#full of drawings covering the walls and red string everywhere as I talk to myself and go bananas /silly

[nbofvoid]

The Holiday Party

Written for the dreamnblade christmas event @alterdnbweek is holding this year.

Day 25 Prompts: Mistletoe; First Kiss

Last day! I hope everyone enjoyed this event as much as I did. I'm also really pleased with myself, because this is the first time I've ever been able to complete something like this!

**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**

The party is in full swing, everyone laughing, talking, playing games, and enjoying the various drinks and snacks laid out over nearly every available surface in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Music is playing across the whole area barely able to be heard over the general din from all the people in the area. Everyone Dream knows is here plus several that he recognizes, but doesn't know as well. Decorations are everywhere, shimmering faintly with the enchantments worked into them like hugs, fist bumps, piggy back rides, and games of rock, paper, scissors.

He takes another sip from his mulled wine, watching a game of monopoly getting very intense as Purpled buys the last plot that Tommy needed for one of the sections and Wilbur has to grab his shirt collar to stop him from launching over the table. It's also broken three alliances and all of them are arguing with each other to build new ones as George lifts the 'bank' off the table to avoid the flailing limbs of the players as they fight.

Sapnap lifts Quackity into a hug as the duck shrieks to be let down. Karl is laughing nearby as the they wander into the kitchen past the poinsettias on the hallway shelves. Schlatt is already passed out on one of the armchairs and Puffy and Nikki are drawing on his face with what Dream hopes is washable marker. Bad is holding his and Skeppy's plate of food near the tree as they chat with Ant and Alyssa. Phil is perched on the back of the couch, chin perched on his wife's head as she shows him something on her phone. Punz and Sam are glaring at each other over a deck of cards and random items they've pulled from their pockets. Many of them posting small homemade decorations all around the walls they can reach or grabbing taller individuals like Techno to get them higher.

He downs the last of his wine, head a touch dizzy from the four glasses he's had pressed into his hands as well as the adult eggnog that was shoved on him nearly as soon as he entered the house.

It's been about three hours since he got here and he is feeling the strain of being around so many people that he's had to interact with plus the alcohol. Dream doesn't hate any of them, loves that they can have this kind of get together, but it's getting a bit much. He glances around and no one is looking his way. Not his friends who have passed over the wine when he finished his previous drinks or the others who are distracted by the rest of the goings on. He slips off his stool, weaving at the edges of the various enchanted decorations, and out the door onto the covered patio faintly illuminated by the string lights. It's a shock compared to the warmth from inside and he tugs his hoodie closer to his body and hoping he can last long enough without his heavier coat.

Dream breaths out, watching the cloud of air wisp into the night sky. It's already quieter out here than inside and he leans against the balcony railing with a faint sigh. Maybe he should stick to non-alcoholic drinks for the rest of the night.

"Needed a break?" Techno's voice comes way to close to him and he almost jumps out of his skin.

He looks up and Techno is just staring up at the sky, "Yeah. Just kind of a lot after a couple hours. You?"

"Same. Chat doesn't help with it either. They're really excited by everyone who's here," Techno says, turning to look down at him. The chill air has made his cheeks turn faintly red to complement the pink hair pulled into a ponytail. "Kind of loud, though, so they're in time out."

He grins, "Sorry for interrupting then. I can head back in-?"

Techno's already shaking his head, "It's good. They like Phil more than you anyway."

"What. How could they," he gasps, clutching at his chest in mock hurt. "I will refuse to ring their bell until they take that back."

Techno throws his head back, laughter spilling from him and Dream is stuck staring at his gorgeousness until he remembers that he shouldn't be and firmly forces his eyes back over the snow filled backyard.

"Man, they are begging you to take that back," he chuckles, shaking his head and he tracks the motion of the hair as it moves. "And offering a lot of things I know they won't follow through with."

He blinks, "...Like what?"

"Somehow dropping Tommy into the frozen lake."

Dream squints, looks out across the backyard, "What lake?"

"No clue. They haven't decided. Or figured out how they're going to get me to do it."

It takes a moment for him to remember that Chat isn't corporeal, but he laughs once he does. He stops as a strong gust blows through and he pulls his hoodie closer. Damn. He doesn't want to go back in yet, but with the wind, he might have to.

Something heavy lands on his shoulders. He glances down to see brilliant red fabric draped over his arms and pooling on the ground at his feet. Dream looks up, spotting Techno staring at him without his cloak and he ducks his head into the warm ruff around the edge. "Thanks."

"No problem."

He stands there, silence coiling around them before a thought jumps into his head.

"Are you enjoying the party so far?" he asks, peaking over the ruff.

Techno hums, "It's alright. Definitely not the worst I've been to, but doesn't reach the best by a long shot."

"Oh? What was the best? Did it have a tournament of games or something?"

"It was Kristen and Phil's elopement," he says and Dream chokes.

"I thought they had a wedding? I distinctly remember seeing pictures of a wedding," he says digging though his memory because he does recall seeing Nikki and Wilbur talking about wedding pictures and Phil and Kristen were in them.

"Yeah, they did, but they eloped first. Everyone was pissed off and trying to find them so I got to play roadblock. It's fun being able to look someone right in the eye and tell them straight up lies that they aren't sure are true or not."

"I want to hear that story now. It sounds so much more intresting than their wedding."

"Sure. Come over some time and I'll trap Phil to make him tell you the whole thing."

Dream huffs, hiding his grin in the cloak, "Does next week sometime work?"

"Hm. We'll see. Do you not have anything else planned?"

"Not really. Just making sure everything is set up for the start of the year and that there aren't going to be any issues. I really do not want to start the year having to mediate an argument over who owns a chicken or a divorce."

"That would be annoying. Just take the chicken and disappear into the tundra."

"Pft. Not all of us are you, Techno."

Techno chuckles and Dream feels so much warmer. Not just from the borrowed cloak, but talking with Techno and getting him to laugh. It's the best thing he can imagine doing at any point no matter what the situation might be. It's Techno who is kind, skilled in everything he does, amazing in general, and Dream wants to be with him forever in any way he can.

There's another gust of wind that manages to cut through the cloak and sends them both shivering. Only this time, it doesn't ease off, roaring through the area and sending the shutters around rattling against the house.

"We should head back inside," Techno says, squinting against the freezing wind. "This feels like a front starting to come in."

He nods, watching his breath cloud be ripped away as quickly as it leaves. They turn back to the door, Techno half reaching out for the handle when he pauses with a small 'heh?' staring at something above them.

Dream frowns, following his gaze and there's a sprig of mistletoe over them.

His face burns, mind flashing on what it would be like to actually kiss Techno before the full situation hits his brain. This wouldn't be something Techno would want to do. It'd be something he's forced to otherwise they won't be able to leave each other's side and be stuck with the plant hanging out above them. It's basically forcing the man into something he doesn't want to do and who's idea was it to hang up mistletoe?!

"Um. What, what kind of, um, kiss works for you?" he starts doing his best to not look at Techno. "I don't really care. I'm good with, with anything but you shouldn't feel uncomfortable or pressured for anything. I think even like a hand kiss works. I'm pretty sure Eret mentioned that when I asked-"

Warm lips press against his cheek and he freezes, staring at Techno as he pulls back, a small, soft smile resting on his lips and gorgeous red eyes that are glowing with affection under the fairy lights around them.

"No need to panic, yeah? 's all good," Techno says.

He stares, "You- You what?"

"I took care of the mistletoe," he says. His expression furrows into concern, "Did that make you uncomfortable?"

"No!" he says way to loud it feels like and he swallows before continuing, "I just, why my cheek?"

Techno shrugs, "Cause I felt like it. We can just forget it happened. Not like anyone else saw it so it to bring up later."

And he knows Techno is telling the truth. Chat would have let him know otherwise and there's no indication of that happening as he stares up with a burning face.

"It's, it's fine," he manages to get out then his mouth doesn't stop: "I liked it. It's good. Real good."

Techno blinks, the concern clearing and shifting back to the soft affection Dream could have sworn was just his imagination, "So, would you be more interested in coming over to watch movies for the rest of the night?"

Dream smiles back, "Sure."

Techno grabs his hand - still ridiculously warm even with the freezing and falling temperatures - and they head out. He can't bring himself to care about if the others are going to notice them missing or what they might think or do at that point. Right now, Techno's hand is entwined with Dream's own, they're going to watch movies together, and maybe, just maybe, he'll have a date for the new years.

-----_____-----_____-----_____-----_____-----_____-----_____-----

("Wait, four years?!"

"Yeah. It's been Chat's favorite thing to poke me with."

"...Not Phil or Wilbur or Tommy?"

"Nah. Phil wouldn't dare and Wilbur and Tommy don't pay enough attention to notice."

"Sure, your friends leave you alone and mine make fun of me every time they know we're even going to be in the same general area."

"...Is that why you've been acting weird and avoiding me? I thought I did something."

"...I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Aw. You're soft for me.")

**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**

I hope all of you enjoyed! Have a lovely day, stay safe out there, and have as much fun as you legally can!

[idreamofplaid]

Flashes of Freedom

Summary: This is how freedom to live your own life looks.

Characters: Sam x Reader; Callie (OFC); Dean and Jody mentioned

Word Count: 1824

A/N: This is a request for @awesomesusiebstuff . I wanted to write something for Susan for being so wonderfully warm and thoughtful. She got me tickets to Jensen’s and Jared’s Stageit panels. This is the best way I know to say thank you! 😘💗 I loved them both.

Flash #1

I’m still getting used to the whole idea. I ran from this life, but I couldn’t. Not really. It wasn’t because Chuck was pulling all the strings either. It was because I felt a sense of duty to my family, to Dean, and ultimately to myself. I couldn’t turn my back on who I was. I had a role to play that was bigger than I could have comprehended, and I had to face that head on with my brother. We both made choices over the years that we aren’t proud of, but maybe now we can finally come to peace with those regrets. Maybe we can hang onto the parts of ourselves and what we’ve done that are good and let go of all the rest.

One of the things I wanted to hang onto was Baby. She was my home before there was a bunker, but she belongs to Dean. They’ve always had a special bond, so I found my own Baby. It took awhile. I scoured the country for months looking for another black ‘67 Impala. I finally found her; I call her My Baby. The doors don’t squeak the same, but maybe in time. 

I took My Baby, and I hit the road. Dean headed up to hang out at Jody’s for a few days, saying something about home cooked meals and wanting to experience how a family lives since now that might be an actual possibility for us.

It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that we’re free to have lives. After all that fighting and struggle, we can truly control our own destinies. I feel like mine’s in North Carolina. Sounds weird, but something is drawing me there. It isn’t a part of the country I’ve been to very much. I tried California once. That didn’t work out too well, so I’m heading in the opposite direction.

I like the mountains here. They’re soft and rolling. They give everything they surround a secure and sheltered feeling. It’s beautiful and serene. I could stay here, I think, start a new life. 

There’s something I need to do to start this new life. It’s a symbol of starting a new chapter. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile, and I believe I’m finally ready. I scan the main street of the little town until I find what I’m looking for. It’s not a barber shop. I don’t want all my hair gone, just shorter. I’m thinking the barely hit my collar kind of short, that wouldn’t be short enough for Dean, but it’ll make the statement I want. It will tell me things are different now. It makes me a little nervous getting it cut because it’s been a part of me for so long. I settle on a salon that has a slightly modern look for a town like this.

Inside, it’s lots of chrome, clean lines, and green plants. I like the feel of it. It’s welcoming, but there’s also an air of competent efficiency. I need both. I’m really going to do this, so I want to feel comfortable and like this person who’s going to do it knows what they’re doing. 

The receptionist takes my name, and I sit down to wait. I sift through the magazines on the table; nothing grabs my interest, so I decide to just wait. You catch my attention as soon as you walk into the reception area, and I feel my heart do a little flip. You call my name, and I follow you. Yeah, you’re the woman I can trust to cut my hair.

You run your fingers through my hair and lift it up, professionally assessing it; but how my hair might look when you’re done isn’t where my mind goes. It’s been awhile since I thought about a woman like this, and I notice how pretty your smile is when you ask me for the second time, “Are you sure you want to cut it?”

I take a look at myself in the mirror. I’m completely covered by a black cape except for my head, to me it looks like a blank slate. I give you a nod. “Yeah, cut it.”

When you finish, you give me a handheld mirror and turn me around so I can see the back. It’s different, and that’s what I need. You spin me back around to face the big mirror again and tilt your head, looking at my reflection. “You’re still handsome, but I did like the hair.” Your flirtiness sparks some courage in me, and I take my next big step; I ask you out.

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

Flash #2

The next night I take you to what you have told me is the only Italian restaurant in town. It’s classic and traditional from the red and white checked tablecloths covering the tables to the wooden paneling on the walls. Each table has a white candle in a heavy red glass container that creates a soft glow of light and an intimate atmosphere. The way your eyes look in the candlelight does things to me; it makes me feel hopeful.

I’m relaxed with you, truly at ease. For the first time in forever, I don’t feel like I’m looking over my shoulder. We choose a bottle of wine and get to know each other better while we sip the full bodied red and wait for our food. You tell me you’ve lived in this area all your life, thought about leaving briefly for something bigger and more exciting; but you realized your roots were here.

It all sounded about as far away from the life I’d known as it could be. I noticed everything about you that night, so many details that wrapped me up in the web of you. Little things, like the way you twisted your spaghetti around your fork before you put it in your mouth. I saw the bigger things too, the life changing things. You look into my eyes when I’m talking like I’m saying the most fascinating thing you’ve ever heard, but I know it can’t be; I’m still holding so much back from you. I don’t want to scare you off, and my life has been a scary thing. I’m holding it back, but I want you to know. I want you to know me.

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

Flash #3

Your hair is plastered to your forehead, and the strain is evident on your face. I tell you to breathe, and you push your breath out deliberately through your lips as slow and steady as you can. It’s hard to watch you in this much pain, and there isn’t really anything I can do.

When the contraction passes, I guide your head down to the pillow so you can rest for a few minutes before the next one hits. You’re weak from all the effort of bringing our baby into the world, but still you smile at me. “I love you, Sam.”

I’m still holding your hand in mine; I raise it to my lips and kiss it gently. I return your smile and push your damp hair back from your forehead. “You’re amazing.” I didn’t get a chance to say anything else because another contraction tore through your body.

Our daughter was born a few minutes later. Seeing her in your arms and watching the way you looked at her was the most incredible moment of my life. My heart was filled with more love than it could hold and my eyes filled with tears. It was the first time in my life I cried because I was happy.

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

Flash #4

“Wake up, Sam.” I feel you dragging your hand down my chest and over my stomach. You’re whispering in my ear, calling for me, “Sam?”

I’m not fully awake when I turn to you and take you in my arms, kissing you deeply. It’s instinctual now, as natural as breathing. I’m used to having you beside me, sharing a bed with me, and wanting me. You’ve been wanting me more often lately, just like you did at this point in your pregnancy with Callie. I’m not complaining at all, far from it. I love giving you what you need, and I’m pleasantly tired. We made love when we came to bed tonight, and if you want me again already; you’re going to have me any way you want. 

In the dark of our bedroom, in the middle of the night, I love you. I give you, at least try to, everything you have given to me. I show you with my body things I still don’t think I’ve found the words to tell you exactly how I feel. The way you’re kissing me back tells me that you know.

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

Flash #5

It’s a morning like all our other mornings, but there’s nothing ordinary about it. You’re sitting by the window, holding our baby son, and singing quietly to him. Callie is on my lap, and I’m reading her favorite book to her. She has the words memorized now, and can tell the story along with me.

Our little girl’s laughter is such a sweet sound. Her delighted reaction is always the same, like it’s the first time she’s ever heard the story. I close the book and bop her on the nose. That makes her giggle even louder, and you lift your head to look over at us and smile. Callie grins at me; her big Y/E/C are exactly like yours. “Can we read another story, Daddy?”

My heart gets bigger when I hear her say it. There’s no other love like the love you feel for your child, and you gave me the gift of that twice. “Sure we can, turtle.” She flashes her cute little smile filled with baby teeth when she hears the name. You started calling her that when she was toddling around and taking her favorite plushie, a yellow turtle, with her everywhere. Callie goes over to the bookcase, much more steady on her feet now, and brings another book back to me. 

You’re putting our baby boy down in his cradle by your chair for his nap when Callie crawls back into my lap. She settles and opens the cover of the book, but then she turns. If it was possible to plot with a two year old, I’d believe you and our daughter planned what she did next. She reached up and took a fistful of my hair that’s grown back down to my shoulders into her little hand. “Daddy, your hair’s pretty.”

You’ve been listening and crossing the room to us this whole time. You place a kiss on top of her head. “Yes, baby, Daddy’s has pretty hair.” The look you give me is pleased, content, and suggestive. Silently, you let me know it’s going to be your hands in my hair tonight. I’m glad I let it grow back.

Everything: @gambitwinchester @princessmisery666 @onethirstyunicorn @peridottea91 @logical-princey @emilyshurley @beenlovingromansincedayoneish @fangirlxwritesx67 @waywardbaby @atc74 @ledzeppelinsbonzo @shaniquacynthia @mariekoukie6661 @tumbler-tidbits @67-chevy-baby @fandom-princess-forevermore @terrarium-jpeg @emoryhemsworth @crashdevlin @heycasbutt @jules-1999 @mrsdeannafuckingwinchester @cosicas-cuquis @sammyimpala-67 @queenoftheunderdark @dean-winchesters-bacon @mrs-meghan-winchester @timelordy-fangirl2 @sweetness47 @hobby27 @awesomesusiebstuff @kickingitwithkirk @gh0stgurl @becs-bunker @sandlee44 @supernaturalgrandma @lonewolf471 @sea040561 @dawnie1988 @volleyballer519 @outcastedangel @kdfrqqg @lizette50 @daisymoder72 @sorenmarie87 @oldfreakything 

Sam/Jared: @girl-next-door-writes @stunudo @feelmyroarrrr @winchesterxfamilybusiness @idabbleincrazy @evansrogerskitten @focusonspn @i-joined-social-media-finally @autumninavonlea @spnxbsessed​ @durinsbride​ @deansyahtzee​ @wendibird​ @team-free-will-you-idjiot​ @waywardnerd67​ @fullmooner​ @neii3n​ @supernatural-took-me-over​ @julesthequirky​ 

[geffbob]

First short story I’m proud of part 3

Both of us head to the part of the chanting that we hear the loudest. Both of us look down and start to focus. I’ve never really been a prodigy in magic. I never paid attention in magical theory class; I was too busy looking at the teacher. A lovely dwarven girl that wouldn’t even give me the time of day if I asked her a thousand times to date me. But every human knows how to create fire. And every human knows how to blow something up. And when you want to blow something up with magic, and you’re next to an elf. Something’s about to get blown up.

 We look at the ground and I start to feel it. It’s like a tingling feeling overwhelming you, crawling up from your lungs. “Breathe” I hear Miss L’ark say. “Breathe, magic comes from inside you, from your spirit, from your soul. Basically, from your stomach”. I breathe. And shoot. Rupturing the ground underneath, me. Herah does the same, only about 20 times bigger. Fucking elves, always having to one-up us. Whatever. I’ll take it. We dive down the hole and land at the bottom. Herah falling gracefully as all elves do, and myself crashing down like a boulder, rolling over and striking the first thing I see. My sword’s already in the person before I even realise what I’ve done.

“IT’S A FUCKING KID” I scream. Dropping my sword. The kid falls to the ground with a huge blade sticking out of them. I look around in a panic. I’m in an underground chamber of sorts, the walls are too close together. There are candles and blood everywhere, people surround me. I don’t know how far away they are, they’re sitting in some wooden seats, or wooden altars. Drawings of some unknown beings litter the room. Portraits, landscapes, stars, monsters, people. The cultists are looking stranger than I would have expected. Some old, some young, some underage. All wearing the same cloaks. All chanting. None have even noticed that I’m here. None seem to care.

 The kid looks at me and holds onto the sword, trying to pull it out of him, cutting his hands in the process. He gurgles something and looks at me, before screaming. Screaming louder than any human has ever screamed before. Louder than any being is able to scream. I don’t have time to cover my ears before I feel a substance around it. The elf, again, has put her spell on me. I feel something soft and – white? – around my ears. How does it feel white?

Whatever. I look back at the kid and he’s no longer there, he’s different. His face contorts, his body shapes, his back breaks again and again, the screaming gets louder, I feel like if my ears weren’t blocked with whatever’s over them, I’d be throwing up right now. His legs grow longer and wider, his face changes into two, then three, then four, then a thousand. The room lights up, the chanting grows louder, the people are screaming now, the candles are glowing with a large light. The walls are closing in, the space is getting smaller, I can’t stop it, I can’t pick up my sword, I can-

 I get slapped harder than I’ve been slapped in my life.

 “GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF YOU SHITTY HUMAN” I hear, looking at Herah. My face is burning, and her hand is outstretched. “BLINK YOU MORON”

 I blink and look around again. These fucking assholes. The room isn’t shrinking, the chanting isn’t getting louder, but the thing I’ve stabbed clearly isn’t human. My fucking claustrophobia is getting to me, and considering I just thought I killed a child, there’s no wonder I’m freaking out. It’s growing, changing its face and body, growing with a sickly feeling, like a caterpillar emerging from a cocoon. I step back, picking up my sword as I go. I can’t hold it in one hand, it’s far too heavy. So, I have to hold it with both. I feel like I won’t shake as much if I’m holding onto it.

 I look up.

 The ‘thing’ towers over me. It’s like a giant centipede. It’s made up of about 5 pulsating white balls. The bottom most one is on top the ground, it’s covered in legs, human legs, insect legs, animal legs, it drags itself along the ground with surprising precision, considering how fucking huge it is. The second blob is full of cuts and arms, human arms, insect pincers, animal paws, everything. The same goes for blob 3 and 4, with the topmost one having the face, or should I say, faces. It’s changing expressions and screaming louder with each subsequent face. I don’t recognize any faces on the being, except for one. The old man from earlier. Blood is leaking from their eyes, noses and mouths. Unimaginable torment. It sounds like it’s in pure agony, and yet, all the faces are looking right at me.

 “Tits” I say.

 It lunges at me, crashing down with a thud. It’s at least 5m tall and clearly not wanting to talk. I jump into a fighting stance and Herah does the same. She shouts to me

“DISTRACT IT FOR A FEW MINUTES, I’M GOING TO STOP THE RITUAL”

 I turn and look back at it. Pus is coming out from the damaged parts of it when it slammed into the ground, healing up the wounds almost instantly. How the fuck do I fight this.

 Herah runs to the nearest cultist, grabbing them harshly and pulling them down, she starts muttering some sort of spell and something leaves her fingers and goes into the cultist’s body. I can’t see any more of it because the blob monster’s already gotten back up and is raring to charge at me again.

 “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU” I should, spinning out of the way and dragging my sword along its side. Sending pus everywhere.

 It screams, violently, and heals itself up. Turning around and hissing at me. The faces start to converge and point at me. I hear sizzling and realise what’s coming too late.

“SHIT” I yell, as molten hot blood shoots out of its face(es) and hits me square in the chest. It burns like nothing you can imagine, but thankfully this armour I’m wearing isn’t just for arrows. It at the very least can help me not die from blood magic, but a few more of those and I’m out.

I look back at Herah, she’s trying something else with the same cultist now. She’s pulled the cultist to their feet and are now trying a different spell, this one’s green. Great. Green magic.

 I turn back towards the grub. Before it has a chance to shoot magic again, I force myself up and lunge towards it. Cutting off a few of its limbs in the process. Blood shoots out of them and sprays up at me, just as hot as the mouth blood. It then turns around and slams into me with the other side of limbs and extremities, pushing me against the wall and keeping me held there with multiple extremities. It screams and converges its faces again, pointed straight at me. This time, I can’t move.

 “DAMN” I yell, and drop my sword, pulling out my dagger and throw it at the converging point. It hits with a satisfying chunk and forces the being to rear backwards. I breathe, pick up my greatsword and slam down on the back part of it, cutting into the joining parts of the bottom blob and the penultimate blob. Screaming as I do so. It lets out a yell even louder than the last ones – something I didn’t think possible. I look back at Herah and she’s trying more magic, this time, blue.

I just hope it works.

 I cut again, and again, and again, but the parts just won’t separate. It jumps and tries to crush me with its weight, but I dodge out of the way and jump towards a wall. I hold onto the wall, focus my energy, and have it explode out, breaking the wall and pushing me towards it with incredible force. I don’t think it was expecting that as I cut through the part I was just slashing. So fast, in fact, that I cut straight through it. Separating it from its other parts. Unable to move itself, it merely shrieks and screams. Old news at this point. I remind myself to thank the elf for the ear buds before yelling and charging again. I jump up and pull the dagger out of its face, cast a quick fire spell and jam it into the penultimate (now the final) part of the giant blob creature. With the burning dagger inside it, I don’t think it’s able to regenerate. And I can focus on the other parts of it. As it’s now a stationary object, in a manner of speaking, I’m able to focus on the more important part. Its mouth.

 I leap up and try to cut, but every time I do so, it just drops pus and regenerates quickly. Clearly, it’s not making much of a difference whether I cut it or not, so I change my tactics. I run around the room looking for something to use. A torch, a knife, anything. While I can’t find anything good, I dodge over another blood splurt attack and grab a candle, now burning brighter than I’ve seen regular candles burn. I swiftly cut it in half and pull out the string. As I expected, it’s dwarven silk candles. These candles can burn for about 20 days non-stop without much trouble and it’s all in the dwarven string that’s inside it. The wax is just regular old wax from bees or whatever. I start running around the room, cutting candles as I see fit, pulling out the string and tying them together. Dodging the attacks as I go. Jump, cut, spin, dodge, cut, dodge, spin, dodge, cut, dodge, spin.

 I look back at Herah. She’s trying something red now, there’s red clouds coming from around her. I have no idea what she’s doing but I can’t figure it out, I’m busy.

 Once I amassed enough string, I cast a quick fire spell and light it all up. Immediately, it catches fire and starts to burn. A long, slow burn. Perfect.

 I leap towards the thing and spinning cut the “neck”. Jumping back as I do so, while still holding onto the burning candle string. As I do so, I chuck it inside the being, setting the inside pus part of it alight. Like all dwarven products, they don’t stop working if there’s blood on it. Dwarves are disgustingly efficient.

 The strings burn inside the blob worm, causing it to scream up into the ceiling and claw at its neck, but its extremities are too short. It can’t even attempt to get it, let alone pull it out. I set my blade alight with another quick fire spell and start swiping at it, it can’t reach me because it’s too busy trying to pull out the burning string, so I swipe, again and again, jumping into the air and pulling down, cutting through layers of fat, pus and blood, weakening it with every strike. It starts spinning and screaming and shooting blood at random. Its faces scream in anguish and despair, but it can’t get me. Nothing can get me. I’m not A class for nothing. I blast off the ground and swipe at it, causing it to jump, again, and again, and again. Until finally, I cut something hard inside it. I look back and see what I cut. It looks like a heart. A heart of metal.

 “Huh” I say. As it falls over.

 It crashes to the ground with an earth shattering thud. All the pus and blood from it starts spilling out of all the wounds I put on it, covering the middle arena in liquids and mucus. My eyes start to water as I realise, I might have some of it on my face, so I pull out some tissues and wipe my face. I didn’t get any pus on it, but I’m definitely going to need a shower after this.

 I turn around and look up at the surrounding area. And notice, everybody’s dead.

 Herah is there, holding the final cultist member in the air. The member doesn’t even seem to notice, as he just continues to chant. She cuts his neck open with a knife, spraying red blood everywhere like a cloud. So that’s what the red cloud things were before. Of course.

 “Herah. It’s over. I killed it.” I say, turning to her.

She’s covered in blood. It’s almost sickening. But she does what any elf would do in this situation and casts a quick cleansing spell on herself, draining all blood and mucus from her person and basically restoring her to how she looked earlier. I almost forgot how much I hated elves.

“I see” she says. Breathing heavily

“Are you okay?” I say, looking at her.

She drops the body on the ground and puts her knife back in her belt. “I’m fine”. She says. Clearly lying, but I’m not about to comfort her.

 We look around at the beings. And then I look up into the sky. It starts to get lighter, as the wind starts to go back to normal, and the feeling I get of something being wrong goes away. While it’s not gone, it’s certainly a lot better than before.

 I look out of the hole we made and at the old man lying against the house, but he’s not there. He’s directly above the hole, looking it. His eyes are closed. He appears to have dragged himself over and was watching us fight. I don’t know when he died, but it looks like he has a smile on his face.

 Good.

 Herah holds onto me and jumps, pulling me into the air. We leave the hole and she drops me onto the ground. Next to the old man.

I look over and see it, next to the man, he’s written 4 numbers on the ground.

 5218. TY.

 “What does that mean?” Herah asks.

“Valt number, inside his house. TY is thank you.” “Oh”.

 I walk into the house. It smells like death in here, but I wasn’t about to leave empty handed. I just killed a giant fucking slug monster and I want some sort of recognition from it. Immediate gratification if you will.

I open up the safe and have a look inside. 2 gold bars and a book of cooking recipes. Whatever. I pocket the lot of them.

 “You’re robbing the house of an old man, a lovely old man that reminded you of somebody. I saw it in his eyes, do you humans feel no shame?” she asks, bitterly.

“Not really” I reply. “Besides, he told me I could do it.”

“Sure, you keep telling yourself that human. Where I come from, we respect our dead, and besides, he never invited you into his house. Which if I remember correctly, is complete taboo in every culture imaginable”

“Oh whatever. You don’t report my slight pilfering and I won’t report your mass slaughter in there”

“I did what had to be done human” she scoffs. “You would do well to do the same.”

 Whatever, I think. It’s going to be a long walk back to the guild. And I need some sleep. I’ll tell everyone about what happens tomorrow. I’ll let Herah deal with the bureaucratises.

 The next day, after some rest. I head back into the guild. I wave to a table of adventures and sit down next to them. They’re talking about something cool as usual, although I’m not paying much attention.

 “So, it’s all done then, you got your payment? How are you doing?” says one, turning towards me. “Everything’s done. Herah took care of it. She’s not happy because I made her do my paperwork, but a gold bar changed her mind. Speaking of which, I got something for you.” I say. Handing over the book I have.

 “What’s this?” the man asks, turning it over.

“Old recipe book, one of its kind. I heard it’s got a lot of cool things in there; I know how much you like cooking.”

 “Thanks” Geff says. “Appreciate it.