eyes met Nancy’s.

Nancy had a similar vibe to Jennifer with a few key differences. Unlike the middle schooler, she seemed more like the type of girl who had a small inner circle of close friends. She dressed like a scholar, like the model student of an exclusive all-girls boarding school. Nancy was also classically pretty; big doe eyes with dark hair that framed her head like a crown. She reminded Maeven of her friend, Madeleine.

“. . .hi,” she squeaked out, eyes wide. She looked like she saw a ghost.

“She knows how crazy you are. Look at her, she’s terrified.”

“How could she know?” she vocalized in her head, trying her best not to let her paranoia get the better of her. There was no way this absolute stranger could know of her instability.

“People have their ways. You never know.”

Finally, Maeven’s eyes landed on Steve.

“Hey,” he muttered, pushing his soft, chestnut hair back innocently. Meanwhile, Maeven fought to keep her body cool.

“Oh, my fuck, he’s cute,” the voice expressed. For once, it said something she could agree with. 

Steve Harrington was almost so pretty that it hurt. He had the same cocky and suave charm that attracted her to Billy in the first place. He was also about the same height as Billy, and Maeven could tell just by the way he carried himself that he was a jock. Unlike the other jocks she met, his charisma seemed to stem from a place of kindness.

"He's checking you out,” the voice teased in her ear, sending a shiver down Maeven’s spine and filling her with that familiar sense of warm longing.“You should take him and Billy to the janitor's closet so they can fuck you.”

"What!? No! What is wrong with you!?"

"He'll like you more if you let him use you."

"Be fucking quiet!" she internally yelled, silencing it. Maeven hid her hands in the sleeves of her sweater as she held them together, one gripping the cuff while the other scratched the top of it. She held in her anxiety, giving the others a soft, shy smile.

“Why don’t you guys take your tours and we’ll meet back here in a half hour?” Higgins asked. Everyone nodded as the students walked out of the office and into the hall. One way led outside to the Middle School, while the other led down to the rest of the High School halls.

“See you in a bit, squirt,” Billy laughed at Max, reaching up to give her a condescending pat on the head. Max slapped his hand away as she pointed at her sister.

“Hey, only she gets to call me that,” she warned, as threateningly as a small middle schooler could be.

“Whatever,” he scoffed, turning his nose up before following Maeven and the others.

. . .

Everything was less intimidating once Maeven got a closer look as they walked around. The campus seemed well taken care of despite its age. Newport had a more mid-century modern style, all neat and smooth with underwhelming geometric themes. It felt more like a fancy museum than a school. Hawkins High was different. It was charming. Maeven could feel the history built into every cracked brick or tile and dented locker. The halls were lined with character.

The group of teens walked stiffly down the hallways of the high school, relaxing their posture when the principal and Mrs. Hargrove were no longer in their sight or within hearing range. This Steve Harrington guy was the one who finally broke the silence.

“So, Higgins said that you guys are from California?” he asked, turning to Maeven and Billy.

“Mmm-hmm,” Billy mumbled. It was clear to Maeven that he was still feeling out Steve’s vibe. He seemed nice enough, possibly another athlete like Billy; they shared body types, both having defined muscles and the classic upside-down Dorito figures. Steve was maybe just an inch shorter than Billy, though.

“Is it nice down there?” he followed up.

“Definitely better than here,” he scoffed, eyes off of Steve like he didn’t even exist to him. Billy wasn’t willing to be too friendly with him. It wasn’t often that he connected with someone right away, and Harrington was no different than the others. The only person he had that naturally and quickly ignited the chemistry between them was Maeven

“Super. . .” Steve uncomfortably droned out.

Maeven’s eyes focused on Nancy, who still looked at her as if she was face-to-face with someone she shouldn’t be. She wondered what it was about her that gave her such a fright. Was it the way she dressed? The way she carried herself? Maybe it was the way she fidgeted with her hands. How she twirled the loose threads of her sweater around her fingers?  Maybe she just generally gave off an unsettling vibe. She couldn’t tell, anymore.

“You’re scaring her, you know? You’re being so quiet and you keep looking at her. She probably thinks you’re a secret serial killer,”

“But I’m not a-”

“Not yet, you’re not. But you could still become one. You have all the qualifications; insane, suicidal, anger issues, unhealthy obsessions with blood, and sex. Not to mention you already have one vict-. . .”

Maeven tore her eyes away from Nancy, instead choosing to focus on the dents in the lockers and the green and orange stripes on the wall. Her sudden change in perspective cut off her inner monster. She couldn’t tell if she looked elsewhere out of respect for Nancy’s comfort, or if it was so she wouldn’t see the tears pooling up in the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill. She would not break down in front of these new people, she decided.

Nancy clapped her hands together with enthusiasm as the group stopped at the entrance of the cafeteria.

“So!” she broke the awkward silence, gently taking hold of Steve’s wrist before dragging him along with her. “Uhmm, obviously this is the cafeteria,” she said, using her other hand to gesture around her like the lady on Wheel of Fortune.

The cafeteria was probably just a little smaller than the one at Newport. Obviously, there were a lot less students here. It also had a lot more windows and natural lighting with a door that swung lead out to more lunch tables. There was also a stage against the wall at the far end of it, which Maeven assumed was where the theatre department was. Newport had its auditorium for plays, recitals, and school debates, but Maeven liked how humble Hawkins High was turning out to be so far.

What appeared to be the school’s group of Band Kids gathered on the stage and the surrounding lunch tables. Some were tuning and practicing their instruments, while others were simply chatting and taking a break. The gold and white tassels on the green uniforms caught Maevens eye, especially when they were worn by the cute dark-blonde, almost red-haired girl with dusted freckles and dark blue eyes. She let out a laugh that seemed contagious. Maeven was suddenly reminded of a girl she played seven minutes in Heaven with at a party during her freshman year. She turned away once she realized she was staring back, pointing her head down as her face tinted pink.

“Those are our band kids over there, gearing up for homecoming,” Nancy continued, gesturing around her as Billy and Maeven followed her and Steve. “If you guys want a good seat, I would plan on getting here as early as possible. Also because the earlier you get here, the better chance you have of your food being edible.”

“Noted,” Billy nodded. 

School lunches and their edibility varied from school to school, district to district. Maeven was planning on bringing her lunch, anyways. Maybe she’d try it one day once she was more comfortable.

“That’s also the stage where they put on plays and musicals,” Steve pointed out as they walked back into the hallway. “It hasn’t been announced yet what the winter play will be, but we actually have normal theatre kids here if you can believe it. They were really annoying when we were in middle school, but. . .I guess they grew out of that?”

Steve Harrington didn’t seem like a theatre kid, but he had the energy of one.

Maeven eyed the way Nancy and Steve held hands and stayed close to each other as the group walked down the hallway. They did look pretty cute together, she couldn’t deny that. But they seemed too much like a cliche. Then again, who was Maeven to judge them? She was probably the farthest thing from a cliche one could ever be. Still, there seemed to be more than meets the eye in their relationship; Maeven couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but she knew it was there.

Steve opened the right of the double wooden doors that lead into the school gym. Again, it was smaller than the one Maeven was used to back in California. But it had its charm. There were a group of guys on the far side shooting hoops and practicing dribbling with each other. On the other side was a group of cheerleaders stretching their muscles and practicing their routine.

Maeven didn’t mind seeing the basketball team and their muscles sweating with activity, and she absolutely didn’t mind seeing the cheer squad in their short twirling skirts as they practiced. She was particularly intrigued by the cheerleader with strawberry blonde hair in a high ponytail and a smile that could light up a room of depressed people. She looked like a Barbie doll come to life. The way she seemed to put her whole spirit into the routine made it more like watching a ballet show; it was mesmerizing. Maeven found herself fantasizing that if she met her while in inpatient treatment, she probably would’ve recovered faster.

“This is the gym,” Steve said. “We hold all our gym classes, practices, pep rallies, and basketball games here. We have football and baseball, too, but they’re not as popular.”

“So basketball is your official religion around here. Got it,” Maeven spoke up with a soft giggle at the end. Steve and Nancy turned to smile at her. When she wondered why, she realized this was the first time she uttered a word since the tour began.

Steve seemed to be the most taken aback at the sound of Maeven’s voice, laughing at her joke. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. Do, uhm. . .do either of you play?” he asked, gesturing to Maeven and Billy.

“Uh-uh,” Maeven shook her head.

“Yeah. I’ve played before,” Billy mentioned, shrugging his shoulders. Like a lot of boys his age, he channeled all his energy and unchecked rage and aggression into playing High School sports. Despite wearing the stereotypical jock persona, he was also a metalhead. He and Maeven spent their first few weeks together doing nothing but getting high in his Camaro and thrashing along to the radio in an attempt to vent their shared frustration.

Maeven eyed the logo with the school mascot on the wall; Go Hawkins Tigers! It was a bit faded, maybe needing a fresh coat of paint. She wondered if maybe they’d let her paint a mural for the school as she did at Newport. She would ask them later. . .maybe.

“It’s kind of a missed opportunity that they’re the Hawkins High Tigers and not the Hawkins High Hawks,” the voice in her head laughed. Maeven chuckled at the joke she told herself. It was rare that she and her inner voice agreed with each other. When they did work together, it was usually to both their benefit.

“It’s kinda-

“You any good at it?” Steve said, accidentally cutting Maeven off.

“Compared to those little pussies, yeah,” Billy scoffed as he pointed toward the basketball team. It was clear that a few of them were new at this, missing hoops, tripping on their own feet, and losing the rhythm of their dribbles.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off,” Steve apologized, turning back to Maeven.

“Say something, Maeven. They’re all looking at you.” the voice whispered, spiking Maeven’s heart rate and making her palms clam up.

“No, it’s fine,” she stated, shaking her head to brush off the nervousness. “I was. . .I don’t even remember what I was gonna say,” she laughed, trying to trick herself into thinking so.

“Yeah, she’s a little forgetful, aren’t ya Mae-Mae?” Billy laughed, tussling her hair before sneakily moving his hand down to cup the small of her back again where no one would notice.

“Yeah. . .sorry. . .”

Both Steve and Nancy looked at each other before turning back to Maeven, confused at her apology.

“What? It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Nancy laughed, reassuringly touching Maeven’s arm,

“You apologized when you didn’t need to again, you stupid bitch.”

. . .

Before Billy could even think about challenging the basketball kids in the gym, Steve and Nancy moved the tour forward. Maeven had her sketchpad and a gel pen in her hand, mapping out the school as the group continued walking. Gel pens were her preferred writing tool, as she loved the sensation in her hands when she conducted the ink. She made sure to include all the turns in the hallways and possible shortcuts, including all the exits in case she ever found herself in a situation when and where she needed to haul ass out of there. Maeven always needed a plan to protect herself in case things went wrong again, in case she got bad again.

Steve and Billy walked side by side as Maeven and Nancy were a few feet behind them. The boys walked in an awkward conversation as Billy kept pushing Steve’s buttons; it was one of his favorite pastimes. Although Maeven was too focused on the school and her developing map to hear exactly what they talked about, she could only guess that Billy took charge of the discussion like he always did.

“I um. . .I thought your name was Margaret?”

Nancy’s sudden question caused Maeven’s hand to jerk slightly and mess up a line on her map. She clenched her jaw in anoyance; she would fix that and give herself a proper punishment later. Instead, she soaked her tears of frustration into her eyes and turned to Nancy.

“It is. Maeven’s my middle name,” she clarified.

“It’s. . .nice. Unique. Scottish?” Nancy asked, much to Maeven’s surprise. She was half right.

“Irish, actually. On my dad’s side. My mom’s the Scottish one,” she replied.

The two girls turned their heads forward, watching as Billy pushed Steve just a little too hard as he let out a laugh. Steve stumbled on his feet a little before regaining balance and continued walking as if nothing just happened. To him, it was just another jock with an obnoxious personality; it was nothing new to him.

“Your brother seems. . .nice?” Nancy said, unsure how Maeven would take her honest opinion.

“When he wants to be. And he’s my stepbrother,” she said before they turned left at the next forked hallway, making another note on her map.

“Oh, okay. That makes more sense,” Nancy realized aloud as if a puzzle in her head was finally completed.

“Why?”

“No offense, but. . .” Nancy trailed off, eyeing Billy up and down before doing the same with Maeven. “you look nothing alike and you don’t act like brother and sister,” she pointed out, gesturing at their clear differences.

“None taken, Nancy. Actually, it’s a compliment,” Maeven laughed, bookmarking her place in her sketchbook with her thumb as she closed it.

Nancy had been eyeing Maeven for the entire duration of the tour for two reasons. One; she wasn’t what she was expecting when Principal Higgins asked her to show a new honor student around. Maeven didn’t carry herself with pride and confidence the way others would. She certainly took no effort in trying to dress up for the role. However, she definitely seemed to be quiet and introverted, but also nice personality that reminded her of Barb.

That brought her to reason number two; this new girl reminded her so much of her departed friend so much it almost hurt. And it wasn’t just the vibrant shade of ginger hair that made her sentimental and nostalgic. It was in the way she could focus her attention on whatever she seemed to be working on. Nancy still didn’t know much about Maeven, but she almost had her believing in reincarnation. She had to remind herself that Barb was gone, and that reincarnation didn’t work like that even if it was real. 

She made a vow to herself not to compare the two of them, anymore, even if the resemblance was uncanny.

“So. . .Higgins said you were on the honor roll back at your old school,” Nancy said, changing the subject.

“Yeah. For a lot of things, but. . .mostly science,” Maeven answered. Nancy noticed the stickers on her sketchbook that consisted of various flowers and animals, as well as a few skulls of various species. Barb wanted to be an Astronomer after she graduated. They would’ve gotten along.

“Maybe you’ll be able to get through to Steve better than me,” Nancy suggested.

“He has trouble with science?”

“A little bit of everything. He’s more of a ‘sports and parties’ guy.”

Taking in what Nancy told her and the way Steve acted with both her and Billy, Maeven nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I can see that. Especially with that hair.”

In California, the more popular of the students at Maeven’s school treated their hair like a crown of pure gold atop their heads. It’s part of what attracted her to Billy in the first place. She found it hot when people took care of themselves and took pride in their appearances. 

Maeven was a little jealous that Nancy got to run her hands through Steve’s cloud-soft hair and she couldn’t. But she had Billy. She had Billy. She needed to keep reminding herself of that; she had Billy and she didn’t need anyone else.

“Yep. King Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington,” Nancy chuckled with air–quotes. Maeven almost choked on her saliva.

“What the fuck?” she laughed

“That’s what everyone calls him,” Nany explained. It certainly wasn’t the cleverest nickname Maeven had heard throughout High School, but it was definitely fitting to Steve. And it was interesting to find out that he was apparently voted the ‘King of Hawkins High’. Did that make Nancy the Queen?

“Are you serious? That’s hilarious. It suits him,” Maeven observed.

“What’re you planning on doing after graduation?” Nancy wondered aloud. Maeven’s head perked up as she answered almost immediately.

“Environmental Science. I wanna work for the National Parks Service in Wildlife Conservation,” she explained.

This was the first time Nancy noticed the way Maeven’s eyes lit up with wonder. She seemed almost like a completely different person when talking about something she loved. The fact that she was so self-assured in her future choice of career was something Nancy envied. She had good grades, sure. But starting her Junior Year of High School still having no clue what she wanted out of her life was incredibly weighing on her shoulders. 

“Woah, that's. . .” Nancy trailed off, struggling to find her words.

“Weird?” Maeven finished for her, silently preparing to go back into her shell. But Nancy stopped her before she could; she liked this new girl.

“I was gonna say ‘different.’ A lot of the other girls here say ‘supermodel’ or ‘actress,’” she explained.

Those were common dream jobs she heard back at Newport. She had also heard ‘makeup artist,’ ‘director,’ and ‘musician.’ Her girlfriends back in California had different dreams. Emily wanted to be a teacher, Madison wanted to run her family’s marijuana farm. Cassandra wanted to create special effects for horror movies. 

Maeven was surprised that Nancy didn’t add ‘Princess’ to that list.

“Are a lot of the other girls here boring basic bitches?” Maeven joked.

“No. . .well. . .maybe they are, but not all of them,” Nancy replied. “My friend Barb, she wants. . .wanted to be an astronomer.”

Maeven’s head perked up at the mere idea of another science geek at this school. Her dad had an old telescope and used to take her and Max on trips where they could see the night sky clearer.

“Really? That’s pretty badass, actually. You’ll have to introduce her to me tomorrow,” she suggested, to which Nancy seemed to almost freeze on sight.

“Oh, actually, she’s. . .not around anymore,” she told Maeven, biting back the familiar burning sensation of oncoming tears.

“That’s a shame. It would’ve been nice to know another brainiac,” Maeven said.

“Well, you still have me, here,”  Nancy laughed, grateful that she didn’t cry. Maeven’s heart rate spiked almost immediately at her reply, anxiety filling up her lungs almost like she was drowning.

“Great job, you little bitch. You just insulted her. She’s not gonna want to be your friend now,” the voice taunted.

“Oh, no, no, no. That’s absolutely not what I meant at all, Nancy. I’m sorry,” she stuttered out, her face heating up and her breath growing heavy. 

Nancy’s brow furrowed in uncertainty. Why was Maeven getting so upset? She didn’t do anything wrong. She placed her hand on the new girl’s back, confused and worried when she flinched at her touch.

“Woah, woah. It’s fine, Maeven. You’re good,” she reassured, feeling her heartbeat slowing from her back beneath her palm.

“Sorry,” Maeven panted out, catching her breath as her gripped her sketchbook like a vice.

“Okay, I’ll forgive you if you stop apologizing,” Nancy laughed out.

“Alright, so-. . .thank you,” Maeven corrected herself, finally finding her bearings. Nothing was ruined. Everything was fine. She did nothing wrong. Nancy said so herself.

“Anyway, what’re you doing after you graduate?” she asked, changing the subject.

“I. . .honestly, I’m not sure,” Nancy admitted. It was the first time she said it aloud.

“That’s alright. You’ve got time.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. It didn’t feel like Nancy had time, even if she was two years away from graduation. All she was certain of was that she didn’t want to walk the same path as her parents.

. . .

Steve held the door open to the library, letting the others walk through. Libraries were easily Maeven’s favorite place in any school. She could spend hours exploring the collection of knowledge each one held.

“And this is the library. It’s usually the busiest when we have Study Hall. Other than that, it’s pretty quiet,” Nancy said.

“It’s nice,” Maeven pointed out, tapping her fingernails against the hardwood table. She found that most libraries were neutral territory; always a little colder than the rest of the rooms in schools and smelled pretty nice despite the fact that some of the books held there were old and dusty. She could picture herself spending a lot of time here, even in the afternoons after school let out. That is if Billy wasn’t too impatient to get driving her and Max home out of the way.

“Yeah, I bet I’m probably gonna find you in here a lot,” Billy joked, playfully nudging Maeven’s arm. He turned to Steve and Nancy. “She’s a bit of a nerd,” he said, pointing at her like it was a big secret.

“I like school. What can I say?”

“No one likes school, Maeven,” Billy laughed at her as they left the library. Nancy noticed the way Maeven seemed to shrink into herself whenever he talked about her, and found herself wondering why.

Nearing the end of the tour as they continued down the halls, Maeven turned back to the map in her sketchbook, marking down the library. The group suddenly stopped at the sound of a shrill, clearly annoyed voice coming from the nearby classroom. Maeven flinched, almost dropping her sketchbook.

“I expect to see you back here next Sunday, Munson! I got you for the next four weeks and I’d rather not see you after that!”

The door to the classroom practically slammed open, making Maeven jump again. Out walked the other end of that seemingly dreadful conversation; a tall boy with a leather jacket and a denim vest with many hand-sewn patches.

“Oh, come on! I know you’d miss me sooner or later, McGrady!” he laughed, tripping over his own feet before regaining his balance and leaning against the set of lockers across from the classroom.

He was a metalhead; that much was obvious, donning a Black Sabbath shirt with ripped jeans and silver rings decorating his fingers. Maeven could see him and Billy getting along. They clearly had the same taste in music, but this Munson guy didn’t seem like the type to hang around jocks due to the way he eyed Steve up and down with purse distaste.

 Even if she only observed him for ten seconds, Maeven could tell that he was a troublemaker. He acted awfully confident and cocky for someone who still had a month of weekend detentions to get through. 

She also couldn’t deny that this guy was an absolute specimen of a human being; his wide brown eyes and the dimples in his smooth cheeks complimented his strong jawline. The bottom locks of his dark brown hair were a little uneven and choppy, stopping just above his soldiers similar to the way hers was. Again, Maeven liked pretty boys; the boys who almost had feminine features and weren’t afraid to show them off.

And of course, he had to have tattoos. She only caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a cluster of bats on his right arm, but it was enough to send a warm chill throughout her body as she squeezed her thighs together. Maeven found her mind lustfully wandering through the possibility of ghosting her fingers over the ink on his skin that no one else saw.

“Munson,” Steve acknowledged him, passively.

“Harrington,” he replied with a wide, teasing smile before turning his eyes to Billy, nodding, “Guy I’ve never seen before.” he nodded.

As he collected his backpack from the ground and turned to pass the group, he turned to Nancy and Maeven; the first giving him a half-smile laced with annoyed tolerance, while the second just stared. It wasn’t in a rude way, though. Maeven observed Munson with widely curious eyes, reminding him of an owl. As he walked past them, he playfully held out his arm and gave a short bow, the same way a gentleman would allow a woman to pass sixty years or so ago. 

“Ladies,” he excused himself before walking the other way. His frivolous demeanor and spirited attitude made Maeven blush, prompting her to bring up her sketchbook up just below her eyes. She huffed out a small laugh as she watched him walk out the double doors, a strange spring in his step.

“Who the fuck was that guy?” Billy asked, looking at Nancy and Steve.

“Nobody important,” Steve rolled his eyes.

. . .

By the time Steve and Nancy finished giving Billy and Maeven the tour, they were n the completely opposite side of the building from where the main office was. 

“Aaaand I guess that’s pretty much it,” Steve concluded, clapping his hands together. “But I suggest you stay away from the woods by the bleachers over there. It’s where our resident freak over there likes to deal.” 

They stopped at the end of a long hallway next to a set of bathrooms and double doors leading out to the football field. Steve warily gestured to the dark woods nestling behind the rusty, silver bleachers.

Maeven wanted to ask for more clarification, but Billy beat her to it.

“You mean drugs?” he laughed

“Yeah. It’s that crazy guy we saw who just got out of detention. I’d steer clear of him. He got held back,” Nancy answered.

Maeven decided to file that piece of information under ‘private’ for a later date. Even if she didn’t plan on being open about it, it was a little more reassuring that she wouldn’t be the only repeat in school this year. And now she knew who to flag down with a private note in a locker when she needed to replenish her stash.

“Noted. I’mma go take a leak,” Billy announced. Nancy handed her purse to Steve, who willingly accepted it.

“I have to go, too. I’ll be right back,” she smiled, leaning up to give him a small peck on the cheek.

“‘Kay.” Steve muttered, giving her a small rub on her back before waving her off. That left him and the new girl in silence by the doors.

She was leaning on her shoulder on the glass window of the door, focussing her attention down in her sketchbook as she raised one leg behind her to give it a break from walking for so long. The glass of the window chilled her cheek as she rested against it, making her arm stim as she shook the feeling off. Her abrupt and random movement caused Steve’s eyebrows to knit. To him, it seemed like her arm was possessed for a split second. Then again, he had definitely seen stranger things happen.

“Aren’t you gonna go rub one out in the bathroom?” the voice suddenly asked Maeven, who gripped her pen in frustration.

“Not with Nancy in there,” she silently replied. “What if she tries to talk to me? I’ll do it when I get home.”

“You’ve touched yourself before with other girls in the stalls next to you. You should’ve done it in the shower this morning. If you don’t go now, you’re gonna regret it later,” it taunted.

“I said ‘no.’”

“Suit yourself.”

“So, your brother seems. . .”

“Step-brother,” Maeven corrected Steve, not breaking her gaze on her sketchbook. She finished her map and drew a little marijuana leaf near the woods as a reference for herself. She would color it when she got home, as well as the rest of the school with her many art materials.

“Your stepbrother seems like. . .kind of an ass?” Steve phrased it like a question, testing the waters before he could dive straight in. Maeven found herself laughing. Steve definitely wasn’t sugar-coating it.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tattle on you. He is kind of a prick, sometimes,” she laughed, closing her sketchbook before tucking it into her backpack. She turned to lean her back against the doors as she teetered on her heels, crossing one foot in front of the other as she held her hands together

Steve looked down at her feet, taking notice of the number of scuff marks and the painted white stars on the toes of Maeven’s doc martens. She wore colorfully mismatched socks with random stripes and designs. He caught a small glimpse of the fishnet tights underneath them, pondering at her unique combination.

“Soooo, uh. . .why do they call you Maeven?” He casually asked, not really knowing what else he could say. 

“I’m named after my aunt Maggie, but it gets confusing. Maeven’s my middle name,” she replied, twirling the loose threads of her sweater around her fingers.

“Oh, okay. Got it,” Steve nodded, followed by another awkward silence. 

Maeven wasn’t exactly the type of person Steve would chose to hang out with in his spare time. He couldn’t even really pinpoint what she was all about. This girl was obviously an intelligent over-achiever, but seemed so withdrawn and quiet up close and personal. Most smart kids he met were major attention seekers. For someone who dressed in such a hardcore manner, she wasn’t loud and angry and actually seemed very nice. She was also apparently an artsy nerd indicated by the stickers on her sketchbook and Billy’s earlier comment. Steve wondered if she would get along with Mike and his friends. But he didn’t understand why Billy seemed so fond of her. She seemed more of the type to hang out with freaks like Munson.

“So, you and Nancy? You guys seem happy,” Maeven observed, bringing Steve’s train of thought off-track. It took him a moment to process and answer her.

“Yeah,” he perked up, suddenly grateful that the silence was over. “We’ve been going out for a little over a year now,” Steve reminisced.

“Nice,” Maeven gave him a closed-mouth smile with an added nod. It was reassuring that she noticed him and Nancy without knowing anything prior; it meant the sparks were still there. . .weren’t they?

“What’s it like in California?” he wondered aloud. Maeven’s eyes left his for a moment and she gathered her thoughts.

“A lot bigger. . .and sunnier. Also not as chilly in the fall as it is here.” she told Steve. She found it odd that she never really realized how overwhelmingly warm it was in California until she was moved across the country. It felt nice, though; like a breath of fresh air.

“Yeah. I bet you have a lot more to do there than here,” Steve guessed. He could only really imagine. He had barely tread outside Indiana his whole life, let alone Hawkins. Sure, he was interested in the world outside his home town, but was perfectly content staying right where he was.

“Well, we may have malls and skyscrapers, yeah. But it's packed with people,” Maeven explained, unwrapping the thread from her finger to let the blood flow back in.

“It’s a big state. Hawkins must be a big downgrade,” Steve humbled himself and his home town. He was well aware Hawkins wasn’t really anyone’s first choice.

“Not necessarily,” Maeven counter-argued.

“You like it here?”

“It’s growing on me; a change in temperature, lots of woods surrounding us, not as crowded. What more could I ask for?”

Maeven found the town of Hawkins, Indiana weirdly endearing; a nice change from the overwhelming suffocation of city life, even if she did happen to sense a strange vibe from it. Still, Steve pressed on. He found it hard to believe that she found Hawkins more exciting than California, of all places.

“What part of the state are you from?”

“San Diego. Well, also a little bit from San Francisco,” Maeven told him.

“Really? How does that work?”

“When you’re parents are divorced,” she casually said. Her reply hit a nerve in Steve. 

His parent’s weren’t divorced, so he couldn’t exactly relate. But as far as he was concerned, they should be split up. His mom obviously didn’t trust his father to go anywhere without being under her supervision, lest he ends up seducing other women. That wasn’t what a marriage was supposed to be. Steve promised himself that his and Nancy’s would be different; better.

“So. . .I’m guessing your mom married Billy’s dad?” he guessed. When he saw her mother and sister earlier, he could definitely see the resemblance.

“Yeah. They’ve been together for about ten months now,” Maeven said, to which Steve was taken aback.

“Woah, okay.”

“What?”

“Just seems a little fast. That’s all,” he pointed out. He was raised to believe that you had to court someone for at least a year before even considering marriage.

“It is, yeah. Trust me. I didn’t even find out they were engaged until after they got married,” Maeven rolled her eyes.

“Seriously?” Steve tried to suppress his laugh, which Maeven joined in on.

He was surprised she didn’t seem more pissed about it. He certainly would be if he was forced into that situation.

“No offense, but, uhm. . .how did you miss that?”

“Don’t mention that you were in the looney bin for three months. He’s not gonna want to be your friend anymore if he thinks you’re crazy. He already saw you twitch your arm,” the voice warned her.

“I was. . .busy. I kinda buried myself in school and parties,” she told him. It wasn’t exactly a lie; just leaving out three months of the timeline. But Steve didn’t need to know that.

Keeping herself occupied with all her homework, afterschool clubs, drug-fueled parties, and many interests kept her mind off of her parents. There were times when she managed to convince herself her parents weren’t even a part of her life. Of course, she knew that they were still there, but their presence and roles to Maeven were tuned out. She didn’t recognize the people they had become and had to learn to somehow live without seeing them together anymore.

It was a change that she never prepared for, and still found it hard to grasp at times.

“I gotta say, you are. . .totally not what I expected you to be,” Steve realized.

“Really? What were you expecting?” Maeven asked him.

“Most of the smart kids or honor students here are pretty loud and proud. You’re just. . .” he droned, struggling to find the right word.

“Humble?” she suggested.

“Yeah, sure. I was gonna say ‘shy,’ but that works, too,” he clarified. “And now I find out you like parties, and my whole vision of you has changed again.”

Steve wasn’t as noticeably perceptive as Nancy was, that was for sure. But he seemed to make up for it in natural charisma. He also appeared more emotionally intelligent than his girlfriend, even if it seemed like he was still adjusting to his new learning curve.

“You ever heard that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, Steven?” she joked with him.

“I have, indeed,” he playfully answered.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t really understand it until about a year ago,” he confessed, internally cringing at his behavior last year. He still couldn’t believe it had been that long already.

“That’s surprising,” Maeven told him.

“What is?”

“Not to be a hypocrite, but I didn’t peg you as a mean guy,” she added, much to Steve’s relief. He often found himself worrying he was still the same ‘douche-bag,’ as Mike had once called him, that he was a not-too-long ago. Steve didn’t like the person he became when he was around Tommy and Carol.

“Well, that’s good to hear,” he admitted. 

“Yeah, you don’t have the whole. . .asshole jock energy the same way Billy does. Sounds like you used to, though?”

Was this girl psychic? It was really starting to freak him out, But he kept talking, anyway.

“Not exactly proud of it, but yeah.”

“I think you should be. . .about changing for the better, that is,” Maeven explained. Steve had never thought about it that way, before. He ended up more engaged in this conversation with the new girl than he thought he would be.

“What classes do you have, by the way?” It just dawned on him, and it triggered Mae to move quickly when taking off her backpack as if she was in a hurry.

“Let me check, hold on,” she said, swiftly dropping to crouch on the ground and dig around inside for the schedule the lady at the front office handed to her.

“Where did that sudden burst of energy come from?” Steve thought to himself. He considered asking why she carried so much stuff in her bag but decided against it.

“Uhmm. . .History and Literature 4 for First period. Then Biology 4, Art, Health. After lunch, it’s Algebra 4, Gym, and then Study Hall. But, I guess that last one is what everyone has,” she read aloud, leaning over to Steve’s side so he could have a look at the paper, too.

“Oh, good, we have Lit and gym together,” he pointed out. “And I think you have Health and Math with Nancy.”

“Nice to know I won't be totally flying blind,” she sighed with relief.

“You’re taking a lot of advanced classes. Higgins wasn’t kidding when he said you were smart,” he complimented. Maeven was about to thank him, but the voice in her head stopped her, ruining it like he hadn’t said anything nice about her at all.“Don’t tell him you should be a senior. Don’t tell him you had to repeat a year. Don’t be stupid, Maeven.”

. . .

A/N: Thanks so much for tuning in and all the love I've gotten back on this! It may not be a lot in terms of other fanfics, but I'm happy even if just one person enjoys my writing. This took longer to write than I thought, as I had to split up what I had originally planned for this one and put it into the next one. As always, I love hearing what you guys think about this and maybe what you might want to see or think will happen.

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[vampire-exgirlfriend]

Wylla and Abby + comfort

hi i love you i needed this

The fire crackled in the hearth, casting long shadows over the stone walls and the rug they lay atop. Abby’s slender fingers picked the tangles from Wylla’s curls, the gentle motion lulling her into that place between dreaming and waking. From above her, her friend's soft, lilting voice took life.

“Beidh mé i do uisce

snámha tú glan

le síocháin leachtach.

Chonaic mé tú ag fulaingt

chonaic mé tú ag caoineadh

an oíche ar fad tríd.

Mar sin beidh mé i do uisce

snámha tú glan,

leacht gorm.”

The River Tongue was not so different from Old Tongue, and Wylla could not keep the smile from her face as she picked out the familiar words. “I’ll be your water, bathing you clean…,” she murmured in common. 

“Do you know this one?” Abby asked, brushing the hair from her forehead. 

Wylla shook her head. “Our languages were one once. They aren’t so different now.” She turned onto her side, facing the fire fully, watching as the embers hissed and popped, seeking air. “I can’t imagine how lonely it must have been sometimes, to be so young, surrounded by dragons when the rivers call to you.”

“In truth, I spent so long trying not to think of home, of what I had lost to Harrenhal. I was just glad to have a place here, where I was not alone. But I feel the call. Each time we venture to the cabin I feel the pull to the God’s Eye, to the creeks and the marshes.”

“To the waters that will bathe you clean.” Wylla’s smile faltered a bit as she tucked her hands beneath her chin. Abby pulled the blanket more securely around her shoulders. “Our blood is older even than theirs.”

“And I am less lonely with you.” She could hear the truth of it in the other girl's words. “Tell me what you miss of home.”

Wylla’s eyes burned at the memories of snow drifts taller even than her father, of the hunting and the hawking, and the magnificence of the waves breaking against the Gray Cliffs. “I miss the bite of frost at my cheeks. I miss seeing the foxes in their dens and the howl of the wolves when night lasted longer than day. The midnight sky would melt into purple and green and blue, a spill of paint. I miss the way that the land seemed to stretch on forever. It made me feel so small, but I was not afraid.”

Abby sat back, leaning against the chair behind her. “You are descended from the Winter Kings, you were never small, Wylla.”

“Did you not feel small standing before the God’s Eye as a girl?”

“No. I felt powerful, like it was mine. I felt connected to the land in a way I haven’t since.”

Wylla laughed. “Spoken like the true however many times great granddaughter of Osmund Strong.” In a softer voice, she added, “This city makes me feel small…insignificant.”

“None of that, now,” Abby chided gently. “You are the daughter of an ancient house, with the blood of Bran the Builder in your veins. And well, we all know I’m secretly a nymph,” she chuckled.

“The Fox and the Nymph," Wylla whispered, turning to glance up at her friend.

Abby laid a kiss to her fingers, pressing them to Wylla’s forehead. “I would read that story.”

[mickimagnum]

Bran Abernathy (He/Him)

This save has been lost.

Traits: Good | Family Oriented | Creative | +Self-Assured Aspiration: Soulmate Status: Alive | Young Adult Sexual Orientation: Straight Located: Chestnut Ridge Homestead: Black Fox Ranch Parents: Langston & Faith Abernathy Siblings: Bree Abernathy Career: Lawyer Partner: Devin Haywood Children: N/A Currently Horses: Justice (Draft Cross) is his best buddy (even if he's technically Devin's) Hobbies: +Cooking | +Dancing | +Gardening | Guitar | Handiness | +Horseback Riding | Nectar Making | Reading | Research & Debate | +Video Gaming | Writing Likes: Blue & Green | Alternative, Backyard, Blues, Ranch & Strange Tunes Music | Family Motivated, Nature Enthusiasts, & Pet Enthusiasts Sims Dislikes: Hip Hop, New Age, NuDisco, & Pop Music | Egotistical & Rascal Sims | Mischief

Bran came from a good, prominent family from Willow Creek: The Abernathys. His father, Langston, practiced law, and Bran was pressured to follow in his footsteps. But, his heart belonged out west where he dreamed of writing tales of cowboys and American Indians, just like the ones he grew up reading. So, he moved to Chestnut Ridge, opened a small law practice, and soon met a beautiful and spirited horse trainer. Could this be the beginning of the life he's been dreaming of?

Bran's Posts

Bran's Genetics hair | skin overlay | face & body freckles | eye bags | eyebrows | eye color

*+ = self-discovery trait or preference

[nazeehnazari]

Top 6 Family-Friendly Places to Enjoy Sunsets in Dubai

Swimming is allowed in the beach waters until midnight, unlike most UAE beaches where it's usually prohibited Dubai is renowned for its stunning skyline and breathtaking sunsets, making it a perfect destination for families looking to create lasting memories. As the sun dips below the horizon, the sky transforms into a vibrant canvas of oranges, pinks, and purples, offering a magical backdrop for family gatherings. Whether you're enjoying a quiet evening or engaging in fun activities, Dubai has numerous family-friendly spots where you can soak in the beauty of the setting sun.

From scenic parks to waterfront promenades, there’s something for everyone in this vibrant city. Families can enjoy sunset picnics in lush green spaces or dine at restaurants with stunning views. These experiences not only allow you to appreciate Dubai's natural beauty but also provide quality time with loved ones. Join us as we explore the best family-friendly places to enjoy sunsets in Dubai, ensuring a delightful outing for all ages.

Here are some family-friendly places to enjoy sunsets in Dubai

 1. Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa, which is 828 meters high, is regarded as the tallest free-standing structure in the world. Without seeing this tower, which is the center of Dubai, a trip there would not be complete. The 148th floor is well known for having the highest observation deck of the 163 floors, and the 124th floor features an outdoor observation deck. It is truly magical to watch the sunset from any of the observation decks. Additionally, while dining at the Burj Khalifa's highest lounge, which is located 585 meters above the ground on the 152nd, 153rd, and 154th floors, you can see the sunset over Dubai.

 2. Dubai Creek

The Dubai Creek, which is in the center of Dubai, provides visitors with a wide range of entertainment options. The location is well-known for its Abra rides, which are tiny watercraft that transport passengers across the water and are ideal for watching Dubai's sunsets. In addition to the abra rides, a cruise offers beautiful sightseeing. If boat rides aren't your thing, you can go eat at a restaurant on the rooftop by the creek. Both experiences are special and should not be missed!

3. The Beach at Kite

Kite Beach, which is a stretch of white, clean sand, is regarded as one of Dubai's cleanest beaches. With unhindered views, it's the perfect place to watch the sun set. Freshmen who wish to participate in the popular activity of kite surfing can do so as long as they take the appropriate safety measures. In the event that kite surfing is not your thing, you can relax and observe the pros as they rule the shores. Kite flying, volleyball, paddle boarding, jet skiing, jogging, and walking are some of the other beach activities available.

4. Lake Al Qudra

Al Qudra Lake is a group of artificial lakes where you can get away from the bustle of the city. Seeing wildlife such as steppe eagles and flamingos, as well as animals like oryx and desert foxes, brings you closer to the natural world. The location offers breathtaking views of the Dubai skyline, which is a visual feast. While strolling, you can stop by one of the food trucks for a bite to eat. It's a surreal sight to see the serene lake waters reflect the magnificent Dubai sunsets. You can also remain to camp or observe the stars.

5. The beach at Umm Suqeim

Umm Suqeim Beach, a public beach with turquoise waters, is well-known as Sunset Beach. With the Burj Al Arab as a picturesque backdrop, people come to this beach to take sunset photos. Swimming is allowed in the beach waters until midnight, a rare privilege on UAE beaches. Borrow books for free from the beach library and enjoy reading on beanbags or right on the sand.

6. Ain Dubai (Dubai Eye)

Have you ever pondered what it would be like to see the sunset from a height of 250 meters? Ain Dubai has the answer. The biggest and tallest observation wheel in the world provides breathtaking sunset views in addition to 360-degree views of the surroundings. Prepare for the ride of your life by boarding one of the 48 hit-tech cabins for a 48-minute ride. Shopping centers, eateries, and a souk (an Arab marketplace) surround this famous landmark on Bluewater's Island, just off the coast of Jumeirah Beach Residence.To see one of Dubai's most spectacular sunsets, schedule your visit for the evening.

Conclusion

Experience sunsets in Dubai with your family can be a truly unforgettable adventure. The city's diverse range of family-friendly locations offers something for everyone, from serene parks to lively waterfronts. As you gather to witness the captivating colours of the sky, these moments become cherished memories that strengthen family bonds and create shared experiences.

If you plan to extend your stay and explore more of what Dubai has to offer, consider applying for a 1 Month Dubai Visa. This visa allows you ample time to enjoy all the attractions and activities, including the stunning sunsets at various vantage points throughout the city. Embrace the beauty of Dubai, and take the opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture and warmth of its sunset moments with your loved ones.  

[kindnessinsilver]

Okay so I finished Wolfsong this morning but Ravensong doesn't have an audiobook??? Even tho Heartsong and Brothersong do??

Can I skip it? Do I need to read it with my eyes and then continue?

For now I'm bouncing over to Six of Crows bc I got at least a smidgen of fiction about actual adults.

[backalleygraffiti]

Assigned Reading List for Psychopaths (that want to read and learn to do other things good too)

A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bill Bryson)

The Illustrated A Brief History of Time / The Universe in a Nutshell (Steven Hawking)

Cosmos (Carl Sagan)

Something Deeply Hidden (Sean Carroll)

The Philosophy of Time (Robin Le Poidevin)

The Elegant Universe (Brian Greene)

The End of Everything (Katie Mack)

Sapiens (Yuval Noah Harari)

The Swerve (Steven Greenblatt)

The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Joseph Campbell)

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz)

Not “A Nation of Immigrants” (Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz)

Caste (Isabel Wilkerson)

The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)

The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)

Life After Life (Kate Atkinson)

One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel García Marquez)

tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)

Ishmael (Daniel Quinn)

The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer)

A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (Lisa See)

Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Salman Rushdie)

The Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie)

The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)

The Testaments (Margaret Atwood)

Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)

Lolita (Nabokov)

The End of Alice (A. M. Homes)

Exquisite Corpse (Poppy Z. Brite)

Tampa (Alissa Nutting)

Cows (Mathew Stokoe)

The Call of Cthulhu (H. P. Lovecraft)

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne)

White Fang (Jack London)

The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens)

Paradise Lost (John Milton)

The Crucible (Arther Miller)

Macbeth (Shakespeare)

Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra)

Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

Dracula (Bram Stoker)

Sabrina (The Graphic Novel) (Nick Drnaso)

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Annie Dillard)

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Howard Pyle)

The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein)

The Lorax (Dr. Seuss)

Aesop’s Fables (Aesop)

Grimm’s Fairy Tales (Brothers Grimm)

[jaceeverett]

MERROCK TASK #17 SPRING FORWARD

first things first: do you like spring? Love spring, probably my favorite season.

what is your favorite thing about spring? Fresh air, the budded trees, green grass under foot, birds in the air, animals roaming the woods, people laughing outside, bubbling brooks, I could really write a book on spring.

what is your least favorite thing about spring? Pollen allergies. My biggest weakness.

do you have a vegetable / produce / fruit garden? Yes, it's basically my pride and joy. Love gardening, it's my biggest source of stress relief, if I'm honest.

how about flower beds, or things planted in the house? I've got a couple of potted plants in Annabelle Lee, but there's not a lot of room. There's a couple of potted plants on my deck area, too.

regardless of what you do or do not plant, are you good at growing plants? have a green thumb? Very, I have a goal of growing prize-winning tomatoes at some point, fingers crossed.

what's your favorite flower or plant? Painted trillium, lupines, asters, all of the typical native flowers you see in and around Maine.

what's your favorite scent that you associate with spring? Flowers, mud, campfire smoke.

is there a sound that you associate with spring time? Peepers, those little frogs that come out at the start of spring.

do you prefer sunny mornings or rainy afternoons? Sunny mornings, but I don't have anything against rainy afternoons, either. Both have their upsides.

favorite thing to do on a sunny, warm spring day? Go on a long walk through the woods, head out to the beach to sit by the cliffs, maybe just go to the park.

favorite thing to do on a rainy, chilly spring day? House cleaning. Perfect time to catch up on things I've fallen behind in. Or just hang out and read, watch TV, relax a little bit.

do you celebrate Easter? any traditions you follow for it? Not really. We used to do stuff as a family when I was a kid, but I don't do anything for it now.

regardless of if you do or don't: favorite Easter candy? Sour jelly beans.

what other springtime holidays do you observe? I went to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations, other than that, nothing really. I like spring and all the spring things that happen, but they're not really holidays in the same way. Oh! I do always plant trees for arbor day.

favorite place in Merrock to visit in the springtime? I haven't been in Merrock in the spring time yet, at least not since I was a kid. I used to love to go out to the creek and hike the falls after a big rain.

the spring bugs are coming out: do you rescue them and let them out of the house, or grab the nearest shoe? Rescue them, even if they become a problem, I try to use the humane traps to get rid of them. Unless they're invasive species, they can get fucked.

are you a big spring cleaner? My camper's kept clean all year round.

do you switch over your wardrobe from cold weather to warm weather clothes? No, I don't have a big enough wardrobe to worry about having to change things over from season to season.

how about the house: does your decor change for the spring season? do you rearrange furniture? ... that would be a neat trick. No. I do put out a few season-appropriate decorations, or change out pillows/bedding, but not really a lot past that.

what color makes you think 'spring'? Every pastel shade; soft yellow, light green, pink, purple, orange.

describe your perfect spring outfit: Cargo shorts, henley, hiking boots -- done.

most adorable looking baby animal that you ever did see? Baby foxes are pretty cute, so are bears. I like deer, too. Most baby animals are adorable, except for a lot of birds until they fluff out.

what's a drink that makes you think of spring? Fruit juices.

how about a snack? In line with that, fruit.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Some books and plays I have read that are older than me oand/or were written before I was born:

Plays:

• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

• The Tempest by William Shakespeare

• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

• Hamlet by William Shakespeare

• Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare

• A Midsummer Night's Dream

• Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

• Our Town by Thornton Wilder

Fairy Tales and Fables:

• The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Most Incredible Thing by Hans Christian Andersen

• The Frogs and the Ox;Belling the Cat;The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse;The Fox and the Grapes;The Wolf and the Crane;The Lion and the Mouse;The Crow and the Pitcher; The Fox and the Stork;The Fox and the Leopard;The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing;The Wolf, the Kid, and the Goat;The Lion's Share;The Wolves and the Sheep;The Ass in the Lion's Skin;The Farmer and the Snake; They Dog and the Oyster;The Wolf and the House Dog;Three Bullocks and a Lion; The Vain Jackdaw and His Borrowed Feathers;The Dogs and the Fox;The Farmer and the Cranes; and The Goose and the Golden Egg... by Aesop

• The Frog King; Cat and Mouse Partnership; The Story if the Youth Who Went Forth To Learn What Fear Was; The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids; Faithful John; Little Brother and Little Sister; Rapunzel; The Three Little Mean in the Wood; Hansel and Gretel; The Three Snake-Leaves; The White Snake; The Fisherman and His Wife; The Valiant Little Tailor; Cinderella; The Riddle; The Mouse, The Bird, and the Sausage; Mother Holle; The Seven Ravens; Little Red Cap; The Singing Bone; Clever Hans; The Wedding of Mrs. Fox; The Robber Bridergroom; Godfather Death; The Juniper Tree; The Six Swans; Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty); Little Snow White; Rumpelstiltskin; The Golden Bird; The Dog and the Sparrow; Frederick and Catherine; The Two Brothers; The Queen Bee; The Three Feathers; The Golden Goose; The Twelve Hunters; The Three Sons of Fortune; The Wiof and the Fox; The Fox and His Cousin; The Water Nixie; Brother Lustig; The Fox and the Geese; The Poor Man and the Rich Man; The Raven; The Peasant's Wise Daughter; Stories about Snakes; Hans the Hedgehog; The Three Brothers; Ferdinand the Faithful; One-eye, Two-eyes, and Three-eyes; The Shoes that Were Danced To Pieces; Iron John; The Lambkin and the Fish; The Lord's Animals and the Devil's; The Old Beggar Woman; Odds and Ends; The Sparrow and His Four Children; Snow White and Rose Red; The Wise Servant; The Glass Coffin; The Griffin; The Peasant in Heaven; The Bittern and Hoopoe; The Owl; Death's Messengers; The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle; The Drummer; The Ear of Corn; Old Rinkrank... written/retold by the Brothers' Grimm

The 1800s- late 1930s set books:

• Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard

• The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

• The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

• White Fang by Jack London

• Call of the Wild by Jack London

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

• Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

• Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Edgar Allan Poe Works I've Read:

• The Raven; a poem

• Annabel Lee; a poem

• Lenore; a poem

• To Helen; a poem

• The Black Cat; a short story

• The Cask of Amontillado; a short story

• Ligeia; a short story

• The Masque of the Red Death; a short story

• Morella; a short story

• The Pit and the Pendulum; a short story

• The Premature Burial; a short story

• The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether; a short story

• The Tell-Tale Heart; a short story

Oldie But Goldies; Everything Else Thst is Older Than Me That I've Read:

• Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne

• Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Horse and His Boy; and The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis

• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

• Redwall by Brian Jacques

• Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

• The Giver by Lois Lowry

• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

• Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

There is a lot I've probably read but don't remember, but these are the literatures I can remember that are older than me, or were made before I was born, that I have read😊

[multishipper33]

Aight sure

Favourite colour: green. just all shades of green. love that colour :D

Last song: bad idea right? by Olivia Rodrigo (yes, it was from Joel’s boat boys playlist)

Currently Reading: uhh does it count if I’m waiting on a Hermit Coffee Co. update?

Currently Watching: Schitt’s Creek

Currently Craving: grrr just like ice cream

Coffee or tea: erm, actually- coffee is tea. also tea in every universe. mmm.

TAGS:

@its-that-gay-fox @olithewitch

Tagged by: @violet-tinted-world (thank you!)

• Favorite Color: Blue and green

• Last Song: "Ego" by Halsey

• Currently Reading: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (look, I'm in two Tolkien book clubs, and for now, one's ahead of the other), Henry IV, Part II by William Shakespeare, and Dracula by Bram Stoker.

• Currently Watching: The Bad Batch! I think this is my fourth time watching it? Obviously, we have to get that number higher. Also watching The Golden Girls, and I need to get back to Arcane.

• Currently Craving: No idea, but it probably involves cheese.

• Coffee or Tea: Hot chocolate. (Though I do like coffee, and tea. Most coffee destroys my stomach though.)

Tagging: @evilwriter37, @clownery-and-fuckery, @miss-mouse99, @rhythmsmith, and at the moment I can't really think of anyone else. Sorry! Super tired over here.

[foxsfiction]

A Life Worth Living is a WIP interactive novel that's heavily inspired by the game Our Life. It's also the first game I've started working on seriously, so bare with me.

Age rating; +13

| You can find the demo here! |

New Pine Creek, or just New Pine, was an idyllic little country town with more  farms and farmers than you knew what to do with. Every season was picturesque there, especially winter. It snowed every year, and looked like the picture off of a holiday popcorn can every holiday season.

You lived in New Pine since you were a baby. For a while, you were one of the only ‘younger kids’ in town, since the kids that moved in tended to be eight and older, or babies that you couldn’t play with. Really, people moved in and out all the time; it became a normal part of your life that kids didn’t tend to stay. Until the weekend before winter break, that is. Two new families moved in; one next door and the other across the street. And a girl your age started visiting more, since her brother started visiting more. These three kids were all your age, six. Unlike the others, they became a staple part of your life. But, did you really get along with them? As you grew up, did you remain close?

Your Dad, Fox: (He/him, 30) A tall man with black hair and bronze skin. He works hard to make sure you and your siblings have whatever you all want. He’s sunny and sweet with a sharp edge that he turns towards people he doesn’t trust, though you don’t see that much. He explains everything he can to you & your siblings, and if he doesn’t understand he isn’t afraid to ask for help! You don’t see a lot of adults do that! Some people are put off by your dad, but you don’t understand why.

Your Older Brother, Dante: (he/him, 10) A boy with Dad’s hair and bronze skin. He doesn’t have his height, though. He strives to be just like Dad, and greatly enjoys sharing his hobbies. He hopes to stream video games online, like your Dad does now. He also makes you follow him around, ever the protective older brother. He takes an interest in the things you like, too. Even if it was frilly pink dresses or the scariest horror movies you could find, he’s willing to follow you through it all.

Your Younger Sister, Monica: (she/her, 4) A toddler with dark magenta hair and pale skin, She doesn’t care about much. Your sister’s goal right now is to destroy her toys, roughhouse with your brother, and run wild. Too bad she can’t do that last bit, but she can do everything else!

Dagon Abram: (They/them, 6) A excitable kid with curly fawn colored hair and matching brown eyes; their pockets are seemingly endless, with how much stuff they carry with them all the time; a pack of chalk, candy, a pinecone, a mini shovel? A live frog?! A-anyway, Dagon is more than happy to follow along with whatever you want to do. They, like your brother, are more than happy to indulge in your interests, even if they aren’t really enjoying it. With how hard they try, it’s almost like they’ve never had a friend before…

Markus Laaksonen: (He/him, 10) A boy with dark brown hair and deep blue eyes; He lives to cause as much trouble as he can. He’s been a part of your life forever now, since he’s your brother's best friend. He lives on a farm just outside town, but rides into town everyday to hang out with your brother. He’s grown protective over you and Monica, and has started bringing his sister with him to visit town.

Tindra Laaksonen: (She/her, 6) A shy girl with platinum blonde hair and deep blue eyes, she reads more than she talks. She is a loner who prefers animals to people, but is willing to talk to you if you strike up a conversation. She carries a stuffed owl with her everywhere; in fact, owls are her favorite animals! No one hangs out with her at school, they say she’s ‘weird,’ but you know better than them! …Right?

Laverne Berne: (he/him, 6) A boy with teal colored hair and green eyes, he isn’t very approachable. He doesn’t talk, either, instead he uses sign language and a notepad to communicate with others. You do know that he likes snowboarding, anything about snowboarding makes him open up. He gets mad easily, but this seems exaggerated. You wonder why...

Play as male, female, or nonbinary; straight, bi, gay, ace, aro, demisexual, or demiromantic! Explore your gender as you grow up, or find that you just don’t have one.

Make a friend(or three) for life, or fall in love with your childhood best friend! 

Develop your hobbies and interests, and share them with a family who’re more than willing to take part! Most of them, anyway…

Influence the other kids' personalities as they grow, and maybe even their appearance and interests!

Walk through memory lane; remembering the sleepovers you had, the snowball fights you won(or lost), or that time you almost got hit by a sleigh!

Feel free to ask me about any of the characters!

[luna-writes-stuff]

Day 18: Seven, Dean Winchester

Song link

Fanfic, gn!reader

Fluff, angst in flashbacks

Word count: 3058

Tw: Flashbacks. I am not a John Winchester apologist, oops. Mentions/description of violence and gore, but none too graphic. Losing of consciousness, waking up in a hospital. Dealing with the loss of a loved one (John). You have two parents for the sake of the story. Slight domestic problems; Dean keeps running from John, John gets mad at your parents.

Summary: Throughout your life, you had learned to love Dean Winchester. And though it was complicated, he kept running back to you one way or another. These are short moments throughout your life where you realised you loved him, and where he realised he loved you.

“Please picture me In the trees.”

The swing was your favorite spot. Located underneath a willow, swinging above a tiny lake; it had a natural, calming ambiance. You had spent many mornings sitting there in the cold autumn air, reading a book, or simply staring at the foxes that would occasionally pass on the other side of the creek. As the sun slowly rose to its height, green lights would reflect through the leaves that still decorated the trees, sending you perfect luminance to focus.

After breakfast, you would always rush there, though no one would ever sit on the swing. There weren’t many people in the park - never were, but you kept your spot. As a child, what else do you have to worry about?

“I hit my peak at seven feet In the swing Over the creek I was too scared to jump in.”

But you were not alone these past days. For even now, when the sun hadn’t even set yet, the water in front of you moved in irregular waves.

“Will you ever join me?” A voice sounded from the pond, causing you to look down at the boy with a smile.

“You’re insane.” You joked, referring to his rather stupid idea to jump into the lake at 7 in the morning, your breath still fogging up the freezing air. The boy, however, scoffed, dumping his head underwater as if to make a statement, before resurfacing, sticking his tongue out to you.

“You’re stupid.” He retorted, splashing water towards you, though it did nothing but clean your shoes.

You looked down at the droplets with a teasing smirk, kicking a pile of leaves in front of the swing into the water, dirt dying the water temporarily. The boy stuck his tongue out, swimming towards the shore. Leaning his arms on the grass, he stared up at you, a stupid grin on his face.

“Dad said you could come over today,” He started. “It’s Sammy’s birthday.”

“I remember,” You pointed out. “We bought him a gift three days ago.”

Dean simply formed his lips in a thin line, as if he forgot. You shook your head at the notion, looking back in front of you as you dangled over the creek. All was well that morning.

“But I, I was high in the sky With Pennsylvania under me.”

The walk to your home seemed even longer that particular morning. Something lay heavy on your friend’s mind and you could see it. As you reached your porch, your mother already stood outside, a towel in hand for Dean. The boy ran up to her, offering her a short hug, simultaneously soaking her jeans in water. Grabbing the towel he ran back to you.

“You’re leaving again, aren’t you?” You spoke aloud, referring to his earlier departure months ago. After that, you figured you’d never see Dean again. But he had returned. Apparently not for long.

His face fell upon your words, looking down at his feet. “Was it that obvious?”

“You looked the same as you did last winter.” You informed, turning on the balls of your feet. “That is why I am invited to Sammy’s birthday, right?”

“Well, dad didn’t want to celebrate anything,” The boy admitted sadly. “But I convinced him. He was going to leave tonight, but I wanted to say goodbye.”

You smiled at him, though disappointed, you were glad he stalled. Leading him inside the living room, you grabbed the two cups of tea from the kitchen counter. You knew Dean already drank coffee, but your parents had discouraged it. Even if they weren’t Dean’s real parents, they tended to act like them at certain moments. But the boy eventually grew to love the tea, and knew to not ask anything different.

Dean’s father had always been rougher around the edges. You had met him a handful of times when you and Dean just started your friendship, but he was entirely different than your parents. Dean seemed to love them, though.

“Are there still beautiful things?”

The tv was playing silly cartoons as you and Dean sat on the couch, mindlessly watching them. A laugh would occasionally tear from your throat, pulling the boy with you. He had yet to change out of his wet clothes, but at least he had covered his seat with two other towels. Your mother had lectured him about that last time.

These mornings were always spent like that. The tv would be playing Looney Tunes, your mother would have made you tea, a tray of biscuits on the table. It was cozy, and comfortable. Dean seemed less tense than he usually did. And he was able to look really tense for an eight-year-old.

Your parents had offered to talk with Dean’s father often, but he kept shaking them off, claiming he was fine. You knew better, but you also knew better than to intervene. Your parents loved Dean, and you knew the feeling was mutual, but Dean had another family.

“Sweet tea in the summer Cross your heart, won't tell no other And though I can't recall your face I still got love for you.”

You wouldn’t see him for a year after that. He promised to visit through the winter, but through letters, you had to figure out he wouldn’t be stopping by for Christmas break. He was kind enough to send you a leather bracelet, its strings braided together. But you did not know where he was. He would never tell you, and so the notebook hidden behind your plushies would remain untouched, slowly gathering dust.

Winter turned into spring, which turned into warm summer nights. Since May, you hadn’t heard anything from him, and he wasn’t one to forget his monthly letters. September had been just around the corner. Three months, a long time for someone so young.

Your parents told you that was simply the way it went. You were only seven, how were you to disagree? Unbeknownst to you, you’d meet him again soon. Simply not in the way you would have hoped.

“Your braids like a pattern Love you to the moon and to Saturn.”

It had been the second week of September when everything happened. When children began to disappear from your area. Your hometown. Three classmates had gone missing within a week. No one was allowed to cross the streets without supervision, so it took you by surprise when there was a knock on your door that Wednesday afternoon.

Your mother had opened the door, allowing Dean and his little brother in. A look of sadness crossed her face, rather than an angry one. You weren’t angry. You were relieved. He was okay.

His father was working a job, he told you. He and his brother needed a place to stay, since motels were full. You didn’t believe him. No one had crossed this town since the news, but you did not tell him. You were glad he was there. And that night, he had told you everything. About his mother, about his father, and about his father’s actual job.

The two of you passed out on the couch to Looney Tunes that night, Sam having occupied your bed. And that was the first time you realized you were in love with Dean Winchester.

“Passed down like folk songs The love lasts so long.”

The second time you realized you were indeed deeply, and truly in love with him, was that same November. He had only been gone for a month, and his dad had left for the other side of the country without a note. The Winchesters had arrived in town by bus, and you were there to await him.

You had grabbed Sam’s hand, making sure he wouldn’t run off, as you walked the familiar streets to your house. Even Dean knew them by now. You showed Sammy the park you used to visit, and you finally shared that dive, even as the water was freezing.

Coming home again, it was sweet tea and Looney Tunes. His head had fallen against your shoulder, his eyes slowly closing. Their journey must have been tiring; Sam had fallen asleep on the chair only minutes prior.

Your hands wrapped around his arm, keeping him close, and making sure he wouldn’t fall over. He was out like a light after that. You had never seen him sleeping before. At sleepovers, he used to fall asleep after you, and wake up before you could. But now you could properly see his relaxed features. The freckles dusting his cheeks, or his hair that fell over his eyes just a little bit. He had told you he was thinking about shaving it, but you decided against it. He seemed to value your opinion, for it was the same as it had been last December.

The peace that radiated from him seemed to calm you down as well. Yes, perhaps you had fallen for him. And you had no idea that, even at the age of seven, you would never get over him.

“And I've been meaning to tell you I think your house is haunted Your dad is always mad and that must be why.”

The third time you realized it came unfortunate. It had been a year later, and Dean’s visits became more frequent. And John, his father, had noticed. There were nights he’d stand on your doorstep, exchanging heated words with your father about Dean. Your father seemed to love Dean more than John did. Yet John was always the one who would take the boy home that night.

That is when you grew to call him John. You used to refer to him as Dean’s father, but after that first fight, you had lost your respect for him. But regardless of how often the man would yell, Dean would always run back. And he was always welcomed.

After one specifically heated argument, your father had broken down in the kitchen, muttering something about the police. He hadn’t wanted you to hear, but he couldn’t have known you were still on that staircase.

You heard John’s car depart from your driveway, and you took your chance. Slipping through the backdoor, you left the house. You knew where they were staying. There was only one motel in the neighborhood.

“And I think you should come live with me And we can be pirates.”

It wasn’t difficult to find their room. John seemed at the end of his screaming match. Before you could get to the door, it flung open, and the man stormed out, walking back to his car. He hadn’t spotted you yet, and there were no boys trailing behind him. He was going for a drink.

Opening the door, you found Sam on the couch, staring at the Looney Tunes on the tv screen, his eyes slightly glossy. You greeted him silently, offering him a wave and a sympathetic smile. He merely ran over to you, engulfing you in a hug. A short sob escaped him before he escaped from your arms, running back to the couch and grabbing his chips.

“Dean?” You called through the small room. How three people would fit in there, you couldn’t comprehend. Not even for one night.

Sam gestured towards the closet, but said nothing, trying to occupy himself.

“Then you won't have to cry Or hide in the closet.”

Reaching towards the knob, you opened the closet gently, finding Dean at the bottom of it. As he spotted you, he quickly wiped his eyes, croaking out one word, hushed under his breath.

“Sammy.”

You understood him immediately, stepping into the closet as well and closing the door, before sitting down on the other side of him. And that’s when he broke down. Instinctively, you moved your body closer to his, opening your arms to him. He crawled into them swiftly, grasping both ends of your cardigan as he silently cried. And cried. Until he ran out of breath.

You stayed there with him until his eyes were no longer red. Until his breath was no longer shaky, and his nose was no longer running. He could almost swear his headache had disappeared.

For you, that was the third time.

For Dean, it was the first.

“And just like a folk song Our love will be passed on.”

Now, years later, you sat there on the hospital floor with him. His body still stitched and bandaged up. Your leg had been three kinds of broken, but still, you sat there with him, as you had done seventeen years earlier. Your back against the wall, your arms opened, Dean tucked within them.

The man that had often been the reason for his secret crying, would cause him pain one last time. Sam had collapsed beside you, his head leaning against yours. Though younger, he had grown up to be much taller than you were, but he was not afraid to utter his true emotions to you. Nor had Dean ever. And, almost ironically, this was the first time the two had seen each other this vulnerable. In the eyes that you always held.

The funeral was silent, almost deafening. Dean’s hand had been clasped in yours as his eyes kept staring at the flames in front of him. Sam had found himself against the hood of the Impala, removed a reasonable distance. He needed time. They both did.

Even after the years of misery, and having to clean the mess up John left behind, you could not help but mourn the man. Not for his actions, nor his words, but for the hurt the Winchesters had to go through now. What Dean had to go through now.

Your head fell against Dean’s shoulder, following his gaze to the fire. Dean, however, began to look at you. You had been there with him through everything. All those years ago, deciding to leave with him when you went to get Sam from college, following the two brothers into their search for their father; you had been there. And he hadn’t asked you to. You simply did.

That is when Dean realized, this wasn’t lust. This was love.

“Please picture me In the weeds Before I learned civility I used to scream ferociously Any time I wanted.”

It took one faithful night for you to say the words out loud. Hunting one werewolf seemed a terrible idea. Especially when he had planned an ambush with four of his brothers. You weren’t alone, it wouldn’t be an issue.

But Sam got knocked out, and Dean was busy warding off two on his own. It was up to you to make sure none would get Sam. You had stood over his unconscious form, your knife swinging in your hand dangerously, almost taunting the two others. And then one of the brothers Dean was fighting, escaped, and made way for you. From your back.

Before you could process anything, your face hit the floor, a sharp sensation flowing from your nose to your head. That would leave its mark.

Turning around on your back, you managed to pierce the wolf, but his brothers had reached for your legs. Pulling you from underneath the body, one slashed your arm, forcing you to drop the blade. That’s when the second one took a bite from your leg, whilst aiming for your stomach. Both a hit.

Dean had gotten there quickly after that, ending both of them. Adrenaline forced you upright, but it left as soon as it came, and you fell forward almost instantly.

“Y/N? Hey!” Dean’s voice rang, his arms grasping your shoulders as he forced you to sit up. You remembered seeing his panicked face, even though it was all hazy. Almost like a puzzle.

You remembered him asking you something. You remembered him carrying you to the passenger seat of the Impala, quickly binding your arm and leg with two towels in the trunk, and your stomach with his jacket. You remembered the searing pain, and Dean’s pleas and apologies. You remembered Sam’s still unconscious form on the backseats. And that’s where you lost it.

“Sweet tea in the summer Cross my heart, won't tell no other And though I can't recall your face I still got love for you.”

You woke up in a white room, almost blinding your eyes. The beeping of machines and rushing of nurses had forced you awake. The warm hand covering yours was what kept you.

“Jesus, Y/N. You scared the shit out of me.” Were the first sentences you heard.

Your head turned to your left, your eyes still narrowing to adjust to the light, but you recognized Dean’s face. And his voice.

“Sorry,” You whispered, a smile on your face.

“Asshole,” Dean mumbled, though he couldn’t help the grin making its way on his face. You were awake. You were okay. His hand made way to your face, brushing your hair out of your line of sight. Even half conscious, the notion sent sparks up your spine. You found yourself leaning into it subconsciously. And Dean left it there.

“I couldn’t leave yet,” You continued, your voice broken, but still audible. “I had to profess my undying love and fidelity to you.”

Dean chuckled at your words, muttering something close to a ‘you haven’t lost your sense of humor, thankfully’. But you ignored his statement, offering him a serious look.

“It’s not a joke.”

And that’s where he froze. His arm appeared rigid underneath yours, and the hand covering yours clenched tightly. ‘It’s not a joke’ echoed through his head.

“Pack your dolls and a sweater We'll move to India forever Passed down like folk songs.”

“Well,” He began hesitantly. “I wouldn’t have allowed you to leave yet. Still had to utter a couple chick flic words here and there. Perhaps some dates.”

Your smile grew at his words, growing almost lightheaded at the sudden burst of happiness. You had almost forgotten you had just woken up.

“Some?” You tested, turning your hand in his hold so you could intertwine your fingers together.

“We can decide on the number when you are walking again.” He decided, retrieving his hand from your face. “And you are not bound to these things.” Tugging on the intravenous drip running from your free hand gently.

“But first; recovery.”

“Our love lasts so long.”