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save-the-spiral · 4 years ago

Note

Emrys, lacuna?

lacuna: (n.) a blank or missing part

(link to ask prompt) (link to Emrys’ tag) (here’s a fic where these side ocs were mentioned Once and still are integral to Emrys’ story)

Content warnings: Bullying, violence, unprovoked/surprise assault, narrating character having PTSD symptoms (flashbacks, mild paranoia, and dissociation), said dissociation leading to a gap in memory, uncomfortable/strained sibling relationship.

Exiting the Spiral Door was disorienting for Emrys. The sudden step from stone to wood made him stumble, and likely would have set him off balance even if he hadn’t just exited a literal portal between worlds.

He glanced around quickly, lining up what information his father had given him with what he saw now. It appeared the Spiral Door of Wizard City was indeed inside a massive tree. Sunlight streamed in with no known source, tinged green with life magic, though the area was full of all kinds of magic, blending into one forceful, ancient reminder.

Emrys quickly looked at the adult standing before him.

“Welcome! Welcome, you two, we have heard so much about you, and are honored that you have accepted our invitation to join our school.” Merle Ambrose spoke warmly, smiling. Emrys couldn’t help but stare at the glass eye the man had, fixated on how it sparkled for a moment, before Emrys nodded in response.

“Thank you for the opportunity.” Mari spoke quietly.

They begun walking as Ambrose continued to speak, the two siblings trailing behind him as they walked up the carved ramps and through an open archway, out into a courtyard.

Emrys looked around again, knowing he was in Ravenwood proper now, but trying to catch every difference from his father’s description. There was an obvious difference, no casually studying or picnicking students around the grassy roots of Bartleby, but a collection of tents with tan-robed students flitting in and out of them. As they kept walking onto the circular cobblestone plaza, Emrys made note of the cracked stones usually depicting a mosaic of the death school’s symbol as well.

“Ah, this is where I’ll leave you two!” Ambrose finished his rambling, smiling again. “Miss Jade, meet the life professor, Moolinda Wu. She hails from Mooshu as well, and may assist you both in getting over any lingering cultural questions you both have as you adjust.”

A kind cow in a kimono smiled gently and bowed in greeting before waving Mari over, who quickly joined her as they turned towards the life school.

“Professor Greyrose?” Emrys finally spoke, making eye contact with the remaining woman in the plaza who had been waiting for them.

“Oh, yes dear.” Her pale blue wings fluttered quickly, blurring slightly. “I’m sure we’ll do great work, Mister... Jade, I presume?” She clasped her hands.

“Pyre, actually.” Emrys said, face devoid of any emotion, evidently unwilling to explain.

The old woman made a clicking sound with her tongue, but Emrys didn’t notice it, simply shifting his bag on his shoulder and following her as she began to fly in the opposite direction of the life school.

Emrys hadn’t spoken to his little sister in months, even before they were separated by school divides within Ravenwood. He hadn’t spoken much, really, aside from what was necessary, and even then it was only to their father while he was recovering.

He didn’t know that the only time his sister heard his voice over those tense months of his recovery were during his nightmares, where he spoke plenty to make up for his silence in the daylit hours.

Once school started up, people in the ice school seemed confused by Emrys. It appeared that many students of Ravenwood either started learning magic there or came once they’ve finished learning magic, for refined lessons in specialty fields not found in their school. Being taught from books and a father who only knew life magic was not the typical route for other ice wizards. It wasn’t surprising, but it was unpleasant, to be the sole recipient of attention for something Emrys could not control.

It had quickly become evident that what little casting and battle experience Emrys had was made up for by his extensive reading. His father had been adamant that he not cast strenuous magic in his recovery, which only ended weeks ago, so while Emrys had complied, it did make him appear to be even more inept in that part of his studies.

He quickly grew in skill, but not before some of his peers decided his inability to cast was an obvious weakness to be preyed upon.

Emrys had a habit of quickly checking out the books he needed and then leaving the library as soon as possible. He didn’t like being out at night, or outside alone. It was unnerving, and he couldn’t help it but his hands would start trembling whenever he was out and about and realized there was no one in sight. So he avoided it.

Emrys was not the best at keeping to habits, though, and that was how he found himself out at night as he walked back to his dorms from the library, passing by the storm school and flinching as some of the ever present drizzle fell onto the back of his neck.

And then he flinched harder when a pair of hands pushed hard against his back, causing him to topple hard to the ground. It was as if Emrys blinked and suddenly he was on his hands and knees, his glasses on the ground in front of him and his pale blue hair falling in front of his eyes as he stared at the cobblestones.

There was a rushing sound in his ears, and he heard shouted words in time to the rumble of the storm school’s ambient thunder, and suddenly he was being kicked in the ribs and falling on his side.

He coughed, winded, and inhaled the cold air, feeling it scrape against the inside of his throat, and Emrys was gone. He was gone and alone, curled into fetal position and trying to slip out of the world quietly, with as little pain and fuss as possible. Still trying to face his fate with dignity, no matter how young and afraid he was.

Emrys was so cold, and he should be more resistant to a simple chill as an ice wizard, but he had always been too skinny for his age, and he never wore enough layers anyway because he was stubborn, he was so stubborn and afraid and that was why he was here in the first place, and-

“Pyre? You in there?” A dry, impatient voice startled Emrys, and he gasped, looking up.

He saw one of his classmates, Jen. They were a natural leader of most of the ice school’s students, and set up most of the study groups as well, the ones that Emrys had brushed them off about. All Emrys knew was that they were from Earth, Thailand, but Emrys never bothered much with learning about Earth aside from Vietnam, where his father grew up, as well as South Korea, where he spent the first four years of his life.

“Hmm?” Emrys managed to choke out a questioning sound as he glanced around the room he was in (he was in a room, no longer outside, and it was much warmer). There were two twin beds on either side of the door, and a small kitchenette, as well as two desks. He was seated in one of the two comfortable desk chairs, though it had been turned around to face the room.

“Oh good, he’s not like, dead.” The second occupant of the room spoke from where she was lounging on one of the beds, sipping at a mug.

Castian, one of the few drakes attending Ravenwood. All Emrys knew was that she was capable, but outgoing to the extent of being almost harassing.

“I think I would’ve noticed if he up and died in our room, Cas.” Jen sighed, turning back to the kitchenette and grabbing a plain black mug with a constellation on it. “Here, some hot chocolate.”

“What?” Emrys looked between the two of them.

“Hot chocolate? Y’know, like... the powder and milk stuff? With little marshmallows? The good shit?” Castian began rambling, until she sat up fully, gesturing with her mug in hand, “Oh my god, do you really not-!?”

“I know what hot chocolate is!” Emrys snapped, grabbing the mug from Jen and setting it on the desk behind him.

“Glad to see you’re all grumpy again, can’t be too hurt.” Jen raised their eyebrow, before sitting in the desk chair opposite of Emrys and drinking from a mug with a bold check list on it. ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ were left unchecked, with ‘WIZARD’ in bright purple letters checked in a large red mark.

Emrys sighed, looking between the two roommates again. “...May I ask what happened?”

“Hmm?” Castian tilted her head like a confused puppy.

“You might have to be a bit more specific, bud.” Jen said.

Emrys rubbed at his temple. “What I mean is, I was pushed over on my way back from the library, and now... I’m here. That’s all I got, aside from a bit of pain and, apparently, some hot chocolate.”

Castian and Jen exchanged a look that Emrys couldn’t even begin to decipher, Jen shaking their head after a moment. Castian only nodded her head rapidly, her grin growing wider and wider, more of her sharp draconian teeth on display as she did so.

“No, Cas.” Jen finally said.

“Yes, Cas.” Castian responded, before she set her mug onto her bedside table and stood up, rummaging around the kitchenette for something.

“Care to explain? Like... explain anything?” Emrys said after a moment.

“Nope.“ Castian said plainly, turning around with a bright blue tin in her hands. “This, however, looks like a situation that calls for my special candy from back home. Here, have one.”

Her clawed hand grabbed Emrys’, the her blue scales surprisingly warm, and she dropped a wrapped candy in his hands.

“What.” Emrys stared at her, the same deadpan annoyance he had put on whenever she approached him before.

“First he doesn’t know what hot chocolate is, now he doesn’t know what candy is?” Castian turned, shaking her head at Jen. “Sad.”

“I know what-!” Emrys started.

“We'll teach you everything you need to know, little hatchling, don’t worry.” Castian grinned at him, obviously aware of how annoying she was being. “First, we’re gonna tell you the awesome tale of how I single-handedly saved your life from those ruffians that would dare attack a poor innocent child.”

“First off, I helped, second off, they were just some idiots who Greyrose is likely lecturing as we speak.” Jen interjected. “It’s only been like, twenty minutes since they knocked you down kid, you weren’t in any danger.”

“And don’t worry about the obvious life debt you owe me, either.” Castian grinned as Jen pushed her away, causing the draconian to flop dramatically onto her bed.

“Thanks.” Emrys muttered, standing up. “Anyway-”

“Nope.” Jen held up their hand and stopped him. “We are going to actually tell you what happened, Pyre, but first you have to finish the hot chocolate.”

“Really.” Emrys’ disbelieving tone as he stared at Jen bordered on incredulous.

“Really!” Castian grinned again, leaning against her gratuitous amount of pillows.

Jen sighed. “Drink your damn cocoa, kid.”

Emrys pouted, and drank his damn cocoa.

After that night, Jen and Castian managed to bother him even more. Jen said they were just doing their duties as a student leader and older student, but Castian insisted that she had ‘basically adopted him already’ and that they were friends.

When Emrys told her that he had already been adopted, and she’d have to fight his dad for the honor of worrying constantly about him, she sighed, and told Jen that they could cross ‘daddy issues’ off of the long list of what might be wrong with Emrys.

Emrys quickly left the room after that interaction.

He didn’t admit it, but they were friends. Jen was only two years older, but they were wise and responsible, and held the respect of their peers. Castian was fourteen like Emrys, bubbly and annoying, but outgoing and inventive, and could connect with basically anyone who wasn’t Emrys in one conversation.

They spent long nights studying together, Emrys insisting it was only because he wanted to use their kitchenette (that they only had because of the double dorm plus Jen having some boring older kid duties), but sometimes he would fall asleep on the pillows and blankets that fell off of Castian’s overflowing collection on her bed.

He would look so small, then. He didn’t realize he was comforted by just knowing other living people were in the room, that the sound of soft, relaxed breathing was something that lulled him to a secure sleep better than anything. It was then that Castian would send a look to Jen, an obvious ‘I told you so’ just in general.

They insisted on sitting near him in classes, Castian as advanced as Emrys so they both were moved up into Jen’s level of classes. It was unspoken, but Emrys would roll his eyes or mutter under his breath, and never told them to leave, preferring to exit the situation himself if he got overwhelmed or uncomfortable. He also never asked to skip levels in classes again, so he wouldn’t leave the other two behind.

About a year later, a young prodigy joined their level of classes. An eleven year old girl from Wizard City’s rather sizable orphanage who had just come into her magic, yet managed to be so skilled already that she was walking into a classroom of seventeen year olds (plus Emrys and Castian).

Genevieve Mayr had big, all black eyes, a black almost canine nose, whiskers, and small furry brown ears. “I’m told my parents were from Avalon, I’m part otter, and no, I don’t eat fish raw.” She giggled in her introduction, before practically skipping and sitting herself down near Emrys, which was usually a no-man’s-land aside from Jen and Castian.

And so, Emrys had a third person he only semi-jokingly referred to as a stalker. This one, however, can and will approach him even more than the previous two, the young girl not even pretending it was a consequence of classes or schedules lining up.

Emrys was slightly afraid that Genevieve had a crush on him for a bit, but he knew for a fact it was mostly idolization. The idolization was not made better when he helped fend off some of the very same idiots who tried to go after him about a year ago, only now he had grown taller and more experienced in practical battle magic.

Having three people to spend time around doesn’t help, sometimes.

He spends three years at Ravenwood before he actually talks to his sister again.

In those three years he still needs white noise to sleep, whether it’s opening his window to allow the faint sounds of the storm school to trickle in, or sleeping over in Jen and Castian’s dorm so he can hear someone alive and breathing like he used to, when he was questing with Mari or when they would sneak into each other’s rooms, or both sneaked into dad’s bed.

He would still look to his side or tilt his head as if to hear something when the opportunity for one of his and Mari’s endless inside jokes came up. He would still look at a flowering vine and remember how those were Mari’s favorites, especially purple morning glories that would invade and climb all over their garden back home, the ones she insisted on never weeding out.

Emrys would make a face in response to what Castian had said to annoy him this time or the obvious reminder Jen told him and they wouldn’t get it. They’d wait for him to respond, and he’d know that Mari would’ve understood him, would have made a face back and then stick out her tongue and call him an idiot.

Whenever Emrys felt protective of Genevieve, he would remember how awful of an older brother he was, and leave the worrying to Jen and Castian.

Sometimes he saw Mari, her head down and hair longer than she ever liked it. She spoke with a more obvious accent than he did now, because he spent so long talking to people who had less obvious Common accents that his own faded more and more. She wore plain green clothes and appeared to be blending in, falling into the crowd and getting lost.

Some days she would have a bruise or would look exhausted or would have that look that Emrys knew meant she was trying desperately not to cry, and he would want to run over to her, to just hug his sister and mutter to her Vietnamese, the language they grew up speaking, or the common Mooshu dialect, or the few phrases of Korean he remembered.

He wanted to find the words to say to her, but it was as if she was a stranger, in this world that would never feel like home, and she would never understand no matter what language he spoke.

It was all in his head. Any time, if he had approached her and asked how she was doing, she likely would have burst into tears and hugged him, just thankful to finally have someone who knew and understood her, who wouldn’t judge her.

But he didn’t. For three years they were on parallel lines, never intersecting, no one even knowing they were siblings, no one knowing they grew up together and that Emrys knew Mari was afraid of needles and Mari knew Emrys was awful at card games.

No one knew, not even Emrys’ three friends, who were not a replacement for Mari, and never would be, because they were never meant to be. He only had one sister, and she was right there, across the courtyard.

And it took until the Spiral was ending for them to speak again.

But until then, Emrys would sit, and wonder, and grieve the loss of someone who was breathing the same fresh Ravenwood air as him.

#ask #anon #anonymous #wizard101 #writing #wizzy101 #wiz101 #w101 #emrys pyre #Jen Sirisopa #Castian Runeclaw #Genevieve Mayr #ocs #my ocs

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multiply014 · 6 years ago

Text

One Chilly Morning

Again, Happy CoAi Day, everyone!

I wrote this to cap off my 31 Days of CoAi project:

Last 4/1, ShinAi Day, I posted Accomplice (Chapter 2) to start off 31 Days of CoAi!

From 4/2 to 4/30, I posted fics daily on Tumblr. I’m still in the process of crossposting them on AO3 and FF (29 in between), Mondays and Fridays… If you want to read them, they’re on my Tumblr page, see tag “x prompt fills”.

Today, 5/1, I posted this, One Chilly Morning, which is the third and final part to One-verse (One Starry Night - One Rainy Afternoon - One Chilly Morning), to end 31 Days of CoAi!

Aside from fics, I’ve also posted:

On 4/1 and 5/1, I wrote two meta posts answering why I ship CoAi! If you want to read them, they’re on my Tumblr page, see tag “x meta”.

From 4/1 to 5/1, I posted about my ramblings about the CoAi fics I've written one by one daily! If you want to read them, they’re on my Tumblr page, see tag “x fic posts”.

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did throughout the project. I never thought I could pull it off, but, hey, I pulled through! The people who have expressed their support (and just when I need it most, too!) deserves credit for helping me complete this project… You know who you are! That’s you!

Thank you so, so much..!

Now on to a bit of description about this work! One Chilly Morning is posted separately from One Rainy Afternoon because it can stand on its own. On AO3, I will be collecting the three works as a series, but you don’t really have to read One Starry Night and One Rainy Afternoon to get what’s up here. It’s just a bit of a plus if you did..!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this final post for 31 Days of CoAi!

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31 Days of CoAi Prompt Fill 31 of 31:

One Chilly Morning

Fandom (Pairing): DCMK (CoAi) Title: One Chilly Morning Summary (Word Count): Shinichi wakes up early one morning just in time to see The White Mazda(tm) parked outside Hakase’s house, and consequently has bad mood for most of the day. (1228) Links: Also on AO3 and FF. Part 1 and 2 is also on Tumblr (tag: x dcmk one rainy afternoon)

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It’s a chilly morning. Shinichi doesn’t think he’s sick, but he gets up earlier than usual. To kill some time before he’s expected to be out and about, he goes to the study to get some books—because what do you do when you wake up early, really?

His mind isn’t up to speed in the early hours yet, and he can’t seem to settle on a book to reread. His restless eyes find themselves looking out the window. He tells himself he’s not peeking at Hakase’s house, but he is, and the first thing he sees is a white Mazda parked just outside the gate.

It’s Amuro’s car.

His thoughts are confirmed when the front door opens and out comes Amuro and Haibara, one after the other, Hakase seeing them off. In Amuro’s hand is a Fusae shoulder bag—of course, he’s acting like a perfect gentleman. Hakase waves enthusiastically, like a mom sending off her daughter for marriage, to that bag-carrying gentleman all shiny and cheery in the morning—and Shinichi doesn’t really want to think about that, and how he feels a vague sense of betrayal at the image.

The two disappear into the car, Shiho first because of course sparkly host in a gray suit that Shinichi thinks is not really flattering in the morning has to open the car door for the shotgun seat for Haibara—and she doesn’t bat an eye, no hesitation, zero. That makes Shinichi feel increasingly more betrayed to the point that he can’t even push it down with denial because clearly this is not the first time for Haibara and Mr. Blondie to go somewhere together. He hates that he doesn’t know where.

And so, as with all unimportant things regarding Haibara, he doesn’t even bother deducing anything. He just straight up asks her—three rings, four rings, and then five.

She’s not answering.

—For her to be unresponsive, what the hell are they doing in the car in broad daylight?!

Just after the sixth ring, it connects—”Kudo-kun?”

“Where are you?” It comes out snappier than he wants to, but, whatever, the woman’s—just—out there!

A few seconds of silence, and Shinichi can hear Haibara thinking, before she answers, “What do you need?”

To Shinichi’s complete surprise—not—Haibara doesn’t answer his question. So, he just repeats, “Where are you?”

In a beat, Haibara replies, a bit of panic in her voice, “..! Has something happened to Hakase?!”

This, Shinichi quickly denies, “Huh, no! Just, what are you doing?”

Shinichi hears an audible sigh before a tired voice says, “Then why are you so cranky? I’m outside. What do you need?”

Shinichi presses, “Outside, where?”

“Why are you always so weird? On my way to work, why? A case?”

Work, huh… huh? So does this mean since Haibara got the job, Amuro’s always been driving her there?!

Haibara’s voice brings him back from his thoughts, calling him, “Kudo-kun?”

Automatically, he answers, “What?”

“You...” He can hear the irritation in her voice.

Now, Shinichi is confused. What did he do to annoy her this time? “...What?”

“You’re really asking me what?! You’re the one who called out of nowhere, idiot!” She ends the call.

He calls again. It goes to voicemail and he has no doubt that she blocked him.

Haibara blocked his number. She actually blocked him!

This… infuriating… woman!

Whatever! It’s not like he cares!

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He does, in fact, care.

He makes sure he’s presentable and all but runs to the professor’s house. When Shinichi spots Hakase, he starts practically grilling him with questions, the professor rattling off the answers as fast as he can before Shinichi can fire off the next—

“—Yes, Shinichi, they go to work together.”

“—Yes, Shinichi, it’s been a while, but I don’t remember when it started.”

“—No, Shinichi, I don’t know why; maybe she can tell you?”

“—Hahaha! Shinichi, what did you say for her to block you?”

“—What did you need her for, Shinichi? If it’s urgent, I can tell her.”

Shinichi sighs, and shakes his head, saying, “Nothing, it’s nothing.”

Hakase casts a doubtful look at him, but ultimately acquiesces, “If you say so, Shinichi...”

As he mooches off Hakase’s breakfast, he grumbles. Hakase casts numerous surreptitious glances at Shinichi, before his curiosity wins out, and he finally asks, “Why the interest then?”

Shinichi jumps at the question, and the lettuce leaf he had been torturing with his fork drops on the plate. He immediately shakes his head and denies, “Nothing! It’s just—I saw them today, I… I thought something was up. If there isn’t anything then, I don’t know, whatever, I guess???”

A beep rings out from Hakase’s phone, and, surprisingly, the professor reads the message out loud, “‘Hakase, please check if the dumbass is sick?’”

Without the professor saying the sender, Shinichi blushes and mumbles something about why she doesn’t just go and enjoy the car ride to work instead of worrying about someone she totally didn’t confess to.

Hakase’s knowing smile hidden by his hand, he tries to keep his voice even as he suggests, “Maybe I should just tell her you’re sick, Shinichi?”

Shinichi replies, “I’m fine, Hakase.”

“Well... you don’t know, maybe she’d come home early if we say you are.”

Shinichi replies, a bit louder this time, “I’m fine, Hakase!”

Sighing, then shaking his head, Hakase drops the issue, “Whatever you say, Shinichi...”

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Dinner time rolls around, and Shinichi’s phone lights up. When he sees that woman’s name on his phone’s notifications, he hesitates… but ultimately opens it. He reads the message: Come over for dinner.

Shinichi immediately sends a message… to Hakase: Hakase, what did you tell her?

A few excruciating minutes after that Shinichi totally did not notice go by, he receives a reply: Shinichi, I don’t know what you’re talking about?

Hmm. He might as well go in person to tell the professor—and, might as well, her, too—that he’s fine. It’s just next door, after all.

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On the table, okayu is served with the usual side dishes, and at the center is a pot of what smells like ginger tea.

Before anyone can say anything about the spread, Shiho clears her throat and says, “It’s been chilly recently.”

“Yeah,” is Shinichi’s intelligent reply.

(Hakase is grinning in the background, but neither notice.)

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By the time Shinichi is back at the mansion, he still feels so unbearably warm that he wonders why he isn’t sweating… perhaps he’d caught the flu after all?

He does not think about that morning. He does not think about her message to Hakase. He does not think about her message to him.

He certainly does not think about the dinner.

He does not think about how he did not say he isn’t sick. He does not think even the slightest bit of why he didn’t call her out on her oh-so-obvious intentions, preparing those dishes for dinner. Intentions that he does not think about, too.

Of course, he does not think about how she /must/ have noticed that he did not call her out on it. Which had been unintentional. He simply forgot to point it out—the porridge is just that well-made after all. He’d insist on it being so had he been thinking about it. But he isn’t, so.

Yep, he does not think about all of those.

(He does.)

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Sigh... I want to rewrite (again!) the entire first chapter, One Starry Night… And I want to beat up past me for ever thinking it was a good idea to promise to write another chapter of One-verse. (Literally no one asked for it. Please, past self, why are you so masochistic?)

And, wow, this is really, really the end of 31 Days of CoAi... What a run..!

Check out my 31 Days of CoAi series on AO3 for a better formatted information on my project!

#31 days of coai #coai #haibara ai #edogawa conan #detective conan #dcmk #x writes #x prompt fills #x dcmk one rainy afternoon

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