#here i kinda just gave up on giving her actual hair strands beyond the bangs; all she has is a skullcap sewn onto her head and a braid

[invinciblerodent]

call me 51.3% of the playerbase the way i'm constantly needing to restuff Shadowheart

this plushie just will not cooperate with me for some reason, dangit

[gotnofucks]

Lovely Shade of Green

Pairing: Chubby!Bucky x Reader

Summary: Jealousy is a very good look on your boyfriend.

Words: 1.7k

Warning: Smut, oral sex, jealousy, slight daddy kink, slight dom bucky, language, 18+ Only

A/N: For @drabblewithfrannybarnes who wanted chubby!Bucky smut! Here you go darling, I hope you like it!

MASTERLIST

+++++

You were bleary eyed, head rising and falling slowly as it rested on the soft pooch of Bucky’s belly, a hand patting your head gently. You would have fallen asleep had the bottle not landed at you. Tony was snickering, shitfaced and you wondered again why you agreed to play today.

“Truth or dare Y/n?” He asked and you mumbled truth. “Do you and tin man take it up the ass raw or are you lubing it up?”

Bucky groaned, a hand coming up to shield his eyes. He was still not comfortable talking about your sex life in the open, and certainly not with Tony. You rolled your eyes, hand hugging Bucky closer as you scoffed.

“Changed my mind, gimme a dare.”

A little spark of doubt crept in you when Nat and Tony exchanged a look. The moment a smile blossomed on Nat’s lips you knew you were fucked.

“I dare you to sit between Thor’s legs until the game ends.”

In the time it took you to understand they actually meant it, Bucky had sat up straight and pulled you up under his arm. He growled with a hand holding you to him, jaw clenched tight.

“Shut your crap trap Stark, this is not a joke.” He warned and Tony, intoxicated beyond measure just waved his worry aside.

“I’m not asking her to ride his thigh terminator, just asking her to sit between his legs. You don’t mind do you, Thor?”

Thor who was just as drunk on his Asgardian mead as Tony, giggled and shook his head.

“Come here little Y/n, I’ve got lot of flesh to keep you warm.” He bent his knees to make space for you in them and you raised your eyebrows. Your gaze shifted to your boyfriend who was glaring at Thor and Tony while Nat looked expectantly at you.

“It’s only until the game ends, come on now. Few minutes at most.” Nat urged and you hesitatingly went over to Thor who gently plopped you between his thighs. His front was brushing your back and you bit your lip, looking at Bucky who was now scowling at the floor with fists clenched. The bottle was spinning again, and you pretended to be interested in the game, your sleep deprived brain still not sure what happened.

Maybe it was finally too much, maybe it was because Tony kept looking over at you and chuckling or maybe it was because Thor placed a warm hand on your shoulder that Bucky snapped. He stood up suddenly, took the spinning bottle in his hand and smashed it on the floor right beside Tony.

“This game is fucking over, and if you utter another word from that stupid pie-hole so will you.”

Saying this he marched over to you and roughly hauled you up by your arm, walking swiftly back to the hall and your room. Drunken murmurs and cheers could be heard behind you, most clearly Sam’s who said, “I’ll take my 20 bucks now Cap, told you it won’t take more than 10 mins.”

You tried to keep up with Bucky’s long stride as he angrily dragged you to your room and all but flung you inside. You were far more awake now as you gazed into Bucky’s narrowed blue eyes, his plump cheeks red with anger you felt a nervous heat between your legs. The door was shut and locked and Bucky turned on you.

“You have been a naughty girl, cuddlebear.” He said softly and you nodded dumbly.

“Buck, it was a game.” You said and he came closer, his hands wrapping around your waist and pushing you back towards the bed.

“You should have said no, you should have left.”

You trembled as your knees met the bed, sitting down and letting Bucky peel away your t-shirt. His frown deepened as he bunched the Captain America t-shirt you had stolen from the charity event last month.

“Look at that cuddlebear, not only do you dare to sit between another man’s legs like you’re his puppy, but also wear someone else’s mark. Do you think that was a nice thing to do?” His voice was hardened with lust and jealousy and you creamed yourself when he tore the fabric in his hands and threw it away.

“No, I am sorry.” You say and Bucky tutted, flicking your chin.

“Sorry what?”

“I am sorry Daddy” You corrected, and Bucky’s lips enveloped yours, rough and soft at the same time. Your hands clutched his side, nails digging into his soft love handles as he pushed you on the bed and climbed over you. You moaned in his mouth, shimming out of your pajamas when he pulled back to breath and started stripping himself.

“You know I don’t like it when you’re in some other man’s arms, right?” He asked and you nodded. You put your hands on his shoulders and pushed him down, straddling him.

“I’m sorry Daddy, let me show you I only love you.” You breathed and Bucky’s eyes rolled when you pinched his nipples. He nodded, and you bent over him, your mouth meeting his in a messy kiss. His metal hand was cold on your back and your groaned, sucking a spot on his neck that made him shiver. Tracing the jagged scars on his left shoulder with your fingers and mouth you ground your hips on the bulge between your legs, your wetness dripping down and over his balls.

“Cuddlebear, gimme more.” Bucky begged and you hummed, sliding down to bath his body. You kissed and suckled his flesh, giving special attention to his nipples before nuzzling the chubby flesh of his belly. You dipped the tip of your wet tongue in his belly button making his arch up and smiled. One of his hands fisted your hair and pulled you, the other grabbing his weeping cock and smacking you in the face with it.

“Take it in, now. Show me your love and loyalty.”

You took his thick cock in your mouth, the corners of your mouth aching as they stretched wide to fit his girth. Your hands stroked what your mouth couldn’t take, and you started bobbing your head, the bed rocking slightly as Bucky thrust softly in your mouth. As you hollowed your cheek and sucked, slowly pulling back to just graze your teeth and again going back down, your hand reached between your own legs to play with your swollen sex, your juiced coating your thighs.

Bucky’s moan spurned you on, your drool dripping over his pelvis and you moved fasted and deeper, taking him with a skill that made his thighs shudder. He was close and you could feel it, his hand in your hair tightening until almost painful and suddenly you were pulled off and rolled onto the bed and under him.

“Now cuddlebear, you are going to take me in your drenched pussy and take me hard and fast. You’re going to come around me, gush around the tool that makes you feel so so good and thank me for giving you my cum. Get it?”

You nodded, drunk on lust as your Bucky’s hand reached your wet folds and played with your entrance, rubbing the walls to loosen you. Even after months of being together, you needed to be prepared to take him in, his cock thicker and meatier than any you had had before. You felt him align himself and grabbed his face in your hands, pulling him into a deep kiss just as he pushed inside you.

Moaning into his mouth as the mix of pain and pleasure, you held him to yourself, mashing your breast to his chest. His hips snapped against yours, thrusts deep and hard as his piercing eyes kept yours prisoner.

“Who do you belong to cuddlebear?” He asked, head dipping for a moment to nip at your nipple that made your clamp on him harder.

“You daddy, only you.”

“Who do you love?” The bed was banging against the wall, the sound of his balls hitting your ass echoing in the room. Only the sheer power of his hypnotic gaze kept you grounded to reality, made you aware of nothing but him.

“I love only you daddy.” You whined, voice broken as he gave you two powerful, punishing thrusts.

“Will you ever sit on another man’s lap?”

“No daddy!” You shouted and his mouth came down on yours, hips a blur as they powered into you. You cried out, heels digging into his back and his sweaty front pressed flush to yours. Salty sweat trickled down from his hair and fell in your eyes, mixing with your tears as you babbled incoherently at the abject pleasure that sent lightning bolts shooting down your spine and right to your clit.

You spasmed around him, your warmth clutching around him in a glove of velvet heat as his voice whispered his love in your ear. He twitched inside, the warmth of him filling you until some escaped and squelched along with your own release, a breathy “Thank you daddy” leaving your mouth.

He was laying on you, his weight crushing you to the mattress and you let him be, wrapping yourself around him. Warm lips met your jaw and cheeks, continuing to press against your nose and forehead until finally, almost chastely pecking yours.

“Did I hurt you my love?” He asked softly, eyes tender and concerned. You smiled at him, the strongest and kindest man you knew.

“You can never hurt me Buck, never. I love you.”

He rolled over to the side, taking you with him and tucking you to his side. You threw a leg over his thick thighs, tracing the numerous stretch marks and battle scars that littered his body.

“I’m sorry about tonight, I didn’t mean to get angry.” He said and you giggled, booping his nose with your index finger.

“Buck, I love it when you get jealous and angry. It’s flattering, and I kinda adore it when you go caveman.” You admitted and he laughed, hugging you closer.

“Good, because I don’t like sharing. You’re my cuddlebear and I plan on keeping you.”

You peeked up at him, twirling a strand of his hair and tugging gently.

“Forever?”

His eyes, your safe place and heaven looked at you in warmth and full of promise.

“Forever.”

+++++

 Tags: 

@what-is-your-wish​ @shooting-star-love​ @littlegasps​ @sebastiansthot​ @its-izzys​ @sweeterthanthis​ @muralskins​ @stanmysoul​ @scentedsongrebel​

[fantroll-purgatory]

Hey guys. Decided to submit my violet troll from my main fansession! One of the first sprites I ever made, I’m not that proud of it but I haven’t changed it yet.

World: Alternia

Name: Selefi Karnad (no meaning once again)

…Selefi is a reorganization of Selfie, so you could insert a bit of arrogance vibes in there to go along with her cocky attitude pre-Giving Up/Rebuilding Her Life. For a surname, can I recommend Joruna instead? As a reference to Jorunna Parva, the little bunny slug she has for a lusus!

Age: 6 sweeps at the beginning

Theme/Story: Selefi doesn’t have much of a theme besides a violet who feels too weak but has given up. Now she’s trying harder than ever to make up for it.

Alright, I think your big problem here with her is that you have a sort of waffling vision of where she is right now and what she’s doing. Why was she considered weak? And how is acting the same as all other highbloods always do “giving up”? 

SA and I were talking about this and we think the best way to neaten up this narrative is to say that BEFORE present time, she was Mean. One of the rat race. Trying to climb that social ladder and getting in highblood social spats, until some other highbloods fucked her up for it, not for being “weak”. 

Now she’s trying to rebuild from the crashing of her former lifestyle and become a better person/get out of the cycle of social stupidity so common to Alternian folks. Kind of like when you graduate to high school from middle school and realize all the cliquey bullshit and drama wasn’t worth it and you become a social hermit, but with more murder. 

SA also suggested that the seaweed thing to cope is interesting beyond a joke because of rage players turning to false hope in the form of substance dependency is something that we’ve seen previously in canon with Gamzee and sopor. “Choosing Stagnation over Actualization through Rage,” as SA put it. I’d say Tread Lightly w/ this because even if marijuana is one of the “less stigmatized” drugs, substance use of any kind is still one of those Caution: Approach With Compassion topics. 

Goals: Visual mostly. I like her outfit alright, but her sprite just looks… ew. But you can change her however you wish!

Strife Specibus: A spear with a long strand of seaweed as a ribbon on it. It somehow looks pretty.

Fetch Modus: I actually haven’t come up with one yet! Maybe you can help with this.

For some reason I’m imagining a Fashion Modus in like Cher Horowitz From Clueless style. Like, each item gets broken down into outfit pieces and she has to find the ones that match to get her item out! And if she picks a mismatch… there could be consequences. 

Blood Color: Violet.

Symbol and Meaning: Aquicorn, sign of the tempest

Handle: seaweedBunny

Definitely a little too on the nose. At least go for something a little goofier in the vein of CentaursTesticle. Like… bluntAggronomy. With blunt being… well, you know, and Aggronomy being a combo of Aggro and Agronomy. Thank SA for creating this beautiful pun with me at midnight. 

Quirk: ~ she usesssss ~~ many of these and sssssometimes slurs her wordsssss ~~

She’s not particularly snake-themed, so I don’t know if this fits quite right. Maybe instead you could frame her sentences with (\ bunny ears! /) to represent her lusus and maaaybe give her a drawl. If you wanted to be Really obnoxious about the seaweed thing you could do A=4, S=2, O=0. 

Special Abilities: Gills

Lusus/Guardian: One of those seaslugs who look like rabbits

Interests: She abandoned most of her older interests, but the ones now include target practice, smoking seaWEED, and fashion design and criticism. A lot of criticism.

These are pretty sparse. I do like the fashion critic thing, though! It could be something she picked up more recently if you wanted, something she’s trying to use to channel her inner pettiness. Can’t get into murder-rage highblood fights if she’s too busy writing takedowns of normie fashion on the internet. Since she abandoned a lot of her old interests, I can definitely see her struggling to find new ones. Maybe have her have lots of different hobbies that she half-started, but never got interested in. Just abandoned piles of new hobbie equipment crammed in her corner. 

Appearance: Selefi has a short dress with two straps that go up and attach to the front of band around her neck, same as in the back. Kinda seen better here.

Personality: Selefi’s a bit of a nasty troll. After being deemed a weakling by her fellow highbloods, her hive was raided and her lusus culled. She learned to get past this, and put up a fake personality, and act cocky and full of herself. She gets people mad at her all the time, she feeds off of that energy from people’s hate towards her. Selefi resents how she was when she was younger, wishing that she could have saved her lusus. But now she can’t. She’ll just follow the trends of being a bloodthirsty Highblood. She doesn’t really care anymore, and smokes seaweed to get her mind off it.

I won’t repeat what I said above since I already discussed the kinda discrepancy/mix-up going on here, but I will say that you should probably emphasize cocky behavior on her former life and write it as something she still struggles with now. Something she’s trying to get past, trying to recover from that old way of life and make up for how she used to be. She’s just here to descend into the ocean and CHILL. No one @ her she’s CHILLING. 

Dancestor: Rirana Karnad

Ancestor: the Unlikely Silencer: a feared censor and huntress who served the empress. She was later executed after it was found out she saved a rebel leader she was sent to kill, falling for him instead.

Lunar Sway: Prospit

I always do lean on Derse for fashion critic characters, but… I think the fact that her story is mostly about her own adaptation and change and going with the flow rather than trying to rebel overall definitely does lean her more towards Prospit than anything else, yeah.

Title: Thief of Rage

I dddon’t think this character is a Thief? If only because she doesn’t steal rage from other people. How does she take pessimism and chaos upon herself from others? How does she steal it away from them and make it hurts? It just doesn’t jive with her story. I think she may be an Heir of Rage, or if you want to go active then maybe a Knight? You’d have to do more writing around how she redistributes negative emotions for her own gain if you wanted to stick with Thief. 

Land: Land of Temples and Shadows: the angered and bloodthirsty shadows are guarding the secret entrance to meet the denizen, and Selefi must steal the anger and hate from them in order to win.

Definitely a little too straightforward. Rage isn’t just Angry, as we’ve seen expanded on in other ways. It’s pessimism, negative feelings all around, it’s restriction, limitation, it’s the desire for chaos, to uproot, overthrow, burn down without the building back up. Rage is Void and Space’s more belligerent cousin. You need a little less ‘just stealing the anger out of people’ and a little more Changing The Planet’s Cultural Landscape Into Fucking Bedlam

Her sprite, which I absolutely hate. You don’t have to change it but I would appreciate it! It was mostly made on a dollsim years ago. I just now realize that her actual horns and sprite horns don’t match. They look more like her sign. Oh no.

CD’s Design Corner: 

I’m writing this at 3 am so speedrun: I made her hair a little wilder because Troll hair ain’t ever styled so prettily, made her horns look a little more like her sign, switched her makeup to mascara (because the eyeshadow looked a little busy with the low bangs), shortened her dress, and gave her Seaweed Sandals, as well as cleaning up all the Artifacting. 

Thank you!

Thank you for submitting! I hope this was helpful! 

-CD

[frostedpuffs]

A Simple Suggestion - Ch.3

A Simple Suggestion Summary: Breaks from patrol often allow time for Ladybug and Chat Noir to talk and be themselves. But when a silly joke starts to seem all that…well, not silly, the two find themselves considering something neither of them had ever before: moving in together. The tricky part is still keeping their identities a secret. Rated: T+ Pairing(s): Ladybug/Chat Noir

Chapter 3 - A Bad Idea Word count: 5,849 Also read on: ao3

<< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >>

"You're what!?"

Marinette winced at the loud tone of her best friend's voice. Smiling meekly at Alya's face on the screen of her laptop, she nodded. "Yep. I'm...I'm moving out. Soon, actually."

"How soon?" Alya asked. She sat in her and Nino's little bedroom in the apartment they rented in southern California clad in orange fox pajamas, stuffing a bite of her breakfast into her mouth. Marinette chuckled at the sight of her best friend with her curly hair up in a bun and a half-eaten omelet sitting on the desk in front of her. While it was only eight A.M. in California, it was already dinner time in Paris.

"Probably in less than a month," Marinette replied. Pausing to add lace to a design she was sketching, she smiled, listening to Alya congratulate her from miles and miles away. "I think I've decided on the place, too. It's a little away from central Paris but it's roomy and-"

Alya grinned through a mouthful of food. "Do you have any pictures?"

Marinette nodded and opened up her web browser. "Yeah, I've got the website right here. Want me to send it?"

"Duh."

Sending the link over Skype, Marinette blew her bangs out of her face and leaned back in her chair, lifting her sketchbook up to look over the design. It was supposed to be a ladybug-patterned sundress she would wear around the house, but something was off... "Let me know what you think."

Alya went quiet for a moment. Marinette could see on her screen that her friend was looking at something on her own computer, and after about a minute of scrutinizing, Alya's eyes widened comically.

"What?" Marinette asked.

Continue reading on ao3 or under the cut! ↓

"Um…well, for starters, it's a super cute place. Suits you. I could totally see you living in an apartment like that." Alya sat back in her rolling chair and offered an uncomfortable frown. "But, no offense, Mars...nearly three thousand euros a month just for rent? How in the hell are you going to afford that along with utilities and food and stuff?"

Marinette looked away. Right. She'd forgotten to mention that she might be living with someone else.

(Oh god, Alya was going to kill her when she found out that she was going to live with a guy she'd never met!)

"Well…" Marinette said, twirling a loose strand of hair around her finger. "I've already found myself a roommate."

Alya nearly choked on the last bite of her omelet. "What? Who is it?"

Marinette blanked.

How in the world would a person go about explaining her situation? She couldn't just say, "I don't know, he's Chat Noir and his identity eludes me, oh by the way I'm Ladybug so I trust him," could she?

"Um." Marinette blinked. "A friend."

Both girls went completely silent. It reminded Marinette of the old "pin dropping in a room" cliché. Her cheeks flushed involuntarily and she wasn't even sure why. What was the reason for feeling embarrassed?

Alya leaned closer to the screen and gripped the sides of her laptop. Her eyes burned with questions, and her face was frozen in a serious expression—one that made Marinette slightly frightened of her fate. "Girl," Alya said, voice calm. "In the past year I've been away did you get a secret boyfriend that you haven't told me a single thing about? Because if you did oh my god I don't know what I'd do-"

Marinette's jaw dropped. "N-no!" she squeaked. "No, Alya, I'm single. He's not my boyfriend! He's just a friend and I-"

"So it is a he?"

"What does that matter? You know I'm not straight!"

"Well-!" Alya held up a finger and paused. "You're bi. So it could still be a secret boyfriend."

Marinette buried her face within her palm and snorted. "Alya, oh my god. I do not have a secret boyfriend or girlfriend or datefriend or anything. He's just...he's just a friend I've known for a while. You don't know him."

At least, Marinette assumed she didn't. How could she? It was Chat Noir, not a friend from collége or something. Just Chat. Her other best friend. The one person she trusted with her life and the only person she could imagine herself one hundred percent comfortable living with. Besides Alya and her parents, of course.

"I'm offended I haven't heard anything about him," Alya said. She rested her back against the chair and crossed her arms, a playful smile on her face. "What's his name?"

"Cha-" Marinette clamped her teeth down on her bottom lip before she let "Chat Noir" slip from her clumsy mouth. "Chaaaaa….Shhhaaaa...Chad."

Alya cocked her head to the side. "That's an odd name. Is he American?"

"Yes," Marinette answered without any second thought whatsoever. "Moved here...last year."

God, if this ever got back to Chat he'd never stop laughing. It would be a mix of both hilarity and humiliation. At least him "moving to Paris a year ago" was a valid excuse for Alya not to have met him.

"What's he look like?" Alya asked. She stood from her chair to get dressed and threw her pajama shirt onto her and Nino's bed—who was conveniently out of the room—and Marinette was met with an eyeful of her best friend's bare chest.

"Alya!" Marinette laughed. She cupped a hand over her mouth and shut her eyes. "What are you doing?"

Alya's voice rang distantly through the laptop speakers. "Um, I'm getting dressed? Nino and I are actually going to spend the day together for once since he's not working. He's gonna be home any minute and I wanna look cute. Why are your eyes closed? You've seen me naked before. Need I remind you that we've been best friends for six years and have undressed in front of each other plenty of times?"

Marinette chuckled, eyes still shut. "I'm trying to be polite here."

"Yeah, yeah. Girl's polite and all, whatever."

After a few minutes of shuffling and other related noises, Alya plopped herself back down into her computer chair and Marinette finally opened her eyes to see her friend in a red flannel and jeans. She watched as Alya friend ran a brush through her curly red hair, and grinned when she tugged on a knot. A giggle bubbled from her lips as Alya cursed at the hair brush as if it was at fault for the discomfort.

Once the monster of her hair had been tamed, Alya set the brush down on her desk and scooted the dirtied plate from breakfast to the side. "You didn't answer my question, Mars."

Marinette resumed her sketching. It was best to act nonchalant. "What question?"

"I asked what M. Mysterious Roommate looked like."

"Oh."

Well that was certainly a question Marinette hadn't been prepared to answer. Chat Noir was…hm.

Chat was something. Blond with green eyes, tannish skin, tall and skinny like a professional model; skin-tight suit as black as the night; perfect white teeth and a smile as wide as the sun.

Ugh, but that all sounded so fake. What features could she possibly describe without sounding like she was talking about a character from a young adult novel or a celebrity, for crying out loud?

Glancing up at her laptop screen, Marinette ripped the failed design out of her sketchbook and crumpled it within her hand. So much for that dress. It would get redone later. "He's, um...blond. Green eyes. Wears a lot of black? Pretty skinny…"

"Sounds kinda emo," Alya said.

Marinette squawked out a surprised laugh and began a new sketch on a clean page. "He's not emo!"

"How old is he?"

"Twenty." It was one of the only pieces of personal information Marinette had learned about her partner.

"Aw, same age," Alya cooed.

Marinette gave a playful roll of her eyes. It was always like Alya to tease. That was just how she showed her love.

"What kinda stuff does he like?" Alya asked.

The lead of her pencil snapped, and Marinette cursed. "The same kind of stuff I do, I guess? Video games, art, staying up late…he really likes puns, and cats. Oh god, he loves cats. They're like his whole life. He's practically obsessed."

"So he's a furry?"

"No! Oh my god, Alya-"

Alya turned her head to the side as the sound of keys jingling in a door came from another room. "Nino's home," she said, enthusiasm in her voice. "I'll talk to you later, okay Mari? Love you!"

Giving a wave, Marinette returned the sentiment and went to end the call, but-

"Oh!" Alya exclaimed as she threw her purse over her shoulder. Marinette's hand stilled atop her mouse. "I forgot to tell you! Nino and I are coming back to Paris for a visit next month! I can meet your roomie. He sounds cute. We should all hang out and get drinks or something."

Excitement flared up within Marinette's chest before she froze.

Oh, shit, she thought, mind reeling, heart pounding, eyes the size of the moon. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! We can't do that!

How in the world would she break the news to Alya that she couldn't meet her roommate because he was, dunno, Chat Noir? Savior of Paris? The number one flirt in the whole city (she assumed)? Ladybug's most trusted partner and friend?

"Uh…" Marinette blanched. Blinking, she shook her head and forced a toothy grin to her face, nodding a bit too vigorously to be entirely convincing. "S-sure, Alya! Sounds fun. I'm so looking forward to see you again!"

"Kisses!" Blowing a kiss to the screen, Alya reached out and ended the call. The screen switched back to the text chat they'd started up an hour ago.

Well.

This was bad.

Marinette's heart felt like it was about to burst from her chest. While she was beyond elated to see her best friend in person again, the fact that Alya wanted to hang out with her and her roommate—Chat Noir—was immeasurably concerning. After all, nobody could find out Marinette was Ladybug, just like nobody could find out Ladybug was Marinette, and the thought that the whole idea altogether was spiralling into an absolute mess made her want to run and hide and- and- she didn't know!

"Tikki," she breathed after a moment. Her head felt heavy and her stomach felt sick. Grabbing a pillow from her side, Marinette stuffed her face within it and screamed. "We're so screwed."

 "I'm beginning to think this is a bad idea."

Adrien snapped up from the roof he'd been lying on and regarded his partner with a startled frown. Her face was scrunched up with worry under the low light of the evening sun, and her gaze was thoughtful as wisps of black hair kissed her cheeks in the faint breeze. He raised a brow as she nibbled on her lower lip. She appeared to be nervous...but why? What was causing her to be so distraught?

"Bad idea?" Adrien asked. "What's a bad idea?"

Ladybug loosened her messy hair from her ponytail before fixing it and attempting to put it up again. It took her a few tries, which was unusual; it wasn't like Ladybug to have trouble with such a simple task unless something was really bothering her. "Us. Moving in together," she said, voice quiet. "It might not be too great of an idea."

Adrien's heart sank like a brick hitting the bottom of the Seine. Ouch. Okay, so...they weren't doing this now? The past three days of planning and talking and figuring it all out had been for nothing? But they'd both been so excited! He'd been so happy to think about the possibility of moving out...being on his own...away from his father's eye...

After a moment of internal deliberation, "Oh," was all he could say.

"Don't get me wrong," Ladybug said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I want to more than anything. But everything right now is looking so...difficult. And I'm starting to think it might not work out."

"It's not like you to give up so easily," Adrien said. He turned to face his Lady and cocked his head to the side, hoping the hurt didn't show on his face. "What's worrying you? You can talk to me about it, Buginette."

A chilly gust of wind blew past them, giving the air an icy tinge to it. A minute passed, then two, and Adrien was beginning to think Ladybug was going to leave his question unanswered before she finally found the courage to speak.

"I'm just fretting over stuff that doesn't need to be fretted about," she said, sounding defeated. Lowering her head, Ladybug examined her fingers, as if she was trying to find something other than the current subject to focus on. "You know how I get sometimes…"

Adrien hummed thoughtfully. There had to be something rooted within her that was causing her to feel anxiety over the notion of them moving in together. Something was bothering her, something recent, and he wanted to find out what. A calm Ladybug was a happy Ladybug. Poor 'Bug got stressed out so easily these days and he wished he knew why.

Giving his partner a reassuring smile, Adrien patted her back. "Tell me what's bothering you, L.B."

Ladybug was silent for what felt like ages—which in reality was only a minute tops—before she let out a breath she'd been holding and submitted. "I had a Skype call with a friend in America today. She's flying in next month for a visit and wants to meet you."

Oh. Well, that was definitely a problem. Adrien could see why something like that would bother her.

"But she can't," he said. Ladybug nodded in agreement.

"No, she can't. And she's not the only one who will want to meet you. I mean, I don't know how my parents would react to learning they'll never see you—probably not well—and I have other friends who'll want to visit." She laid back against the roof and stared up at the sky. "I'm scared we won't be able to work around that and someone, someday, is going to find out who we are. On accident. And it'll be a huge mess."

Ah. Ladybug was worried about people discovering her identity. That's what this was all about.

"Don't worry, 'Bug," Adrien said as he lay back with her. Their shoulders brushed, and he allowed himself a twinge of delight at the touch. "We've kept our identities safe for six years now. We're good with that stuff. I'm sure our friends won't find out so easily, not if I have anything to say about it."

"How do you know for sure?" Ladybug asked. She fiddled with her gloves and nibbled on her bottom lip in a way that shouldn't have been absolutely endearing.

Feeling his lips curl upwards into a smile, Adrien reached out and placed a hand over her own, hoping to calm her nerves. He gave her knuckles a squeeze, and Ladybug responded with a turn of her head. Her eyes sparkled curiously.

"What's on your mind, Chat?" she asked, allowing him to hold her hand for longer than he'd anticipated.

Adrien grinned. What was on his mind?

Even when she was lost in her anxieties, Ladybug was beautiful. There was no denying that. Her bluebell eyes, the way her dark hair had grown down to her lower back, her voice and freckles and how she always knew what to do. Her bravery, her stubbornness, her fiery personality and her absolute everything…

Ugh. He was so far gone. So gone to the point that he'd drowned in Ladybug and never felt the need to breach for air.

"Nothing about how you're the most gorgeous person I've ever met," he said. Ladybug clicked her tongue and pulled her hand away; Adrien mourned the loss of her warmth. "And I was absolutely not thinking about how I'd love to spend the rest of my life with you."

Sitting up, Ladybug sighed restlessly. "Not now, Chat Noir. Stop flirting."

Oh, well. It was worth a shot. Didn't stop him from loving her. Her feelings were more important at the moment however, just like they always were to him, so the compliments and affections could wait for a better time.

"You okay?" Adrien asked, sitting up with her. "You seem really on edge."

"I'm just so worried," Ladybug whimpered. Her voice cracked, and Adrien felt a deep pang of sympathy. "I'm scared we're going to screw up really bad, like what if one of us sleepwalks when another is awake and we're not wearing masks or we come home at the same time or accidentally see each other when we do, or if something terrible happens to either of us-"

Adrien sat down in front of his Lady and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Woah, hey," he said, tone calm; soothing. "It's okay, Ladybug. We'll be alright. There are plenty of ways to prevent accidental reveals, okay? Trust me. We're gonna be extra careful, and we're gonna be okay. I know that. We're gonna be okay."

"I don't know if I can go through with this."

Scratching at the back of his neck, Adrien frowned. Ladybug had a tendency to be overdramatic and blow things out of proportion from time to time, but hopefully she wasn't saying that she wanted to eradicate the idea altogether. It had already been three days since they had decided they would be officially moving in together...which was plenty of time for them both to think things through and make a decision.

(Well, enough time for Adrien specifically to think about how much he couldn't wait to be closer to his partner.)

"Okay," he breathed, black ears drooping against his hair. He sat back beside her and his tail twitched in tune with his nerves. "If you're not comfortable with it, we can totally call it off-"

Ladybug shook her head. "It's not that I'm not comfortable with it," she said, her blue, blue eyes meeting Adrien's, "I'm more than okay with the thought of us living in the same space. The problem is how we're going to get to that stage. We've still got so much to figure out, and the whole 'can't reveal ourselves' thing is going to make it a whole lot harder."

With a thoughtful hum, Adrien nodded. Things were going to be incredibly tedious. They had a lot to discuss, and even more to think about. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, you're right..."

A heavy feeling of sadness washed over him.

Who were they kidding, thinking they could move in together at the drop of a hat? Both he and Ladybug knew that there would be trouble behind the idea, and a plethora of difficulties to overcome. At first, it had admittedly been a nice thought, living under the same roof as the girl he loved...but Adrien knew better. He didn't get that lucky.

No, luck was reserved for the Lady herself. But in this case it seemed that even she was getting the short end of the stick.

Still, it didn't stop Adrien from believing.

"We can figure it out," he said, voice full of what he hoped didn't sound like faux confidence. "If we can defeat akuma on a near daily basis, then we can find a way to get this to work, right? We're a team in and out of the masks."

"I hope so, Chat Noir," Ladybug said. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head upon them, eyes cast wistfully at the city below. "I haven't told anyone besides my parents and one friend that I plan on moving out yet. I don't know how I'm going to tell my other friends, because they're going to want to visit, and, well...they don't know I'm Ladybug."

Adrien hadn't really given any thought about friends visiting. What would he do if Nino randomly turned up to hang out and he and Ladybug were both home? Would she have to hide in her room the entire time—pretend she wasn't there? That would be tough, and unfair to his partner. It would be her place too, and Adrien didn't want to force her to stay locked in one room just because he had a guest.

"Maybe we can plan around it?" he offered, voice cracking slightly at the end of his question. "You know, make a day where I can hang out with my friends at our place, you can hang with yours...whichever one of us has company gets a few hours alone at the apartment and the other can have a day out or something. I dunno."

A groan rose from beside him. Adrien looked over to see Ladybug throwing herself backwards against the panels of the roof with a soft clunk. "This is so hard," she whined, draping her forearm over her face. "Why can't stuff like this be easier? I just want to move in with my best friend. That's all I want."

Adrien smiled at his partner's dramatics and reached over to pat her on the shoulder with a chuckle in his throat. "We could just disobey our kwamis and drop the transformations right now and be done with it."

"Chat." Ladybug's expression flattened. She glowered at him from underneath her arm. "No way."

"Hey," he laughed with a shrug, "it was just a simple suggestion." Standing up, he brushed his suit off and stretched, mouth opening in a wide yawn before he placed his hands on his hips and let his gaze fall down to the world below. Cars flowed down the street like a river of red and yellow beams. People walked along the sidewalk, entering and exiting shops left and right. In the distance, Adrien could see the Eiffel Tower's lights switch on just as the sky grew dark, and the sound of a jet zooming above caused his ears to twitch.

He needed to be heading home soon. He had a dinner with his father to attend to within an hour. The news of his leave had to be broken somehow, and he'd thought a peaceful dinner would be a nice way to ease into it. He'd admittedly been surprised his father had accepted his invitation for a "family dinner" on such short notice.

"You know," Adrien began. "I think we'll be okay, Ladybug. I know we have quite a bit of legal stuff to figure out, but what's a few signatures and adult conversations? In the end, it'll be worth it. We'll have our own place and be able to do whatever we want. I could eat cereal at four in the morning and nobody would judge me."

"I would," Ladybug snorted. She kicked her legs over the edge of the building and as her eyes met his, she blessed him with a smile. "I think we'll be okay, too. But I have this feeling that even though I am an adult, I'm not-" she paused to laugh, "-I'm definitely not ready to be one. I mean, learning how to do my taxes was hard enough. How do I take care of a place that's mine? How do I handle that responsibility?"

"Same way you do now, I guess," Adrien said as he sat back down. "Wash the dishes after you use them, take out the trash every night, clean your room once a week and don't leave the oven on while you're out. That's what you do to keep a place clean and safe, right?"

Not that he would know. He'd had people to clean up after him all of his life.

(He was too embarrassed to admit that he had no idea how to use a washing machine.)

"I'm warning you now," Ladybug cautioned. "I'm going to set the apartment on fire. Whichever one we choose, it's going down in flames because of me. That or I'll flood the place."

Cocking one of his felt ears, Adrien laughed. So much for reassuring her. "Jeez, Buginette. Have some faith in yourself, okay? Also in me. I can totally keep you from igniting the kitchen or something."

"How? You have no idea how clumsy I am at times."

"I seem to recall that the first time we met, you called yourself maladroit after nearly giving me a concussion with your yo-yo."

Ladybug grinned as she playfully punched him in the side. "You shut your mouth."

"Meowch," Adrien snickered as he rubbed the spot she'd assaulted. Despite her best efforts to be gentle, it still hurt. "You know, I change my mind. I think living with you is gonna be unbearfurble. Absolutely catastrophic. Pawful. A hissterical-"

Ladybug buried her head within her palms and groaned. "Oh my god, one more pun and I'm going to punt you across the city, Chat Noir, I swear to god-"

"Wait," he pleaded, laughter in his voice, "one more, one more. It'll be appawling-"

Adrien squawked as Ladybug began to push him off of the edge of the roof. Oh, now he'd done it. He'd punned too much. He had punned one pun too many. Somehow, he had always known this was the way he would die: from puns. His fate was sealed. Done. Completed. Do not pass go, do not collect the twenty euro reward.

"Imagine the headlines," Adrien said, clapping a hand over his head dramatically as his partner attempted to throw him off of the music shop they'd been resting upon. "Paris' most beloved hero, Chat Noir, was murdered to death last night by renowned super-heroine Ladybug. He was thrown off a building around seven P.M.-"

"Murdered to death," Ladybug guffawed. She paused her attempts at homicide and placed her hands on her hips to squint up at him, chest heaving with laughter. "I'm pretty sure murder and death aren't mutually exclusive!"

"You would know," Adrien retorted with a toothy grin. "You're about to murder me."

(As if Ladybug would ever purposefully harm him.)

"Chat, this is only a two story building," Ladybug deadpanned. "Besides, you have your baton to break your fall. Also your fat ego."

"I take offense to that."

The heel of Adrien's boot slipped on the edge of the roof and he wobbled, teetering over the edge with his arms flailing. His heart leaped and he gasped, but just as he was about to fall Ladybug caught him by his bell. Adrien smirked down at her and felt a flutter in her chest as she returned the expression almost just as flirtatiously.

"How many times am I gonna save your ass, chaton?" Ladybug asked, slowly pulling him down by his bell so she could look him in the eye. "Isn't this the third time this week?"

Adrien's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. He loved how she teased. Their faces were so close he could practically taste her breath on his lips.

Leaving her question unanswered, Adrien instead chose to grin as his reply. "To be fair, you were the one who attempted to murder me over too many puns."

Ladybug snickered. "I only dislike them because they're terrible. Now, if they were good puns, maybe I'd have a different mindset."

"You know," he said as Ladybug grasped what was essentially the zipper to his suit, "when we finally move into our place, I'm gonna get those magnetic fridge letters and wake up every morning around five A.M. to make a horrible cat pun out of them, just so you get to wake up to a new one every. Single. Day."

"You evil, evil boy," Ladybug snorted. She let go of his bell—which jingled merrily—and crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out in a very mature fashion. "I'll just take those puns and rearrange the letters to make bad words."

"Of course you would," Adrien said, to which Ladybug nodded proudly. "That's why I love you so much."

"Because I would make bad words out of other words?"

He booped her nose with the tip of his finger. "Because you're so creative."

"Stop." Ladybug waved his hand away. She feigned annoyance, but the smile on her face convinced Adrien she felt otherwise. "Shouldn't you be getting home? I thought you told me you had an important dinner with your dad to get to."

"I do," he admitted. "But can't I just enjoy my Lady's company for a moment longer?" Reaching out for her hand, he grabbed it within his own and nuzzled his face against her palm. Even through the fabric of her suit he could feel how warm her skin was. It felt so nice against his cheek…if only he could keep it there.

Ladybug pulled her hand back, pink lips stretched into a sweet smile. "Go on, kitty. Can't be late for dinner."

"Beautiful and punctual. You're out to steal my heart."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Leave already, fuzzbutt."

"I'm going, I'm going." Adrien blew her a kiss and stood, walking to the edge of the roof as he made to leave. He hopped onto the ledge, did an exuberant pose just to get some giggles out of his Lady, and extended his baton to his full height before bounding into the air.

Landing on the roof adjacent, he paused mid-crouch and froze as he remembered he'd had a very important question to ask before he left.

"Wait!" he called. He did a one-eighty and leaped right back next to Ladybug, who raised her brow at his speedy return. "I forgot to ask: did you decide between the two apartments yet?"

"Sort of," Ladybug said. She placed her yo-yo back on her waist, which she'd produced as soon as Adrien had left.

"Well?" Adrien asked. One of his black ears twitched with interest.

Ladybug's gaze fell downcast. "I know which one I want, but really, I don't want you paying more per month than I am, Chat-"

"Your happiness is important."

"I'd be happier if you weren't covering most of the rent."

"I honestly don't mind," Adrien assured her. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I prefer the bigger place too. I've kind of lived in a big house all of my life and to be honest, I would feel super cramped in the cheaper apartment." He reached up to rub at the back of his neck. "But ultimately what I care about most is you being comfortable. If you feel you would be better off in the small place, then-"

"I don't like the small place," Ladybug admitted, quite stubbornly. "Well, I mean I do, but it's just...we would have no room. And since we can't reveal ourselves we really need the space…"

"You've got your pouty face on," Adrien said. He smiled, offering a hand to help his Lady up onto the ledge. She took it and climbed up, but crossed her arms as soon as she righted herself and looked away with her lower lip jutted out.

"I am not pouty," she pouted.

Adrien poked her cheek. "C'mon, Mlle. Pouty Face...tell me the truth. What is it you really want?"

"Food," she muttered, not meeting his gaze. "It's past dinner time and you should be home with your dad."

Adrien laughed. Was she avoiding the subject?

"Besides food," he said. "Which apartment can you see yourself being happier in?"

Ladybug murmured something under her breath. She kicked a stray pebble off of the roof and turned her back to him.

"What was that?" Adrien asked.

She mumbled the same unintelligible reply as before. Her lips were sealed and the brow of her mask was lowered in irritation, and Adrien had to resist the urge to squeal at how absolutely adorable she was in that moment.

Oh, she was too damn cute. She was so cute when she pouted and she was so cute when she wanted something but was too embarrassed to say it.

Was it that hard to admit that she liked the spacious apartment more than the other? Because it was pretty easy for him. If only he could get it out of her.

"Bug-Bug," Adrien whined. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin upon her shoulder, head butting into her jaw. "Come on, you can tell me."

"Okayyyy," she admitted with a huff and a stomp of her foot. "Okay, okay. I like the expensive place better, okay? I just feel really bad because if I can't contribute as much as you can, then I-"

Walking around to face her, Adrien pressed a clawed finger to her lips and leaned down to her eye level. "Hey," he said. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, Ladybug. If it's really bugging you that much-" he snorted as her expression soured at his pun, "-then we can figure something out. But have you made your decision? Because I've made mine."

Ladybug hesitated. She blinked, her gaze lowering to the floor...before she met his eyes and smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I have."

"Good." Grabbing her hand, Adrien placed a kiss to her knuckles. "I've gotta go now, but tomorrow we can meet at the Tower and talk some more, okay? No matter what, the only thing that's important to me is your happiness. Even if we end up in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment with no heat, I'll be happy so long as you are."

Much to his delight, Ladybug blushed. "Fine," she said, looking away. "But we're meeting at six P.M. tomorrow on the dot, and we're going to figure this out. We're a team no matter what, right? Akuma fighting, apartment hunting...both deadly, deadly forces." Her lips quirked upwards into a smile. "I'm actually really excited."

"Me too, 'Bug," Adrien said. "Me too."

Ladybug pulled away from him and gave him a lighthearted shove. "Now go on," she said, grinning. "Go meet your dad and have some father-son bonding time. Talk about cats or Camembert or whatever it is you do."

"Wow," Adrien laughed. He grabbed his baton and gave her a wave. "I'll have you know that the Camembert isn't for me or my dad. It's for Plagg, and you know that."

"Tell Plagg I think he's gross."

"He'd take that as a compliment, Ladybug! You'll inflate his ego-filled head with that talk!"

Ladybug threw her head back with a chortle. "Go already! Your dad's gonna be sitting at wherever it is you live waiting on your slow butt!"

"Fine, fine." With a salute, Adrien extended his baton and prepared to leap. "Goodnight, my Lady. I'll see you tomorrow."

Smiling, Ladybug waved. "Get outta here, you silly cat."

"I'm going," Adrien chuckled. With one last kiss to her hand, he was off into the night, mind already reeling with fantasies about what living with his Lady would bring. The only thing that spoiled those wonderful thoughts was what events would occur during dinner with his father. Cold stares, an entirely one-sided conversation...the possibilities were endless.

His heart, however, pulled him towards the hope that the evening would go well, and that breaking the news would be as easy as pie.

[lillaxtrigger]

Young hope: Chapter 20

Along the rough surface of a thin plank of wood, a metal nail is repeatedly driven deeper into the sheet by an ordinary hammer; the tools hard iron soon pounding upon a thumb holding the nail in place. Withdrawing her pinching grip back from the wood and nail, an orange haired girl curses out upon her accidentally self inflicted injury. “God dammit!” “You alright there, Mally?” Standing beside her be a young farm girl with a surprising hulking figure, looking down upon the small skater with concern and worry. “Yeah Bluebell, I’m fine. Just not used to working with tools is all. This stunt girl wasn’t raised to be a handywoman.” “Think ya might be more comfortable working on the gardens?” “Nah. Think your sisters got that covered.”

Looking away from their project, both gaze towards the garden along the corner in progress; a darling blonde tilling the dirt bed with a hoe in her hands. A short breath leaves her lungs before being joined by a short, orange haired lass garbed in a pink dress; a packet of seeds held in the little girls grip. “I got the seeds you asked for Persi. Are they the right ones this time?” she questions. Taking the packet from the girls grasp, the bubbly blonde looks closely at its label; a small click leaving her lips. “Tsk, sorry Chrissy; I asked for the onion seeds. You wound up grabbing the garlic ones instead.” “Ahh! Again!? Sorry sis. Always keep mixing those two up. I’ll go get the right ones.” Rushing out from the garden, the little girl hears a piece of advice shouted by her big sister: “Just make sure you read the labels next time!”

Watching as Chrissy frolics back inside, Mally takes a glance back towards the half finished garden. “Your little veggie garden there’s looking pretty great so far.” she compliments. “Thanks. Hoping to convert this whole backyard here into a little farm. Already picturing where we’ll set up stuff.” Pointing back towards the garden, Bluebell explains how: “Obviously, we’ll have the garden right along the corner over there. The elevated ground is perfect for the crops to grow.” Her finger than trails off along the fence, halting near the other side where a couple of oak tree’s stood beyond the fencing and adding how: “Gonna build the sheep pen around there somewhere. Hoping the trees there will give em plenty of shade.” The farm girl then retracts her point back, pointing to where they stand and continuing with: “Planning on pitching the pig pen here. Lower ground will make plenty of mud for them to play in.” Her pointing trail finally ends near the house, where Bluebell explains that: “Finally, we’re wantin to set up the chicken coop near the house. That way, we don’t have to go far when carry baskets full of eggs. Least, that how I’m wantin to set up our little farm.” “Didn’t you mention something about having a farm back in Farmsville? Why are you aiming to set up another one out in the suburbs?” her guest can’t help but question. “See, our mom wished to move back into town so we’d spare time on going to and from school. But, we still want somethin to make us feel right at home; so we figured to just make a mini farm right in our little backyard. Why not? Plus, it’d probably save us a ton of bucks on eggs and vegetables. You’ve seen how crazy expensive produce is around here?”

Echoing to their side, the pair hear the sound of clacking wood; glancing over to see the blue boy approaching the back of the fence with bunches of long wooden stakes under his arms. In a single bound, the indigo haired angel leaps over the chain link fencing secluding the backyard. “Hey uh, where exactly you want me to set these.” he questions. “Back of the fence is fine, thanks.” Bluebell suggest. As the angel sets the planks leaning upon the fence, the chilling breeze of falls frozen breath blows across the backyard; the chilled air causing Tore to shiver. Feeling Jack frosts signature calling card brush past; a curious question sprouts out from his consciousness. “I-I don’t get it. Why are you guys setting up your farm up when winters banging on your door like a furious tax collector? Don’t plants die out in the freezing cold?” Answering his question be the bubbly blonde towards his right, explaining that: “That why we want to get’em in the ground as fast as we can.” Digging her hoe through the ground, Persi tills over the soil as she continues with: “Best to plant them now before the ground freezes over and the snow blankets the ground.” “Why the hell would she do that?” a familiar voice pushes.

A fair way from the blondes abode, Raleigh travels towards the home with another young man; both garbed in light fall attire to coat them from the cold. He continues his burning question addressed to the blonde boy beside him with: “Why would she want us to come over to help out on a farm that’s gonna die in the middle of winter? It makes no fucking sense.” “Might seems like nonsense to you. Make perfect sense to me.” the other boy remark in a southern drawl. “Tsk, of course it does.” “See, some vegetables can sustain themselves underground during the winter, sometimes even prosper and multiply like rabbits with aphrodisiacs in their drinking water. Crops like carrots, peas, onion and garlic can fight through winters icy embrace and grow, ready to be harvested just in time for spring.” “Not surprise that a country bumpkin like you would know about shit like that.” Raleigh jeers. “Course I do, city boy. I’ve got me over 10 years worth of farming metal under my belt. What’s a city slicker like you got to bring on the table?” “Have you really been on a farm for a whole decade?” Tore wonders.

Along the porch of Persi’s backyard, everyone was enjoying fresh cups of hot cocoa; the steam rising out from their cups blowing with the soft winds. The blue boy sips on the delectable chocolate his cup has to offer while Persi confirms his question with: “You bet! Moved over to the Canadian countryside right when a was around 6 and spent 10 long years helping my daddy out on his farm; teaching me everything he knew about farming, gardening, and tending to farm animals. I hope this mini farm we’re building here will be half as good as the one back then.” “A nuclear meltdown in a neighboring town couple years ago urged our mom to move back down the country and in Townsville. Eventually Pop’s caved and packed up. Driving all of his farm animals across the border and setting up shop over in Farmsville. We’ve been back in town for, want to say, over half a year now and he’s just now raking in some profits off his harvests. More than we made back in Canada actually.” Bluebell adds. “We’ve only been here around a month now. Moving down from Canada too, funnily enough. Mom said something it being about our dads job, but that’s really all she gave us.” Mally chimes in. Hearing mention of their father makes her brother look away, taking another sip of his warm mug of liquid chocolate.

Taking a sip of her own cocoa, the skaters eyes trail off to the side; soon taking notice of the pink dressed little girls eyes staring upon her with a charmed glimmer. “Uh, hey...Chrissy, right? Something...ya see something on me or what?” Upon her words does the little girl before her suddenly fluster, looking away from the skater as her face blushes brightly. “Mmmn...You, uh...You have very pretty hair.” Running her hand through her own long, but kinda messy strands of hair, Mally responds by thanking her with: “Oh, uh...thanks. It’s not really anything that special. I mean it does get kinda messy when I pop off my helmet, but other then that its-” “Will you go out with me!?” the little girl blurts out from the blue. Hearing this takes Mally aback, spitting out whatever cocoa she was sipping. “Whoa whoa whoa! What!?” “Chrysanthemum Rodgers! How many time do I have to get after ya for asking somebody out from the blue like that; especially somebody you just met. You know better.” “Uh, yeah. Beside, age gap might be a bit big between us. Sorry kid.” Glancing back towards the girl garbed in pink, she witnesses the girls spirit beginning to break before her eyes; the light of her welling tears reflecting the fall sun. “But, uh...Ya- ya know something kid?” From the wood of their porch, Chrissy shifts her gloomy gaze back to the skater; hearing her finish with: “There isn’t anything stopping you from asking again in about 10 years or so.” Hearing this almost immediately makes the little girls disappointment do a 180; her gaze shining brightly as she frolics back inside. Looking back to one another after the brief encounter of sudden confession, Mally and Bluebell can’t help but let out a light giggle.

Her giggling dying down, Bluebell can’t help but hear her older sister say out loud: “There you two are!” Turning her gaze towards the entrance of their backyard, she finds her leading in a pair of teenage boys inside. “Yo Persi...sup?” Raleigh smoothly greets. “Afternoon there, Miss Rodgers.” the cowboy endearingly greets. The middle sister approaches the entering duo; looking down upon the one in the beanie with a distrusting glare as she asks aloud: “So, Sis. This the guys that cousin Cayenne says keeps failing to hit on ya?” The boys surprise gaze turns sour upon her remark; turning away as a soft scoff passes through his lips. “Yep, this is Raleigh. He’s really super nice, offering to do all kinds of stuff for me.” The other boy then cuts in, introducing himself as he shakes her hand with: “Afternoon Ms. Bluebell. Last I saw ya, you were as small as a sprout. Gotta say, you grew taller than a beanstalk in a children’s fairy tale.” “Uh, thanks? How do you reckon ya know me.” she wonders withdrawing her hand. “Shoot, guess it has been a while, hasn’t it? Should’ve figured you wouldn’t have recognize me. Last time I saw ya, you were only three years old.” “Don’t ya remember Bluebell? This the friend that I told you about. The one that I had before we move up the country?” “Hang on a sec...You’re Levi?” Bluebell questions. “Eager to meet ya ma’am.” the cowboy introduces.

“I thought I’d invite both of them over so they could help us out with the farm. Sound great, doesn’t it?” “Yeah, figured I got the time. So what the hell, why not?” the city slicker explains. “Well, I’m more then happy to help a friend out.” Levi mentions. “Nnnnh…I ain’t too sure about this Persi.” Bluebell worries. “Oh come on, B.B. You brought over Mally and her brother and they’ve been loads of help.” Persi’s points out, presenting the blue boy sitting over on the porch steps. In his attempt to warm himself, Tore attempts chug the hot chocolate down all at once; lifting the mug up as high as he can. Unsurprisingly, this fails to end well, as the boy winds up burn his whole mouth. “Ah! My mouth!”

“Besides; I bet with their help, will get it done before the sun even starts to set.” Turning towards her two guests, the bubbly blonde proceeds to enthusiastically ask: “What’dya say boys. Ready to get down and dirty?” “Oh yeah.” Raleigh suggestively states. “I’d be more than happy too.” Levi declares. Toward the blondes carefree attitude, the middle sister can’t help but let out an anxious groan under her breath.

“What are so worried about?” Mally wonders. Both her and the hulking middle sibling pound their hammers upon the wooden plank to hold the wire frame of the chicken coop in place. “Like your sis said: We’ll get all this done faster with more cooks in the kitchen.” “That ain’t what I’m really worried about. Just on edge about who she invited over is all. Persi doesn’t exactly have the best judge of character when it come to strangers. Levi I can look past. She’s know him before I was even born. But that Raleigh fella is another tale to tell. Like I said, we’ve only around these parts for like six months or so. Most people around here are relatively new to us. I just don’t want my sister to wind up riding with wrong crowd is all.” “C’mon Bluebell. Ya got have more faith in your sister than that. The bonds that she forges with others is her own responsibility, and I’m sure she knows that. If she doesn’t go out and meet all kinds of people, how else will she grow?” To all that, the hulking middle sibling can do not but look down in concern; know all too well her words be true. Though her statement does little to expel the worry within her, something that Mally can clearly see. “Hey, even if those two do wind up being a couple of assholes, ya got Tore and I here to kick their asses off your property.” she offers, punching her fist in her palm. This seems to uplift the cowgirl a bit, looking back towards her guest and thanking her with a simple: Thanks Mal.” “No prob, B.B.”

Returning swiftly to work, the skater instantly hits her hammer upon her thumb once more; the pain causing her to curse aloud. “Fuck!” “You alright?” “Yeah, just bashed my thumb again. God! Wish there was some way to this done faster.” “You’ll wind up hurtin yourself hurrying like that. Gotta go slow and steady with this. It ain’t no contest.”

Though disappointed, the skater slowly drifts back towards hammering the frame on; the pain of her thumb slowly starting to fade. Mally’s attention is swiftly baited however when hearing the sound of kicking hay, turning towards the other side of the backyard and witness Raleigh juggling the bails of hay up in the air. One by one does the city slicker kick the bails up high, soon setting his sites towards the edge of the fencing. As the bails drop down, Raleigh kicks the hay out towards the end of the backyard; stacking them all in a perfectly balanced tower in one fell swoop. “That good for ya, babe?” he asks, his eyes gazing towards the bubbly blonde. “That’s amazing. You stacked them so high so fast. I bet the sheep will just love it there. Snacking on the bails of hay while in the shade. It’ll be like a little vacation for them.” Hearing these compliments coming from Persi, a little slick smile peeks between the city boys cheeks. That smile swiftly dissolves upon hearing the sarcastic call of her other guest. “That’s cute.”

Glancing over, his sites turn towards the blonde cowboy standing beside the garden. “You got a problem with how I stack things, cowboy?” Raleigh questions him. “Not really. I’d say your little juggling act wasn’t that bad. Had a little bit of flair to it really.” With this compliment does Levi start to wonder to the plow set towards a line of of grassy ground. “Though flair ain’t gonna get ya far in the farm. The true spirit of the farmer...” The cow boys takes a tight hold of the plows handle with both hand, finishing his statement with: “Is in the soil of the earth!” Effortlessly, the cowboy pushes through the grounds before him; uprooting the grass covered earth and uncovering the fertile soil buried underneath. Levi’s might makes way for a whole row of agricultural potential to flourish, adding another row to Persi’s growing garden. The bubbly blonde herself approaches the new column of fresh soil, complimenting the cowboys efforts with: “Goodness Levi, you cleared a whole row of grass in no time flat. With you helping us, we might get the garden ready super fast. Just imagine all the vegetables we’ll grow here.” “Yep. That’s what years of hard farming labor will grant ya. Molded me like an expert sculpture with the pick of agriculture.” This display of earthly strength makes a small growl escape from between the city boys teeth; gazing upon the cowboy with a burning bitterness.

The darkness of a passing shadow below however draws everyone’s attention above. gazing up towards the sky to find a figure eclipsing the sun; a square haul over their back. Like a descending meteor, the figure quickly begins to plummet towards the backyard; the darkness pulling back and revealing the figures flowing blue hair. Upon the ground does the angel land, his heavy descent quaking the very earth beneath his feet. The haul he holds above his head revealing to be dozens upon dozen of wooden planks and stakes tied together; the blue boy setting the load of wood aside to shiver from head to toe from his flight through the cold fall skies. “Oh god. You guys know how fricken cold it is up there? Practically about to freeze my hide off. Need something to warm me up fast. The bubbly blonde comes to his side with a steaming cup of cocoa, offering the warmth of her drink with: “You can have my cup of cocoa. It’s still-” Upon the offer does Tore instantly swipe the hot chocolate from Persi’s grasp. “Warm?” The blue boy pours the blondes drink right into his awaiting mouth; drizzles of cocoa dripping down his chin as he gurgles down the warming elixir. Finished downing her drink like guzzling alcoholic, a relieving breath escape from his lungs; adding how her drink was: “Ahhh...so scaldingly good...” Persi’s attention then turn towards the pile of wood the boy had been carrying, brushing her hand against its course surface. “Did you really carry all this wood yourself?” “Yeah...Your mom told me to get some more wood from the depot on the other side of town...” From the depth of his white coat pocket, the blue boy pulls out a credit card with a bubbly background; handing the card towards Persi and requesting: “Can you give her credit card back for me.” Taking her mothers card back from the blue boy, she looks back to the load with a bubbling excitement, mentioning how: “This is amazing. All these thick stakes are perfect for setting up the pens.”

Declaring this, Persi runs back inside with the credit card in hand; Tore looking over in his relief to find the other two boys approaching. Trailing the stack of wood with his leather gloved hands, the cowboys wonders if: “You really carry all by your lonesome?” “Sure did. It wasn’t really that hard to carry them here to be honest. Now flying them through the freezing fall air? Oh boy, that’s a whole nother tale to tell.” “Pfft. I bet it ain’t that heavy. What is this, fucking birch?” Raleigh denies. “Afraid this ain’t no birch. This is the real heavy duty stuff. 100% genuine oak.” Levi hesitantly corrects. Upon the cowboys word does the city slicker scoff at the claim; boasting how: “Big fucking whoop. That ain’t nothing. Should’ve seen the time I juggled a whole bunch of logs back towards a campfire, while they were on fire.” “Whoa, you really did that?” Tore wonders. “You bet your ass. Ain’t no way you two candy-ass bitches could’ve handled the flames?” “Oh really? Betting any of you couldn’t handle a day on the farm. Standing all day in the sun plowing the fields, feeding the livestock, tilling the land. Neither of you can hope to stand a single day of all that hard work.” Levi boasts. “Think any of that compares to a day on the streets? Fighting off gangs, racing through the highway, jumping through the alleyways. The city life would eat you two alive!” These claims spark heated discourse between both Levi and Raleigh, trying to outmatch one another struggles, all the while the Tore sits right in the middle; ever so lost in his own curious thoughts.

Off to the wayside do both Bluebell and Mally watch as the boys make asses of themselves, hearing their metaphorical dick measuring contest from where they stand. The farm girl can’t help let out a tired groan and pinch her nose from the ordeal; admitting that: “I knew this was a bad idea.” From the echos of their argument does an idea pop into the skaters head, a sharp gasp drawing within her lungs. “Bluebell, Bluebell, B.B. Bobby, Blabby, Blah Blah, Bloobby, Baba.” Mally babbles repeatly tapping on the farm girls shoulders. “What? What? What?” Bluebell herself exclaims. “I just came up with the most brilliant idea. You know how we can get this whole farm done in a snap and get the boys to stop taking stabs at each other?” “With good old fashioned hard work?” “Ha ha. No.” Before the farm girl could get her guest to elaborate further, Mally zooms towards the arguing duo.

“Well you can shove that attitude right up your-” Levi nearly insult, but his interrupted by an overly loud fake cough. To their side was the orange hair skater herself, her blue haired brother speaking between the duo. “Hey Mally, Watcha doing?” “Good afternoon, gents. I couldn’t help but overhear your shit slinging argument from across the backyard and have come up with a way to prove who has the bigger balls.” “And how you figure that, huh?” Raleigh wonders, all three of the boys attention locked upon the skater. “We enact...A farming Olympics!” Nothing but dead silents drifts among the trio, the only word to break up the quite being the blue boys: “...What?” “An agricultural bout to test their metal against one another through the art of planting, building, and feeding. Through these trails will the best be determined and the winner stand atop the rest.” Mally announces, recklessly twirling a shovel in her hands. The shovels hard iron end eventually clonks her on the noggin, the skater rubbing her head upon the place of impact. “Oh wee! Now yer speaking my language. This is gonna be easier than leading a flock of chickens to a pile of feed.” Levi boasts. “Oh hell no. You ain’t winning a damn thing. Once I kick your ass at yer own game, you ain’t gonna talk shit bout me again.” Raleigh counters. In that moment does the blue boy come between the bickering duo, begging his sister to: “Can I compete!? Can I compete!? Can I compete!? Please!?” “All three of you shall get the chance to compete. Just give us a moment to prepare.”

Upon turning away from the trio is Mally instantly met with Bluebells disapproving glare. A moment of silence is shared between the two before the skater breaks the quite with: “...What?” “What do ya think yer doing?” “Bluebell, relax. I got this. Think of it this way. This whole olympics’ll keep them from screaming at each other like a couple of kids with the same crush and get a ton of work done at the same time. Practically killing two birds with one shotgun shell.” “Mally, this sounds dishonest.” “What? How in the hell am I being dishonest? I’ll have you know that a single lie hasn’t pasted my lips.” “Yer manipulatin those boys into doing all our work for us.” “Manipulation? Bluebell. There is no hint of the such to be had. I’m just proposing a simple contest of agriculture in the name of goods sportsmanship.” “Yeah, sis. Lighten up?” From their side does the bubbly blonde chime in, adding to the discussion that: “I think it sound fun. It’ll give a chance to settle thing between the boys.” A defeated sigh escapes from the hulking farm girls lungs; soon walking away as she admits: “Fine, have yer little contest. Just leave me outta it.”

The boys meanwhile patiently await for their agricultural competition to be built, all the while mingling among themselves to pass the time. “So you and Persi really go that far back?” the blue boy wonders. “Yep, known each other since we were little tikes. Always playing together in the mud n dirt like a couple of wild hogs in a muddy rainstorm.” Levi explains. “Sounds like you two were really close.” “Yep. Its been so long since those days. A lot has changed since then.” “She ain’t the little girl you once knew anymore. She’s grown into a fine, sexy young woman.” Raleigh slyly adds. “Course, that don’t mean I haven’t changed myself. The merciless hardships of the earth have molded me into the man I am today.” Levi brags. “Hey, you ain’t the only one that’s been through shit. I’ve gotten into plenty of scraps and street fight. Been through all kinds of drag races and wrecks. The fires of the streets made me who I am.” Raleigh gloats. “What about you, blue boy. What’s yer story?” the cowboy asks Tore. The blue angel ponders for a moment upon the cowboys questions, attempting to answer with: “Guess I haven’t really thought of something like that. Only thing that comes to mind is the time I stayed with my grandma for the summer when I was...8? See, she would normally-” “Hey boys.” Before he could explain further, the sound of the bubbly blonde baits their attention from the side; glancing over to find Persi waving towards the three. “We got the events all set up.  Come to the back yard and see.”

“Gentlemen, I’m proud to present to you today, the trails that you shall face.” Mally announces, showing the set pieces making up the events. A set of three shovels set at the end of three lines beside the garden. Three piles of wooden stakes set along the chain link fence. Large sheets of wood set against the unfinished chicken coop. On the other side of the backyard set three cage, each within them different kinds of common barnyard livestock. A drove of oinking pigs. A brood of clucking chickens. And a herd of fluffy sheep. “These seemingly simple tasks will determine the results of these agricultural games. Completing these events the swiftest shall reward you with a single tally to your score. Whoever rises with the most events won shall be declare the king of cultivation! So without further ado. Let these games of earthen labor begin!” All three of the gents rush out towards the set pieces, the announcer herself leaning against the side of the house; the perturbed farm girl standing aside her. “Mal, I’m telling ya, this won’t end well.” “B.B. Will you just chill. I got this.”

The trio prepare for the first event, taking their positions upon the end of the planned columns of soil. Shovel in hand, Raleigh begins to dig straight into the soil; a struggle that only manages to get him only mere inches at a time. The hard fall ground fails to make the task any easier, the city boy having to stomp on the back of his shovel several times before piercing into the dirt. His slow paced dig is soon interrupted, clumps of airborne soil smacking against his figure. The hell! Which one of these assholes is flinging dirt through the air? Gazing towards the direction of the flung dirt, Raleigh witnesses the blue boy digging through the earth with his bare hands. He was seriously digging in the dirt like a motherfucking dog. Jeez man, shovels right there. Doesn’t even look like its helping that much either, barely getting deep into the dirt.

Curious about his rivals own endeavors, Raleigh takes a look towards the opposite end and finds the cowboy simply taking a stance towards the row of grassy dirt. He’s seriously just standing there, not even with a shovel on hand. Looking like he’s ready to punch the ground. What the hell’s he expecting to do? To answer the city slickers question, Levi stomps down upon the earth; uncovering the soil from beneath the grass set before him. With the fertile grounds exposed to the open fall air, the cowboy pushes the empty space towards his front; the softened dirt tilling neatly with his motions until the whole row of soil was ready for planting. His grounds complete, Levi presents his finished work with a proud smile; knowing all too well who the winner is. The cowboys rival looks upon his handiwork with burning gaze; the blue boy behind him rising out from the dirt of his own. So that’s the way old John Wayne wants to play, huh? Then this little contest is about to pick up a shit ton of heat.

The next event took place around the chicken coop, where in contrast to the earthbending cowboys quaking feets, Levi opts to simply hammer in his corner of the wooden sheet one nail at a time. Ain’t nothing better then the steadfast strategy, is there? Least it is compared to the whole blue boys plan. Turning towards Tore, the cowboy had a front row seat to his own show of stratagem; the blue angel pounding in the nails with all his might. His methods might prove to be faster, though they can also be quite reckless. Such recklessness taking the form of the blue boy missing the nail entirely and lodge both the hammer and his whole arm right through the wooden sheet; his limb wedged between the splintered wood and wire frame. Ooh boy. Seems like this kid don’t have the best grasp at being gentle, does he. Practically punching through stuff like a maddening steed straight through the barn doors. In one fell swoop, the blue angel jerks his arm out from the other side of the chicken coop wall, tearing out a good chunk of the wood and wire frame with his arm. Except somehow worse.

Shaking his head towards Tore’s screw up, the cowboys ears soon catch the sound of searing flames. That’s funny, kind of sounds like a wieldin torch. Don’t remember seeing one of them with all the tools. Wondering where the sizzling sounds were originating from, Levi trials the noise towards the other end of his wall. He soon finds Raleigh trailing his finger across the gaps in the wood from top to bottom, a faint orange glow emitting from the city slickers fingertip. Realizing what his rival was doing, the cowboy rush towards Raleigh to halt the potential disaster. What in tarnation does that pyromaniac think he’s doin!? Have those flames of his finally cooked his brain worse than a faulty cookout grill with a broken propane tank. Crazy bastard’s gonna wind up burning Persi’s whole backyard! Approaching the city boy however reveals to the paranoid farm boy another scene. Instead of setting the sheet ablaze, Raleigh had wielded the wood together; the scorch line from his flames having melded the two sheets still freshly hot. Looking aside, Levi was met with the blazing city slickers smug ass smile; looking back and forth between him and the results of his work with vexing confusion.

Standing along the corner of the backyard, the next agricultural olympic challenge the boys had been tasked with next was building the animal pens; each of them given a pile of wooden stakes and hammers to work with. Sledge hammer in hand, Raleigh strikes one of the wooden stakes right into the earth; driving its pointed bottom through the dirt. Ready to set up the next plank, he lines it up to the one he hammered in; pushing it down until it was buried enough for balance. Gripping the hammers pole once more, he swings down upon the stake; this time snapping the wood right in half. Inspecting the broken stake, the city slicker looks over towards his southern rival; noticing how he isn’t even using a hammer to drive them into the ground. Not even has to punch them in, just push them straight down. A glance towards Levi’s boot has him discover the cowboy light stomping on the ground where he places each steak, causing the ground under him to have less resistance.

Witnessing this play out makes Raleigh throw away his broken stake in favor of a fresh one. After pushing it down past the grass, the city boy stands before the stake in a fighting stance. Raising his leg over his head, the firebender drops his foot down upon the wood; striking the stake down straight into the earth. Although his alternating hammer does prove effective, it is not without its drawbacks. Drawing his foot off the top of the stake, Raleigh hisses out as he grabs hold of the back of his ankle. In his agony, the city slicker beheld the cowboy staring down upon him with a prideful smirk, Raleigh looking back with a seething glare.

Both rivals break their stare down when they notice a set of straight shadows slide across the grass. Towards the sky do the boys discover a dozen wooden stakes drifting through the air, the blue angel soon joining their flight. Rapidly, Tore slams the stakes back towards the earth, each of them digging straight through the grassy dirt in single jab. In unison do all of them line together, swiftly forming into a crudely made, but functional animal pen. Levi and Raleigh watch as Tore descends from the air, landing right on the edge of the fencing in a finishing pose. The blue boys pose is however suddenly broken when he looses balance; falling right behind the wooden fencing. Both of his opponent are simply left to stare upon the results of his little performance; gazing onward in pure, unfiltered “What the fuck did I just see?”.

Upon the middle of their competition do they reach halftime, Mally and Persi setting up the pieces for the next events; the bubbly blonde middle sibling approaching as they piece together another pen. “Still don’t think what your brewin is a bad idea?” Bluebell questions the skater. “Nope.” “Not worryin how all this competitive mojo might stir up trouble?” “B.B. Will you simply just relax. The Olympics are halfway through. You really think that any bad blood will boil over the last three events?” “Blood’s been split over pettier thing, Mal. The flames of rivalry are a fickle and dangerous force to stoke.” “Bluebell. Quit yer worrying. How much damage can a simple little contest do?” Persi counters with. Against her siblings words, all the tall middle child could do walk away in a huff; wandering back inside their home.

Once the other fence had been completed, halftime dissolves and the competition continues. Released from one of the cages, a dozen barnyard fowl scuttle through the backyard; the chicken coop door left open for them to wonder into. Though his efforts seem eager and merry, the blue angels proves completely ineffective in baiting the hens to his side; attempting to draw their attention like one would a domestic canine. No matter how much he whistles or pats his knees, none of the fowl even take a glance in Tore’s direction; simply choosing to wander away from the boy.

Their little legs soon pick up the pace however, the fiery city slicker chasing right after the flightless little peckers with not a single strategy As much fire he has in him, Raleigh’s shows to be just as fruitless in his endeavors as his indigo opponent, perhaps even more so. In the midst of pursuing, he reaches is arms out towards the nearest fowl as he draws ever closer. Almost got ya you little fucker. Gonna make some tasty tenders outta your feathery ass. His hands mere inches from the fowl, the city boy lunges forth towards his prey; pouncing at the chicken like a predatory cheetah. Alas, his bounding leap yields only a mouthful of dirt; the barnyard poultry fluttering right out from his grab. Faced with the failure of his impatient strategy, a seething growl escapes from between his teeth, That growl is swiftly interrupted upon the descent his unbound prey, landing right onto Raleigh’s head and pecking at his face. Shielding his eyes against the pissed fowls incessant jabs, he swats the chicken right off his noggin; its feathers spread across the top of the city slickers body. Shaking the feathers off his jacket; agitated firebender watches as his escaped pray wanders further away. Fucking piece of chicken shit. Feathered asshole wouldn’t be acting like tough shit if this was a cooking competition.

Gazing towards the free fowl, the city and blue boy soon see it and the rest of the flock drawn towards a trail of feed; the chickens pecking the tiny pieces off the grassy grounds. Trailing the pecks of yellow has them witness the flock baited into the chicken coop; their southern inspired opponent pouring the feed within the freshly made hen house. Once half of his bag of chicken feed had been drain, he puts is bait down and simply waits; leaning on the side of the coop as he watches the flock of barnyard birds within the backyard gather towards the set pile. Picking one of these specks off the ground, the blue boy inspects the piece closely; tasting the little bit of yellow to find it be nothing but a piece of grain. Don’t really know why they’re all going crazy over this stuff. It’s just wheat. Doesn’t even taste that great. And yet, they gobble them down so eagerly, much so in fact that a passing fowl plucks the piece right from the blue boys fingertips. From there does he watch the last of the fowl rush within the chicken coop; the cowboy shutting its hatch once its feathery hide was inside. Having claimed his victory, Levi simply leans in front of the coop with a proud smirk; a single eye aimed towards his rivals. Seeing his texen rival boasting of his success stokes a burning fury within the firebender as he shakes the leftover feathers from his jacket.

While his humble baiting strategy might have worked on such simple creatures as farm fowl, the same routine shows little success with swine; Levi attempting to lure the pigs set along the backyard. Spreading the bag of corn in front of one of them, the cowboy watches patiently as the hog approaches the food set before it. Though with a few sniffs, the pig simply walks away from the corn, not even bothering to taste the treats before it. Dangit. Why in tarnation are these pigs being so picky? Swine ain’t usually known for having such refined taste like an unhappy french critic dining at a Texas buffet. Saw one eat a whole boot off some poor guys leg once for heavens sake. So what the deal with these hogs? With these thoughts brewing, the cowboy takes a look at the kind of feed he was presenting. Wonder what kind of feed Persi wound up gettin? From the look a things, this stuff here don’t look like much. Might need something else to get their little legs kicken.

Pondering what could better catch the swines attention, the cowboys ears pick up the sound of slipping friction; an all too familiar call of the inexperienced hog herder. Following its call leads Levi to witness the blue angel attempting to simply lift the one of the pigs with his bare hands. The matter of weight be not the issue, Tore easily able to pick the pigs off the ground; holding onto the hog on the other hand proves to be another problem entirely. Try as hard as he might to get a good grip of their leathery pig skin, they always find a way to slip from his fingers. In his slippery efforts, the blue boy grabs hold of a whole hog with both arms; hugging the hog like a long beloved relative coming back from the harsh grit of the slammer. As tight as he holds the hog, the barnyard pig easily slips out from his grasp; scuttling away once back upon the earth.

Out towards the side, the city slicker can’t help but observe the results of his opponents failings. The fleeing pig stops before the farm boys spilt bait, taking the time to closely sniff the unscented corn. After taking the biggest whiff that it could, the swine resumes to wander around the backyard. Witnessing this behavior play out sparks an idea within Raleigh mind, soon strolling back towards Persi’s home. Everyone in the backyard watches as the city boy calmly retreats back within the abode, shutting the back door behind him. Upon seeing this, the cowboy can’t help but form a gloating smile between his cheeks. Guessin all this dirty work is just too much for the city slicker to handle, ain’t it? Can’t even handle somethin as simple as herdin pigs. Probably tryin to worm his way out so he don’t stick around when they announce the winner. That or he’s going to go take a piss. Either way.

Moments later, Raleigh comes back out; a steel bowl and a bag of popcorn in hand. All within the backyard eye the city slicker as he wonders out towards the pig pen; the boy himself opening the bag of popcorn as he strolls past Levi. After hopping right over the roughly constructed fencing, the firebender pours the unpopped kernels within the bowl and holds the stainless steel above his head. From its base, the bowls reflective surface glows a fiery shade of orange; a sharp popping noise echoing out from within. The single pop soon multiplies into dozens more; almost sounding like a mini gun unloading its payload. Out from the depths of the bowl, popcorn rises out from beyond its steel rim; threatening to gush out and overflow. The scent of his freshly popped kernels drift through the cold fall air; the hogs spread across the backyard taking quick notice of the alluring smell. Levi and Tore can only watch as the swine race past their legs; trying only to not get caught in the stampede. All at once do the herd of hogs flow in like a stream of spotty pink; crowding around the city slickers legs as he spreads the harvest of his instant popcorn. With the last of the hogs drawn in by the temptation of the common theater snack, Raleigh hops over the hogs and rushes out from their pen. After closing the gate behind him; the city slicker simply leans against the gates wood; a smug ass smirk stretching across his face as a single open eye aims towards Levi. Though rather than finding an aggravated glare, all the cowboy could express was a perplexed gaze. Breaking his relishing smile, Raleigh wonders what the cowboy could find so confusing. Wasn’t really that complex to lure a bunch of pigs with popcorn. He soon finds the answer nudging his leg, looking at his feet and jumping back to find the blue boy crawling along the ground and picking any leftover popcorn out from the grass.

Roaming the bubbly blondes backyard next was her favorite barnyard animal by far; Persi’s eyes alight upon witnessing the flock of sheep wander through her yard. Curious of the blondes overjoyed gaze, Mally waves her hand across the blonde fixed gaze; wondering if she was okay. Her merry glare unchanged, the skater resumes watching the competition; noticing the firebender having a bit of trouble leading one of the wool covered lambs to the pen.

Try as he might push against its woolly coat, the stubborn lamb budges not an inch closer towards the wooden fence; simply opting to stay put and munch on the backyards grass. Struggling to force the sheep to march, the city slickers footing slips; Raleigh falling face first into the dirt. Lying upon the ground, he turns towards the front of the lamb; watching as the fluffy bastard leisurely munch on the bubbly blondes greenery. Woolly son of a bitch. What’s it find so fucking appetizing about grass anyhow? If its that crazy for the stuff, might as well see if it can lure the fluffy cottonball.

Ripping out a tuft of the turf, the city slicker attempt to use the fresh picked grass to bait the lamb to his side. Rising from the earth, he presents his handful of greens along the side of the sheep head; the barnyard animal glancing over to the offering. Edging closer to the city boys grasps, the sheep’s mouth gradually opens agape. Yeah, that’s it you over sized cotton ball. Just a little closer. Upon its maw reaching the tuft of grass does the lamb clamps down; inadvertently chomping down on Raleigh fingers. With a seething hiss, the city slicker withdraws his hand away from the lamb; the base of his fingers dripping red from the bite. Woolly motherfucker! Bite was strong enough to draw blood. Would light its woolly ass ablaze if Persi weren't watching.

In his pain, Raleigh catches glimpse of the farm boys endeavors with the fluffy sons of bitches; practically having next to no trouble just carrying one of them over his head. Trekking by, Levi turns towards the city slicker with a prideful smirk; the sheep above him letting out a cute little cry. Seeing that smug as hell smile again get his blood boiling; his desire to punch those teeth out burning ever more intense. That flaming fury is quickly put out when he feels something swoosh by behind him; turning back to find the sheep that bit him disappeared

The cowboy soon feels something zoom right over his head; glancing up to find the fluffy haul he was hauling having vanished. All within the backyard look out towards the rest of the flock,  white and blue streak snatching up every single sheep before their eyes. Their eyes follow the zooming figure as it speeds into the sheeps pen; the white and blue lines encircling the inside as it ascends. Watching the streak fly high in the air, the figure soon slows down, revealing the blue boy flipping through the air as he descends back towards the earth. Landing within the sheep’s pen, Tore presents the results of his speedy performance: An inverse triangle of fluffy sheep. Neither of his opponents can even fathom how the blue boy accomplished such a needless show. More importantly, why would you even arrange them into a pyramid like that? Regardless of their confusion, their ears catch the applause of a single set of hands; turning back towards the house to see Persi clapping for Tore’s performance. Right behind him, the bottom sheep topples over; the blue angels sheep stack collapsing under its own weight. Finding the mess of injured barnyard animals at his back, Tore looks back towards the others with a nervous smile. While the bubbly blonde is left shocked, her hands over her mouth; Mally is frustrated by her brothers lack of foresight, pinching her nose with her fingers.

Once the sheep had been tended to and healed, Mally goes over the tally; the skater nervous to find the scores completely tied. Finding her guest in a nervous sweat on approach, bubbly blonde grasps Mally’s shoulder and wonders: “What’s the matter Mal? You look like yer panicking.” “Scoreboard says here that all the boys are even. I didn’t expect them to tie by the end?” “To be honest, I really thought Levi would win. Farming’s part of his family. Why didn’t you just make seven events?” “I thought the boys patients would wear thin at 6. We need set up another event fast. Who knows how long we have before things take a turn for the worse.”

Awaiting in the middle of the backyard, the boys could be heard gloating to one another of their accomplishments throughout the agricultural competition. “Yep, leaden those chicken to the coop was as easy as a piece of granny smith apple pie in the summertime. Just givem what they want and they’ll follow ya to the ends of the earth.” Levi boasts. “Ya think so? You weren't lookin too hot with the pigs back there. Practically turning their asses towards you. Me on the other hand, they couldn’t get enough of. Had them crawling all around me.” Raleigh counters. “Stacking those sheep up was fun. Like building a fluffy dorito out of barnyard animals. Lucky I healed them when they collapsed.” Tore reminisces. “Only reason ya wound up winning that is cause the judges didn’t count it as cheatin.” the cowboy condemns. “Cheating huh? Kinda like how you used your earth powers to turn a whole row of grass into tilled dirt in what, like 6 seconds?” the city boy retorts. “That ain’t cheatin. That’s using the skills ya have at yer disposal.” Levi argues. “So I guess it was skill when you saw me wield the chicken coop together?” “That was reckless! Could’ve burnt the whole backyard down with how how fast you were hurryin through. Reason you lost half the event is cause your tryin to rush em like a hopped up jack rabbit running a 20 mile marathon.” “Least I can pick up the pace. You wound up eating everybody’s dust cause you were taking your sweet time. Gotta speed up if you wanna win. Even this blue dumbass here knows that much.” “Setting up the pen was fun too. Just punching them down into the ground. Felt satisfying getting it all together at once like that.” the blue boy recalls. “I bet the fast pace of the city would eat a redneck like you alive. Gotta keep the speed going if you wanna win.” “Farmin ain’t no game. Hurrying through don’t fly out in the fields. Need to be patient and steadfast to last a day out in the farm. Not like a hotheaded jackass like you could ever get that through yer sku-” Levi declares.

Before the cowboy could finish, he feels the hard sting of the city slickers knuckles right in his face; the entire backyard grows completely quiet. Levi withdraws from the sudden blow covering his nose as he backs away; glancing back to see the city slickers arrogant smile. From his between his fingers does red start to trickle out; gazing down upon his palm to find crimson staining his leather. The blood squirts out from hand as he clenches his fist; his whole arm shaking in unkempt fury. Breaking Raleigh’s devilish grin, Levi grabs both sides of the city boys head and slams his face into his forehead. Recoiling from the strike, the city boys eyes aim towards the cowboys stomach; swiftly driving his knee straight into Levi’s gut and nearly making the farmer vomit. Upon the blow does the cowboy clasp his stomach as he kneels; lowering himself to the city boys feet. The pain easing, Levi takes advantage of Raleigh’s open legs and sweeps his feet right off the ground. Falling right onto his ass, the city boy witnesses his rival swiftly rising from the earth and raising his leg to try and stamp him down. Springing off the grassy grounds, Raleigh kicks his southern rival square in the chest. Though the blow knocks him back, the cowboy remains steady and balanced; ready to deliver a charging counter attack. Preparing to swing as he approaches the city slicker, his lunge is soon caught by the blue boy; Tore standing between both rivals with the cowboys fist in his palm.

Upon seeing the boys brawl interrupted do both girls begin to relax, Mally releasing a heavy sigh from her lunges. Winding their nerves back up however, the blue angel grasps the cowboys wrist and flinging him right into his rival, sending both flying across the backyard. The two rivals come to a sliding stop, Levi groaning atop Raleigh as they start to recover from their unexpected trip. “Shoot. Kids got some buck in em” the cowboy admits. “Get the fuck off me!” the city slicker screams. Lying upon the ground does a shadow start to engulf the two; both rivals looking upwards to see their third foe dropping down towards them. Both the fire and earth bender part from one another; splitting off to evade the blue angels descending stomp. Once their blue interloper had landed back on solid ground; Levi and Raleigh lunge at him from both sides. Before their pinching assault could land, the blue boy jumps back; both boys harming one another when meeting in the middle Recovering from their backfiring strike first, Levi swings a hefty punch to the blue boy. The blue angel jumps out from the cowboys swing, flipping in midair to drop his leg down towards his texan foe. With a single arm, Levi blocks the hammering kick mere inches from his face. Raleigh takes the moment of their clash to move in, grasping onto the farm boys arm and kicking Tore square in the face. Right after striking the blue boy back, Raleigh swings off Levi’s own arm and kicks him down with him. Both on the ground, the city slicker springs him airborne with but his legs; sending him several feet in the air and preparing to finish the fight. Tumbling across the backyard, Tore soon sees himself flying towards the chicken coop; regaining his aerial balance and sticking his legs out towards the hen house. From the coops side, the blue boy lands on the wooden sheet and jumps back towards the frey; springing right after the airborne cowboy. The city slicker himself also springs after Levi, ready to finish him in the air. His ascending assault is soon intercepted when his indigo foe punches the cowboy right out of the air. Brushing right past his side, Tore grabs hold of the city slickers passing arm and flings him back down. All three of them soon return to the earth: Tore on his feet, Levi sliding across the grass, and Raleigh crashing down on his back. On the ground, a seething growl starts seeping out between the firebenders teeth; a blaze sparking in his eyes.

Out on the sidelines, both girls watch as Levi and Raleigh arise, Mally’s mind going on overdrive on how to stop the brawl without escalating it further. Beside her does the bubbly blondes worry erupts, causing her to run out towards the trio while begging them to: “Please! Just stop fighting!” Persi’s sudden scamper catching her off guard: Mally jumps to try and pull the blonde back to her side. “No!” she screams in dismay. From her failed capture does she look out towards Raleigh as he stands, a fiery orange aura enveloping the city slickers body. An obvious sign of the battle about to heat up, the skater pulls out her grapple-yo and casts it out towards the retreating blonde.

Standing on his feet, the city boy’s anger comes to an unrestrained blaze; his fists shaking as a furious fire begins to form between his fingers. The bubbly blonde nearing Raleigh as his aura grows intensly brighter; the yoyo’s string wraps around her waist. “I’ve...had...Enough!” From the statement does a wave of flames explode out from his body; Persi jerked away from the furious blaze right in the nick of time.

Before both Levi and Tore, Raleigh’s blazing fury proved at its peak; burning patches of grass surrounding the city boys feet. “Two of you are pissing me off! I’d say its about time to turn up the heat!” Out from the palm of his hand, the firebender casts a ball of flames out towards the blue boy. White wings sprouting from his back, Tore ascends away of the pyromaniacs attack; the blazing ball landing within the backyard garden.

Watching as her seeds and soil are consumed by the burning flames; Persi can’t help but cry out as she pulled back to the side. “My cabbages!” A shadow blanketing over them, Mally and the Persi gaze above to see the blue angel descending down towards the burning boy. Raleigh dives away from Tore’s crashing descent; the impact trembling the entire neighborhood. As Tore was ready to fly after the pyromaniac, he feels something pulling him down; looking below to see his legs sinking into the ground. Glancing to the right, Levi could be seen taking stable fighting stances; the cowboys hands motioning down as his blue foe sinks further into the dirt. “Like a white hornet caught in a flytrap.” the cowboy compares. His lower half submerged, the blue boy delivers a mighty downward punch; further cracking the ground and freeing himself from the earthen prison. As the earthbender watches the blue angel ascend, a bright orange glow soon baits his attention; glancing over to see the city slicker lunging towards him with a fiery kick. The cowboy takes an elevating stance; a slab of earth rising before him and blocking Raleigh blazing assault. His firebending rival on the sheet of ground, Levi shoves the slab away; sending both it and the city slicker on a collision course towards the hen house. Their impact smashes the chicken coop in; the barnyard fowl within scattering out from within their abode. The last hen having escaped, Raleigh busts out of the coop in a blazing eruption; its flaming remains scattering across the backyard.

One of the burning pieces lands before both Mally and Persi, who can’t help but watch as the brawl worsens. As both of them back away towards the house; they hear the distressed voice of a familiar farm girl. “What in blue blazes is goin on out here!?” Turning to the backdoor, both witness Bluebell run to their side; continuing her urging questions with: “Why’re the boys tearing up the backyard?” “We were trying to come up with the next event when they just started fighting out of nowhere!” her big sister summarizes. “Oh! Does this have to do to with that stupid contest you made em go through?” the hulking farm girl asks as she stares down upon the sweating skater. Faced before Bluebells accusing stare, Mally hesitates answering the obvious with: “Uhhh...” Out from the skirmish before them, a white ray shoots out from the blue angel; the beam of light brushing past the farm girls roof. “Maybe?”

Raleigh was in the midst of dodging oncoming rocks cast by his southern rival; city slicker kicking back one of the rugged stones in a blazing coat. Levi catches the burning rock with but a single hand; crushing it in the palm of his leather. The farm boy watches as the city slicker is swept off his feet by the blue angel and his taken in the air via nelson hold. “Got ya now.” “Let me go, you blue dumbass!” Raleigh demands as he struggles in the angels grip. From the ground, the cowboy looks on with a confident grin as he takes a stance, declaring: “Guess it’s like the old sayin goes. Hittin two birds...” Stomping his boot onto the grass, a big boulder burst out from the depths of the earth. With a single kick, Levi shoots the massive rock up towards his airborne opponents. “With one stone!” Trapped in front of the blue boy, Raleigh witnesses the flying chunk of rock coming; realizing that he needs to think fast. The city boy envelopes himself in a coat of scorching flames for a brief moment, forcing his captor to release him. As the Tore recovers from the sudden combustion, the farm boys boulder smacks him out from the air. Both him and the large chunk of rock crash down onto the sheep’s pen; the lambs fleeing out from within the fencing as the blue boy slowly rises.

“Should’ve just done this from the start!” the city slicker declares as he descends back towards the ground. Once having landed, Raleigh sets off an explosion behind him to rocket towards his rival. His burning foe rapidly approaching, Levi takes his sturdy stance and uppercuts the air. Right when the city boy was closing in, a column of rock rises out from the earth and launches him out from his rocketing strike. Tossed dozens of feet in the air, the pyromaniac takes the opportunity to rain down a torrent of flames towards the country kid. Clasping his hands above his head, Levi erects a stone shell to shield himself from the raining pyre; feeling only the heat from within his rocky dome. Something soon breaks through his earthen defenses however and forces the cowboy outside. Out from the rocky shell, the blue angels tackles him across the backyard, causing the country boy to careen towards the pig pen. Crashing through the wooden stakes making up the fencing, Levi slides across the mud ridden ground until the ground slows him down; the pigs fleeing out from the comfort of their pen.

All three of the girls watch as the once peaceful and lively backyard starts to turn into a chaotic war zone. Burning grass and wood, cracked and crumbled earth, fleeing and panicking farm animals; the boys were making a whole mess of the place. “We need to think of somethin to stop this fast, before our house gets caught up in the crossfire.” Bluebell declares. “But what can we do now? There’s no way we can go out there without getting hurt.” Persi warns. Gazing out beyond the ensuing battle, Mally attempts to find whatever she could to halt the growing brawl. Thought looking upon nothing but the remains of the events in her site, she still can put together out a solution with the leftover pieces. A durable stake left under a pile of rocks at the wayside, an untouched hay bail stacked under its burning others, and the bulky farm girl beside her. “What?” Bluebell wonders, seeing Mally gaze in her direction. Right before their eyes, the farm girls witness their orange guest sprint out into the chaos. “What the-! What are you doin!?” “I got a plan cooking! Just get ready!” the skater orders as she heads into the fray.

Dashing across the battered backyard, Mally swerves and weaves around uprooted chunks of earth and burning patches of grass. A white light draws her attention as she moves, looking over to find a careening white ball closing in. The skater slides right under the ball of light; its surface shining upon the girl as she evades its deadly plasma. Once have dodges the ball, she jumps right up and continues her hurry through the yard; the ground under her beginning to tremble. Right below her feet, a wall of unfiltered rock rises out from the earth, elevating Mally several feet above the backyard. With a slanting wall blocking her right, she readies to jump back down, though a look at what awaits below quickly changes her mind. Raleigh blazing right past; leaving behind wide trail of blazing grass behind him. Sheesh, it can’t ever be as simple as jumping down, can it? Always have to have something complicating things. Oh well, at least its starting to look fun. Kinda like those obstacle game shows where you see some poor saps falling into the water. Bet falling into the water face first must sting sometimes.

With jumping straight down out of the question, Mally races across the rest of the wall; feeling the heat from the firebenders flames as she runs through. She notices her footing swiftly beginning to slant down, gazing ahead to find the walls flat surface curving over to the side. With the flames below extending past the point of standing ground, the skater starts to pick up speed. Mally leaps out from the end of her path and slides against the curved rock; running straight across the wall. Reaching the end of her arcing slide, she looks down to find some blazing grass still below her. With a daring leap, the skater kicks against the rock wall; jumping beyond the city slickers scorching flames below. Over the flames behind her, she lands upon the stable ground with a recovering roll; wasting not another moment to sprint towards the burning pile of hay.

Once close to the burning stack of hay, Mally pulls out her trusty grapple-yo and casts it out towards the bail left untouched by the raging blaze at the bottom. As soon as her yoyo sticks to the hay, she jerks the bail right out; the rest of the burning hay collapsing under its own weight. Like an Olympian tossing a heavy hammer; Mally swings the bail of hay around several times before flinging it across the backyard. The bail careens right over the brawling boys, remaining unhindered in its trip until landing right beside Persi and Bluebell.

As soon as she sees the bail land, her site then turns towards the wooden stake buried under chunks of rubble. Just like the hay before it, Mally tosses her grapple-yo out towards the stake, latching right onto the woods flat top. Though she attempts to pluck the plank right out of the rocks, the skater fails to tug out even an inch of its wood out from under the mounds heavy weight. Can’t pull on it too hard; might risk breaking it. Need to break the rocks holding it down. But how?

Upon thinking this does Mally hear a familiar voice cry out from above; glancing above to see her blue brother careening down towards her. Thinking fast, she jumps towards the buried piece of wood as she yanks on her string; retracting herself towards the stone wreckage and from the blue boys crashing descent. Rocketing towards the rubble at breakneck speeds, the skater sticks her legs out towards the top of the rocks and breaks the stone holding the stake down with a single kick.

After she’s freed the wooden stake from under its stone prison, Mally aims the point towards the home like an Olympic javelin thrower on last; the last throw to determine the finale. With a running start, the skater makes the toss; watching as the stake flies across the fresh war zone of flames and earth. The wooden planks flight is nearly intercepted as Levi careens right in its path; the stake’s splinters brushing past the earthbenders chest. Past the careening cowboy, the wooden planks tip drives itself in the soil next to Persi and her sister. From across the torn backyard, both could hear the skater calling out to them; Mally requesting that: “Persi! Start building a seesaw with the hay bail and stake! Bluebell! Get on top of the house and wait for my signal!” Without so much as a word between them, both girl start to act upon the skaters orders; Bluebell heading towards the side of the house as her sister pulls the wooden stake out from the dirt.

Mally herself starts to race back towards the house at full speed, but is stopped in her tracks when both her brother and the cowboy clash in front of her. Pushing one another back, Levi stomps his boot onto the earth and coats his foot with the rock. With his foot covered in stone, the farm boy kicks the blue angel away; the stone shell breaking off upon impact. Drawing away from the earthbender, Tore shoots out a bright white beam towards his southern opponent; Levi erecting a stone slab in front of him to block the oncoming ray. On contact does the beam break the cowboys stone defense to pieces; though this fact fail to discourage him as he punches the remains of his shield at the blue boy. The barrage of rock swiftly approaching, Tore blocks the stone onslaught with both arms. Seeing his winged foe distracted by the bombardment of rock, Levi aims to follow up with a powerful stomp; raising his leg above his head. Though before he could slam his cowboy boot upon the earth, his other leg is swept right out from under him; looking back as he falls to see the Raleigh’s devious grin. Having swept his earthbending rival sturdy footing, the city slicker kicks Levi out towards the blue boy; Tore lowering his guard just in time to be knocked over by the careening cowboy. Both of his foes down, Raleigh streaks towards the two; Mally taking the moment to continue her race back towards Persi’s abode.

Back at the sisters home, she returns just in time for Persi to finish the crude makeshift catapult; glancing above to see the hulking farm girl standing on top of the roof. As Mally positions herself on the other end of the seesaw; she hears Bluebell question: “When ya want me to jump?” “Give it a second...”

Watching the fight wage on, she witnesses her brother fling the cowboy high into the air; the blue angel chasing after the ascending earthbender. Seeing the blue newcomer ready to finish off his rival, Raleigh launches himself towards the duo in a burst of flames. In the middle of the air, Levi draws whatever loose earth was nearby and molds its over his hands; combining the rock into a set of stone cold fists as he begins to descend down towards his approaching foes. With all three of the boys on the verge of colliding, Mally finally gives the call. “Now!” Upon her word does the hulking farm girl jump off the top of her home, slamming herself down onto the other side of the seesaw with all her all her might. The sudden shift in weight successfully rockets the skater high in the air; Mally pulling her grapple-yo as she flies towards the trio.

All three of the boys ready to give their all in one final clash; Tore flying up with a ready fist, Raleigh rocketing with a fiery kick, and Levi with a stone covered slam. Intercepting this clash be a lone yoyo that wraps itself around the blue angels arm. Tracing its string, the blue boy witnesses his sister close by; keeping a tight grip of her grapple-yo’s string. “Mally!? What are you-” The boys question is swiftly interrupted as his sister jerks him out from his charge; Mally swinging his brother towards the street smart pyro. Raleigh’s fiery kick is swiftly put out when the blue boy slams right into him; the pyromaniac joining Tore in his unplanned midair ride. Both boys swinging out towards the descending cowboy; Levi can do nothing but look towards the oncoming duo. “What in tarna-” Forced into their undesired ride, Levi’s stone fists are broken upon impact. All three boys within her hold; the airborne skater swings them back towards the earth like a mighty hammer. Tore, Raleigh, and Levi slam straight into the ground; the trio finally down for the count.

“Yes!” Mally cheers upon her success. Her smile swiftly deflates as she begins to descend; looking under to see herself falling towards a set of sharp stones. The skaters succeeding cheer swiftly turns into a panicking scream; closing into the jagged rocks below her. Before she could feels their cold stone jamming into her; something sweeps her out from her impaling fate.

Feeling the light touch of skin at her back, she opens her eyes to find herself in the arms of Bluebells older sister, Persi. “What the- How...” Glancing down, she found her host hovering several feet above the ground. “Since when could you fly!?” “I’m sorry. I always could have. I have a whole bunch of powers I could use since I was a little kid. But I...don’t like using them. Not in front of my sisters. I don’t want them to feel bad for not having any. Every time I think of how jealous they might be of the fact that they weren't born with powers, it makes me feel terrible. So even when they’re not around I...” Though the farm girl continues to explain herself, most of it goes right over her guest; Mally far too distracted by Persi well developed chest. Oh god...Look at them...There so close…So lush and beautiful… Blushing red as a beat, she tries to turn back to the farm girl and listen; returning to the end of her statement as she asks her: “...You know what I mean?” All the bright red skater could respond with was with a fast repeating nod.

Lying upon the broken earth, all three of the boys slowly begin to rise from the cracks; droning moans escaping from their mouth as they begin to stand. Grasping his backside, Raleigh gets onto his feet first and follows with: “Fuck...My spine...What the hell happened?” Back on his feet, Levi looks towards the destruction their war has wrought; his site drawn to the cracked earth and burning wood. “Fella’s...We took things too far is what happened.” the cowboy proclaims. The last to rise, Tore joins in the farm boy’s guilt by mentioning: “Yeah, this place ain’t looking too good. All the stuff we made in the olympics just scrap now.” “Things probably wouldn’t have turned to shit if you two didn’t make things worse.” the city slicker blames. “Come on now, Pedrosa. Ya’ll had just as much handiwork in this disaster as we did. Ain’t gonna do ya any good passing the blame like playing hot potato with a pack of lit TNT.” Levi reminds him. “Oh, and your such a fucking saint? Going on how much a big deal you are now how shitty I am? Maybe this wouldn’t have started if you’d just shut your damn mouth.” “Easy for you to forget how short of a fuse ya got. One little quip and yer quick to the draw.” “Yeah man. You just straight up punched him outta nowhere. That ain’t cool.” the blue boy adds. “Kinda funny coming outta your mouth. You were practically begging to get a part in this stupid contest. Stepping in and making us look like shit with your flashy acts.” Raleigh counters. “Good point. What makes you think you can just butt in and turn this whole love triangle into a square like a meddlin mathematician?” the cowboy wonders, his gaze aimed towards the blue boy. “Love? What are you on about? I ain’t into any of that junk.” “What?” the city boy utters. “I never really given that kinda stuff much though; if any at all.” “Then why were ya so eager to compete with us?” Levi asks. “Cause it’s so much fun. Testing your metal with others and see what they can bring to the table is exciting. And the two of you were just awesome to fight with.” Pointing towards the Raleigh, he compliments him with: “You with your sizzling hot fire powers. I really felt the heat when you were shooting out those sick flames.” His finger drifts over towards Levi; praising his powers with: “And you with your rock hard earth powers. You really know how to make stone pack one hell of a punch.” Both rivals dart their gaze towards one another and realize their rash judgment.

“You don’t think we could pick up where we left off someday, can we?” the blue angel offers; extending his hands to both of the boys. To his offer, the cowboy cracks off a small smile, a hearty laugh escaping from his lungs. “I’m liking the cut of yer jig, blue boy. I’d be happy to tussle with ya sometime soon, partner.” Levi promises, taking Tore’s hand with firm shake. “You seriously begging me to kick yer ass?” A small snicker escapes from Raleighs smile as he reach for the blue boy’s hand. “I might just take you up on that offer someday.”

Though their comradery is freshly formed and their personal squabbles sorted, their smiles are swiftly shattered when a wayward shrill reaches their ears. “What in the world happened out here!?” All three look back towards the house, witnesses a mother holding a blonde baby girl in her arms; her furious gaze glaring out towards the trio. “Which one of you destroyed the backyard!?” The boys eyes drift towards one another, realizing how much deep shit they’ve dug themselves in.

A short while later, the boys could be seen restoring what they could of the backyard farm. Along the dirt, Levi plows whatever earth that he had uprooted in his struggles against the boys; making sure the ground is leveled just right. “Suppose this is what we get for having our grand smack down in the middle someones backyard.” the cowboy admits. Tore punches the each wooden stake back into the ground one by one; slowly building back the fence that he had tackled the cowboy into. “It ain’t that bad. Least there making us clean up just the backyard. Who knows where else our other shots probably landed.” the blue boy mentions. Raleigh wields the walls of the chicken coop back together; his burning fingers trailing across the cracks of the wood. “Don’t really know why the girls are making us do all the work. It’s there backyard, ain’t it?” Raleigh questions. Pushing some rock back, Levi denies the city slicker with: “Ain’t their fault that we caused most of the mess. Gotta clean up our own dirty deeds like a major dealin with a botched trade deal in the middle of a depression.” “English! Do you understand it!?” Tore screams, both of the boys looking confused as all hell.

Out from the side, Mally watches the boys work out their mess; a satisfied sigh leaving past her lips. “Glad to see them fixing the mess they caused. Hope this teach’em not to take things too far. Wonder what mom’s got for us back home?” Pondering this, the skater readies to part; her departure quickly put on hold when she bumps into a familiar figure. Looking above, she found her hulking host staring her down with a discerning glare. “What?” From Bluebell’s palm does she present Mally with but a simple hammer; her gesture being all she needs to understand what her host requests out of her. “Ugh, Fine.” she submits, a defeated breath escaping from her lungs as she heads over to join the boys in their efforts.

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

Wanted to do something short and sweet with this after the huge Chapter that I did last time. Figured that I could do something simple and lighthearted this time around to relax. First time writing with Levi and describing his rivalry with Raleigh and it was loads of fun thinking how they play off each other.

Levi and Chrissy belong to: @princesscallyie