#i KNEW katya would have something to say about this

[bloodtwin]

&&. THE BAG OF BONES ！☠︎︎  𝐈𝐍𝐁𝐎𝐗 。

@silvertiefling sent: 

*gasps* "I can call you a cougar?" the possibilities are now endless, katya has seen a god

𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬。

❝ I DON'T THINK THAT'S ⸻

          ❝ . . . Wait . . . How old are you again  ？23  ？ ？Hmm. Well, that explains a lot about you, actually. You're practically a baby. Don't worry, sweetheart. Mommy will hold your hand as we cross the street. ❞

[katyaromanoffpetrova]

A first (very insecure) Valentine's

It's Natasha's first Valentine's Day with her girlfriend, and she struggles more with the concept of love and romance than she feared.

Natasha Romanoff x fem!OC (Katya Petrova) (the ''Forgotten Ghost'' series) Wordcount: 3.9k No warnings (except maybe Natasha being adorably helpless at love)

A/N: here to make your Valentine's Day a bit less miserable: our two favorite murder wives :)

The door of Clint's room had never looked more intimidating than on this Monday night, in the empty, dark hallways of SHIELD HQ. Everyone who lived on base had gone to find their beds, exhausted from the busy workday. But Natasha knew her best friend was still awake by the faint light coming from under his door.

Had she known that love was this embarrassing, she would have thought twice before letting Katya back into her life. Simply the thought of what she came down here to ask made her want to scratch her skin off. It was a completely new feeling that she struggled to get a grip on. This whole 'in love' thing really messed with her mind and body.

Every time she heard or read her girlfriend's name, saw her in the hallways or the cafeteria, or simply thought about her in the middle of a boring briefing, her head got fuzzy and the world faded away. All her thoughts would get consumed by Katya until she was mentally on cloud nine and felt warm all over. 

It was a very odd development for a woman who never lost focus. Last week, Maria chucked a file at her head when she'd zoned out once again in the middle of their conversation.

It was embarrassing. People teased her about it—especially Fury. If he made one more joke about her keeping her head on her neck and not in the clouds, she was going to cut his off his body. The last thing she needed was other agents taking after him and realizing she had a heart. She still struggled to accept her soft side.

"Are you gonna come in, or do I have to bring a pillow and a blanket out while you think about it?"

Once more, Natasha pulled her thoughts back to the here and now, her cheeks flushing red. She had no other choice but to push the door handle down and sheepishly step into Clint's room, closing the door behind her. What was happening to her? She used to be so confident and unbothered all the time.

Clint didn't look up from his spot on the couch, buried in manilla-colored files and papers, an empty pizza box on the floor. His apartment represented his mind. Cluttered, unorganized, yet somehow cozy. If Laura saw him like this, she'd scold him for his unhealthy lifestyle.

"What relationship question do you have for me today?" He asked casually, scribbling something in a notebook. When Natasha stayed silent, he looked up, chuckling at her expression. "Come on. If this was about work, you would have barged in like you own the place."

Natasha crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, looking at the horrible handwriting in his notebook instead of his face. It was difficult enough to get the words out of her throat. "The fourteenth, how serious do people take it?" 

Clint was too taken aback by the question to form an immediate answer, leaving her to cringe in the short silence that followed. The nail of her thumb painfully scratched at the nail bed of her pointer finger.

"You mean Valentine's Day?" Amusement flashed briefly across his eyes, but he was too considerate of her struggle with herself to tease her about the way she worded her question. He closed the folder in his lap, straightening his hunched back. "It really depends. Some people think it's just capitalism bullshit, but most people like showing their loved ones some extra love anyway."

Natasha definitely considered herself a hater of Valentine's Day, of capitalism and money-hungry companies in general. But it wasn't about her, was it? "Do you give Laura something?"

"Flowers. Every year." Clint's face lit up at the mention of his partner. "She says she doesn't want anything, but that's the least I can do. And I try to be home if I can." He tilted his head. "Do you plan on giving Katya something?"

Natasha shrugged. "I don't know if she cares about stupid holidays," she mumbled, prodding the linoleum underneath her feet with the heel of her boot. Why was a relationship so hard?

"I can feel her out for you?" Clint offered kindly, but she immediately shook her head. 

"She'll know." And Katya knowing that she asked Clint for advice was even more embarrassing.

He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. "Well, if she says something, I'll let you know." Natasha sent him a thankful nod, reaching for the door handle behind her, but Clint wasn't done yet. "But between you and me, I think she'll really love any gesture from you."

"Thanks."

She left his room feeling only a tad bit better. Clint's advice wasn't really useful and gave her no insight on what Katya would prefer, but it helped to know that even he participated in the holiday. And that said something, given he wasn't the most romantic person she knew.

As she walked back to her own room, Natasha once again wrecked her brain for everything she knew about Valentine's Day, but she didn't get much further than it being a red and pink color vomit with hearts everywhere. Flowers, cards, chocolates, that she also knew. But her knowledge stopped there.

Every year when the day came around, and the stores started to fill up with the nauseatingly sweet colors, she went out of her way to avoid it. Hating it was easier than digging into her soul to figure out why she hated it so much. 

Anyone talked about Valentine's Day? She pulled a grossed-out face. A love song came on the radio? She turned it off.

Now, for the first time in her life, she was forced to face it head on, and she was at an absolute loss.

What did people do on Valentine's Day? What was considered a good gift? What would Katya like to receive? 

She really loved the roses Natasha brought her for their first date, but the redhead hadn't given her anything beyond that that could indicate her preferences.

Natasha's face paled, a nauseating feeling of failure rising in her throat as she stopped in her tracks. Should she have gotten her girlfriend more gifts in the past months? Her heart started to race. Had Katya been waiting on something to follow the roses?

Oh god, Natasha knew she wasn't up for this. She was doing this all wrong. Her romantic instincts took much longer to resurface than she thought they would. And even worse, what if they were gone, forced out of her at a young age? What if she would never get that natural feel for romantic things? 

She didn't even know if it was customary to get your partner gifts often. Every week, every two weeks, every month? She thought that gifts were only for milestones, and birthdays, and the occasional holiday. Never did she stop to think that she could give Katya presents on random moments, just to be sweet. What dumb, inexperienced idiot didn't know that?

Her thoughts were spiraling. 

Twice as fast now, Natasha legged it back to her room, stopping herself from frustratingly slamming the door behind her. 

She needed to calm herself down, taking deep breaths to ease the anxiety as she paced back and forth in her room, the one next to the woman ruining her nights. Valentine's Day was supposed to be fun, exciting, an opportunity to spoil her girlfriend as she deserved.

Shaking out her arms, Natasha pondered what she could get Katya, what she should do, determined to make up for her lack of romance. Flowers were nice, but that was too simple and repetitive. Chocolates were too cliché, and Natasha would rather throw up than write something romantic in a card only to have Katya read it in front of her. Maybe someday.

As her feet wore out a path in the floor, she knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't stop. The fear of doing something wrong, of losing this fragile thing they'd built over the last few months was strong. It was the best thing in her life, and if she lost it, Natasha already knew she wouldn't be able to go on. 

So lost in thought—once again��she almost missed the sound of her phone. Absent-mindedly, her hand fumbled for the device in her pocket, expecting a SHIELD message or an email. Instead, her heart skipped a beat at the name displayed on screen.

Katya: Go to sleep.

Katya: I can hear you pacing.

Katya: Do you want to get something off your chest?

Yes. Natasha had several things to get off her chest, in fact. A million. But Katya was also the reason those things were there. 

She wanted to crawl into her girlfriend's arms and put it all out there. She wanted to be reassured until all those worries floated out of her head, leaving only silence behind, the kind of peaceful silence only Katya could give her. She wanted to just exist in her embrace for a while.

The yearning caught her so off-guard that it took her a second to answer the texts. It was only lately that she'd started to crave physical affection, and it seemed her body was trying to catch up on all the years she didn't have it.

Natasha: I'm alright. Thank you.

Natasha: Go to sleep yourself.

Katya: Can't. Some idiot is pacing next door and it's keeping me awake.

A genuine smile broke through her frown. She'd been doing that so much more often. Smiling, laughing. Natasha didn't even remember the last time she genuinely laughed at something before Katya came around.

She deserved something on Valentine's Day, Natasha decided. But what?

Grabbing her laptop, she sat down on her bed, opening her internet browser to the search bar. She contemplated the right way to go about this, chewing on her bottom lip in thought as her fingertips hovered over the keyboard. 

First, Natasha typed things like, "Valentine's Day gifts woman", and "Original Valentine's Day gifts", but she quickly realized this was not at all what she wanted. The gifts were far from original, and she was pretty sure Katya didn't want a pillow with her face printed on it. 

Aggressively deleting it, she tried other keywords, more specific ones tailored to Katya, but the internet didn't seem to understand her. All it showed her was mass-produced and cheaply made junk. The same things a thousand other New Yorkers would be getting from their loved ones. 

No, it had to be something more personal. But Natasha wasn't crafty enough to make anything the lists suggested, and getting Katya a knife for Valentine's Day didn't give off the right message. 

She got more frustrated by the minute, slamming the keys harder than the agents down at IT would like. Nothing that passed her screen felt right, and she didn't have much time left to find something. She'd already avoided dealing with this for as long as she could.

The taste of iron flooded her tongue, and Natasha realized she'd bitten through her lip in her desperation. She licked the blood off as she aggressively closed all the tabs in her browser. The internet had turned out to be entirely unhelpful once again.

With a quiet groan, she fell back on her bed, staring at the blank ceiling. What did she know about Katya? What did she like? They were still learning each other, getting to know each other again. A few months was nowhere near long enough to know everything about her, especially with all the guards they had up. They were definitely moving twice, if not three times, as slow as the average couple.

But there had to be something. Something Katya mentioned—

Natasha shot up at once, her fingers flying over the keys this time. 

On New Year's Day, the cafeteria had chocolate bonbons for the agents that stayed on base. They'd done that the years before, nothing special. But she remembered bumping into Katya in the hallway just outside, the blonde munching on one of them and having a couple more in the palm of her hand. When she had asked if they were any good, Katya had nodded but said they would never compare to her favorite Russian bonbons, filled with vodka liquor. 

Natasha had never been so happy with her good memory, thanking the gods for saving Valentine's Day for her. Typing the brand in the search bar, she managed to find a store in the city that had the chocolates. From there on out, it was simple to order a box and have it delivered.

Beyond relieved, Natasha shut her laptop, grinning to herself. It was the perfect gift. Thoughtful, personal, it showed that she paid attention, and it fit the Valentine's Day theme. She couldn't have picked anything better. The only thing left was for her to run to the local florist and pick up some roses.

~~~~

On February 14, Natasha was awoken at 5:30 by the nervous churning of her stomach. It was such an unfamiliar feeling that for a moment, she thought she'd caught an illness. Restless stomach, feeling jittery, cold tremors; all signs of the flu. But then she remembered the date. 

Slowly, she got out of bed, trying to ignore her bubbling stomach as she showered and got dressed. It wasn't easy. She would have liked to drag the process out forever, hide in the safe shower, but she needed to catch Katya before she left. No way was she waiting all day to give everything. 

Only when she was satisfied with the way she looked did she open her closet again, crouching to pick up the vase she'd hidden there the day before. Last night, she brought it in, the bouquet hidden in a big cardboard box that she carried through HQ. No agent had spared her a glance.

At 6, Natasha no longer allowed herself to hesitate. She gave herself a mental kick under the butt, grabbed the chocolates and flowers, and headed for the door. With one last deep breath, she slowly opened it, sticking her head through the gap to check left and right. The hallway was empty. 

She felt like a coward, sneaking around like she was dropping off drugs instead of flowers, but her reputation here within SHIELD is what saved her when she first started out, and what kept people respecting her as someone not to mess with.

Her reputation was precious to her. One day, she'd happily sacrifice it for Katya, but before that could happen, she needed to do a lot of work on herself. Growing and evolving took time.

Swift like a cat, Natasha slipped into the hallway, silently closing her door behind her. Again, she listened for footsteps, but the only thing in her ears was her own heartbeat. Her hands were clammy around the box of chocolates.

The thing she was nervous about wasn't seeing Katya. In fact, she looked forward to seeing her again. That smile that greeted her every morning when she pulled her door open was the thing keeping her alive right now. 

No, what she was nervous about was the gesture itself. Her head was filled with only doubts. Had she chosen the right things? Was it too much? Was it too little? Did Katya think Valentine's Day was stupid? Natasha thought she'd like it, because Katya liked New Year's too, and that was also a dumb holiday in her eyes. 

Much like last week, Natasha found herself staring at a wooden door. It had a small dent in it, she realized, right at eye-height. Maybe a previous resident had accidentally knocked their forehead into it.

Her heart pounded in her chest when her fist raised to knock, but she did it. Four, quick knocks, her hand retracting like it had touched fire. She shuffled in her spot, adjusting the things in her hands as she listened to Katya's shuffling on the other side. Even if she wanted to flee, it was too late now. Footsteps were swelling on.

The door swung open, a pair of blue eyes and a kind smile replacing the brown wood. Natasha's heart skipped a beat for other reasons now. Her girlfriend looked so beautiful, her hair loose and her eyes slightly puffy from sleep.

"Good mo—" Katya's voice cut off, her gaze shooting to the things in Natasha's hands.

Natasha couldn't find her voice. How could she have forgotten to think about what to say?! Her clothes, her hair, the gifts, when to give it; it had all been given thorough consideration. But not once had she thought about what she would say. Not once!

"For you," she threw out, her voice sounding ten times more calm and collected than her brain was. The smile on her face was supposed to be gentle, but it felt insecure and nervous on her lips.

Katya's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. "Nat…" She gasped softly, carefully taking the flowers from her hand. Her nose disappeared between the rose petals, taking a whiff of the fresh scent. Her eyes sparkled when she looked up at her girlfriend again. "That's so sweet of you. Thank you so much." Another gasp flew off her lips once she clocked the bonbons. "Oh, my god. Are those the chocolates? I can't believe you remembered."

Natasha could tell how red her cheeks were based on how warm they felt. Receiving compliments had never been her strong suit. But she felt so relieved, too, realizing all her worries were for nothing because Katya would have probably been happy with a simple kiss. She'd made this way too big in her head.

Her head, that seemed to be the main problem in her life.

"Maybe don't eat them all at once. Don't think Fury would appreciate it if you're drunk on the job," she joked, feeling her usual confidence come back to her.

Katya shrugged, carefully opening the packaging. "Don't care. I'm having one right now."

Natasha chuckled at her enthusiasm, happy her gift was received so well. "It's six in the morning."

"I know." Katya grinned. "Come in, I'll make coffee." She pulled Natasha into her apartment by her sleeve, closing the door behind her. 

They didn't have time to chat or drink coffee, but for once, Natasha didn't protest. She felt light, like she could handle whatever the world was going to throw at her today. She was proud of herself, too. Taking a romantic leap was terrifying, but it clearly paid off. Her eyes followed Katya closely as she placed the roses on the coffee table, adjusting them so they looked nice.

"I didn't know you'd get me anything. I would have gotten you something too." Katya smiled as she turned around. "I thought you hated Valentine's Day."

"I do." Natasha paused. Did she still? "Kinda."

"Yet you got me something." Katya's eyes took in her appearance. A brown leather jacket that she saved for special occasions, her hair neatly styled. "And you look really put-together too. Put in extra effort to look nice?" She teased lovingly.

Natasha scoffed, looking away to hide the blush on her face. "No." Were her efforts really that obvious? If so, that was so embarrassing.

Katya hummed skeptically, closing the distance until she stood right in front of her. It was impossible to stay stubborn and not look. The pull of her bright blue irises was too strong. Natasha tentatively glanced their way, relaxing at the gentleness in them. 

"Well, either way, thank you. I really appreciate it," Katya said honestly, smiling softly. Natasha offered her a smile back, the closeness making it feel like she had to whisper.

"You're welcome."

The redhead's breath hitched in her throat when a pair of warm, rough hands cupped her cheeks. She barely had time to process before Katya stepped even closer and pressed a kiss to her lips. More than a couple dozen times they'd kissed, but it never failed to make her body react like the first time.

Before she could move her hands to hold Katya's waist, the woman had stepped back, her cheeks a light pink as well. "Consider that my gift." She teased.

"It'll do," Natasha chuckled breathily. 

It was already a better Valentine's Day than all her previous ones combined.

"Did you really expect nothing?" She asked after a moment, watching Katya make coffee in the small kitchen. It was only then that she realized her girlfriend wasn't fully dressed yet. Her cozy, fluffy cardigan wasn't work-appropriate and hung loosely over her tank top.

"I suspected something when Clint suddenly asked me about Valentine's Day last week," Katya said, looking over her shoulder as she poured some milk in her coffee cup. "You know that look in his eyes that he gets when he's trying to be nonchalant?" She chuckled.

Anger flashed through Natasha's body. "I told him not to ask," she grumbled through clenched teeth, turning her head away. Clint was an incredibly kind, selfless guy, but he was also so annoyingly stupid sometimes. 

One thing. She asked him one thing, and he couldn't keep his trap shut.

A smug grin overtook Katya's features. "So you did go to him for advice? I was just fishing."

Natasha's head snapped back to her girlfriend. Her glare did nothing but make her smirk wider, and Natasha couldn't even be mad, because she walked right into that one herself, didn't she? "Don't ever mention it again," she threatened.

Katya laughed softly, handing her her cup of black coffee. "Do you want to go out for breakfast? If you're not busy."

Natasha was, in fact, busy. But her meeting at seven also included Maria, and she could give her the details later. It wasn't any more important than spending Valentine's Day morning with her partner. "Yeah, sure. I'd love to."

Katya's smile widened. "Give me a minute to finish getting dressed." 

Pressing her coffee cup into Natasha's empty hand, she grabbed something from her dresser and disappeared into the bathroom. As the water in the sink ran, Natasha had the urge to drink Katya's coffee just to get her back for teasing her so much, but before she could actually put the cup to her lips, the blonde was back. 

Natasha nearly choked on her drink. "What are you wearing?"

Black clothing was the way to go in SHIELD. Black, dark blue, navy, the occasional dark red or green if anyone felt adventurous, but it always stayed near the darkest side of color shades. What Katya wore right now, a cherry red turtleneck, was very outside of the clothing norms. Natasha had never seen her wear anything other than black.

"What? You don't like it?" Katya asked, looking down at herself unsurely. 

"It's… red." Natasha blinked rapidly, trying to grasp the sight in front of her. "Very red."

"Yeah. But do you like it?"

To her own surprise, the answer was yes. Katya had never looked so… soft. "It's alright." So alright, in fact, that she felt slightly disappointed when she put her go-to leather jacket over it. 

"Thought I'd go with the theme." Katya smiled, chugging her coffee before grabbing her wallet and keys. 

They filed out of her room, the hallway still empty and quiet as most agents were only now starting to wake up, snoozing their alarms for five minutes more sleep. Natasha should be heading right to prepare for her meeting, but instead she followed Katya to the left, to the elevator heading for the underground garage.

It didn't make her any less of a good employee. It made her more human. 

And as she pressed the elevator button and felt Katya's hand slip into her own, she knew she was going to allow her to hold it a little bit longer today.

[another-heroine]

Friends to lovers for Katya & Lann ❤️: 10. getting physically close during the denial phase. IMAGINE KISSING AND FREAKING OUT SAYING, "friends... kiss. right?"

friends to lovers heart fluttering moments

Another episode of IT TOOK ME FOREVER BUT THERE WE GO

CW: Act 4 Quests, Angel Path

Lann acknowledged his limitations. Not in front of Daeran, of course, but deep down in his soul, where his weaknesses should be. For example, there were a lot of words he had no idea what they mean: mellifluous, eidetic, tintinnabulation, and so on. But at least he knew what boundaries were.

Something that Nenio apparently chose to ignore every single day.

They were back to the Nexus, after the last stroll in the Abyss has taken its toll from the team. He stood further from the fire, taking care of his bow and making more arrows. It was late and many already had said they good-nights and went off sleep.

Then he listened to a familiar giggle, one he hasn't heard since Galfrey sent them to that ominous place.

"She what!?" Seelah couldn’t believe that. Her whisper was a little bit higher than she expected.

"I know, right." Ekaterina nodded. "She simply asked me to take off my clothes because, by her research, some friends do that!"

"Oh Nenio." The paladin wiped her face. "What she gonna ask next?"

"I'd rather not to think about it." The Commander grimaced.

Lann frowned. What that nutty fox was doing? He overheard she abording some of the Nexus' people early, but had no idea what was going on. She was too unpredicable. Like when she asked him to take off his clothes because she wanted to make an anatomic drawing of a mongrel.

The monk scratched his chin, nervously. He would never understand.

"Then I explained her that not every friend do those things," the druid told, like she was talking about a toddler. "Kissing and sleeping together many times are related to partners."

"Do you think she really understood?" Seelah asked and laughed afterwards, when the Commander shook her head.

Lann frowned, trying to focus on the arrows. Uplanders were curious, too. Instead of giving rats or pelts to their significant other, they used to give flowers, chocolates and wine.

And about the kissing part... Nobody among the neathlanders were familiar to that. He recalled poorly his parents' relationship, his father was not fond to show physical affection, but his mother was, always hugging them, tucking their hair and kissing their foreheads.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

Ekaterina approached, bringing him to the present.

She sat next to him, sorting the materials he was using. Lann always made a mess while was creating anything. It was good to have someone tidy around.

"Almost done," he lied. The mongrel got distracted eavesdropping her conversation about Nenio and her experiments.

"I'm not talking about the arrows, you know?"

He stopped and glanced at her. She was serene, observing him with a subtly smile.

Oh, if a look could kill, that one could lift any curses he ever had.

She has found him at the Bad Luck Tavern after their encounter with Savamelekh. He would be lying if say he remembered exactly what they talked about, but the feeling that she also cared about him lingered.

"I'm getting better." He nodded. "I... still feel ashamed for making you worry, but hopefully I'll recover from that too."

The woman hummed, "Glad to hear it."

His throat was dry. Lann muttered, "Also, if you need anything, I’m all ears."

"Oh, not at all. I... just want to make you some company." Her eyes darted to the floor. "This place is oddly cold. And empty. Even I'm feeling uncomfortable with it."

Lann took a deep breath and put his bow aside.

"I told you that I will fight for you until the end, right?"

The aasimar looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

He had no idea either. But he wanted to say something epic, breathtaking, romantic. Like those cheap novel books in Mendev.

"Well," he cleaned the throat. "Keep you safe from the cold and the emptiness are also part of my goal."

First, she looked at him up and down. Then she arched a brow. "Do you wanna sleep with me?"

Uh, oh, Nenio, there was your biggest rival. Lann felt both warm and cold blood abandoning his face.

"No! I mean, err, yes? But not like, uh..." His hands waved in the air, like he was trying to weave the time-space and come back to the moment when his mouth was pretty shut.

Ekaterina covered her mouth, muting her laughter. "Calm down, I’m joking with you. Though I don’t have any objections."

Lann looked at her in panic. Was that an invite or a joke? She leaned her forehead on his, and the mongrel couldn’t take off his attentive eyes of her. They have never been that close until that very moment.

"Friends kiss... right?" The words tripped.

"You tell me."

Lann felt her lips pressing against his, and like a magical trickery, she found her way in.

[childlikegoblinqueen]

Huntlow Week Day # 7 Waffles/Wedding

Hunter brushed off his forest green vest and slid his golden dress jacket over his arms and shoulder, adjusting his matching bow tie.

His eyes passed over his own reflection in the long mirror that hung against the door of the room where Raine's wedding party changed. Hunter wore long slacks that matched his jacket, and of course, a pair of crocs which he knew were out of sorts with the rest of his outfit -- but after spending his entire life dressing on model to appease a lie, he truly did not care.

Formal attire? Check.

Freshly cut hair? Check.

A little personal flair? Check.

"Looking sharp man!" Steve Tholomule's grinning reflection joined Hunter's

"Sharp?" Hunter raised a brown, "W-were we s'pposed to bring weaponry? A concealed blade? I - I know Eda and Raine still have enemies and their wedding would be a target but .."

"Nah!" Steve gave Hunter a playful elbow bump. "I mean you look good!"

Hunter nodded and added the word, "sharp" to his list of slang words that sounded harmful but meant something good.

Like when Willow had called his flying skills, "sick" the first time they met.

Hunter smiled at the memory. He was a different person back then -- so eager to get ahead. To prove his worth. And yet, he was a possession of someone else. Someone who told him what he should want in life.

And yet? Between meeting Luz, and Flapjack, and, Amity, and Gus, and Willow of course ... Hunter was on a collision course with someone else.

Himself.

"Hey Steve?" Hunter cleared his throat.

"Hmmm?" Tholomule was adjusting his straight tie but he turned around to meet Hunter's eye.

"Is it weird that I'm sorta surprised that Raine and Eda are getting married?"

Steve quirked a brow, "Weird because you're still thinking about how Coven Heads were forbidden from having romantic -- entanglements?"

"Huh? Nah. Nothing like that." Hunter shook his head. He hardly even thought about Raine as a former Coven Head anymore. They were his music teacher, his friend, a truly kind soul -- and someone who had invited Hunter to stand with them on one of the most important days of their life.

But Eda?

"I guess I just always knew about The Owl Lady -- errr --Eda as this free spirit? A Wild Witch who did as she pleased and was always breaking free of -- well, everything?"

"Hmmm." Steve smiled warmly, "Well, there's a lot of ways to be free, buddy? And when you find someone who you can look at and say, 'I'm yours, you're mine -- and together? We're free to be ourselves?' That's the stuff, man."

"The stuff." Hunter took note of the vagueness of the slang. He'd heard it before and felt confident that while he didn't quite know what "The stuff" was specifically, that was probably the point in this context.

"Hey Steve?" Hunter said slowly, "Have you found 'the stuff' with anyone?"

"What?" Steve's eyebrows shot up, "Oh no. You know me man. I'm STEVE. A free agent."

Hunter recalled how tenderly the Bard, Katya had been with Steve just moments ago as she helped him with his tie and pinned a flower on his lapel.

And then, Hunter thought to himself, "Maybe sometimes you find that thing. The person who makes you feel so free that you don't even realize they're yours and you're theirs and that's how you know its real."

The door to the changing room opened and Willow was waiting on the other side, dressed in a lovely forest green dress -- matching his vest and shirt. Her hair was tied in braids. Her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were red. At the sight of him, a bouquet of flowers bloomed in her hair.

"Wow." Hunter breathed.

"Uh, have you seen yourself guy?" Willow giggled.

Now Hunter was blushing. Shyly, Willow reached up and pinned a tiny bouquet of flowers on Hunter's lapel. He hunter reached into his pocket for a glyph which he tapped and a colorful corsage of fresh flora bloomed before them. Gently he slid it onto Willow's wrist -- his calloused fingertips brushing her soft skin.

Willow's hair bloomed even more, and Hunter's ears flicked as they grew hot at the tips.

Willow smiled slyly and offered him her pinky, which he took in his own and together, they went to join all of their friends and family at Eda and Raine's wedding.

And then? Years later?

Willow and Hunter would meet again on the day of their own wedding. This time Hunter would wear a yellow button up with a blue vest, embroidered in flowers and Willow's dress would wear a lacy dress colored a light sea foam green, with a high color of lacy floral.

"You ready for the ol' ball and chain?" She'd joked.

"Pfft. What ball and chain?" Hunter shook his head.

"Yeah, I kinda hate how people call it that too." Willow sighed. "Marriage shouldn't feel like a prison sentence."

Hunter's lips bloomed into a smile. Then a grin. "It should feel more life freedom alongside your best friend."

"Exactly!" Willow smiled. "So let's get hitched so we can be free together."

And pinky in pinky, Hunter Noceda and Willow Park strode towards the altar together while their futures lay wide open on the horizon.

[kikiiswashere]

Children of Zaun - Chapter 19

Pairing: Silco/Fem!OC

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Canon typical violence, drug use/dealing, dark themes, eventual smut

Chapter Summary: Viktor senses something is off. Grayson touches base with Bone. The Children attempt their hiest!

Chapter CW: Canon typical violence. PTSD.

Previous Chapter

Word Count: 4.5K

When Katya picked Viktor up on Friday, she barely acknowledged Ivy. Partly due to her anger, partly due to shame about her behavior the day before. She took the rucksack from the aide, her eyes downcast, hands reaching out to grab protectively at her brother’s shoulders once it was secure across her back.

Ivy watched the other woman sadly, wanting to say something, but not knowing what that would be; nor knowing if it would be wise to say anything in front of the boy.

“Have a good weekend, Viktor,” she said instead, a reassuring smile on her cherry-red lips.

“You, too, Miss – “

“Let’s go, Viktor,” Katya interjected, guiding him away.

Viktor’s brows furrowed as he began to awkwardly fall into step with her guided gait. He looked back at Ivy one last time before turning his attention toward the walk home.

He could sense something was wrong. It didn’t take an especially astute mind to see that Katya was in a foul mood. What was trickier for him was determining why. People had too many variables for his liking – it completely negated the scientific method. The backbone of chemical, biological, and physical theories and laws were their relatively controlled environments. If A, then B. If A, and C is present, then D; and so on.

People did not, as far as he could tell, live by such rules. Their feelings and actions could not be counted on to be consistent. And he found it vexing. And intimidating.

Viktor stuck close to Katya’s side as they made their way to the Bridge, his chin tucked in and eyes occasionally peering up at her, hoping he could glean any information from her stony profile.

“What is wrong?” he finally asked as they stepped into the Promenade.

Katya winced and chewed her lip. The pause scared him.

“Nothing,” she finally said, ushering him toward the Conveyor Car station. “I’ve just had a bad week.”

“Oh,” he murmured. He knew Katya didn’t lie to him, but he felt unconvinced.

“Come. Let’s get home.”

The weekend went by quickly, as it often did. But instead of feeling comforted and refreshed by time away from Piltover, he felt on edge and smothered. Whatever had happened during the week to his sister, clouded their home. It kept her irritable and clingy at the same time. She sat too close, touched him too much, didn’t really speak with him, and didn’t really listen. Despite her near-suffocating proximity, she seemed very far away, and he didn’t know how to call her back.

On Monday, when she dropped him off with Ivy, her fingers clawed at him when they hugged. Desperate and lonely.

“I’m sorry,” Ivy kindly said, “but we need to get going.”

Viktor made to pull away, ready to start his week. But Katya held on for a beat more. She touched him for as long as possible, letting her fingertips trail down his shoulders and arms as he stepped over to the aide.

“I love you, Viktor. I’ll see you Friday.”

Her voice was hollow and heavy. He didn’t understand. And he didn’t like it.

“I love you, too,” he replied. He attempted a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Grayson knocked on Councilor Bone’s office door and waited. Usually, Councilors had receptionists. Bone did not. Something the Captain took note now only because she wondered if this was another microaggression against an Undercity citizen.

“Come in.”

She stepped inside, removing her cap as she did. “Councilor, sir.”

“Ah, Captain Grayson,” Bone sighed, peering over his spectacles at her. “Please, come in. Have a seat.”

He gestured to the simple chair in front of his desk as he pocketed his glasses, and put the paper he was reading down. Grayson did as instructed, removing the folders from under her arm as she sat.

“I have looked through what you gave me,” she said heavily, placing a palm on the documents. His nod was equally somber, and he waited for her to continue. After a long moment, she added, “I see what you are saying.”

Bone nodded again, closing his eyes. He made to swallow and his throat hitched. He clasped a hand around his mouth as his lungs tried to push an angry retch up his trachea. His other hand fished out the handkerchief he kept in his breast pocket. He covered his mouth, and swiveled away from Grayson. After a few more bone-rattling hacks, a warm, slimy wad crawled its way up Bone’s throat and mouth, and landed in the cloth. Very carefully, not wanting to disturb his guest, nor let on the severity of his condition, he coolly removed the handkerchief. Carefully pinching it to contain the bloody lump, he stowed it in his pocket and turned back to the captain.

“Apologies,” he rasped.

Grayson’s eyebrows creased in concern. She’d heard that the last Assembly had been cut short because of an acute health issue of Bone’s; now she wondered just how acute it was.

“I can come back another time, Councilor,” she offered. “Perhaps you ought to go home and rest.”

“No, no,” he said, waving a dismissive hand. “Rest will not help. I do not want to rest.”

That statement made the lines on Grayson’s face deepen. What he had said did not have the calming effect she suspected he wanted. However, she was not in a position to argue with a Councilor. No matter where he hailed from. Not if the work he wanted to do with her was on a time crunch.

“Thank you for taking the time to look over those files,” Bone said, genuine gratitude shining in his pale eyes. “Unfortunately, those are only a fraction of the cases – “

“I know.”

“ – and Enforcer brutality is ongoing.”

Grayson closed her eyes. “I know.”

She had never partaken, and she had never taken it as seriously as perhaps she should have, but she was well-aware of trainees and rookie Enforcers going into the Undercity and finding citizens to fight. In the name of tradition. For meaningless clout. She had recently reamed a trio for that very activity. Not only was it unprofessional and shameful, but they had had their asses handed to them by whoever they had tried to intimidate.

“I would like us to put the data together in a thorough and concise presentation format,” Bone said, “and present it at an Assembly.”

“Us?” Grayson gasped. “Shouldn’t we get LeDaird on board, too?”

“We will. Eventually.” He fixed her with a sly grin. “Better to ask forgiveness than permission, yes?”

“I suppose,” she conceded, settling back into her seat.

She knew from experience (her own and her peers’) that sometimes bending or skirting protocol was the best way to get things done, to solve cases. Even LeDaird knew that. “Hopefully after that attempted robbery at the docks a couple weeks ago, things will be relatively quiet so we can work on this.”

The first step in stealing the money, Katya found out, was sneaking across the Pilt. The airship port was on Piltover’s side of the river; built into the cliff faces on the outskirts of the city. The captain Beckett worked for was also a part of the Children, and was allowing him to use a small dinghy to ferry himself, Silco, Katya, and Annie to the opposite shore.

The night of the job, Katya met Silco at The Last Drop’s backdoor. Vander and Enyd stood behind him; the barkeep looking hopeful, but stoic. Enyd was pale, her hands continually fretting with the dark clothes her son wore. Katya was wearing dark ones, too; something that he had suggested when they had met up with Annie and Beckett to go over the plan.

“We’re meeting Beckett and Annie there,” he said, stepping away from The Drop. Enyd followed and began to fuss over Katya.

She nodded, and asked, “Are we ready?”

“Wait a moment,” Enyd breathed, her hand snaking into her satchel. She pulled a small, folded pile of cloth out and handed it to Silco. “To cover your faces with,” she explained.

He nodded and handed one of the four handkerchiefs to Katya. Taking it, she unfolded it once, a glimmer against the pitch fabric catching her eye. She squinted in the low light, and saw that there was a small ‘Z’ stitched into the corner with silver thread.

“Be safe, yeah?” Vander said, shifting restlessly. While his strong jaw remained set, his eyes shone with worry.

Silco nodded. “We will be back in a few hours.”

Enyd threw herself into him, holding on tightly. He drew her close and reassured, “It will be uneventful. In and out.”

Katya nodded; so did Vander, as he swallowed the lump in his throat. Reluctantly, Enyd pulled back from her son, only for her slim arms to reach for and hold on to the young woman. Thrown off, but grateful, Katya returned the embrace.

“In and out,” she repeated. “Like he said.”

Regardless, Enyd insisted, “Be careful.” She stepped back and gave the pair a warning look. They nodded and stole away down the alley. Vander placed a massive hand on Enyd’s shoulder as they watched them go.

Silco and Katya slipped silently through Zaun’s alleyways and to the docks. Annie and Beckett met them in the shadows of the Harbormaster’s hut, both looking uncharacteristically serious. In addition to their dark outfits, Beckett wore a black knit cap over his fire-red hair, and Annie had spun her own dark locks into a tight braid, instead of her usual loose pigtails. There were quick ‘hellos’ – Annie simply jutting her chin in Katya’s direction – and Silco handed the pair the remaining two masks.

The docks were dark and quiet as they strode for the small dinghy lazily bobbing in the water, waiting for them. Beckett took the back and readied the motor. Annie took the middle bench, while Katya and Silco sat hip-to-hip at the bow. Beckett untied the vessel and ripped the motor’s cord. It puttered to life and they began the short voyage to a small grotto just beneath the airship base. The boat would hide there while they executed their plan.

The water beneath the boat was so still; a smooth, black mirror of the sky. Beckett captained the vessel gently, leaving only a glossy ripple in their wake. None of them spoke. Katya’s knee bobbled nervously as they went. Eventually, Silco put a hand on her leg, keeping his touch light.

“It’ll be okay,” he promised. He paused, and added in a quieter whisper, “I got you. I won’t let anything happen.”

Katya gave him a thankful smile, but her heart thundered on. It was a moment before Silco realized that he had left his hand on her thigh. Slowly, so as to not draw attention to himself, he drew his hand back. His fingers tingled and he flexed them, wondering why it suddenly felt difficult to breathe.

With the pace they kept, it took a little over an hour to reach the grotto. Beckett harbored the small boat just out of sight of any prying eyes. As they exited the vessel, both Beckett and Annie swung large, empty sacks over their shoulders and handed one each to Katya and Silco. They tucked Enyd’s masks up over their noses, and they ascended the steep cliff face. The climb became easier once the natural, jagged rock gave way to the smooth stone that built up the tower of the hanger. However, the biting wind off the Pilt stung their eyes and cheeks now that the extra rock cover was beneath them.

“The third hanger,” Annie whispered as they approached the first massive cavern in the cliffs. She pointed up for good measure.

While Katya had of course seen airships and blimps far up in the sky, it was very different seeing them up close, tethered and waiting in their bays. Impressive, hulking machines made from metal, wood, glass, and fabric. She didn’t know if it was because it was so late, but they did not have to dodge as many workers as she expected. The few she spied were lazily leaned against the iron gangways that bracketed each airship, smoking and distracted by conversations they were having with one another.

The ship in the third bay up was not as large as the one beneath, a fact Katya found comforting. Less room to have to search through, fewer crew members to have to avoid. The small group huddled together at the mouth of the cavern.

“The delivery from Clapper should already be aboard,” Silco said. “Stowed in the belly of the main cabin. Time?”

Beckett checked the chrono on his wrist. “It’s 9:30.”

“The ship is supposed to sail at 10:00,” Annie supplied.

Silco nodded. “Right. We sneak in, find the delivery, get the coin, and get out.”

Katya swallowed and set her jaw. Her heart tapped and she steeled her nerves. Stealing from the mines medical supplies seemed so much less risky compared to this.

They carefully crept onto the catwalks, mindful to keep their footsteps as soft as they could. They ducked behind crates and kept careful watch of the workers above and below them. They approached the ramp that led onto the ship and paused. Silco and Beckett looked to Annie, who skirted around them and sneaked up to the door, and silently slid it open. She peered inside, and after a beat, beckoned them to follow her.

The cabin was dimly lit and full of boxes. To their right there was a door and a brighter light spilled beneath it. Muffled voices murmured behind it. At once, Beckett began silently stacking boxes in front of the door. Katya joined in and set additional crates in front of that pile.

“Here,” Annie whispered. She handed each member a chem-torch from a nearby shelf. She flicked hers on and held it beneath her chin, making a twisted face.

“Not now, Annie,” Silco admonished, turning his own on.

Annie rolled her eyes at him and began looking absently around the cabin. “Oh! Look at this!”

The other three turned, expecting to see a crate with the Clapper insignia on it. Instead, Annie enthusiastically thrusted a small, metal and glass contraption towards them.

“It’s a camera! I think,” she said excitedly, spinning the object in her hands to look at it. “I’ve never seen one.”

“Put it back, Annie,” Katya hissed. “That is not what we’re here for.”

The other woman ignored her and stuck the camera in her bag.

“Come on,” Silco insisted. “There’s a door over here. It should take us below.”

Indeed, the door opened onto a short staircase that took them below the main cabin. Larger boxes were stowed there and the group dispersed, looking for their target.

“Here,” Katya called after a minute. Her torch’s beam shone over a large, squat box with Clapper’s logo stamped across the wood. The rest of the party gathered around, and Beckett withdrew a prybar from his sack and opened the crate. They pawed through the paper confetti cushioning the delivery until they finally uncovered the curtains beneath. “Nasha said the coin would be sewn into the hems.”

Silco and Annie reached in, feeling for the ends of the fabric.

“Here,” Silco said, lifting the end of one panel up. The fabric sagged and sifted over his hands, gently clinking as it moved. He withdrew the knife from his boot and slashed the hem open. Gold hexes fell out. Katya’s mouth went dry, both Beckett and Annie’s eyes went wide.

“Fuck,” Beckett breathed. “I’ve never seen so much coin.”

“And this is only a fraction of it,” Silco said, and Katya could hear the smile in his voice.

They filled Annie and Beckett’s bags first.

“Fuckin’ Janna,” Annie complained as she slung the pack over her shoulders. “This guy must be in deep shit if he owes this much coin.”

“It’s 9:45,” Beckett announced, adjusting his partner’s bag.

Silco nodded. “You two go. Start heading back down to the boat.”

“Be careful,” Katya implored as they crawled back up the stairs.

Together, she and Silco dug through and cut open the remaining curtains, emptying the gold into their bags. Once they got to the bottom of the crate, they carefully pawed through the panels again, making sure not a coin was left behind.

Above them, a door opened and loud footsteps stomped along the floor. Both Katya and Silco froze, bodies tense like springs, hearts thundering. There wasn’t another way out. Only up, back through the main cabin – where someone was traipsing about, entirely unbothered by the amount of noise they made.

They should’ve checked how many of the crew had been in the main bridge of the airship before boxing it up . . .

“What the fuck is this?” an unfamiliar gruff voice muttered. Then the sound of him shifting boxes around.

Silco turned to say something to Katya and she jumped, knocking into the crate’s lid, and toppling it over. It wasn’t a loud sound, but noisy and unsuspected enough that it alerted the crew member above them.

“Whose down there?”

“Hide!” Silco hissed, pushing Katya into a darkened corner.

No sooner had she stumbled behind another tower of crates, did the door at the top of the stairs open, a large shadow looming down the steps and into the cargo hold. She hurriedly turned her torch off, gulping down a scared gasp. Silco sprang for the shadows. But the light pouring in caught his boot before he could slip away entirely. His own chem-torch rattled and rolled away across the floor. The man grunted an amused tone and began down the steps, each footfall heavy. Meant to intimidate.

Katya pressed her back into the wall behind her, scarcely daring to breathe. This couldn’t be happening . . . This couldn’t be happening. This was supposed to be an in-and-out job. Her skeleton wanted to crumble to the floor; her meager supper threatened to make a reappearance. She shouldn’t have agreed to this; she hadn’t been in the right state of mind when she agreed. What had she been thinking?

She’d been thinking of her brother, she knew. Of how he deserved the world, and that this was supposed to be a way of giving it to him.

She bit her lip under her mask to keep from making a sound. She had also been thinking of herself, if she was honest. She was so angry with Piltover. So, so angry that they wanted to take another thing from her. Like she didn’t deserve it. Like Viktor would be better off without her. That she was nothing, and deserved to fall into soot-covered obscurity in the Sump and die.

“What’s this?”

The man spoke and Katya started, peering out from behind a tower of crates. Her stomach curdled. The crew member – a very large man with a sneer on his face and an iron bar in one hand – had pulled Silco out of the shadows and now stood over him. Silco glared up at him, his blue eyes shards of ice that cut between the space of his hair and the mask. Next to his side, the bag of coins was open, its golden belly glittering in the light.

Suddenly, there was a rumbling. The frame of the airship thrummed and vibrated. And then it jolted forward. Katya’s stomach tumbled. The ship was leaving port! Her mind raced. She couldn’t get caught. And she couldn’t be hauled off to Bilgewater. She couldn’t abandon Viktor. She had to figure out an escape. At this point, whether or not the money made it back to Zaun didn’t concern her.

“Thieving little Sumprat,” the crew member growled at Silco, taking another step towards him. The meaty fist that held the iron bar twitched.

Katya’s hand twitched too. Toward the small revolver tucked in her trouser pocket. She had debated leaving it at home, and was now glad she hadn’t. Before the man could raise the bar over his head, she took the gun out, aimed, and fired. The pop of the gun was sharp, and rang off the metal hull of the ship. The bullet lodged itself into the back of the crew member’s knee, and he howled in anguish, crumpling to the floor. Silco lurched forward and grabbed the iron bar, and cracked him across the head.

The Enforcer fell. Katya’s father stomped on his ankles.

Bones crushing. Hollow wails.

From the ground, the Enforcer delivered one blow of his baton to Katya’s father’s head.

Katya’s mind spun and her body froze, cold terror leaching out any warmth in her. Her vision began to white out around her periphery. Silco shouting her name, and reaching for her shook her out of the memory and back into her body.

“Kat! Are you okay?” He gripped her shoulders tightly as his eyes scoured her body. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

Katya took a couple shaky breaths and shook her head. “No. Are you?”

“No. We need to get moving. The other crew members will have heard that – “

“The ship is moving!” Katya suddenly cried. The floor was softly rumbling beneath her feet.

“I know,” Silco said. His hands flew from her shoulders to cup her face. “We’re going to get back home. Okay? You hear me? I got you.”

She swallowed and nodded. Her eyes flicked over to the prone man behind him. “Is he . . .?”

“No, just knocked out. I think,” Silco assured. He stepped over and quickly assessed the man. “No. He’s breathing. Come on.”

As they scrambled up the stairs, the rest of the crew was shouting and ramming into the door Beckett and Katya had blocked off. A fair amount of boxes had been knocked away, the door open enough that one of them could shove his shoulder and arm out, trying to topple some of the crates just out of reach. His eyes bulged seeing the two stow-aways skitter to a stop.

“Who the fuck are you?!”

His outburst caused the other members behind him to scuffle and fight to get looks at who he was referring to.

“Thieves!” Someone yelled.

“Move!” Another screamed, knocking the man in front aside. A gun barrel appeared in the doorway, and it fired.

The shot was not aimed at anything, and Silco and Katya ducked as the bullet hit a crate. It exploded in a burst of splinters and paper. Another shot was fired; this one ricocheting off a metal pipe, causing sparks to rain down from the ceiling in a fine mist.

“Stop wasting bullets!” Someone yelled.

The distraction was enough to let Silco and Katya throw themselves into the door and crush the people behind it. The gun went off again as the nose of it was flung up by the impact. The bullet sliced through a tube slung on the ceiling, and fluid began spraying out of it in wide swaths.

Katya screamed and leapt back. She tripped over a crate and fell. Silco went after her, grabbing her arm. As he went to pull her onto her feet, he paused, sniffing. They both looked over to the decimated crate. It was smoking, orange embers slowly licking to life, eating away at the wood and paper. Growing bigger, stronger.

“Fuck,” he whispered. For the first time, he sounded uncertain. Scared.

Behind them, the door to the bridge finally burst open, the three remaining crew members tumbling out, ready to fight. Katya’s eyes immediately picked out the woman who held the gun – a rifle, judging by its long barrel. She pulled her own gun back out and fired at her shin. The woman screamed and collapsed to the floor. Silco tackled into the man that had been trying to wedge through the door earlier, bowling both of them over back into the airship’s bridge.

The second man eyed the growing fire behind Katya with big, terrified eyes. He froze up as his counterpart on the floor yelled at him to do something. So, he did. Wrenching open the sliding door on the ship’s hull, he let a huge gush of air into the cabin. The embers sucked the sudden onslaught of oxygen up in a mighty WHOOSH. The flames ate and grew, licking up the walls and lapping at the ceiling. All three screamed, Katya scrabbling away from the fire. The heat bit at the sliver of flesh visible between her bangs and nose bridge. The smell of burning chemicals, hair, and heat filled the air. The crew member who had opened the bay door looked out at the view below him, back at the fire, to the woman on the floor, to Katya, to the gun in her hand, and jumped out.

The woman on the floor screamed and thrashed, trying to grab Katya’s revolver. Panic sluiced over her body, taking control of her limbs, as her assailant grabbed at her pant leg and attempted to pull her down. Katya’s limbs locked up a moment before exploding into action. Her free leg swung, the toe of her boot connecting with the underside of her attacker’s jaw. There was a sickening crack! and a garbled, anguished howl as the crew member was flung to the side. When she didn’t move, Katya lurched forward and grabbed the rifle before running into the airship’s bridge.

Silco had taken care of the final crew member; the man was slouched against one of the seats, blood dribbling from his lips, one of his hands pierced to the floor by a knife. Silco himself was at the consol, frantically looking over all the levers and buttons.

“The fire is spreading!” Katya cried.

Silco looked over his shoulder at her, and saw the blaze in the other room. The sweat trickling down his back was not only from the heat. Above them, there was a loud metallic groan and crash as the flames began eating away at the frame around the canvas balloon. Katya shrieked and jumped to Silco’s side. His mind raced, but no idea landed. He stared out the windshield at the expanse of black in front of them. Below, he could see the stars reflected off the Pilt, the orange fireball he and Katya were now engulfed in.

“We need to jump!” she shouted. He looked at her, eyes wide. “It’s our only option! Jump and swim to shore!”

Behind them, another gust of wind fanned the fire, and it surged up and around. Each of them could feel the thread of their clothes beginning to burn, the buckles of their boots becoming blisteringly hot. Silco agreed with her: jumping would be their only chance. He grabbed the rifle in her hand and beat it against the airships windows until they shattered. They scrambled up onto the consol and peered down below. The cool, briny air was a welcome relief from the heat and smoke. Less appealing was the very large drop between them and the water. Katya felt Silco freeze next to her, his body going rigid with fear.

“Come on!” she screamed, grabbing his hand and knocking her shoulder roughly into his. “Please!”

Silco grit his teeth, his fingers clamping down around Katya’s. “I got you,” he promised.

Katya wasn’t sure what made her say it, but she nodded and replied, “You have me.”

Together, they leapt from the airship. Plummeting down, down, down to the water below.

Notes: Cliffhanger! Cliffhanger! Wuh-oh!!!!

Coming Up Next: The Children of Zaun make their prescense known.

Next Chapter

Taglist: @dreamyonahill, @pinkrose1422, @altered-delta, @truthandadare. @sand-sea-and-fable

[lcvcntc]

HSHQTASK059!

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

i think i joined in late 2017! i had to go check, otherwise i would lied and said in 2018! i had just started uni some months earlier, it was a very hectic and weird time. i didn't think my schedule would allow me to stay in a group setting but hshq was too addictive! now i'm an old old old working woman, uni feels a forever ago

which characters have you written over the years ?

oh boy! antonia, levente, mieke, leonor, maybe someone else but only briefly?

what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

i think the english plotline will forever stay with me. don't get me wrong, i love the croÿs, they've kept me so entertained and i love them, but the english plotline was intriguing and i liked the magnitude of it. it was also a fun way to comment on the english class system. in all of its absurdity, i feel like it was a smart plotline. one of the lighter and shorter plotlines that i've loved would be lisvente and in extension levente and isabela's hate for each other. lisvente helped me a lot with characterization in the beginning, and honestly i think i lost the plot on levente at some point and he became almost too kind. i wanted him to be genuinely despicable but i think i failed at that a bit. the fights with isabela were fun and i'm sort of sad they became quite civil towards the end.

what about other people's plotlines ?

i'm a big fan of italy. i think it was interesting plotline to follow and it kept surprising me ! and i have a soft spot for viveka and ilona and i wish we could have gotten more of them :(

who is your favourite character from the ones you've played ? why ? what made you love them ? what made them so fun to write ?

weidly enough antonia. she wasn't too easy to write but at the height of the english drama, i think i got to write some of the most interesting replies. antonia allowed me to write about the politics that i actually knew something about. antonia was also a refreshing character among all the rich bitches of hshq. it was fun to offer a balancing force. levente's shit was mostly petty and while his plotlines were entertaining and it was fun to write someone horrible, he became a bit repetitive. i think if leonor's plots would have developed past the first threads, i would have fallen more in love with her. she was refreshing and i liked the opportunity to write a truly emotional character!

if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

the very short plotline where fanni had to pretend to sylvia that milena's ultrasound pictures were hers. it was so funny and unexpected chain of events. i had fun!

is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

i don't think so. all of my plotlines have more or less written themselves and i'm fine with the organic way things came to be.

what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

maybe invente? i was so inactive that they never really recovered from the katya thing. i promised to isa that i'd finish one last levente x fanni thread so that's still in the works1

what is your favourite ooc memory ?

nothing particular comes to mind. i think i miss the times when people actually posted ooc stuff on the dash. the times when the dash was more ooc than ic were great because everyone were so invested!

where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

i'm not really anywhere anymore, sorry :( if something comes up, you can try this acc but i don't know if i'll login that often

what else would you like to say ?

i've had an amazing time with all of you. this group's been truly remarkable and i am incredibly happy that i wasn't flaky. i've been able to write intricate plotlines that never would have happened if people hadn't been loyal, motivated and innovative! i will literally miss everyone so much <3 ps. i'll write the 58th task soon!

[hiraeth-witch-11]

The Greed of Men Part 4

Warnings: conspiracy to commit murder, slavery, death, blood, nightmares

Word Count: 1800ish

“It went fine, neither of us died so I’d say it actually went well. We’ll probably continue our ‘little chats’. Now stop fussing and get some sleep.”

“Are you sure you’re alright on the floor, Katya?”

“Yes, Alya. I prefer it to that cloud you call a bed. I wouldn’t want to sink and suffocate in my sleep,” you say.

“The General said he would arrange for you to have your own rooms tomorrow. Along with some clothes and such.”

“How kind of him.”

“You didn’t pack much and you can’t switch between the same two shirts everyday.”

“I could if I wanted to.”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

“Don’t ask the impossible, darling.”

A few moments of silence pass. Alina asks tentatively, “Are we okay?”

“Oh Alya, of course we are. Where is this coming from, malen'kiy?”

“You haven’t told me anything about what happened while you were gone.”

“I was traveling, sestra, looking for you-”

“And it took you months to find me? Wait, I’m sorry that came out wrong. I know you and you’re avoiding it. Are you- are you mad at me for being here?”

“I could never be mad at you, malen’kiy. I don’t want to burden you with the boring details-”

Alina scoffs, “At least don’t lie to me about it, Katarina.”

“I keep a lot of things secret from you, Alya. I’ve done things I don’t want you to know about. You know this.”

“I just don’t know why you still keep it from me. I tell you everything. Why don’t you do the same?”

You take a deep breath, considering what you should say. “You’ve seen my scars, malen’kiy. You know some of what I’ve done on the streets to survive, the sort of work I take to stay close to you. I’m a thief, an informant, sometimes a mercenary and a killer. You deserve better than to share the weight of what I have done. Family before you and Malyen only meant bad things. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy, and I guess, for me, that always just meant hiding the bad from you. You were just a child and it was the only way I knew how to protect you. It’s hard to change that behavior, even though you’ve grown up.” You pause and let out a shaky breath. “Give me some time, Alya. I promise one day I will tell you everything. As soon as I get used to you no longer being Little ‘Lina.” Your voice is teasing as you stop speaking. 

“You promise?” Alina asks, voice serious.

“On my life, Alya.”

“Could you tell me something tonight? Just one thing, something small?”

“All of it is dark, love, none of it would make a good bedtime story.”

“Please? One of the stories behind your scars. I won’t ask again if you tell me now. You owe me this much.”

You sigh and give in. “Don’t complain to me when you have nightmares.” 

“I won’t,” She promises.

“When I was 16 and Ana Kuya was getting ready to kick me out, I started looking for more jobs so I could save up some. Before that, I mostly took easier jobs, stealing or spying. A lot of the time I just picked pockets. I’ve always been quick on my feet and good at getting in and out of tough spots. When I went to see a man about a real underground sort of job, I think he gave me something impossible on purpose. I don’t why, maybe the man who hired me saw a little girl, still naive in the ways of the world and he wanted to shatter that innocence. It doesn’t matter anyway. I was told to assist in retrieving some cargo, I was given a location and time to meet. It was supposed to be a simple job so I agreed. 

“But it wasn’t cargo, it was people. Three Grisha, a mother and her two children. I think they were going to be sold to Shu Han and Keramzin was just a stop on the way. They were all filthy and bruised. They couldn’t summon because of those bars that separate the hands. I couldn’t do it, Alina. I tried to get them out. Took off their manacles and everything, but the mother was too weak to run and the slavers heard us. That’s where I got the scar on my right shoulder, a gunshot wound.”

“What happened to the Grisha?”

“I think the kids got out. The oldest daughter was somewhere around my age, her little brother was much younger.”

“And the mother?”

“She didn’t make it.” You leave out the part where she had used her body as a shield to protect you and her children from the bullets the slavers fired. Most of them anyway. To those men, Grisha were better off dead than free. “I killed several of the slavers, most of them never saw my face, but the original man who had hired me, he knew my name and what I looked like. I killed him and took my payment. That’s why I’ve had to go further for work since aging out.” You chuckle. “I burnt most of the bridges in Keramzin.”

“I think I remember when you came back from that. You favored your shoulder for weeks and there was this empty look on your face when you thought we weren’t watching. Was that the first time you killed someone?”

“No, it was not.” You are glad when she doesn’t push you any farther.

“Thank you for telling me, sestra,” Alina whispers.

“You’re welcome, malen’kiy.”

“I love you, Katya.”

“I love you too.”

*******

Your dreams are never a safe place. They are the one place you struggle to defend yourself. The one place your memories can haunt you without fail.

“The best way to take down the Fold would be to burn the Sankta. If we do it slowly enough, it should be painful and last long enough to release all her light.”

“I still say exsanguination is the way to go to bleed out her power.”

“And I say we toss her into the Fold and let the volcra do it for us.”

Men, self reportedly Saintly men, were discussing the best way to sacrifice your sister to tear down the Fold. You stood there in the darkness, horrified as they kept listing new ideas. What was the best way to break down the Sun Summoner? How can they put her through the most pain to release the most power? How can they make it a spectacle worthy of the Saints?

In reality, when you had heard those words, you slaughtered the entire room in a flurry of shadows and knives. You had emerged dripping with blood, none of it yours, shaking with the strength it took to keep your shadows out of sight now that you no longer needed them. Sometimes they acted like they had a mind of their own, and that night they had been very, very angry alongside you.

In your dreams, however, you were frozen in those shadows, forced to listen to their plans before your dream would change and you would watch your sister die in a thousand different ways.

You had practice waking yourself up at night, and you are grateful for that tonight as you wrench yourself from the grasps of your dream. Your skin shines with a cold sweat and your clothes stick to your skin. From your spot on the floor, you can see your shadows flicking in anxiety under Alina’s bed. Clenching your fist, you direct them to dissipate. 

You rise and dress swiftly, before slipping out the window and scaling down the wall to get some air. The new guards the Darkling had posted there since you first broke in are startled, but hesitantly allow you to walk the grounds alone. The sky is clear tonight, the moon bright and the stars beautiful.

You find a clean looking patch of snow near the lake and lie flat, looking up at the twinkling lights to ground yourself. Digging your fingers into the ice, you breathe deeply. You aren’t panicking. You aren’t. You are just reorienting yourself after a vivid dream. You aren’t thinking about how much danger your baby sister is in. You aren’t thinking about how much you’ve hid from her. You aren’t cracking under the pressure of keeping her safe. You aren’t.

The soft crunch of soft snow notifies you of another’s presence just before they speak.

“Couldn’t sleep?” The Darkling asks. 

“Obviously not,” you snap.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“Save it for Alina, Darkling. Is there a reason you’re out here?”

“Some very concerned guards told me you had snuck out. They weren’t sure if they should retrieve you or not.”

“Snitches.” Of course they had told him, it was likely just as much their job to report on you and Alina as it was to protect her.

“It is their job to keep the Sun Summoner safe. You coming and going at all hours of the night is unsettling for them.” You could swear there is humor in his tone.

“I’ll show them unsettling,” you grumble, refusing to stop looking at the stars.

“I’ve looked into you, you know.”

“I’m sure you have. And what’ve you found in a day’s time?”

“I found stories of a woman covered in blood carving her way up and down Ravka. Some say she appears out of thin air like a vengeful spirit.”

“And what does this have to do with me?”

“I wasn’t finished.”

“Go on then.”

“This spirit only hunts at night, killing those who are unfaithful to Sankta Alina.”

You hiss, “She’s a child, not a Saint.”

“I do not disagree with you, Ms. Starkov. But it doesn’t matter what you and I think at this point. The church has already taken the title and spread it. Will you not look at me while I’m speaking to you?” A touch of annoyance in the question.

“No.”

The General sighs but continues. “When you said you would keep your sister safe, I will admit I had not realized the lengths you went to in order to do so.”

“After our sparring session today, did you really still think I wasn’t serious?”

“You do realize that the number of Soldat Sol and church leaders you have killed could brand you a heretic.”

“You worried I’m gunning for your ancestor’s title?” You quip with a grin.

“Perhaps.” His tone is unreadable so you sit up and turn towards him. His face is darkly curious and slightly red from the cold.

“I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. I’ve told you that. Do you believe me now?”

“I never doubted your conviction, Ms. Starkov, only your capability.”

“Well fuck you too,” you mutter. “Anything else you want to say to me, Shadowman?”

“Not tonight.”

“This has been a lovely chat, but I’m going to head back to bed.”

“Sweet dreams, Ms. Starkov.”

If you want to be put on, or taken off my taglist, feel free to tell me!

Series Taglist: budugu, stuffyownswrld, judig92, intothesoul

Shadow and Bone Taglist:

Everything Taglist: @kayhi808,

[puppetstuffandfriendsandsons]

@katya-1917 Thank you for taking the time to respond! It made me very happy to see. I would like to make a rebuttal!!

★

★

Okay so I've watched the entirety of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the first 10 episodes of The Book of Pooh and I can confidently say that I already have the gist of what Piglet's BIG Movie would be about so there's that. Piglet being brave even though he's scared is a very popular trope in these movies/shows but maybe I'm wrong and the movie is super unique. I'll add it to my list.

So coming right out of 30 minutes of the first Blood & Honey movie (this is from only watching cartoons for like 2 months so it scared me at the time) I genuinely couldn't tell if the Christopher Robin movie was supposed to be as uncomfortable as it was lol. The way they were moving around the table with blank expressions was so weird to me.

I tried to finish the movie but to me it relied too heavily on nostalgia for it to be enjoyable and it kind of hit all the notes that the other movies made before it. Keep in mind that I've watched every available movie + 2 shows on Disney!!! I want to watch Winnie the Pooh movies for something new at this point.

★

★

I do agree with you on your initial take of there being no reason to disrespect the WtP characters by making them senselessly violent. They did have a reason for it but it was very frail and changed a bit in the second movie so it's whatever.

Going into the first movie I didn't like it at all because I knew that Pooh bear would never harm Christopher Robin willingly. Literally everything they did up until I quit on the movie was wrong and I couldn't see Piglet or Pooh being that aggressive for no reason.

So at this time I did firmly believe that there's no point in making beloved cartoon characters into whatever it is they do in slasher films because it's cheap, needles, and relies to heavily on shock factor to actually have anything of substance. What I appreciate the most in a movie is character building, and these movies typically read as someone making a movie about a character that they're writing from memory.

The second movie intrigues me from the story that they're apparently trying to build. It's not much but it's enough substance for me to think more critically about exactly what kind of characters they are because at least three friends in this group are predator animals. Three more are questionable prey/predator animals, and the last three are 100% prey animals. I feel like this kind of dynamic is worth exploring even if it's just to build even more character for them.

This new setting of horror brings a lot more to the table for each friend and I love it. I don't like Zootopia but I'd imagine it'd be like that. Something happens to the predator animals and now suddenly the person who seemed so harmless moments before is now the most dangerous thing in the hundred acre woods. As someone who really loves these character's unique personalities, I would love to explore this sudden and extreme change of relationship dynamics.

Again, thank you for taking time out of your day for giving your opinion!! The Tigger Movie and Heffalump movies are all packed with comfort so I could easily see why you'd love them so much!! The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is that for me : )

[braveclementine]

Answers

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OCs, which consist of Penny Fury, Elizabeth Nelson, Elijah Chan, Katya Venice, Violetta Moscow, Lan Le, Josh, Trang Tien, Ahni Jallow, Mai Ito, and Ghaida Kashual as well as other OCs that will come up throughout the story.

🌰💄 𝓢Ⓣσ𝐑𝕪 💧🥜

"Okay." Elizabeth sighed, sitting down across from the Gods- and singular goddess. Loki looked the most nervous of them all, though Hogun and Fandral had identical looks of worry. Thor looked more like a sad puppy dog than anything else. Volstagg was snacking on peanuts that he had probably gotten from the party so he was happy. Sif on the other hand, looked rather guarded. 

"My first question," She said, crossing a leg over her other one, looking nervously at Heimdall, before scanning the others. "Did any of you. . . did any of you make the connection? I mean, besides Heimdall." 

"No." Thor, Fandral, Hogun, and Loki all said together, though with varying degrees of conviction and level. Fandral and Hogun were solid whereas Thor sounded confused and Lokis' was a whisper. Volstagg looked up and then shook his head before continuing to eat. 

"I admit." Sif said softly. "There were a few times I thought you were similar. But as I thought you would have aged faster, I thought maybe you could be a relative. That Eslanda. . . that you had a family and perhaps you were a cousin or a niece. But at other times, I knew I really didn't know Eslanda at all, so I thought it was just a similarity in your features. But I never really thought about it to much." 

"Why not just ask Viden?" Loki questioned. He wouldn't look at her and she was worried about his feelings towards her. What if they had changed? His black hair hid his face, she couldn't see what he was thinking. 

But she gazed at him solidly. "Because I trust all of you to tell me the truth." 

Loki looked up at her at that. His blue eyes gazing into her brown ones. She hesitated and then asked, "Have your feelings for me changed, Loki?" 

Loki continued to gaze at her, as though he was putting a guard up. As though he was trying to see what answer she wanted to hear so that he could say it. But she wouldn't let her guard down. She needed the truth. 

Loki finally looked away. "I thought they might. I thought. . . if Eslanda ever came back I could be a better father. But knowing that she's you, knowing our past. . . no. I love you like you could be my w- I love you romantically." He quickly stuttered over whatever he was previously going to say. 

Elizabeth relaxed, "Good. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if you had fatherly feelings towards me." She put the slightest smile on her face, relief flowing through every fiber of her being. 

"Good." Loki whispered, the slightest smile on his face. 

"Something I don't understand," Elizabeth said, looking at Heimdall, "Why did you never see me as a daughter?" 

She forgot how much she missed his voice when he answered, "Because I knew we were destined to be in love. And I would not let myself ruin it when I knew you were the only one for me." 

"But my mom was your soulmate." She said shakily. 

"Your mother was complicated. She was reborn every 100 years, always with a different soulmate. Usually Asgardian. They always outlived her. They would always think when she was old enough, they would be together again, but she always left them. Always moved onto the next one. I was no different. She was my soulmate a millennium and a half ago." 

"So she was a player?" Elizabeth asked with a twisted smile. 

"No." Heimdall said softly. "She. . ." It was the first time she had ever seen him hesitate with an answer. 

"She saw life very differently." Sif said, "Her and I were friends for some time. She viewed life like a Midgardian. Like she only had so much time. I told her that she could've had all of her soulmates, but she refused. She said that each life was a singularity. She. . . well she did leave a lot of broken hearts behind." 

Elizabeth didn't know what to make of that. She couldn't imagine dropping a soulmate, even if they weren't a soulmate in the next life. But then again, she was in love with so many people who weren't her soulmates, it was just to different. 

She looked at Loki now, "Why the ability to see ghosts? Why give that to me?" 

Loki sighed, leaning forwards, addressing the floor. "When I was studying magic, I came upon a prophecy. One day, Asgard would fall into fiery ruins. I feared for the people I might lose, my mother, perhaps soulmates that I hadn't met yet. I thought I would- or Heimdall would at the very least- keep you safe. That you would always be there. So that when the day came, you would be my way to communicate with the ghosts." 

Loki hesitated and then said, "I tried it on myself first. I knew it was an experiment, something I wouldn't have done with a kid originally. But it didn't work with me. So I did it to you and I'm sorry." 

Elizabeth shook her head. "My mom said I was a goddess. How is that possible, if I'm half Midgardian?" 

"You still have Asgardian blood." Heimdall said slowly. "Think of it like biology. If both parents have brown eyes, then brown eyes is the dominant gene, but blue eyes could be a recessive gene. Same with pigmentation, take Penny for example. Both parents have the dominant gene for dark pigmentation, but a recessive gene for light skin. Therefore, due to genetics, she's albino. It's the same with you and your blood. Asgardian blood will always take dominance over other blood." 

"Even other. . . alien I guess blood? Jotun, for example." Elizabeth asked hesitantly, looking between Loki and Heimdall. 

"Asgardians are the highest race on the chain." Heimdall nodded. "So yes. But Jotun would still be higher than Midgardian, but lower than Asgardian." 

She nodded, wrapping her head around it. "And I'm the goddess of love?" Her voice sounded so skeptical. "So what about my water and ice powers? My super strength? I don't understand it. Like, with the ghosts and the future seeing, those were physical experiments. But for the ice and water. . . there's nothing in my memories." 

"That may be a mystery only Viden can tell you." Heimdall said. "But as for answering without you asking him, I truly do not know." 

"It could have been an accident." Loki hypothesized. "Perhaps if you were exposed to any of the infinity stones HYDRA had at the time. But I do not know." 

Elizabeth nodded once more. "Do. . . do Odin and Frigga know who I am?" 

"No." Heimdall said. "The King. . . I thought it was better for your safety for him not to be aware and the Queen does not keep many secrets from the Allfather." 

"Safer?" Elizabeth questioned quietly. 

"He has gotten over his prejudice of Asgardians finding soulmates who are not Asgardian. But, there is still the talk over children. You are not a soulmate of Lokis' or Thors', even if we love you." Heimdall answered slowly. "I am not sure what the Allfather would do. If you ever wish to reveal yourself however, that is your decision." 

Elizabeth was quiet, thinking. She wanted nothing more than to go and behead Odin, like he had her mother beheaded. He had tried to have her killed too, until Queen Frigga had stepped in. 

"How much did you see of this future?" Elizabeth asked Heimdall directly. 

"I saw two main outcomes." Heimdall said. "I saw one where many of your friends like Lan, Mai, Ahni, and Josh died. And later that road would lead one way. And I saw one where all of them survived and the path went another way." 

"But they're alive." Elizabeth said quickly, trying to think back to how Josh and Riri had been sitting on the couch together while Violetta, Lan, and Katya had been holding each other tightly, where they must've been watching her memories. 

"Yes." Heimdall nodded. "Everyone is safe and alive." 

"Except Jay." Elizabeth accused, looking at Heimdall directly. 

"I could not see a future where him living would keep the Avengers together." Heimdall admitted. "Everytime he stayed alive, he would keep Trang away. And Tony would unfortunately pull away and the tower would slowly unravel. It was. . . an unfortunate sacrifice for the happiness of everyone else." 

Elizabeth was silent at that. Jay had lost his life for the benefit of everyone else. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. 

But Trang and Tony were happy. So happy. And they had Daisy now, a little girl that. . . would she have existed still? Jay would not have been happy to raise another mans' child. Perhaps Heimdall was right. 

"Anything else?" Loki asked softly. 

"Only one." Elizabeth said, addressing Heimdall again, "I thought I would be mad. That you stayed away while my memories were gone but. . . seeing my own memories and how I had reacted with Bucky, I can't blame you. I would have done the same so. . . I'm not angry but. . . please, Heimdall, I need you in Mateos life now." 

"My Goddess, I have no plans on leaving his life." Heimdall answered solidly. "Or yours if you so choose to continue with us." 

Loki's eyes flickered to Heimdall, but he said nothing. 

"Thank you." Elizabeth said softly. "I'll speak with Wong and Stephen now." 

Heimdall got up and the Gods all trailed out. Wong and Stephen came in, sitting on the same couch they had just left. Stephen looked confused while Wong looked composed. 

"Where do you want to start?" Wong asked. 

Elizabeth licked her bottom lip. "It's. . . my magic. . . it's bad?" 

Wong shook his head. "No magic starts out bad, but uncontrolled. Your magic was strong, especially for a child and very uncommon. I admit, I was shocked she did not want to train you immediately. But she was also the wisest of us, and she could see the future, so I respected her decision." 

"You said I could learn magic though, when I met Elijah for the first time." Elizabeth said slowly. 

"Yes, but I wanted it to sound like an offer." Wong admitted. "Your magic was condensed, the signal was mixed. And you had new powers that weren't magically related. I was concerned and while I wanted to offer, I did not want to force you into it. You never came, so I thought I made the right decision." 

Elizabeth nodded slowly. It was true, it had been her choice not to go to the Sanctorum. Even after the years of  knowing Wong and Stephen. 

"What was this prophecy or whatever around me?" Elizabeth asked. 

"It wasn't exactly a prophecy." Wong answered. "But the Ancient One used to say that Strange would be the best of us, but you would be the  most powerful. It wasn't much of a prophecy." 

"So it's my destiny to learn magic." Elizabeth stated. 

"We choose our own destiny's. You shouldn't feel this is something you must do because the Ancient One has decreed it." Wong said sternly. 

It was quiet for a moment, the three of them sitting in their own contemplative silence. Then Elizabeth said slowly, "You said I have a magical aurora?" 

"Yes." Wong nodded and stood up, "May I?" 

She only nodded in answer and Wong sat next to her. Elizabeth turned her body to face him while Stephen leaned forwards on the couch. He couldn't feel any sort of magical persona, whatsoever. It was as thought it was hidden- and maybe it was. 

Wong lightly took her hand in his, moving his hand around hers, before hers and his aura flared up. The smell of sour lime and some sort of spice like ginger filled the air and Stephen stiffened. 

Wong hadn't been as truthful as he could've been, Stephen realized. The ability to smell a persona aura was something that only the most powerful of sorcerers could bring out. Every human on Earth had an aura. An outline that, if they could see it, could be a multitude of colours or a single colour. If it was a single colour, it meant the aura was more pure. Single colours were exceptionably rare. It was shown when Ghaida's eyes turned orange when communicating with Viden, that her aura was pure orange. 

The colour and the smell and the purity did nothing towards power. It just gave each human a different. . . mystical fingerprint perhaps. 

And the most powerful of them was Elizabeth. The only Sorcerer in history to bring out their auroras. Hers was a light green colour- hence the lime smell. And Wong had a brown aura that was mixed with hints of yellow and orange and red for the ginger smell. Stephen lifted his hands, but her power had not come over him. 

Wong hadn't been literal when he'd said that Stephen had felt her power once before. Stephen had never felt her power. But, if he were to feel it, it would be a recognition of recognizing the most powerful amongst them. Like a person he knew but had never met. It was a strange concept and he hadn't thought he'd meet them in his lifetime. 

And yet he'd been living and sleeping with her for years. 

"Stephen." Wong said and Stephen stood, coming over. He held out a hand, which Elizabeth took and Stephen felt the power. 

His body radiated in shades of blue, dipping into greenish blue colours and also pale whites. There was a smell of (was that honeysuckle?) joined the other two smells. 

"Now control it." Wong murmured and Elizabeth closed her eyes. It took a moment, but they all felt the energy leave and Elizabeth looked drained. 

"You alright?" Stephen murmured softly. 

"Yes." Elizabeth breathed, looking a little shaken. It was silent for another long moment and then she nodded. "I should talk to Clint. Stephen, can you stay behind for another second. Wong. . . thank you." 

Wong nodded, squeezing her hand, and then moved away. He didn't go through the door, opening up a portal to head back to the Sanctorum. 

"Yes?" Stephen asked softly. 

She just shook her head and then wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. His heart thudded in his chest and willingly wrapped his arms around her. He felt a little calmer now, feeling her against him. He kissed the side of her head and heard her sigh in content, hugging him tighter.

"I don't know what you plan on doing." Stephen murmured quietly. "But you would be trained by five Sorcerer's usually. The head of each Sanctorum and then the Sorcerer Supreme. So, really four since I'm the head of the New York Sanctorum and the Sorcerer Supreme." 

She smiled a little, kissing his cheek. Then a light came into her eyes and she said, "Loki and I don't have uh. . ." She hesitated, trying to find the right word, "We still love each other romantically. If you or Tony were worried about that dynamic." 

Stephen relaxed a little. "I was a little worried. He had been worried about her- well you I suppose. His daughter and if she would come back with a vengeance. He was very honest when he said he wasn't a good father. But perhaps that was for the best." 

"Heimdall obviously thinks so." She mumbled to herself, then looked at him and sighed. "Well, I should talk to Clint. I'll see you tomorrow Stephen." 

"Good night Elizabeth," Stephen whispered, squeezing her one last time, got up, and left the room. 

"Hey." Clint said, swinging out of the vent quickly as the door shut. He seemed nervous, but Elizabeth just grinned. 

"Hey trouble." 

She got to her feet, approaching him, wrapping her hand around his, sliding her fingers over the metal of the sling ring. "I saved your bird butt." 

Clint relaxed with the teasing. "You sure did little bird." 

Elizabeth hesitated, "Did you. . . know? Is that why you called me the same nickname?" 

"No." Clint mumbled. "It. . . I didn't know it was you. I never put those dots together. But, I thought you were similar. And I thought that you were dead. Or well, the girl who saved me was dead. But she's not, you're not. You're right here." Clint whispered, pulling her into his arms. 

She melted into them, letting him hold her. She was glad that- so far- there hadn't been to much of them pushing her away. That was what she was afraid of the most. Along with. . . no. She would ask Wanda later. 

"Are you okay?" Clint asked as he pulled back, gazing into her eyes. He remembered them now. The mischief the two of them used to get up to. And other events that weren't seen in her fleeting memories. How one time, the circus hands had worked her so hard, she'd fallen from the tightrope. He thought that she would die, hitting the ground that hard. But she'd only broken her arm and he'd been so relieved. 

And they'd wanted her back on the rope the next day. 

And then the church. . . he didn't want to think about the church. He was glad none of those memories had been shown. 

He squeezed her tighter. 

"We're here now Clint." She whispered softly, looking up at him, as though knowing where his mind was. "We made it here." 

He nodded, his forehead pressed against hers. 

She pulled away slowly. "Clin-" 

"Do you still love me?" He asked softly. "Us? Or is it- is it only Bucky now? Is he going to be the only one you can love? I mean, he's always been your favorite regardless so I guess I'm just not sure where that leaves the rest of us. And I don't want to lose you, but if you can't love us then that's fine too because-" 

"Clint." She whispered, squeezing his hands and he cut off his rambling. "I don't know what the future holds. But I know this much, I love all of you and not just Bucky. I don't. . . there are things I will talk to all of you about tomorrow. But no, you're not going to lose me." 

Clint nodded, clearly relieved. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that so soon. I-" 

She cut him off with a kiss and he relaxed completely. She smiled, pulling away slowly. 

"I have to go talk to Bucky." She whispered softly. "I'll see you at breakfast trouble." 

He watched her leave the room, and then headed upstairs to his loft, wondering what decision she would be making, in the morning.

[roxy206]

The gate squeaked as it opened and Trixie shushed Katya as he followed behind. The pool had closed hours ago, but the latch had proved faulty and Trixie was glad that he didn’t have to scale the fence as part of Katya’s hair brain scheme for a midnight dip.

The lights strung along the patio were off, a sign that guests should not be in this area. But the sky was impossibly bright, a shade of blue neither of them had ever seen before, stars speckled so dense across it.

When Trixie had brought up the idea of a trip to Zion, Katya had surely thought it was a hypothetical. Even as they talked about it at length, he assumed it was the same as when Trixie talked about running away to some tropical beach and ditching their phones somewhere along the way. Sure, they were actually going to Utah, but it wasn’t until his assistant was confirming flight details that Katya realized Trixie had been serious.

The four hour drive, just the two of them in the rental car, should have been long enough for the decision to really sink in. Instead the disbelief gave way to utter awe as the landscape unfolded in front of them.

Dropping the towels on a deck chair, Katya turned to Trixie. He had barely made it two steps in, neck craned up to take in the sight. Even with his mouth slightly ajar, Katya could see the relaxation on Trixie’s face. That alone made the whole damn trip worth it.

Katya’s flip flops slapped onto the ground and Trixie turned toward the sound. Trixie watched as Katya pulled the t-shirt over his head, revealing muscle after muscle. With his attention decidedly shifted, Trixie walked toward the pool as Katya slipped in. Quickly Trixie followed suit.

They each made leisurely strokes through the water, unintentionally swimming to opposite ends of the pool. When Katya realized, he called out, “Marco!” A laugh following.

“Shh, someone is going to hear us!” Trixie loudly whispered.

“Then come over here.”

With a sigh, Trixie swam toward Katya.

“You’re not going to get in trouble,” Katya reassured Trixie as he reached Katya’s side.

All of the scenarios Trixie had been playing through his mind were on the tip of his tongue, but he felt the brush of Katya’s hand. Felt Katya’s eyes focused on him. And as he met Katya’s gaze, he let the thoughts drift away.

Treading water, they both fell silent.

The sky beckoned to them, a work of art right in front of their eyes. They had been stunned by beauty all day; the pictures they had seen nothing in comparison to experiencing the national park in person. But there was something so simple, so daunting, so inspiring about the unpolluted night sky.

Both let out a gasp as a shooting star appeared, burning even brighter. Squeezing his eyes shut, Katya held a thought in his mind.

“I wish we had more days like this,” Trixie said. He bumped his should into Katya’s. “What did you wish for?”

“You’re not supposed to say, or it might not come true,” Katya told him.

Trixie felt a laugh rise in his throat and he tried to stop it, at first because he knew it would be too loud. And then because he saw the look in Katya’s eye. Katya wasn’t joking.

They looked at each other for another beat as Trixie felt his heart begin to race. This time it wasn’t because of anxiety. He watched as Katya’s lips parted just slightly, and then his eyes darted back up to the sky.

Two more shooting stars blazed through, one after another. Daring to look at Katya, Trixie saw him close his eyes. Trixie took a deep breath and did the same.

He wished for more chances, even though he knew he had already blown so many. And he wished for the courage to follow through — soon.

Soon.

+++

fic title list — send me an ask with a letter

[sapphickatpoet]

Eclipsed Chronicles Character Bios

Part I: The Main Four

It’s about time I introduced you lovely degenerates to the story @stellarnightstars and I are writing together! Or..well..have been writing together. This thing is fuckin’ five years old at the time I’m posting this.

The bios will be in four parts: the main four, the legionaries, the side characters, and the antagonists.

Before I go into heavy detail, there’s a plot point I must discuss. The story takes place three years after a seven-year-long war between two nations: Gardenia and Imago. Both counties were in a state of fascism: Imago due to the nobles thinking they were superior because they’re fae, and Gardenia due to its heavily militaristic government. To keep things simple, I’ll say that the war was declared because one of the six Gardenian Legionaries, Spartacus, wanted to show off Gardenia’s military might, and what better way to do it than to challenge the fae supremacist King Dante? Thousands of innocents lost their lives, and even children as young as 13 were drafted as soldiers. Only when Spartacus was imprisoned and Dante died did the Great Rift finally end. A new set of Legionaries were crowned in Gardenia, and a new king was crowned in Imago. Both sets of leaders now work tirelessly to fix the mistakes of their predecessors, and make their people’s lives happy ones.

Because I can’t draw to save my life, I’m using Picrews once again to portray the characters. The ones I’m using are made by brightgoat and crowesn.

Ekaterina Eos

Age: 24

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Height: 5’10”

Nicknames: Katya (by friends and family)

Voice Claim: Samantha Béart

Fashion Sense: Piratecore fused with a Russian tsar fused with a Russian mob boss

Most Proficient Magical Skill: Ice and Snowstorms

Hobbies: Fencing, acting, singing, playing various instruments, and gambling

Favorite D&D Class(es): Skald and swashbuckler

Personality: Charming and bombastic, Ekaterina is what any pirate captain would aspire to be. There’s nothing she loves more than a day at sea. She craves adventure, which naturally leads to her causing chaos. However, despite her penchant for chaos, she’s strangely maternal. She still works in the army as a captain, and it’s her job to train some of the new cadets (kinda like ROTC in America; world-building will be in a post of its own). She loves them as if they’re her own children. She will go through hell to protect those she loves, even if it entails her death. No matter how hurt she is, she will always put the needs of others above her own. Against enemies in battle, she is a brutal fighter, something she’s grown to love and despise. Due to her actions in the Great Rift, she thinks of herself as a monster who cannot ever be loved.

Phoenix Eos

(The hair color on crowesn’s Picrew is more accurate)

Age: 26

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Asexual

Height: 5’6”

Voice Claim: Lindsay Mendez

Most Proficient Magical Skill: Absorption

Fashion Sense: Dark academia mixed with Noir

Hobbies: Archery, reading, researching, and watching corny B-movies for a laugh

Favorite D&D Class(es): Investigator and warlock

Personality: Serious and cynical, Phoenix knows all the ins and outs of the world and how to bend them to her will. From a young age, she knew how terrible the world was. You can thank her abusive biological mother for that. She’s a realist, knowing both the good and bad parts of the world well, and how little good there is in the world. Escapism is a foreign concept to her, as she cannot fathom what a world where she’s truly happy would even look like. When she’s home, she’s usually the one that has to keep Ekaterina, her step-sister, from doing anything too stupid. When she’s away, she takes her job as an ambassador quite seriously. She works herself to death so that peace isn’t broken, for the peace of the world is directly tied to her inner peace. You can thank what she’s seen during the Great Rift for that, specifically when she had to have her left arm amputated.

Sebastian Sarantos

Age: 25

Pronouns: She/They/He (mtf)

Sexuality: Lesbian

Height: 6’1”

Nickname(s): Bastian (by friends and family)

Voice Claim: J. Micheal Tatum

Most Proficient Magical Skill: Spirit Communication

Fashion Sense: Vampirecore and gothic Victorian

Hobbies: Writing, composing, reading, playing instruments, ballet dancing, and opera singing

Favorite D&D Class(es): Bard and cleric

Personality: Sweet and flamboyant, Sebastian does whatever she can to make people happy. She feels everything very deeply—basically she’s an empath. The arts are her life and her soul, and she’ll spend hours talking about her poems and compositions if you let her. They’re quite melodramatic, speaking like a 19th century vampire in their everyday speech. Their role as a legionary is to be an archivist of sort; they keep records, write down history as it happens, and bonk politicians on the head with a history book when their ideas would probably lead to history repeating itself. They like to research history and magic outside of their job—it’s one of the reasons why they don’t resign and become a full time poet and musician. They’re very non- confrontational, which is weird for someone in a political position. She can debate and get her ideas across just fine, but her anxiety and fear of older authority doesn’t exactly help. No matter what she does, it’s extremely difficult for her to bring herself to physically harm another. He hates that he can’t fight. He hates that he isn’t the bold leader the world needs him to be. She hates that she cries so much. She feels like she’s weak every time she cries, and that all who know her are secretly ashamed of being associated with her.

Asher Pénthos

(The freckles on crowesn’s Picrew are the right color)

Age: 26

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Asexual

Height: 5’11”

Nickname(s): Ash (by friends)

Voice Claim: Theo Solomon

Most Proficient Magical Skill: Astronomy

Fashion Sense: Fairycore and light academia

Hobbies: Researching magic and watching old movies

Favorite D&D Class(es): Sorcerer

Personality: Humble and practical, Ash is an ideal king. He was quite sheltered throughout his childhood, and even now, he still doesn’t truly know much about everyday life. He can only really understand as much as his citizens tell him and during the few times he’s snuck out. After all, he’s usually so busy, he can’t even leave the castle unless it’s for business matters. He only really had friends in the current legionaries, and he can’t really contact them often because of how busy they all are. His understanding of true happy life often comes from media, his only form of escapism; particularly, movies. He’s a dreamer at heart; an old soul that wants nothing more to experience whimsy, joy, and pure love. However, he doesn’t really know what that is. His father was cruel and abusive, his mother was never in the right headspace to take care of a child due to her forced marriage with Ash’s father, and his brother never learned from his family’s mistakes. All Ash has is others’ experiences to go off of. Even so, he’s still kind and gentle, yet firm and tough when he needs to be.

[another-heroine]

KC as a Companion - Part One

It took forever, but THE FIRST HALF IS HERE

I need more time to write about her personal quests and romance

Name: Ekaterina Grushankaya

Race: Aasimar (Emberkin)

Class: Blight Druid

Appearance: A tall, athletic-like aasimar (circa 180cm) with bright red hair entwined in reddish wool locks and owl feathers, grayish blue eyes, and fair-skinned, with some tattoos over her wrists and forearms. She wears worn but clean Mendevian typical clothes, humble jewelry, and a fur overcoat. Also she has an ornate quarterstaff with blue stones (can’t be taken off from her inventory). 

Favored Weapon/Equipment: Simple Weapons, Light/Medium Armor (only leather and alikes), light shield

Top Skills: Lore (Nature and Religion) and Perception

Alignment: Neutral Good

General Personality: Introverted, caring, brave, wise and proud.

What traits/values do they admire?

Righteousness, kindness, bravery, search for balance.

What traits/values do they disapprove of?

Cruelty just for the sake of being cruel, playing god, compulsive lies, tyranny.   

Are they affiliated with any deities?

She follows the Green Faith

What do they think of their role in the Crusades, and of sharing the Commander’s Mythic powers? What are their reasons for joining the commander’s party?

Katya says she was called by the land to purge the Blight, and then her feet led her to Drezen, and the Crusades afterwards. She joins the Commander’s party as a way to fulfill her role, and also to help the soldiers with her healing skills. About the Mythic powers, she believes that they came for a good reason, and like Lann, Ekaterina supposes they also came with a price. But while they are useful, she has no objections about it (since they are not evil-aligned; otherwise she would oppose since the beginning).

Who are their friends among the other party members?

She has a soft spot for Ember, and becomes friends with Woljif, Seelah, Lann and Arueshalae through the time.

What about rivals?

She is suspicious towards Camellia’s intentions, greatly disapproves Wenduag’s methods, and thinks Daeran is just a prick rich boy — what is not a lie though. About Greybor and Regill, she tries to be neutral, but doesn’t lose the opportunity to defend her ideals when provoked. 

Are they on any councils? If so, what sort of advice do they give?

She attends to the Diplomatic and Logistic Councils, mainly advising the Commander to take care of the locals and try to preserve the ancient sites around the Wound, sending druids or other arcana experts to study these places and learn something from them.

Where do they hang out in Drezen? In the Abyss?

In Drezen, she’s next to the Abandoned House. After the greenhouse is grounded, next to the Citadel she will be there too. In the Abyss, she is next to Ember.

What are their idle animations?

Checking her belt and potions; musing something with a hand on her chin; crouching and waiting for any movement. 

If they’re taken to Areelu’s lab, what is their dream?

She is an archdruid at a Circle somewhere in Mendev. Ekaterina is attending a council and there are some Crusades’ members among the crowd. Next to her, there is a girl with short red hair (if Lann is trying to flirt with her, the girl will have little horns too).

After that, if the Commander asks what that means, she will just shrug and say, ‘It’s not a secret at all, Commander. I mean, half of Kenabres knew or supposed that I wanted a place where I could really call home. And not home just for me, but… for people like me. Or us. Kindred folk, you see?’

Do they advise the commander to abandon or keep their mythic powers?

She isn’t against any good-aligned mythic powers, but when it’s about Chaotic ones, Ekaterina has mixed opinions: she believes that Trickster and Azata disturb the universe balance, despite the good intentions of the latter, for example. But still there is a chance for her to stay (doing her personal quests help it). Except for Evil paths; she will leave as soon as the KC states they won’t renounce it.

How/when do they join the Commander’s party?

At the Second Act. But you meet her at Defender’s Heart. When the KC wakes up, she is in the room taking care of them. Irabeth comes along and introduces her before asking Katya to leave them alone. After that, you can find her outside, aiding the injured survivors. She isn’t available to join the party yet, but if you ask her to come with you, she says that she will think about it (and becomes a companion when the Crusades are officially announced).

[gremoria411]

Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Urdr Hunt Masterpost - Part 1

Alright, I’ve finally finished watching Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Urdr Hunt, however when putting together this post I didn’t quite realise the scale of it until I was almost finished. As such I’ll be splitting it into three (ish) main posts - This one will be discussing the Ending, a little bit on Londo Bron, and the Zagan. The second post will be my thoughts on Cyclase Mayer and Gjallarhorn, and the last post will be my thoughts on Wistario and the rest of the cast. I’m also planning to do both a post on the series mechanics (in which I’ll talk about the mobile suits and mobile armours) and a character piece on Londo Bron at some point in the future. It just felt a little too long to be just one post, even for me.

Overall, I enjoyed Gundam Urdr Hunt. That said I’m glad I waited to watch it until now, because I think if I’d watched it without the promise of the movie on the horizon, I would have found the ending disappointing. But we’ll get to that. I’m largely going to be referring to my prior post, but I’ll be covering a lot of the same points. Though some of these I noted down as I was watching, so it might be a little more disjointed than usual.

We’ll get to the ending Immediately, as it happens. As I said, I found it overall a good show. The ending, well, it isn’t really an ending. It’s sort of a “the adventure continues”. Katya is recovered and Wistario goes around and thanks all the other Urdr Hunt Participants (except Cyclase) then returns to Radonitsa Colony on Venus. It feels more like the culmination of an Arc than a conclusion to the series, which I guess it is. But Gundam’s never been a series that has arcs so it’s a little odd. All that said, this is where i feel Urdr Hunt’s nature as a video game works against it, since most of the story prior to this has been “gathering the party”, with the Mobile Armour (Nerimiah) functioning as the final boss. I think the movie’s a way to give it a proper conclusion that isn’t tied down to the needs of a videogame.

But the battle at Ratatoskr I do have one criticism of - Wistario races to reach the shuttle, but it’s struck by lightning and explodes. Agonising moments pass, as Wistario thinks he’s failed, then Katya appears from the explosion. Putting aside the fact that we knew damn well she was gonna survive, fuck those Gjallarhorn Pilots, am I right? Also, she survives an explosion in just a normal suit? No shrapnel or explosive force? It feels more annoying because she could have just been in a casket or escape pod or something, but no, magic explosion. I don’t know, it just seems odd, like there’s so many other ways that it could’ve gone that would’ve made more sense.

I like how we get that view into Gjallarhorn with Mcgillis, Okina Uroka and Isurugi. It’s nice to see an internal view on how that all went down (even though I’m sure Uroka is seething on the inside). It’s also very interesting how Uroka just straight up doesn’t answer Mcgillis’ direct question. Way to tip off you have something to hide, my guy.

In brief, the ending’s just alright, there’s stuff I liked (Gjallarhorn), stuff I didn’t (Magic Explosion) and stuff I’m middling on (Nerimiah). I’m glad that there’s a movie coming so it can have a proper conclusion.

However, I do have plenty of other things to say, so let’s get to those;

Londo Bron is an idiot and I love him

I’ll be doing a proper post on him at some point later, but I’m so very happy for his inclusion in the series. He’s basically one of Carta’s former subordinates, her ex-“knight” if you will and I absolutely love the character dynamic this brings to the table. If I didn’t already love the Zagan, he would have definitely made me look at it fondly.

Speaking of, the Gundam Zagan. I’ve already talked about it just from a design perspective prior, but it’s an absolute juggernaut in this. It carves through three Grazes with ease, and is the only enemy in the series to seriously give Wistario a run for his money. It does all this, with a pilot without Alaya-Vijinana. I don’t doubt that other skilled pilots like Londo Brom exist in post disaster, but the Issues certainly weren’t head of the Seven Stars for nothing. It would have been sufficient as a final boss in my mind, but I really can’t find flaw with it. (I might do a proper post on the series mechanics too)

It’s possible that it’s stored in Ratatoskr as a last resort if Nerimiah was to escape. I’m genuinely unsure as to why anyone would willingly preserve a mobile armour, especially (presumably) Arzona Issue, but at least Zagan’s inclusion as part of the prison shows some foresight.

I really hope it’s able to be salvaged though, mostly because if it appears in something else, we might get a HG kit of it. (Also it bothers me a little that Londo Bron essentially wrecked a relic of the Calamity War in its first sortie in 300 years against Wistario. Kinda feels like I’m watching someone use an antique vase to bludgeon a child to death).

[artificialqueens]

Part of Your World, Ch. 4 (Raja x Adore) for Dartmouth420 - Grinder

AN: Apologies for uploading this so late! I haven’t forgotten about it. And, this chapter has smut, thank god (although it was written by me and, like, I’m not amazing at this kind of stuff but I hope yall like it anyway.)

Fishing went exactly how Raja expected — judgement…judgement from Bianca.

“So you want to turn her into a human,” the witch had said, tossing a spear into the waters before her.

Raja didn’t want this — a discussion. She hadn’t been to the beach in so long. This could have been time to soak it all in. But Bianca just couldn’t help but…well, be Bianca.

“I mean, yes, I want to turn her human. But I won’t be the one carrying the spell out,” Raja tossed her speer too. “Raven will do the dirty work. Thank’s for the information.”

Bianca chose to ignore the remark and refrained from calling Raja out on the fact that she gave that information against her will. Instead, she only said, “You’re kinda obsessed with your mermaid.”

The dark witch spared Bianca a glance, the two going to fetch their weapons again. “I’m not obsessed. I’m in love.” She pulled the spear from the water, finding nothing on the bottom. “We’re tethered, Bianca.”

“I know - I know.”

And Raja glanced at her again. “You sound…disappointed.”

Bianca didn’t answer immediately, searching her brain for a spell that would make the fishing less taxing. But with shit on her mind, she couldn’t think. “I just…I wish there was another way.”

Raja whirled around to look at her best friend, her dress treading the water. “Another way?”

Bianca held her hands up in defence, signalling she would say no more. Raja wanted to press her for a real response, but at the same time, she knew deep down this conversation was already exhausting.

Nothing else Adore-related was said until they returned to the camp two hours later, having managed to catch five fish.

That’s when they saw the whole camp of witches gathered around Raja’s hut.

“The fuck?” The dark witch said, dropping her bag of fish to the ground and rushing towards her home. Her heart was pounding now. Did something happen to Adore while they were gone?

“Move, bitches!” Bianca yelled as both witches shoved past the crowd.

“Sorry, Raja,” Farrah said, allowing the two to pass through.

Once inside, they could see how they all gathered around the now filled tub, Adore leisuring to her heart’s content, fins flapping slightly, signalling her delight. The last time Raja had seen the mermaid, she was deep in sleep, hydrating her body.

Now everyone was gathered around, babbling to her about all sorts of things.

“I got another one,” the enigmatic Katya was sitting on the ground beside the tub, Adore’s attention solely on her, “What do you call two witches who live together? Broom-mates!”

Not one laugh was given.

Adore just stared blankly.

“Oh, come on. That’s a classic! It’s stupid as fuck!” Katya pled with everyone around her.

“Sorry, sweety. Just give up and accept defeat,” Trixie rubbed the jokester’s shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Raja rushed to the tub, Adore reaching for her hand to kiss it.

“We just…heard singing…” Courtney explained, “Coming from here. We think she drew us in.”

Adore smiled sheepishly. “I honestly did not know we could do that.”

“An incredible ability to hold,” Sasha said in admiration.

“Okay, I don’t want to sound rude, but can you all get out?” Raja’s eyes glared at the crowd.

They whined in frustration, but when Bianca barked at them, the witches began to file out.

Now only Adore, Raja, Bianca and Courtney remained. The pregnant witch approached the tub before going to leave herself. “Do you want to come mingle with me later?”

There was a hint of something on her face, almost like excitement.

“Yes. I would love that, Courtney,” Adore shared the light witch’s expression.

“Great.” Courtney then took Bianca’s hand, leading her out of Raja’s hut, “Come on you. We have shit to discuss.”

Once they were gone, Raja sat on the ground where Katya had before, her hand still in Adore’s. “So, you can sing, I’m guessing.”

The mermaid blushed. “I always thought I sounded good. But…never that good,” she glanced at the door where all the witches had disappeared. “Do you want to hear a song?”

Raja never shook her head so fast. “As much as I would love that, it’s probably not a good idea.”

Adore’s face dropped, and Raja felt like a dick. 

“Look, I promise, I’d love to hear you sing, but it’s not safe,” the witch said quietly, “there's…” she gulped, “We’re not alone in this forest, Adore. Of course, there’s the warlock camp, it’s not far at all, and they’re all lovely. But… we’re not the only witches.”

“You have other sisters?” Adore’s eyes squinted.

“Oh, Adore. They are not my sisters.” Raja’s thumb stroked the back of the mermaid’s hand, “They're…Well, let’s just say they aren’t very nice. We’ve feuded with them in the past many a time. You know, sometimes even going to war. It’s been going on for centuries. Even the witches who came before me had to deal with them.”

“That’s awful,” Adore practically whispered. “I don’t understand. You’re all witches, all the same, so why the feud? I mean, back home, all merpeople… we’re one and the same, and all we share is love.”

God, this woman was too pure… Raja’s heart was melting again. She brought Adore’s damp knuckle to her lips, kissing each one sweetly. “I wish that’s how things were for us." 

"Maybe someday,” Adore shrugged.

Raja’s smile turned sad. “I wouldn’t count on it.”

The mermaid lowered her face, “I’m sorry for singing.”

“Oh, Adore. Don’t feel bad.” Raja lifted the mermaid’s chin, “you didn’t know. Fuck, I should have told you before.”

And Adore laughed through her nose, “I probably wouldn’t have understood a word.”

“Oh. Well, true,” Raja giggled.

-_-_-_-

Courtney didn’t explain what she was doing, let alone why she was doing this.

But Adore just let her put whatever this weird stuff was on her face. 

At first, it felt weird, and that weirdness made the mermaid uneasy. But the way Courtney delicately smeared crushed beetroot over Adore’s lips made her feel safe.

“This stuff will stain your lips; give them a nice bit of colour.” Courtney finished painting Adores lips before wiping the beetroot mush from her finger on a cloth.

Adore nodded in understanding. “So, this is what land girls use to…as you say, make themselves look pretty?”

“Yes. I mean, in the towns and cities, ladies wear real makeup. But being out here, all we have is the nature around us. So we make do with what we got.” Courtney explained as she began crushing up rose petals. “Honestly, though, I prefer the natural way. Better for the skin, and even more so for our powers.”

“I don’t think you need makeup.” Adore shrugged.

“Aw, thank you, Adore. Keep talking, please.”

“I don’t think you need makeup. I think you’re beautiful, and Bianca is very lucky to - -”

Courtney raised a hand to silence the babbling mermaid. “Don’t worry, it’s just an expression.”

“Oh. Gosh, human language confuses me.”

“This isn’t ‘human language’ you’re speaking. It’s wican.” Courtney explained, taking a brush and dabbing it into the rose petals, crushed up so much they were now dust.

Adore let Courtney dab the pink powder on her cheeks, and her eyes were stuck on the small bump.

“You know what’s in there, right?” Courtney asked, knowing full well Adore was staring.

“A baby?” Adore answered.

“Yep.” Courtney swept a hand across her belly. “I’m only four months in, so they’re not that big yet.”

The mermaid let out a laugh through a breath before confusion took over. “So, it’s possible for…for two women to make a baby on the land.”

“Oh, no. That’s not what Bianca and I did.” Courtney laughed even more. “We have a mating season with the warlocks, kind of like a pact that’s been going on since before I was even born. They’re nice boys over in that camp.”

“They sound nice.”

“Yeah. I think I chose the right man too. He seemed nice. I’d like to think that if the baby was a boy, and he’d be taken over there, he’d have a great father.” Courtney’s eyes drifted off, fantasising about this future to come.

“And, what if it is a boy?” Adore asked.

Courtney looked back at her, “Honestly, I don’t even think I give a shit about gender. Boy, girl, anything… I’m keeping my baby. And I’ll love them no matter who they are.”

A warm smile found its way to Adore’s face, her green eyes trailing back down to Courtney’s bump.

“Do you want to touch it?” Courtney already took the nodding mermaid’s hand. 

Placing it on Courtney’s belly, Adore felt it, the tiny heart inside beating.

“I mean, there’s not much going on in there right now, but….” Courtney said.

Adore placed an ear up to the bump. “Wow.”

“What? What is it?” The light witch said with intrigue.

And Adore peered up at Courtney again. “I can hear her heartbeat.”

Courtney’s eyes widened. “Her?”

The mermaid nodded.

“Adore, you are fucking incredible.”

-_-_-_-

“Bianca, what is the meaning of this?!” Raja shouted as her best friend shoved her out of her own home.

“You’ll fucking see! Fuck, patience is a virtue, you know,” Bianca shoved the witch again.

“Alright! I’m fucking moving, God!”

For the last two hours, Bianca had been a pest — insisting Raja skip dinner, weaving silk through the dark witch’s hair, forcing her into a beautiful yet uncomfortable dress. And for every question Raja hurled at her, her friend refused to answer.

And now, here Bianca was, pushing her around, literally.

Almost every witch was outside now, jumping around with excitement and yelling out into the night sky. Even Willam was out — odd for the daylight witch. As soon as she lowered the sun and Blair raised the moon, Willam would be long gone, hitting the hay before anyone could beg for her attention. Yet, there she was, whooping with joy, Alaska carrying her on her back.

“What the fuck is going on?!” Raja exclaimed.

Bianca groaned, taking her friend by the hand and dragging her to their destination instead, “We’re all going over to the warlock camp for a good old time.”

“We’re going to get some dick!” Willam cheered.

“B-But,” Raja couldn’t keep up with this shit anymore, “the mating season is over.”

“Oh, fuck the rules, Raj’,” Katya brushed past, hand in hand with Trixie. “We made them so we can fucking break them whenever we want.” And she carried on with her partner.

“Bianca, what about Adore?” Raja questioned. “I know the men are nice, but…I don’t think it’s safe for her to be out there.”

“And that’s why you’re both going to be staying here,” Bianca glanced over her shoulder with a teasing smile.

Finally reaching the end of the camp, the witches rounded the last hut there.

“B’, I swear to God, whatever you bitches have going on here, I’ll - -”

“Shut up already!” Bianca then gestured to what was in front of them, “Look! We did this for you two.”

In the middle of the green was a small table fit for two, a red candle burning in the middle. A bottle of red wine stood next to the candle, most likely made by one of the witches. And then there were the two plates, the fish Raja and Bianca had caught earlier in the day cooked to perfection.

“You did this,” Raja said, the words sounding more like a question.

“Well, it was Courtney’s idea. She roped me into it.” Bianca put a hand on Raja’s shoulder and the other on her hip. God, she was proud of herself. “Just thought it would be nice for you to have alone time with your mermaid.”

“Okay, you can stop calling her my mermaid. One — she has a name. Two — Adore is her own person. And three — Bianca, Adore and I do have alone time.”

“Yes, but now, you’ll both be even more alone.”

“God, you really are childish,” Raja swept a hand through her hair.

“Oh, wow. You know, that’s a lovely thank you for the fish we cooked and all the work we put into making this shit,” Bianca held a hand out to the display. “Fuck, Nina made that table from scratch!”

Raja looked at said table and back to Bianca, “Bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit.”

“Come on. That’s probably just a fucking spare table.”

Bianca tsked. “Well, believe whatever you want.”

“What are you two bickering about now?” Courtney’s fed-up voice sounded as she stepped up to the two.

“Nothing amazing,” Bianca rolled her eyes. “Where’s Adore?”

“Oh, she’s just coming now,” the light witch glanced over her shoulder before turning her attention to Raja, “So, do you like it?”

Raja peered at the set table again, “Yes. I love it, Courtney.”

Bianca’s eyes widened. “What the fuck? What did I do to you to make you not nice to me tonight?”

Raja chuckled. “Nothing. Maybe I just like pissing you off,” she playfully shoved Bianca on the shoulder.

“Oh, I know you do. So, what about you, Court’? Ready to go over to the warlock camp?” Bianca swung an arm around her tethered.

“Can’t lie; I’m excited to meet the baby’s father again.” Courtney kissed Bianca softly. 

“Who knows? Maybe I could meet a man, give the kid a sibling,” Bianca teased.

“Oh, come on, honey. We can’t be thinking about that so soon.”

“I know. I’m just joking.” Bianca kissed Courtney’s head.

Raja wasn’t paying much attention to the two anymore. 

For Adore just rounded the corner of the end hut, and the dark witch couldn’t take her eyes away.

The mermaid’s hair was now separated into two messy braids that lay on her shoulders, a crown of dark red roses dawning her head. Her lips may have been a deep blood colour, but her eyes stood out the most, shades of red and orange surrounding those green orbs, making them pop.

The dress came to her ankles, with burgundy lace and black roses lined along the waistline. The sleeves came to her elbows, hanging down to her knees in drapey lace.

She looked…just like a witch.

And, fuck…she was so so beautiful.

“Hello,” Adore waved nervously, approaching Raja.

Courtney and Bianca were also now watching, the light witch smiling proudly. 

“Um…hi,” Raja’s nerves kicked in. “Y-You look beautiful.”

Adore cocked her head, “Even without makeup?”

“What? Of course.” Raja took the mermaid in her arms, “No matter what you look like. Just, right now…you look…fuck, like a goddess.”

The red on Adore’s cheeks intensified. But she didn’t hide it. She took Raja’s face in her hands, pulling her into a heated kiss.

Bianca glanced at Courtney, her eyes telling them they should leave.

“Alright,” Courtney clapped her hands together once, “I guess that’s our cue.”

“Absolutely,” Bianca nodded, taking her tethered partner’s hand and aiming for the forest where the other witches were headed.

When they were alone, Raja pulled out of the kiss, “They made us food.”

Adore only now sniffed the air, her eyes moving towards the table. “Oh, pretty.”

“I know, right?” Raja led Adore towards the table. “And it’s fish. So I think you’ll like it.”

“Ugh, it smells so angelic,” was the only word Adore could think to describe it. She took her seat, ready to dig into the meal. Never had she had fish like this. 

“You know, what’s interesting is that being a witch, we usually give a blessing before we eat, but that tradition only comes into play when there’s a Mother Witch present. But, we haven’t had one in so long,” Raja already picked up her knife and fork, carving into the cooked fish. “Fun fact, it’s supposed to be me, but I - -” She paused, watching Adore pick the fish up with her hands, biting into the tender meat. “D-Doesn’t that… Isn’t it hot?”

Adore shook her head, her smile wide.

“You amaze me,” Raja lifted the bottle of wine, pouring the deep red liquid into both glasses.

“You witches amaze me,” Adore said with wide eyes and a full mouth. Swallowing, she continued, “Do you know, earlier, I saw Jinkx. She was outside her house, and she was breathing fire.”

The dark witch raised a brow, sealing the bottle and putting it back. “Oh really?”

“Yes. She was…” Adore paused, returning the fish to the plate as if trying to make sense of her thoughts, “She was sucking on this little stick, and just…smoke…smoke came from her mouth. Is she a dragon?”

That was enough to make Raja chuckle. Ah yes, Jinkx with her cigarettes. She was the only witch on sight who could grow tobacco plants, and the others adored her for it.

“Oh, I see what you’re talking about. Yeah, it’s pretty cool.” The dark witch took a sip of the wine, and Adore did the same, “I love how amazed our world is to you, yet so…normal to me.”

The mermaid grimaced, coughing some as she put the glass down. “W-What is that?!”

“It’s wine.” Raja suppressed a giggle. “It comes from the grapes.”

“Grapes?”

“Yes.”

And Adore took another sip, swallowing with ease now. “I-I think I’ll adjust to it.”

“Don’t drink too much. I’m guessing this is the first alcohol you’ve ever tried.”

“Oh? And what’s alcohol?”

“Alcohol is amazing. But too much, you’ll start to feel… light-headed, I guess? Maybe lose control of your own actions.” Raja explained. “Between you and me, one time Bianca drank too much wine and thought her shadow was a demon latched onto her soul. It was a wild night.”

“…Alright, but that just makes me want to drink as much as I can,” Adore admitted, her eyes wide with intrigue.

“Well, good thing we have just this one bottle,” Raja held it up as if the mermaid couldn’t already see it.

“I love this place,” Adore let her eyes wander around the camp. “It feels like… every day I’m learning something new that just…blows my mind.”

And the dark witch felt all sorts of excitement brewing from within. If only the mermaid knew she could have the chance to stay here for the rest of her life. As much as Raja hated Raven, she hoped the bitch would come through with her promise. The thought of Adore not being here…it was enough to make her heart ache.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Adore.” Raja reached a hand across the table, taking Adore’s. 

They both seemed to forget about the fish now, preferring to sit and talk for a while.

“You know that day in the cave?” Raja asked.

“The day we met?” Adore smiled fondly.

“Of course. Do you go there often? I mean…what are the chances of us meeting that day?” The dark witch stroked her thumb over the back of Adore’s hand.

The mermaid looked at Raja’s hand, her stomach stirring, just feeling that spark between them both. “I usually go there, just for alone time. My realm isn’t too far away, and sometimes I need a break from everyone else. I have a lot of suitors looking for my hand in marriage, you know?” She teased with a raised brow and coy smile. “I have to meet with at least five a day. It’s exhausting.”

“Five?” Raja exclaimed. “God, I think the King does that with his daughter,” and with that thought, “Wait, are you a princess? Like…soon to be the queen of the ocean?”

And the mermaid laughed, pressing her hand to her sealed lips as she took another bit of wine. “Do I look like royalty to you?”

“Uh…yes.”

“I love you. But no. I am not a princess. Although my father is a noble merman. He works as one of the King’s many advisors.” Adore explained. “So, I’m kind of a big deal.”

“You and me both,” Raja said. 

“So yes, I just like to be alone for a while. Just to…sing and swim around and make new friends with the clown fish,” Adore reminisced. “And that day, I just…saw you looking down at me. And I had never ever met a human before. I heard tales that they were dangerous creatures. But, just looking at you…I thought…how is that even possible?”

Raja lowered her now red-stained cheeks. “Well, I am kind of dangerous, being a dark witch and all. But, I only ever hurt those who hurt my family or me.”

“As I would do the same for mine." 

At the mention of Adore’s family, Raja gulped, lifting her wine and taking another sip. Best to change the subject. "I’m sorry I made you cry that day.”

“It's…ugh, it’s fine. I’m sorry. Sometimes I can’t control my emotions.” Adore looked away as if pained by the memory. “I just…you know, meeting with all those other merpeople coming to ask for my hand in marriage, when I met you, and when I kissed you…I just felt it. We were supposed to be together.” She looked back at Raja.

The dark witch let out a wavered breath. “Oh, Adore. We’re tethered, that’s why. It’s strange. I thought that was just a witch thing. I mean, I’ve never heard of any other species tethering.” Then she shrugged, “Then again, I don’t meet a lot of other people.” She laughed pitifully, gesturing to the world around her.

“Funny thing is, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of tethering before.” Adore pointed out. 

“Well, maybe…maybe you have a bit of witch in you. Probably explains why you can grow legs when you’re dry.” Raja suggested.

“Nah, mermaids can do that anyway.”

“Oh. I see." Damn.

"Gosh, I’m stuffed.” Adore declared, having barely touched her food.

Raja was just the same, “Oh, me too. Come on.”

Sitting before the lit fire in the centre of camp, the two sipped their wine, talking some more.

“I meant it, by the way, when I said you’re beautiful every day,” Raja stated, holding Adore close.

“I know.” Adore smirked, “I can’t lie, though. I think I look beautiful times ten now,” the mermaid stared into the flames. “I’m pretty like Courtney now.”

“Well, between you and me, you’re prettier than Courtney.” Raja kissed Adore on the cheek.

“Oh, come on.” The mermaid moved out of Raja’s grasp, sitting in front of her now. “Courtney’s one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen. Besides you, of course. At first, I thought she was another mermaid. One I’d never met before.”

“Well, I can assure you Courtney is a full-blood witch. I remember the day she was born. Bianca and I were only five.” And the dark witch looked at the flames next, remembering that day. “It was so cute. Bianca just…reached out her tiny hand and held Courtney’s.” God, her heart was melting, “Bianca’s mother, Valentina, she just…she knew. She knew by Bianca’s face and how Courtney woke up that they would be together.”

Adore sighed, almost dreamily. “I love hearing you talk about this stuff. Even when I couldn’t understand you.”

Raja giggled. “I just…I don’t know. If it weren’t for those two, I wouldn’t believe in tethering.” She shrugged, “I’m more inclined to believe not all tethered relationships work out. Fun fact; Bianca and I were a thing for a long time.”

Adore nodded. “A…thing?”

“Yeah, like… we’d see each other, you know? We’d kiss, hold each other…fuck sometimes. I don’t know, I just thought maybe she was the one I wanted to be with,” Raja tried her hardest to explain. “But, we both realised that we were better as friends.”

The whole time Adore was suppressing her laughs. But eventually, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “You and Bianca?!”

“Yes. Why?” Raja squinted her eyes.

“It’s just…I don’t see it, but I can see it at the same time. Yesterday, Katya was saying you two were like…like…God, what was that phrase?” The mermaid tried her hardest to remember.

“Chalk and cheese?”

“Yes! Chalk and cheese! I may not know what that means exactly, but I have an idea.”

“Well, judging by what you’re saying, you’re probably right. Bianca’s my bestfriend. And Courtney is lucky to have her as her tethered one.” Raja stated. “They just…reassure me that there’s someone for everyone.”

Adore’s smile turned warm. “And what about us? Does our connection make you believe in tethering?” The mermaid was leaning close to the witch now.

And Raja reciprocated. “Oh, absolutely.”

Their foreheads connect, Adore lifting a hand and stroking Raja’s cheek.

The witch couldn’t tell if it was the warmth from the fire or the heat pooling in her stomach, but her body was warm now. All sorts of feelings stirred within, and she dared herself to say, “Adore…Do you ever think we could - -”

Marry. That’s what Raja wanted to say. Just to get it out of the way. The hardest part of it all.

But she stopped when Adore flinched, hearing the howling from the forest. “What was that?”

“Oh, God,” Raja groaned. Fuck these bitches for ruining the moment, “Don’t worry. It’s just the warlocks. I guess they decided to move the party over here.”

And true to her statement, the men began to pour out of the trees, invading the witch camp. A specific group of them howled at the moon, witches running behind them, thirsty for skin on skin. Another group worked their magic, sending blasts off into the sky, loud explosions painting the night with bright colours.

At first, Adore flinched again, but…this was pretty. Nothing like she had ever seen before. “What is it?”

“I can’t remember the exact name. I think the boys call them fireworks,” Raja also stared up at the exploding colours. “It’s incredible, right?”

The mermaid didn’t have the words to describe it. The loud banging was harsh on her ears, but the…fuck, just taking it all in, it was breathtaking.

“Guess who’s getting dicked down tonight?!” Willam hollered, riding the back of one of the men, rushing to the witch’s hut.

“Me! I am! Me!” Laila was just excited, leading her man for the night away.

They weren’t the only ones. While some witches and warlocks danced around the flames of the fire as they played music with what instruments they had, the others rushed to their homes, ready for a long night of fucking.

“Everyone’s so excited,” the mermaid observed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yep. Most of these witches rarely get the chance to meet up with a man,” Raja explained, “mating season is once a year.”

“But tonight,” Adore turned her attention back to her love, “fuck the rules?”

“Fuck the rules,” Raja clarified, drawing Adore into another kiss.

Maybe it was the mixed feelings of love and lust in the air, but Raja was thriving on it all. This was how she wanted it to be forever — just sitting here with Adore, kissing passionately in front of this fire, not a care in the world.

The mermaid’s hand crept along Raja’s leg, making the butterflies in the witch’s belly go wild.

“BOO!”

Adore yelped as soon as her lips parted from Raja’s.

A warlock ran off, cackling wickedly as he rushed for Tatianna, holding her arms open, hungry for a kiss.

“Hey, fuck off!” Raja yelled after the stupid warlock. But when the mermaid’s fear turned to amusement, giggles leaving her lips, the witch relaxed.

“Come on!” Adore stood, taking Raja by the wrist and leading her away.

They were running now, Raja having no idea where she was being led to. As long as it was with Adore, she didn’t care.

Reaching Raja’s hut, they both stood in the doorway, Adore giggling as she leaned back against the bookcase. Raja also laughed, standing opposite Adore.

They just stood there for a moment, eyes shifting between the shenanigans going on outside and then back to each other, just laughing. Why was this amusing?

Maybe just the sheer joy of being here together.

When Adore’s chest stopped heaving, she stepped forward, kissing Raja again.

So many times they had done this already…So many times they kissed.

Yet Raja knew where this was going. 

Fiery flames engulfed her insides, coursing through her body as she allowed Adore to pull her closer. The witch’s hands found their way around the mermaid’s waist, her fingers trailing the line of roses.

Adore pulled away briefly, “Don’t let go of me,” she whispered in Raja’s ear.

“I won’t, Raja smiled, tilting her head and allowing the mermaid to nip at her neck. "Why would I do such a thing?”

No response from the mermaid as she kissed Raja’s mouth again, her body curving against the witch’s. She lured her back, Raja didn’t know where, but she trusted Adore. She trusted Adore with her life.

They found the bed, and Adore pulled away, guiding Raja down. She then climbed the length of the witch, like she had done this many times.

But was this actually happening? Did Adore even know how this worked?

“Adore, do you….” But Raja couldn’t bring herself to finish the statement as the mermaid sucked on her neck some more.

“Hm?” Adore sounded against the witch’s skin.

Her lips were so hot, sucking Raja’s soon-to-be bruised skin. The witch gasped, her hand finding the back of Adore’s head. “Nevermind.”

Adore had to know what she was doing now that her fingers were undoing the black ribbon that bound Raja’s corset. Not like they hadn’t seen each other naked before, but…

This was different. They both knew that. 

And they wanted it.

When the lace was gone, the corset was pulled away from her. Raja sat up, quickly pulling her dress up over her head. Adore giggled, Raja unable to tell if it was because of nerves or excitement.

As soon as the dress was tossed to the side, Adore took it all in – the sight of her tethered partner, like it was the first time seeing her like this again. “I can't…I can’t believe this is real,” Adore’s delicate fingers trailed from Raja’s chest all the way down to her thigh.

“My body?” Raja chuckled, skin tingling as Adore touched her.

The mermaid smiled coyly before correcting her lover, “The fact that we’re together.” She traced the side of Raja’s face.

And the witch sat up again, a hand stroking Adore’s side, the other caressing her cheek.

Adore reached around, untying the threads of her own corset, dropping it from the side of the bed while Raja reached for the bottom of the expertly made dress, lifting it up and over the mermaid’s head. 

As soon as it was removed, Adore didn’t allow Raja to look at her just yet, capturing her lover’s lips with her own again.

The hot sensation of skin on skin, the mixture of their energies tingling between them…This was to be the perfect moment.

Raja grabbed Adore’s hips, momentarily stroking her skin as she lowered the mermaid onto the bed. Pulling out of the kiss, Raja let her thumb trail Adore’s cheek and then her lips. She stared into Adore’s green eyes, the mermaid staring right back.

Fuck, how it made her stomach twist…but in a longing way…almost as if insecurity was taking over but only connected them further. 

They hadn’t even barely started yet. But it was already so intense.

“You’re driving me insane.” Raja kissed her sweetly before moving these kisses down towards Adore’s breasts.

Adore whimpered sighs, music to Raja’s ears. The rise and fall of the mermaid’s chest was a heavenly sight, riling Raja up even more. She teased Adore’s right nipple with her tongue, the right with her thumb. 

Adore arched her back, gasping when Raja’s mouth enveloped her nipple, her thumb flicking the other back and forth. The mermaid squeezed her knees together, mewling with pleasure.

Raja could have done just this all night, anything to hear Adore gasp the way she did, anything to prove her love for Adore. But when she teased her breasts enough, Raja kissed Adore’s nipple again, her lashes fluttering as she looked up at the mermaid. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too, Raja,” Adore smiled slightly, letting her fingers get tangled in Raja’s hair. God, she wanted more. She had never experienced something so…special…this need to be pressed against each other…the need for Raja to kiss her places she had never been kissed before.

Raja’s hands were wandering again, stroking Adore’s thighs, along her stomach and back up to her breasts. She savoured this all – the heat of Adore’s skin against hers. She knew the mermaid was ready for her…to take this further.

“Do you want to keep going?” Raja asked, just to be sure.

“Yes,” Adore said breathlessly. “God, yes.”

Fire coursed through Raja as her kisses lowered. “Is this your first time?” She whispered against Adore’s stomach.

The mermaid closed her eyes. She may not have known fully what that meant, but she knew she wanted this – Raja’s lips all over her body. “Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll go easy on you,” Raja kissed Adore’s belly button before trailing her lips further down her body.

Even though the mermaid didn’t necessarily want easy, her stomach quivered as she allowed Raja to part her legs. Something inside her fluttered as the cool air hit her between her legs. This was so unfamiliar but so so delicious.

Raja kissed Adore’s knee, then the inside of her thigh. She glanced up once more at the riled-up mermaid before her tongue flicked over Adore’s clit.

Adore moaned, eyes rolling to the back of her head as she arched her back again. She was crumbling just under Raja’s mouth. This was…something.

Raja’s tongue circled Adore’s clit while her eyes flickered upwards, enjoying the reactions from the mermaid. 

“Fuck…fuck,” Adore writhed, tightening her hold on Raja’s hair. Her legs spread wider, her left knee brought up into a bend which Raja caressed. 

“You’re beautiful, Adore. You’re so beautiful.” Raja sucked Adore’s clit.

“It’s s-so hot,” Adore murmured, her torso arching as hew mewls of pleasure turned pathetic.

Raja knew Adore was close, the witch’s tongue lapping up her lover’s wetness whilst her finger rubbed against the sensitive clit. “Come for me, baby.”

Her chest still heaving, nails gripping the blanket, Adore glanced down at Raja. Her eyes were wild yet slightly confused.

Placing a sweet kiss against Adore’s core, Raja murmured, “That hot feeling inside,” she rubbed harder at the mermaid’s clit, “Just let it go, Adore.”

“I…I want to….” Adore quivered. “Oh God, I need to.”

“Come for me, Adore. Please,” Raja whispered, her hot breath teasing.

And Adore just couldn’t take it anymore. A lightning-hot course of electricity shocked her whole being, her head rolling back against the pillows as she cried out in pure ecstasy.

Raja sat up again, licking the fluids from her fingers as she watched Adore whine.

“F-Fuck,” Adore’s skin glistened with sweat, her eyes half hooded.

The definition of perfection.

Raja wiped her mouth, sweeping her black hair out of her face as she leaned down to kiss her lover. 

Adore wrapped her trembling arms around Raja, her kisses hungry.

They weren’t done. Now, it was Adore’s turn.

She kept her lips over Raja’s as she flipped the witch onto her back, still panting.

“Did you…” Raja gasped when Adore kissed her neck again, “Did you like that?”

“Of course,” Adore smiled against Raja’s skin, letting her hand slowly creep its way down Raja’s chest, past her flat belly, all the way down to between the witch’s legs.

Raja parted her knees, only now realising there was more to come. She was never the one on the receiving end. But she couldn’t resist Adore’s touch. She moaned as soon as the mermaid delicately brushed the tip of her finger over her clit. Just the simplest touch…it was torture.

“Adore, fuck…” Raja’s fingers tangled in Adore’s hair.

Adore brushed Raja’s clit again, teasing her with no mercy. “You want more?” She brushed her lips against Raja’s ear.

“Please.” Raja squeezed her eyes shut, already soaking wet.

“How much?” Adore giggled mischievously, nipping Raja’s earlobe with her teeth as she pressed harder on Raja’s clit and rubbed it in hypnotic circles. “How much do you want this?”

“God, so much. Please, just…fuck.”

“Are you begging?”

“Y-Yes.”

“I don’t think you are, Raja.”

Fuck, this mermaid was driving her insane. Who knew someone so…mystified by the world…so amazed by all the things she didn’t know…so adorable…Who knew she could be so cruel in the sheets.

“Please, Adore,” Raja whined, wrapping her legs around Adore’s waist. “I want you so bad. I need you.”

This must have satisfied Adore, “Good girl,” she murmured as she slid two fingers inside Raja.

The witch gasped, tightening her hold on Adore, her vision blurring.

Adore slid her fingers in and out, sucking Raja’s neck, leaving behind a pretty red mark. The smell of Raja’s hair and skin only increased her hunger for this intensity. The ecstasy was building within her again, bringing her to rock her bare hips against the bed. The blanket rubbed against her clit, the feeling not as sensational as Raja’s tongue. But this was heaven.

“I love you,” Raja’s hips began to ride against Adore’s fingers, pressing a kiss against Adore’s blush-covered cheek.

Adore pumped harder, biting down on Raja’s neck. “You’re so…fucking…beautiful…”

Raja couldn’t take it anymore. She sat up, Adore’s fingers still deep inside of her. She continued to rock her hips against the mermaid’s hand, wrapping her sun-kissed arm around Adore’s waist.

Again, they stared into each other’s eyes, Adore’s gaze intense, whilst Raja’s was half closed. Their lips brushed against each other, almost like threatening each other with a kiss.

Adore’s free hand trailed along Raja’s arm, up her shoulder and wrapped around Raja’s throat. 

A pitiful crying sound left Raja’s parted lips as Adore squeezed the sides of her neck and continued to bury her fingers inside of her. Her body was now covered in a film of sweat, and her skin was on fire.

“Adore…Adore, fuck!” Raja gasped, her whole being completely surrendered to her lover.

“I love you. I swear to God, Raja. I fucking love you.” Adore’s forehead met Raja’s. She wanted this to last all night but knew it was impossible. For soon, she would start to dehydrate again and need to rejuvenate in the tub. But for now, she would prove how much she loved Raja.

Raja’s whines were now loud moans, matching those of which sounded from outside her home. She was getting close, especially now that Adore had added another finger and was clawing at the witch’s back.

“Come for me, Raja,” Adore whispered, just as Raja had. She ground her hips against the bed sheets more, close to releasing herself. “Come with me.”

And Raja threw her head back, her body trembling as she released against Adore’s hand.

The mermaid did just the same, her free arm now wrapped around Raja’s body as she held them both tightly together. They were both sweaty messes of pure euphoria.

Raja panted, kissing Adore’s cheek before flopping down onto the bed. Now they were done.

Adore pressed a kiss to Raja’s thigh, her stomach, her chest, and her lips before she relaxed her body against the witch’s. 

Raja was still catching her breath, playing with Adore’s blonde hair as her body relaxed.

“You made white blood,” Adore closed her eyes, fingers dancing delicately along Raja’s abdomen.

Raja chuckled. “That’s the come, Adore. That’s why we tell the person we love to come for them.”

“Oh. Humans are so bizarre sometimes.” Adore smiled.

“Yeah. We can be,” Raja looked down at Adore, trailing a finger along the mermaid’s brow. “I want to know though…what you just did to me…how did you know how to do that?”

Adore shrugged slightly. “I don’t know. I just wanted to touch you there. I just…knew I wanted to.”

“I see.” Raja nodded before a thought crossed her mind. “So, like, how do merpeople make love?” Her nails moved to Adore’s back, relishing in this moonlight that seeped in from the roof.

Adore giggled, “Maybe I’ll tell you another day. Let’s just enjoy this.” She kissed Raja’s breast. “While it lasts.”

And Raja’s smile wavered. “I wish I could just hold you all night.”

“You can always get in the tub with me,” Adore hinted. “Not like we haven’t done that before.”

“True.”

“But I’ll let you sleep in your own bed tonight. Maybe some other time,” Adore’s fingers stroked delicately along Raja’s belly now, the witch shivering. “God, they all sound in pain.”

Raja noted the sounds of pure ecstasy coming from outside, witches and warlocks fucking like it was their first time. “Yeah, it’s kind of noisy, I guess. But they’re having fun.”

“I had fun,” Adore giggled, lashes tickling Raja’s chest. “I want to do that again.”

“Oh my God, you’re hilarious.” Raja chuckled, her fingers now in Adore’s snow-like hair. “There’s nothing stopping us.”

“We can’t,” Adore groaned, however, “I’m starting to dry out again.”

“Oh.” Raja panicked internally, sitting up. “You need to go in the tub?”

“Yes. But I can do it myself,” Adore also sat up, getting off the bed.

Making her way to the still-filled tub, Raja still lay there in her bed, taking in the sight of the mermaid’s naked form. Just looking at her skin, she could still feel the softness of it under her fingertips. And it was pure heaven. 

The mermaid was pure heaven.

Before getting in the tub, Adore looked over her shoulder, “Would you come sit with me? Until I sleep, at least?”

Of course, Raja couldn’t say no. She stood by the tub, watching Adore’s legs seal together, forming her long shimmering tail. When the transformation was finished, she sat down.

And that’s when Adore asked, “Which part of me do you like the best?”

“What? Like, body part?” Raja asked.

“No. I mean, do you like me human or mermaid?” Adore raised a brow.

And Raja gulped. “I…I like you no matter what.” It wasn’t a lie. The witch adored every bit of her tethered one. But, deep down, she wanted the human version because that meant they had a future. And, fuck, she wanted that so bad.

Adore seemed satisfied with the answer, reaching her hand out of the tub.

The witch took it in her own, leaning her head against the cold tub.

“Goodnight, Raja,” Adore said breathlessly. “I love you.”

Raja’s heart pounded, cheeks staining red. “I love you too.”

And with that, the mermaid let go of Raja’s hand, letting her body slide down, the water now submerging her.

And that was it. All Raja could do now was get up and drag her tired ass to bed. 

But she simply couldn’t move. 

Just…sitting there beside the tub, knowing Adore was still in there…she couldn’t bring herself not to be away from the mermaid.

Not after what they had just shared. Part of her mind couldn’t grasp any of it, how this was even possible. Of all the other witches she had fucked in her lifetime, nothing compared to what happened with Adore. Her skin could have lit itself on fire when Adore pressed her body to hers. That tethered feeling, the electric light flowing through them both, it reached its peak the moment Adore kissed Raja’s skin. 

Fuck, it was almost as if she was high, the buzz beneath her skin making her see bursts of colour behind her closed eyes.

Yes…A feeling the witch had never experienced in her life.

A throaty moan from somewhere outside brought Raja back to reality. And when she was aware of her surroundings again, she felt it. 

Like she was being watched.

Looking around, the dark witch knew her instinct was correct. Looking towards the door, there was Raven — just standing there, her arms folded, shadows covering most of her.

“Can I help you?” Raja could tell; there was something about the way Raven looked at her, almost like…she was disappointed. But the dark witch paid no heed, finally standing up, uncaring of her nakedness.

“I thought I heard some sort of commotion.” Raven cocked her head.

Raja cringed, “Yeah, sorry we kept you awake.” She finally reached for her night dress.

“It’s fine. It wasn’t just you. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are a lot of riled-up witches out there tonight.” Raven glanced outside, the sounds of ecstasy still echoing in the night air, “And I was also awake anyway. Just thought I’d let you know I’ve finished preparations for the spell.”

Raja’s breath caught in her throat, eyes widening. “Oh. R-Really?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Good.” Raja nodded, now fidgeting with her hands.

Raven cocked her head to the other side now. “What’s wrong, Mother Witch?”

“Raven." 

"Answer the question.”

Raja scoffed, looking away. “Nothing is wrong.”

“Oh, really?” Raven’s hands were now on her hips. “How odd. I could have sworn I heard a bit of hesitation just now.”

And Raja shook her head. “No. No, I didn’t hesitate.”

“Hmm. Having second thoughts?" 

”No.“ 

To this, all Raven did was blink. And, fuck, Raja could have punched her in the throat.

"I see,” Raven nodded. She turned and slowly inched her way back to the door. Before leaving, however, she looked over her shoulder. “Well? Aren’t you coming?”

Raja’s brows knit together. “Where?”

“My place. I need a hand carrying the equipment.” Raven answered, her voice suggesting it should have been a given.

Raja then fidgeted with the knot tied around her waist. “We're… We’re doing it now?”

And Raven was silent for a moment. “Are you sure you’re not having doubts, my love?”

“Raven.” Raja’s voice raised. “No. I am not having doubts.”

“Huh. Alright.” Raven nodded a head to the cold night outside the hut. “Well, let’s go.”

[alexdentondxiw-blog]

What would you do for love? Part#2

Part #2

It has been three years since the invasion of Aldorius. Everyone who participates goes to London or Chicago to have a reunion meeting. There, they talk of the war and what the Phyrexians might be up to since the failed second invasion of Katyas homeworld. But this meeting is not like the past two they all had. Alex had a huge feast prepared as mostly everyone is here.  are the only ones that stayed to help clean up the hall after the reunion party had ended. All of them joking and laughing as they washed dishes and cleaned up after themselves. As they were finishing up they all saw Alex walking towards the back end of the hall. Hermione noticed something in Alex's hand. She pointed at it and gave this surpised look to her husband Ron. The others noticed this and they all quickly stopped what they were doing and looked at Alex to see what he had in his hand and wondered what he was up to. Alyona loudly says " Hey Alex? What ya got there?" Alex let out a little chuckle and says "Nothing for you guys to know about. Just relax, I'll be back soon." Now of course you'd think they all would have just let Alex go about with what he was going to do. But they all walked right up to him. Alex again said in a calm voice " Please, this is not your concern. Trust me. But I won't stop you. But I hope you make the right choice." Alex takes the dark orb he was holding and places it on the wall.  A portal appears! And he walks through! The other hastfully follow him through the portal. Now as they all are on the other side .they wonder where they are or even "when" they are. Alex is of course upset with them all. They did not take his advice. But where they were? it seemed ancient. There were three large statues made of marble. Two were male and the third was a female. They could not see the faces on the statues as they were carved to have a plate like metal armor on them. But they could tell if they were male or female based on their body. In the center of the statues was a large stone circle with three holes in them. Alex runs his hands across the stone. It's smooth to the touch. He then asks the others a question " Tell me, who does the Phyrexians fear the most? Who answers correctly gets $20,000 from me or some super rare spell." Hermione was jumping up and down excitedly! But she couldnt get the name out of her mouth! She could see the persons face. But her mind drew a blank. Alyona says to Alex " Come on! Who is it? How can they be afraid of anything?" Alex points to behind them. They all turn around in unison. They are shocked! They see the mysterious person themselves in the flesh... or in the Nightmare! Ashiok of the Nightmare Muse! Ashiok was a mystery to everyone. No one knew their backstory. Ashiok stood tall. They had no upper face. What was in place was some kind of magical smoke with this two horns. They had long talons for nails and was dressed in black, blue and a dark purple clothes. Ashoik came floating over to Alex. Standing and staring at each other Ashiok says in a raspy creepy voice "I see the Gods of this realm have blessed you! You see Alex, I would have told you what you needed to know easily as I owe you. But now? Things just got easier and better for you."  Alex replies to Ashiok saying "what do you mean?" ashiok points to Harry potter. Alex instantly knew why he pointed to Harry. Everyone else surrounds Harry as to protect him. Alex says to Harry " You have something I need Harry. Alex walks up to Harry Potter and uses his infamous "Glimpse the unthinkable" spell on him! This black magic used by Alex is foul to say the least. The same black smoke coming from Ashioks head and hands are coming from the Hands of alex too. Nothing can be done! As they all watch in horror to see the life force of harry being scuked out of him right in front of their eyes! They are still confused what did harry have inside of him that Alex wanted? Alyona began to cry as she finally realized what Alex syphoned out of Harry; the small bits of Voldemorts soul that still remained in Harry.

Now Alex knew that Voldemort would need a body; but Alex was smart, very smart. He knew he could not give any body to the Lord of Darkness himself. So, Alex summoned a "Blind Phantasm." This phantasm was also an illusion just like the others. Illusions are somewhat weak beings. They are copies of the original, but they lack a pureness, a soul. This is why they can easily be killed with almost any helpful spell such a "giant growth" or even "Brute Force." Alex took the small remains of Voldemorts soul and casts it into his Blind Phantasm. The illusion begins to take on the appearnce of the one who must not be named. Still very weak, Voldemort sees Harry Potter and begins to fly towards him! But Alex kicks Voldemort to the ground! Alex says " You will not harm him! You are here on my terms! You belong to me!" Voldemort was too weak to fight Alex. After all he did bring him back to life so he felt a bit compelled to be loyal to Alex. Voldemort rises up and asks Alex " Why did you bring me to life? What is your purpose!" Alex walks closer to Voldemort replying " I need her back! How do I resurect her! You know the dark arts deeper! TELL ME NOW!" Voldemort was afraid to give the answer. An answer Alex already knew. That answer? That his wife has been dead for too long and no amount of black magic would bring her back to life. Voldemort looked around the place they were. AH HA! He knew this place looked familiar! The Gods of Old from Yulonmore! Voldemort tells Alex " Do you know where you are? Where we stand right now? The answer you want is right here..." Alex knows this place has to do with the "chosen swords" But what exactly does this place offer?" Voldemort doesn't wait for Alex to respond, he says to him " We know that ten swords exisit, correct? Eight have been found and you have four of them. No one knows exactly which swords to place here. But know this Alex! Here is the answer to your question! As this place will open the underworld in which your wife resides. You cannot bring her back to life, but you can see her in her soul form beyond these walls." Alex turns to Harry,Hermione,Lukas,Katya, Draco and Alyona and opens a portal and tells them to leave or else he will forcefully make them leave! The six of them do as they're told and they walk through the portal to the other side taking them back into the hotel in London.

Back in London the six are not speaking. Lukas is the most distraught. As his uncle seemed to have made a turn for the worst. Just then an older man walks into the dining hall. It's Alexs assisstant 'Hopkins." He's 68 years old  about  5 feet and nine inches tall with white hair and a rather elegant voice. He's always proper and acts very gentlmen like. Hopkins notices the morbid looks on their faces saying "This is a day of festivities my friends! Why the long faces?" None of them replied back. They sat there in silence. Hopkins looks around and notices something strange.He walks up to Harry and says to him " Now Mr.Potter it's been a while since I've seen you.  But when did your scar go away?" Harry has a shocked look on his face and runs up to a mirror! Sure enough the lightning scar that he had was no more. The six tell Hopkins what they had saw happen with Alex. Hopkins grabs a bottle of red wine from the bar and a wine glass. He sits down and pours himself a drink. As he rasises the glass to his lips he says to them " This was going to happen. I warned Alex long ago not to let her death consume him and I see know that it did." Alyona asks Hopkins "How come we couldn't stop this? How could our friend turn to evil?" Hopkins looks up at the ceiling for a bit before responding " He loved her didn't he? Alex loved Natalia. The love they both had reminded me of my marriage when we were younger. So full of love, happiness. Alex was always intersested in black magic. But when he married Natalia he put it all away. He only then focused on blue mana. Alyona? tell me? if someone  you loved so dearly died in such a tragic way how would you respond? Like I said to you all already, it was bound to happen." Lukas gets up and with a loud voice says to hopkins "We have to fix him or something! We also can't let him open up the underworld! There's something we must be able to do!"  Hopkins still sitting down waves his hand at a bookcase that's to his left.  A small box floats over to him. He opens the box and begins to look through it. " Ah! Okay , here we go lads!" Hopkins pulls out a small business card with the Acronym S.E.L. Hopkins hands the card to Lukas telling him " This is a business owned by Alexs friend Jennifer, you know her? She was once a lawyer for the Azorious senate, but has since retired and built her own bio-genetic labs company known as the  " Simic Evolution Labs." Her home office is in Hong Kong. If there's anyone that can help you it's going to be her." Lukas takes the card and looks at Hopkins like he's crazy. " Uh... Hopkins? What good is a Bio-lab to us?" Lukas says looking at the card. "Oh!" Hopkins replies " Jennifer made this thing called a spark extractor! It's used to pull out a planeswalkers spark. It could work to remove his. It might remove the evil part in your uncle.” Lukas had no reply to that and sat back down looking at the card. Hopkins drinks the final last few drops in his wine glass. He walks over to the bar and beings to wash his glass. He speaks loudly over the running water saying “ I suggest you all go to sleep now. I’ll contact Jennifer and I’ll book your flights to Hong Kong. It’s a long flight you guys! At almost 13 hours long. So I suggest you all get some rest.

Harry,Hermione,Lukas,Katya, Draco and Alyona had one of the most sleepless nights in their lives. Each getting about 3-4 hours of sleep. Hopkins wakes them all up and has their luggage and everything else prepared for their journey. As they head down to the car two "Brass Secretaries" carry their belongings to the car. As everyone gets inside Hopkins says to them all " Now, I set everything up for you all. Jenifer knows you'll be there. She'll have one of her assistants pick you up at the airport they'll be holding a sign with the word "Valiant." Now they're all on the plane and flying to Hong Kong!  Draco is pretty impressed with everything so far. He turns to his wife Hermione and says " You know dear, I've always frowned upon muggles. But this? This is bloody brilliant! Who thought the muggles would make such fantastic machines!" Of course this was Katyas first time flying on an airplane as well. As she has lived on a world where none of this technology exisits. She spent most  of her time just looking out the window in awe of the great view before her. 13 hours passed by fairly quickly to them all. They landed and were met by a large Rhino who held the sign that said  "valiant." As the six walk up to the rhino, the rhino speaks saying " Welcome my guests! My name is Rhox and I will be guiding you throught your stay here." Rhox leads them to the subway/train station that is inside the Hong Kong international airport. They all walk for a few minutes until they reach an area which is blocked off. Above the entryway to this part of the station reads "Capenna Express for S.E.V workers and guests only." As they enter the six are stunned at what they see! Alyona turns to the others and says " Wow! This place looks like the U.S.A when it was in the early 1900's! Like it belongs in the old mafia movies!" It wasn't long before they reached the main headquarters of S.E.V. the train took them directly to the building itself. By this time the six were getting very tired and Rhox could see it on their faces. Rhox leads them all to a room which looks like a hospital ward. The walls were white and there were beds lined up on one side of the room while the other side had monitor in front of each bed. " Jennifer will be in here shortly. Please change into the hospital gowns and lay in bed please" Rhox says to them. The six all look at each other awkwardly as they only saw one bathroom to change in. But as soon as Harry picked up his gown these frosted glass walls came down inbetween each bed and gave them privacy to change. Lukas says loudly " I don't know if that was cool or creepy? It's like the gown knew it was touched." The rest begin to laugh at what Lukas had said. After they all had changed into their gowns they each got into bed and laid down waiting for Jennifer to arrrive. And just as the glass partitions came down, they went back up as soon as they all laid down. Again Lukas made a funny comment " Yeah, ok this is creepy as F....." He couldn't get the last word out because at that very moment Jennifer came walking in. Jennifer was tall and had beautiful long blonde hair. She had on a lab coat with black slacks and a brown turtle neck. She introduced herself saying to them "Hello everyone! I'm Jennifer and I am the owner of this company here. Hopkins called me and told me what had happened with you all? I'm not so sure what I can do exactly to fix this issue but I can help you figure things out." Jennifer walks up to the beds. At the head of each bed was a square on the wall. She touches it with her hand and small tray extends out holding an odd looking helmet. She touches each square at each of their beds and each tray had the exact same helmet. Jennifer walks up to the foot of the beds so the six can see her and hear her clearly. " So I need you all to wear these headsets for me ok? These are called memory printers." Katya repeats Jennifer " Memory printers?" Ohh let me explain them to you guys sorry!" jennifer says with a bit of embarasment on her face. " So these headsets you have to wear when you sleep. Just think of what happened with Alex just the way you remember it happening. Then they will collect the memory and put them into our servers so we can better determine what you saw. It will give us an exact picture of everything." Without an issue each put the memory printers on and went to sleep soundly. They all woke up nearly 10 hours later! This was expected of course as they not only did not sleep well before the flight, they didn't sleep during it either. In walked four faeries known as "maraleaf pixies" each had brought breakfast to them. Partway through their breakfast Jennifer walks in looking like she had not slept in a week. Jennifer yawns nearly uncontrolably and says "Take your showers and get dressed I have some very interesting things to tell you."

Cleaned and dressed they all follow Jennifer to yet another room. This room looks like something out of a science fiction movie! There are large glass incubators with some type of fluid in them each with some kind of person inside. At the end of this room is a large computer set up with extremely large screens and other equipment. Jennifer reaches for her coffee mug and says to them all "The data from the helmets are sent here. As you can see each screen has your names on them. Now watch carefully." Jennifer goes to the main computer controlling the screens and hits a button. The six are floored at what the screens show! They literally show what they saw through their eyes that day with Alex. Jennifer takes a sip of her coffee and then says " Get ready for what I'm going to tell you because it's gonna be a shock!" Jennifer points to the screens "So of course as you see here your memories are being displayed here. I watched them over and over and saw nothing odd. I slowed them down and watched frame by frame and still saw nothing out of the ordinary. But then I got the idea to put them all together." Jennifer then points to a table that looks like a big giant Ipad. " This is why we call it the memory printer guys. This takes all of your memories and meshes them together and then makes a 3D hologram out of it. None of them have ever seen such a thing in their lives! And here they thought magic was impressive! Jennifer countinues " This isn't the shocking part. You see this 3D print out? Watch carefully." She says as she flips through different views of the hologram. She changes it to infared,  and a few others. She finds the ones she wants and stops it. "This is what we call the Aura-enhancment viewer. Basically everyone has their own aura of magic. The screens will show graphs of each aura and what magic your aligned to.  Jennifer puts on some kind of robotic glove and then walks up to the 3D display and picks up the  hologram of Alex and of Ashiok with both hands. She says to them " Alex and Ashiok, now watch when I put them both on the Aura display." Hermione sees it instantly " They both have the same graph reading! I'm sure everyone has nearly the same kind of aura?" Jennifer replies " No, they don't. An Aura is like your magical DNA everyones is different." Lukas walks up to Jennifer and says " So you're telling me that my Uncle and Ashiok are the same person?" Jennifer sits down at the desk and puts her hands on her head saying "Not yet, but he's close to it." Jennifer is visibly upset at this. She puts her hands over her mouth in despair. She puts her hands down and says to them " I know what Alex is trying to do and I am not so sure what we can do about it. But I have an employee here who collects swords. He knows about the Mirian swords. I have an idea........

The six leave the lab and spend their entire day exploring Hong Kong. Just as dinner is appraoching Jennifer shows up to their hotel with a Chinese man by the name of "Xaunye." Since Jennifer was a good friend of Alexs she had a portal rune with her to his place in Chicago. Beforehand she had gotten all 4 of the swords and brought them back with her to Hong Kong. Each sword was wrapped in a cloth and placed on a large table. " Xuanye? I need you to appraise these swords for me please. But they're on a timer. They will return to their orginal owner in 90 minutes from now. So do this as fast as you can." Xuanye nods his head in agreement and begins to unfold the fabric over each sword. He has a small tool box with him. He pulls out all the tools and begins to inspect each sword. After nearly 30 minutes of going over them he says to the others " Who owns these?" Jennifer replies " Sorry, I cannot divulge that information." Xuanye takes of his white gloves and steps back a bit saying to them all "These are priceless Jennifer. Whoever you know that has these is not a normal person. The versions of these swords are highly sought after. but they can only be obtained through a trial." Now all of them are confused at what Xuanye had just said. Harry asks Xuanye " So these were never bought? They were a reward?" Xuanye nods hsi head yes and further expains to them all "Yes you can buy these swords at a rather already insanse amount of money anywhere from 120,000- 300,00 dollars. But for those versions? Those are what we call the "plain jane" versions. They're still rare but not as rare as the actual sword itself. And these 4 swords are the original versions." Katya asks "what trials?" Xuanye explains "Ah! The trials! So the Gods who made these swords ever so often hold a tournament to obtain their swords. But there's one trial per one sword. The challenges are very difficult and for one to complete one trial is very impressive. But here are 4 swords each from a trial each damn near priceless." They all sit in silence. They all assumed Alex had bought the swords. But now? They have more to fear and worry about. Jennifer pulls out a huge wad of cash and gives it to Xuanye as she pays him for the apprasial. Just as Xuanye is about to leave he snaps his fingers and says " Ohh I just remembered! In 3 months the trial of feast and famine will take place. The trial for the Sword of Feast and Famine. In my opinion the most desired sword of all time. I can tell you where the trials take place if you'd like?" They all happily accept. Xuanye gives them a map of where to go. Hermione waits for Xuanye to leave and she says loudly "we need to join this torunament and get that sword! It's the only way to stop Alex and you all know it." All in agreement they follow the directions on the map and hope someone will be there to allow them to enter.

The six reach the place where the map had taken them ans to their surprise there was a long line of people standing to get in. Men in these dark robes walked down the line of people telling most to leave while very few stayed. They wondered of the six who would be asked to leave? But the men walked right by them and said nothing. They stood there watching as countless of other people were told to leave at once. As the line of people thinned out the men in the dark robes gathered the remaning people and spoke to them "You all have been allowed to fight in the trials. We see great potential in all of you. Please go back home and in the next three months please return to this exact same place for the start of the trial. Each person was given a small coin which had a sword on it and a unique number for each of them. They were told not to lose this coin as it would be what they would need to enter the torunament. Harry,Hermione,Lukas,Katya, Draco and Alyona  return to the hotel and get a goods night sleep as tomorrow morning they all head back home to begin their training.

But..... in a small realm not known to many people are a brutal race of Dark Elves known as the Sartovits. They are mostly aligned with black and green mana. About 70% of the elves are vampires. Most people view black and green magic as being rather evil. But the Sarovits do not use these colors for nefarious deeds as others would. You see, black and green is used mostly for zombies and grave diggers and all the other sorts! But the Sarovits use this magic to better their crops and life as a whole. Here on this realm things are very simple. Patches of villages are throught the world. But in one small village are the most brutal of all of the citizens here. This village is the home of one young Dark elf who broke barriers, the only female warrior to have obtained the highest honor among her tribe " Blood Champion."Lina is her name. She's rather short with long brown hair and hazel eyes. She's very tough and very picky. She really doesn't care for much as she lives in her own world. Her family is he number one priority. Many years ago when she was 70 years old, Lina began to feel that her family needed her protection. She wasn't so sure why she felt this way, but she knew it was the right thing to do. But on this world the gender roles are very straight forward. The men do the fighting, hunting and building. While the women stay home caring for the children,crops and etc. Now, it wasn't uncommon to see a female Sartovit use magic to defend herself. Many tribal wars were in the past and many women have helped fight. But none fought like Lina. You see Lina could never tell anyone that she wanted to train to fight like the men do. So instead of asking the men to train her, she trained herself. She spent the next 20 years training hard. She trained everyday until she felt she was ready to show everyone how capable she was. That day came and she was ready to show her world what she had done. But the Gods of another world had other plans. The very same men in black robes came to her village looking for a suitable warrior. They passed up every man; But not Lina. Just like the others, they gave her the coin which had the sword. But this coin was for the trial of "Fire and Ice." Once this happened no one in the village would speak to Oksana. The men were in disgust about her! How dare this honor be given to a woman! A young woman at that! Who does she think she is? Are these men crazy? Do they not know the stregnth and powerof the men in this village? Lina is a weak elf! How dare they! For the next 3 months the citizens of the village made fun of Lina, and played evil pranks on her. Even her own father was rather mean to her. But Lina tried her hardest to stay focused. Tears in her eyes every night. She could not believe that her own people would be so mean to her. But she trained even harder. Then the 3 months passed and Lina was taken away to the trials by the men in the robes. 4 days had passed by and Lina had returned to her home world. She had defeated the trial. Not only was she the only female to be rewarded a sword from these trials, she was the only one on her home world to be such a champion. Lina returned home to find everyone asleep. She slowly put the sword above the fireplace and just stared at it. Again, tears in her eyes as everything she did was worth it all. To accomplish such a feat. She did not care what the others thought of her. This was for herself. And now? She had reached what she thought was the peak of her life. To be one of the very few people in all of the universe to obtain this sword as there are only 8 to be in exisitance. Just then her father walks in. He hears Lina crying and gives her a hug telling her "I have always been proud of you my daughter. I only treated that way so you can train harder. I will always love you and be proud of you. We all are! You are truly the greatest daughter a father could ask for." Now that the village knows Oksana had won the sword she is forever known as "The Blood Champion of Sartovit." The highest honor among warriors.

Now of course these events had happened a long time ago. So now we head to the present day. In the center of the village was a bell.  The bell would ring on every hour of the day. But the bell would also ring for other reasons. Two bell rings meant a town meeting, three bell rings means a storm is coming, and four bell rings means to take up arms! Two loud rings are heard everyone in the village drops what they're doing and heads to the city center. As everyone gathers the leader of the village walks up to the podium his name is " Nazhmet." He stands very tall and very muscular everything about this man was warrior like and every single woman wanted him... but not Lina. She was more interested in her family than a man or marriage. Nazhmet began to speak to the citizens "Today I was informed of a very serious threat, a threat to not only our world but to others. A man from earth by the name of Alex has defeated 4 of the 8 trials. Yes everyone, he has 4 of the swords. Now we know one of members of the village has one. So I am taking Lina as well as 1 other person to enter the newest trial which is happening soon. We must stop Alex from getting this final sword. He plans to open the underworld to see his wife who has been dead for many earth years. So I ask everyone to help the ones I chose for this task. It is dangerous indeed and the possibilty they may not return is high." Lina ran back home! She went inside grabbed the sword and slammed it on the ground screaming loudly! "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She does not and will not leave her family! The screams were heard by Nazhmet, her father and the  other that were selected to fight in the tournament. They approach Lina and say to her "Enough crying! You are asked to go this is not an option! Lina points the sword at Nazhmet saying " I WILL NOT LEAVE MY FAMILY! THEY NEED ME FIND SOMEONE ELSE NOW!" Now this made Linas father very angry. He grabs the sword from her hands saying " You're not worthy to have this sword Lina, maybe it was a mistake or pure damn luck you got this. You want to stay then stay and be a normal female elf! Get you ass to those berry bushes and pick berries and never pick up a sword again! You're not a warrior, you're a coward!" What her father said enraged her and she screamed back at her father "HOW FUCKING DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME! AFTER ALL THAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH? I SACARFICED SO MUCH, I TRAINED SO FUCKING HARD! NONE OF YOU ASSHOLES DID WHAT I'VE DONE! NONE OF YOU! EVERYDAY I LIVE IN PHYSICAL PAIN AND MENTAL PAIN! BUT I TRAIN AND TRAIN? WHY BECAUSE I LOVE YOU FATHER! BECAUSE THIS FAMILY IS MY WORLD! DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT SHIT TO ME AGAIN! EVER!" Lina falls to her knees crying. Her father kneels down with her and in a calm voice says to her " Lina? Us men know of Alex. If he doesn't get that sword? He will come here and destroy this entire world just to have this sword and then what? If you do not go? there may not be a world left for you to come home to. You have to stop him my daughter....please show us what you're truly capable of. Lina accepts her fathers request. Nazhmet says to Lina " We start training tomorrow, so get ready!"

Nazhmet had chosen 3 other people to help train Lina in the village. The first was Salim, he was the leader of the Archers defensive post. The second was Laura, She was half human and half dark elf. She was a soldier of the swiftspears. And the last was Christina she was trained in the dark arts of necromancy. Nazhmet knew these 3 including him could help Lina prepare of this  trial. The next day came and Lina was rusty. She was not the powerful warrior she once was. The others spared her no mercy as they were very hard on her. Every day Lina went home bruised and bleeding from the training. But just like before she focused harder and harder. One day she was put up against Laura. Now Laura was a swiftspear guardian. Her martial arts were very fast and effective! They both stood in the circle and began to fight! Lina blocked every punch,kick and magical spell Laura threw at her. Not once did she try to strike Laura as she knew this was her brothers wife. This of course made Laura angry at Lina! As the 2 young women fought in the circle Laura yells at Lina saying " DAMN IT LINA! FIGHT LIKE YOU MEAN IT! ALEX WILL KILL YOU IF YOU FIGHT LIKE THIS! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU! FIGHT LIKE  YOU MEAN IT! FIGHT FOR YOU FAMILY DAMN YOU! Lina goes in to a rage and with one punch Lina hits Lauras shield and she is sent flying out of the ring and lands on her back. Just then Nazhmet ends the fight saying " Your training is over Lina, We will now head to earth and join this trial." Lina does not wish to spend her last day on her home world partying with the rest of the village. She just wants to be home with her family. And so she spends the rest of her final day with them in pure happines as this is what life was for Lina. It was not war, or a championship title, it was the love of her family that she lived for and now that very love was threatned by a man who was to do the impossible.....

The day has come! The tournament is to be held at the famous Grand coliseum! Many great tournaments have been held here for the last few centruies!  The tournament for the 8th sword has begun! Many people from all over have shown up! Chandra the Fire Mage, Ob Nixilis the Savage Demon, Rusalka, and Alex of course! Everyone looks around the coliseum to size up their opponents. The seats in the coliseum are filling up! There must be hundreds of people here for this! The men in black robes appear again. But this time with their leader who's wearing a red robe. The man in the red robe blows into a rams horn. The loud sound is noticed by everyone and all pay attention to his words. "Welcome my trial contestants! This trial is for the Sword of Feast and Famine. You will all have to face each other in combat. The one who comes out victoriuos will be  rewarded with the blade itself. There is only one rule at this tournament. Once you have been conisdered to be down by the referee you cannot get back up to fight. Everything else is ok. Now take your seats as we prepare the first battle! The crowd goes wild! Cheering and chanting the names of their favorite person who's competing! The fights are absolutley brutal! Lukas fights the ever powerful Dragon known as Niv-Mizzet! The bets were obviously placed on the dragon. The fight went on for 2 minutes! Longer than most people who fought Niv-Mizzet! But Lukas ended the battle by casting a "Lightning Axe" and throwing it at the dragons head! Niv-Mizzet is down! Lukas screams "YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Niv-Mizzet bows to Lukas and gives his respect for Lukas givng him such a good fight! The crowd goes wild again! Chanting his name! LUKAS LUKAS! LUKAS! Next up was Lina! She was to face the evil gorgon herself Varaska! The fight begins! Varaska tries to turn Lina into stone, but Linas shield  reflects these attacks! Varaska sends large venemous snakes to attack Lina! But the snakes are no match! They are killed as fast as they were summoned. Varaska pulls out her bow and arrows and begins to shoot at Lina. The first 3 arrows Lina dodges but she catches the 4th and charges Varaska at full speed! Lina raises her shield to protect her eyes and she takes the arrrow Varaska had shot at her and stabs Varaska in the shoulder! An unbelieveable turn of events! Everyone thought Varaska would have ended Lina! But Lina was the winner. Now the stadium grew silent as the next contestant came forward...... it was Alex and he would be facing the Ancient Silverback Gorilla. The Gorilla charges at Alex! But Alex pulls out his sword of Body and Mind which has protection from Blue and green magic. The gorilla Swings at Alex as hard as he can but to no avail! The sword protect Alex from his attacks. The gorilla is alligned with green magic. All of his magic is useless against him. The gorilla gets angry and says to Alex " Put down your weapon and fight me! You need such a weapon just to win against me!" Alex throws the sword down on the ground. The Silverback leaps into the air with both fists and comes down on Alex hard. But casts his "dark banishing spell that kills the Gorilla in one blow. There's no cheering for Alex as the stadium is silent. Next up is Nazhmet!  A skilled fighter who is up against the Draco Malfoy! The fight barely last  30 seconds as Nazhmet sends a fire bolt that knocks Draco out in one hit! The fights continue on that day! Lukas defats Harry Potter in a wonder aerial battle! Harry Potter took to the air on his broom while Lukas took to air on his Lightning Elemental! Alyona defeats Liliana in a classic battle between good and evil! Druids versus Zombies! The tournamant did not dissapoint at all! There were many great mages and warriors who have shown up to claim the sword! As the 1st day of the torunament ended all stayed on the grounds of the Grand colisuem as it had dorms for the participants of the tournament. As they all seat eating a large feast Lukas decides to talk to Lina he was very impressed with her abilities as a warrior. Walking up to Lina with his plate of food he asks Lina if he may sit next to her. Lina nods her head yes. As Lukas sits next to her he says " You're pretty impressive out there! You straight up demolished a lot of good fighters out there." Lina blushing a bit turns to Lukas and replies " You too kiddo! How old are you? Aren't you too young to be here?" Lukas tells Lina that he's 12. Lina nearly chokes on her food! "WHAT?! 12?! AND YOU FIGHT LIKE THAT?!" Lina says to Lukas. Lukas with a little grin on his face says " Let's just say I've been blessed to have been taught by powerful people." As they both sat and ate Lina had asked the obvious question to Lukas " Why are you here? And how did you know about this place?" Now Lukas was not about to let Lina know that Alex was his uncle and how he and his friends planned to stop him from getting that blade. So Lukas just said " well you know, I'd figure I would give this a shot ya know? I mean better I win the sword than someone else who would use it for evil deeds." Lina gives this look to Nazhmet and Laura. Could it be that the gods from other worlds have sent other capable warriors to stop Alex? The answer Lukas gave her seemed too spot on.

The 2nd day started off early! The crowd was even larger than yesterday! The battles fought today were some of the most anticipated ever! Alyona fights Ajani! The winner?! Ajani! Lukas goes up against Jace the mind sculptor and Lukas come out victorious! The third battle? Alex versus Laura! Laura is very fast and Alex is having a hard time keeping up! Could this be the end of Alex as we know it? Their swords clash into each other as Laura blocks and parries every move Alex throws at her! But Laura makes one mistake a mistake that would cost her life! Laura tries to cast a "Banishing light" spell on Alex but Alex uses his famous "Undermine" counterspell on her which damages her! Laura is too hurt to move and she falls to the ground on her knees! Alex gets behind her and grabs her hair with is left hand and uses his right hand to drain the life right out of her! Laura is screaming! But it is too late! The very life force from Laura has been drained! Her skin is black as she lays lifeless on the ground! Still no one cheers for Alex, they all can sense his evil! The next key battle was between Nazhmet and Garruk the Wildspeaker! The two large men battle hard! Both having nearly the same spells this was a classic "Mirror match!" But to everyones surpise Nazhmet takes the win! More matches go on throught the day! But the best are always saved for last! In the final matches of the day Alex is put up against Sorin the Vampire! in the fastest fight ever at the tournament Alex kills Sorin instantly! But the next fight is the one everyone showed up for! Hermione versus Chandra! Chandra sends Phoenix after Phoneix to atack Herimone! But Herminone deals with them easily. They both sling spells at each other like crazy! Lava Bursts, Otter Illsusions, Runic Shots and more! The fight lasted nearly 5 minutes long with Chandra being the winner! Battle after battle happened until only one more fight of the day. This fight was to be for the final 4!  But the final battle of the day was the most heart wrenching! Lukas versus OB Nixilis! This was seen in the eyes of many as an unfair fight! A 12 year old boy against a Demon? Lina and Alex begged Lukas to not fight him! But Lukas looked right at his Uncle Alex and said "No Uncle Alex..... I can't let you get that sword. I'll die trying;  but I'll do what I have to do for the sake of our world and others." Lina could not believe what she just heard! This young boy was willing to die to prevent Alex from getting this sword! And to top it all of Lukas was his nephew? it all made sense to her now. It's why Lukas was so powerful! The crowd booed the ones who held this tournamant! To allow a demon to fight Lukas? But the battle must go on. Lukas knew the risk but to him? There was no option. It had to be done. As the both walked to the center of the stadium the crowd was ever so silent. Ob Nixilis says to Lukas " Give up now and I'll keep you as my little magical slave! Save yourself from certain death BOY!" But Lukas was not scared at all! He looked into Ob Nixils eyes abd spoke no words! As the fight begins Lukas sends 4 lightning bolts at Ob Nixilis! Ob Nixilis dashes past two of them but the others hit him right in the face! Ob nixilis yells " You little shit! GO HOME TO YOUR MOMMY!"  Lukas sends shock spells and even an Urza's Rage at him but things aren't looking to good for Lukas! The demon grabs Lukas by his forearms and is pulling at Lukas as if to tear him apart! The crowd is screaming in horror! Lukas closes his eyes and hsi body begins to fill with electical power! There's static in the air! Now Lukas is fully englulfed in electric! He grabs Ob Nixilis wrist sending the electric right through his body. Ob Nixilis lets go of Lukas! Ob Nixilis is stunned! Without a moment to waste Lukas summons a "Lightning Axe" in his hands and throws it at Ob Nixilis head! The demon blows up into a million pieces! The crowd roars! They cannot believe it! Lukas has done the impossible! His uncle sits there silently and the others with tears rolling down their faces! Lukas was what they all thought. A young mage who could save the universe. The children in the stadium began to chant..... "Lukka-Setin-Zenda!" Translated this means "Lukas  hero of the Lost Children." A hero for the children who have no voice, for the children who are abused and have no one to love or care for them. Lukas was their hero. A young boy they could look up too. The hopes that they can have the stregnth as he does to carry on, to fight against the ones who hurt them.

The 3rd day of the tournament is starting later in that day. As now only 4 conestants remain. Lukas, Lina, Nazhmet and Alex. The coliseum was starting to fill up fast! Lina.Lukas and Nazhemt were celebrities. They all had fans...But Alex was not there. But his presence did not matter since none of the audience was rooting for him. All morning the 3 met with fans and the other people who had entered the tournament. As the crowd died down and began to head to the seats at the Coliseum, Lina pulls Lukas aside. "Lukas? Do you really think we can beat him? Can we stop him?" Lukas turned to Lina and softly said " I don't know.... I really don't. But one of us will have to stop him." The realazation of what is going on hit the 3 of them. As they knew only one of them would face off against Alex. They could only pray to the Gods for the stregnth to defeat Alex. One hour left until the final matches are to be fought. Lina, Lukas and Nazhmet are in their quarters going over their final spells. Making sure that they are prepared for the possibility which faces them. The bell rings true. It's sound is heard throught the stadium, it's now time for them to head into the center of the arena. The 4 of them stand in a line and face the judges. The men in the robes life the Sword of feat and famine into the air saying " Today is the day we find out who is worthy of this weapon, a weapon of pure power, crafted by the gods themselves. Warriors? Prepare yourself!" The Arena is silent.The first 2 names are called Lina and Lukas! Both of their hearts drop. They became friends during this time. And now? They will face each other in combat. Alex refuses to look at his Nephew as he just walks away. Nazhmet gives Lina a hug and wishes her the best in this fight. Lina and Lukas stand nearly 15 feet away from each other. Lina knows what Lukas is good at. And that's lightning attacks. So if she could just put enough distance between them both she might be ok.... or so she thought. Lukas went in hard and fast! Lightning appeard on his hand and feet. He threw 2 lightning bolts at Lina! She dodged them! But during this dodge she let Lukas get too close to her! 1 punch to her face a 2nd uppercut to her chin, a 3rd knee to her chest and a kick to her stomach puts Lina down on the ground faster than anything before! Lukas stands over Lina saying "Come on Lina! remember what this is for! Show me what ya got!" Lina shakes off the blows and sends a vampiric shadow spell at lukas! He "negates the spell easily!" But Lina doesn't give up! She throws more spells at Lukas. And Lukas counters them again. The audience is going wild! This fight is spectacular! But...... Lukas runs out of counterspells and Lina lands the final blow on Lukas which knocks him out of the circle. Lina jumps for joy! She can't believe that she won! She runs to Lukas and helps him up. The judges announce her victory loudly " LINA IS THE WINNER!" Tears roll down Linas face and she says " Come here you little shit! Lukas! You gave me one hell of a fight! You are more than welcome to be among my people anytime!" Lukas hugs Lina in return for her kind words. Lina screams loudly in the arena " I MAY HAVE WON. BUT LET'S HEAR IT FOR LUKAS THE HERO OF THE LOST CHILDREN!" And just like before the children chanted Lukes name. With that fight over with. there was one more that needed to be fought. One before the true final battle. Alex and Nazhemt would face off. But this would be a fight like no other. Now Nazhmet had fought in many battles in his life. But for this fight? He was scared, very scared. Alex had killed every person he had fought here. No other contestant in this tournament had killed anyone. Alex was the only one to kill. It seems he killed out of anger and frustration. As they both stood in the circle Nazhmet saw the evil in Alexs eyes. There was something there that he couldn't place. Before the battle begins Alex says to Nazhmet " Surrender now and I will let you live." But Nazhmet shook his head no! And the fight was on. Nazhmet Lunges at Alex summoning other dark elf vampires with him. And again alex easily removes the dark elves until there is only Nazhmet standing. Alex stands in place as to taunt Nazhmet.  Without any thought Nazhmet charges at Alex with full speed holding his spear! Alex quickly summons his "sword of war and peace" and throws it into the air. As the sword  flies in the air above their heads, one his Alexs angels catches the sword in it's hands! It's the ever famous Crypt Angel! An angel of pure black mana! As the Angel catches the sword she strikes down upon Nazhmet cutting his head off! Alex walks up to the decapitated head and picks is up by his hair and throws it at Lina saying "Give up now! Or face the same fate as your brother!" GIVE UP NOW!" Lina is in shock! She breaks down in front of everyone. Now hatred ran through her! Alex had slain her older brother! Alex had killed her partners in this tournament. She was out for vengeance!

Still the 3rd day the last battle would not happen until  two more hours. The torches are lit! The  sky is clear! The time is near! The final battle is almost here. But something odd has just happened. The crowd refused to sit behind Alex. So they filled up the stadium on the side of Lina! The crowd showed their loyalty to Lina! While impressive this was nothing! Because what would happen next would strike fear into the hearts of everyone! As Lina stepped in the circle of the Arena, the crowd cheered loudly for her. But when Alex walked in? There was a Lunar eclipse. The judges knew what this meant and they could not ignore it saying to everyone loudly " It seems the sky has shown us whos side they're on." Lina is breathing heavily she now rethinks even coming here. The eclipse could only mean one thing. The Gods are on his side not hers. And without the referee starting the fight! Alex and Lina rush each other! AS their swords clash together it creates a blinding light that turns the darkness into day light for a split second. Lina stabs Alex in his leg! he falls to the ground! Lina rushes him to kill him! But Alex vanishes into thin air! Alex flies on by in a magical display like a spirit and he strikes her! but only a small cut to her cheek. Again Alex strikes again cutting her stomach. As Alex come around for the 3rd strike Lina summons the "Loxodon Warhammer" and slams it right into Alex which nearly knocks him out of the circle! She summons vampires, dragons, Fiends and Zombies at her side! there are at least 25 of them all together! With her black magic she raises Alex off the ground! grabs his head and screams " It's time to feast!" Just as Lina is about to sink her teeth into Alex to devour his blood, Alex uses a spell that most have only heard of... Damnation. All the hordes of monsters Lina had summoned were killed instantly! A large black sphere had appeared and exploded! Body parts rained down in the Arena! And Lina lies on the ground breathing her final breaths of air. Lukas, Hermione, Katya, Draco, Harry, Alyona and jennifer watch in horror! It's already over. Alex had won. Jennifer reached into her pocket and pulled out a small "spark reader." it was beeping like crazy and she didn't understand why. Jennifer pointed it in the dircetion of Alex and said " OH MY GOD YOU GUYS!" She is stuttering! she can't get what she wants to say out of her mouth. Alyona loudly says "What Jenn? What is it?" Jenn just screams " Just look! I can't believe what were gonna see here" As Alex walks to Lina he begins to change.... transform. He is now no longer Alex, he is now ASHIOK! THE USHER OF NIGHTMARES!" What jennifer had told them in her lab came true. Ashiok grabs Lina by her head and says " YOUR FATHER WAS RIGHT! YOU DO NOT DESERVE THIS  SWORD. IF YOU WILL NOT GIVE IT TO ME I WILL TAKE IT BY FORCE!" Just like he did to Laura he did to Lina but with one major difference. He did not kill Lina. Alex had used his black magic to extract the sword from her mind! A foul kind of magic to be used! As the sword of fire and ice was now in his hands. But as soon as Ashiok grabbed the sword he turned back into Alex. Lina crying and still on the floor says " Why? Why do this? Do you have no care for anyone or anything?" Alex does not answer. He walks up to the judges and they give him the sword. He had won, and everyone was upset. But there was nothing they could do. He won it fair and square. Now Alex has 6 of the 10 swords. He opens a portal and yells to everyone before entering " HOW DARE ANY OF YOU THINK YOU COULD FACE ME! MY POWER IS ABSOLUTE!" Lukas, Hermione, Harry, Draco, Alyona and Katya run to Lina and pick her up. Katya begins to use her magical spells to heal Lina. She recovers fast from Katyas healing spells. Lukas realizes that they only have a few seconds before that portal closes. So he uses his teleportation spell to send them through the portal! Now on the other side of the portal they notice this place looks too familiar. "Of course!" Alyona shouts. this is the where it all started. Alex turns to them and tells them all "You just don't listen do ya?" Alex begins to run towards the center of the realm so that he may place the swords in the stone center. The chase is on! Lukas, Hermione, Harry, Draco, Alyona ,Katya  and Lina chase Alex with weapons and wands at the ready! Alex summons two "Phantasmal Bears" at them. But Draco casts his expelliarmus on each bear killing them both with ease! Now Alex is very mad! He begins to create the illusion that the ground is opening up before them! First, Alex creates small holes in the ground. The 7 jump over these with no problem. But Alex just creates bigger sinkholes! finally Alex creates one so big that they don't think they can jump over it. Hermione pulls out her wand and yells "wingardium leviosa!" Lukas, Harry, Alyona,Lina, Draco , Katya and Lina get to the other side. But as soon as Hermione jumps into the air, Alex flies over to her and slams her into the ground! The rest finally see that the sinkholes were just illusions! But just like before..... Hermione would suffer a fate worse than death itself! Alex grabs Hermione by her hair and begins to pour an evil magic into her mind!Hermione screams so horrifically "HELP ME PLEASE!"  She is no longer the Hermione they once knew. She is now a slave to Alex and will do his bidding! Hermione stands up with red eyes and her hair as dark as midnight! The evil magic that flows through Alex now flows through Hermione! Alex Whispers into Hermiones ear " Kill them all for me now!" Hermione rushes towards her husband Draco! Screaming " I'LL KILL YOU DRACO! AND I'LL KILL YOU TOO POTTER!! COME HERE!" The rage and evil inside of her is an absolute nightmare! Alyona tries to stop her! But hermione is too strong! Hermione takes her wand and points it at Alyona and says "Cruciatus Curse!" But not a moment later Lukas casts his counterspell on Hermione stoping her curse from harming Alyona! Lukas helps Alyona up and says " Everyone take care of Hermione! Remove the curse from her! I'll deal with my uncle!" Lukas summons his "Lightning Dragon" and jumps on it's back and flies towards his uncle at full speed with his Lightning Axe in hand! Of course Alex sees this and says to himself "AHHHHH Finally a worthy opponent!" Just before Lukas reaches Alex he jumps off his dragon and throws his axe at his uncle! But Alex moves out of the way too quickly! Lukas sends a plethora of lightning spells at his uncle! But Alex counters them all! It's a clasic battle between Darknesss and Light. But Lukas gets the upper hand. Alex Anticipates a move by Lukas inccorectly and Lukas lands a blow on his uncle that knocks him to the ground. Mean while Harry,Alyona,Katya,Lina and Draco are having a real hard time dealing with Hermione. She not only has her own spells; but the dark magic spells that Alex also has. She is an unstoppable force. Katya standing in the back healing the group from Hermiones attacks remembers a spell she learned from Alex's brother Auston...."Naturalize" Katya yells as she directs the spell at Hermione. The curse is broken! Hermione is freed. But still they have to stop Alex and he's getting closer and closer. It's all in now or nothing! The 7 cast their largest creature spells at Alex in the hopes to stop him. Harry casts his Patrounus spell summoning a Deer, Hermione also casts hers summoning an Otter,Draco follows suit and summons forth an Ebon Dragon! Katya summons her Thorn Elemental, Lina summons her Urborg Lhurgoyf, Alyona summons her Sun Titan and finally Lukas casts his "Experimental Overload" creating a massive Electric humanoid creature! The large creatures run towards Alex screaming there war cries! Alex begins to laugh as he wonders why they didn't learn their lesson from before? When he fought Lina. Alex casts his Aetherize spell which immediately disperses the creatures from existence! A large wave of pur magical energy knocks down all of the 7 heroes. It's too late. Alex has reached the center. Now since there are only 3 holes in the stone , tries each of the 6 swords he has until he finds his match. The 7 heroes lay on the ground in pain and saddend about their failure. The sword of body and mind,Light and shadow, and the sword of hearth and home fit perfectly in the center. The wall opens up and reveal a golden staircase. A figure is standing on top of the stairs. They are completely made of a golden light. They walk slowly down the staircase. Who was it? None other than the love of his life "Natalia." Alyona gasps " Oh my God! I can't believe it!" They all look at her in shock! Alex begins to breath heavily. For it had been 7 years since he's seen her beautiful face. Natalia speaks to Alex saying " Why? Why did you do this? Why did you kill so many people? Why did you hurt the ones you love? I gave my life for you because I thought you were more valuable than me! You were always so kind to everyone and so generous to them! And I died in vain for you! You've disgraced me Alex! You do not love me! I WILL NOT RETURN TO LIFE FOR YOU!  You'd know this was not the way I wanted to see you! A blood trail! Was this all really worth it Alex? TELL ME WAS IT WORTH IT?!" Alex weeping and wiping the tears from his face says to Natalia "Yes... my life without you is meaningless. You are my everything. You always were. Even in death my heart is true to you." Natalia looks back up the staircase. It appears she is listening to someone. Natalia nods her head yes and says "Yes, I accept." Natalia walks into the realm leaving the golden staircase. The gods return her to life. They run into each others arms; crying hugging and kissing each other. 7 long damn years! And it was all erased. They finally came together. This hit everyone else real hard. Despite what Alex did to achieve this? They saw the power of love. The love he had for his wife. Draco grabs Hermiones hand. The Gods ascend from the Staircase! All 3 of them surround everyone. "Alex? Natalia has accepted our offer to return to life. But in order for you to stay with her? You must also accept our terms." Alex asks the gods "What are your terms." The Gods get on their knees to better talk to Alex and say to him "There is a threat, a threat you all have faced before. It is here on Earth as we speak,they're in a slumber. You and Natalia are not allowed to return until you find a way to save this world. There is a way. We will not tell you both where to go. But there is a way. Do you accept?" Alex looking back at everyone else asks the gods " Can I say goodbye to them all first?" The Gods agree. " I will not apologize for my actions to you all. I told you what I was going to do. Alex took his most prized possession and gave it to his nephew Lukas... The Sword of War and Peace. He presents the sword to Lukas saying "Take this sword and wait for the right time. Those kids called you "Hero of the lost children for a reason. I want you to lead the others when the time comes Lukas. You were born to be a great planeswalker. Do not worry, we will return."  Lukas crying accepts the sword as Alex and Natalia walk away. But before they both leave to find the help that the Gods require; Alex has a one request of the gods. Alex speaks to the gods saying " I have but one request of you all can you do this?" The gods agree to his request and they dissapear. Alex says loudly " Gods of old? Bless my Nephew Lukas with the courage to lead, bless him with compassion, and let him show others love and care for those who do not have it. May he bring light into the lives of others who only know darkness. May his heart help and heal all who need it. Make him a worthy man not only to you, myself, and his Father and Mother.  May today he no longer be known as the Hero of the lost children, May Lukas be known as "Lukas Champion of the light." As Alex and Natalia begin to walk through the portal the Gods have presented to them, Lukas yells at Natalia saying " Natalia?! What do you mean you let my Uncle live? What happened? Tell me! Tell me now!" Natalia turns around towards Lukas and waves her hands in front of him which glow white and blue. Natalia and Alex walk through and just as the portal closes images appear on that wall. It begins to show just what happened that very day..........

A group of Demons and Ogres had found Natalia and captured her!  They began to rip her clothes off of her as they were in search of something. One of the Ogres says to Natalia " DO NOT FOOL WITH US HUMAN! GIVE US THE HALO!" Natalia crying says to the Ogre " I..I have nothing! I'm a muggle! I have no idea what you're talking about! Please let me go! Please!" The Ogres insist! "Do not tell us lies Natalia! You have it and it is time to give it back!" But again Natalia denied knowing anything. Just then the leader of this group appeared none other than Angrath! The evil Minotaur speaks " Natalia, you knew what you were getting into. Yet you still deny as if nothing happened. Give it to us or die!" Natalia weeping says softly "he will save me. He will come here and kill you all. Let me go." None to sooner her husband Alex shows up with the Sword of war and peace in his hand. The shock on Angraths face! Now it all made sense to him. Why she would give the halo up. Alex simply says to Angrath ' Let her go or face a power you've only dreamt of!" Alex and Angrath  are locked  in a battle! Alex summons 2 Illusory angels and asks one of them to free Natalia and bring her to saftey and for the other to slay the ogres. Natalia could only watch Alex fight for her. She was too weak from being tortured by the ogre to assist in this fight. Natalia watched as Alex and Angrath charged at each other with full speed! They both pierce each other in the heart and fall to the ground. Natalia runs to her husband screaming " ALEX! NO! PLEASE GOD NO!"  Alex laying in a pool of his own blood and the dagger still in his heart. She lays next to him holding his dead body in her arms. Natalia sobs very hard and rubs his face. She then says to him " Alex? I have always loved you. You cannot die. You are needed by people. Your heart is to kind and generous. You've given so much to people that needed it. No! No I refuse to accept your death! Please forgive me......" Natalia takes her hand and places it over his heart where the dagger is. Her hand glows with magical power. She kisses Alex on the forehead and falls back dead. The spell she casted transffered the dagger from his heart to hers. Moments later Alex is brought back to life only to find that in his arms is the lifeless body of Natalia.   As they all watch the events play out they see  in that very moment how Alex turned so evil. They saw the black mana enter his soul! The fire in his eyes. The death of his wife brought upon such an evil that could not be stopped no matter what. They had now fully known what fueled his power. But..............

Back in Hong Kong Xuanye pays Jennifer a visit. He's holding a briefcase in his hand. He casualy walks up to Jennifer and puts the briefcase down on the table where she's eating her lunch in the lab. With a mouth full of food she says " Could you be more rude? What's in the case?" Xuanye replies " Oh, something you've wanted for a long time." Jennifer asks Xuanye to open the case. In it are 3 small vials of black liquid. Jennifer almost chokes on her food! What the.... Jennifer says. Xuanye explains himself telling Jennifer " This oil was on the Swords Alex has. It's 100% pure Phyrexian oil.... Now about the price." Jennifer asks how much as she stuff her face full of food. "20 million dollars Jennifer and I want it in 1 hour." Jennifer scoffs at his price. But Xuanye shakes his fingers at her saying " I think 20 million is enough. That is unless you want the world to know what you have down in this companies restriced area?" Jennifer is freaked out! She accepts the 20 million dollar deal and grabs the vials and runs to the nearst elevator.  Nearly 80 feet below the company head quarters in Hong Kong is a secret facility that Jennifer has been funding since found this techonlogical miracle...... Jennifer screams at everyone in the lab " EVERYONE GET THE FUCK OUT NOW!" Everyone startled leaves the room. As Jennifer make sure everyone is gone and she uncovers this.... thing..... Elesh Norn! Holding the vials up to Elesh Norn as she is in her "Stasis Pod" Jennifer exlcaims "Hail Phyrexia!"

[tyrannosaurus-trainwreck]

I’m halfway through a goddamn Katya/Sofia fic thanks to this stupid meme edit and I feel like I made a wish on the monkey’s paw. >:(

Katya had been maybe sixteen when she realized that most men wouldn’t waste an opportunity to explain something--anything--to her.  She knew why, of course.  Her mother had been practical about Katya’s beauty.

“We’re all brothers and sisters under Stalin--” You never knew who was listening, even at home. “--but you have a chance to get a seat closer to the head of the table, if you marry well.”

Explaining things gave even nervous and shy men an opportunity to demand her attention, to keep talking to her.

It had been the thing that first set Goncharov apart, when she’d met him.  He’d been ambitious, even then.  Cosmopolitan, clever, driven.  The import business was lucrative, but dangerous.  Give the wrong person too small a bribe, smuggle too much of the wrong thing, come back a little too comfortable with capitalist decadence... there were many ways to fall, doing what Goncharov did.  You had to have balls and brains both, and from what she knew he was doing it well. She’d thought he could be a useful contact to cultivate.

“Do you really need me to tell you?” he’d asked, when she’d feigned ignorance about something. “Or is it that you want me to tell you?”

It hadn’t been a transparent ruse; she hadn’t wanted him to think her an idiot.  But he’d been watching her as she’d been watching the rest of the room, seen her weighing up her options, charting her course.  Their positions had been reversed enough times in the years since--he’d known what she was up to because he’d been up to the same thing.  She could see him even now, in her mind’s eye, looking at her and thinking what a pretty, fashionable, social-climbing wife could do for a man in his position.

Katya had been older when she’d recognized, with a startled flash of gratitude, that it worked with women, too.  There’d been a freedom in the exercise of that power that she reveled in, a freedom that wasn’t there when she talked to men.  She’d felt like a god, like a hypnotist, like a witch from a fairy tale.  When it was another woman, she could give anything, take anything, and the next day, it would all be like it had happened in a dream.

It was a technique that worked even better in sun-drenched Naples.  Katya barely had to thicken her accent, to make her phrasing a little more stilted, and men would believe practically anything.  She could point to a fishing boat and say, “And what is that?” and they would trip over themselves explaining the ocean to her, as if perhaps they didn’t have maps and ships in Russia.  It had paid dividends so far around her husband’s new associates--they were careless of the things they said to each other in front of her, provided they said them in Italian.

Sofia was not careless, and Sofia wasn’t in a great hurry to explain anything to Katya, and when the day’s business was done and Katya had a moment to herself, she found that it made her want to tear her hair out.  Or perhaps Sofia’s hair. 

That would at least break the glacial calm on that porcelain face, bring some expression into those dark eyes.  And it would be very satisfying, getting a great fistful of those raven curls and giving them a good hard pull.  Sofia might even make some noise, if she did that.

Katya had met commissars with less self-possession than Sofia.  If the Italians hadn’t proven themselves inveterate chauvinists time and again, she’d have suspected Sofia of being one of Ambrosini’s assassins, though Goncharov had told her they did things differently here.

“They have a system,” he’d said, when she’d told him she didn’t trust Andrey around him. “Like a machine.  If a man wants you dead, the word passes from one man to another until it gets to a man he’s never met, and you’ve never met.  That’s the man who kills you--a stranger.”

It was uncivilized, apparently, to kill your own enemies.  Katya wondered if they made love the same way.

Katya thought of giving someone a kiss, letting it pass from mouth to mouth until it came to Sofia from a stranger.

“How do they know why a man is dead?” she’d asked. “How do they know who ordered it?”

Goncharov had spread his hands and shrugged, mimicking Andrey’s response whenever someone brought up too many specifics for his taste. “They simply know.”

There was an art to it, in Russia.  The giving of absurd alibis, the witnesses who were mistaken.  Everyone saw a man or his right hand walk into the home of his enemy, but then when the police came no one had seen it after all.  Enough money was paid, and then the police stopped asking.  People knew to take you seriously, that you weren’t someone to slight or to cross.  People knew there was fire in your blood, that you’d come for them.  They knew what it was over, too--after that, they stayed away from your woman, or your money, or your family.

The Italian way seemed little better than putting it in the hands of their fickle god.  She might as well go into one of the cathedrals and pray for Sofia to kiss her.

“You’re sulking,” Goncharov told her one morning.  She hadn’t been sulking, but she still didn’t trust Andrey, and he was coming over after breakfast.  Goncharov forgot sometimes that she could watch him, too. “I’ll call Mario and have him send Sofia over.  She can drive you to the market.”

“And get what?” she asked.  She was sulking now, just a little bit, because she didn’t like being accused of sulking when she wasn’t, and because she didn’t like the eddy of excitement and disappointment swirling in her belly.  She could ride in the back while Sofia drove and look her fill.  She could make Sofia carry her bags and translate for the merchants at the stalls.  She couldn’t make Sofia pay attention to her.  She couldn’t make Sofia look back.

“Whatever you want.” His gaze went to the flowers in their vase at the center of the table, bright, beautiful things unthinkable this time of year back home. “Something you’ll remember, if we can’t come back again.  Something to write your mother about.”

Katya stopped sulking.  Goncharov was right to keep the possibility of being recalled in mind.  There were others who wanted what they had, and it was easier to bend an ear when you were there in person instead of basking in the Mediterranean sun.  The Italians had a fickle God; she and Goncharov had a fickle Party.

“Fine.”

By the time she had finished dressing, Sofia was waiting on the front steps.  Andrey couldn’t help but stare at Katya when she swept past, that thing she didn’t trust pulling his eyes tight under his thick brows as Goncharov kissed her cheeks.  Andrey clasped her hands lightly, a combined greeting and farewell, and the band of her wedding ring shifted under his grasp.

Sofia checked her watch instead of staring when Katya came to the door, and Katya wished petulantly that she could show the same level of detachment.  Sofia was dressed well but not extravagantly, and Katya couldn’t help but let her eyes trace the shift of Sofia’s muscles, the sway of her curves, the toss of her hair.  Katya had dressed well and extravagantly, all reds and golds against the bright white of her dress, and Sofia found the scratched glass face of her wristwatch just as compelling.

It was infuriating.  If Sofia had been Russian, she’d have understood what she was doing.  Katya could have done something about it, if Sofia at least understood.  They could have fought in the street.  Katya could have slapped her and torn her braid and called her something indecent in front of everyone.  Katya could have made Sofia hate her, if nothing else. 

But no--the Italians did things differently.  Katya would just look like a barbarian, and Goncharov would have to smooth things over if they wanted to keep the rubles flowing back to Novorossiysk, and it would either be like it hadn’t happened or retribution would come out of the blue, from nowhere.  To not even have the luxury of Sofia’s anger--it was intolerable.

Katya envied the wind that tousled Sofia’s hair on the drive to the market.  She should stop making a hell of paradise and tell Goncharov to ask Mario for a different driver.  Mario had insisted, when they’d taken the house.  The roads in Naples weren’t like Russian roads, he’d said.  They needed an experienced hand at the wheel.  And it was better for business to make sure the driver was discreet.  Mario would arrange for drivers, as their friend. 

Katya thought that he sent Sofia to drive them because Mario hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her that first night when they’d met over dinner, and he thought that what he couldn’t do, no man could do.  Mario didn’t want trouble, not the unpredictable kind of trouble.  Not over a driver.  Katya didn’t know if it was because Italian women didn’t know how to love or if it was because Italian men ignored love affairs between women the same way Russian men did.  Or maybe Mario just knew Sofia.

The market was drowsy and quiet when they arrived, and Katya tried to imagine what the streets in Leningrad looked like now.  It had been such a long time since she’d been home.  There wouldn’t be flowers now, she was certain of that.  Her gaze fell on a patch of vivid red.  Or pomegranates. 

She remembered the first time her mother had given her one.  She hadn’t known the trick for opening them yet, but she’d wanted the seeds so badly.  She’d ripped it open with her hands, precious tart juice staining her nails and running down her arms.  Her father had laughed and called her his little lioness before giving her a knife to do it properly.

Katya hesitated, hand resting on the plumpest one in the pile.  There had to be limits to even Sofia’s stoicism.

“What sort of apple is this?” she asked, picking it up and turning it over.

“Apple?” Sofia asked slowly.  She was probably trying to decide if Katya had said the wrong word or if Katya was playing a joke on her.

A joke, of sorts, but Katya would never admit it. “Da.  What sort of apple?  The skin is so thick.  Do you need a special knife to pare it, as you do with your cheeses?”

“It’s not an apple.”

“Then what, if not an apple?” Katya tossed it in her hand, demonstrating its firmness.  A persimmon of the same hardness would be vile, completely inedible.  Her gold bracelet flashed on her wrist as her hand moved.

“It’s a pomegranate.”

“A what?”

“A pomegranate,” Sofia repeated, irritation creeping into her voice.

“What do you do with them?”

“You cut them open and eat the seeds.”

Katya picked out a half dozen and paid the boy minding the stall.  After that it was easy enough to keep going.  She knew what Goncharov would like.  Fresh white bread.  Some sort of exotic hard cheese ripened in caves by the sea, made with the milk of goats fed on herbs and sweet grasses by the same family since the time of the Romans.  Jam from fruit that you couldn’t get in Moscow, wine that tasted like herbs grown in the sun, flowers that could fill a room with their perfume. 

Time was fleeting, and fortune was more mercurial even than God or the Party.  What point was there in denying yourself when someday the memory of past pleasures would be all you had left?  She and Goncharov understood each other in that respect.  They understood, too, that there were things a person could do to put a thumb on the scale and maybe keep fortune by their side longer.

“What sort of wine does Signore Ambrosini like?”

“I don’t know.” Sofia shrugged around the bags. “He doesn’t drink when he’s conducting business.”

Katya had a moment to think that it was perhaps Sofia’s turn to play the game, then dismissed the thought.  Sofia’s attention was already on the next stall.

“Not even when things are concluded?”

“No.”

Katya tried to imagine it.  It was a bad idea to get too drunk, even once things were agreed on and the papers were signed.  Tempers could get out of hand, words misunderstood.  But not drinking at all would be like spitting in a man’s face.

“Doesn’t that get in the way of doing business?” she asked.  How could a man trust a business partner who wouldn’t even drink with him?  A man who thought he was too good to share your vodka would never honor a bargain with you.

“Not that I’ve seen.  It’s more professional.” Sofia shrugged again, paper rustling at the movement. “He doesn’t say anything he doesn’t mean to say.  Keeps his temper.”

Katya shook her head at that.  Perhaps being bred in the peninsula’s warmth let the people cultivate a certain cold-bloodedness.  If they tried it in Russia, they’d freeze solid and break apart like a sheet of ice on a window pane.