#honestly the council are a trigger warning in of themselves

[sparkmender]

△ Why do you hate dogs so much?

[ Rating: 7/10 ]

"I... don't hate dogs. I find terror and hate to come from two very different sources, personally."

"I try not to speak of my time at the Cog under the care of the Functionist Council much. It is over and done with, and I have survived it. But in my reluctance to speak... I am concerned that I sometimes give off the wrong impression, or that I minimize myself and my experiences.

I will be blunt, here.

I am afraid of dogs because I am afraid of Four of Twelve.

The Moderator-- this was Four's title-- kept a trio of hunting dogs, which he spoiled handsomely and trained for absolute obedience. Their names were Ariel, Dion, and Nitro Zeus, each larger and more vicious than the last. Ariel was an Iaconian Spirz, Dion an Altihexan Pointguard, and Nitro was-- honestly, I do not think Nitro had an official make and model. He was a custom piece, designed to Four's exacting specifications, and powered by one of the photonic shards pried out of me during the early days of the Cold Construction project. He was huge, and fast, and brutal.

There were other mechanimals. Mecha who took the shape of beasts, as well, who either worked for Four or were made to bend the knee. But the dogs were his favorites.

I always knew when Four was coming to see me because I would hear the dogs, first.

And when I ran-- before I learned not to run--

It was trivial, really, to him, to set the dogs on me. A click, a whistle, whatever. It became a game, a diversion, to set me loose in the halls and-- and see how long I could hold out. The others would only intervene if it caused them inconvenience.

Even when I learned to heel at the tap of his cane... Always, the threat hung overhead.

The memory of teeth. Of pain.

So, I do not hate dogs. I am sad for what has been made of them, and of me. I am little more than a bitch myself, after all."

[hannahhook7744]

Hi!

Could you please write an one-shot for Arabella about her corruption arc?

Thanks!

Trigger Warnings: Corruption, Anti-Magic Laws, Bigotry, etc.

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Being magic in a kingdom where magic is frowned upon is not easy.

That is something Arabella has known since birth. 

She was magic and most of Auradon hated magic. So much so to the point that it was damn near illegal to use it. Even if it would truly kill someone not to use it.

Beast didn’t care.

No one did.

Least of all Fairy Godmother who was still able to use her own magic in whatever way she pleased because she was Beast’s right hand.

It was a joke, honestly.

At least that’s how Arabella had always thought.

Because it wasn’t fair.

Nothing in her life or the life of any magic beings in Auradon’s lives were. Just like life wasn’t fair for those on the isle.

For whatever children Ursula, Morgana,  Marina Del Rey, and the other villains who had wronged her family had.

And maybe the fact that those children were rotting away on the isle, without the chance to do any wrong to her family, should have brought her joy.

But it didn’t.

Instead, it only served to enrage her even more. 

Because they were innocent like she was and yet both her and all of them were being punished for mistakes that weren’t their own. For wrongs they hadn’t done.

They were rotting away— living on garbage and with little to know chance of getting to know their home lands. 

And her home land?

Her kingdom?

Atlantica?

Well, Atlantica was like just about every other underwater Kingdom.

Polluted, full of litter, and reduced to a stupid tourist trap. Completely unrecognizable from the beautiful kingdom it once was.

Barely even a kingdom anymore.

And in just a few years, there would be nothing left of her precious kingdom for her and her many cousins to run. 

All the while, her mother and aunts (minus her aunt Ariel), were all reduced to nothing more than tourist guides and sidekicks (even being a part of the council of sidekicks alongside literal animals). Barely getting any respect as princesses—their husbands and children getting even less respect than them.

Including Arabella herself.

Bitterly, Arabella wondered if this was what the villain kids felt like as they were left to rot on the isle. 

She honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it was. 

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Hate is a strong thing.

It twists you into something nearly unrecognizable and it corrupts you.

Arabella would know, considering how much she had changed over the years. 

Once she had been a curious child with wide, innocent, violet eyes who believed that things were always made fair in the end and that the good guys always won.

Once she had believed there was such a thing as good guys and bad days. That the world was that black and white.

Once she had believed that she and her cousins and friends were happy. 

That Auradon was fair and good.

But now, she knew the truth.

Auradon hated magic and as the years passed, magic got more and more restricted. 

And magical beings’ lives got harder and harder. 

Her mothers, aunts, uncles, and many, many, many cousins received little to no respect and were restricted in many ways like she herself was. And they were all lying to themselves, saying they were content with this life.

Everyone except Harmony, who was young and oblivious, and Arabella, who now understood that everything was bullshit. 

That the way the vks were being treated, even when the first four were finally allowed in Auradon, was unfair.

That the way she and every other magical being in Auradon were being treated was unfair.

And by the time the annual Seaside Festival rolled around, Arabella refused to allow Harmony to ever come to the same realization that she had.

Even if she had to kill every non-magical being in Auradon to make it happen.

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Stealing her grandfather’s trident was a risky move, but as she held it in her hand, Arabella was glad she had done it. Because now she had the power to right the wrongs done by Beast and his people. 

And as she let her purple hair fall into her face, she gripped the trident in her hand and brought it down into the sand with all her might. Summoning the biggest storm Auradon had ever seen with a smile.

“BWA HA HA BWA HA HA! “

No one was ever gonna control her or her people again.

NO ONE.

[doyelikehaggis]

It’s a different kind of hurt

Summary: Jay and Harry are sometimes partners in crime on the Isle. And on this particular night, they take partners a little step further.

Word count: 2.7k

Trigger Warnings: Referenced sexual assault by Gaston but not towards either of the main characters (also implied that Jafar has similar tendencies).

The sound of his feet hitting the cobblestones echoes into the night air. Jay pushes himself to go faster despite the burn in his lungs — to spite it. He throws a glance over his shoulder, clutching the old rusty lamp in one hand. There's nothing in sight, but he can still hear them close on his trail, the shouts and whistles following him. Following them.

“Jay," Harry calls over to him.

He catches his eyes and jerks his head to the right. Jay gets the message and gives a quick nod back in response.

They take a sharp turn down the street on their right. It's darker, only one dull, flickering lamp lining it every ten blocks. And only four of them are actually working; perks of having a terrible council who doesn't care in the slightest about community service. It's a good thing they know the street like the backs of their hands by now.

The shouts are still close behind them, never relenting. Jay's lungs continue to burn, his chest tight and his legs aching, but he keeps going, grinning all the while because it's exciting. Thrilling. Feeling his heart pounding in his chest, hearing the blood rushing through his ears, feeling the ground beneath each step.

They both turn back, checking to make sure they're still in the clear. Jay nearly trips up over a loose stone when Harry grabs his arm and tugs him over to the side. He lets him pull him into the alleyway. It's so narrow he nearly passed right by it without a second thought. The lamp just across the street illuminates it slightly, giving it a faint glow, just enough for them not to be engulfed in total darkness.

They both scramble to the edge of the alley, Jay's back pressed to the wall as Harry peers around the corner. The shouts and calling of their names grow louder and closer as they finally catch sight of the small mob chasing after them, only just now rounding the corner of the street.

Jay has to stifle a laugh. Harry glances back at him, making an urgent shushing gesture, but the corners of his mouth are twitching up in a barely suppressed grin. Jay does his best to stay quiet but the more he looks at Harry, the more he can feel the laughter building up in his chest, and he can tell it's the same for Harry. Composing themselves for just long enough with light shoves at each other, they risk a quick look back out onto the street.

The mob are a block away. Their search has obviously been halted, a few now looking around.

Jay and Harry both snicker, watching them in their confusion.

Then the shouts erupt, someone says they think they just saw them, another says they spotted them across the street. They start marching again, the street practically turning into a stampede as they push and shove to be the first to catch the two thieves.

Harry quickly turns and pushes at Jay, both scrambling to move away from the edge of the alley. They slip into the shadows and press into one of the corners to make themselves as invisible as possible. But they're both still laughing, unable to help themselves. The sounds of the mob are too close, there's no way that they won't hear them.

Jay presses his own lips together and swats Harry's shoulder. He widens his eyes at him in an attempt to shush him this time, but all it seems to do is make him laugh even more. Apparently, the sense of danger isn't that worrying to him. Jay presses a finger to his lips in case the message isn't quite clear, but Harry's just shaking his head, so he moves his finger to Harry's lips instead, hoping he can't possibly misunderstand that. He still doesn't seem to be getting the message, and honestly, Jay's struggling to keep himself composed as well.

His shoulders shake as Harry finally manages to get control over himself, pressing his lips together with a quick inhale. The mob starts to pass right by them, the first few of them thundering right on by. Jay's chest is aching to laugh. Harry's eyes widen and he quickly covers Jay's mouth with his hand before he can get them caught.

They stand there, not daring to move. It only occurs to Jay now that Harry still has a hold of his arm from dragging him to the back of the alley. He can feel the hook he's somehow still got a hold of poking into his side. Honestly, it tickles. That's not good, think of something else, anything else, anything that doesn't tickle—

They listen to the mob pass, the shouts fading into the distance and the echoes of their footsteps drifting away. Neither of them dares look at the entrance to the alley for fear that even the slightest movement will draw them back. After all of their effort, getting caught now would just be a tragedy.

Soon enough, silence falls completely, leaving them with the usual nighttime sounds of the Isle. Which still involves shouting, but of a nature not directed at them and much farther away. They're both still slightly breathless, and Jay's heart is still pounding in his ears.

He's holding Harry's gaze, he notices, as he slowly calms down. Harry smirks with Jay's finger still pressed to his lips, having not risked removing it at the time, and Jay smirks back beneath Harry's hand still covering his mouth.

"A hink the coast is clear noo," Harry whispers, keeping his voice so low he's practically mouthing the words. "Probably safe tae leave."

Jay nods slowly, but the feeling of Harry's lips moving gently against his finger as he spoke has drawn his eyes to his lips. Harry slowly removes his own hand from Jay's mouth but doesn't quite pull it back all the way, letting it hover near his jaw instead.

"Yeah. We could," Jay agrees quietly, his breathing still off by the tiniest bit as he does the same, letting his hand fall between them.

Harry just stares back at him. His eyes flick down, lingering, and he tilts his head up a little. Jay watches him press his lips together only to wet them with a slow drag of his tongue. How he can even make out that small movement in the dark is beyond him; it's like his eyes have adjusted only for the sole purpose of not missing anything he does.

Neither of them is making a move to leave. Jay doesn't think he could even if he weren't frozen to the spot; his chest is still tight and burning, and his legs are aching from the twenty-minute chase. Honestly, that mob lasted way longer than he was expecting them to. He really thought they'd get tired out faster than that.

"Yer staaaring," Harry teases quietly in a sing-song voice.

“So are you," Jay counters, but heat rises to his cheeks, only adding to the burning that he was already feeling from the chase.

Harry raises his eyebrows, and his smirk widens at that as he lets out a low chuckle.

“Ye goat me there. Kin ye blame me, though?"

Jay swallows. Harry's eyes flick down to his throat, to his lips, then back up to meet his eyes. His look is the complete opposite of subtle.

"Suppose not," Jay says, his breathless grin still in place as he continues to hold Harry's gaze, watching his eyes dart between his own.

They're dark, clouded by the shadows that Jay's have already embraced. Harry parts his lips the tiniest bit, the corners of his mouth quirking up a little more. The amusement flickering in his eyes shields the twisting, more unpleasant feelings that keep their distance. That's what Harry does, after all — he keeps his distance from uncomfortable things. It's what everyone on the Isle does or else they're risking something — usually, their lives. Safe is better, and safe on the Isle means leaving those feelings well enough alone.

But they always say what's life without a risk? And Jay loves a good risk. He surges forward and presses his lips against Harry's. In truth, he doesn't actually know what he's doing. This sort of thing doesn't really happen on the Isle — feelings of any kind beyond a loyal minion or reluctant ally in evil, or even whatever this is, whatever the word is because no one ever really bothered to teach them about these things since they're not important to evil schemes. But he's sure he's got the general idea, at least until Harry makes a noise in the back of his throat.

Jay pulls back. Harry's staring at him, wide-eyed, his lips parting like he's going to say something only nothing comes out. Jay starts to doubt himself. Maybe this wasn't right — maybe he did something wrong, or maybe he was just wrong because they don't do this. Villains don't do relationships of any kind, not friendship, not whatever it is their parents have that lead to them having their kids in the first place, and not whatever he just—

Harry lunges into the small space between them, curling a hand around the back of Jay's neck, and presses his lips back to his. He kisses him, Jay thinks, sure he heard that word during one class from Professor Yen Sid that barely anyone paid attention to.

It's clear he's almost as clueless about this as Jay is, but only almost, enough to be obvious he knows what they're doing but has never actually done this before. And that's... actually comforting. So, Jay doesn't feel so weird about moving his lips with Harry's, trying to figure out what feels right even as they both move a little too fast.

With a slight adjustment to the angle of his head, Jay thinks they have it for the most part. Enough for his cheeks to flare with heat that starts at the column of his throat in light pinpricks, and somehow spreads to his stomach. Knowing Harry has the upper hand — literally, his hand is fisted in Jay's hair with its position on his neck — Jay moves to resolve that. He pushes forward, taking Harry a step back, and another, and then a slight huff escapes Harry's lips as his back hits the wall.

"Ow," Harry teases, because Jay opens his eyes (when did he close them? he quietly asks himself) and finds that dazzling grin, just barely in his sight with how close their faces still are. "Wee bit rough there. Av heard folk dinnae like that."

"Where have you heard that?" Jay asks and is surprised to find that he's so breathless, nearly panting as if he's just run another mile. He ignores it (though Harry clearly doesn't, his eyes straying back down curiously) and furrows his brow, adding, "How do you know... anything?"

It almost feels embarrassing for some reason to feel like he doesn't know as much as Harry about something, but especially this. It feels — personal. And he doesn't do personal. Usually.

"Ma da." Harry shrugs, dropping his head back against the wall, and Jay realizes he's trying to catch his breath just as much. "He mentioned a couple hings tae Harriet. Warned her, really, telt her tae avoid certain hings. Gettin' close tae ither folk in certain wiys. And..." He looks a little less open all of a sudden, tilting his head away from him ever so slightly with another tiny shrug of his shoulders. "Gil's da's aroond the Fishe Shoppe a lot. He's iyways chattin' up the customers. Trying tae git close tae them."

Jay's brow furrows further. "I always hear people saying they despise Gaston. I can't imagine any of them wanting to..." his cheeks flush a little more and he clears his throat, "... whatever we did."

Even in the dark, Harry looks uncomfortable. Not because of whatever they did but something else.

"Aye, that's usually wit he likes," Harry tells him, with a little twinge to his voice like a tight string being plucked. "That's where I heard the hing aboot bein' rough. Ursula's threatened tae ban him aefter too many ae the customers complained. Da doesnae let him near the ship anymare, either. Telt us aw tae keep awa fae him. Practically makes me play boadyguard tae Harriet and CJ whin we go tae the Fishe Shoppe."

Jay doesn't like those implications. He can tell that Harry likes it even less. It's the Isle, they're villains, and people are evil. They're evil. And honestly, he's seen his own dad act in similar ways around the shop. Jay thought he was just fed up with having to stop his dad from trying to pickpocket Mal, that's why he warned her away from coming to the shop, telling her he'd meet her at their hideout or her castle instead. He tried not to let himself think about why he actually warned her away.

They're evil, and they do bad things, but some bad things make Jay's stomach turn more than others. Some evil things just feel... like they're on a level beyond just plain old evil. Hurting people makes sense to him. But only when he's trying to get away after he's stolen something, and only the people after him. It's a different kind of hurt.

Swallowing the lump of something bitter and awful-tasting, Jay pushes the thought away, down as far as he can. Suddenly this whole thing feels more dangerous. More wrong.

"We... we should go," Jay says softly into the darkness, both knowing it's true for the second time.

Jay moves to step back, to take his hands and his lips and any desires he has to do the opposite back with him. But Harry's quick reflexes act first, taking the step to reclose the gap and kiss him again. This time, when Harry kisses him, Jay squirms doubtfully, hesitating as his brain overworks itself into a tangle of thoughts that are refusing to be pushed under the surface.

Harry pulls back when Jay doesn't respond. And the look on his face kills Jay. They were both taking a risk under the unspoken agreement that they were both taking it. But with Jay shuffling uncertainly and averting his gaze to avoid having to see the panicked look in Harry's wide eyes, it feels a lot more one-sided.

"Er... Aye." Jay risks a glance at Harry, watching him take a faltering step back. Even in the darkness, he catches him swallowing, his eyes still trained steadily on him. "Let's go."

He says nothing else. Just lets the moment stretch, and stretch, and stretch until it's pulled so tight that Jay's chest feels bound by it, restricting his lungs. Then Harry sets his jaw and brushes past him, his shoulder barely touching Jay's on the passing.

The band around his chest snaps and hits him like a slingshot, right between his ribs so hard he swears he hears something crack.

He turns and follows after Harry. They don't say speak at all as they take their shortcuts all over town, hopping walls, ducking under broken gates, kicking rotten apples in the direction of nosey minions looking to please their former Villains. When they reach the street leading down to the Junk Shop, they depart without so much as a "see you." Harry just stalks off, and leaves Jay to head down the street. He trudges into the shop dejectedly.

He ignores his dad's enthusiastic, greedy hands swiping the old junk lamp from Jay the second he walks through the door. He just heads through to the back of the shop and throws himself down into the corner onto his rug.

He at least has a blanket and a pillow now to curl himself in; Mal may have thrown them at him with a sneer, saying they were too old and dirty even for her to use anymore. Jay secretly let himself think there was more to it, but he just accepted them with quiet gratitude that he would never dare voice.

But at least he can hide his face in the not-actually-that-old-or-remotely-dirty pillow and take a deep breath to make sure his lungs aren't still bound by the tight band. He just lays there listening to his dad talk away to Iago in disappointment, trying to scrub everything that happened tonight from his mind.

[thisbluewind]

a calming presence

here’s my fic for the kotlc 2021 collab (@kotlc2021collab)! 

pairing: marellinh

trigger warnings: alden being a bitch about marella’s pyrokinesis

wordcount: 2476

notes: many thanks to my beta reader, Vin @zoyas-kefta! without her excellent edits and advice, this fic would have been a complete disaster. 

----

Marella pulled the hood of her cloak up, moving swiftly but unobtrusively through Atlantis. She scanned the crowded streets for any sign of the Neverseen. 

A black cloak flashed at the edge of her vision, and she whirled around. She recognized the pale skin and borderline ostentatious jewelry that matched her memory of Vespera. The Ancient elf strode with a confidence that didn’t match her frail frame, drawing stares and whispers from the other pedestrians. 

At the sight of her, Marella’s fire blazed higher inside of her, the flames just begging to be unleashed on the elf who had given Biana her scars, kidnapped and tortured Sophie’s human parents, and created Nightfall. But Marella kept herself in check, promising herself that there’d be plenty of time for rage when Vespera was locked away in Nightfall or wherever the Black Swan’s prison facility was. 

She trailed the black-cloaked figure for two city blocks, until an elf with messy blonde hair and sky blue eyes stepped out of the crowd to meet Vespera. Fintan. He’d escaped from his prison a few months prior, and he’d wasted no time returning to his wicked ways with the Neverseen. 

She was so focused on Vespera, that she only noticed the fire when people started screaming.

The neon-yellow flames flared up around the two elves, and Marella broke into a sprint, discarding her red cape as she ran. She hurdled obstacles and shoved civilians out of the way as she sprinted full-tilt towards the flickering cylinder of Everblaze mixed with regular flame taking up the center of the square. 

Without stopping, she flung herself right through the wall of fire just in time to catch Vespera handing Fintan a marble-sized crystal orb. A cache! Where did she get one?

Marella hurled a ball of fire at Vespera, then grabbed for the cache, sending Vespera’s cloak up in flames. Her hands ignited as she snatched the glass sphere from a shocked Fintan. He responded in kind with his own inferno, the heat of Everblaze meeting her own orange-red flames. 

“Put out the Everblaze, Fintan!” she shouted, finding her voice. “I don’t want to have to hurt you, but I will if I have to!”

Her former teacher simply laughed derisively. “As if you could ever get close enough. I am the most powerful Pyrokinetic the Lost Cities have ever seen, and you haven’t even been training for a year.” His blue eyes danced with a mad gleam. 

Despite the heat surrounding them, Marella fought back a shiver. Fintan never failed to unnerve her, even when he was cooperating with the Black Swan. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come. It was true that she was relatively untrained, but the Black Swan’s wrinkly leader had said she had the strongest Pyrokinesis he’d ever seen.

Hopefully she could utilize that power now.

She opened her mind to the fire around her, the familiar, normal fire, and pushed past it, wrapping her control around the Everblaze that was rapidly turning everything around it to cinders. She pulled hard on it, and the walls surrounding them vanished, seemingly sucked into the ball of Everblaze she now held aloft in her hand. 

Huh. So that’s why it’s called the fire of the sun on earth. Marella felt like she was holding the entire sun in her hand, the energy from it surging through her body. The fire wanted nothing more than to turn the city to ashes, engulf the entire world inside its destructive power. But Marella wouldn’t let it. She focused as hard as she could, and the flames slowly shrunk smaller and smaller, glowing brighter and brighter. Finally, she closed her fist over the Everblaze, extinguishing it. 

Fintan looked faintly disappointed, but shook his head, raising a crystal and a bottle of starlight. He glittered away through the light of whichever unmapped star he was using. Marella spun around to see Vespera step into her own path of light and vanish. 

Marella let out a breath she didn’t quite realize she’d been holding, and reached out with her mind to the remaining fires. With barely a thought, they shrunk down to nothing. 

She was suddenly very aware of the staring elves that had crowded around the battle, if it could be called that. 

Whispers and mutters tore through the crowd. 

“The Redek girl, a Pyrokinetic-” 

“Unstable, like the rest of them-” 

“Did the Council know about this?”

Shoot. The Council. Marella didn’t know the exact terms of the contract that allowed her to train in Pyrokinesis, but she was pretty sure that “publicly revealing her power in a showdown with the Neverseen” wasn’t part of it.

With shaking hands, she fumbled for her home crystal, until she remembered she couldn’t light leap in Atlantis. Marella shoved the cache deep into her tunic pocket, kept her head down, and practically ran as far from the site of the confrontation as she could. 

She left the city as fast as possible, leaping back home as soon as she could and rushing immediately to her room. She gasped a few deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. She felt light-headed. I can’t believe I just revealed my Pyrokinesis to all of Atlantis. Soon all of the Lost Cities will know and then any second now the Council will be knocking on my door and my mom’s going to panic and my dad’s going to have to deal with this, I have to calm down- 

Unsurprisingly, the thought didn’t help her calm down at all. 

Marella shut herself inside her closet and curled in on herself, trying to steady her breathing and blink back the tears prickling behind her eyelids. She wasn’t sure how long she stayed like that, but she had no intention of coming out. 

Footsteps sounded through the hallway and into her room, too light to be her dad and too even to be her mom. Probably one of her friends, then. Marella held her breath as though playing hide and seek, hoping that whoever it was, they would go away soon. She soon realized that her plan wasn’t going to work as the twinge of oxygen deprivation set in. 

Marella gave in, and gulped down greedy lungfuls of air. She heard an amused hum from outside of her closet. 

“May I come in?” Her girlfriend’s soft voice asked. Marella nodded, then realized Linh couldn’t see her. Her cheeks reddened, and she muttered a quick “yes.” 

Linh opened the door, and Marella buried her tearstained face in her arms. 

“Hi,” she said, her voice muffled. 

“Hi there,” Linh replied. “I heard about your ability reveal, and I brought ripplefluffs. I know they’re your favorite.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” Marella sighed, uncurling her arms and legs and standing up to squeeze the other girl’s hand. Linh smiled warmly, but the look did little to calm Marella’s nerves.

“Love you too,” she said, placing an arm around Marella’s shoulder and steering her to one of the many balconies that overlooked the courtyard.

The two settled into the soft chairs on the balcony and slowly worked their way through the large basket of ripplefluffs. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Linh asked, after about a half-hour spent in silence. Marella hesitated, then shook her head. “Do you want a distraction?” A nod this time. “Okay… Keefe and Sophie came over this morning, before the news went out, and they tried to bake desserts for Tam and Biana. It went about as well as you’d expect.” Marella giggled. “I swear, the kitchen was a disaster by the time I finally had enough and kicked them both out. I ended up having to walk them through the steps to make custard bursts, and only because they insisted on making the food themselves. You know how Keefe and Tam have their date tonight? Well, Biana dragged Tam out shopping to give him a makeover, and Sophie insisted on Keefe bringing baked goods. I think it’s revenge for how much unasked-for advice Tam and Keefe gave Sophie and Biana on their first date.” 

Marella laughed. “Honestly, when will those four learn? At this point, it’s become a competition to see which couple can out-wingman the other!” The doorbell rang, and Linh put a hand out to stop Marella getting up. 

“Here, I’ll get it.” She returned a few minutes later with a scroll. “It’s a summons for an assembly in… Tribunal Hall.” Marella clutched the armrests of her seat, her hands growing uncomfortably warm. 

“They’re holding a Tribunal for me?” she asked, trying not to panic. 

“They’re actually just trying to explain everything,” Linh clarified. “They’ll probably explain their reasoning for allowing you to have your ability without being banished, and for keeping it a secret as well.”

“Oh.” Marella relaxed a little bit, though she was still nervous. “When is it?” 

Linh shifted a little bit. “In three hours.” Upon seeing Marella’s reaction, she backpedaled. “Don’t worry; I’m sure everything will be fine!” 

“You don’t know that,” Marella groaned, hiding her face in her hands again. 

“Yes, I do. I know that I won’t let them banish you, even if it means I  get banished again,” Linh promised. 

Marella looked up at her with an expression that probably looked pathetically smitten. “You really mean that?” 

“Of course I do,” Linh answered with a confident grin. “We’re both going to come out of this absolutely fine.” She held Marella close in a hug. 

“We’re going to be fine,” Marella echoed, but it felt like less of a promise to Linh than a promise to herself.

“Absolutely right. Now, let’s go get ready.” 

Marella fidgeted with her ruby-red dress in the front row of Tribunal Hall. The seats behind her were packed with elves. It seemed like the entire population of the Lost Cities had come to watch, but maybe that was just her nerves. 

Sophie sent her a reassuring smile from where she sat, looking elegant in a dark red tunic with black leggings and black blazer, arm in arm with Biana. 

She tried to smile back, but it probably looked more like a grimace. Linh nudged her arm. 

“We’re going to be fine,” she whispered. Marella nodded, entirely unconvinced, but Linh being there calmed her more than a thousand comforting words ever could. 

The buzz of chatter in the room gradually died down as the Council took their seats, flanked by a dozen goblin bodyguards.

“We are here today to discuss the ability of Marella Adene Redek,” Emery stated. “To clarify for anyone who the news has not reached yet, Miss Redek recently manifested as a Pyrokinetic, an ability that, as I’m sure you all know, is banned due to several tragic incidents involving the notoriously volatile and unstable ability. We did not exile her, and allowed her to train in the power at the urging of the Black Swan and Sophie Foster.” That was news to Marella. She supposed it made sense that Sophie would stand up for Marella’s right to train in her ability, but she was still surprised that Sophie had found the time to do it, between all the assignments and missions and cryptic notes from the Black Swan. 

“We kept this secret from the public because we wanted Miss Redek and her family to have privacy, and for the sake of her mother. I assume you all know about Caprise Redek’s injury?” The crowd murmured assent. 

“However, in an incident earlier today that involved several members of the Neverseen, Marella was forced to reveal her Pyrokinesis to Atlantis. I am sure that many of you have opinions about this.”

Alden Vacker stood up. “I would like to make it known that I do not approve of allowing an unstable girl with an unstable ability to train in said ability. The rules banning Pyrokinesis were made for a reason, correct?”

“The rules banning Pyrokinesis were made and signed into effect during a more desperate time, with tragedies involving Pyrokinetics happening left and right,” Councillor Bronte called out.

“That does not change the fact that Marella has been left unchecked with this ability solely because a group of rebels wanted her to be,” Alden argued. Biana glared at him from across the room. If looks could kill…

“Marella is one of the most brilliant, kind, and powerful elves in the Lost Cities,” Linh said abruptly. “There is no reason to judge her based on her ability and not her compassion and bravery. Ask anyone in Atlantis, they all saw her running straight into that fire to stop Fintan today, without a thought for her own safety.”

“Yeah,” Biana stood up. “There’s no reason to worry, Dad.”

“Thank you, Miss Linh and Lady Biana,” Councillor Emery nodded. 

“Miss Redek has not had any Pyrokinesis-related incidents since she manifested. We have been observing her closely, and she is neither unstable nor unreliable,” Bronte said firmly, cementing the decision. 

Marella released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, and Linh squeezed her hand reassuringly. They weren’t out of the woods yet, though. The gathered elves were murmuring disapprovingly, and she heard someone call out.

“Maybe she hasn’t yet! But who knows what will happen?” Marella craned her neck to look for the speaker, but she couldn’t pick them out of the crowd. 

“We will not be changing our decision on allowing Marella to train in her ability,” Councillor Oralie spoke up. “This is final. Remember, we did not call you here for you to question our choices, but to give you the facts.” 

“And the facts have been given,” Emery said. “You are all dismissed. Do not harass Miss Redek because of her ability, and continue to treat her the same as you did before you knew she manifested.”

Linh stood up, Marella trailing behind her, and they filed out of the building surrounded by their friends, and the rest of the crowd. 

“I can’t believe they defended me,” Marella said excitedly. “I mean, I was pretty sure, but you never know.” “I’m not surprised.” Sophie smiled. “The Council can make good decisions from time to time, you know.” 

“By the way, thank you for what you said back there,” Marella addressed both Linh and Biana.

“Oh, it’s no trouble. I’ve been wanting to say that to my dad for ages!” Biana grinned. 

Linh said nothing, but pulled Marella into a hug. “Of course, love.” Biana and Sophie leaped away, and suddenly it was just the two of them. 

“Let’s go back,” Marella said suddenly. “We can steal some of those cupcakes Keefe was making.” 

“I think that after today, no one is going to deny either of us cupcakes,” Linh laughed. 

She held a crystal to the last rays of the sunset, and the two of them stepped into the light.

[blockofbones]

are you saying people on tumblr are being entitled or dream is? i'm just curious about your thoughts on this because everything i've seen you say so far about the whole situation has been so vastly different from the rest of my dash <- not neg

I'm saying tumblr is entitled.

Warning, most will likely just want to unfollow rather than read, because like anon is saying, I do not have the reaction of most of tumblr right now. If the manatreed situation is in anyway upsetting or triggering, I honestly ask that you do what you need to to maintain your mental health, even if its unfollowing or blocking me.

It's been extremely disappointing. Innocent until proven guilty is suddenly guilty until proven innocent.

Trust me bro is a valid source in accusations but not in denying them. The OP essentially said 'okay so the actual proof is behind this stuff I blocked out but trust me it links to them and trust these gaps in logic I fill in for you. Pay no attention to dates that make no sense'.

The onus has always, always been on the accuser in cases except now. The accuser that, reminder, doxxed a victim for malicious reasons.

People are admitting they can't trust sources in the same exact breath they say that Dream is awful and it looks bad and the evidence is 'mounting against him'. You don't even have to visit that hell site to easily see how much of it makes no sense, doesn't match up, and is entirely built on a previous doxx that both Dream and the actual doxxed person denied.

People got more upset at Dream using the word gullible - which people absolutely ARE - than the actual allegations or the accuser doxxing a victim. Somehow Dream is the big villain in all of this, which is baffling. Because he didn't react how certain people want him to, he's suddenly irredeemable. His fucking sister was doxxed so he deleted his private, and people here immediately were tagging how disappointed in him they were, and then how awful it was to go on stream. A stream that, like it or not likely WAS planned, and with his best friend who we know he finds comforting. The man said he was afraid, likely did what he needed to for his own mental health, but because it wasn't some random on the internet's interpretation of the 'right response', it was wrong. I would love to see how these people, anonymous and behind a screen, would react to millions of people watching their every move and judging, being confronted with yet another accusation, with everyone always finding the worst possible interpretation of their actions. And another accusation that hits so close to him for him, to boot. Hindsight is such a benefit.

He legitimately cannot satisfy the angry fans without doxxing himself. His options are doxx himself to prove his innocence, or not say anything and be presumed guilty. Both of those are shit choices in a situation where people keep saying to believe the victim, but this statement doesn't apply. The victim did not make an accusation, was not involved, did not ASK to be involved, and they are railroaded another victim at the same time.

Lastly: everyone talks about how Dream should get legal council, and then that flies out the window as a possibility in a situation which honestly would be the most likely incident for him to do so. His family is legitimately in danger from doxxing. And if he did seek counsel? He would not speak a single thing about this manner. It would be detrimental to his case and risk his council dropping him. So much would be ruined by a single word. Instead, if he sought legal help? They would tell him to shut up about the situation while they worked it out, and lead his life.

And if he hasn't been silenced by a lawyer, it could also be that they are working out how best to prove their innocence without completely doxxing themselves, and I'm sorry, but it is valid to take longer than 24 hours. You don't have to like that he streamed, it can upset you and that's valid, but I wish people would stop acting as the moral authority.

And to be very fucking clear: do not even attempt to come at me in one of those 'you cant speak if you arent a victim' accusations. I am literally the ever-lasting result of an abusive relationship.

[angelinasway]

Regaining Hope

Chapter Five

Pairing: Clark Kent/Buffy Summers

Warnings/Triggers: Torture, Violence, Mention's of Major Character Death, Bad Language, Sexual Tension, Eventual Smut

Summary: Takes place during Man of Steel. When Buffy discovers the U.S Military  trying to keep quiet about an object buried in a twenty thousand year old glacier, she immediately thinks the worst. However, when a surprise  visit to the Canadian Arctic puts her in the path of a mysterious  stranger her whole world is changed forever.

Previous Chapters: [Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Three] [Chapter Four]

[TTH] [AO3] [FFN]

Authors Notes: Hey all!!! Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews, you guys have been incredible, seriously. Now just for that we are about to embark on the romance portion of this fic, until the proverbial shit hits the fan so to speak. Anyway I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Massive thanks to Hipkarma for being such an amazing beta!!! Oh and don't be fooled by the mood board, there is actually no sex in the Champaign Room. Okay I think I just dated myself. Please leave a review, I'm really excited to hear what you all think. Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Five

They had been back at the school about an hour now, the first forty-five minutes spent explaining to Faith and Gunn who and what Clark was. All in all, they’d taken it pretty well once they got past their utter disbelief and accusations of both Clark and Buffy trying to mess with them. Clark had told them pretty much what he had learned on the ship. That his planet was dying and his parents sent him to this world not only to save him, but to help the people of Earth not make the same mistakes the Kryptonian people made. Which of course led to him having to explain what the mistakes were, and even further explanation of what artificial population control was. Buffy had brought up the Matrix and A Brave New World which had the others grimacing at the visual. Clark had explained how he was the first natural birth on the planet in centuries because his parents believed that their people had lost something precious in taking away the option of free choice.

He then explained how the Earth’s sun is a more powerful source of radiation than on his home world and because of that he was pretty much invincible with the exception of anything mystical, of course. Gunn seemed to immediately understand and mentioned how on Pylea Angel could walk in the sun. Buffy wasn’t sure it was as cut and dry as that considering it was interdimensional and not planetary, but then again, she wasn’t exactly a philosopher nor a scientist so she could very well be wrong.

They had all eventually called it a night, and now Buffy and Clark were in her room. He was currently in the shower. Buffy having already taken one before they left for Lorne’s earlier that evening. She used the time to use the bathroom down the hall and change into a white camisole and her favorite blue pajama bottoms after she had scrubbed the small amount of makeup she had on, off her face. She then stopped by the linen closet on the way back to her room grabbing a sheet and blanket before proceeding to make up the couch for Clark. She just had to keep herself busy and her mind off the man currently naked in her bathroom. ‘God, what is wrong with me.’

She heard the water shut off and she stared at the bathroom door. Lorne's words from earlier running through her head.

   "He's what you've been searching for.” Lorne said matter-of-factly. “It’s why you were so drawn to Angel and Spike. Your Slayer has been searching for a suitable mate since the day you were called. She's always known you would be different from the rest. I suspect the Powers knew as well and that’s why you were hidden from the Council."

   "I... I don't understand?" She said in confusion.

   Lorne nodded. “The Powers knew you were the one who would change everything. They knew that it would be you who activated all the Slayers and tipped the power balance between good and evil.” He sighed, “Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and I think we both aren't stupid enough to believe that the Awakening spell Willow used to call all the Slayers didn't have any consequences. Fewer and fewer girls are being called every year. It’s only a matter of time before there’s not a new generation of Slayers at all. And what happens when all of the girls finally die, whether it be some demon or old age? Are you supposed to toe the line until you finally do snap mentally and go insane?”

   Tears filled her eyes. He was right. They all noticed the extreme decline in Slayers being called over the past few years. It had worried all of them to the point of sleepless nights researching for a solution that they still hadn’t been able to find.

   “I… I don’t know,” she whispered.

   “I see something in your future that even you would have never imagined and I'm honestly not sure I should tell you what it is." He admitted.

   "What...why...is it...is it that bad?" She asked, imagining slowly losing her mind until who and what she was is unrecognizable.

   "No, it’s actually not bad at all.” He said, giving her a soft smile. “It’s a good thing. I see the Slayer line continuing, the how and why of that is the part that I feel would be better left for discussion at a later time. I can also say that I know why Willow and Wes have been trying so hard to find Clark and put him in your path." He answered.

   "Why?" she asked.

   "Well, they aren't up to anything nefarious if that’s what you're thinking.” He said, “Clark had two very different futures and I suspect the prophecy mentions both. One I'm not going to tell you about because as far as I can tell it won't happen. The other however, has a happy ending for you both. It won't be easy for either of you. Something’s coming Buffy, something he's going to have to face that he's not ready for."

   "What...what is it?" She whispered

   "I'm not going to tell you, but you will need all hands-on deck when it happens." He answered cryptically.

   "Lorne." Buffy warned, she hated when he did stuff like this. She got why he did it. She really did, but it was more than annoying.

 “No Sunshine.” He said firmly. “I’m not telling you. You can’t stop it from happening even if you wanted to.” He nodded. “He needs training in hand-to-hand combat, as much as you can give him.”

   She frowned. “I don’t like this, Lorne.”

   “I would think something was wrong if you did.” He answered.

   She huffed in annoyance. “Anything else?”

   “Yeah,” he said. “He’s your soulmate, your destiny.”

   Buffy blinked in surprise and then frowned in confusion. That couldn’t be right. “But I thought–”

   “That Angel was.” Lorne finished for her, “No, Princess. Angel was never your soulmate. The closest thing you ever had to a soulmate was Spike, and that’s only because your Slayer found an equal in him in the most primal sense.”

   “But then why did I–”

   “Because you were young. First love always hurts the worst, especially when it’s over.” He sighed. “You have this incredible capacity for love Buffy, and a need for it that is just as great. I think maybe your soul has been searching for Clark this whole time. That on some level it knew he was special, just like you. Angel was the substitute, but he was never the real thing.”

   She sighed looking at her lap. Her hands fidgeting with each other. That was a bit of a revelation for her. She always assumed because of how drawn to each other they had been and the fact that Whistler had sent him to her that they were somehow destined. Then she remembered Whistler’s words from so long ago. He said they weren’t supposed to fall in love. She blinked in surprise. Whistler had been angry at her for sleeping with Angel. Her stomach dropped.

   I mean she knew now, but maybe there was still some small part of her that believed she had killed her soulmate. God, she really was that pathetic. Why had they ever convinced themselves they were somehow this destined couple? It would have saved them so much frustration and heartache if they had just realized the truth.

   “Is there anything else?” She whispered, her self-loathing making her want to end this conversation as quickly as possible.

   “One more thing.” He said seriously. “I know you’ve been harboring a death wish for quite a few years now. That’s gonna need to stop, and I mean today.” She opened her mouth to argue and he held up his hand. “I don’t want to know what would happen to Clark if something happened to you. So, you promise me, right here and now that no matter what happens you will fight for your life as if the world depends on it.”

   Her eyes widened in surprise at his vehemence. It wasn’t every day that the kind hearted demon demanded something from her, and even less did he speak to her like that. He wasn’t necessarily wrong either. She had wanted to die for quite some time now. It’s one of the reasons she often took so many unnecessary risks. Just hoping that her final oblivion would actually be that. She didn’t want to promise him something that she wasn’t actually sure she could help, but she would try. For Lorne, who had been there for her in some of her darkest moments and for Clark, because the guy needed her and she wouldn’t bring him into this world just to throw him to wolves by dying on him.

   She nodded, “Okay…” She assured, “Okay, I promise.”

  The bathroom door suddenly swung open breaking her out of her memory. Her eyes widened as they stared at one of the most beautifully sculpted chests she’d ever seen. She’d honestly never realized chest hair could look so appealing on anyone until that moment. Her eyes traveled from where he wore a pair of grey sweats that hung low on his hips showing off those beautiful creases that disappeared below the elastic band, up his abdomen and the tight muscle there, to his pecs. Her mouth went dry and she licked her lips. ‘God, I’m in so much trouble.’

  When she met his eyes, they were still slightly glassy from their alcohol consumption tonight and seemed to be giving her the same kind of perusal she gave him. He swallowed visibly as they lingered on her chest, slowly moving over her tank top to her blue pajama bottoms where the material was hugging her thighs. When he noticed her watching him his cheeks went pink and he quickly averted his eyes, clearing his throat.

"So, umm...I had fun tonight." He said, moving to sit on the couch, but stopping short when he noticed the sheet tucked around it and a neatly folded blanket and pillow in the corner, so he sat on the armrest instead.

"Me too," she admitted, adjusting her pillows on the bed so she was sitting up more comfortably.

She watched him look around her room. His eyes landing on the few pictures she had on her dresser. He got up and picked up the one with her, Dawn, Abigail and Joyce. It was taken last year during Joyce's second birthday party. Xander had taken the picture while she'd been cuddling with Abby as Joyce said something that had both her and Dawn laughing.

Clark smiled softly at the photo, his eyes roaming over the picture. "Who's this." He asked.

"Me and my little sister with my two nieces," She answered smiling.

"I didn't realize you had a sister." He said surprised. "She wasn't mentioned in the book. Though, I didn't read all of it."

"No," Buffy agreed, "She wouldn't be." She sighed. "After she and Xander had the kids, they decided to be less involved with the Slaying gig. She used to be a Watcher, but now she’s a curator at the Metropolis Museum of Natural History and Xander owns his own contracting company. It’s one of the many reasons she's not mentioned in the book. The other being the less people who know about her true origin the better."

Clark frowned, looking back at the picture and sitting on the end of the bed. "What do you mean."

Buffy sighed again. "It's a really long story, but the gist of it is Dawn was created as my sister, but she wasn't always." Clark's frown deepened, so she elaborated. "She's a key. Her blood is capable of opening all dimensions. A Hell God was after her the year I died. Some monks changed her form, made her human, and sent her to me with all the memories of a life we never actually had together."

He looked at her a long time, his eyes roving over her face as a sudden realization seemed to dawn in them. “You died for her,” he finally whispered.

Tears began to fill her eyes at his words and that’s when she realized how intoxicated she still was, because she was never this emotional unless she was drunk. It’s one of the many reasons she hadn’t become an alcoholic by now. No one likes a sad drunk. So, she always kept her drinking as minimal as possible. Though there were those few occasions when she was alone, she would toast off half a fifth and cry her eyes out.

“Yes,” she admitted, quickly wiping her eyes.

"What happened?" He asked quietly.

She shook her head, sitting up straighter, and hugging her knees to her chest. "I was too late.” She whispered. “Glory got a hold of Dawn and by the time I got to her she was already bleeding and the world was falling apart."

She swallowed the lump in her throat as the memories came flooding back. She felt the bed dip and suddenly she was being pulled against a warm chest as strong arms wrapped around her. She couldn't hold back the tears then.

"Giles told me, I would have to kill her if we were too late, but I... I couldn't." She said emotion clogging her voice. "We had a big fight. I told him that if she died, I was done. I was quitting, even if the world went to hell, I wouldn't do it."

She felt his hand run along her back as she sniffled, her fingers absent mindedly coming up to gently run along the strong corded muscle of his chest the soft hair tickling her palm. She sighed, "There was so much bad that year. A Hell God after my sister, Riley basically cheating and then leaving me because I wasn't emotionally available enough for him, Spike was swearing up and down that he loved me and confusing the hell out of me, and my mom had a tumor and ended up passing away from an aneurysm.” She sniffled again. “And... he...he wanted me to kill the only family I had left. I was so angry with him. How could he possibly ask me to do that?”

His arms tightened around her and he sighed. “I’m so sorry, Buffy.”

“It’s okay.” She whispered. “Anyway, we were on this rickety tower and as I said before when I got to Dawn, she was already bleeding. There was this massive energy rift that was opening dimensions left and right. Dawn tried to run past me. She was gonna jump and try and stop it, but I couldn’t let her do that.” She shook her head. “Maybe I was selfish, but I knew if she died, I would lose myself. I would just completely shatter.” She sighed, “I realized then what I needed to do. Dawn…She was made from me; she had my blood. Summers’ blood. I had gone on a kinda vision quest not long before that and it told me that I’m full of love and death is my gift. It all made sense then. Death was my gift to her.” She bit her lip hoping the pain would stop the quivering in her voice. “I told her I loved her, I told her to take care of my friends, I told her to live for me, I kissed her, and then I jumped.”

His arms tightened even more around her as if the visual was causing him pain. She felt him shake his head before he finally said, “I don’t like the thought of you dying.”

“I used to covet it,” She admitted, finally looking up at him. “Coming back was so hard and then when I found out I was immortal it really screwed me up.” She sighed, “I’ve gotten better over the years but there are some days when dying sounds better than going on.”

He looked at her sadly, his hand coming up to run through her hair. “Why?” He asked quietly.

“Because I was in heaven Clark, and now I can never go back.” She said softly, tears once again filling her eyes.

He sucked in a breath of surprise, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. “Heaven,” he whispered. “It’s…it’s real?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“And God?” He asked.

Buffy shook her head. “I don’t know. I know of gods that do exist, but the one in the bible,” she shook her head again, “I have no idea.”

He sighed, his thumb running along her cheek, before he pulled her back in close and hugged her, planting a kiss on top of her head. “I’m so sorry Buffy,” he said again.

She laid her head on his chest, wrapped her arms around him and they stayed like that a long time. His warmth surrounded her and she could hear the steady cadence of his heartbeat, the sound eased her mind. She realized she’d never felt this comfortable around anyone before, not even Spike had made her feel this much at ease to just be herself.

She pulled back and met his blue eyes, “I don’t think I’ve ever been this open with anyone before. I…I normally fight this kinda thing and it usually takes me forever to really trust someone.” She could feel her face heat up at the words she was about to tell him, but the compulsion to let them be voiced was greater than her wariness of exposing herself so thoroughly. “You make me feel safe, I don’t remember the last time I’ve felt this safe.”

He sighed, his eyes soft and open. “Would you believe me if I told you, I feel the same?” He whispered. “I wanted to tell you what I was almost from the moment I met you. I’ve never wanted to do that with anyone before.”

“Yes,” she said softly. “I believe you.”

“Do you think it has to do with what—” he started, but abruptly stopped.

“The soulmates thing?” Buffy asked, seeing the uncertainty written on his face of whether he should mention it or not.

He seemed to sigh in relief at her words. “How much did he say?”

She shrugged, laying her head back on his chest. “Just that you’re my destiny. That I’ve been subconsciously searching for you all this time.” She sighed, “That you had two different destinies and one he wouldn’t tell me about. Also, something about restoring the Slayer line.” She huffed, “I hate how cryptic empaths are, but he also mentioned something coming for you and that I needed to get you ready.”

Clark nodded. “He told me pretty much the same thing, didn’t mention the Slayer line though.” He sighed, “He…he also told me about the other future.” He was quiet for a long time, eventually asking softly, “Do you want to know what he said?”

Buffy pulled away, something in his voice making her look into his eyes. He looked nervous, almost afraid to tell her. “Is it bad?”

He looked away and nodded, “Yes.” He admitted.

“Do you think it will happen?” She asked.

He met her eyes again and shook his head. “No,” He answered seriously.

She shook her head, “Then I don’t want to know.”

He sighed, a humorless laugh falling from his lips. “Thank God, I find it almost too hard to believe myself.”

Buffy was silent as she remembered her promise to Lorne. “Could this future happen if something happened to me?”

He suddenly went still, his eyes seeming to play out what could happen in his head, a frown marring his face “Possibly,” he acknowledged. “Why?”

She sighed. “Just something Lorne said,” She shrugged. “He basically made me promise not to die.”

Clark nodded, “Then I’d say it’s more than possible.”

She shrugged and yawned, her long flight and evening finally catching up with her, “I’ll just have to keep my promise then.”

Clark smiled, cupping her cheek again. “As much as I’d love to spend the rest of my night talking to you about this stuff, we should probably both get some sleep.”

Buffy nodded in agreement, untangling herself from him as he moved to stand, putting the photo of her sister and the kids back on her dresser and getting himself as comfortable as he could on her leather couch.

“Goodnight, Buffy.” He whispered.

“Goodnight,” She murmured, already halfway to dreamland.

****<S>**<S>****

He was the first one to hear it. His eyes flying open at the loud moan penetrating the neighboring wall. A crash sounded and as much as he tried not to listen, he couldn't block it out. Not with the overwhelming scent of jasmine and citrus filling his nostrils, the scent of Buffy surrounding him in this room. He was trying to be a gentleman here and the unmistakable sounds and smells of rough sex were now penetrating his resolve.

He heard Buffy groan and roll over, grabbing her pillow and covering her head with it. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" She complained.

"My sentiments exactly." He muttered.

He looked at her as she got on her knees and slammed her hand against the wall. "Hey! There are people with super hearing sleeping next door!"

They both heard laughing and he watched her face scrunch up in annoyance when Faith shouted, “Prude!”

"At least I'm not an over sexed dominatrix!" She yelled back.

Clark couldn't help choking a laugh at her reply and she turned her head and glared at him.

"Oh, you think it funny do you. I'll have you know the last time I walked in on them; Faith was wearing a strap-on." Her face scrunched up. "I tell you, there's not enough brillo in the world to scrub that image from my brain."

He grimaced. Yeah, he didn't really need to visualize that either. "Are all Slayers so...domineering?"

Buffy laughed, "Oh god no. That’s totally a Faith thing." She shook her head. "I mean don't get me wrong," She blushed slightly and looked down, "I can certainly be dominant if asked or provoked, but I prefer to be much more submissive in the bedroom." She shrugged, “It’s probably why…well, why human men aren’t as appealing to me. Can’t really be believably pinned down or have that overwhelming loss of control when you’re fifty times stronger than the person you’re with.”

Clark swallowed, an image of him pinning Buffy's arms above her head as he kissed her floated through his mind. He groaned, his fists clenching at his sides. “You really shouldn’t tell me that kind of stuff.” He said gruffly, hearing another crash and loud moan through the wall.

She didn’t say anything for a while, but he knew she was watching him. When he turned his head to make sure he hadn’t offended her, their eyes met in the dark. She was fidgeting, having sat up completely at some point since they were both so rudely awakened.

“Can I…can I ask you something?” She whispered shyly, adding quickly, “It’s totally fine if you don’t want to answer, but I am curious.”

“Okay.” He said nervously, not quite sure what he expected her to ask.

“Why have you never…you know?” She bit her lip. “Like, I get the not wanting anyone to know what you are, but you could have always picked up some girl in a bar and taken her home for the night.”

Clark chuckled humorlessly at her words and removed the blanket sitting up looking at her fully, “Well, there are actually two answers to that question. The first one being that I’m not exactly that kind of guy. I highly doubt I can just have sex and not feel something for that person.” He watched her eyes soften at his words as she nodded in understanding. “The second reason is that I’m too strong. I’ve always been scared I was going to hurt someone if I tried.”

“Oh,” she said in surprise. “I never thought of that.” She blushed, “Though I probably should have, considering I’ve done that before.”

Clark raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You have?”

She nodded, “Yeah,” she said. “Once with my ex, Riley. It was in the beginning of our relationship. I well…I kinda squeezed him too hard,” Her blush deepened, “like from umm…the inside.”

It took Clark a minute to get what she meant, but dear god once he got it, he couldn’t stop his body’s reaction. He squeezed his eyes shut; his cock instantly hard as a soft moan tore from his lips. Just the thought of… ‘God, does she have any idea what she’s doing to me?’

He opened his eyes meeting hers, his breathing picking up at the look of desire in her eyes. She must have heard him. Her pupils were blown wide and he could see her chest rising and falling in time with his erratic breathing. His fist clenched harder as he tried to restrain himself. He hadn’t felt this out of control since he was a kid.

“Buffy,” he said in a strained voice. “That’s probably another one of those things you shouldn’t tell me.”

“Why,” she whispered, her voice suddenly sultry.

He squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled through his nose another humorless laugh falling from his lips, “Because I’m really trying to be a gentleman and my restraint is holding by a thread.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to be a gentleman,” she breathed. “Maybe I want you to kiss me.”

Whatever was left of his resolve finally snapped. He opened his eyes still having the frame of mind enough not to tackle her.

“Come here,” He whispered.

She slowly slid off the bed and walked towards him, her hands fisting the material of her pajama bottoms nervously. "Have you...have you ever kissed anyone before?"

He shook his head, “Not the way you’re suggesting.” He whispered, closing his eyes once again and breathing slowly through his nose to try and rein in his out-of-control hormones.

He felt her move closer still, gasping when he felt the couch dip as she straddled his thighs and he thanked God she didn't fully seat herself in his lap.

"Do you want me to show you how?" She asked, her hand running over the center of his chest, stopping right over his heart and he was sure she could feel how fast it was beating.

He could feel himself trembling just from that small touch alone and he was sure the couch was rattling just as much, but he kept his hands at his sides. Too afraid he would pull her close and she would feel the impact she was having on him.

"Yes," he whispered, his eyes opening to meet her gaze.

She was so close, her large green eyes studied his face as her hand slid up his chest, over his shoulder, and around the back of his neck where she cradled him as she brought him closer. She tilted her head slightly as her soft lips gently brushed his, almost as if she was teasing him. His fists tightened further and he gasped at the sensation, allowing her the chance to seal her lips against his.

Whatever control he thought he had over himself finally shattered. His arms coming around her and yanking her fully against his chest and into his lap. Her warm center gliding over his erection had both of them groaning and gasping in surprise.

The kiss felt wonderful and awkward all at once, not in a bad way. He just really didn’t feel very confident, but she was being patient, moving her lips slowly against his so he could easily follow her lead. When he felt the wet warmth of her tongue swipe along his bottom lip, he gasped allowing her to deepen the kiss. As she slipped into his mouth her taste exploded on his tongue and his hips shot up involuntarily a moan tearing from his lips.

She groaned into his mouth. Her hold on him tightening slightly and he stiffened in worry, pulling away. He tried to slow his breathing before he spoke but it was no use. He was far too worked up. “Did I…did I hurt you?”

“God no.” She laughed, shaking her head. “It felt wonderful.” As if to prove a point she reached her hand out and squeezed his shoulder until it actually did hurt. When he winced slightly, she let go. “You can’t hurt me like this Clark. I know you haven’t exactly seen how strong I am, but I promise you won’t hurt me.” And then she looked down and blushed. “And I’m not…I’m not asking you to have sex with me.” She paused, biting on her bottom lip. “It’s just if you are really my soulmate what’s the point of fighting this? I’m not ready for sex. I haven’t had it in eleven years and it’s gonna be a little while before I am, but I can’t deny,” she gestured between them, “whatever this is. I want you Clark,” She shrugged, “And I know you want me, but everyone’s gotta learn to walk before they can swim and I just… I haven’t felt this type of closeness to anyone for a very long time…” She breathed a sigh getting closer to his lips. “I just want to feel you,” and then she was really kissing him, her tongue sliding in and out of his mouth so sensually he didn’t know how to think straight.

When she tried to pull away, he chased after her sucking her tongue into his mouth. His hips once again slamming into her, grabbing her waist, and pressing her down onto him. He pulled away from her mouth choking out, “Oh god, I want you so much.”

Buffy moaned loudly, her hips beginning to gyrate and swirl against his cock. She looked at him knowingly, and then began to slowly kiss him from his jaw line up to his ear.

“Do you want to come, Clark?” Her hot breath tickled his ear before he felt her lips wrap around the lobe, sucking it into her mouth, and scraping her teeth along it.

"Oh fuck!" He moaned, his hips shooting up and meeting hers. It wasn't very often he cursed like that but right now seemed more than appropriate. God, he wanted to run his hands all over her, squeeze her breasts, cup her ass. His eyes rolled into the back of his head at the thought of tasting her. His whole body was on fire, he’d never felt anything like this in his life and he’d jerked off plenty of times. He wasn’t stupid, he knew sex would be different than masturbation but this wasn’t even sex.

He heard her gasp at his words and she pressed herself down into him harder. "Oh god." She moaned.

His hands pressed more firmly into her hips and he began to guide her movements. Words spilling from his lips that he never knew himself capable of using. "You like that don't you," He almost growled. "Like making me lose control, like getting yourself off on me."

She moaned louder this time. "God yes." Her hips moving faster against him.

He moaned and slipped his tongue into her mouth as she rocked back and forth. His teeth scraping along her bottom lip as he pulled away to watch her. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was partially open, her movements becoming jerky and needy. He'd seen enough porn to know the signs of a woman about to have an orgasm, even if he knew at least half of them were faked.

"Are you gonna come, Buffy?" He whispered hungrily, studying every little gasp and pant she made.

"Uh-huh.” She whimpered, nodding.

"Good," He panted, his cock throbbing with its own impending release. "Because I don't know how much longer I can hold out."

She doubled her efforts then, planting her hand firmly on his chest, her fingers curling into his hairs as she sped up. The couch they were on beginning to groan and creak under their unrelenting pace. It was by far the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, her chasing her release as she ground herself against him.

It didn't take long after that; a mewling whine of his name tore from her lips and she threw her head back, her spine arching as her orgasm slammed into her. The picture of her like that alone sent him over the edge, knowing he was at least partially responsible in making her do that. His arms wrapped around her and he buried his face in her shoulder as he cried out her name. His sweats soaking through as he came.

Her arms wrapped around him and they stayed like that a long time, wrapped in a warm embrace. Both of them trembling from their orgasm or what they had just experienced, he wasn’t sure. When they finally seemed to get the trembling and their breathing back to normal Buffy pulled away and gave him the softest, sweetest look anyone had ever given him.

“That was–”

“Incredible,” he breathed.

Buffy giggled. “I’d say more like earth shattering.”

Clark chuckled, “I didn’t know something could feel so good.”

Buffy nodded, “Honestly, neither did I. I know it’s been a while, but damn.” She looked at him shyly. “I don’t know what came over me,” And then she frowned, a worry line creasing her brow. “I wasn’t…I wasn’t too forceful or anything was I? I think I got kinda carried away and am almost feeling like I may have pushed you into this somehow.”

Clark eyes softened and he reached out and cupped her cheek, “Buffy if I didn’t want to do that, I would have pushed you away. What you just gave me… I can’t even express in words how beautiful it was.”

She sighed, before leaning up to kiss him softly. “Thank you.”

He blushed, clearing his throat. “I should probably take another shower.”

She bit her lip trying to hold back her proud smile and nodded standing up, but he grabbed her hand bringing her back down so he could softly kiss her again, before saying. “Try to get a couple more hours of sleep and then I’m taking you out to breakfast.”

She smiled and nodded in agreement, “Okay.” She said, heading towards her bed as he got up and headed back into the shower, glad he still had his boxers to fall back on.

****<S>**<S>****

The phone rang and Wes picked it up on the first ring. “Did he sing?”

There was a pause on the other line. “Yeah.”

“And?” Wes asked impatiently.

“Look Wes, I wanna know what this prophecy is all about. You can’t just drop something like this on me and not tell me.” Lorne said over the line.

Wes sighed, “It’s about a being from another world that will either destroy the Slayer line or sustain it.”

Lorne was quiet for a long time, “It’s him.”

Wes blew out a breath. “And his future?”

“Well, it’s not roses and daffodils, but I don’t think he’ll destroy the Slayer line.” Lorne answered seriously.

“Thank god for that.” Wesley murmured. “Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah,” Lorne said. “You should up the Slayers you have in and around India, Metropolis, and Kansas. You’re gonna need them there in about two weeks, toodles.” And then he hung up.

Wes glared at the phone, looking up when Willow walked in. “Is it done?” She asked

He nodded, “Yes it will only be a matter of time until they’re inseparable.”

“And the other thing?” She asked.

“Lorne doesn’t seem to think it will happen.” He answered.

Willow nodded, sighing in relief. “Well, that’s good news, right?”

Wes nodded, “Lets hope so.”

[lovleez]

oner 《恶浪》 mv/film theory

(this is less of a theory and more of a debunking of the mv though)

warnings: mentions of violence, murder (i wont include gifs of the bloody moments but it will be discussed!!!), animal abuse, and a bomb or two ? (someone gets blown up ;-;)

honestly the debunking might get a lil bit dark around the ling chao and ziyang individual parts, so be warned of that!

it would be helpful for you to watch/listen to these to process whats going on here:

oner 《恶浪》 mv (cw blood, murder, animal abuse, & heavy violence - please dont watch if these are triggers for you!!!) (there’s also eng subs in this link ^^)

oner - AGENT  (this is a song, but there’s quite a bit of dialogue near the end that ties into this plot!)  (cw gunshot, beeping noises that resemble a bomb ?? - all at the end of the song w/ the dialogue)

okay lets dive into it d(^-^)> !!!

to get the important info out of the way!

the start of the mv shows the three of them chilling on the couch, as friends do, watching,,well themselves on the screen (oner’s past performances as idols) (and i do believe that the idols part of this has some significance that i can figure out). the important takeaway from the beginning rlly is that they’re three good friends...who are completely unaware of each other’s secret occupations

their occupations being: ziyang, a murderer, yueyue, a spy, and ling chao, a hacker

now to jump into the main story! (starting around 1:35)

yueyue and ziyang both have the same target: the man in the restaurant. however yueyue gets there first and does his job well, as he gets away without being caught. ziyang is frustrated that his target is taken already.

*interesting detail here, but when trying to enter, ziyang shows them a ring with a purple jewel in the middle for entry,,,coincidentally, the man yueyue kills in the bar in his personal segment in the film later also has the same ring? obv the ring is for the restaurant entry so maybe ziyang wasn’t going to kill this “boss” but maybe negotiate/discuss something with him instead...but also thats disproven by the fact that ziyang pulled out a gun to presumably shoot him before realizing the dude was dead....

but also,,,suspicious how there was a zoom in to the purple ring when yueyue kills the man in the bar..maybe it means more than we think it does? altho im not too sure what  to think abt it for now

     for reference:

     ziyang’s ring                                    

     dead man in bar’s ring

.

moving on 

okay so since yueyue is a spy n all, he has to confirm his kill somewhere right? this somewhere is a phone booth,,,one that ling chao has rigged up with a bomb,,,,

speculation: someone hired ling chao to kill someone who will be approaching the phone booth; at this time, lc doesn’t know that this someone is yueyue (and is v shocked to see him there through his cameras as evident by his “what the hell! are you kidding me?”)

....and after this part the film dives into their personal stories to give more background on who  these three are (i’ll expand on those after i finish explaining the present timeline ^^) before coming back to the main story 

so!

ling chao “accidentally” blew up yueyue oh no (he’s still alive tho yey)

& then yueyue holds up a piece of candy,,,and immediately knows its ling chao (cuz its the piece of candy lc was eating earlier in the film) 

(and to take care of all loose ends that my brain is providing me with: in the beginning they didn’t know abt each other’s secret occupations...how does yueyue know that lc is capable of doing this? my answer: they used to be agent buddies!!! i’ll expand on this later hehe)

 .

and so

it was at this moment ling chao knew...he fucked up

he’s afraid yueyue might come after him.

which, is exactly what yueyue does

after going home or somewhere, yueyue receives a text telling him to get rid of “them” (ling chao) bc his “identity is exposed” 

....so now yueyue has to go and hunt down his buddy ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

and they fight! looks very painful for ling chao,,,poor dude,,,

since ziyang comes out from the back door to join the fight, theres two possibilities that come from this:

1) ling chao knew yueyue was coming and knew he couldnt take him down himself (lets be honest; he looks rlly scrawny) so he called ziyang to his location for backup (how could he know ziyang can fight? agent buddies 👐) 

2) ziyang and ling chao live together in the same house

anyways, both results making it obvious that ling chao and ziyang are on the same team while yueyue is on another (lets ignore the fact that ling chao was getting up to fight ziyang as well)

the fight scene is so dramatic oml T-T

ziyang could also be motivated to beat up yueyue in this fight cuz the dude did  take his target before he himself could (loophole: how did ziyang know it was yueyue who took his target? answer: maybe yueyue left like a signature or smthn at the crime scene, or ziyang saw him walk out  ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯ )

and when they all beat the living heck out of each other and are dramatically lying down in different areas of the room 

the tv turns on to a council saying “still want to be idols?”

(and remember, the thing they were watching on tv earlier was themselves performing,,,as idols. i cant connect it further than that so lemme know if yall figure smthn out ^-^)

so mayhaps this council is yueyue’s agency and they wanted to turn the trio against each other...? they would have set this whole situation up: they knew ziyang wanted to kill the restaurant “boss”, so they assigned yueyue to take care of him first, which creates conflict between those two. then, they hired ling chao to rig up a phone booth with a bomb; basically setting him up against yueyue

whether this council succeeds with their plan or not is unrevealed bc the film has a “to be continued” at the end, so the storyline still will have more to it!!!

although i would say the council succeeded since they all did beat each other bruised and bloody

.

that leaves the question: why  is the council setting them up against each other?

what are there previous connections beyond them just being friends 👀 ?

and here i shall bring back the “agent buddies” bit i was talking abt earlier, as well as why i linked the agent song in the beginning

near the end of the mv, there’s quite a lot of dialogue between the three of them, and it goes like this:

[robotic voice: welcome agent oner

ling chao (?): check 

yueyue: yo what up guys!

ziyang: yo what up bro

ziyang (yueyue?): alright lets take them out

yueyue: okay gentlemen we got a lot to do

ziyang: ey we gotta finish this quick, i got a date tonight

yueyue: really?

ziyang: no hard feelings (couldnt catch the rest)

yueyue: okay shut up

ling chao: hey guys, i saw a hit

(?): copy that

yueyue (ziyang?): hold your breath....now

ling chao: guys watch out

yueyue: okay guys locked and loaded

*single shot can be heard, then the reloading of a gun*

yueyue (?): go go go!

yueyue: fire fire fire!

yueyue: ???? *indistinguishable orders*

ziyang?: i got trouble i got trouble

yueyue: ?? i got ?? lets go

ling chao: stay together

ziyang (yueyue??): okay set to kill

ling chao: damn the truck is (blown?)

yueyue: what the hell

ziyang: okay let me (???) it

*bomb beeping noises*

yueyue: ???? clean this blood on my shirt]

(not sure how accurate my hearing is but its enough to make some guesses 😅)

agent buddies! the three of them used to be agents, as the song is titled, at some agency...and they probably made a pretty strong team together

the agency story would explain why they all seem to be good fighters too!

thats why the council might have wanted to tear them apart. perhaps the council was doing something that they knew would displease the trio, so they needed them separated lest they team up and try to defeat them 

i also think this audio could have been describing a mission going wrong for them, possibly their last one as a team. someone was probably hurt (im betting on either ziyang or ling chao), and they quit the agency and aimed to live normal lives from then on

...but old habits are hard to forget, so ziyang starts to kill ppl in his free time, yueyue joined another agency as a spy, and ling chao uses his hacking skills for other purposes

however they all dont tell each other, which could add on to the tension of their fight at the end of the film

.

now to dive into their individual bits of the film. these all don’t connect much to the main lore, just expands onto their lives with their secret occupations btw!

.

YUEYUE

his segment details moments in his daily agent life; im guessing he’s not very happy with it judging by his nightmares? or the nightmares are bringing up his past at his old agency which he does not like

he’s also master of disguise woah

personally i think he’s losing “who he is”. he’s always playing the role of another person, always putting on another disguise...so he starts losing his sense of identity (if that makes sense ;-;) 

(and if you wanna stretch it and make things wholesome, maybe the only times he [feels like himself] is when he’s around his two friends)

so basically: he’s always filling out other personas to the point where he doesnt know who he is anymore

(this is also the segment where he kills a man in the bar with poison,,,and the man was wearing the same ring as ziyang,,,,which is like Hm. why’d the directors do that 🤔)

.

ZIYANG

aka the murderer :D

(and not just regular serial killer type, more like joker-esque type where they’re a bit insane,,,)

okay his segment starts of with him dragging a man through a white room, where the floors is covered with plastic, and on the walls are a bunch of clay molds of human body parts

:D

my brain has concluded that! ziyang takes clay and makes molds of his victim’s faces/body parts of who he kills! to make statues! 

(i dont even know how i got there aksjdhdh but thats just what i assumed the first time i watched this film thingy)

and to make it more messed up than it already sounds,,,im guessing he’s a famous statue maker too, and holds shows where he presents his works to the public and maybe even bids them off ?

     ,,,,little did the audience know,,,,

          (this kinda remind me of sally and gabe’s statue from the pjo too now aksjhdkdh)

(i got this assumption from 6:50 in the film where he walks out in front of an audience who start clapping,,,and let my brain run wild with the rest,,,)

of course, he probably kills off the people he was the molding the clay off of once he’s done with his works,,,or sometimes even in the middle of his works as shown in the mv (*-* )

but alas that is not all to his story,,,

judging by his flashbacks when he’s beating that one dude to death with a bat, he used to be bullied when he was in school, which seems to be the source of all his anger throughout the film..

    ( yeah he killed the bullies too (_ _ )> )

its part of his personality to be rough and short tempered - he doesn’t like people looking down on him (as the bullies did)

and,,,if you want to be wholesome again! perhaps he found some bits of happiness and peace when hanging out with the others :]

.

LING CHAO

cw: animals abuse!!! 

his is pretty simple and is already explained in the mv itself! i’ll walk ya’ll through it though in case you didn’t watch the film tho akdjdjkf

basically: he’s just a dude who loves dogs :]

a lot

in his segment, a girl (handong, looking absolutely stunning ToT) approaches him wanting to take home another stray, and when he asks her where how the previous dog she adopted was doing, she says that “my bestie loved him a lot, so i gave him to her” ( -_- )

so...he lets her keep the dog, but also decides to keep an eye on her...to the point where she becomes very paranoid that someone is stalking her (which..she isnt wrong in)(but she doesn’t believe it to be ling chao because they’re..dating? i think? and he lulls her into a false sense of security that he’ll protect her from harm)

and then bam! one day he breaks into her house, steals the dog away, and then,,,,blows her up,,,,,

(i must say as disturbing this scene is,,,,i absolutely adore ling chao’s look here askjdjfd)

(i mean?? look at him?? loving the black lipstick ugh)

(v pale tho ;-;)

okay anyways the next flashbacks reveal that handong was abusing her dogs & starving them, and him being the animal lover he is, decides to kill her for it ig

(also she,,,stabbed the other dog that she “gave to her bestie” so-)

yeahh thats the end of his story; nothing much to take from it except that his hacker skills are still intact past agent days 

.

.

.

annnd thats a wrap folks! nothing else to expand on; i’ll definitely make another part to expand on this if they decide to release another mini film in the future tho :]

[luna-nigthshade-wood]

TIMELINES THAT WEREN´T

Summary: A young reaper/ time entity talks about all the times she came in contact with Dean Winchester, and what would have happened if no one had interfered.

Genre: Gen

Angst, Hurt

Trigger warnings: Abuse, sexual abuse, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt(s), murder.

Chapter 3: When Dean Winchester die for the second time, he was still 4

It was also the same night of the first time. Surprisingly, it wasn´t in the fire, but it was a directly consequence of it. You see, the powers that are (or whatever they like to be call) thinks themselves absolute (time will call them on their bull anytime, because for all they think themselves genius, they understand very little of humans), so they thought their first intervention was enough to keep their preferred timeline going, that was their first mistake. The second, was leaving altogether; and the third, was forgetting that Death rarely likes to be cheated (the humans even made a franchise about the subject, you would think the ethereal beings would know better than what they called “mud monkeys”). They would learn their mistake very quickly

See, a lot of people would think that Dean would go back for his dad and mom to the house on fire, and they would have a point, but even at 4, Dean was very protective of his little brother, so when his dad told him to take Sammy and run, he took his job very serious, so what exactly went wrong? The problem was that little Dean took his father´s words at heart and wouldn´t let little Sammy out of his arms, thus the paramedics had to checked Sam around Dean, when they manage to get John out and the chaos surronding them, nobody noticed that no one had checked Dean to see if he was okay. In the cacophony, that followed nobody heard little coughs that were losing intensity and volume as the time passed, nobody saw a hand clutching at his chest, and nobody took notice of a little kid that was losing his fight with conscious, at least not until almost four hours later when a father tried to wake up his eldest in the worst night of his life that sadly hadn´t finish yet (it was a very tragic and cruel sight to see, to anyone that was looking). This timeline, unlike the first one, differed so terribly that it could barely be called the same story.

Here, John Winchester never searched for Mary´s killer, he couldn´t, he just didn´t have the strength to. There is a hard truth that everybody most know, before we go any further, in all timelines Dean Winchester is the glue that keeps his family together and is also the rock where his parents and his brother(s) relay on. Without him, John suddenly went downhill fast and far, dragging Sam with him. John took to the bottle like a lifesaver and did very little to raise Sam. In this universe, Missouri seek John herself to try explain but he shot her down, he didn’t want to know (in a twisted kind of way, in his grief, John try to protect Sam, it was entirely misguided). Sam´s life was a big parallel to another one of Azazel´s children named Max. John was an alcoholic ex-marine with PTSD who never seek council, who had also lost half his family in a single night, Sam never really stood a chance. His childhood was terrible; he took the responsibility that Dean would have taken. When he entered high school, he started hanging with the wrong sort which would promptly sealed his fate. There was no one to stir him to the right path, therefore at the age of 17 he ran away of his home and went with a few friends to leave a “lavish” life of drugs, alcohol and sex, it is not like he could have gone to college (between chores, preventing his father from drowning in the bottle, avoiding CPS and trying to get cash so they wouldn´t get evicted, there was no way he could get good notes). John would die a year after, chocking in his own vomit, they would find his body almost two weeks later. Sam had a little more luck, he never found out about his father (he wouldn’t have care anyway) and continue travelling across country, doing small jobs to support his addiction, sleeping and wandering the streets. There was never a Jess in his life (that actually is not true, time reflects, he did meet her once, she was on spring break in a really bad frat party, he thought he was seeing an angel, he hadn´t been sober in almost two years at that point) so when he started having visions of a woman burning in the ceiling, he did what he would normally do, and snort another line of coke (Jess´s death was predestinated, it actually didn´t matter whether she was dating Sam or not, fate is terrible like that). Sam´s life ended one grim night on an old town called Cold Oak, after he was stabbed by Jake Talley (there was no one that cared enough to make a deal)

This timeline was brutal in more ways than one and the consequences didn´t stop there, there was no Apocalypse, but a young army man who was corrupted by Yellow Eyes ascended a throne that wasn´t for him, bringing chaos in his wake and unleashing hell on earth (honestly, they really screwed up, because no one was ready for someone other than Sam to get the title of Boy King).

It goes without saying that this was not the wanted result of anyone´s agenda, so the higher ups decided to correct their error, thus sending a young angel disguised as a paramedic to heal little Dean (thought they would never remember, this was the first time that Castiel and Dean met). Therefore, the timeline was corrected for the second time, and there was an unanimous decision to keep a better watch on their key pieces (that didn´t last as long as you would think)  

First chapter   <<Previous Next>>>  AO3

[irwinkitten]

feisty | a.i | part two

notes: so this was deff requested after i posted feisty about 8 months ago lmao i got sent an anon who literally astounded me with their idea and so working off that, part two started to get created and honestly i love it so much. however, as i posted the other day, it reached 16k and i was like “this isn’t even halfway done i need to stop and reevaluate this” so i’ve decided it’s gonna be three parts with part three already started.  request: Hi I was thinking ab Feisty (I’m the one who requested a pt 2) but like I was really thinking about it and I absolutely adore the way Cassie was written. She’s strong, she’s powerful, and she knows what she wants. She never turned her back on the idea of a pack and being part of one even tho she’s human. I was wondering if maybe you could incorporate the idea of her having a wolf, but that wolf is locked inside of her, but it slowly makes it way out in different ways. Like the idea she’s a 1/?  Like one day she’s getting extremely riled up and all of a sudden only her eyes shift and everyone around her is like “um the FUCK Luna???” And no one knows how she was able to do that but then maybe she finds some sort of ancient script ab humans among werewolves and they’re actually extremely powerful and something to be feared bc they’re sent to guide the pack and all of a sudden it makes sense bc Roxanne and Trixie are both extremely smart and intelligent and the other humans within 2/? The pack that have come around during her time also have the same intelligence and wisdom that the wolves tend to overlook and it look Cassie for the packs to understand and appreciate their power and it’s like up to her to continue to push forward and make sure that all packs respect the humans as if they were a wolf themselves but inside the humans is a wolf more powerful that they’re in tune with which is why they are able to lead the pack and point out the flaws in plans and makes them so 3/? Valuable to the packs in different forms and she’s out here being bad fucking ass and she won’t take no for an answer and she just has all this power and she knows she might just be a human in many of the wolves eyes forever but she’ll be damned if she doesn’t go down trying to change that bc no one, I repeat no one, should disrespect her or the others like her bc they are not less than the wolves and idk that might not be the way you were thinking of taking it but it’s just what I imagine 4/? Bc I think it would be really cool to see the other wolves reactions to her having some sort of power within her that’s untapped, along w the other humans and the backlash and rebellion that could ensue. Like how are these ~humans~ so powerful they’re just that, filthy, disgusting humans and I think that would be a really cool spin on it but that’s just me lol. Tbh it’s time to go reread feisty again and just revel in how well written Cassie is and how much I am DYING for a part 2 5/5 ALSO sorry I was just thinking that you could make Roxanne’s mate someone powerful as well, showing that even those who are tortured are destined for greatness warnings: mentions of murder, death, word count: 14.2k lmao am i ever gonna write a small one shot that’s an oc? probably not.

part one

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The low alarm that keened throughout the small town of werewolves, it was one of both comfort and panic. The panic was of those who had been living on the edge, scared to step from the packs boarders without a warrior or two within distance or sight. 

The comfort resided within the Alpha and Luna, both who had planned and expected this to happen. 

There was a traitor.

The pair peeled themselves away from the bed, both fully focused on the fact that what they had seen, what had been pointed out to them had come to fruition.

“Luna?” A soft voice came from one of the rooms below theirs as they reached the next floor below, both dressed in similar attire, yet the Alpha’s attire was less restrictive than the Luna’s.

“You were right Trixie.” The soft tone of reassurance did nothing to stop the teenagers lip from wobbling. 

“So many are going to be hurt.” She whispered dejectedly as the Luna opened her arms out to the young girl. She stepped forwards into the embrace.

“Come, the elders will insist you are awake.” 

Nothing was spoken as the young woman and her charge continued further down, heading into the office that was located on the ground floor.

“Luna Cassidy, it’s about time.” The scathing tone of the Elder of Vinewood Pack reached her, Cassidy Irwin drew herself to her full height, meeting the Elder with a hard glare.

“Trixie Teller is the one who foresaw this. Need I remind you that she is but a child in all of this? They may be rogues but they are waging war, Elder Greydown. The knowledge of such a thing being right is distressing for any wolf, let alone a human teenager.” She snapped in return. The Elder scowled but did not refute her argument.

“Elder Greydown, I do not want to remind you, yet again to respect my Luna.” Cassidy watched as the Elder bowed to her mate.

“My apologies, Alpha Ashton.” Cassidy ignored the slight against her and bundled the trembling teenager into the spot between herself and her mate. Ashton did not hesitate to let his arm wrap around the teenagers shoulders, and she leaned gratefully into her Alpha’s comfort.

“Beta Hemmings has made contact with the warriors on patrol. They know not to engage, and survey the attempted attack.”

“Who knew of the council meeting?” Another Elder spoke up. It took a second before Cassidy realised it was Elder Maybanks.

“None outside this circle were told. Not even young Trixie knew of this.” Eyes fell on the form of the still shaking human teenager whose eyes were heavy and her body exhausted.

The silence of the alarm was deafening and the howl that followed in its wake was pain filled.

“They found the traitor.” Trixie whispered. Cassidy wanted to shield her from the pain, the dull reminder of her loss of Talon still serving her as a constant reminder of the failure that haunted her dreams.

“Should the human even be here?” Elder Greydown spoke, his tone condescending.

“You are coming very close to insulting someone under my protection, Elder Greydown.” Cassidy snapped. She received a scoff in return and Elder Maybanks exploded.

“You teach our pups to be tolerant, yet you cannot be tolerant of the two humans who have served our pack faithfully! It begs the question, what kind of tolerance are you filling the pups heads with in the first place?” 

Ashton held back the growl of frustration. He knew the Elder’s struggling attitude with the changes that Vinewood Pack had undergone. 

“Now is not the time.” Cassidy spoke, her tone stern and unrelenting. Elder Greydown huffed, but did not argue with her. She shared a look with Ashton and Elder Maybanks. They knew that they would be asking Greydown to step down before the week was out.

A sharp hiss escaped from Trixie before it turned into a whimper. 

“He’s hurt. Abel is hurt.” She got out as Cassidy held her face, forcing the teenager to look at her.

“You are here and safe. Alpha Irwin is tracking each of the warriors.” She knew better than to make the promise that he would return safely.

“His brothers are with him. He’ll be healed before he gets home.” Ashton reassured the teenager who gave into the tears. Cassidy understood. She allowed the teenager to cling to her in comfort as Ashton moved to his desk, tapping away at the laptop.

“Rosewood has confirmed that it’s Leo.” Ashton muttered and she sighed as Trixie finally relaxed against her. She carefully lay her down on the couch, tucking the blanket around her.

“How bad?” Cassidy finally asked once the teenagers breathing evened out.

“Sixteen wolves were injured. Two are serious, but the pack doctor with them has reassured me that they’ll be okay eventually.” Ashton murmured and his gaze returned to the two Elders in the room.

“We will require you at the offices by noon.” Both of them bowed to Ashton. Elder Maybanks bowed to Cassidy, Elder Greydown did not.

“If he wasn’t an Elder, I’d have Calum break his neck.” She muttered darkly once Ashton nodded that the two Elders had indeed returned home.

“He’s going to be retired from his position. Are your new teachers ready to take over the position?” She sighed.

“I think so. But there’s still some animosity between Roxanne and Gwen.” Ashton sighed.

“Gwen believes that Roxanne is the reason for her Aunt and Uncles’ demise and her cousins restriction, doesn’t she?” Cassidy nodded.

“Gwen is still openly hostile with her, and as much as I have tried to ingrain that Roxanne was the victim, she will see nothing of it. Personally, I’m close to pulling Gwen off the course and moving her to something that isn’t so potentially volatile.” Ashton nodded at his mates words, allowing her to talk freely.

Ever since they had returned so many years ago from his first visit to her old pack, she’d planned with various teachers about teaching the pups to practice tolerance and acceptance of humans within the pack. It became more so when more humans had been born.

Only a handful, but Ashton could see that each of them were gifted. Born years apart, the youngest only being just shy of a year old, and the oldest at the age of six already, Ashton knew that changes needed to be made and fast. 

The human girl they had rescued so long ago, Roxanne Teller, had been a significant trigger for the changes. Cassidy was determined that no child should suffer the fate that she had suffered.

Just shy of her twenty first birthday, Roxanne had been determined to do her adoptive parents proud. And she had excelled with Cassidy as her mentor.

Her younger sister, Trixie, was in a league of her own. Freshly turned fifteen year old was an extrodinaire with technology. Ashton had been the one to encourage that. But when she had turned thirteen, she’d been gifted with prophetic visions.

The Moon Goddess, Selene had appeared to both Trixie, and the Irwins, to explain the prophetic nature of the teenagers dreams.

They were dreams that could not be altered by choices or decisions. They were outcomes that the fates had decided themselves. Cassidy, was rightfully angry with her Goddess for placing such a burden onto the shoulders of someone so young.

“They will be prophecies of the years you will experience and the years you will never see. They are to guide my children into the rightful acceptance that you have started.” 

Cassidy knew she could not remain angry with the fates if they had deemed Trixie their host to record prophecies for years to come. 

Many had complained of Ashton taking both girls under his wing, but at the Alpha’s conference, both Ashton and her previous Alpha, Isaac Lockard told them of the successes that Cassidy had. 

That was the day the first laws began to change. Abuse of a human born or mated into a pack would be met with penalties and jail time. Anything that could be seen as an attempted murder will be met with either exile or execution.

Alpha’s grumbled about that until Cassidy stood up on the podium, her eyes sharp as she snatched a dagger from one of the security wolves belts and sliced her hand open like she did to her own pack.

Alpha’s watched in fascinated horror as her blood trailed down her hand, dripping onto the stage. 

She’d forcefully pointed out that any attack on a human could be considered attempted murder because there was no accelerated healing. 

The High Council has been quick to distinguish parameters of what was considered abuse and what was considered an attack.

It wasn’t a lot, but it had been a start for Cassidy.

===

Both were used to sleepless nights, and this one was no different. Ashton had his werewolf stamina to keep him going, Cassidy relied on caffeine to keep her afloat.

When Trixie stirred, she jolted awake in shock, a short gasp of hair escaping as black curls seemed to fly everywhere, wild eyes searching the room.

“It happened.” It wasn’t a question but Ashton nodded anyway.

“We had some injuries, but they’ll make a recovery. We found the traitor.” 

The tone in Ashton’s voice had dropped from reassuring to deadly in seconds, and Trixie couldn’t help herself as she shuddered. Part of her was grateful to her Luna that she demanded Trixie be kept away from any kind of interrogation. 

She didn’t want to be on the end of Alpha Ashton’s tone.

The shrill ring of the phone made the teenager jump in fright and Cassidy smiled as Ashton answered the phone.

“Morning Isaac.” 

Something was spoken for a second as Ashton placed the phone handle face down before hitting the speakerphone button.

“You’re on speaker now, Isaac. Trixie is with us.” 

The other Alpha did not need to be told the warning in Ashton’s tone. Keep it teenager friendly.

“Leo was injured last night. Hope nailed him good, however he was rescued by a wolf waiting on standby. It looks like there are a few traitors from packs within their cause.” Cassidy sighed.

“We managed to catch ours, or at least the only one we hope we have. What about your side?” Cassidy finally asked.

“Dead.” Came the blunt response and Trixie gasped.

“Isaac.” Cassidy snapped back as she took a hold of Trixie’s hands. “There was nothing you could do for them, sweet girl.”

“My apologies Miss Teller. Unfortunately, there would’ve been no saving this wolf. The rogues had clawed into their very minds and warped their entire views.” Trixie finally nodded before a blush crept up her skin. 

“It’s forgiven, Alpha Isaac.” She finally got out and Ashton smiled at her reassuringly. “If I can be excused? I know that Rox wanted to meet for breakfast and she’ll crucify me if I’m late.” Ashton nodded.

The excuse was weak, but she was still too young in Ashton’s eyes.

Once the door had closed, Cassidy moved herself to Ashton’s lap, his arms winding around her waist.

“Who was it, Isaac?” 

“Gregory Sampson.” Cassidy closed her eyes at that, her heart sinking at the fact the sweet boy she knew had turned traitor. 

“Who discovered him?” She felt Ashton’s hand on her hip, his thumb rubbing slow circles into her skin. 

“Kallie Tyson.” Came the amused response and Cassidy snorted. 

“What tipped her off?” 

“She was there the day Leo was exiled. Apparently he hadn’t bothered to dampen his scent and she smelled him all over Sampson. She’s been wary of a lot of wolves after the whole debacle years ago. When she realised the scent, she went to patrol and alerted them.” Isaac explained and she sighed. 

“Was Sampson executed immediately?” Ashton’s tone was a lot more calmer than the harsh tones he’d spoken earlier. 

“No. We got him for all the information that he was worth. I know that another two packs caught traitors, not including yours. Cassidy I’d say collate with the other strategists. Get the information any way possible and work through it.” A low sigh escaped her lips and Isaac paused. “Cassie?” 

She tried not to groan, she knew that when her old Alpha called her Cassie, it was his way of checking in with her as her surrogate family member and not her old Alpha. 

Before she could speak up, Ashton cut her off, giving her an apologetic glance. 

“Elder Greydown has been testing her patience. He’s been the one who has been teaching other pack Elders for tolerance with humans. However he borderline disrespects Cass in front of other Elders and pack members.”

Cassidy found she couldn’t be angry with Ashton as she laid her head on his shoulder, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek to convey that she wasn’t mad at him. 

Isaac growled audibly. 

“I’m assuming that his position is about to become open to other Elders?” 

“Yes and no.” Cassidy answered calmly. “I’ve been training pack members to take over that role. However there’s been animosity between the two of them so I may ask for an outside Elder to come in and learn but then teach other packs.” 

“I’ll speak with Elder Orion. You know he forever asks after you.” Cassidy grinned. 

“That’s because I’m respectful to my elders, old timer.” She teased and Isaac barked out a laugh. 

“Alright trouble. Get in touch when you want to plan with the strategists. I’ll spread the word to the other packs.” 

“Appreciated Isaac.” Ashton muttered before the line went dead and Cassidy sighed. 

“How long do we have until we need to be at the offices?” This earned a tired groan from Ashton. 

“I don’t want to have to deal with Greydown’s disrespect. I’m hoping that the other Elders being there will reign him in but I’m not going to hold my breath. We need to start moving now if we want to get there on time.” 

Cassidy moves from her mates arms, but not before giving him a gentle kiss. He smiled in return before pushing himself up and the two headed to get changed from the black outfits they’d worn in preparation. 

Part of Cassidy was raging. Angry that rogues would make this attempt. Another part of her was filled with sorrow, knowing full well that there would be packs that would collapse from that kind of onslaught. 

By the time the two had reached the offices, her mind was whirling. She greeted the Elders that were gathered, unsurprised at the lack of respect from Greydown. 

It hit her. 

She kept her body relaxed, refusing to give away her realisation. She knew that the moment he was discovered, it would either cause more problems or give them their solutions. 

Taking Ashton’s hand in hers was always normal. Absentmindedly, she began to trace letters into his palm, making out soft patterns at each space so the game wouldn’t be given away. 

The Elders knew she was very touchy with her mate for good reason. They eventually got used to their Luna’s quirks, barely concealed amusement on their lips at the resigned look on their Alpha’s face when she threw herself into the architectural planning of new homes. 

Ashton understood her message, immediately switching to plan B. They’d concocted this plan when lay together, her mind frazzled with worry of a traitor being someone so close to them they’d never suspect it. 

“Greydown.” 

“Yes Alpha?”

“Tell me Greydown, why do you respect me but not my mate? And if you utter a word about her humanity, I’m sure she will take gleeful pleasure in throwing you from the window.” Ashton’s casual comment was met with a look of fear. 

He pinned the older man down with a dead stare, the mirth gone from his face. 

“She doesn’t know how to run a pack. And as your Luna, she still falls under your command yet flounces it regardless.” Both Irwins could see the hesitation. His words were just another dig at her humanity without outright saying the words. 

“Tell me Elder Greydown, I have ever disrespected your authority?” Cassidy started. Ashton leaned back with a smirk. 

“No, Luna.” 

“Have I ever been found lacking with my leadership, especially when I was appointed the Head of the strategists?” His smirk grew wider. Greydown became slightly flustered, his cheeks dark as he avoided looking at her. 

“No Luna.” 

“Look at me.” Her voice rang with the authority she held as the Alpha’s mate and Greydown’s head snapped up, staring at her in shock and awe. 

“Why do you believe that my humanity is a problem then? Everyone knows a wolf's mate is their ultimate weakness. Why is my humanity a deciding factor in that too? Or do you just hate humans on principle?” Greydown kept his lips pressed shut. “Answer me, Elder Greydown.” Her voice rang with the authority once more and he found himself unable to keep his mouth closed much longer. 

“They’re a disease that needs to be taken under control. We’ve had six runts born since you arrived and clearly it’s knowledge of a disease to spread to packs, to ruin the hierarchy.” 

Ashton’s smirk had fallen from his lips, standing from his chair as he stalked forward, closing the distance between the two. 

Cassidy didn’t even try to stop her mate. She’d learned fast he was a possessive mate at the best of times but anyone disrespecting her? 

She could only hope for Greydown that Ashton was in a kind mood. 

“Watch how you speak about my mate, Greydown.” The growl was low, a warning. 

Greydown scoffed in return. 

“I will speak of the human how I want. She wants to believe she’s Luna so badly.” 

The room froze at the Elders words, Ashton glancing back to his mate who had closed her eyes in rage and frustration. 

She paid no mind to the others as she rose from her seat, her eyes snapping open and glaring at Elder Greydown. She didn’t miss how his eyes widened and his cheeks drained of their colour. 

“You have no right to speak to me like that. Let alone the other humans in this pack who will outsmart you six ways to Sunday. You’re relieved of your duties of teaching tolerance. Tell me, would Leo Lockard treat this failure with the retribution he tried to give to me?” 

The shock turned to horror. He attempted to move but found himself being pinned down. 

“Sit still.” Cassidy snapped, her anger flooding dangerously. Greydown froze and didn’t move. 

“Get him out of here.” Ashton snapped to the two guards that had restrained Greydown. His attention turned to Cassidy. 

“Love, you need to calm down.”

“Why?” Ashton didn’t respond to her, merely pulling her to the mirror that sat in the office. 

She stared at herself in shock, fingers reaching up to touch her skin, her eyes focused on the amber coloured eyes that stared back in shock. 

Her gaze met Ashton’s as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

“We can ask around other Elders. They’ll have something we can work on, with what’s going on.” Cassidy found her voice lost as she looked back to the mirror, watching as the amber coloured eyes faded, leaving her bright green eyes confused and tired.

===

It’d been days since Greydown had been exposed as a traitor to the pack. Ashton had kept the techniques used quiet, but he relayed all the information that Greydown had given them. 

Part of Cassidy was screaming at her, telling her that something was off with the information.

“Ashton, I’m not saying that I don’t believe you-” The gentle smile from her mate as he cut her off relaxed her tense shoulders.

“-but it feels like something is wrong. I know sweetheart. But we’ve tried every tactic.” Ashton climbed into bed with her, her body automatically pressing against his as they fell into their positions easily. 

Sometimes Cassidy marvelled at the bond. Their first year together was almost purely physical, like they were trying to reconnect their souls. And she’d guessed that in a sense they were. But the smallest thing would set Ashton off, and vice versa. 

They learned what buttons could be pressed and what they needed to avoid. And after the first year, it calmed down so fast part of her wondered if it had just been a bizarre yet realistic dream. 

When it had come to nights, they could share the night easily, no hastily ripped off clothes or pushing their delights into the early hours of the morning. Some days Cassidy just enjoyed being held by her mate, and others she enjoyed the way he ravished her until the early break of dawn. 

Tonight was a night where she was content to lay in his arms, fingers trailing up and down her skin.

“Would you be willing to let me try?” Her question made him tense, but she was surprised he didn’t outright reject the idea immediately. This caused her to turn her head towards her mate who was wearing a contemplative look on his face.

“That wouldn’t be a bad idea. He wouldn’t expect you.” 

“And we can see if what happened the other day happens again. It looked like he couldn’t even fight my orders, although he must’ve tried.” Cassidy’s tone was convincing, hardly daring to believe that her mate was even considering this. 

“It’s one way of looking at it. But also, if he’s the only traitor to the pack, he’s the only one that knows about your eyes and the slight change. It means we have an avenue to look into that people may underestimate you for.” She could see that his mind was disappearing down various ideas. So she reached up and kissed him softly.

“We’ll keep considering my handsome mate. But both of us need rest, especially if I get to do this tomorrow.” The tease was delicate but Ashton could only grin. 

“As you wish, my love.” 

The following morning, Trixie was waiting for the couple at the breakfast bar. The majority of wolves that lived in the main pack house had either gone to school or work, or they’d be returning home from their shifts in the next few hours.

“Alpha.” Ashton took in Trixie’s exhausted state, her hands trembling but the determination set on her face intrigued him.

“Yes Miss Teller?” 

She’s following formalities, Cassidy mused as she remained at Ashton’s side.

“Selene came to me last night. She has instructed me to oversee the next three days.” Immediately Ashton tensed and Cassidy wondered if he was going to change his mind about her dealing with the traitor.

Then it dawned on her that the techniques he’d most probably used wouldn’t be good for a fifteen year old human to see.

“What were her exact words, Miss Teller?” Ashton’s response was calm, but Cassidy knew her mate better.

“Tell your Alpha that the next three days are crucial for you. A prophecy will be in play that you do not understand, but must follow through.” Ashton hummed as he took in her exhausted appearance.

“What happened in the dream, Trix?” Her body seemed to sag at the use of her name as tears flooded her face.

“It was Roxanne.” Dread filled Cassidy’s stomach.

“She was h-hurt so badly. But no one cared about her!” Ashton was quicker than Cassidy as he soothed the distressed teenager. “S-she was dying, in the middle of a road. They hurt her so much. Tied her to a kennel and left her in the wilderness.” Cassidy froze. 

“Sweetheart, what else happened?” 

“She was crying for our Luna, but they laughed. They-they-” She was sobbing into Ashton’s chest now, her words cut off from her sobbing but when the two mates shared a look, they knew exactly what she had seen.

Her nightmare had been a mixture of what had actually happened to her older sister with her own nightmare of Cassidy never answering the call she’d made as a child. Cassidy left her mate to comfort Trixie as she called Roxanne.

“Luna?” Her voice was groggy and tired.

After the prophetic dreams began, Rae Teller had requested that Trixie remain in the pack house, knowing that the urgency and frequency of these dreams would be too much for the teenager. It’d distressed both the sisters and parents when the move first happened and Trixie was struggling, feeling like her parents were rejecting her.

However Rae called her every night for a month and visited as often as her new job would allow. She’d rediscovered her talent in peacekeeping, and often went on envoys with her husband to attempt to settle various conflicts. 

Trixie then understood the need of her job and was the first to convince her parents to make the first trip when she was fourteen. Roxanne had already moved out of the pack house by that point but the sisters would meet for lunch before their respective school hours and work hours and almost always shared dinners together.

“You’re needed at the pack house today.” She responded softly.

“Is Trixie-”

“Your sister is fine. I’ll explain when you get here.” Cassidy cut her off calmly, knowing that she needed to be the voice of reason at this point.

Roxanne hated her past, she never opened up about it to anyone apart from the therapist that Ashton had convinced her to see not long before her eighteenth birthday. She’d resisted till she broke down in front of her Alpha. That was her turning point.

She’d never talked about the details to her parents, but they knew she’d been abused. However it had been some kind of unanimous agreement that Trixie would never learn of the horrors Roxanne suffered.

Their Goddess had taken the decision from their hands and shown her in her dreams in the worst way possible.

When Roxanne arrived, her hair dishevelled and clothes seemingly the first things she could pull on-sweatpants and a tank top-Cassidy intercepted her at the door.

“I need to tell you so it doesn’t shock you. Our Goddess came to Trixie last night.” Immediately Roxanne was wary, her dirty blonde hair falling in front of her eyes as she pulled it into a loose bun.

“Luna, what did she show her?” 

“There’s something that’s going to happen today, I’m going to see the traitor we caught,” Roxanne’s eyes widened, “she was told she needed to be with me as it happened. However, the Goddess emphasised her point by showing you.” 

“Me?”

“Specifically, what happened to you before I found you.” Cassidy watched as Roxanne took a step back, her face filled with shock followed by anger. Then resignment.

“It scared her, didn’t it?”

“She’s clinging to my mate sobbing her heart out, distressed because she saw you getting hurt. Apparently you called out for me and I never came.” That in itself was distressing for Cassidy, to turn her back on someone in need.

Roxanne didn’t hesitate to hug her Luna tightly.

“You came for me regardless. And you came for her too.” Cassidy felt slightly guilty, her own distress at the words eating her up. But Roxanne didn’t relent as she pulled away and looked towards the kitchen.

Cassidy needed no further encouragement as she led Roxanne to the kitchen to find that Ashton had sat on the bar stool, Trixie was sat cradled in his lap like a child. His voice was soothing, the sobbing having receded to gentle hiccups of noises as his fingers worked through her dishevelled jet black curls. 

All Cassidy could think at that moment was how good a father he would be when they were ready.

“Trix?” Roxanne’s voice was hesitant and Cassidy watched as the younger sister scrambled off Ashton’s lap, launching at her sister, the tears still streaming down her face.

“Alpha told me that it was real. Please, please tell me he’s lying.” Cassidy could feel the tears prick the corner of her eyes. Roxanne’s were falling down her cheek.

“Alpha wasn’t lying, baby. Before Luna saved me, those nasty people who had me, hurt me in the worst ways. But then Luna rescued me, and brought me to you, where momma was the first wolf to show an ounce of love towards me.” 

“R-rox.” the younger Teller’s voice trembled as she gasped her sisters name, but Roxanne shushed her, soothing her back curls with her hands as she pulled away to look her sister in the eyes.

“Then you came in, sat atop our Alpha’s shoulders and asked me to be your sister, that your warrior would protect us both and we’d have big brothers who are teddy bears.” Cassidy pressed her lips to stop the giggle at the description of Josh and Jacob. 

The twins had lived up to that description, both of them forming solid friendships with the girls as they got older. No other wolf dared to insult the girls, knowing that it would get back to the warriors and they’d be facing a pissed off Alpha.

“I was reborn that day because of you, Trixie. You, momma and pops gave me a new life that I wanted. Whatever our Goddess showed you was probably true, I was treated with cruelty and hatred. But I found love in abundance with you.” 

It wasn’t much longer till Trixie had calmed down enough to let her sister go, only to return to her Alpha and accept the hug that he offered her.

“I’m assuming our Goddess showed you that to show what could most likely happen. She’s done it before so we’ll follow her guidance for now. But any signal that you want out, just show and we’ll get you out of there, okay?” Trixie nodded against his shoulder before he moved and began to make breakfast.

Roxanne sat down, throwing a cheeky smirk to her Alpha.

“It’s not often you get an Alpha making breakfast for you Trix. Maybe I need to come by more often.” 

“You can make your own breakfast, ratbag.”

“Hey, I came over here at your mates request! I was lying in the most comfortable bed at the time.” Roxanne whined in return, earning a laugh from Ashton.

“I doubt your mate would appreciate you calling him a bed.” Roxanne snorted.

“He makes the bed worth the comfort, but he doesn’t match the comfort of that bed and he knows it.” Ashton laughed, Trixie’s own soft giggles joining in and Cassidy smiled as she realised their ploy. 

To make the teenager giggle. 

When they reached the pack offices, Trixie was a lot more relaxed. Roxanne had foregone this trip, not entirely comfortable with the idea of watching an interrogation.

Ashton didn’t begrudge her this, instead asked her to coordinate with the other Elder’s with Elder Maybanks. The Elder never questioned the change, knowing that the disrespect would never have gone unpunished in Ashton’s eyes.

Cassidy felt her nerves, knowing that pack eyes were on her whether they’d announced this or not. People looked to how she dealt with situations and this was another one.

Calum greeted them with ease, pulling Trixie into a bear hug which made her giggle. 

“Everything okay little bird?” His voice was quiet and she nodded her head, glancing at Ashton. He nodded it in return. 

“Selene came to me last night.” Calum raised a curious eyebrow at that. 

“She decided to show her something that involved her sister.” Cassidy’s voice was tight and Calum gave her a confused look before she shook her head subtly. 

He took the indication and moved the subject forward. 

“So that was what drew my mate from me first thing? Sounds fair. Didn’t think I’d see you here though, little bird.” The statement wasn’t laid with curiosity as the group finally moved, Trixie pulling away to move back to Cassidy’s side. 

“I was told to be here.” Was the only reply she could give. Ashton smiled at her before motioning to his Head Warrior to hold fire. 

Calum fell silent as they made their way through the offices, his stern glare making wolves pause in their approach. 

Abel held no such qualms when he realised who was with his Alpha. 

“You’re safe.” Trixie breathes before rushing to meet him, her arms going around his neck as she held him tightly. 

“I’m sorry. Jacob got to me quick enough so it’s only desk duty for a few days rather than weeks.” He murmured in return and she simply held him a little bit tighter. 

Cassidy watched with relief as he comforted her and she shared a small smile with both Ashton and Calum. 

Abel had been invaluable to the Tellers. After his discovery that Trixie was his mate, he made every effort to help them get Roxanne settled into what should’ve been a life that she should’ve experienced growing up. 

Trixie was kept in the dark about her mate until she moved into the pack house and finally understood that loving her best friend the way she did was okay because he was hers. 

When Ashton offered to allow Abel to stay in the pack house she shook her head almost immediately; to Ashton’s confusion and Cassidy’s amusement. 

“I-I don’t want that with him. Not yet.” Her voice was timid and Cassidy understood. 

Ashton wasn’t quite so understanding. 

“But he’s your mate?” Cassidy took pity on her own mate. 

“She’s not ready to explore that side of their relationship. He’s her best friend and she’s comfortable enough to admit that she loves him but this is new territory for her. Not to mention, I doubt she wants anything untoward happening under her Alpha’s roof.” Cassidy’s explanation had sent Trixie red as a tomato, her eyes unable to meet her Alpha or Luna’s gazes.

But she nodded.

Then the light-bulb clicked for Ashton and he pressed his lips to hold back a laugh. He knew that laughing at the young human would distress her. 

“Don’t be ashamed of your choice, Trixie. You know Abel will wait for you.” Ashton finally managed without choking on the words. 

She’d fled soon after and then Ashton had laughed at the fact that she was so mortified. 

But in that moment, the way her hands fluttered around his face-her eyes and hands searching for any visible injuries-it was painfully obvious how much she cared for him. 

“Abel, with us if you will?” Ashton instructed as the group began to move once more. Trixie was torn between her Luna and her mate and Cassidy simply came up to her other side so that she was sandwiched between them. 

Two more wolves followed behind whilst Ashton and Calum took the lead. 

The group remained silent until they reached the elevator, only daring to talk as they passed underground level. 

“Why is Trixie here, Alpha?” Abel finally asked and Cassidy just nodded at Ashton’s brief glance. 

“She’s here because we found the traitor. Elder Greydown. We’ve tried to get all the information, however we’re not sure to trust it so religiously. So my mate is going to take a crack at him. According to Selene, Trixie must be with her.” Abel felt his stomach jolt as they reached the lowest level. 

Cassidy took pity on the warrior wolf, his eyes darting to an oblivious Trixie. 

“She was shown what happened to her sister.” Calum blanched at that, his sharp gaze meeting Cassidy’s. 

“She didn’t.” He barely got out, his eyes flickering to Trixie who had seemed to hunch in on herself once she’d registered the conversation. 

The group reached the first offices available to them which in turn gave Calum a second to pull his own composure as he sat down with Trixie. 

“Have you spoken to Rox since the dream, little bird?” She nodded her head. “Do you understand what happened in the dream?” 

She hesitated. 

“I understand some of it. But not all of it.” She whispered and Calum wiped his hand down his face, a slow breath escaping him. 

“Calum, I do not need her distressed before the interview.” Ashton warned and Cassidy sighed. 

“She needs to understand it. As much as I hate the fact that Selene took the decision from all of us, she needs to understand the actions of those wolves and the consequences that followed.” Ashton frowned at his mate but did not contradict her as Calum leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees as his chin rested on his clasped hands. 

“Tell me what the Goddess showed you, little bird.” 

She described the dream in horrific detail, registering every mark and cut that had covered her sister's body in the dream. 

Abel had fallen into his stoic face, Cassidy belatedly realising he was there that day to see the aftermath. 

Calum was patient and wiped the tears that appeared on Trixie’s face as she described how both girls had been calling out for their Luna, but she never came. 

“I’m so sorry you had to witness that, little bird.” Calum murmured and she took in a shaky breath at his words. 

“Why did she show me that?” She finally whispered, the tears still in her eyes. Glancing to his Alpha, Calum rubbed his face with his hands before pulling away, a sigh escaping his lips. 

“Our goddess is showing you that we’re on the right path. That had Alpha Lockard not cared for our Luna like he did, she would’ve died. That the packs would’ve potentially fallen to rouges if this continues.” Cassidy felt her stomach twist as Ashton’s arm wrapped around her possessively. 

She couldn’t even find it in her to tell him to leave her be, because she knew on some level that hearing your mate might never have survived was difficult to hear. 

“Humans are at the centre of this. There’s something in play that we don’t know about yet, but Greydown knows something.” Ashton finally murmured and Calum nodded his head as they finally stood and made their way to the interrogation rooms. 

“If you need out, hit the door once. Twice if you need help.” Ashton murmured to Cassidy. She took a moment to see that he was genuinely worried, his eyes anxious and she placed her hand on his cheek, pressing a kiss to his lips. 

“We’ll be cautious.” She murmured, knowing it was entirely pointless but she needed him to know that the thought was there. 

Greydown openly smirked when they both entered the room, his arms bound behind his back, legs shackled to the chair he was sitting on. 

“The big bad Alpha decided to send the humans? Ha. That boy was never an alpha. He wanted to so desperately believe but letting humans do a wolf's work? Pathetic.” Cassidy kept silent, her eyebrow lifting up being the only indication that she was listening. 

This unnerved Greydown as Trixie followed her Luna’s example and kept her face impassive. 

‘Don’t say a word. He’ll crumble.’ A voice whispered to the young human. She gave no indication, no acknowledgement. Simply stared at Greydown. 

“Humans have been a bane to all the packs, to the lives we lead. Why should they be the ones who don’t have to hide?” 

Silence was his only answer once more. 

“Infections. The old prophets believed humans to be some kind of saviours of the packs. You’re nothing but thorns in our sides.” Cassidy moved. 

“You believed words of a prophet?” Her tone was empty, and Greydown sneered. 

“They were heralded as truth for centuries. But no humans were born to packs until now. Their words are nought but lies and desperation.” Trixie hid her smirk. 

“Why were they lies and desperation?” Cassidy kept her tone impassive once more and Greydown scoffed before spitting at her. Trixie stiffened, the disrespect sending something akin to fury down her spine. 

“The human born to wolves of lore, will hold the knowledge of Alphas unsure. To train and love and win the days, the wolves must seek their human mates. The one who shows the righteous path, will guide the Alpha to their new start. The prophet, the hurt, the broken and bent, will bring new times of peace and death. The dead reborn shall hold the keys, to start anew with the springtime breeze. The lonely wolf with no chance to escape, shall tear one from life to meet their fate. The humans born to wolves of lore, will lead the packs to glory and more.” The words were intoned, emotionless as another scoff followed. 

Cassidy shared a look with Trixie. 

“You will tell me how much Leo knows of this.” There was a firm edge to her voice and Trixie witnessed her Luna’s eyes flash amber. 

“Leo knows nothing of the prophecy. He refused to believe in something that would, in his eyes, be wrong.” Greydown responded before his eyes widened and his lips clamped shut. 

“Tell me what you know of what is happening to me.” Trixie felt a tingle run down her spine. Something in her was begging to submit to her Luna. Something she’d never felt before. 

Greydown’s lips parted despite his obvious attempts to keep them shut. 

“There were prophecies, that depicted the human born to wolves would possess the wolf. The human would have control of the wolf inside but there would be no change, no transformation. It would mark the start of an era that would either succeed or collapse. The prophet never said.” 

Greydown’s words were forced, reluctant. But Cassidy paid him no mind as she turned her attention to Trixie. 

Cassidy watched as Trixie stiffened, her eyes rolling back into her head as she let out a harsh breath. Her first instinct was to reach out but Greydown twitched and she froze. 

“The traitors are gone, the cause is done but the wolf that roams alone will continue. The wolf that was denied will fight and the wolf that has sprung forth will thrive. The traitors are gone and the cause is done.” 

Greydown stared at Trixie in shock as her head tilted forward, her eyes refocusing before her knees gave out. 

The door burst open, Calum and Ashton storming in. Calum went to Trixie, scooping up the teenager with ease whilst Ashton wasted no time in knocking Greydown out before his attention returned to Cassidy. 

“It’s answered a lot of questions. We’ll need to go to the Elders to learn more about this prophecy.” She nodded, but her focus was on Trixie who had taken in a startled breath. 

“I’ve got you little bird. Abel is waiting for you.” Calum’s voice was gentle as they reached the meeting room they were previously in and Abel wasted no time in getting to his feet, cradling his mate so gently as she trembled. 

“That was scary.” She finally whispered, her eyes finding her Luna who was pressed against her mate, relaxing to his touch as his fingers massaged her temples. 

“It means you’re a strong prophet little bird. And we need to talk to the elders sooner rather than later.” Calum piped up and Cassidy sighed. 

“There’s a lot we need to discuss with them. And maybe we can get this worked out before Leo decides to try his hand at another ambush.” Cassidy muttered as she sent Trixie a reassuring smile, leaning into Ashton’s touch. 

===

When the Elders met, Cassidy brightened upon seeing Elder Orion. And despite her ingrained sense of respect, the second he opened his arms in greeting, she allowed the comfort of her previous elder wash over her. 

“You truly have thrived, Luna. Your father and old Alpha pass on their wishes.” She found herself smiling at him before greeting the other elders. 

“Luna Cassidy, what happened after we dispersed?” Elder Maybanks went straight to it once they were sat down. She sat protectively next to Trixie, her mate on the other side. 

Abel realised there was more to the situation and remained silent as he comforted his mate, knowing she needed that more than anything. 

“A lot of things have happened, Elder Maybanks. Our Alpha has been interrogating the traitor, when Selene came to young Trixie once more. She was shown what happened to her sister upon a decision that was made to use the new skills I’ve acquired,” she hesitated but Elder Maybanks nodded, “he told us about the prophecies.” 

Elder Orion's gaze sharpened at her words and Elder Maybanks sighed. 

“What else happened, Child?” Cassidy found herself hesitating, glancing at Trixie. The young girl took in a deep breath, her shoulders determined, but her hands trembled. 

“I gave a prophecy.” 

The Elders froze. 

“Are you sure?” Elder Maybanks words were sharp, a steely glint in his eyes. 

“I saw it with my own eyes, as did Head Warrior Hood. She’s a true prophet and a strong one.” Ashton cut in before Cassidy could snap. She bristled at the silent accusations of deceit from the Elder but Ashton had stopped her from putting her foot in it. 

The worried looks shared between the Elders caused the Alpha and Luna to exchange worried looks. If this was concerning the Elders, what was happening? 

“This changes a lot of things.” Elder Orion muttered as he leaned back in his chair. “Luna Cassidy, do you remember what I taught you about prophets?” 

Cassidy could feel every set of eyes on her, and she determinedly ignored the look of shock from Elder Maybanks as she tried to remember what Elder Orion was discussing.

“I remember when you taught me about the witch trials, how packs were found by hunters who were seeking out witches and razed towns to the ground, no man, woman or child surviving. You mentioned something about prophets being saved by other packs but I don’t remember much else.” He nodded his head, turning to the other wolves in the room.

“Whilst Cassidy was growing up, Alpha Lockard assumed that she may have been a prophet. Not to say that she wasn’t extremely clever in her own right, but she seemed to predict the wrong moves that were made. We later realised that she had a strategic mind, a mind that calculated every potential move. There’s not been a prophet within the packs since the 1700’s. After the witch trials, they simply vanished.” Elder Orion explained.

This caused an alarm for Trixie, her grip on her mates hand getting tighter.

Elder Orion noticed immediately and smiled kindly to the distressed teenager.

“It is simply believed that prophets moved packs and never spoke about their gifts. We have always watched out for potential prophets in the more recent years, but in my own living history, I’ve never seen or heard of a prophet until you, Miss Teller.” This did little to soothe her, but Cassidy placed her arm around Trixie in comfort.

“Why is any of this important?” Calum finally asked, his eyes flickering between his mates little sister and Elder Orion.

“Because if Selene has truly gifted her as a true prophet, it will change the tide with the rogues. But also she will be sought out by many other packs, determined to bind her to their pack with a mate of their choice.” 

Those very words were the wrong ones to say. 

Abel growled lowly, the noise startling Trixie as his own body seemed to fight the transformation, amber coloured eyes glowing.

Cassidy felt her stomach swoop before Ashton stepped in.

“Abel, if you shift, you will hurt her. I’m ordering you to calm down.” The power of the command was heavy, his eyes falling shut as he went to move his arms around Trixie, but he froze.

Without any prompting, the teenager moved so that she was sitting on his lap, allowing him to pull her closer, his face pressing into her hair as he took in slow, steady breaths.

“I think that answers that.” Ashton muttered and Cassidy just felt the absurdity of the comment hit her, a giggle breaking through her lips before she was laughing, her head resting on Ashton’s shoulder.

“I think Luna has lost the plot.” A soft whisper came from beside her and she found herself struggling for air as she shook her head.

“I haven’t lost the plot. Just my mates comment, and the whole absurd idea that Abel would even let anyone near Trixie if she were in danger.” The teenager understood her Luna's words immediately and the two shared grins.

Ashton merely rolled his eyes at his own mate fondly, a soft smile on his lips before his attention turned back to the elders. 

“Is there anything we can do for now?” 

Elder Orion shook his head.

“The best thing we can do is protect her secret. Greydown will have to die regardless of his knowledge. He heard her prophecy.” This sobered the room up immediately, Trixie’s smile fading as she realised the implications.

“Is that because of me?” The question was timid and Elder Orion paused, his gaze turning to Cassidy and Ashton who turned their attention to the timid teenager.

“He was a traitor to the pack regardless of him hearing your prophecy. Traitors to the pack have two options. Exile or death. Greydown knows too much to be allowed exile.” Ashton explained softly and she sighed, a small nod following seconds later.

“I understand.” Cassidy could see that she did understand, and grimaced slightly, but there was nothing she could do.

“We also need to discuss what happened to Cass. Her eyes turned amber when she interrogated Greydown when she realised he was the traitor. Do you have any ideas?” 

The two Elders shared a look before Maybanks spoke up this time.

“There is something, Greydown wasn’t wrong when he said that Elder’s across the globe believed that prophecy to ring true. We need to get full facts from some contacts. When we know more, we’ll sit down with you, if that’s okay Luna?” 

Cassidy nodded her head.

“That works for me Elder Maybanks. It’ll give us a chance to deal with the consequences of today before we look into my own changes.” The two Elders nodded before the group dispersed and they went back to the main offices.

“Abel, finish up today and then take the next couple of days off. It’ll help your healing so long as you do nothing strenuous, so no weights and no shifting.” Calum finally muttered and Trixie stared at him in shock before turning to her mate.

Abel seemed to break into relief, his lips curving into a gentle smile. He knew a gift was being given to him at this moment and he decided to take it.

“Thank you Warrior Hood. I’ll be sure all paperwork is done and then take my leave.” He pressed a kiss to Trixie’s temple before making his way back to the small cubicle that was his whilst the rest of the group headed out of the pack offices.

“I’ll take Trixie back home.” Casidy hummed and Ashton nodded, his lips meeting hers in a short, sweet kiss.

“I’ll handle the problem. If there are any issues, I’ll call. Drive safe.” And with those words, they disappeared back into the pack offices and her gut knew what was going to happen. But she ignored those thoughts. Greydown was beyond saving, so it would be a mercy. 

The ride back home was silent.

When they returned home, Trixie disappeared into her room, causing Cassidy to sigh before she made her way to her office.

It was one thing she was insistent on when her move to the pack became permanent. 

She knew that Ashton had nothing to hide from her, and he knew that she had nothing to hide from him. However they both realised that being up in each others space wasn’t going to help either of them. 

So she convinced Michael to stay on as strategist, however he then convinced the Elder’s to make her appointment not only official, but put her up there with the other Alpha’s. Within three years of moving to Vinewood, she was appointed the Head Strategist for all of the continents packs. 

She accepted the title with grace in public, but within the confines of Ashton’s office, she voiced her ways of brutally murdering Michael as payback for putting this on her shoulders.

However, she shone as she went from strength to strength and that was when both her and Ashton decided to install an office for her and her alone. It meant that any confidential information would remain as so, but also it gave her the space that was not only hers, but also showed her hard work and the results of that hard work.

Once ensconced within her office, she contacted the other packs that had been attacked, gathering the information about the traitors and anything they had in common. That was what they needed to discover before Leo twisted his claws into more wolves. 

It was easy to work in the silence, tapping away at her computer as she emailed back and forth with a few of the other pack strategists. 

It was only when a gentle knock on her door made her pause, tearing her eyes away from the computer.

“Come in.” 

There was a second of hesitation before the door opened to reveal a red eyed Trixie Teller and she felt her heart going out to the teenager.

“Sit down sweetheart.” Her tone was reassuring and gentle, coaxing the young girl to try to relax.

Once the door was shut and Trixie was seated, Cassidy studied her for a moment before she resumed typing away, knowing that the young girl would speak when she was ready.

She’d been dealt with a lot of knowledge, some of that being the death of a pack member because they heard her prophecy. It was a lot for anyone to take in, let alone a teenager.

The silence seemed to stretch on for longer than Cassidy had expected, but she’d glanced over a few times to make sure she was still there. 

She was, but her eyes were glued to the floor, not even glancing up.

So Cassidy stopped, switching off her monitor and resting her hands on her desk.

“Talk to me sweetheart.” And finally, Trixie looked up, a frown upon her features.

“Today has been a lot.” The statement was simple, but it spoke volumes for Cassidy.

“It has. What do you want to talk about first?” 

“Elder Greydown, well I guess he isn’t an elder anymore, but still. Why would Alpha kill him instead of exiling him? Even if he didn’t know of the prophecy?” The question was a good one, and Cassidy had been expecting it.

“You see, Greydown had continually disrespected me as Luna since day one. This has been six years of abuse that’s been building up. However, he committed treason against the pack. He willingly put young wolves in danger because he believed us to be diseased.” 

She watched as Trixie’s face dropped.

“You wanted to redeem him, didn’t you?” The question wasn’t accusatory, and one look upon Cassidy’s face helped Trixie understand that. So she nodded.

“I didn’t want to think he was that bad that he deserved death over exile.” She finally whispered and Cassidy sighed once she realised that they’d stumbled onto the crux of the matter.

“It’s nice to try and see the best in people, trust me I did that for years. It was how I met my best friend. But sometimes, people just don’t have any good qualities in them. Greydown was one of those wolves who refused to see silver linings. He did not teach tolerance to the pack pups like he was meant to, he could have knowingly sabotaged that ambush that resulted in Abel getting hurt.” 

She hated using Trixie’s mate as a point, but she needed the teenager to know that he’d arranged for it to happen in such a way. Mates were sacred, and had he succeeded in killing Abel, she would’ve been a shell of a person, either choosing to live like her sister had done and pray for a second chance mate, or follow after him.

And Cassidy was certain that she would’ve chosen to follow after him.

“He’s the reason why Abel got hurt?” There was a steely glint in her eyes, her jaw clenching and Cassidy hesitantly nodded her head.

“Ashton uncovered his treachery. It’s another reason why exile was not possible. He actively worked against the pack that nearly resulted in a death. The last time that happened in any pack and they chose exile, it led to the rogue issue that we have currently.” 

“Leo?” Cassidy nodded. “What happened?” 

And so the two sat there as Cassidy told her stories of her best friend, of how he had put faith in her plans but Leo-the jealous son of the Alpha who favored her-sabotaged her plans, therefore worked against the pack that resulted in Talon’s death.

Trixie remained stunned as she heard this tale for the first time, her unease slowly slipping away as she found herself engrossed in the story that her Luna was telling her.

By the time that Ashton had returned home, both girls had migrated down to the kitchen, choosing to cook a small meal together as Cassidy told Trixie tales of her childhood. 

And despite how the day had gone, the heaviness that weighed on his chest, seeing the two of them giggling together over something that his mate had done when she was a child, it lifted Ashton’s soul from the floor back to the heavens where she’d first lifted it when he met her.

Trixie greeted her Alpha with ease, despite knowing what he had done, she realised that this was simply consequences of an action that nearly killed her mate. 

“Alpha. Did you get a chance to eat today?” Cassidy smirked at the jet black haired teenager, Ashton shaking his head at his apparent new keeper.

“Not today little miss. There was plenty of deskwork with the field work that we had today, so not much was consumed food wise. I’ve certainly had my fair share of caffeine though.

This made Cassidy giggle.

“My mate seems to drink coffee like it’s water.” The look of disgust that Trixie gave her Alpha made Ashton smirk.

“When you have to patrol so many nights in a row whilst still remaining upright in the middle of the day, coffee would be your best friend too. I know that Calum is just as addicted and drives your sister up the wall with it.” His arms wrapped around Cassidy as he pressed a kiss to her cheek in greeting. 

Trixie snorted.

“Yeah well, she likes the stuff too. It’s no surprise that they’re mates really.” Ashton laughed at her statement and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Don’t let her catch you saying that otherwise she might skin you alive.” He teased her playfully as she finished up the meal, elbowing his stomach as she moved to get some dishes.

This was what Cassidy loved. It was simplicity at its finest but also it was Ashton teaching Trixie to stand up for herself. If she could stand up for herself against her Alpha, then the world had no chance.

“Yeah well, she’d skin you alive first so I’ll just hide with my Luna under the nice, new, wolf skin rug that we’d end up acquiring thanks to my sister.” This set Cassidy off as they finally sat down to eat and she noticed that the dark cloud that hung over her mate had slowly disappeared.

“Brave words, tiny one. How about you and me do some training this week?” Her eyes lit up as a grin stretched across her face.

“Absolutely. Do you think we could include Abel this time so that he knows that I can protect myself? I know he’s my mate and he’s always going to worry, but I just want him to worry less.” She explained in a rush, Ashton nodding to her request.

“It shouldn’t be too difficult. But we’ll get Cass involved so she can sit on him to stop him from shifting and protecting you from me. Sound fair?” She nodded at his words as they dug into the meal and a feeling of peace settled over the trio.

Cassidy knew better than to think that this would last, but she was going to enjoy it whilst she could.

===

The first training session had been a disaster. 

Abel hadn’t known what to expect, and watching his Alpha phase and launch at his mate was not on his list. Cassidy hasn’t had a chance to stop him before he shifted and crouched in front of Trixie. 

It took Abel more time to come down from that bout of anger, but they left the session at that and Abel had kept his silence. 

The next session was better. He was able to stop his initial reaction, especially after a firm talking to from his Luna, he watched. 

And even though her techniques needed refining, he could see how she handled herself. That was when he began to understand why she wanted him to see her train. 

Cassidy stepped in from time to time as well, showing the teenager some of her own moves. Ashton stepped back when this happened and Abel began to understand why his Alpha only had mild concerns for his mates safety. 

She was a badass.

By the end of the session, Abel was relaxed in the knowledge that should anything happen, she could take care of herself. 

“Why not make something like this mandatory for all of the humans in the pack, Luna?” Abel questioned as the quartet headed inside. They would grab some food before the two males would head back out to the pack office buildings.

“Because they’re children. They rely on adults to protect them.” 

“And Trixie doesn’t?” Cassidy smiled at him.

“No. I don’t think she’s really relied on anyone since that day six years ago. It may seem simple to you Abel, but human children are so fragile compared to a young wolf. We’ve got a couple of the older ones in a self defence class, anymore at this point would be too much. When they hit thirteen, they’ll come to me and I’ll start teaching them then.” 

“Two styles to switch it up, then?” And Trixie grumbled as Cassidy grinned.

“Someone in the pack who uses their brains.” This earned her a confused look and Trixie sighed.

“Luna had to practically spell it out to us why we were in self defence classes as well as training with her.” The way her cheeks turned pink had Abel grinning as he squeezed her hand gently.

“I have a step up since I’m one of the warriors. I can guarantee you other wolves would not think of it that way.” Ashton glanced at his watch and sighed.

“Practice with Cass, T-bird.” The teenager grimaced at the nickname as she ducked from the hair ruffle that her alpha bestowed on her as he walked past to kiss his mate.

Her own mate laughed before doing the same thing and kissing her forehead before he got up and headed out, Ashton following seconds later. Trixie hid her face in her arms, her hair a mess thanks to the two men.

“Stupid Alpha and stupid mate messing up my hair.” The grumble had been loud enough for Cassidy to hear, earning a round of laughter.

“C’mon, I’ve still got some time before I’m expecting a call. How about we take a look at your English papers.” The groan that followed from Trixie made Cass laugh as she all but frog marched the teenager upstairs to her office

Barely fifteen minutes in and her phone goes off, earning a curious look from Trixie as Cassidy picked up the call.

“Luna Irwin of the Vinewood pack. Who am I speaking with?” 

“Cassie, thank god.” The relief in Issac’s tone caught her off guard.

“Two seconds.” She tilted the mouthpiece away as she looked to Trixie. “Would you mind finishing off downstairs? I’ll join you when I’m off.” The teenager didn’t argue as she gathered her things and shut the door behind her as she left.

“Cassie it’s been mayhem.” 

“Issac slow down please, what’s happened?” 

“There’s another traitor in the pack. But they killed a human child.” Her heart stopped at his words.

“Who?” 

“That’s just it. We don’t know. I was sent an email, and god Cassie it’s gruesome. I thought it was a wolf at first because the kids' eyes were amber, but when we checked the registry and the young boy that was murdered was definitely human.”

“Fuck.” The whisper might as well have been a scream. “It’s been happening to me, the amber eyes thing. The Elders believe it’s a prophecy in play. Fuck.”

“I’ll forward it to you, but it’s brutal.” And with that, she opened up her computer, clicking through until the video uploaded to her screen.

And as she watched, she felt sick. Tears burned her eyes as she tried not to cry out, but when the final blow was delivered, she couldn’t stop herself.

Issac had stayed on the line for her, his steady breathing being the only thing that stopped the panic attack overwhelming her.

“I need to contact Ash, fuck, Issac this is big. The Elders are going to get involved.” Her brain was going miles a minute. “Have you found the little boy yet?” 

“There’s a team working on it now. We’ve already been in touch with their parents. It was Demela’s and Mason’s youngest lad. Joseph.” And she felt her body lurch uncomfortably. 

“Issac.” His name came out as a sob.

“I know.” He soothed. 

Joseph had been one of the four children born into her old pack after she left. He came from a family with six older brothers who doted on him regardless of his status as a human. The first time she’d visited and she’d been introduced to the family, she’d clicked instantly. It had also been the first time that she’d really considered having a child. 

“I need Ash. He needs to know.” Part of her felt disengaged and heartbroken, the other part of her was planning out how she’d skin the traitor for this.

“With the state of distress, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s on his way.” 

Issac’s words rang true when there was a firm knock at the door before it opened.

“Cass? Baby?” His frantic eyes searched for whatever was causing her this kind of pain. But she couldn’t get her words to work, only pointing at the video that was still open on her computer.

Issac spoke up.

“It’s something you need to watch, Alpha Irwin.” 

Ashton realised immediately that if something could make his mate this distressed, then it was a bad thing.

And so he clicked play.

Cassidy tried to block out the noise, the images. But she couldn’t. Her heart broke all over again. But she could feel her mates anger through the bond. Anger that was mounting into fury and she grasped his bicep.

“We can’t leave this. We need to find the traitor.” Her words were quiet but determined. Ashton nodded once, his jaw set.

“We’re flying out to you, Issac. Expect us by nightfall with the Elders.” The decision was firm and Cassidy immediately moved and headed to their room to pack a few bags. 

“Trixie will need to come with us.” Ashton’s words made her jump in fright, her hands trembling as she continued to fold the clothes up before packing them.

“She cannot see that video. And so help me goddess if Selene decides to take that decision from our hands because I will march up to her fucking door and demand judgement.” Her tone was harsh, but Ashton could hear her fear, her pain under the words. “He was a child.”

And her composure slipped into tears, Ashton pulling his mate closer as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

“We’ll explain in basic terms to Trixie. We will warn her that should Selene take the choice out of our hands, it is gruesome. I need to call an emergency meeting. We need to get a warning to the families as well.” Ashton rattled off and Cassidy took in a deep breath.

“Calum, Luke and Michael need to see this. They need to prepare.” Ashton nodded at her words as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

“Finish packing, I’ll go talk to Trixie.” She didn’t argue as he left the room. She knew that there was no way that she’d have been able to even describe what happened.

By the time that the trio had packed and gotten to the offices, Ashton instructed Trixie to stay with Abel until they left. He didn’t miss the frown, but Cassidy simply gave her a reassuring smile.

“Protocols need to be followed, Trix. Twenty minutes tops and then we’re heading for the airport.” Trixie nodded at Cassidy’s words and turned her attention to her mate, the two of them quietly discussing her latest pet project with an old computer.

When the Irwin’s reached the conference room, she fought down the need to be sick as Ashton played the video for the other three as well as the remaining Elders. Their reactions were ones of horror, but it was Elder Orion who had tears down his cheeks.

“Little Joseph, Demela and Mason’s youngest, correct?” He whispered and Cassidy nodded as she tried to wipe her tears away once more.

“Issac is searching for-for the place. He’s contacted the family. This was a brutal attack but it also means that there are potential traitors we don’t know about. Sleeper cells, if you will.” Calum nodded at her terminology.

“We’ll talk to the other families which have human children and see if we can convince them to the pack house. It’ll be easier to defend rather than trying to split our forces seven ways to protect the land.” Ashton nodded at Calum’s immediate response.

“Every wolf we have available has to be on this. Four teams on rotation for the pack house and double the patrol on the borders. No one gets in or out of the pack lands. Trespassers are to be captured and interrogated immediately, any violence is to be met with full force.” Calum nodded at his Alpha’s orders. 

“Michael.” Cassidy’s voice was softer, but caught the blonde’s attention.

“Yes Luna?”

“I’m going to be coordinating with other packs on this. See if there have been any-any other murders.” She stumbled over the words and he nodded his head in understanding. “Also I’m going to place you in as my second in command. If any other strategists get in touch, they’ll be redirected to you. As of right now, I will be uncontactable until further notice.” 

“Has it been approved?” His eyes glanced to Elder Maybanks who nodded in return.

“We cleared it last week. It was intended to be a surprise for you, but as you can see that’s had to change immediately.” Cassidy held back a snort.

“Luke, it’s basic day to day running as possible.If anyone asks, there’s been a credible threat with another pack that needs to be dealt with. Shutdown pack lines until we return home.” Luke nodded at that before Ashton returned his attention to Calum.

“Trixie will be coming with us. She’s already told her sister she has to go but not why. You need to make sure she doesn’t follow us. It’s going to be tough enough with the devastation from my Luna.” Calum nodded once more as he let out a breath of air. 

Ashton and Cassidy were gone once it was confirmed that everything had been set in place.

They collected Trixie from Abel who looked unsure and the trio were up in the air quick enough. It wasn’t unusual for packs to have access to small airports, most preferred to travel by car or by shifting. But this wasn’t an option and it was the fastest way for them to get there without causing widespread panic. 

Matthew was there to greet them and didn’t hesitate to pull his daughter into a warm hug as Ashton helped Trixie off the plane. 

He greeted her with the same amount of ease and Ashton a firm handshake before they were bundled into the car and off again. 

“Who else knows?” Ashton’s question was quiet but Matthew shook his head. 

“The trees have ears.” Was all he replied with, causing Ashton and Cassidy to exchange alarmed looks. Nothing else was spoken about as they made their journey to the pack offices. It spoke volumes of the tragedy that had happened because there was no one else greeting them when they arrived.

They entered the building without being looked at twice. Cassidy stopped herself from going over to Demela and Mason when she spotted them. The couple looked exhausted and their children looked equally tired. 

When they reached Issac’s office, Trixie had shrunk into Cassidy’s side, the intimidating and unfamiliar wolves unnerving her. Cassidy was briefly reminded of Hope as her dad knocked on the door before letting them into the office.

“Cassie.” Her eyes snapped to her younger sister who looked relieved to see her. She wasted no time in moving around the desk and launching at her older sister.

“Alpha Irwin, thank you for coming at such short notice.” Issac’s voice was tired and Ashton waved him off.

“You do the same for us, Issac. This young lady here is Trixie Teller.” Ashton gestured to Trixie who found herself feeling like a deer caught in headlights.

“Miss Teller, I’m so pleased to be finally meeting you, I just wish it was under better circumstances.” She gave him a wry smile in return.

“Likewise, Alpha Lockard.” 

“Looks like humans can be taught manners, brat.” Issac’s voice carried to Cassidy, Trixie shooting a confused look to her Alpha who simply shook his head when Cassidy laughed.

“Oh no. With her own Alpha, she’s worse than what I was. With her sister, they tease him relentlessly.” She fired back before letting the girl go.

“Trix, this is my sister Hope. Long story short, she’s next for the Alpha title.” Trixie nodded as she shook hands with Hope.

“It’s nice to meet you Hope, I’ve heard a lot about you.” Hope gave her a crooked smirk.

“All lies, I assure you.” And Trixie giggled.

The giggle broke some of the tension and Issac’s shoulders slumped as he ran a hand down his face. 

Cassidy truly saw her previous Alpha in that moment, the tired lines around his eyes. 

“How’s Pandora?” Cassidy’s question brought a smile to his face. 

“Good. Little Jessie is driving her mother mad.” This made Cassidy laugh. A few years after she’d left the pack, Issac had announced his mates pregnancy with sheer glee and she loved getting updates from him about the rascal. 

“At least Pandora knows how to handle rambunctious pups with no sense of self-preservation.” Issac chuckled as he rummaged through papers before handing them over to Ashton. 

“I understand the need to keep Miss Teller protected but does she need to be here for this?” Trixie remained silent, only casting a glancing look to her Alpha. 

“She’s a true prophet.” Issac’s jaw fell slack, a gasp of air escaping from Matthew. Hope held a look of polite confusion. 

“ Touched by the goddess herself.” Matthew whispered and Trixie shifted uncomfortably under the stares. 

“Pack it in. She’s frightened enough and doesn’t need you two confusing her.” Cassidy snapped at them both and the two men exchanged looks. 

“Cassie, you remember when we thought you were a prophet but instead you were scarily smart?” Matthew tried to keep his awe from his voice but didn’t quite succeed. 

“I only know what you told me. I don’t remember much else.” At this, Matthew sighed before sitting down. Issac pressed his lips together. 

“Do you want me to tell her?” Matthew shook his head. 

“Tell me what?” The hesitation was in Cassidy’s voice as she looked between her dad and old Alpha with  uncertainty. 

“Parts of your memories don’t remember it because the Elders locked it away. When you were seven, you’d been stolen from under our noses.” 

Her body went still. 

“We believe that it’s linked with this killing. There’s no recognisable scent and it was a child who was not only human but one we’d been watching for prophetic tendencies.” 

“You’re not telling me everything.” She could see the tears in her dad's eyes and then she slowly realised. 

“No.” The word was a whisper but Matthew flinched. 

She could never remember her mother’s death. She was told that it was a sudden death, that there was no notable cause for it. She’d been seven at the time because her eighth birthday had been the first one without her mother. Jamie had been three. 

“They killed her in retaliation to us rescuing you.” She could feel her heart shatter. It was too much and with the situation going on, she couldn’t take off like she wanted to. 

“I need to go.” She was up and out of the room, the tears running down her face as she took off for her old home, using one of the pack cars they’d arrived in. 

Ashton didn’t even have a chance to try and stop her, the sudden heartbreak catching him off guard mixed with the overwhelmed feeling. 

“I take it that the Elders locking the memory away was for her benefit?” Ashton couldn’t be angry. He understood to an extent that to watch a child suffer like so was difficult. 

He watched as tears rolled down his father-in-law’s face. 

“She awoke every night screaming. There were days when she would fight to get out of the house, her trauma so much that she couldn’t tell that I was her own father.” Matthew sounded so broken, Issac’s hand coming to rest on his Beta’s shoulders. 

“Alpha?” Trixie’s voice was nervous and Ashton turned to the teenager and noted the pale pallor her skin took. 

“Trixie? Are you okay?” The second he said that, her body slumped into the chair and Ashton swore. 

“This is too fucking much Selene.” He snarled, scooping the teenager up, cradling her carefully. Hope looked stunned for a second. 

“Selene?” In truth, although Ashton had known she was there, she’d kept herself quiet enough to have become background noise, something he wouldn’t have noticed had she not spoken up. 

“Young Trixie usually has prophetic dreams, only once has she gone into a trance. But with the prophetic dreams, if she is awake at an inconvenient time, she will suffer in such a way until she passes out. Cassidy believes this to be because she is young and therefore is not trained to handle the drastic changes.” 

“Your mate may be onto something there, Ashton.” Issac finally hummed. 

The young human twitched and the colour began to return to her cheeks and Ashton sighed. 

“You love her like your own, don’t you?” Matthew murmured, his face clear of tears but his eyes rimmed red. Ashton nodded. 

“She has kind and loving parents who love her and her sister. It’s not a parental kind of love, more like I see her as a younger sister, someone to protect. It’s the same with her older sister. The only instinct that is stronger is my bond to Cass.” Hope giggled. 

The giggle once more eased the tensions that had been building up and he felt the heartbreak ease in his chest. She was somewhere safe. 

“And what’s so funny little miss?” Matthew teases his youngest child, unable to stop the smile at her cheeky grin. 

“Sounds to me that Alpha Irwin got bitten by the same thing that had Cassie practically adopt me so many years ago. The only thing that was stronger than the bond she has with me was the one that Leo created. It’s why when the bond was broken, my bond with her was what eased it and helped me function.” Hope explained gently and Ashton understood. 

His awe for his sister-in-law increased tenfold and she found herself blushing at his impressed look. 

Matthew finally chuckled. 

“Somehow we thought she was just an anomaly, however the fates certainly matched you two well, Ashton.” And Ashton grinned. 

Trixie finally stirred and her cheeks went dark as she pressed her face into Ashton’s shoulder. 

“It happened again didn’t it?” 

“Unfortunately so, my favourite human.” At the muffled curse, Ashton laughed. 

“Selene really picks her moments.” She finally pulled away and retook her seat, eyes locking onto Hope. 

“When Luna returns tomorrow, you and her will need to head to the next city over, without guards shadowing you. One to drive and one as a backup but they stay in the car. A rogue is unsure and has the information we need. Selene wishes for him to be tried under pack law and for Luna to use her gift on him to get the truth.” Ashton knew better than to voice the outrage but he tampered it down to a raised eyebrow. 

Issac and Matthew however, disagreed entirely, voicing their displeasure. 

“Hope that’s an ambush at best, suicide trip at worst!” Issac snapped and Trixie turned her gaze to the other Alpha. Ashton recognises the look immediately and turned his attention to the other three. 

“You will listen to my avatar on this earth Issac James. The rogue is unsure about the goals of the rebellion and is pulling away. Cassidy Helen will set things right for another pack and give Hope Rose a second chance.” 

Both Issac and Matthew froze. 

“Selene.” They whispered in unison. Hope was speechless. 

Ashton tried not to smirk as Trixie returned her attention to Ashton. 

“I will visit Cassidy Helen tonight. Do not panic if you feel your bond fall dormant. I’m most proud of you Ashton Fletcher.” He simply inclined his head before he watched Trixie give a little shake before meeting her Alpha’s amused gaze. 

“At least it wasn’t in front of a prisoner this time?” She offered timidly and Ashton burst out into baritone laughter. 

“Life will never be dull with you and your sister around, Trixie. Issac, Hope, Matthew, we will see ourselves down to the canteen for some food and let you digest this information. As you realise, this cannot be known by anyone, not even Jamie until Selene deems it safe. Like you said, the trees have ears.” 

Issac could only nod weakly before Ashton escorted Trixie down to the lower floors where the canteen was situated and they got themselves some food. 

Trixie remained by his side, unwilling to stray towards the unfamiliar stares. She felt like she was under such scrutiny but once those eyes turned to the man next to her, their gazes dropped and they never cast a look in her direction. 

Confused, Trixie turned to Ashton to question the strange behaviour but then she saw the murderous look upon her Alpha’s face and understood why they averted their gazes so fast. 

Unsure how the other wolves would take her teasing her Alpha, she kept herself formal. 

“Alpha, will Luna be okay?” Ashton glanced at the teenager and noted her shy hesitance. He smiled kindly at her as they collected food. She didn’t protest when he paid for it. 

“This was just a step too far. She needs to process that before she’ll come back. She’ll always come back to us, but much like when you hide away after it’s been an overwhelming day, it’s been an overwhelming week for her. We just need to give her space.” Understanding dawned as they sat down and ate silently, listening to the steady flow around them. 

It was towards the end of their lunch that Hope appeared, paying no mind to the small bows from her pack. Trixie frowned. 

“May I join you?” Hope’s question was met with a nod from Ashton but the frown on Trixies face didn’t let up. 

As Hope sat down, she finally caught the look on the teenagers face and raised an eyebrow. 

“Everything okay Miss Teller?” The use of her last name startled her and a blush coated her cheeks but she remained silent. Hope wasn’t too sure how to take this and Ashton snorted. 

“She takes offence to ignoring your pack when they acknowledge you. It’s not something I like to practice unless I’m in an emergency.” Ashton explained softly, and Hope had the decency to look ashamed. 

“It’s still something I can never believe. Alpha Issac is still working on that with me.” Trixie nodded but remained silent as she took another bite of food, clearing the plate.

Ashton had pushed his plates to the side long ago but waited for the teenager, knowing her discomfort.

“Would you like to see her training? Your sister has been training her so far and it’d be nice to get an outsiders opinion of her progress who knows where she should ideally be.” Trixie grinned and Hope returned it with a smile of her own. 

“I would be delighted Alpha Irwin. Miss Teller, if you would follow me?” And the trio left without another word between them, the stares of the pack members following them out of the doors. 

-

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[breakingsomething]

silver

basic summary: anti meets an old friend.

trigger warnings: abuse, vauge mentions of self harm

ok, this might make no sense without context, so here. this is a long ass fic, so be warned, but it's basically the context for this fic. have fun! :P

dapper was used to anti's secrets.

he knew, of course, that anti didn't tell him everything. he didn't talk about the scar on his neck beyond simply saying "it was jack's fault." he often left during the day and didn't say where he was going. he never spoke of his connection with jinx and doctor, the two of the creator's boys that anti seemed to hate the most. and he never spoke of the creator himself if he could help it, unless it was a sudden, unpredictable burst of rage, an angry fit that dapper would occasionally have to rewind and prevent by distracting anti in any way he could. dapper had to rewind a lot of anti's mistakes, actually. that was his secret. most of the time he just had to hope anti would stay in a good mood and nothing would set him off.

dapper remembered a day when kitten had been with them, right after he'd arrived, when he'd found something in anti's office he shouldn't have. then there was the night anti had brought home alcohol and gotten so drunk he'd started saying thing that scared dapper, screaming himself into a full on breakdown and tearing up his arms. and then was the night that kitten had become marvin again, and anti had gone too far with his punishment. all were mistakes that dapper had rewinded. not that he forgot any of them. not that he was ever allowed to forget.

he still remembered kitten's silence after his discovery, the horrible things anti had said in his drunken haze, kitten's flat, glassy eyes, pale and limp in anti's eyes. funny, how all the things he remembered were the things he wished he could scrub from his memory the most.

so anti kept his secrets, and dapper kept his. anti would usually know when he had rewinded because of the glow of his eyes, but there were days when he wouldn't ask, days when the silver magic lingered between them, heavy and quiet. sometimes better not to know. so they kept their secrets. maybe it was better for both of them.

after the loss of kitten, things had gotten a lot more difficult for them both. first of all, dapper had a bullet wound in his side from jinx, that perfect gunman, and they'd both had to count their losses and run. the home they'd built for themselves, gone. they'd went back a few days later, when anti deemed it safe to do so, but the council had already reclaimed the house and most of their things were gone. their clothes, their weapons, all their various entertainment, supplies and food. all dapper's sketchbooks and puppet toys. anti's radios and laptops. gone, gone, gone.

all they'd been able to recover was one single toy - a suited puppet that dapper had christened "rara" - and a packet of batteries. dapper wondered what had happened to their things. he wondered if they were being well taken care of. gods, he really hoped so. he'd hate to see his well loved puppets being treated cruelly.

now they lived in a small flat on the top floor, the cheapest place they could rent. dapper didn't know where anti was getting the money and he didn't want to know, quite honestly, although he had a feeling it had something to do with the black bag anti took with him every time he went out that was always a lot lighter when he returned. anyway, they couldn't seem to make quite the same home for themselves here, especially with the tension between dapper and anti over everything that had happened. dapper wondered if anything would ever be the same again.

after a while, anti had started taking him out with him.

"it's not safe here alone," he'd said when he first told him. anti looked so tired; sickly pale, bags under his eyes, hands that never quite stopped shaking. "you'll be better off with me. don't want the hero to find us here, fucking bastard. how he found us before is beyond me… fuck, probably tracked us through you." he shot dapper a harsh glare, running fingers through his own tangled curly hair. "seeing as you don't know how to be bloody subtle in public. i should just get shit done myself."

dapper was used to anti taking his anger out on him. he didn't bother giving him a reply.

it turned out that dapper's suspicions had been correct and anti was, in fact, selling drugs and various other bootlegged stuff. weird drinks, unlabeled boxes, weapons. dapper had been shocked to see a whole handgun in an innocent looking pencilcase, deep beneath the tictac boxes and plastic bags. "you'd be surprised how easy it is for me to get this shit," anti said nonchalantly, grinning at dapper's expression. "other people do the hard work for me, getting illegal bull into the country, then i hack it and sell it myself. it's like a fun little dance, almost. goes the same way every time, always the same moves and steps. it gets boring after a while."

"how do you find this stuff?" dapper asked, too curious to keep his hands still.

anti quirked an eyebrow, smirking, and brought something from his pocket. his new shiny butterfly knife that he'd gotten gods know where. "anything is possible through the internet," he grinned wickedly, twirling the blade in his fingers like in the videos he and dapper watched late at night when bad dreams kept them both awake. "all you have to do is know the right people to threaten."

he successfully completed his trick and sat back on his seat, trying not to look too pleased with himself.

so dapper and anti became bootleggers. honestly, that was something he was fine with. without his art supplies or toys he had nothing to do in the flat, so he was glad anti was letting him help out. not that he did much. mostly he just hung around, not getting in the way and being quiet as usual. the deals were always very silent affairs, and dapper was usually able to escape unnoticed. "why'd you bring your little brother along?" asked one man in a low voice as he received his goods. anti had just smiled at him dangerously, dapper mimicking the face he made.

"he's my watcher," anti said simply. "so i wouldn't try to cross me."

no one ever did. dapper wondered if anti secretly wished one of them would just so they could have something fun to do. he knew he did.

it was a couple months of this before something unusual did happen.

the day had started off normal. anti was up early - he had barely slept, dapper knew, he'd heard him wake screaming from a nightmare in the wee hours that morning - and had eaten a breakfast of whatever cheap dry cereal anti had been able to afford. well, dapper had; anti had tried to hide the fact that he wasn't eating by busying himself cleaning out his bag and washing the dishes, of which there were very few. dapper normally wouldn't say anything, but this had been going on so long that he felt the need to speak up. "why aren't you eating?"

anti had looked round at dapper's signalling whistle, his expression flickering as he read his brother's hands. "i - not hungry," he mumbled, purposefully turning away again. "i'm never really hungry recently."

dapper knew that was a lie. and despite all the terrible things anti had done, it hurt to see his brother like this. "lies," he signed, whistling again to catch anti's attention and banging the table for emphasis. "we have enough food, anti. are you…" a realization struck him. "are you not eating so there's enough for me?"

anti's shoulders shot to his ears, but he covered his emotional slip by scowling and making a growling noise in the back of his throat. "no, i'm fucking not," he spat, his shaking voice giving him away. "i don't have to do shit for you, ok? i'll eat when i want to, f-fuck…" he swayed on his feet slightly, grabbing the table for support. dapper popped his lips in distress and leapt up to help him, but anti shoved him away. "don't t-touch me! christ on a bleeding bike, dap, fucking calm it. finish eating, we've got shit to do."

they had been very silent on their way to the assigned drop off point, which was in a different part of the city that dapper never really went, way off the high street near the darker areas of town. dapper had his knife held in his sleeve, rolling it round and round to comfort himself. even anti seemed on edge, dark eyes darting back and forth as he breathed heavily, running his fingers down his own skin. "fucking hate this," he hissed, scowling. it didn't escape dapper's notice how anti's lip was quivering slightly. "hate this, hate this. i asked him to fucking meet me somewhere else, i don't goddamn like this."

dapper wondered why anti particularly disliked this part of town. in any case, they got to the bus stop where they were meant to meet and collapsed to the plastic seats, dapper bringing out his rara puppet to hold as anti began fidgeting uncontrollably, leg bouncing. dapper frowned - it wasn't like anti to be so panicked. "anti?" he signed, kicking the ground and leaning forward to look at his face. "anti, you ok?"

anti didn't answer, just stared down at his boots, face twitching. dapper sat up, sighing, and looked at the surrounding area outside the bus stop. everything seemed normal, just average shops and people and a zebra crossing in the middle of the road. the only unusual thing was the building in the middle of a bunch of others, a building that was blackened and surrounded by construction. dapper watched people skip by it as they walked. very weird. dapper swung his legs, popping his lips absentmindedly.

after nearly fifteen minutes of waiting, anti gave a short cry and clutched at his head, leaping to his feet. "fuck this. fuck this. this isn't bloody worth - i'm gonna find this fucking guy and tear his guts out so i can shove them down his throat and hang him from the bloody rafters by them. we're leaving. fuck this."

dapper hadn't seen anti so agitated in a while, and he whistled softly, running his thumb along the back of anti's hand. that usually calm him, dapper knew anti liked contact from people he trusted, but this time anti pulled away like he'd been burned. he was shaking slightly. "don't touch," he said angrily. "i'm gonna… i'm gonna call my contact, that bastard, give me a second here. walk over to the river if you want, i don't care."

dapper decided to take him up on that offer. he'd seen anti when he was his furious at someone, and it was worse now because it was very likely that anti was in a bad enough mood to actually track this man down and torture him later. he slid off his seat and bounced over down the street behind the bus stop to the river, not going too far so that anti could still see him if he turned around. he knew that, despite anti's uncaring act, he genuinely did love dapper and wanted him safe.

there were a few boats lingering in the water, plus a few ducks and even a swan. anti didn't care for most animals, but dapper loved them. "swan," he signed, curling his hand and making a sweeping motion with his whole arm. "and duck." the sign for duck was an open and closed repetitive hand movement in front of his mouth. that was a sign he enjoyed. he leaned over the fence, making the duck sign again and grinning to himself. the ducks and swan paid no mind, but dapper didn't care. he just watched them, enjoying the breeze in his hair, enjoying being alone.

"anti?"

ok, so he maybe wasn't alone.

dapper whirled round to face whoever it was, the knife in his sleeve sliding down into his palm. the person standing there was a man with a chin length mess of curly hair, wide eyes and a long black jacket over dark clothes. he was breathing shallowly, eyes darting all over dapper like he was analyzing him. dapper couldn't properly growl or hiss like anti could, but he bared his teeth, clicking his tongue in warning.

the man held up both hands, expression flickering from shock to confusion. "anti?" he said again, more uncertain this time. "i - is that you?"

dapper shook his head sharply.

the other man exhaled, slowly lowering his hands. "i'm sorry. i - i must have… mistaken you…" even as he said it, he was still scrutinizing dapper, biting his lip. "do you - would you happen to know a man named anti? or - i don't think that's his real name, but something beginning with a? he looks just like you except without a mustache and uh - he had green hair?"

this man knew too much. far too much. anti never used his real name around other people. he always went by other names, usually starting with a too - anthony, august, axel - but never by anti, how did this man know his name? how did he know his green hair? now was one of the rare occasions in which dapper wished he had a voice just so he could yell all the questions he needed answered. he was starting to think he should kill this man and be done with it.

anti often told dapper that he should pretend to be deaf if someone tried to speak to him in public. he wasn't sure if that applied now, but he made an exaggerated face of confusion and began signing. "who are you?" he asked. "why do you know my anti?"

just as dapper had thought, the man blinked, uncertain of himself. "oh, i - i don't know sign language, i'm sorry," he said. then he screwed up his face, realizing that dapper wouldn't be able to hear him anyway. dapper took this opportunity to quickly walk past the man, blood pumping in his ears, making his way back to anti. before he went back, however, he walked round down the waterfront over the bridge and back again, trying to throw the man off his trail just in case.

anti was still at the bus stop. he had his legs pulled up to his chest, face buried in his knees. dapper clapped to show he was coming, and anti jumped. he unfolded himself and softened his glare, sighing softly. "hey, dap," he mumbled before going silent. the fact that he hadn't noticed dapper had gone was enough to show how stressed he was. "fucker didn't answer. probably bailed, the bastard. i'll find him, i will - let's just go."

dapper hesitated, considering whether to tell anti about what had happened or not. eventually he decided that would be best to let him know, in case the man was dangerous. "someone was looking for you."

anti raised an eyebrow, slinging his back back over his shoulder. "who? my contact? did he have a mullet, awful beard, wearing a dark coat? i'll kill the bitch, i swear i will."

dapper shook his head. "curly black hair, white, weird ear piercing. wearing a black coat. he called you by name."

anti had gone very still. "by name?" he said faintly. "like - anthony, or anything like that?"

dapper winced. "no. anti. he asked me if i was anti, or if i knew you. he said i looked like you but without the green hair."

anti didn't respond. his eyes were wide and had turned solid black like they tended to do when he was anxious or angry. dapper couldn't tell which one it was now. his face had gone ashen, all the colour drained from it. his bottom lip quivered with every ragged breath he took.

"we're leaving," he said loudly. he grabbed dapper's hand and yanked him to his feet again, ignoring his sharp whistle of protest. "come on, hurry the fuck up, we're -"

"anti!"

they froze in their tracks, and something dropped in dapper's chest.

the man had followed him, somehow. dapper had been certain he'd been alone, but evidently the persistent bastard had managed to trail him all the way back here. he was standing right in front of them, panting - he'd clearly ran - and staring at anti with parted lips, unmoving.

anti stared back.

"anti," breathed the man, shaking his head just slightly, chest rising and falling. "oh my god, fuck, it's really you, where have you been, where the hell did you go?"

anti was shaking. he swallowed hard, taking a sudden step back. mouth open like he wanted to speak. "i - don't know who you are," he said in a hoarse voice. it was clearly a lie. dapper could almost hear his brother's heart racing. "stay aw̛͞aỳ from me."

the other man lifted his hands, stepping towards them again. in the silence, his footsteps sounded thunderous. "please listen to me a sec," he said. "i've been - i've been looking for you for goddamn years, anti, fuck, i - i missed you."

dapper was now thoroughly baffled, looking back and forth from anti to the stranger. someone anti had once known who missed him? who knew anti by his real name but wasn't afraid of him? that was something dapper couldn't imagine. it seemed that anti couldn't either, as he suddenly gripped dapper's hand, breathing so hard he looked like he was going to be sick. "you're talking shit," anti spat, trembling. "i - i want you to fuck off, i swear to the gods, i'll kill you."

the man shuffled back, hands still up to show no harm. "please, i - you just vanished and i was so scared," he said, eyes wide and wet. "i looked everywhere but i couldn't find you, then the shop burned down - was that you?" his voice broke on the last word. "anti, fuck, i - fuck!"

"don't," anti choked out, letting go of dapper to claw at his throat, yanking the ends of his scarf. "don't, don't, please leave me alone, i don't - leave me alone. i'm - dapper, come on."

dapper almost couldn't move. "who?" he demanded, turning on anti to sign. "who is this?"

anti's expression contorted with anger. "none of your - doesn't matter, i'm going, i can't be -"

he stepped back again, and this time the other man leapt forward to grab anti's arm with a cry of "wait, please!" dapper fell back as anti shook the man off, crying out and shoving the man right to the ground so hard that dapper heard his back crack.

"ah - ah, shit -" he swore, hissing in pain, but before he could even sit up anti had turned on heel and raced down the street. dapper watched as he glitched away before he could turn the corner.

leaving dapper alone with the stranger on the ground.

he didn't know what to do. had this man hurt anti, was dapper supposed to help him? in any case, the man pushed himself up on shaky arms, head snapping back and forth until his eyes landed on dapper and he deflated, sighing. "he did it again," he mumbled, sitting up fully and brushing his hair out with his fingers. "that disappearing act. why does he always do that?"

dapper didn't know how to respond to that. he suddenly had so much to ask this man, but he knew anti was probably having a breakdown somewhere and he should find him before he did something bad. quickly, he rummaged in his small messenger bag, pulling out his sketchbook and a blunt pencil. who are you? he scribbled, showing the paper to the man. he squinted to read it, still rubbing the back of his head.

"uh - can you hear me?" he asked, and dapper nodded. the man exhaled. "ok. my name's rhudy, and i'm - i… was a friend of anti's. or whatever his name is. i just called him that, ha. i never found out his real name."

dapper frowned. his name is anti. that's the name he's always had.

rhudy's eyes widened. "wait, actual? or... did he take the name i gave him?" he gave a small laugh that almost sounded like a sob. "oh, fucking christ, oh my god."

this was only raising more questions in dapper's mind. he kept writing, painfully aware of the fact that anti was probably going to murder him for this. who are you to him? he's never told me about you.

rhudy sniffed, blinking. "i - don't know, actually. i mean, we were friends, then we -" he flushed, exhaling. "i guess we messed up. i didn't realize he was magic too, and by the time i realized he was already vanishing away. i never saw him again." he bit his lip, clenching his fists. "he burned down the fucking shop i worked in. i just - i wanted to know why."

dapper's gaze wandered across the road to the blackened building on the other side. that's your shop? he scribbled. i'm sorry about what he did.

rhudy was silent for a moment. "are you his brother?" he asked. dapper nodded again, rhudy following afterwards. "thought so, right. he… he never told me he had any siblings." his voice broke and he let out a shuddering sigh, tilting his head back and hitting the wall of the bus stop. "ok. i get the feeling you're - you're gonna disappear too. strange how i can detect more from you than him… will you tell him something from me?"

dapper wanted to ask about what "detect" meant, but didn't bother. what is it?

rhudy lifted a hand to wipe at his eyes, screwing up his face. "tell him i'm sorry?" he croaked. "i must have messed up. some days i wondered if he was ever even real or if i fell in love with a fucking ghost. i just - i've been looking for him in my spare time, of which there isn't much, i just wanted to find him so badly. is he - is he ok? tell me that at least, please."

dapper was still reeling from the "fell in love" part - trying to imagine anti with someone romantically was wild enough - but he tried to summon an answer to his question. looking into the man's desperate eyes, he decided there was only one thing to say. he's doing good, dapper lied. we're both good. and i'll tell him you said that, yeah.

rhudy covered his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut. "good," he managed, voice high pitched and muffled. "ok, good. good for him, glad he's ok." he gave a small laugh. "i - don't think there will be another way to contact you again, if i'm seeing correctly. but, uh - yeah. fuck, fuck, i'm…"

dapper's heart was racing, confusion bubbling in his head. all he could think of to do was write i'm sorry on the paper, rip it out and hand it to the man. he took it with shaking hands, reading it over and over.

dapper stood and left the man behind. it was all he could do.

he knew anti wouldn't have went home. it wasn't even "home" anyway, so to speak. just an illegally rented flat with peeling walls and cold, bare floors. no, anti would have gone somewhere more familiar. somewhere that wasn't far - it only took dapper ten minutes to walk to the empty field, another two to climb all the way up. the whole time, dapper's mind was racing thinking about that man at the bus stop. had anti been with him? what had happened between them? with anti, it wouldn't have needed to be much. gods, this was too much to think about all at once.

he found anti on the front steps of the abandoned waterworks.

he was curled forwards the way he usually was when he was upset, face planted in his knees and arms wrapped around his head. dapper clicked his tongue softly as he walked towards him. anti shook his head and ignored him. "anti," dapper signed, despite knowing his brother couldn't see him. he crouched in front of his shivering form, noticing how anti's shoulders were shaking, the small, wheezy gasps he kept making. "anti, look up. look up."

anti shook his head, drawing further into himself. dapper whistled in warning before gently putting a hand in his hair, trying to soothe him. anti made a noise, a small noise that sounded almost like a sob.

"fuck," anti whimpered, and lifted his head just a bit, scrubbing at his face. "i - stop it, ow, shit, christ - this isn't fair, i wasn't supposed to -"

and oh, dapper could see anti's face now and he wished he couldn't because his brother was crying, he was really crying and dapper had never seen anti cry before and he was at a sudden loss for what to do. anti hissed in pain, pulling his sleeve over his hand to clean his face. the tears were… burning into his skin. leaving thin, dark trails down his face and them dripping onto the ground below. dapper suddenly realized where the raised white scars on anti's face must have came from.

"anti," dapper signed again, stunned. "i'm -"

"rewind it," anti blurted. he wasn't breathing right, was staring straight ahead with unfocused black eyes. "rewind it. i don't want any - i don't want to see - don't want to see him."

dapper swallowed a lump in his throat, biting down on his lip. "anti. i can't do that."

anti suddenly turned on him. "fucking rewind it!" he roared, and he'd stopped crying, his face dark and bleeding slightly where the tears had fallen. "that's what you're for! bloody rewind, i don't care, just get rid of it, fuck's sake, fuck's sake!"

dapper's mouth fell open, hands hanging in the air uselessly. anti suddenly grabbed them, squeezing his wrists together. "undo this!" he sobbed, his eyes flashing from light to dark to light to dark. "fucking undo it, dapper, that's all you're bloody here for, isn't it? to fix my fucking mistakes where i mess up! so undo it, and prevent it from happening! and if - if i protest not going out today -" he coughed, dropping dapper's hands and clutching his throat again, eyes too wide and shiny. "just tell me to stay away from that shop."

dapper knew if he rewinded, anti wouldn't remember any of this. he might as well just ask what he wanted to ask.

"you loved him?" dapper signed, keeping his eyes trained on anti's. "he loved you?"

for a moment, the question hung in the air, almost painfully, and dapper waited for anti to slap him. to grab the string on his neck and pull it to remind him of his place. to kick him to the ground and pin him there before demanding he turned back time before anti suffocated him in the dirt. but none of that happened.

in fact, anti almost softened.

"yes," he mumbled, eyes unfocused, tracing his fingers gently over his neck through his bandages. "please… dapper, please. please."

anti was begging and anti never begged for anything.

"i'll rewind," dapper said. the magic was already boiling in his blood, numbing the tips of his fingers and making his eyes well up. "anti. i never knew you could love anyone."

and anti just looked up, dark eyes wet, dark eyes so different from dapper's own, from all their brothers. "neither did i," he mumbled. he barked a laugh. "oh - dapper, dapper. don't remind me this happened, please. i don't want to know."

and just before dapper let the magic take over, he wondered if anti wore his eyes dark because the others were all so light.

silver. a colour anti told dapper about often. "dames, your eyes are silver," he would say. "your hands are all silver. why the silver today, dap? is it a silver day?"

dapper loved the word silver. he'd learned how to mouth the word, forming the shape with his mouth like he could say it aloud. silver was the colour of his eyes, even if dapper was blind to colour. silver the colour of his eyes and hands and tips of his hair when he was using magic. sometimes dapper couldn't get rid of the colour. silver days, were what anti always called them. on those days, when dapper was too distressed to come down from his magic haze and wanted nothing more than to use every ounce of energy he had to push himself back to his creation and further, anti would lay dapper on his shoulder or his lap and play with his hair, sometimes even softly singing if dapper was shaking hard enough. dapper liked silver days because of this. he always got the feeling anti did too. they both needed an excuse for the quiet warmth and contact between the two of them.

today was not a silver day. there would be no comfort for it.

river, sea, ocean. shining pale, silver water rising to his knees. already dapper was tired. time magic took so much out of him, and his legs were shaking, struggling to keep himself up. there was nothing in this black void to hold onto. nothing but water to paddle, pushing time back with nothing more than aching hands that had removed hours from the universe, days, weeks, each drop a second that dapper controlled. power. this was his place. his time. his time.

and they were back in the flat within seconds -

anti's shoulders shot to his ears, but he covered his emotional slip by scowling and making a growling noise in the back of his throat. "no, i'm fucking not," he spat, his shaking voice giving him away. "i don't have to do shit for you, ok? i'll eat when i want to, f-fuck…" he swayed on his feet slightly, grabbing the table for support.

dapper readjusted himself quickly. didn't move to help him this time. instead, he clapped his hands in front of anti's face, making him look up. "you can't go out," he told him matter of factly. "you want to stay away from the shop."

anti paled even further. dapper turned away and left the room.

dapper was used to anti's secrets.

he knew, of course, that anti didn't tell him everything. there were things about him that maybe he would never know; the pretty dark haired man who'd called anti a friend, the names anti used that even dapper hadn't heard, the years with the light eyed creator that he had long suspected anti had loved once. but anti could keep his secrets. dapper didn't need them. dapper was hurting enough without the knowledge of who anti could have been, who even dapper himself could have been.

anti kept his secrets, and dapper kept his.

his brother never asked why dapper had rewinded that day. maybe he suspected. maybe he was too afraid to hear the truth. all dapper knew was that he would have nightmares containing the dark haired man for a long time to come.

[ariannjs]

FAKE HAPPY | A SasuSaku FanFic One Shot

So I recorded a cover for Paramore's "Fake Happy" (full vid here) last week and since my initial plan for #SasuSakuTwitFest2020's Day 2 is not yet finished, I thought of writing this fic connected to the song instead😬

For #SasuSakuTwitFest2020 Day 2: Connected

"You see it's easy when I'm stomping on a beat

But no one sees me when I crawl back underneath."

-Fake Happy by Paramore

Disclaimers: 

-I do not own Naruto nor Paramore. 

-Situations stated are based on general possible experiences of some people especially during this time, though most are familiar and personal to me also.

Trigger warnings: Anxiety Attack. Depressive thoughts.

Ending in angst is not my purpose for this, it's actually the other way around❤️ but if you think it would not be helpful for you to continue reading this fic at this time due to the trigger warning, it's definitely okay. 

However, please do NOT miss the author's note in the end🤗 

Much love,

A

P.S. Here's to the #FewButTrue people that see the signs and reach out to us at just the right time even though we look fine on the outside.

––

It was supposedly her rest day, the one thing that she has looked forward to all throughout her jam packed week. Yet much to her dismay, despite her body being rested, her mind had other plans. Sakura could barely remember the number of times she has thrown her phone on the bed in a span of four hours.

It was a lot to take in.

Earlier today, it was announced that the number of positive cases for the pandemic has skyrocketed in Iwa, yet the council has decided to partly lift the quarantine there, increasing the people’s exposure to the virus as they try to go back to their normal lives before all these. It didn’t make sense.

Few moments later, a short video went viral on Twitter, wherein civilians from Ame flocked in front of their Kage’s Tower to complain about the lack of relief goods distributed for them in the past month. A month! To think that all of the Hidden Villages had been under quarantine for three months now and there were so many people in dire need of supply for their basic needs. It didn’t make sense.

There was also a reliable national media company that was shut down by Kiri’s council, at such a time as this wherein a credible source of news and updates was a need for everyone. Sadly, many employees have lost their job in the process, amidst the uncertainty caused by the pandemic which was the main issue their council should’ve focused on to begin with. Again, it didn’t make sense. 

What surprised her was the amount of facebook posts that disclosed irrational killings from members of a huge clan in the Sound, an issue that has been ongoing yet remained an elephant in the room for how many years. It broke her heart seeing the messages of relatives who were screaming for the justice of their murdered family member through typewritten words. Others even had videos of themselves with placards containing their stand on the issue. She couldn’t imagine how terrifying it must be to be there right now, what with the virus still lingering around them and the possibility of being shot on the spot just because you wanted to fight for your people. The Sound’s council continued to wash their hands. And yes, it didn’t make any sense at all.

But the last thing that struck her nerve was the decree that Konoha’s council of elders has released a few minutes ago, wherein any form of appeal or complaint by the people – whether via peaceful protest or a mere social media post – could lead to them being suspected as insurgents, which would then result to authorities having the right to detain them without a warrant of arrest. 

And just like that, the fact that the entire world was facing a deadly pandemic has gone down the drain. Honestly? Sakura didn’t even know what else makes sense right now.

She screamed against her pillow and continued lying on her bed. Her head hurt. Her eyes were puffy. Her heart was palpitating. And her hands began to shake as she breathed heavily in the confines of her bedroom. 

There were pain, frustration, anxiety, fear, anger, guilt, confusion, and so many other emotions bubbling inside her that they started to weigh her down even physically. Besides, it wasn't the first time that Sakura broke down during the twelfth week of quarantine. Everything externally and internally was just too much to bear these days.

She thought it would be nice to return to social media after being away from it for a week, leaving her stuck with the messaging apps that she kept active only because she needed them for work. But she was totally wrong on all levels. 

It was nice that she became informed about the latest news, yet she now learned that indeed, too much exposure on social media wasn't helpful for her at all. She needed to take a break, or maybe lots of them.

It took a while before the tension in her body ebbed, and when it did, it was the best feeling in the world.

Still, extensive exhaustion filled Sakura from the inside out, leaving her with no more tears to shed as she sat up after a 14-minute nap. These days, naps kept her going, though they weren't really enough. She was glad the rampage in her brain paused somehow but she wished it could've been like that for hours. Well, it's better than not being able to sleep at all.

Moments later, her eyes widened due to the sudden vibration of her phone. There was an incoming message. And she couldn't help but feel on edge once more as she felt frozen in place. 

Please don't let it be my boss. Please don't let it be about my presentation! Or wait, is it mom? Are they okay?

Sure, she could've stopped herself from getting her phone with her now sweaty hands and checking the SMS considering that it was her rest day, but the nagging guilt inside her about saying no to anything asked of her overpowered her senses. And there was also the thought that it could be an emergency, she didn't want anything to fail just because she didn't respond immediately.

With her decision being final, Sakura took three deep breaths before opening the text that she received, yet what she saw on her screen made fresh tears trickle down her face once again.

Sasuke Uchiha:

I'm just here, okay? Let me know if you want me to call you.

Sakura didn’t expect to receive such a heartwarming message at the exact moment she needed  it. She hasn’t seen Sasuke ever since Konoha imposed a nationwide quarantine and they haven’t even talked online for weeks, but for him to suddenly message her with such reassurance as if he knew that she needed to hear it, it made her feel like they had no distance between them for months. 

She read the message once more, and as she parsed the two sentences like it’s from a language unfamiliar to her, it slowly felt like the dark cloud above her head began dissipating somehow.

A part of her hesitated in responding to him. She didn’t want to sound needy. She didn’t want to be a bother, because for sure, Sasuke also has baggage of his own.

However, she realized that he was not the kind who would ever think of her that way. Never did he look at her with judgmental eyes, only with concerned ones. And that was enough for her to trust that it wasn’t something to be guilty about if she accepted his generous offer of being a listening ear that night.

Sakura didn’t bother typing a message anymore, instead, she scrolled through her contacts and called his number, fingers slightly twitching in nervousness. Because what if he's suddenly busy? What if he's not really interested in what she would say? And what if he would change his mindset about her after whatever she'd be able to share to him tonight?

Her mind was bombarded with tons of "what ifs," but when she heard a gentle "Hello?" on the other line, she was unable to stifle another cry.

"Sakura, how are—?"

Her sobs became a little louder, and she was worried that Sasuke would end up cutting the call.

"It's alright, Sakura. Go on, just release that. I'll stay here."

Yet he surprised her again. She didn't know how many minutes passed by as she just teared up with Sasuke silent on the other line. As her cries kept going, relief slowly entered her system like it was something she had never frlt before. She didn't know she needed to cry with somebody until she called Sasuke. She realized that it was so much different than when she was having a breakdown on her own.

"Are you feeling better somehow?" Sasuke asked when her muffled cries subsided.

"Y-yes. I guess."

"You know you can tell me anything." 

She heaved a sigh, nodding her head as if Sasuke would see her. "Thank you, Sasuke."

"Don't thank me yet. What happened?"

And then Sakura told him everything, from the terrifying news that astounded her that afternoon up to the messy details of her hectic week. 

She told him about how worried she was for her parents who were in the province, wherein the number of those affected by the virus was increasing day by day. And as much as she wanted to help them with their food supply, she felt helpless that she couldn't do much while she was here in the city. 

She also told him about how she felt like she was merely moving in a tiny box instead of flourishing in her profession, how it seemed like she was going nowhere in life despite being at the ripe age of 27. 

She mentioned regarding her presentation that she wasn't really happy about, because it wasn't something that she wanted to do. And even though she tried her best in working on it, she already knew that her boss would not even recommend it to be approved.

Speaking of her boss, she also expressed to Sasuke how the mere presence of her boss made her feel so small, like she was a physical representation of a failure. And just thinking about having no choice but to stay in that company, especially considering the pandemic situation, saps her of the little motivation in life that she has left.

Sakura still had a lot to say. But even she could not express and understand them yet. So she just ended her words with the truth that she has never felt so alone until right now.

That's when Sasuke spoke a full statement again other than his cues that he was listening earlier. "I'm so sorry that you are going through all these, Sakura. You're right, things could've been better so you didn't have to end up feeling the way you do right now. But you know that I'm here, right? And it's not even just me. The dobe is there. Also the rest of Rookie 12. Sakura, it may not feel like it but I want you to remember that I'm here. I never left and I never will."

Another stray tear escaped Sakura's eyes. "That means so much to me, Sasuke. That means so much. Thank you."

"Always." She could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm glad you were able to share all that with me. I hope it was helpful."

For the first time that day, Sakura found the urge to smile. "It was, really. I'm sorry it was too lengthy and messy, though. I...I honestly don't really know how to express everything. My mind's just so clouded right now."

"Hn. It doesn't matter, Sakura. It's okay if it's lengthy and messy, as long as you were able to let it out."

There was just silence after that for Sakura didn’t know what else to say. Even silence with Sasuke was comforting, so she just allowed that comfort to consume her continuously, never wanting it to end.

“Sakura?” 

“Hmm?”

“You’re not weak.”

Gasping a bit, Sakura could feel the tears starting to brim her eyes again, but this time, not due to the negativities inside and around her. 

Sasuke continued, “You’re not a physical representation of a failure either. You're made for so much more. I’ve seen you succeed in so many things, Sakura. And we all fail, but our failures don’t define us. Your failures or what you think as shortcomings don’t define you at all, you hear me?”

“Y-yeah.” She sniffed and wiped a tear with the back of her hand. “Sasuke, you’re making me cry again!” Sakura slightly giggled amidst her tears, and Sasuke could imagine that if he was beside her, she had probably slapped him hard enough on his arm while saying this.

He let out a chuckle. “Now look at you, you’re already laughing.”

“Your fault.” She huffed playfully. 

“Not sorry at all, then.” Sasuke grinned on his own. For him, he didn’t even do much, but for Sakura, it felt like Sasuke had pulled her out of a deep trench by simply being there.

There was one question that lingered in her mind ever since she received his text message. And so she asked him before they even ended the call. “Uhm...Sasuke? How did you know? I mean...why did you message me? How did you get the idea that I wasn’t feeling my best this week?”

Quietness filled the other line for a few seconds. “Intuition, I guess. You’re like that with me also, aren’t you?"

It was true, there were instances before that Sakura was the one who reached out first, as if it was a coincidence that he wasn't at ease with something by the time she talked to him. The only difference was that, during those times, they saw each other often, unlike now.

Sasuke added in a softer voice, "This wasn't the first time, Sakura. Maybe – no – I believe it’s because we’re…” 

Realization hit Sakura even though Sasuke didn’t even mention the word. And then she beamed, because honestly, she felt that too. They were connected, and no quarantine could affect that connection that they had.

Sakura muttered with a smile, “I believe that too, Sasuke.”

That night, she was able to sleep with a light feeling for the first time within the week. All thanks to Sasuke for reaching out when she started crawling underneath.

–––

June 2020 (c) AriannJS

–––

Hello. I don't know what this fic made you feel. But if you've made it this far, thank you. I'm proud of you, not only for reaching the end of this fic but also for surviving up until now❤️

I know it hasn't been the best time in the world, literally, but it is my desire and prayer to hopefully bring a bit of comfort to you guys while or after you read my works.

Here, Sakura had the assurance that Sasuke is there for her. For us, it's really amazing if we have a few trusted friends like that whom we could open up to, but sadly, some of us probably don't have anyone we're comfortable to confide with at all. But can I encourage you with this?🤗

Maybe your friends are busy. Or maybe your trust has been broken by so many people that you find it so difficult to open up now, but you also know full well that you kinda need a Sasuke to your Sakura especially these days. So let me share this with you...

"Cast (throw) all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 ❤️

Here's a thing, God loves you and cares for you so much, and that's the reason why you could throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him. He will listen. He always does, even when at times it doesn't feel like it. And whatever it is that you would tell Him, it wouldn't change the fact that He loves you just the same🥰 So go, throw it all to Him now, I pray that you personally experience the peace that transcends all understanding once you do so❤️

On the other hand, I know some of us have diagnosed conditions and the situations around us are definitely not helping us recover further mentally. I'm not an expert but I really hope we could help one another during this time so here are a few reminders:

If you have medications, take them regularly and make it a priority. If needed, it's even better that you restock early regardless of the quarantine status in your place. I actually almost forgot taking my meds twice this week! Hahahuhu. But thank God I was working on this fic in the middle of the night so I still got to take it before sleeping😅

Make sure to take breaks even short ones within the day, especially during work days. Take a nap. Play an instrument. Eat. Read fics. Watch an episode of an animé. Anything that would fill your tank so you could be pumped up somehow as the day continues.

Lastly, don't hesitate to seek help from your trusted friends. Please, don't. You are loved. You are not a bother. You are worth listening to. You are valuable. You are made for so much more.

I may be a stranger but you can also contact me if you need someone to talk to🤗 I have the same username on IG and Twitter too! Sorry this was such a long author's note, but yeah, let's keep fighting one day at a time, alright?✊🏻

And if indeed you have a diagnosed mental condition, here's what my doctor has told me this week, you are not weak. Your condition is a part of you, but it is NOT all of you😭❤️ 

Thank you for dropping by. God bless!

-A

[leotanaka]

J. August Richards has an exuberance about him.

He has good reason. The actor, known his more than 30 year career which has included roles on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Cosby Show, Angel, The Practice and more, just landed a leading role on the new NBC drama Circle of Dads. On April 20, he also rocked the internet by coming out of the closet as a gay man. The unplanned admission generated came in the context of discussing his Council of Dads role as Dr. Oliver Post, a gay, married African-American dad. The series follows a group of friends following the death of one of their friend Peter. Oliver, and several other men, come together to act as surrogate fathers to Peter’s children and to preserve the memory of their friend.

“I read your site every day!” Richards belts as we greet him on the phone. We warn him that we will need to use that quote in our piece. The two of us have made some time to chat about his coming out, the new show, and his experience as a queer, African-American working in Hollywood for more than three decades.

Council of Dads airs Thursdays on NBC.

So you’ve had an exciting few weeks. Exactly how are you feeling? What’s the state of your life?

Thank you for asking. Empowered.

Empowered?

Aligned. Clear about my purpose. That’s how I feel two weeks later. I will admit that I was on a bit of an emotional pendulum. In my imagination, there was a reaction that was the best reaction I could possibly get, which was supportive. But it exceeded that. Also I really did not expect it to go past my social media page. So that was a bit daunting. That was part of the emotional swing I was on.

Sure.

I had no idea that it would be picked up on various sites, which it was. And I didn’t even have a publicist at the time…

Oh my.

Yeah. So that’s how unplanned that was. I’ve hired one since because everything was going so far so fast that it was all a bit overwhelming. But when it went so viral, it made me feel like this emotional swing toward oh my God, why would you do that? No one even asked. That was the ultimate overshare. But fortunately, the pendulum has swung all the way back into the position of empowerment.

That’s so wonderful to hear. Now, when you describe it as an emotional pendulum, what are you doing as you walk around the house? How’s your mood shifting? What are you doing to take your mind off it all?

Yeah, it’s always surrounding a triggering question or triggering comment that I receive that really only triggered the fact that I was not expecting this attention. So that was the only thing that would scare me. It wasn’t negative at all. But, like, when people ask me, “Aren’t you afraid of how this will affect your career?” That question would really trigger me. I’ve obviously thought a lot about it. And that question doesn’t trigger me anymore.

I’ve talked to so many actors who have gone through a difficult coming out process and immediately have their agents or managers screaming “Why did you do that?” So it’s good to hear that it’s been so empowering.

I have a great agent. He’s been really supportive.

Now, you’ve said before that you’ve been out to people close to you for years. Have you had any blowback? People saying “why didn’t you tell me?”

No. Not one person. Anyone who needed to know, knew. And there were people who didn’t need to know that knew, just because they saw me out, or I went to a party. I’m living my life and doing whatever I want to do for the most part. People who know me, in my life, also know that’s not the kind of question I would entertain.

So let’s talk about your new show Council of Dads. Your role as Oliver, you’ve said, was part of what inspired you to go public. He’s a gay man married to another African-American man Peter, played by Kevin Daniels, and the couple has children. For you as an actor, what is it that speaks to you in a role where you realize it’s more than just a job? In other words, when the role changes you?

You know, honestly, it happens to me every single time.

Really?

Every single time, yeah. I think of it as my job to put something deeply personal to put on the line for myself. I have to find it, and I do with every role. This one is unique in that it pushed me up against a wall that I had created for myself. I think it served me when it had to. When I first started in the business, there were very few opportunities for a black actor.

Sure.

I jokingly say “I was too busy being black to be gay.”

But the industry has shifted enough to where there’s more LGBTQ representation and more black representation. And I just wasn’t mature enough as a human being to walk through life as a black gay man. Now, at 46, I have the confidence and the wisdom and the knowledge to be able to take it on. The reason I ended up talking about it publicly was that I saw a huge opportunity to be observant in a meaningful way, and I just could not pass it up. It was a very person decision. I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t take the opportunity to continue a dialogue—it was started way before me. Black gay men, gay families—I would not have been happy with myself if I had not chosen to talk about it.

That speaks so well of you. One thing I really love about this show is the way it redefines community in a sense.

Yes.

There are right-wing voices that claim diversity is harmful, or focusing on it is harmful, that it’s all a myth. The series shows that community is defined by what is shared; in the case of the series, that��s a love for Scott Perry and his family. How do we encourage people to focus on what is shared, to accept one another?

Well, it oftentimes takes people knowing someone in a community, knowing someone that belongs to a community that is seen as “other” to break down that wall. Again, that goes back to the reason I decided to go public. The other great gift of coming out for me was that it made clear for me my true goal. I really want equality for all. I’m talking about groups that I belong to, and groups that I don’t belong to. Ultimately, we have to move toward a space where everyone can sit at the table equally. That’s one of the reasons I was so happy to be involved with this show. It has diversity, and it’s not cosmetic.

What do you mean by that?

It’s like there’s one of this and one of that. There are multiples of different in this world. As the season goes by, you’ll be able to understand even more what I mean by that. It really elevates the conversation about diversity in a way that I’m so proud of. You come home with Oliver & Peter. You come home with us, and a whole episode takes place in our house. So the other thing that attracted me to the show was that I’m not playing the “insert black gay guy here.” He’s a three-dimensional character. He’s not just the best friend. He has his own storyline. The character is not additionally marginalized by not giving him a full story.

I also love the way the show redefines masculinity.

Oooh! Mmhmm!

We have a trope in Western entertainment that fathers are either lovable buffoons like Homer Simpson or wisdom sages like Fred McMurray in My Three Sons. Either way, they are centers of authority and power. This show is different in that it shows men working together, sharing power, listening, conversing and making choices. It’s in the title: a council of dads. It’s not dictatorial patriarchy. Is that by conscious design, that Joan and Tony [series creators Joan Rater & Tony Phelan] had intended as much? Have you discussed it?

We’ve not talked about it, but I will say this: in developing the character one thing that you do as an actor is figure out the character’s super-objective.

Yes.

That means the one thing they want more than anything in life. It took me a while—call me slow—but I realized that what is important to Oliver is that he be a great father. That is the most important thing in his life. So I started to think about what makes a great father. I think the answer is different for each person depending on their father. So I think about Oliver’s past, and how his father did not accept him for who he was. He grew up in a household where he felt like an imposter, like love was conditional. He never got to fall into the arms of his parents and hear them say “You are ok as you are.”

Right.

So what makes a great father to Oliver is growing this invisible fence around the children where they are able to be themselves and thrive as who they are naturally, whatever that is. That’s what makes a great father to Oliver, and it’s a great gift that any parent can give their children.

Absolutely. As a working actor, I need to ask you about the cult of celebrity. In the social media age, actors are really encouraged to become a “brand” or a product to help promote their show. That includes putting private life on display. What is your experience dealing with that pressure? Is it fair to expect actors to perform on both sides of the camera, in essence?

Some don’t. There are still actors out there who don’t want to be stars, who don’t have social media at all. To a degree, I think it’s slightly a myth. Every job that I get there’s an actor in a pivotal role who is not on social media, or who didn’t have a big following. I don’t believe that a large social media following translates to viewers. If it did, Kim Kardashian would be in everything.

Lord help us.

So, like anything, you just have to decide who you want to be and rock out with that, win or lose. One of the places I’m at in my life is that I don’t feel like the world needs another f*cking celebrity.

[Laughter]

Nobody’s asking for one. I’m so tired of it. I’d just rather have an impact at some point in my life. If I can make the world a hair easier, or serve in the tiniest way, I’m so satisfied with that. The red carpeting thing is so played out to me. I’m so over it. So I think you’ve gotta make a choice about who you want to be, win or lose.

That’s great advice. So given the context of all of this, I also need to ask. This is a question that comes up a lot with actors I talk to. It came up with Billy Porter, with Nelson Lassiter, with Doug Spearman, and others. How can we encourage queer African-American men to come out and to feel safe in doing so?

That’s a big, big question. Number one, I’d say understanding. Just understand that it’s a lot to ask a person to own and take on another marginalized identity. As a black man moving through the world, you really have to live it to understand it: all of the concessions and adjustments that you have to make to the world just to get through your day. It’s a lot man, a whole lot. It’s a whole lot to ask people. I’m 46 now, and I said in another interview, if I had come out a day sooner, it would have been too soon.

Wow.

Only now do I feel like I have the understanding and the confidence and the clarity to move through the world as I do now. So the most important thing is understanding. I love the gay men in my life because they never pressured me to do anything. They only loved me and counseled me to be myself.

Beautiful.

Another way to help is to stand against racism. Working through the racism of our society might help people feel free to live in a world where they can feel like they can be themselves.

Amen to that. As a gay, African American man, what advice do you wish you could have had starting out in the business that you did not?

Actually I had wonderful mentors: African-American men who took me under their wings and advised me, counseled me, gave a call after auditions. Everyone showed up for me the same way they’re showing up for me now. My colleagues were the first ones to congratulate me.

That’s great.

But you ask me what I wish I could have known? That’s a difficult question. It was a different industry at that time. So I can’t answer that. I’ll have to think about it. It’s a great question.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 67

In theory this was queued to post at 2pm EST today... so, 4.5 hours ago.  I am SO SORRY it didn’t post on time!

I’m baaaaack!

The break after the holiday was very much needed, so thank you for your patience with no chapter last week.  Taking the time helped me level-set a few things and get back to a good place with this.

Also!  This chapter has been beta’d, once again, by the fabulous @satan-parisienne.  What I would do without her is a mystery of the universe some days.

I’ve received some very curious and polite feedback about how out-of-character some of the main characters have behaved in this arc - I have the nicest readers, ever, I swear! - and I wanted to let everyone know that it’s actually intentional.  I wanted to show them fraying at the edges a bit, showing various levels of cranky from feeling the effects.  Something true-to-life, in my experience.

Trigger warnings: Mention of sorta-suicide in this chapter.  About as much as that sentence, honestly.

As soon as Conor heard that our microscopic new friend was safe for the time being, he gave Maverick very stern instructions to make sure I lied down and did not try to sit back up once I had done so.  While one of my partners gently but firmly ensured just that, the other started dragging an empty berth until it was pressed directly against my own. Rapidly, and with focused determination, he rigged the two together so they would not move apart – although, given the sheer weight of the berth, I was surprised he moved it in the first place.

Miys seemed to understand entirely what Conor was up to, as it very gently lifted me and placed me in the center of the combined platforms, carefully ensuring any tubes were tucked where they could not be pulled loose or crimped. Before I realized exactly what had happened, I was sandwiched between Conor and Maverick, their own transfusion ports reconnected.

Gently, I tried to loosen the arms both of them had thrown across my stomach. “I’m not trying to get up, I promise.  But I need to breathe, you two.”

“Sleep,” Maverick mumbled in my right ear, the one that could still hear. “You promised lots sleep.”

“Else – “

Conor sat up slightly, leaning on his elbow so I could see his face and read his lips. “You’ve been debriefed.  And you heard Xio as well as the rest of us: Else is sentient, so killing them is off the table. You promised.”

Picking my head up slightly, I dropped it as dramatically as possible and huffed. “You’re right. I did promise.  I’m just worried.”

“Worried for a bacteria that could potentially kill you.”

Conor chuckled. “That’s her nature, mate. Forgiving as the moonlight, dancing on water, our Sophie.” Gently, he pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I bet you’ve already forgiven us, too.”

“You were scared – “

“So were you,” Maverick argued mournfully. “And we still stormed out of here.”

I tried to stifle the yawn that crept up on me, but judging by the looks I got, I was unsuccessful. “Can we table this until I wake up again?  Or until this crisis is over, just before the next one.”

“No more crises,” he mumbled into my neck, burrowing as deep as a grown man possibly could.

“If only,” I sighed. “That would be nice.  But a nap sounds nice, too.”

“Lots of sleep, you promised.”

I nodded. “I did.” Glancing at Conor, I nodded again.  That seemed to satisfy him, because he dropped off his elbow, grabbed the knee Maverick had hooked over my hips, and proceeded to do his part to pin me to the bed.

“I’m gonna snore, you two,” I complained weakly.

“Least we know you’re asleep if you’re snoring.”

“As opposed to awake?”

“As opposed to dead if you three don’t shut up,” Tyche’s voice called from across the room.  I was extremely grateful she couldn’t see past the shaggy head of black hair that was hiding my blush from her.

When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed vaguely.  I could remember seeing the Ark again, this time in the best shape it had been in yet.  Else spoke to me, but I could only recall that they sounded tired, frail. I’m worried about you, I remembered telling them.  They already knew.  They were worried about us, about humanity.

I woke, eventually, and I immediately recognized two distinct sensations. First, I was incredibly well-rested, more than I could say I had been since before the Food Festival.  My body practically sizzled with unfamiliar energy and begged to move.

Second, I felt an overwhelming amount of dread.  Something terrible was happening, but I couldn’t remember what it was. I sat bolt upright, belatedly realizing that I was no longer being cuddled to the bed. “Where is Grey?” I gasped, looking around wildly. “Xiomara, anyone.  I need a member of the Council. Or Tyche.”  In my panic, my eyes were entirely unseeing, and I jerked violently when I felt something touch my hand.

“Wisdom.”  A familiar buzz brought me into focus.  Miys had one liw on my hand, another on my shoulder. “You must calm yourself. No one is in any danger.  Antoine is retrieving Xiomara as I speak to you.”

“Thank you,” I panted.  Pulling my free hand to my chest in an attempt to calm my breathing, I bruised my sternum with the sheer amount of force I used. “What in the – “ Staring down, I felt my eyes start to hurt with the effort of opening even wider.  “That hurt.”

Gingerly, I held my hand out, turning it back and forth, flexing my fingers, trying to figure out what was different.  “Bones and ligaments, check,” I muttered to myself. “Five fingers, palm, wrist, check. Whopped up bruises, check…” Something caught my eye – or rather failed to – and I held up my arm further, looking at the crook of my elbow. Bruised.  A glance at my other arm showed more mottling. Frantic, I carefully patted my body down as quickly as I could without hurting myself.  A few more bruises made themselves known.

The bruises weren’t the alarming part… “Where are the transfusion ports?”

“They have been removed, Wisdom. You no longer need them.”

“Am I dying?”

A humming, clicking noise that I was pretty sure involved profanity followed. “You are not always dying, despite what Human Conor seems to believe.”

Human Conor. Someone was on Miys’s bad side.  “Am I dying at this moment?”

“No, Wisdom. You are not.  Your red blood cell and hemoglobin count are well within range for a Terran, and have been for quite some time – “

“How long?”

Wringing vomu were not a good sign. “I would prefer to let Antoine and Xiomara explain that.”

“How long, Noah!?”

The door hissed as my fellow Councilor breezed in, followed by a very concerned Antoine. “Oh, for about two days,” Xiomara answered airily.

“WHAT!?” I squawked elegantly.

She whirled around on me about the time Antoine came to check my vitals. “No one could wake you up, bonehead. So, before you get mad at us for drugging you, or not waking you, or some crap like that, we tried.  You were barely not in a coma, woman.  We didn’t drug you, and gods above and below know we tried our damnedest to wake you.”

I glanced at Antoine, who was nodding furiously. Mollified, I made a point to tone it down a notch. “So, I was asleep for two entire days?”

“More like four, sweetie,” she grinned unrepentantly. “You were ‘clinically exhausted’, which I didn’t even know was a thing…”

Her eyes widened comically as I waved her off. “Eyeah, it’s a thing. Feels like the flu. Nothing new.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but Antoine sent a Tyche-level cutting look at her. “I told you that it was in her file.”

“I thought you meant the current situation.”

“I TOLD you she has a history of this!”

Tears pricked my eyes as I turned to face him fully. “You didn’t let them give me medication to wake me up, did you?”

“Of course not,” he scoffed, his eyes kind and giving lie to the harshness of his comment. “Conor and Maverick were right about you needing sleep.  I made sure to tell them as much so they would be as insufferable as possible about allowing you to sleep.”

“Sneaky motherfucker,” I whispered with a smile, earning myself a conspiratorial wink.

Xiomara rolled her eyes at our antics. “Anyway, you called us here for a reason…?”

Sitting up abruptly, I narrowly missed headbutting my favorite nurse on several worlds. “Something is wrong.” I waved off the inevitable request for clarity. “Not all of us being sick, or Else eating all the iron in sight.  I talked to Else while I was asleep, and I don’t remember much, but they are weak.  Frail is the word I remember saying.  I know I told them I was worried for them, but when they responded, they said they were worried for us.  They sounded like they were… dying, honestly…”

“No one has taken action against them,” Xiomara asserted. “Even Grey. Once you fell asleep, Grey was frustrated that we had to wait to negotiate with Else, but made no further attempts to eradicate them.”

”How sure are you?”

“Pretty sure, considering they have been holed up in their office since then, trying to determine logical alternatives such as relocation.”

That tracked. Grey was like logic made into an organic body, usually. “Then how am I getting better?”

Xiomara shrugged and looked to Antoine.  He gave us each a regretful look and shook his head. “We do not know. It is not only you, but everyone on the Ark who is improving. We do not know why.”

My mind raced, feverishly looking for an answer. “Nixe.  How is Nixe?” I demanded.

“Out of her life support tank, being transfused regularly.  Noah is working to clone new lungs,” Xiomara reassured me.

“They didn’t want to hurt anyone,” I whispered, but Xio caught Antoine looking at me strangely. I spoke up. “Else didn’t want anyone to die. They didn’t want to hurt anyone, they said.  They were sorry.”  I gasped and tried to get out of my berth, but Antoine firmly pushed me back and shook his head.  “Don’t you two see what Else is doing?”  I repressed a groan as both of them only returned my question with confused looks. “Noah! Noah, you have to know what I’m referring to. If your use of resources hinders the life of another being, what do you do?”

“I place my bodies in hibernation until equilibrium is reached.”

“And when your race couldn’t place itself in hibernation, what did it do when resources were strained?”  I hoped and prayed I got the answer I was expecting, but prepared myself for the instance I had to argue.

Fortune favors the bold, it turned out, and Noah told me exactly what I anticipated. “My kind would return our bodies to the soil, Wisdom.”

Xiomara looked frustrated, but Antoine gasped and covered his mouth. When she gave him a confused look, he actually groaned. “Killing themselves, Xiomara.  They killed the extra bodies to maintain ecostasis.  They aren’t individuals, so it isn’t really suicide, but they still killed the necessary amount of bodies to reduce resource demands.”

“Except Else isn’t as evolved as the Hujylsogox are,” I continued. “There is a possibility that, once they reach a certain point, they aren’t sentient anymore.”

“So, they can just grow more, right?”

I shook my head emphatically. “They may not be the same being anymore – Antoine! I’m fine! This is urgent! – If they drop below threshold and then essentially re-evolve, we have no guarantee that we are parleying with the same group. They could hate us for all we know, if that happens.”

Realization dawned on her face. “We have to do something.”

I nodded in grim confirmation. “I need an open channel to the Council, and I need it right fucking now. We have to figure out a solution that doesn’t result in giving PTSD to a bacteria that can easily kill us.”

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[talpup]

Lost Song: 3

Summary: The war between the Dragons and Griffons ended 233 years ago, and both races right along with it.

Or so it was believed. There are three individuals that will soon change that.

Kai is the last of the Dragons and he seeks to take what he sees as his rightful place and rule over all of Oblvi. Meanwhile, Shouta, the last Sphinx, wants nothing more than to do his job; keep the peace and and teach the young Fourth’s to hopefully avoid the mistakes of their ancestors. And Teris, a Foundling who is just trying to understand and survive in this strange new world that is supposedly her own.

All three have their own wants and desires, but Kai’s plans, Teris’ existence, and Shouta's past mean that none of them may get what they want.

This fic is rated explicit and has warnings of sex, violence, and other possible triggers.

If you prefer reading off AO3 here’s the link for that: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24009679/chapters/58115158

3.1

“Director.”

Nedzu paused in the hallway just outside his office. “Aizawa. It’s a little early.  Even for someone as dedicated as you.”  The Director saw Teris struggling to keep up with Shouta's longer steps as the Sphinx made his way closer. “Teris.  Good morning.  I hope you found your new residence to your liking.”

“The place is fine.  The company on the other hand--”

“Don’t.” Shouta cut in, not in the mood to hear any more of her sullen offense.

He had somehow fallen asleep despite last nights troubling epiphany.  Score one for exhaustion.  But upon waking up he had been even more ill at ease.  Showered and dressed, he had woken Teris.

Not having followed her out of his rooms last night he hadn’t known which chambers she picked as her own. Rather than knocking on doors till he found her, he had simply entered each.

Shouta smirked into his capture weapon at the memory of Teris’ temper of the intrusion.  He pulse quickened recalling the image of her.  Hair mussed.  Scowling.  Topless.  Covers thrown off in her sleep, showing perfect long legs and a lacy pair of black panties.

He cleared his throat. “Sir. I need to speak with you.  It’s important.”

“Of course.”  Nedzu said brightly.

The Director entered his office.

Shouta paused at the door.

Teris halted almost bumping into him.

“Stay here.”

“What? Why?”  She demanded.

“Because I said so.”  Shouta rumbled eyeing her over his shoulder.

“If I’m just gonna stand out here, then why did you bring me at all?”  Teris questioned thinking how she was eager to get to Kai and start learning.

Because you’re a Griffon and I wasn’t about to let you enter that Dragon’s den, Shouta thought.  You might be a tiresome, angry, prideful nuisance; but you’re mine.  Part of my Ilca, he quickly corrected the self thought. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you go to Kai for lessons until I’m sure Nedzu knows what you are and has good reason for sending you there.

“Just stay put.” Shouta clipped.

Teris blinked at the door sharply shut in her face.  She growled, making at face at the now gone Sphinx. She had only known Aizawa for less than twelve hours but she hated him.  He was rude.  Passively and full on aggressive. Arrogant.  Bossy.  Handsome.  Smelled nice.  No wait. She went back to rude and started the mental list over again.

Seated inside the Director of Traverseen Hall’s office, Nedzu offered. “Tea?”

“No. Thank you.”

“How are you and your new Ilca members getting along?”

“Not well.”  Shouta answered honestly.

“Well, you’re use to being alone and they’re new.  Only just a few days ago they probably thought themselves normal humans.  Living in Terra, with no knowledge of our world or Fourth's.”

“She’s a griffon.”

Nedzu set down the tea pot.  “Well that didn’t take you long.  And to think I gave you the shortest time of at least a month to figure it out.”

“So you knew.”  Of course he knew, Shouta thought.  The Fourth’s that thought Hybrids less than simply had look at Nedzu to have their faulty thinking debunked.  The Director’s lineage might have been so muddled he wasn’t capable of human form; but he was of superior intellect to any other species Shouta knew.

Nedzu nodded.  “As does Elder Yagi and Arbitrator Todoroki.”

“And that’s all?  No one else knows?”

“Other than you.  Well…  There is Shuzenji and Twice.  But that was unavoidable.  Nagual’s and House Elves are connected to the places they serve, and with Traverseen Hall being built for griffons…”

Shouta nodded.  He couldn’t say if he was relieved or angered that the Council hadn’t been informed.  He was certainly furious that he hadn’t been told.

“May I ask how you realized what she was so quickly?  As far as we’re aware she doesn’t know, and has yet to display her true form.”

“There were a few things.   But the one that secured it was Twice.  House Elf called her Mistress.”  Shouta said not wanting to explain the events of last night that had riled Teris up enough to cause a hinting of her true features.

Nedzu sighed and shook his head.  “I told him to be more mindful.” He looked at Shouta almost pleading.  “You have to understand. This is a very sensitive and dangerous thing.  If the Council learned what she was--”

“They would put her down.”  Shouta finished, distantly.

He remembered the Council wanting to do the same to him after he had been discovered. How the Tree Spirit that had happened upon him had saved his life not once but twice.  First His Purple Highness had found him; spelled and buried beneath the rubble of his packs ruined home. Then the Dryad King had convinced the fearful Council to let him live.

Even now the Council watched him carefully, though not as carefully as they watched Kai. They were concerned. Worried that he would seek retribution for the mass genocide of his species that the dragons and griffons had ordered.  The mass killing of sphinx's who had been guilty of nothing other than wanting no part in a war that had embroiled every other species of Fourth.

“Exactly.” Nedzu said.

Shouta blinked away the memory of the angry, fearful Council of Elders that had shouted and pointed at his younger self declaring he shouldn’t exist.  That the sphinx's had been wiped out.  And that he had to die to secure the tentative peace they were working so hard to build.

Shouta’s hands closed into fists.  He wasn’t a danger to the Council.  But if they discovered Teris was a griffon and called for her head he would become one. He would fight anyone who threatened her and her existence. She was his.  A member of his Ilca, he corrected.

“The Council cannot know.”  Shouta stated firmly.

“No. Not yet.”  Nedzu agreed.

“Not yet?”

“Why do you think I have ordered Kai to instruct her?”

Shouta silenced a growl at the mere mention of the Dragons name.

Yes. Dragons and griffon’s had both ordered the extermination of his species when the sphinx's, just as ancient and powerful as them, had refused to choose a side in their war. But it was dragons who had attacked his home and killed his pack.

Shouta had been so young that he didn’t remember anything of his past before being found. Only a shout of warning that a clan of dragons and their servants were attacking. And the few terrifying moments where he had been made to crawl between a small crevice of rocks, while the roars and shouts of his pack fighting and dying echoed in the distance.  He couldn’t even remember the face of his mother or father.  Just the face of what had surely been a Gargoyle; because that was the only logical way the Fourth would have been able to preform the stoning spell that had seen him locked in stasis.  He would stay that way for more than two-hundred years until the day His Purple Highness happened upon him.

Shouta looked across the desk at Nedzu. “You think that having Kai instruct her without knowing what she is will create some sort of tie.  A care or friendship that will make him disregard the fact that she’s a griffon when it’s learned.”

“Yes.”

The Sphinx shook his head.  “Kai will not forgive or forget.  To him she’s an enemy.  He just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Kai and Teris are not enemies.  Neither battled in the war.  We don’t know her full story yet, but unlike you, Kai wasn’t even alive back then. His egg was found and hatched long after the Fall of Crowns.”

Shouta knew the story.  How one of the Elder’s on the Council had found a dragon egg and took it upon himself to secretly set the right conditions for it to hatch.  Though Shouta himself had still been a young-ling at the time, he wouldn’t have given the egg life.  He wouldn’t have smashed it.  Unlike dragons, he wasn’t a murderer. But just because he refused to kill, didn’t mean he would afford life.

He huffed at the Director’s hopeful foolishness.  “It won’t work.”

“You don’t know that.”

Shouta sat forward, dark eyes sharpening. “I know.  And so do you.  Or at least you suspect.  I know for a fact that you watch Kai even more closely than the Council does.”

“And yet I have found no proof of misdeed.”

“Only because you haven’t looked hard enough.”  Shouta muttered.

“Do you think I would endanger the last griffon if I had even a hint of circumstantial evidence that Kai was up to something?  Trying to reclaim the lost dragon throne?”

“The only proof you need is that he’s a dragon.  There are things about the species that can’t be changed.  A dragons need to rule above all else is one of them.  Even if Kai wanted to fight it.  Which he doesn’t.  He wouldn’t be able to. It’s in his nature.”

“I think your history is clouding your judgment.”

“My history is clouding nothing.  It gives me clarity.  Makes sure I remember what you and the Council seem so keen to forget.”

“You think you’re the only one that lost in the war?  Did you forget who I was held and tested on by?”

Though the Director’s voice hadn’t be sharp, Shouta lowered his head.

“You weren’t the only one who suffered at the hands and claws of dragon kind.  At least you have the good fortune of limited memory.  I was old enough to remember every moment.  Every cut.  Every test.”  Nedzu hopped off the chair and came around the desk to stand before the Sphinx. “You’re right.  I don’t trust Kai.  But I hope.  Hope he can and will do better than those he came from.  For Teris’ sake, you should hope the same.”

Shouta's head lifted, mouth opening.

“The order stays.  She’s to be instructed by Kai.”

The Sphinx’s shoulders tensed, back straightening as he gave one last ditch effort to deter the Hybrid from this course of action. “She’s part of my Ilca.”

“Aizawa. I don’t want to argue.  And neither do you.  We both want what is best for her.  If she is to be allowed to live, you better hope that Kai and she get along.  That once he learns she’s a griffon, he will look passed it.  It is the only way we will be able to convince the Council not to extinguish her life.”

3.2

Tense with wary unease, Hari entered his Leader’s office.  “Kai. You have a visitor.”

“I’m not here to visit.” Shouta gruffed, stepping passed the Arepyiai and into the Dragons lair.

At Aizawa's rough deep timber, Kai’s hand stopped its writing. His eyes sharpened even as the words on the page in front of him unfocused. It was a good thing he had ordered his Ilca to be mindful even within the confines of the dorm yesterday.  Surely the keen eyed Sphinx would have seen or heard his men give away some thread that could be pulled to unravel his plans of supremacy.

Teris entered, scowling at Shouta as she passed him to stop before Kai’s desk.

Shouta's hand twitched.  He had to restrain himself from grabbing and pulling Teris back from the Dragon.  Kai was dangerous to all life he didn’t think he could rule.  And with Teris being a griffon…

“Sorry I’m late. I would’ve been on time if it weren’t for Aizawa's insistence that I follow and wait for him.”

Shouta’s teeth pressed together at Teris’ complaint.  Did she think he had enjoyed his mostly sleepless night of worry as he waited for morning?  That taking the time to meet and speak with Nedzu had been something he had done for himself?  He hadn’t let her come straight to Kai’s for her sake and safety. Even now he was making himself late to class just so he could be sure she was safe and Kai understood that she was his.  Damn it! That she was part of his Ilca and under his care.

Shouta glared at Teris wondering how he could both detest and want to protect someone so much?  Though they had just met, it was understandable why he disliked her.  Teris was a thankless, insufferable woman. But the urge to claim and protect? Shouta blamed it on the Ilca tie.  The way it could effect a Fourth’s mental to make a bind weakly similar to that of a pack.

Kai turned to Teris, gold eyes slowly gliding up her body. She was even more proud and perfect than the first time he saw her.

Dark gaze on Kai, Shouta's upper lip twitched, the heckles on the back of his neck rising slightly.

Setting down the writing quill, Kai focused on the unwelcomed Sphinx. “You didn’t need to escort her, Aizawa.  I made sure Teris knew exactly how to find me.”

“As do I.”  Shouta told.

Kai’s fingers curled at the subtle threat. “You can seek me out anytime, Aizawa.  I’ll be ready.”

Hari straightened, muscles tensing, prepared to defend and die for his Leader if the Sphinx attacked.

But Kai knew better.  As much at they hated each other.  Neither the Sphinx or Dragon would lash out in violence. They both had too much to lose.

Giving a taught taunting smile, Kai went on.  “But until you have what it takes, I suggest you leave.  We both have pupils to teach.  And you’ve already cut into Teris’ time of learning.”

“If anything happens to her--”

“What would happen to her?” Kai questioned, over the Sphinx. “Just what kind of lessons do you think I’ll be teaching her?”

Nothing good, Shouta thought.  “I’ll be watching.”

“So nothing new.” Kai needled.

He had been watched his entire life.  In the beginning it had made him feel like a death row zoo animal.  But as he had grown, Kai had learned to ignore the ax the Council had over his head, ready to snuff out his life at one wrong move.  Over the years those still loyal to dragon kind had sought him out, infiltrating into positions that would serve and protect him.  Those welcome and willing servants had made sure he not only survived within the Council’s constraints, but thrived, allowing him to draw ever closer to his rightful throne.

Shouta glowered.  He knew the Dragon was up to no good.  That Kai wanted to rebuild what was lost and rule.  But he had no proof. “I expect her back an hour before sundown.”

“You’ll get her back when I send her back.” Kai told, muscles in his neck and jaw jerking in effort to battle down a growl.

Though successful, there was still a biting sharpness to his voice that made Teris tense.

Both the Sphinx and Dragon responded to her unease.  Shouta stepped protectively closer.  While Kai’s hand slid over the desktop toward her.

Forcing his tone to settle, Kai went on. “And you need not escort her each day, Aizawa. Teris will find her way to me.  I’ve made sure of it.”

“I’ll escort and do whatever else I wish with her.  She’s mi—my Ilca.”

Kai’s golden eyes turned molten.

Shouta silently cursed the near slip, blaming his lack of sleep.

Teris spun around, glaring at the black haired Sphinx.  “You most certainly will not!  I’m my own person.  And if you think for a moment that I’ll tolerate you barging into my rooms each morning, ordering me about, just to make me wait outside Nedzu’s office while you--”

“Nedzu?” Kai cut in.  His flash of interest turned smug as he looked back at Shouta.  “You had a meeting with the Director this morning?  Was it about me?”

“Not everything is about you, Chisaki.”

“Of course not, Aizawa.  Just most everything.”

Shouta stole a look at Teris as he turned his back on the Dragons taunting smile.  “Before sundown, Chisaki.”

“If I’m finished with her.”  Kai called after him.

Without a word Hari followed Shouta to see the Sphinx out.

Kai found himself strangely disappointed that the office doors were left open.  He told himself it was because hearing them close would have bothered Aizawa to no end.  It had nothing to do with him wanting a further sense of intimacy with Teris.  He had just met her.  And though he might've thought she had been a dragon for an instant during their first meeting, she wasn’t.  So why then was there an undeniable jealous anger still bubbling inside him at Aizawa's barely avoided admission that he had already claimed her?

Burying the curious emotion, Kai fixed his gaze on the beautiful Beast. “Forgive me if I startled you with my temper or came off as controlling.  It’s only that with someone like Aizawa, it’s necessary to remind that he doesn’t command everything.  No doubt you’ve already seen glimpses of his possessive, domineering nature.”

Teris glanced back at the open doors Shouta had marched through.  “I don’t know about his nature but he’s been nothing but rude and overbearing thus far.”

“It’s an act.  Something he does to make up for the coward he truly is.”

Teris turned back at Kai.  She might've thought Aizawa many unsavory things already, but a coward wasn’t one.  Then again she had only just met him.

“It can’t be helped.  All sphinx's are.”

“I thought he was the last?”

“The last for good reason.”  Kai said, thinking that if Aizawa ever threatened him again, he would personally finish what dragon and griffon kind started, and expunge the final sphinx from existence. “But that’s a lesson for another day.  I have some books for you to read.  Sit quietly and do so while I work.”

Teris arched an eyebrow, her defying question clear.

Normally Kai would've been irritated by any hint of disagreement; but for some reason he thrilled at her silent challenge.  “Surely you’re self-sufficient enough to do that.”

“Self-sufficient enough to do so in the comfort of my own dorm.”

“And chance dealing with Aizawa if he returns for lunch?”  Calculated as the leading question was, Kai told himself it was because Nedzu would cause problems if he didn’t keep and instruct her.  He was pleased when Teris bristled at the thought, unaware that the Sphinx rarely ever took a proper lunch.  “You clearly don’t like him.  Any particular reason why?”

“Several.”

“Did it have to do with the oath he made you swear to join his Ilca?”

“Oath?”

“When new Ilca members are accepted there’s a swearing.  It’s part of the bind that links the members together.  The Leader states what’s expected.  Usually something simple and unoriginal like being loyal to the Ilca and upholding the law.”

Teris’ eyebrows knitted together, head shaking.  “Aizawa didn’t ask us to swear anything.”

“It’s done at the dorms main doors.  Before you enter as Ilca members.” Kai prodded.

Teris thought back and shook her head again.  “No.  There was no oath or ask for one.  All Aizawa said was welcome and he accepts us or something.”

Kai scoffed.  The Sphinx was even more artless than he gave him credit for.  Kai remembered the vow he had demanded each of his Ilca members make.  To put his life and plans above all else, and be willing to die for his efforts, viewing their lives as expendable if it meant saving his or securing his aims.  Aizawa could have demanded the same loyalty and devotion; but instead the Sphinx had required nothing.

“I suppose that’s a good thing.”  Kai murmured more to himself.  “It means Aizawa's hold is all the more limited.”

“Hold!” Teris echoed.

“There’s no need to worry.”  Kai assured.  “Aizawa foolishly asked nothing of you when you joined his Ilca.  Even if he’s claimed you, there’s nothing he could demand of you.”

“Claimed? Like... on a personal level?”  The idea of the aloof, abrupt Aizawa being so affected by someone that he claimed them seemed unlikely.

“As I said.  There’s no need to worry.  Now.  Why don’t you get to reading.  I’ll quiz you during lunch and then, the real lessons can begin.”

3.3

“Aizawa!” Oboro called.

With a whoosh of air and smell of ozone, the Venti was suddenly down the long hallway and in front of the Sphinx.

Shouta sighed.  He couldn’t understand why Oboro insisted on trying to be friends with him when everyone else hated him simply for what his was.  A part of him was certain Nemuri had something to do with it, Oboro not only being in her Ilca, but one of her two boyfriends.  Yet she clearly hadn’t told Kan to do the same.  So he wasn’t sure.

Shouta came to a halt, tempted to walked around the Venti but knew evasion was futile.  “Where’s Yamada Hizashi?”

“Aw! Look at you!  Concerned and protective of your Ilca already.  I knew your were a big softy, Shouta.”

“Will you--”  Shouta’s hissing command to tell Oboro to shut up and lower his voice cut off.  Ignoring a passing group of students he assured the Venti.  “That’s not it.”

With a jerk of his chin, Oboro answered the Sphinx’s query.  “He’s right behind you.  Just not as fast as me.”

Reaching the two, Hizashi puffed out of breath from the dash.  “You’re fast!”

“Wind Spirit!”  Oboro grinned.

Hizashi turned to Shouta, eyes and smile just as bright and shining as Oboro’s.  “Shou!”

Great. There were two of them now, Shouta thought.

“I can call you Shou right?  Oboro said it was fine.”

“Well if Oboro said it.”  Shouta grumbled.

“Awesome!” Hizashi beamed.

No. That wasn’t what he meant.  Shouta's mouth opened, but Hizashi had already moved on.

“Oboro said I’m probably half elf.  Isn’t that cool!”

Shouta’s dark eyes rolled to the white haired Venti.  “What was your first clue?  The slightly pointed ears?”

“Yeah!” Oboro exclaimed.

Shouta studied Oboro a moment, unsure if his response was genuine or mocking.  “Did you at least tell him he’s likely High Elf?”

“High Elf?”  Hizashi and Oboro rang out in unison.

Literally bouncing with excitement, Hizashi asked.  “What’s a High Elf?”

“What makes you say that?”  Oboro questioned.

Shouta sighed.  So much for catching a nap during lunch.  At least with the two around it would help deter and distract him from the urge to go check on Teris during the break.

3.4

Kai was actually enjoying himself.  Seated in a private dining room of the Ilca dorm, he quizzed Teris.  Over the course of their lunch he had discovered she wasn’t just a pretty, young beast of ancient and powerful heritage.  She had sharp mind and quick wit.  Not only had his pupil retained everything she had read this morning; but she asked intelligent questions that would lead to new and better understanding.

He wondered why Aizawa and the others that taught the Ilca course at Traverseen Hall complained so much.  Teaching was easy.  If they faced difficulty in their job, it was either because Traverseen Hall was too accepting in who they allowed in the course.  Or the instructors themselves were lacking.

“Tell me about Pieces?”  Kai questioned, knee and part of his thigh brushing hers under the small, round table.  Though she didn’t move against him, she didn’t pull back like the first time their legs had touched.  Her acceptance had his heart hammering so hard it drummed in his ears drowning out the first part of her answer.

“Pieces. The shortened and more commonly used term for ‘Piece of Their Person’.  When the four divisions.  Beast, Demon, Spirit, and Sprite.  Agreed to meet to try and work out a peace that would end the first great war of Oblvi called the War of Divisions, the Beast and Demon Kings thought it prudent that no weapons be allowed at the talks.  But members of the Spirit and Sprite councils feared for their Kings if they attended unarmed.”

“And rightly so.  Any beast or demon would have the advantage against any spirit or spite.”

“Any?” Teris questioned.

Begrudgingly, Kai was forced to amend.  “So long as the fight wasn’t on the spirit or sprites claimed territory.  But even then, so long as the beast was capable they would win.  Beasts are the superior division of Fourth's.”

Teris frowned, but didn’t argue.  How could she?  As far as she knew the only spirit or sprite she had meet was Hizashi.  Still, Kai’s claim made her uncomfortable, whether it was true or not.

Ignoring the unease, she went on.  “It was finally agreed that they would come in their human forms and have the meeting place spelled so they couldn’t return to their true forms while there.  The four rulers also agreed that they and their entourage would be allow to carry a single item of their choosing for protection.  This item would be thought of as a piece of a Fourth's person, hence the name.  And the act of trying to forcibly take or demand the removal of that item would be viewed the same as the taking of a limb.  After the War of Divisions the allowance of a single item being stylized as a Piece of Their Person, along with the rules of non-removal remained.  At first the item Fourth’s carried and called their piece changed depending on situation.  But as time went on the standard became a single item that once chosen could not be changed.”

“Excellent.” Kai’s leg stretched out, foot hooking under her ankle.  “Now let’s see if you can theorize half as well as you can memorize. Tell me.  Why does the Council foolishly view pieces as a troublesome hindrance to peace and order when they are a right of vital importance?”

“Uh…” Teris blinked.  Her mind sifted through what she had learned and what little she knew of the Council and this world.  It would've been easier to think if Kai’s leg wasn’t touching hers, the coolness of his body making hers feel heated.  “Because Fourth's are now able to take something off of their true form and use it while in human form.”

Kai expression hardened a fraction.  “Are you asking or telling me?”

“Telling?”

Kai’s eyes narrowed.

Teris quickly thought over her response and repeated with more certainty. “Telling.”

Kai’s hand came to rest on the table, a hairs breath from hers.  “Good. When Fourth's first began carrying pieces human forms were the exception, not the norm.  Back then they had very limited abilities when in human form.  Because of that, most pieces were potions, protective amulets, or hand held weapons such as swords.  Things able to assist in a fight while in human form.  But during the last two ages our human forms have grown in strength and endurance.  It has allowed many to be able to literally take a piece off of their true form and make use of it.”

“I don’t--”  Teris shook her head not understanding.

“You’ve seen Aizawa's piece.  The capture weapon he wears around his neck?”

She nodded.

“Arbitrator Todoroki’s piece is a claw from his true form.  With it, he is able to harness many of his true forms abilities.  In a battle between Aizawa and Todoroki, who do you think would win?”

“Based simply on their pieces.  Todoroki.”

“Exactly. Only pure bloods of older, superior species are able to take a part of themselves as their piece.”

“So the thing meant to help level the imbalance of power has now created a disparity of it.”  Teris surmised, wondering why Shouta had picked the scarf-like piece he had when he was of pure and ancient blood.

“There will always be an imbalance of power.  That’s why the Council’s concern is as senseless as it is wrong.  Our beastly ancestors and those of the demons who wrongly caved to the spirits and sprites for the sake of an easy peace were short-sighted.  They willingly weakened themselves to make the truly weak feel stronger.  This change that’s happened over the last two ages.  A pure bloods ability to take a literal piece of their person and call upon their true forms power.  It’s simply natures way of rectifying a false sense of equality that never should have been.”

Teris exhaled.  She wasn’t sure she believed everything Kai said.  It sounded more like opinion than fact.  True or not, she certainly wasn’t happy with it.  Hizashi was said to be a hybrid of spirit and sprite.  The thought of anyone viewing him as less than simply because of what division of Fourth he was upset her.  But there was something she did appreciate about Kai’s words and that was his lack of fear.  Everyone else she had met spoke about the Council in a sort of anxious hush.  But not Kai.  Not only had the Dragon showed no apprehension when speaking about the Council; he had disagreed with them to the point of near disparaging.

Kai got to his feet.  “Come.”

“What? Time for more reading?”  Teris toyed.

“No. I’m going to show you my piece.”

Her breath hitched.  She knew exactly what Kai meant, but his tone of voice and the way he looked at her made it feel as if he were referring to a much more personal and private piece of his person.

Kai’s hand extended.  A curious thing considering he hated touching lesser Fourth's and avoided doing so at all costs.  But his leg had been touching hers of the better part of an hour and he wanted more.  He wanted to feel her warmth and skin, not experience it through the layers of their clothes.

Teris glanced at Kai’s offered hand, hesitant to take it.

Kai almost reached out and grabbed hers.  He was both well acquainted and unaccustomed to being denied depending on the person and circumstance.  His secret subjects obeyed without question.  But he wanted more than blind obedience from her.  He wanted acceptance. And so he held himself back and waited.

Finally, Teris placed her hand in his.

Kai’s fingers wrapped around her silken skin, reveling in her warm hold. He pulled her to her feet and turned.

Teris laughed when Kai rushed out of the room and down hall, tugging her along.

Kai chuckled with her. He couldn’t explain it but his was happy.  Excited even.  To share his world and thoughts with another.  Someone intelligent and hungry to learn.  His disappointment about her not being the dragon he first thought she was was long gone.  She was still a beast of ancient pedigree.  The power of her aura and ability to appear fully human, a clear sign that she was of pure blood.  She was the first person he had met that was anywhere near worthy of being his mate.  And though it was early days yet, as a Dragon that had just reached his prime, Kai’s mind couldn’t help but go there.

They entered his office and came to a halt.

Breathless, Teris smiled.

Kai looked her over, smiling in return.  She was...beautiful.  He normally would've been bothered by the mussed hair their dash had caused.  A clear flaw that told of further weakness.  But on her he found the imperfect disarray sheer perfection.

“Kai?”

He watched her lips move, heart beating faster.  As wonderful as her sweet voice made his name sound he couldn’t help but think how much better it would be if whispered in heated need.

“My piece.  Yes.”  Kai’s thumb caressed her smooth, warm skin before reluctantly releasing her.  His hand gripped her shoulder the other reaching behind her to close the door.

Even though she hadn’t seen another soul since Aizawa and Hari had left, the door to Kai’s office had remained open all morning.  Having it closed felt strangely intimate.  Making her feel all the more alone with him.

She leaned back slightly, his face extremely close. “I have to admit, the way you said it back there seemed a bit... suggestive.  You are just going to show me the piece of you person… Right?”

Kai’s fingers slid from the door, his other hand slipping down her arm, the inside of his wrist grazing and scenting her. “That was the idea.  But if you wish to see something more…”

She exhaled a half laugh.

His eyes darted over her face.  It must’ve been the change of lighting because for a moment her nose appeared more pointed.

“I think we should stick to the piece of your person for now.  We just met and I don’t know enough about the way of things here.  I don’t want to see us accidentally courting or mated.”

Kai stepped back, shoving down his disappointment and cursing his instincts.  Though interested, it was way too early to tell if she was truly worthy.  To think that dragon, sphinx's, and griffons had a prime of six to eight hundred years and he had just begun his. If he didn’t find someone worthy of even just sleeping with soon…

“Agreed.” He turned and moved to his desk.  “But just so you’re aware. Fourth's can’t accidentally be mated.  Nor can they be forced into it.  Mating is for life, and both parties have to be aware and willing to be bonded.”  His back to her, Kai added.  “As for relations before being mated…  Let’s just say Fourth's are often quite unconstrained with sex.”

“Well that explains last night and this morning with Aizawa.”  Teris muttered.

Kai nearly crushed the beak-like mask that was his piece.  A raging jealousy a thousand times worse than this morning boiled to life.  It shocked him. Teris had spoken true.  They had just met.  He wasn’t even certain she was worthy of bedding, let alone taking as a mate.  So why the angry jealousy?

He cleared his throat, fingers fiddling with his mask.  And kept his back to her, not trusting himself to effect a calm, disinterested expression.  “What happened with Aizawa?”

Teris sighed, eyes rolling at the man in question.  “Nothing. Last night was a mistake on my part.  But it was his fault.  He’s the one who left right away telling us to choose any rooms we wanted.”

“Rooms?” Kai echoed.  Whatever it was had happened in one of their quarters?

“Don’t worry.  It won’t be happening again.  I’m pretty sure I chewed his ear and ass out enough to ensure that.”

Though he wanted to know every detail, it was enough to know that she had found whatever it was unwelcome enough to tell Aizawa as much. Still, it was an effort not to demand she explain.  “If it continues.  Tell me.  I’ll take care of him.”

“I can take care of my self.  Besides, rude and bothersome as he is, I don’t think Shouta means any harm.”

Kai battled down a snarl, lip twitching at her use of Aizawa’s given name.  It intensified the urge he had to seek the Sphinx out and make sure Aizawa never got near her again.

“Are you gonna show me your piece?”

Are you going to tell me exactly what Aizawa did?  Kai thought.  It didn’t help that he already hated the Sphinx.  That his mind was conjuring up images of Teris and Aizawa in--

“Kai?”

Kai turned around, mask in hand.

“That’s it?”  Teris asked, taking in the tasteful ornate beauty of it.

Kai nodded.  He couldn’t show her the full capabilities of his piece.  Like Aizawa, he hadn’t been allowed to take something off his true form or even choose a clear, defined weapon as his piece.  The mask was only suppose to allow him a limited portion of his fire and a literal shadow of his true form. But thanks to Joi, his piece could do so much more.

Kai smirked and held out a hand.  “Let’s go outside.  I’ll show you what it can do and maybe give you a peek of my true form.”

Teris shook her head in chuckling humor as once again there was a hinting suggestiveness in his tone and gold eyes.

Kai smile grew, happy that this time there was no hesitance when she took his hand.

3.5

Shouta stood in front of the large windows of his Ilca’s great room watching the sunset.  Hizashi sat behind on a couch reading a book about High Elves and shouting out things he found of particular interest.  Which apparently was everything given how often he shouted out.

Arms crossed, Shouta's fingers tapped against taut biceps.  He had said he wanted Teris back an hour before sundown.  Of course he hadn’t expected Kai to care and comply, but he had expected Teris to listen and obey.  She was his.  Damn it!  She was part of his Ilca.  Why did he keep on thinking of her as his?  She wasn’t his.  More over he didn’t want her.  He had just met her and already found her a tiresome, arrogant, troubling woman.

It was because he was a couple years into his prime, he reasoned.  The beast within him wanted to couple.  To find a mate.  And Teris being a griffon…  She would make a perfect mate.  Shouta shook his head. No.  No, she wouldn’t.

How long had it been since he had sought Nemuri out for release?  Four? Five months?  His eyes narrowed counting.  Six. It had been six months.  As much as he hated to, it was clearly time to ask the favor again.  His self release could only do so much.  And now with a beautiful young Griffon in her own prime, that self release would do even less.  At least Nemuri understood it for what it was and didn’t seek to make anything more of it. She was fine without kissing or intimacy, just letting him fuck till he was done, and leave with an awkwardly mumbled thanks.

The front door opened.

Shouta watched Teris enter in the windows reflection.  She was smiling.  Why was she smiling?  She had nothing to smile about.  She was late and had spent the day with Kai.  Kai.  Who was much more charming and smooth than he.  Who was a handsome, powerful Dragon.  A Dragon who was also in his prime and no doubt looking to couple and mate.

Shouta ground his teeth, swallowing the burning bile that rose in his throat at the thought.  That’s when the smell reached him. He sniffed, forcing down a growl.  Kai had marked her with his scent!

Shouta turned.  “You’re late.”

“Excuse you?”

He stepped to her, the crisp, clean smell of linen and winter air assaulting his nostrils as he drew near.  “I said I wanted you back before sundown.”

“What’s more important?  Me learning or your stupid curfew?”

“You can sit here and read, just the same as Hizashi.  Or is your learning capability somehow less than?”

“You’re less than.”  Teris snapped.

Shouta arched an eyebrow.

Teris gritted her teeth and the lame comeback.  She glared hating the Sphinx’s somehow stoic but smugly amused expression.

Sighing, Shouta tried to smooth things over. “I didn’t make the order to demean or upset you.”

“I doubt that.”  Teris scoffed.

“I did it for good reason.”

“I’m sure you never think you’re wrong.”

Shouta's eyes hardened.

Hizashi looked between the two.  Aizawa had been worried.  It was why he had tried to distract him by engaging with interesting bits he read.  Why didn’t the Sphinx just tell her?

Unable to stop himself, Shouta reached out.  His heart clenched when Teris flinched.  What did she think?  That he was going to hurt her?  Even if she wasn’t his—his Ilca, he was still a member of the Ilca.  A protector of the people.  She had nothing to fear of him.

His hand fell on her shoulder, heartened and hurt when she didn’t pull away but tensed.  In his own weak attempt to scent and reclaim her, Shouta's fingers and inner wrist trailed down her arm.  “You’re to return an hour before sundown. Don’t be late again.”

Teris bristled at his words even as her shoulders eased at the warm, soothing smell of earth and musk that made her feel protected and at home.

“Don’t stay up too late.”  Shouta’s hand fell to his side, already missing the warmth of her.

Teris turned, mouth open to snap something snide but stopped.  She watched Shouta exit the dorms, telling herself it wasn’t disappointment she felt when the door closed without a backwards glance from him.

So this fic will have a LOT more world building than my others.  Please feel free to comment or send me an ask if you have any questions.

I write for my own enjoyment, but edit and post for yours.  If you enjoyed reading this at all please comment and let me know.  It’s the only thing that encourages me to keep editing and posting.

Thank you to those who have left hearts.  And a special thank you to those who have left comments or re-blogged. They really mean a lot.

Special thank you to @inorganicone2230 who knows of my love for the mythic and encouraged me to start this fic without stressing about the other two I’ve got going.  Your friendship means the world to me.  And I can’t THANK YOU enough for reading the draft of this chapter and stopping me from deleting it.

[stars-and-rose]

On the Outside Looking In (Sander Sides Spiderverse! au)

so i started this before i got my notes for cursed kingdom and heart point back, got inspired by a random post, and i love emika and felt the need to finish this so here we are-

also i really just love @sugarglider9603 and @ask-spiderverse-virgil | @galaxy-lilies-main  ‘s spiderverse au so that's that-

Fandom: Thomas Sanders/Sanders Sides

Pairings: Pre-established Prinxeity and Logicality, some oc action going on too

Summary: Student Council President kinda abuses her power for the sake of local superheroes, but she does it with sass

Word Count: 6,640

Trigger Warnings: Cursing, Mentions of transphobia, descriptions of wounds, blood, there's a gun but no one gets shot (this is actually really fluffy i swear-)

Emika Waters didn't exactly know when she had figured it out. Maybe it was when Logan Quinn shouted "FALSEHOOD" in the middle of class a week or so back, and it sounded exactly like Arachne. Maybe it was when she had gotten lost coming home from her boyfriend's apartment, and Love Bite had helped her find her way and complimented her dress in the same exact words Patton Foster had earlier that day. Maybe it was after hearing another playful argument between Roman Marigold and Virgil Storm, and noting that it held the same energy as when Royal Slinger and Spidergale bantered. Maybe it was when she noticed the four of them coming to school, weary and stiff, on the days she watched a reporter describe a battle between the spidermen and a supervillain. Maybe it was a subtly noting the matching color schemes and attitudes. But the pieces of the puzzle had finally put themselves together, and Emika found herself staring at the complete puzzle in shock.

It was surreal- Emika was busy playing instrumentals on her violin and dragging her poor boyfriend to take pictures of the New York City skyline, while other kids her age were risking their lives to take out adults with villainous intent. How did they do it? Sure, she knew superpowers were involved- wait a second, how did the boys gain superpowers? No, she was not going to think about that, her brain was already fried- but how did they have the time? All four boys were actively involved in clubs, Logan was the class's valedictorian, and the others were in her AP and Honors classes as well.  Where did that leave time to patrol the streets of the city and keep those streets safe?

Emika rubbed her temples, a headache starting to form. She hated not having the answers, and this whole scenario left her with absolute zero. She didn't even know what to do with the information!

Thinking about it, that was actually a good place to start. She pulled out her phone, looking up superhero comics. She wanted to see what fictional characters would do in her scenario. She opened one comic, then another and another, her stomach turning and her nose scrunched up in disgust after every comic showed the same results.

It seemed that in every comic, anyone who wasn't the superhero's best friends/partners/family who found out the hero's civilian identity was hell-bent to expose the hero.

That… didn't seem right to Emika.

Why would she try to expose the boys? They were saving lives- and as she knew them as civilians, they were generally nice people. They didn't deserve media crawling down their necks and people harassing and criticizing them.  The thought of slipping into a newspaper's office and outing the boys as the spidermen, it just screamed "WRONG!"

Emika's headache was starting to get worse. The comics had only led her to become more confused, and now she was questioning the morals of various comic book characters along with her previous dilemma. Emika threw her head up, staring at the starless sky above. She honestly didn't know what to do. Any form of action seemed to have a negative consequence somewhere down the line!

So what if she did nothing? If she kept the information to herself, kept her mouth shut, there would be no consequences! The boy's secret would be safe, and her own morality and sanity would stay in one piece.

Emika was startled from her thoughts as her brother's voice cut through the night "Hey, Oiseau! You coming?" As she walked to her brother's slightly-beat up, gray car, Emika made her decision. She would keep the boy's secret to herself, and let nothing change.

At least, that was her original plan.

The first time she had helped one of the SpiderBoys (as she has dubbed them in her mind) had been an impulse.

It had been a week since she had made her decision. School had started later that day due to minor villain uprising in the early hours of the morning. Emika was sitting her English class, looking over the notes she had taken for Hamlet. The teacher had surprised the class the day before by announcing that the test on the book would be the next day. Emika had used the time in the morning to study since she had been up late planning the school's next pep rally (being student council president was a challenge, but she stopped complaining about her responsibilities after her discovery). Emika traced over a swirl in silver ink drawn in the margin of her notes, hoping she had absorbed the information she needed

She was suddenly startled by the classroom door flying open. All eyes in the room fixated on Patton Foster, cheek's flushed and gray skirt swishing around his knees. "Sorry about that," He mumbled with a soft laugh, before retreating to his seat beside Emika.

Emika tried to subtly study the boy. To anyone not looking, there seemed to be nothing wrong with their positive classmate. But Emika was looking. She noticed the eyebags covered with a faint layer of concealer, she noticed the way Patton's smile seemed slightly strained, and she noticed how he kept rubbing his arm. She guessed the actions were symptoms of his morning battle as Love Bite. Emika wondered if she asked him if he was okay if he would be suspicious of her.

Before she could ask, their teacher entered the room, with a large stack of papers in his arms. "Morning class! Are you ready for your exam? With the late start we had, I hope you found the time to study!"

Emika practically felt Patton tense up next to her. She heard the whispers escape from his mouth. "Oh no... I forgot... I can't fail this!"

In the ten seconds, it took their teacher to reach his desk, Emika made a decision. "Mr. Brooks!" She called out, standing up and drawing the room's attention to her.

"Yes, Miss Waters?"

"I just remembered I have an order of supplies coming in for the rally next week, and I need to go pick them up!" She wrinkled her nose. "It's a big load, I don't think I can do it by myself unless I want to take all day." Emika pretended to look around the room, her eyes landing on Patton. "Patton, do you think you could help me out?"

Her superhero classmate stared up at her; his confusion was written on his face, but he nodded. "Of course I'll help!"

"Oh thank goodness!" She flashed a smile at Mr. Brooks. "You wouldn't mind if I took Patton with me, right? I can ask Mx Right to confirm that we're working, I'm sure they won't mind."

Mr. Brooks nodded, as Emika suspected he would. "As long as Mx Right calls me, I wouldn't see an issue. Please hurry though, since I'll still expect you to take the test."

"Of course!" Emika subtly grabbed her notebook and gestured for Patton to follow her. As soon as the door shut behind them, Emika handed Patton her notebook. "You looked like you needed some extra study time."

Patton gave her a startled look. "Um, yeah- How did you know?"

"I'm Student Council President! I feel like it's part of my job to notice any issues a student may be having."

Patton nodded, looking down at her notebook. "Wait, did you lie to Mr. Brooks? I appreciate the help but if you lied, I'm going to have to walk back in the room. I don't lie."

Emika threw up her hand in a surrendering gesture. "No, no I didn't lie! I overexaggerated a bit- there is a load I need to pick up but I can handle it myself- you can help me by keeping company while you study and I unpack."

Patton let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank gosh, I really didn't want to go back in there and fail the test. Thank you so much, Mika."

"Again, it's my pleasure." The two of them began to walk down the hallway, reaching the front office. Emika went in and grabbed the boxes- Patton offering to carry some for her, and Emika finally relenting when she realized the stacked boxes were taller than herself. They made their way through freshman hall to Mx Right's room, Emika struggling slightly with her load, and Patton carrying his with ease.

Patton opened the door while still carrying his boxes. (It had to be the superpowers, Emika was sure of it) Emika set down her boxes and flicked on the light. Patton sat on top of a desk, swinging his legs as he read over the notes. Emika sat on the floor, opening the boxes and labeling the contents to make her life easier later on.

Emika was on her second-to-last box when her's phone went off from the desk she'd set it on. She scrambled up, then proceeded to trip over one of the boxes. Patton giggled at the blonde and picked up her phone. "It's Jay." He let out another giggle. "I guess you've really fallen for him, huh?"

After laughing at the pun, Emika accepted her phone from Patton and answered the call. She was greeted with her favorite voice in the world. "Hey, Meeks, I have study hall and ran across the street to get coffee. What do you want?"

If you asked Patton, he would have sworn up and down that the student council president's eyes had become hearts. "This is why I love you." She breathed.

"Oh? It's just because I bring you coffee?"

"Oh, shh, you know that's not it, Jay. I'll have mocha frappe, large." She looked over at her companion."Patton, do you want anything? You look tired, some coffee could help you wake up?"

"Patton? Did you kidnap Patton?" Emika's boyfriend asked.

"Yes I did, I kidnapped him and I'm forcing him to help me unload my supplies because I'm so evil." Emika deadpanned, putting her phone on speaker.

Patton laughed. "She's so horrible! She's making me study while she goes through boxes!"

"Horrific!" Jay exclaimed. "But seriously, do you want something?"

"I can pay you back, but could you get me a hot chocolate? The sugar wakes me up more than caffeine." Patton mumbled something else to himself, but Emika should only catch the words, 'Taste', 'Kiss', and 'Logan'

It was safe to say she had a pretty good idea of what the last statement was about.

"Don't worry about paying me back. Meeks said something about you being tired? I getcha, so it's on me." Jay replied.

"You two are literally the best people on the planet," Patton exclaimed.

Emika smiled to herself. "It's the least I can do."

When the two re-entered the English room, Emika with her coffee and Patton with his hot chocolate, Patton handed her notebook back. "Seriously, you are the best," he whispered.

Emika only smiled.

The second time, it hadn't occurred to Emika until the situation was over.

She was in history, working with her group for their government project. Emika had her head against her boyfriend's chest, fiddling with the striped blue, white and pink pride button her boyfriend had finally felt confident putting on his bag (Emika had a matching pin on her bag, but hers was pink, yellow and blue). She was writing her script, as she would be presenting the project. Jay was sketching his idea for the poster board on a piece of graph paper. Two twin girls- Emika was positive one was named Rose and the other Lily, and Lily was the one with the tattoo on her wrist- were searching in the textbook and on their phones for the information they needed. The last member for their group, Virgil Storm, was typing away at a laptop, headphones covering his ears, working on the powerpoint.

It was peaceful- mostly. Even since the day when she had pulled Patton out to help him study, Emika had become hyperaware of the SpiderBoys physical and mental states. She kept glancing at Virgil, checking for obvious signs that something was wrong. She couldn't tell if Virgil had eyebags, due to the boy's dark eye-shadow covering where any eyebags would be. (That was probably the point. Huh. ) Virgil's collection of oversized hoodies (Emika was convinced she had seen the dark red hoodie Virgil was currently wearing on Roman before) prevented her from seeing any bruises or bumps.  Therefore, Virgil was making her job very hard for her.

Emika sighed, tugging on the sleeve of her yellow sweater when she first heard the noise. It was a low rumbling sound that Emika usually associated with her brother- the sound of someone's stomach grumbling.

Rose looked up from her book. "Was that's someone's stomach?" She asked, confirming what Emika had thought she heard.

"Is someone hungry? I have a few extra bucks on me, we can run to the library and get some snacks that the yearbook committee is selling." Emika suggested.

"We just had lunch," Lily replied, gesturing to herself and her twin.

"I've got my mum's brownies in my bag if I get hungry," Jay said.

Virgil didn't even hear- or maybe he did, and he was just ignoring the conversation. Emika let it go, going back to her notes. She had dropped her pen to stretch her fingers when the grumbling started again. She looked back up, meeting eyes with the twins. Rose glanced at Virgil, mouthing a question to Emika "Is it coming from Virgil?"

Emika tilted her head, mouthing back. "Not sure, I'll keep my ear open." She went back to her notes, but this time, when she heard the noise, she stood. She walked over to Virgil and tapped her hand to get his attention. The darker haired boy looked up at her, pulling off his headphones.

"Is something up, Emika?"

"Have you eaten something today? Because your stomach keeps rumbling." Emika asked, hoping her concern carried through her voice.

Virgil shrugged. "I'm not hungry."

"That wasn't the question." Emika crossed her arms.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"Then, fine, no I haven't eaten yet. We good now?" Virgil lifted his hand to put his headphones back on, but Emika grabbed his hand and tried to pull him to his feet. "Hey, what the hell, what are you doing?"

"We're going to the library and you're eating something. That's an order as your president." Emika decided.

"You're student council president, I don't think it works that way."

"I say so, so it does. Let's go, come on, up, up let's go."

"You're causing a scene," Virgil complained. It was true; people were starting to glance at them.

Looking back at it later, Emika noted how comical the situation was. Emika was a tiny blond wearing a pastel sweater. Virgil had at least five inches on Emika, and his darker clothes made him look much more threatening than her. Plus he was Spidergale (which had slipped her mind at the time), which definitely gave him an unfair advantage. But Emika had determination and a questionable amount of caffeine on her side.

"You're dating Roman. He's much better at causing scenes than me! Oooooh, what if I go get him? I could text the theater chat- they finally added the pit kids into it!"

Virgil sighed. "If I come with you will you stop?"

"Yup."

Virgil let out a sigh, slipped off his headphones, and stood. Emika grinned at him, and started for the doorway, hoping that when she turned around, that Virgil would still be behind her. He was, to her satisfaction. They walked in silence, Virgil fidgeting with the strings of his boyfriend's hoodie.

"Why do you care so much?"

Emika turned to Virgil. "Hmmm?"

"Why did you cause a scene and force me to come with you and such?" Virgil asked, fingers still entwined with the hoodie strings.

Emika shrugged. "I feel like I gotta be helpful. There's gotta be something I can do. Even something as small as this."

The two of them fell back into silence, reaching the library. Emika walked over the desk, where a few baskets held candy and chips. She pulled out a few dollar bills and grabbed a dark chocolate bar and a box of Lemonheads. After paying, she threw the chocolate bar at the emo boy, who caught it with ease. "Huh?"

"Dark chocolate is light on your stomach, but it still gives you some energy. I live on dark chocolate during audition weeks. Jay is convinced that someone draws my blood, they'll discover that my blood has bits of dark chocolate in it. Plus, it makes you feel good and tastes great."

Virgil snorted. "Have you ever considered becoming a spokesperson for dark chocolate?"

"Oh my god! That would be the best job on the planet!" Emika popped a lemon candy in her mouth. Virgil unwrapped the chocolate bar and proceeded to stare at it as if it came from an alien planet. "You do realize you can't eat it by staring at it? You need to put it in your mouth?"

"No. I never would have guessed. Thank you so much." Virgil deadpanned, causing Emika to snort. They walked back to the classroom, and Emika reclaimed her spot next to Jay.

Later, the couple was laying on the couch of the Waters apartment when she remembered that Virgil was Spidergale and she'd managed help out another superhero. She couldn't help but let out an airy laugh at the thought.

"Is everything good?" Jay asked.

"Yup! Just thinking about something," Emika replied, laying her head in his lap.

The third time it happened, it was completely and utterly on purpose.

Emika sat in one of the music department's practice rooms, violin case at her feet, looking over the notes she'd jotted into her notebook. Yesterday, she had overheard her study hall teacher complaining to another teacher about how she was going to have to write Logan Berry up if he showed up to study hall late one more time.

That had piqued Emika's interest- and her concern. Logan Berry?  The Valedictorian, obsessed with learning, Logan Berry skipping a class? That was wrong in every aspect. So Emika looked into it.

After searching through YouTube and various fan blogs, Emika learned that due to a few criminals escaping jail, the SpiderBoys and Rainbow Weaver were taking extra patrols until the crooks were caught. It seemed at Arachne (cough, cough Logan) was taking patrol at the time of their study hall.

Emika wasn't about to let Logan get in trouble for protecting the city. Nope. Nada. Not on her watch.

Emika scribbled something furiously with her pen, memorizing the bulleted list she had created. Her plan, if executed correctly, would be able to clear Logan's name and still fall in line with his boyfriend's morals.

If she messed up-

Nope. She was not going to mess up.

Someone knocked on the door. Emika looked up and saw one of the band's flutists- Alex- looking in at her. She pushed the notebook into her bag and opened the door, glancing at the blue bracelet around Ian's wrist.  "Hey, Mika." He greeted. "The period is over."

"Oh, thank you for getting me. I wouldn't have noticed." Emika stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and grabbed her violin case.

"You looked really focused. Working on something important?"Alex asked as Emika put her violin in her locker.

"You could say that." Emika agreed, waving goodbye as they parted ways. Emika headed for the cafeteria, heartbeat thumping in her ears. She could give speeches in front of her entire class without any fear. She could play violin solos without batting an eye. But this? Her nerves were shot. Because now, it wasn't just her on the line. If she messed up, Logan would get in trouble.

She made to the cafeteria and set down her bag at an empty table. Taking a deep breath, Emika walked towards the table where Mrs. Nixon sat, playing with her wedding band. The student council president cleared her throat, getting the teacher's attention. "Oh, hello Miss Waters. Is there something I can help you out with?"

"There is. May I sit?" Emika asked.

"Of course." She sat down, cracking her knuckles, as the teacher looked at her. "What's wrong? Do you need anything?"

"I need to talk to you about how Logan Berry has been late to this class. I'm afraid it's kind of my fault."

The teacher tilted her head. "Pardon me? You're going to have to explain, Emika."

"You see, I've been swamped with a lot of the paperwork for student council. Our treasurer is terribly sick right now, and I don't want to put any pressure on them while they're under the weather. I tried to do it myself, but it happens to be that when you have a thousand things to do, putting together treasuer reports is much more difficult than it looks. So, since Logan is the smartest person I know, I asked him if he could complete them for me.  He has lunch before this, I think, and he told me he would go to the library to work on the reports. So, it seems that because I gave him extra work, he's coming to this study hall late."

Emika was mentally screaming at herself, because goodness, her story sounded so fake, it could shatter with the simplest prod.

Mrs. Nixon bit her lip. "It's very refreshing to see teenagers holding themselves accountable for their mistakes. And I don't want to be the teacher that puts on a stain on Mr. Berry's record. As long as this doesn't continue, I think I can let it slide."

Emika almost jumped over the table to hug the teacher, but she managed to contain herself. "Thank  you so much, Mrs. Nixon."

"Anytime." Emika walked back to her seat, slumping in it with relief. She pulled out her German notes- honestly, she should have taken French, she already was fluent, it would have been an easy hundred- and began to study when someone sat across from her. Emika looked up, and sure enough, Logan was sitting across from her.

"Oh, hi, Logan! What's up?" Emika said, attempting to keep her cool. She subtly looked for any injuries, but it seemed  Logan was able to keep himself from getting hurt.

"It came to my attention that you covered for me in accordance with my constant tardiness to this class, and I was curious why," Logan asked, the question burning in his eyes.

Emika shrugged. "I knew you'd have a good reason. I've known you since, like seventh grade, even if we never really talked.  You don't strike me as the type to be tardy without a good reason."

Logan nodded. "Yes, I had a reason, but it's a private one."

"Oh, I wasn't prying! I totally get it."

The two sat in silence for a moment, and Emika was considering going back to her German review when Logan spoke up again. "However, Patton will be rather upset if he learns lying was involved me getting out of trouble."

"Oh I know, I almost received a lying-is-bad lecture from your boyfriend." Emika laughed, brushing the hair out of her face.

"He informed me of that incident. I do have to thank you for helping him."

Emika smiled. "Student Council President is quite determined to do her job. As for the lying thing-" Emika dug into her backpack, pulling on a few pieces of paper. "-I told Mrs. Nixon you were helping me with these."

"Are these Treasurer Reports?"

"Haha, yeah. Millie is out sick and I didn't want to make her do it while she's out, I wasn't lying about that- so to null out the other lie, if you could add up the numbers for me? Then there's less lying involved."

"You thought this through, didn't you?"

Emika grinned. "I live to defy the dumb blond stereotype"

Logan managed to get the reports added up in minutes flat (A feat Emika never would have been capable of), and by the time the period was over, Emika had a smile on her face.

The fourth time had been a total accident.

The Spring Musical was just around the corner, meaning the pit orchestra would practice alongside the performers. Emika's arms were killing her, and if she had to play the same section one more time, she was going to lose her mind.

Finally, a break was called. Emika, her prayers answered, gratefully placed her violin back in its case. She was desperate for water,  but it seemed she had emptied her bottle already. Emika grabbed the empty bottle, determined to fill it before the fountain was swamped. She started to power-walk from the auditorium, cursing her tiny legs when she collided with someone.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Emika scrambled to her feet, offering her hand to whoever she had run into. It just happened to be Roman, who accepted her hand and pulled himself to his feet.

"It's okay," he answered, but there was pain tainting his voice.

"Are you okay?" Oh god, what if she hurt Roman? In turn, that would have meant she'd hurt Royal Slinger, which meant New York would be down a SpiderBoy-

"Oh no, you just hit me where I have a nasty cut, I'm perfectly fine!" Roman replied, and Emika heard him mutter something that contained the phrase "stitches getting loose'.

Oh. Oh no.

"Um, I have a first aid kit in the band room- I kept it on me because sometimes I slit my fingertips on my violin strings, and I would make me feel better if I could look over it so-"

"Hey, Mika, calm down!" Roman said, putting his hands up in a calming gesture. "It truly isn't your fault for my pain, but if I will make you feel better, you can look the wound over."

Emika let out a shaky breath. "Okay, okay yeah, follow me." Emika led Roman through the maze of chairs, stands, and cases that were scattered through the pit. A few turns and a tiny set of stairs later, the two were in the abandoned band room. Emika pointed at a chair. "Sit down, I'm going to get my kit."

Emika left the actor in the band room, headed for the storage area, where, in her locker, she found the first aid kit. Jay had bought it for her after he'd noticed her fingertips bleeding from the little cuts she often found on them. She exited the storage room and found Roman sitting, with his red jacket off, and his sleeves rolled up.

Then she saw the cut.

It was stitched up, which Emika guessed meant it was deep. The wound was a bright red around the stitching, which was definitely coming undone. She could see red under the falling-apart stitches, which Emika assumed wasn't good. The wound also seemed to be oozing with what she feared was pus. She was no medical professional, but something told her that the wound would have given the school nurse a heart attack.

Emika sat down and opened her kit. She didn't bother asking how Roman had gotten the wound. She knew that it was from his escapades as Royal Slinger, and seeing the dramatic boy injured made something churn in her stomach. It wasn't fair, the boys didn't deserve to be hurt like this.

There was nothing she could do except doing the little things to help, like making sure Roman's injury didn't get worse.

Emika pulled out a rubbing wipe. "This is going to sting."

"Don't worry, I can handle a minor sting," Roman replied, but he still winced as Emika attempted to clean the cut, moving carefully around the stitches. Just as Emika finished the cleaning, Roman's phone went off from his jacket pocket. Roman moved to get it, but Emika reached over and grabbed it for him instead.

"It's Virgil," Emika announced, and she smiled at the way Roman's eyes lit up at the mention of his boyfriend. He made grabby hands for the phone, and Emika, laughing slightly, handed it over.

"Hello, my darling emo!" Roman smiled at the image of Virgil that appeared on his screen.

"Hey, Ro. What's up?"

"Local Mother Hen is looking at that cut I got on my shoulder," Roman responded. Emika flashed a peace sign at Virgil.

"You need a leash for this one, Virgil," Emika replied, rummaging through her kit, and pulling out butterfly stitching. "Hey Roman, I'm going to put butterfly stitching over the stitches, you'll have to have someone with actual medical skills fix that, okay?"

"Aye aye, captain," Roman responded, before starting a conversation with his boyfriend about Virgil's dance practice. Emika unwrapped the stitching and began to carefully apply the bandaging to the wound. She had done this before- once, Andre had split his knee open, and Emika had fixed him up enough so her dad could take him to the ER. She made sure to keep the touches gentle, not wanting to make Roman hurt more, but said the boy was caught up talking to Virgil, she doubted he would have noticed either way. As a precaution, Emika stuck a couple large band-aids over the butterfly stitching.

"Alright! Try not to aggravate the wound or pull out the stitches more than you already have. Cut back on the dramatics for the last half of practice, perhaps."

Roman gasped as if she'd suggested kicking a puppy. "Cut back on the dramatics?" He repeated. "Virgil, do you hear this insanity?"

As Virgil snickered from the other line, Emika rolled her eyes playfully. "Maybe just try not to move that arm around so much?"

"You can handle that, Princey." Virgil agreed. "If you manage not to rip the stitches- more than you already have, I might be more inclined to watch Disney and cuddle later."

Roman vigorously nodded his head. "I shall not rip the stitches or dramatically move my arm in the name of Disney cuddles." He announced.

Emika laughed, putting away her kit.  Just as she was about to slip away to let the two finish talking before the rehearsal started up again, Virgil called out, "Hey, um, Mika- people call you that, right?"

"Yeah, they do! What's up? "

"Thanks for taking care of my dork."

Emika smiled. "Of course- I'm always here to help."

And help she did.

It seemed that the SpiderBoys had discovered that she really would help with anything. Patton continued to help her during unloading days, giving him more time to study. Logan asked her for the page numbers of homework assignments he'd missed. Virgil accepted the dark chocolate she threw at him. Roman had even allowed her to help with another wound he'd gotten.

But all good things come to an end eventually.

To be fair, the night Emika accidentally opened her mouth was a night meant for disaster. The usually calm student council president was enraged.  Jay ran track, and sometimes he managed to convince his girlfriend (aka Emika) to go on runs with him. She didn't mind the runs; she often brought her camera along. But Jay couldn't wear his binder while they were running, which usually wasn't a problem.

But today there was a problem. Some guy had misgendered Jay and then proceeded to go off on some transphobic tangent. Jay ignored that guy, but Emika could see how upset her boyfriend was becoming, and she'd almost beat the shit out of the guy. But, she knew that would make her boyfriend upset, so she'd instead taken him home and made him rose tea and cuddled with him. But as soon as his mom came home and Emika left the apartment, the rage entered her eyes.

Everyone on the street shifted to avoid her. It was comical- the tiny girl causing grown men to step out of her way. If she lived in a cartoon,  steam would have been pouring out her ears.

Suddenly, her phone began to ring. She pulled out her phone and answered the call. "Salut, Papa."

"Salut, êtes-vous sur le chemin du retour?"

"Oui,  Je prends le métro." Emika responed.

"Rester en sécurité, Emika." Her dad fretted.

"Ne t'inquiète pas, ça va aller. À bientôt."

"Je t'aime."

" Je t'aime, Papa." Emika hung up and continued her way to the subway. Speaking her father's native tongue always calmed her down- the word's always sounded so pretty, and focusing on the beauty of it was a welcome distraction.

Emika managed to get into her subway without any trouble. She was sitting against the wall, earbuds canceling the noise of the crowded car and distracting her from the anger still bubbling in her chest. Everything was fine.

Until the subway stopped.

That was strange, Emika remembered thinking. The ride was usually about fifteen minutes, she had only been riding for seven. She slipped her earbuds out, listening to the confused murmurs of the other passengers. Then the sound of cracking glass filled her eardrums, and something sharp cut across Emika's face, causing the rage in her stomach to twist into pain and fear.

Someone started screaming. Emika glanced at the window dividing the subway cars- the glass was shattered, the cracks spirling from a small hole in the center. A bullet hole. Had someone gotten shot?

No, the bullet was wedged into one of the handheld poles. Emika peered into the car before them, and saw a figure with a gun, pointing it frantically from passenger to passenger.

Something dripped down Emika's face. She raised her hand and felt something wet and sticky covering her cheek. Lowering her hand, vile raised in her throat- her hand was covered in crimson, metallic-smelling blood. Her own blood.

No one paid attention to her, the blood dripping down her cheek, the pain sharp and fierce. She heard the sounds of conflict in the other car (but no more gunshots), then the sound of the door being forced open.  "Is anyone hurt?"

"There's a girl by the window, I think she got cut by the glass!" Huh, someone had noticed her. Someone knelt next to Emika; it was a figure in a pink super-suit, it was  Love Bite, it was Patton.

"Hey, hey you with me?" He asked.

"Mmhmm," Emika mumbled. "It hurts like fucking hell"

"You got cut on the glass, you'll be okay, but you need to stay calm okay?" Her superhero classmate muttered, looking up into the evacuating crowd. "I need someone to clot her bleeding!"

A woman handed over a scarf- Patton thanking her, before ripping it and pressing it down over Emika's cut. She winced in pain. "Sorry." He muttered and continued to press down. Soon, he lifted the bloodstained cloth. "I think you've stopped bleeding."

"Thank you, Patton, "Emika mumbled. She felt the superhero stiffen and take it a harsh breath beside her. Why-

Oh.

Oh.

Emika tensed too, her thoughts racing. She had called him Patton, while he was in costume. No one was close enough to hear her, but still, she'd let it slip.

"Emika-" Patton began,  his voice slightly panicked, the eyes of his suit open so wide, it would be been comical in any other situation.

Really, Emika should have stayed and simply explained her discovery to Patton. But, instead, Emika shot to her feet, ignoring the superhero's protests, and ran from the subway, losing herself in the fleeing crowd.

Emika couldn't avoid it forever. That didn't mean she wasn't going to try.

She practically ran between classes, made sure she sat with as many people as possible at lunch and drove home with her brother every day.

But one day, she was waiting after school, leaning against the same wall she had all those weeks ago when she meant her discovery, waiting for Andre to get out of work. Her finger traced over the cut on her cheek. The doctor she'd visited told her it would probably scar. She lowered her hand, and then she felt someone lean against the wall next to her. "Hey, Mika."

Emika tensed, looking over at Patton. She was just about to move from the wall when Patton placed an arm on her shoulder. "Can we just talk about this?"

Emika's shoulders sagged. "Okay." She conceited, leaning her head against the back of the wall again, watching the traffic go by.

"How did you figure it out?"

"That you're Love Bite, your boyfriend is Arachne, your best friend is Royal Slinger and his boyfriend is Spindergale?" Emika's words were quiet, her voice barely audible over the breeze. "It was a bunch of little things."

"Was it obvious?" Patton looked over at the student council president, who's night sky eyes were still trained on the passing cars.

"No, not really. It might sound like I'm full of myself, but I consider myself pretty preceptive."

"Part of your president powers?"

Emika cracked a grin. "Hey, let me have my fake superpower."

That little joke managed to dissolve the solve the tension. Both of them started laughing, and Emika finally looked at Patton.

"You guys are crazy brave," Emika muttered, meeting the superhero's eyes. "It's insane how much you four are already have done for the world and damn.  I wish I could do more, you know."

Emika's eyes gazed back out the cars, the last world even quieter than when she had whispered the secret. "You know, the little things matter too. Logan has been suspicious of you after the second week of you making sure Virgil ate. After he pointed it out, I realized how right he was. Thanks for getting me more study time, and tell Jay I ow- wait, does he know?"

"I haven't told a soul," Emika replied.

"Oh thank goodness." Patton let out a sigh of relief. "That would have made things more complicated."

"Agreed, people honestly would have thought I was crazy. I thought I was crazy for a bit." Emika laughed. Suddenly, Andre's same old gray car pulled up. Emika flashed a peace sign at Patton and started to walk away.

"Hey, Mika?"

The blonde turned around, the streetlights reflecting against her short locks. Patton's eyes looked brighter in the same light. "Thanks for taking care of us- what did Roman dub you- 'Local mother hen?'" Patton grinned. "It fits."

Emika laughed, and then suddenly, a flash of dark blue on the school roof caught her attention. "Hey, Patton?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm pretty sure your boyfriend has been watching over you this whole time. You know, in case the petite French girl was actually a supervillain."

Patton looked upwards, seeing the dark blue as well, a small, slightly lovesick grin on his face. "God I love him." He mumbled, and she couldn't help but laugh as she finally entered her brother's car.

"What was that about?" Andre asked, starting the car again.

Emika leaned against the seat, glancing out her window to see Patton vanishing into the night, probably to join his boyfriend. "Mm, just seeing things from the outside, you know?"

French Translations!

Salut, Papa- Hi, Dad

Salut, êtes-vous sur le chemin du retour?- Hi, are you on your way home?

Oui,  Je prends le métro- Yes. I’m taking the subway

Rester en sécurité, Emika- Stay safe, Emika

Ne t'inquiète pas, ça va aller. À bientôt- Don’t worry, I’ll be okay. See you soon.

Je t'aime- I love you

[mara-tevith-solo]

Real Funny - part 3

Something I’ve been slow cooking for a few years, a little all over the place. Some plot pieces aren’t mine, just something I played with.

Trigger Warning; Contains swearing, violence, mentions of nudity and death

After a few tense moments of both Fives and Rex tugging fruitlessly on my belt, the scowl on his face fell away to a twisted smile "As much as I find your behavior appalling, I find your fiery personality refreshing. Now, c t seven five six seven, I want your men to make a push for the capitol, General Kenobi and his men are trying to capture it and he will need assistance." 

"Yes sir." Rex intoned as he and Fives finally managed to pull me back between them.

With that, Rex left to muster the men while Krell left to do whatever, leaving me with Fives and a few other vode who couldn't stop staring "Are you kriffing stupid, Val?" He hissed close to my ear through his bucket, quickly pulling me away by my belt. "He could have court marshaled you!" 

I tugged myself out of his grip as I turned my glare over to him, practically vibrating with raw angry energy. "Remember when I said I know things?" I growled, slamming my helmet onto my head and flexing my fingers. "I warned them, I warned the Council that Krell was bad. Do you know what he does to you and your vode?!" I snarled, pacing as I gestured wildly, knees slightly bent as though I was ready for something to happen.

"What does he do?" My anger had made Fives angrier and he was mirroring my body language back to me as he stood still.

"All of his plans from here on out, are suicide missions. The only other battle with comparable casualties is Sarrish and that's an all out defeat!" I roared, getting in his personal space. He stared down at me, glaring mightily from behind his blank helmet. "Krell is in league with Dooku and soldiers pay the price. So many soldiers..." I trailed off, catching sight of Hardcase as he toted his rotary gun, glancing at us every so often. Fives would never know, but I was crying, knowing that one of my absolute best friends wouldn't see another sunrise.

"Hardcase dies... doesn't he?" Fives gulped, all anger suddenly gone from him as well. I said nothing as I jogged to catch up with the hyper clone, nudging his shoulder with my head to announce my presence as we marched silently, always on guard. 

"Everything alright, Val?" He asked in hushed tones when we finally stopped.

"Don't know yet." I sighed, exhausted. We had been marching for twelve hours by that point and my armor was really beginning to weigh me down. 

"Don't know if poppin off to the General is gonna come back and bite ya?" He chuckled, equally as happy that we were stopped at least for a few minutes.

"I don't really care if it does. There's other things wrong, that are going to come to light in a very gory fashion." I hooked an arm around his left and hugged it, resting my head on his shoulder as I thought about what was going to happen. 

"I'll have to remember that making you mad makes you cuddly." He joked and I couldn't help but laugh, even with the tears that escaped. We were soon ordered to attack the capitol from the main road.

I wasn't surprised by the order, but I was certainly angered by it "Keep a weather eye out, boys." I warned my assigned squad in a low voice, nearly grinding my teeth as I gripped my sniper rifle tighter. I didn't wait for acknowledgement as we pressed forward cautiously, watching for the enemy. It certainly didn't take long to find the landmines. Our advance was even slower, and temporary, as Fives scanned the way ahead. With sudden cries of pain, the enemy revealed themselves to us by appearing out of the shadows to our sides. I shot whatever Umbaran I could see, not caring if they were wounded or retreating, good men were dying and I knew that the Umbarans would show no quarter either, if given the decision. 

Captain Rex ordered us all to pull back to a more defensible position and I walked backwards the entire time, covering the seeming retreat until we were at the new line and firing upon the enemy that had exposed themselves in their overzealous premature victory. When the fight was over, General Krell found us and began berating Rex for retreating, yelling at him viciously. Fives was physically holding me down to my seat on a root as he watched the back of my neck turn red and my eyes narrow dangerously, focused on the false general. Hardcase looked like he wanted to sit on me just to give Fives a break.

Suddenly, Umbarans attacked from the trees, interrupting the beratement and causing those of us who were sitting to jump up and seek cover. "Move out!" Came the order before what was left of us were running off in a new direction with a new objective. It was several hours marching to what would result in many dooms. "Val, you go down with the first team to the airfield. Your squad will stay here." Rex ordered, standing in attention next to Krell. 

I looked between the two, wondering what the hell Krell was thinking "Sir, I don't understand why I would go but my men would stay..." I addressed Rex, making it seem like I was ignoring Krell.

"Are you questioning my authority, Sergeant?" Krell barked, coming back into my person space again. He had bubble issues up the ass that was for certain.

"As a matter of fact..." I began, taking off my helmet to face him mano y mano, but a hand clamped itself over my mouth, preventing me from finishing my thought as the owner of the offending hand drug me away. It was safe to say that I gently nipped them since licking a glove would do no good.

"You officially need a baby sitter. Do you have no self control?" Jesse hissed in my ear, officially fed up with my behavior.

"Not when it comes to that moof-milker." I growled, falling into step beside him as we moved out through the mist. 

He sighed as he ran a hand down his bucket "I'm not disappointed Val, it just seems like you really want to be court marshaled, or worse." He looked over at me as we walked cautiously in the boot prints of those in front of us.

"I'm just overprotective of you boys. I hate that you have to die. While I'm happy that the advanced aging was nullified during the last round of check-ups, there's still much more that the Order still needs to fix." I sighed, jumping over what looked suspiciously like a Vixus tentacle "They didn't listen about Krell. What else didn't they listen about? My trust in them has greatly diminished." 

"They look spooked." A trooper said as some hostile creatures flew quickly overhead, ignoring us. Why they were spooked turned up not a minute later, erupting from the ground with screeches and blaster fire. And of course, it had to be ray shielded. Others joined it as they mowed down men, shooting and trampling them as we scrambled for cover to escape them. I made it my job to collect the wounded and bring them more out of harms way as Rex came with rocket launchers.

"It'll be ok soldier." I assured softly to a man who was missing half of his left leg, dragging him to a sheltered area in the tree roots and using a vine to keep him from bleeding to death "Just breath for me ok? Tell me about yourself." I was keeping him distracted to help him from going into shock.

"I'm C T three-one-one-nine, I was assigned to the five-oh-first a month ago." He winced, clenching his teeth tightly under his helmet. 

"Numbers aren't names, kid." I corrected gently, looking through my pouches for something to help with his pain. I injected him with the stim as soon as I found it. 

"I don't have a name ma'am." He sighed, slumping to the ground in a relaxed state as I rummaged around for bandages.

"If we both live through this, we can both think of something for ya. How about that?" I asked while quickly tying off the rudimentary bandage. 

"Sounds good, sir." He got back up on his elbows as I closed up my pouch and helped him stand on his one leg and hobbling after the rest of the platoon.

"There you are Val, had us worried." Hardcase sounded so relieved that he visibly slumped a little.

"Been a little busy. Give me a hand, ya?" Without another word, he got under three-one-one-nine's other arm and helped me take him to another location quickly as spider tanks appeared over the rise. "Son of all the bitches!" I yelled as we dived behind some roots, 3119 groaning in pain. Hardcase left, going on a mission with Fives as the rest of us tried to out maneuver the surprisingly agile tanks. It didn't take long for 3119 and I to get cornered away from everyone else. I honestly thought that I was going to die as the Umbaran grinned at me evilly.