#i mean its pitch black outside but i know every road every bend every turning like its daylight outside

[keysmashhhhhhhh]

Nearly home after 2 weeks away, I've missed my little town and all its silly drama <3

[sayonarasanity]

windmill

this fic is based on the song Windmill by Lor (and I highly recommend you to listen to it while reading especially or later for it is an incredible song)

AO3

summary: Here is the thing about Levi, his heart is a windmill in the middle of a wilderness where there was no wind to make it twirl, there was no wind to make it beat, pound and feel. Just feel.

  Until one day he got hit by a storm so wild, so rare and so incredibly terrifying but in the most beautiful and breath-taking way that it left him defenceless, vulnerable and weak. Like a tiny little flower which had long passed its day of blossoming in a fierce, winter dawn yet it stood erect with its fragile body, challenging against the merciless winds and the brutal frost.

He fell in love.

Windmill, are you still afraid of nothing?

Here is the thing about human life, it isn’t everlasting.

But what is? The world and each and everything within it are mundane. The day is doomed with the night, the sun is doomed with the moon, life is doomed with death, men are doomed with gravity. If something starts, then it is fated to end. It is a vicious circle, living that is. Waking up only to sleep again at night. Earning money only to spend it an hour later on a trouser which you thought was necessary but maybe it wasn’t. Cooking for hours and hours just so you can eat it in mere ten minutes because your body needs food so that you can keep on living, living and living.

Like a windmill, turning, turning and turning to the day when there is not even a breeze to swirl you and you are frozen, unspoken and rigid. 

And here is the thing about Levi, his heart is a windmill in the middle of a wilderness where there was no wind to make it twirl, there was no wind to make it beat, pound and feel. Just feel. 

Until one day he got hit by a storm so wild, so rare and so incredibly terrifying but in the most beautiful and breath-taking way that it left him defenceless, vulnerable and weak. Like a tiny little flower which had long passed its day of blossoming in a fierce, winter dawn yet it stood erect with its fragile body, challenging against the merciless winds and the brutal frost.

He fell in love.

And he fell in love not like jumping to death from a high up building, piercing through the clouds. It wasn’t as quick as that. He fell in love as if he had jumped into a river. It was slow and it hurt during the process of acknowledging it. Like accepting the fact that you were dying. Yet, instead of fighting against it, he welcomed the embrace of the water like he welcomed his mother’s hold. He let the arms wrap around him firmly. Then gradually the snow cold changed to sunny warm and the heavy water he thought that choked him turned into fresh, light air. 

And he fell in love rather quietly, but he fell in love deep. Then his heart started to move and twirl with the wind. 

She was the whirlwind, and he was the windmill. She was wild, sturdy and destructive. When he waited motionless and steady for merely a breeze to touch his vane, she had brought him a storm. 

And he got carried away with it. 

“Why do you keep looking at that thing?” She asks one day when they are in his apartment and he stands in front of one of his shelves in the living room. 

“It’s a windmill,” he explains, taking his eyes away from the scale model of it to focus them on her. 

“I know that,” she says. The shelf is not that high, so she puts her hands on the edge of it and rests her chin on top of her hands. “I wonder if there is a specific meaning behind it.”

“Like what?”

She shrugs and blows, making the vanes of the windmill move slightly. “Like a memory or… a specific reason that only you know, but you don’t want anybody else to learn.”

He raises a brow. “Then why do you ask?”

“I am a curious one, you know,” she smirks. The afternoon sun highlights her eyes and plays with the colour of her short hair which ends just above her shoulders. Some strands of her brown hair shine a sweet red. It is tied slovenly behind with a little hairpin. “And I would like to learn about my boyfriend’s secrets.” 

Right, boyfriend. Apparently, by some miracle or a dice tossed by luck or during a single second in which God or whoever had a tiny pity on him or because of a good-hearted, gentle and humane ancestor of his she had loved him back. 

“There is no secret,” he looks back at the little maquette. There is really no secret behind it. He had made it himself about four or five years ago when he was still at college, studying architecture. It was just that with time it had gained a place more special and a meaning more solid and a presence heavier.

“Is that so?” she asks, raising her brows and smiling lips pressed, playfully. “Rest assured, I won’t get offended if it’s a gift from one of your earlier lovers.” 

“I don’t have earlier lovers,” he deadpans, glaring at her sideways. 

“What is it then?” She straightens and comes closer, dropping her chin on his shoulder. He spares a few seconds just staring at her inquisitive eyes, demanding answers. His heart beats calm, and he hears its pounds and feels its vibrations. Because of her…

Is the wind still your friend?

“I liken it to my heart,” he looks away, already regretting the words that left his mouth out of command.

There is a pause in the air and faint pink on his cheeks. “Oh,” she reacts at last.  

He cannot move his eyes to her this time, as the silence stretches like a furry, tired cat and it nerves him with each tick-tock he hears from the watch that is hung on the wall. It lasts so long that in the end, he shifts uncomfortably, and Hanji lifts her chin from his shoulder, her eyes, clouded and thoughtful behind her glasses, are focused on the windmill. 

“I see,” she says.

The next day she brings a propeller, almost the same size as the windmill and places it next to it. When she turns it on, the vanes of the scale model twirl slowly. 

Then she looks at Levi who is standing still and astonished. The wind howls in his ears, and his heart beats unsteady because it faces the same storm again. Vicious, wild and free.

And she smiles because she knows.

- 

Levi doesn’t exactly know or rather remember but they end up drunk as hell on one Saturday night. 

They are outside, stumbling together towards the coast road where benches are lined up side by side. The air smells like early summer, with newly blossoming flowers and salt. There is a full moon above the sea, and it reflects argent on the surface of the dark, tranquil water. People walk by every now and then and there are stray dogs and cats around. 

When they somehow manage to sit down on an empty bench, Hanji slips and puts her head on his lap facing the pitch-black sky. She giggles to herself as she watches the stars there are barely visible because of the city lights. “So pretty.”

“Hmm,” he approves, observing her relaxed features, coloured cheeks and the goofy grin on her face. 

“Hey, Hanji,” he rolls out of her tongue. He doesn’t even think or plan on what to say. The following words just stumble their ways out of his mouth. “You are—did you know that I couldn’t drink tea without some honey in it?”

She moves her eyes to his and giggles again, covering her mouth with her hand. “Yes, I realized.”

“Oh,” he blinks as if it’s enough to scatter the clouds in his head. But— whatever. It doesn’t matter now. When he has the stars and moon above, the sea ahead and the girl he loves lying on his lap. “Don’t tell anyone. Nobody knows.”

She nods and draws an invisible zip on her mouth. 

“You know why?” He pushes her glasses up her nose. “The reason why I can’t… drink it without honey?”

Hanji lifts her shoulders up. “Because it tastes like piss without it?”

“Yes.” He is a little surprised at her guessing it right. 

“But Levi,” she laughs. “How do you know what piss tastes like?”

“I don’t—I just know.” He closes her mouth with his hand when her laughter keeps interrupting his sentences. “Shut up, idiot. You are ruining the moment.”

To his surprise, she wraps her fingers around his wrist and kisses his palm. He breathes and his stomach moves as if he was in a car and suddenly rode down a hill. She closes her eyes tightly once to indicate that she is listening. 

“Okay,” he goes on. “So, I can’t drink tea without honey because it tastes like piss.” He inhales, despite his drunken haze. He probably won’t even remember—or will he? How drunk is he anyway? Oh, well. Doesn’t matter. 

“That’s… how my life would be.” Miracles happen. While sober he would rather die than utter these words out loud. Maybe it’s a good thing that he is tanked up. Because she deserves to learn. “Without you.”

Her are eyes wide open, and Levi thinks there are galaxies hidden in them. He doesn’t know if there is anything that is infinite or a life that would last forever. Does  forever  even exist? Does the sky have an end or space a beginning? Humans are such incapable creatures. Cannot go back a day before or has no idea what will happen a second later. Hanji is a human being, flesh, bone, blood and a little too much brain, a little too many feelings, and sentiments. And she is not indefinite, at all. But somehow, she makes him feel like she is. 

“Levi,” she says, pulling his hand away from her mouth. Her eyes are still big behind her glasses and her cheeks are even redder than before. “Does this mean you’re going to call me honey from now on?”

And somehow, she manages to annoy him with every goddamn chance she gets.

He frowns and pushes her shoulder, almost making her fall down the bench. She is bursting with laughter in seconds and wraps her arms around his waist to secure herself and buries her face in his abdomen.

“I’m breaking up with you,” he announces coldly.

“You cannot break up with me. We are drunk.”

“I can. I just did.”

“No,” she groans and presses her face deeper in his stomach. 

“Let go, you ungrateful woman.”

“I caaan’t,” she whimpers. “Levi I—” The rest of her words are muffled; he cannot pick up their meaning and form a logical sentence in his mind. 

“What?” He asks, bending his head down.

“I said, I loppffhhhppp…” 

“I don’t understand what you are saying, Hanji.” He puts his hand on her shoulder to push her back. He is convinced at this point that she is not forming legible words, intentionally.

Unexpectedly, she withdraws and puts her hands on his shoulders to lift herself up. Then leans in to rest her head right beside his neck, nuzzling his skin. “We should go back,” she murmurs. “My place is closer.”  

Levi has no idea what time it is when they miraculously manage to enter her house after a taxi drive which felt like years. They take unsteady and clumsy steps inside the house until Levi finds a door of which room, he is unaware of. He only looks for something to lay down on, then catches the sight of a couch with the limited light provided through the half-drawn curtains. He throws himself to it, without even bothering to take his jacket off. He only kicks his shoes out of his feet and tosses until he finds a comfortable position to sleep. 

Hanji gets into the room a few seconds later. Levi watches her with half-lidded eyes and sees that she has a blanket in her hands. He frowns. How the hell had she had enough wits in her head to think of a blanket? But sleep weighs down on him incredibly heavy and so very unusually that he is almost scared to make it run away. He doesn’t have the strength the utter proper words at the moment anyway. 

Hanji lies down on his chest, covering them with the blanket. He automatically wraps his arms around her as she presses her forehead on his neck. She whines. “I hope I don’t throw up during the night.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he mutters. The clean freak inside of him is alarmed and screams with worry and dismay. He has no voice though. Just a wide mouth open in a silent yell and eyes filled with apprehension. 

“Would you break up with me if I did?” Hanji asks, and he feels her smile in her sleepy voice.

A moment of consideration. “No.”

She huffs out a drowsy chuckle. “Levi,” she murmurs and sighs. “I love, love, love you.”

Are you still afraid of something? Is it you who command?

“Idiot,” he says affectionately. The vanes of the windmill twirl ever so rapidly, and he considers how weird it is for his heart to beat, pound and feel for somebody else, for her only. “I love, love, love you too.”

-

The subway moves swift through the night and they are alone inside the compartment at this hour of the day. Levi watches their reflection on the window when Hanji takes a few photos with her phone. Grinning from ear to ear while Levi has a dead, worn-out look rooted deeply in his eyes. Travelling around the city to visit historical places, museums and parks within just one single day was the worst idea he had ever agreed to. He barely had the energy to merely sit.

“Gonna post these on Instagram,” she twitters happily, swinging left and right. 

“Don’t forget to announce my funeral,” Levi murmurs. 

Hanji snorts and locking her phone she puts it back in her pocket. Then she shifts and lies her head on his lap, staring up at him. 

“Why do you always lie on my lap in public places?” He asks, looking down at her.

She shrugs. “I enjoy the view above.”

“Tch.” One corner of his lips quivers and he moves his gaze up, looking at the window across from him again. This time he realizes that there is heavy rain outside, the raindrops tap furiously against the glass. “Shit,” he swears tiredly. “It’s raining.”

She follows his gaze. There isn’t much before they reach their stop. They are going to soak to their goddamn underwears. It had been sunny the whole day. Curse his luck.

“Alas!” she sighs, but she doesn’t sound much concerned. “Levi,” she says then, and when their gazes are locked again, she beams at him. “Would you kiss me under the rain?” 

He blinks down at her first, his heart stammering hard against his ribcage. His eyes examine her features carefully. “Would you like me to?”

“Yes,” she breaths. “I’ve never done it before.”

“Me neither.”

“How do you think it would be?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “I’ve never done it before.”

Her smile widens to display her straight, white teeth. “We should try it.”

“Maybe.” He watches her lips. They are a sweet shade of pink and they look maddeningly soft. And he wants to taste them so very desperately. 

“Don’t worry. Nothing’s going to happen to your chastity.”

His gaze travels up to her eyes. “I am sure.”

It is still pouring rain when they leave the subway. Hanji leads them through the streets, with her fingers around his. He licks the rain on his lips and squints to get a better view of her. He smells wet asphalt and trees and earth. The odour of the pine trees is evident despite the rain. The splashing drops bounce on the ground like they are dancing up and down, but they slow down until they stop under a streetlamp. 

“We should do it before the rain ends,” Hanji explains excitedly. As if what they were going to do wasn’t something basically everyone did but a life-changing, world-saving act of heroism. 

Her lips taste like rain and they are warm against his own. When her hands cling to the collars of his jacket, he cups her cheeks and tilts his head. Much to their unfortunate luck, the rain almost ceases, turns into a drizzle that barely had any function of wetting anything. She smiles, but Levi doesn’t pull back for a little longer. Holds her gently, keeps her close. 

Are you still afraid of the wind?

“Let’s dance,” she whispers against his lips. Her breath warm, her taste still on his tongue. 

“There is no song.” And the rain stopped already. 

She wraps an arm around his neck and holds one of his hands. He slides his other arm on her waist keeping up with her movements, while she   rests her forehead on his temple. “We don’t need a song.”

They start to move slowly, following the notes of a song that doesn’t exist. The wind is blowing still, quietly. If he listens carefully, he can hear the pitter patters of the water dropping down from the rooftops, and the soft sounds of the wheels of the cars rolling on the wet ground, a plane taking off, a man coming back from work, his rapid footsteps.  Tap, tap, tap.  And his heart, content like he is lying down on the grass, with breezes caressing his face, ruffling his hair ever so slightly. Watching how quietly the vanes turn on top of a hill.

Oh, windmill.

You’re a place where I can cry.

You’re a place where I can lie.

You’re a place where I can die. 

[screechlikeasiren]

So, heres the starting chapter from my y/n insert book called 'Choices fem!reader x mha' you can find it on Wattpad.

First chapters are always so slow arnt they?

Y/N Quirk: ?? Age: 15

Close Friend: ??

The cool breeze across your face brings you back to reality. A deep breath you never realized you were holding comes out. Becoming aware of the noises from below you, cars driving along the darkened road, people with different quirks all walking along the sidewalk.

That’s how today’s world is, these powers called Quirks randomly appearing in people. From Quirks that can levitate objects to having multiple body parts, able to control wind or someone’s movements with just a simple look into their eyes. In short form, a Quirk is a superhuman ability that a person possesses. People seemed to randomly develop these Quirks; they can also appear any time before the age of four. Most of the time the type of Quirk you get depends on what your parents have, it’s rare to get something completely different, but it does happen. Sometimes you get nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The now freezing breeze bringing you out of your thoughts. You sit up from your laying position, turning slightly to let your right leg hang off the side. You bend your left leg up next to you, laying your arm off of the kneecap. Laying your head onto the empty flag pole behind you. The cold steel making you painfully aware of how cold you truly are up here. The what was once pitch-black night sky is now turning a slight brighter tint of orange. Signifying the start to another day.

You pick out your phone from your pocket. 3:00AM January 10th. Right. No wonder it's so cold. You remember back to when you celebrated New Years. Fireworks galore. It was so fun. Hanging out with your friends just so you could get away from all the new stresses that came with it being a new year.

You’ve just recently applied to another job. Looking back at your phone you check your emails on the roof top. Your Wi-Fi just barely able to reach your position.

Nope nothing yet. You’ve been hoping to hear back about the retail position you applied for back in late December. They said they would contact you... You close out your email and browse Tik Tok. You release small nose laughs at some of them, wasting as much time as humanly possible before realizing you are going to have to go back inside at some point. Oh well...

You look back down to the cars and people moving with a purpose. Much different than the people in the middle of the night. They never have a purpose.

Glancing back at your phone, pressing the lock button to awaken the metallic device. 5:00am Dam. You really shouldn’t be surprised you spent 2 hrs on Tik Tok but here we are. Blinking while viewing that app can cause a time jump to happen. In any case you’ve got to go back inside.

Spinning around you grab the pole from behind you and slide down the side of the ledge in a little jump. In doing so you dropped your phone. Bending down to pick up the offending item, you flip it over to examine it for any cracks. Nothing. Perfect. That makes you feel a bit better, sliding it into your jeans pocket.

Walking over to the stairwell door you notice the rock you had slid into the door frame has been taken out. You never understood why the building manager kept doing that. It's not like anyone wants to rob such a shitty building in this part of town, the most expensive item in everyone’s apartment would be the basic tv. Honestly. He knows it's just you up on the roof. You try the door handle. Its locked. Of course.

You shove your hand into your jean pocket, pulling out one of the key picks. Don’t question it. You picked up this lovely talent early on in life. “When one door opens another door closes... Unless you know how to pick locks.” You say to no one, but chuckle to yourself. *click* Wonderful. You open the door and close it behind you, locking it. Walking down the metal stairs, finally reaching your apartment.

Unlocking the door with the key you walk inside. Totally forgetting to close the windows your place is now just as cold as it was outside on the roof. Mentally scolding yourself for forgetting to close the damn windows, you lock the door behind you, placing your keys on a little hook by the door. Going around the small apartment and closing all available windows. Ending in your room you plop face down on your bed.

*Buzz buzz* Your phone starts buzzing away in your pocket. Confused as all hell you pull out the phone, just as it shuts off. “Low battery, yeah I hear ya.” You stretch out reaching over your little end table by your bed and grab the charging cord. Plugging in the metal object, you glance at your watch. 5:47am Shit. You really have to get a sleep schedule. You still have stuff to do tomorrow. “Ugh, I’ll just brush my teeth tomorrow. I really don’t care right about now.” You ponder the words coming out of your mouth. “I guess tomorrow is today now. Never mind." Right. Rolling yourself under the covers you drift off to sleep...

So now that’s out of the way. Hi! Welcome to your first day. Well, first night anyway. I know choices can be tough sometimes. BUT some choices have already been made for you haven’t they. Your name for example... (Y/N) Right? Your beautiful hair or maybe the lack there of? Not sure, this is your story after all. I’m just here while you sleep. That’s WAY more creepy than it needed to be, but it needed to be said…

So, here you are, making so many important choices. Choosing to get out of bed, choosing to pick the lock of the handle, so many choices you’ve already made. And so many more to make…

So (Y/N) … What type of Quirk will you have for your story this time?

A) Quirkless. You won't have any Quirks. Nothing. Doesn’t mean you won't have the ability to gain any during the story but you will have to struggle, you like a challenge though. Right?

B) DNA Splice. Everyone either has a quirk or not. With this you must consume blood almost every day to be able to survive. If you consume blood that has a quirk in it, you will gain that quirk and its abilities. You’ll automatically know how to use it, how it works, and how it might hurt you or others near you. You get sunburned VERY easily if you stay out for too long, and you gain a pair of fangs. You can only gain two Quirks at a time. You can gain physical quirks but they need to grow in. Painful stuff that is, depending on what it is, it can kill you.

C) Shadow manipulation. Able to control shadows with a wave of your hand. Your hands need to be in a shadow in order for your quirk to work properly. You cannot use this quirk if your hands are in direct sunlight. You can move small objects so long as they are connected to a shadow then you can move it. If you can't lift it normally then you cannot move it in the shadow form either. Weak spaghetti arms will get you in the long run.

D) Wings. You have wings. That’s it. Nothing more nothing less. You can't do anything with them. You can fly, but that’s it.

E) Unknown. This Quirk will be decided by comments.

So, Y/N…

What will your first choice be?

[bellwetherspromise]

Inspiral

 [ Pas de Deux- Michael Abels ]

“Do you know what happens to a binary blackhole, Mirinia?” He voice was rare with its gentle tone. “At first they begin by shrinking in orbit-- the process is incredibly long.”

“Just at first?” Mirin asked her father. 

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

Mirin knew why Zelphryin had attempted to open the way to the Infinite on his own. Her closeness and usefulness was wholly dependent on if she were expendable or not. If the moment came where he did not need her-- even she had not prepared for this.

For now, his gratification came solely through her control of the Infinite. For now, he needed her for a simple task. Six months before Kurel An’Diel had discovered, Severin, Zelphryin’s servant and Kurel’s mother’s murderer, had been living in secret within the walls of Zelphryin’s apartment. And six months ago, Severin had gone missing. 

Without his whisper, Zelphryin found himself convinced he could not continue his work in Dead Sun. And so, it became necessary to push the limits of the Infinite. In a place of many doors and many outcomes, Severin yet drew breath behind at least a handful of them.  Find the door. Find the boy.

It began first on the night Severin had gone missing. Zelphryin invoked the door: "A port's Commander arrives followed by a woman's charge and a man's brother. In a pretense of rage and suspicion. An order is given to arrest their savior... but.. What happened to the boy after his detainment?"

They arrived back in time and space, outside of An’Diel manor to spy on a conversation from the tree line. "I didn' tell you everythin'" Kurel said, his head in his hands as he sat on the porch. Eilithe seemed to soothe him-- encourage him to share. Kurel had not told Eilithe what he’d done. How he had condemned Severin’s brother to death and in retaliation Severin had defected-- before carrying out the execution of Mags, the woman Kurel had loved as a mother. 

Eilithe was quiet for a long time before she spoke aloud, "I understand." Which Mirin understood to mean that Eilithe would have Severin killed. In fact, through another door Mirin and Zelphryin would come to find that were it not for Eilonwy An’Diel-- Severin would have joined his brother in death. 

He had escaped and so that meant they had to find the door that told them where Severin had hidden himself. Where does a loyal servant go but back home. Back to the Black Mirage. 

When they had finished their journey, day had already broken and her mind was heavy with treasonous information. The pair of them decided the day was better spend in bed. While Zelphryin still slept, Mirin had left on her own to begin her work.

Each time they passed together into the Infinite, she felt their minds and memories drawing closer. It was an effect that her father had called ‘bleeding’, wherein things from the Infinite leaked out into the reality its wielder understood as their own-- where moments would begin crashing into other moments. While she, and every Shol’Shar that wielded the Infinite before her had experienced these bleeds in varied degrees, she and Zelphryin were in unprecedented moments.  Sharing the immensity of the Infinite and in turn, sharing minds.

Back in her apartment, Mirin made her way to the upstairs of her study where a small vault hidden in the wall kept all her secrets. On a pedestal at the center a swirling black force hovered. Around it, pieces of a puzzle orbited in slow motion. 

“The Inspiral is almost complete, isn’t it? Come now,” she said, opening her hand. The shadows twisted into ribbons and began to swirl toward the darkness. Together, her shadow and the dark twisted. Energy compounded upon itself and dragged in the orbiting puzzle pieces. Pitch black consumed the room and everything in it and for several hours not a peep came from the vault.

Three more days passed with the coalesced puzzle box in her possession. Three more days of bleeding moments crashing into other moments. With the object in her hand, she fidgeted behind her back whenever she felt a bleed coming on. 

On the stoop of the Golden Chariot teahouse, Mirin twisted the puzzle box urgently behind her back. Down the dank street, she watched as a sixteen year-old version of herself leap into the air, legs into a perfect slip, arms thrown into the air. 

Velerodra was talking, she could hear the sound of her friend’s voice but not discern the words. Her younger self landed and moved into an uncomfortable twist. Mirin locked eyes with herself before her girl self twist in pirouettes down the road toward the alley.

Without a word, Mirin took off to follow the echo. 

Urgently, she rounded the corner to find her teenage self in a partial back bend. Black bars bobbed in the blue pools of her younger’s eyes and upside down. “Do you remember the next stage?” The younger Mirin asked. She stared at Mirin for ages before her back snapped unnaturally and she staggered forward to disappear into the alley. 

“Mirin..” was all she heard from Vel’s lips. She’d already thought of an excuse. “Did you hear that, Velerodra? Something from down this alley,” Mirin proposed, knowing full well that it was nothing Vel would have heard. 

Her father’s words were as crystal now as the day he’d said them to her:

“Certainly. The first stage we call the Inspiral. Slowly, the binary black hole begins to spin faster together as it prepares for the next stage.”

@kurel-andiel​ @velerodra-valesinger​

[prince-claremont-diaz]

Whatever We Become

Summary: In Lucas’ final year of high school before he has to face the real world, he comes across the new identical twins, Eliott and Leo. Needless to say, Lucas falls head over heels for both of them. 

Or The twin au absolutely no one asked for

Word count: 2.8k

Ao3 version

Chapter Eighteen: Give him time

With a shuddering breath, Lucas plucked his phone from the floor. It thankfully only had a small crack in one of the corners. He turned to his mum, lip wobbling. "Mum?"

She smiled knowingly. "It's the boy, isn't it?" Lucas nodded. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Lucas stood up on unstable legs, pulling out his wallet. He tossed in a handful of euros, bending down to give his mother a quick, tight hug. "Happy birthday. I promise I'll make it up to you again. Soon."

And then he was scuttling out of the restaurant, bounding down the street, feet hitting the pavement only barely as he practically flew through the streets. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, arms pumping by his sides, a whole drum set beating against his chest cavity, chest heaving. He pushed past multiple people, just barely dodging an oncoming car as he sprinted across the street, only looking back for a split second out of instinct.

Lucas sprinted the entire way through the endless side streets, panting, bounding past familiar and unfamiliar streets alike.

Finally, after sprinting for a completely undetermined time, Lucas stumbled to a stop, back in the familiar courtyard. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket, turning on his flashlight and pointing it around the dark area. "E-Eliott? Eliott?" he called, looking around frantically, tripping over his feet in the dark and shining the white light into all the windows and into all the corners. Nothing. He was too late.

Eliott was nowhere to be found.

Lucas bit his lip, teeth chattering and turned his phone screen on again. He read over the messages Eliott had last sent once again, tears beading in his eyes at the heavy implications of Eliott's messages. Lucas' knees buckled and he landed on the cold and slightly damp concrete, a sob escaping his lips. Eliott was gone and Lucas was alone.

As the sobs wracked his whole body, forcing him to lean against a wall of one of the grimey buildings, Lucas pulled up his contacts, scrolling frantically. His fingers trembled violently, almost dropping the phone as he clicked on the contact he needed. As he waited for the phone to stop ringing, Lucas stumbled to his feet. Finally, after only 4 long rings, Yann's voice came over the phone.

"Lucas? Is everything okay? I thought you were with your mum." Yann asked, voice laced with worry. Lucas never called unless he was desperate.

"Yann?" he sobbed into the phone, gripping tight and taking a few wayward steps forwards.

"Lucas? What happened? Are you okay?" Yann blurted, voice raising a pitch or two.

Lucas shook his head, wandering aimlessly out of the courtyard and making his way down the street with heavy, thudding footsteps. "It's Eliott. He's gone." Lucas hiccoughed, turning down a street he didn't recognise at all.

"Gone? What do you mean? Lucas you aren't making any sense," Yann said. His voice softened. "You have to breathe, Lucas or you're going to pass out."

Lucas gulped down a bucketload of air, though it did little to help. "Leo messaged me saying he couldn't f-find him and then Eliott messaged me and—" He interrupted himself with another wailing, echoing sob. "It sounded like a goodbye."

Lucas continued fumbling his way down the street, sobbing into the phone and earning odd looks from passersby. "Like a proper one? A goodbye goodbye?" Yann clarified, his own voice beginning to turn slightly shaky as he took in Lucas' barely coherent words.

"Yes. Fuck, Yann."

He scrubbed his hand over his face, making his way onto a larger main street. He could see a large foot bridge spanning across the great black water, which had another pathway underneath it. Lucas made his way over on jelly legs, tears still streaking his face and wetting his shirt.

"Do you need me to come and get you?" Yann asked on instinct, steadying his voice with a thick clear of his throat. It was much more hoarse than before, however.

Lucas sniffled, clambering down the steps like a drunk man. "I don't know. Maybe. I don't know where I am," he babbled, leaning against the stone wall for support, grappling for air though he couldn't reach it far enough.

Under the bridge, which was relatively high above the water, Lucas caught sight of a tall figure standing, looking down at the water. They were mostly cast into darkness, shrouded from view, a vague silhouette of a person. It was a vast contrast to the bright glow of the city which was blinding Lucas in his panicked state.

"Lucas? You there? Are you okay?" Yann's voice came over the line again, startling Lucas back into reality.

"One second. I'm-I'm gonna call you back." Lucas hung up the phone and turned his phone's flashlight on again. He walked over on uneven, frantic steps as he made his way towards the small tunnel formed by the bridge. The greyish water lapped up the sides of the bank, tiny droplets splashing upwards onto the pavement. "Eliott? Eliott, is that you?" he asked tentatively, shining the light towards the figure.

The other person gasped, falling to the ground while their hands continued to grip onto the handrail for dear life. "Eliott?" Lucas repeated, taking another step forwards, lighting the other properly the closer he got.

Eliott was on his haunches, fingers pale with the grip on the metal, tears soaking his face and shaking his head back and forth. "I can't. I can't. I can't," he kept on saying, voice broken and raw.

Lucas dropped onto the ground once again, leaving no space between them as he pulled Eliott into his arms. Eliott fell away, letting go of the bar and shuddering. He shook his head again, looking away from him with tears in his eyes. "Hey. Hey, look at me," Lucas whispered, tilting Eliott's chin up and leaning their heads together, "You're not alone, okay? You're not. And you are enough. You've always been enough." Lucas cupped Eliott's cheeks with his hands, staring into his deep swimming pool eyes and losing himself a little inside of their intense depth. "I'm here. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

Another sob from Eliott and then he was gripping onto Lucas' jacket, face buried into his collar, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Lucas rubbed his hand up and down Eliott's back, holding onto him like a life raft. "Shh, I'm here, Eliott. I'm here. I'll always be here."

◇

Eliott ended up staying the night at the flatshare after Yann came and picked them both up. He stayed mostly silent as they sat in Yann's back seat, clutching onto Lucas and leaning all of his weight on him. Yann didn't ask any questions, just glancing in the rearview mirror every so often and hugging Lucas out the window when he dropped them off outside the flat.

Now, on Sunday morning, Eliott was still there. He was fast asleep as usual, curled up in a ball under Lucas' duvet and dressed in a pair of Lucas' hoodies and t-shirts. Lucas was sitting up in bed beside him, half on his phone, half watching Eliott. Mostly watching Eliott. Lucas read over his latest texts with Leo then, trying to fill the time before Eliott woke up that afternoon.

Me: I've got him now. He's at my flatshare, is that okay?

Leo: is he okay?

Leo: my parents said it's okay for him to stay with you if that's what he needs rn

Me:He's asleep now, but that's all I can get from him

Leo: that's the usual. keep me updated

Underneath the covers, Eliott began to stir finally, stretching his arms out in front of him and rolling over, hands searching for Lucas. Lucas put his phone down on the bed beside him and scooted down a bit to allow Eliott to use him as a teddy bear, resting his head on Lucas' chest and gripping onto his hoodie. Lucas smiled, fingers combing through his tangled brown hair slowly. He was oddly content sitting there curled up with Eliott in his arms, despite the constant thrum at the back of his mind about Eliott's wellbeing. As long as Eliott was with him, he knew he was safe.

◇

The wind whipped through the streets of Paris, a chill spreading as autumn turned to winter, leaves fluttering from the trees and landing dead. A bus was pulling from its stop, grey fuel filtering out of the exhaust pipe. Lucas was standing on the edge of the pavement, hands in his pockets, watching, waiting.

"Lucas!" He turned towards the voice, smiling when he made eye contact with Leo as he crossed the road. They hugged briefly in greeting and then Leo stepped away, crossing his arms over his chest. "Shall we head to a cafe or something?" he asked, gesturing down the street. Lucas bobbed his head, following him. "How is he?" he asked, glancing around, a slight nervous energy radiating off him as they walked together past shops and restaurants.

"He's still really only sleeping and only eats a little bit," he said, "But I don't really know how he's feeling now. He isn't talking much and I don't want to scare him away." They turned into a small cafe at the corner, sitting down across from each other under the blue umbrella.

Leo frowned, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "That's normal. After he has an episode he's usually pretty tired for a few days. Just, you know, give him time," Leo explained, shrugging. A waiter came over carrying a notepad and the two boys paused their conversation to order coffees. "Are you going to school tomorrow? You should," Leo asked once the waiter had left.

Lucas shrugged, fidgeting with the silver sugar tongs on the plate between them. "I dunno. I don't want Eliott to be left all by himself while we're all out at work or school." Leo gave him a look, raising an eyebrow. "It's not that I don't trust him. I just don't want him to get lonely or something," Lucas added, flushing under Leo's look.

Leo shook his head and replied, "He's not a child Lucas. He can take care of himself. I'm sure he'll survive a day by himself." He paused, watching a lady walking past with a toddler and a small pomeranian. "God knows he's used to being alone all the time…" he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean? Alone all the time?"

"Not exactly alone, really. Our mum has been ill on and off for years and usually stays at the hospital and our dad always worked late, so that's why we pretty much live alone now," Leo explained. He paused as the waiter placed their drinks and cake on the table, muttering his thanks. "He's been lonely for a long time, I think. He lost touch with friends recently and he's struggled with making friends since his diagnosis. Everyone found out at school and it wasn't very fun for him."

"That just makes me want to leave him alone even less," Lucas said hopelessly, fingers skimming through his hair.

"I'm not an expert, but right now I think he just needs support. Whether that's from a distance or not is up to him, really," Leo said. He took a sip of his drink, wincing and adding a couple sugars to his coffee using the tongs, swirling the beige liquid with a teaspoon. "But be prepared to… deal with some shit. Sometimes he snaps at you or pushes you away, but don't let yourself think he doesn't like you. Because he does. He never fucking shuts up about just how much." He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Lucas leaned back in his chair, taking a gulp of his latte and briefly taking a look at their surroundings. Despite the cold, it really was a nice day, birds chirping and the sun low in the sky and washing the city in a pleasant glow. "Thanks for meeting me today, by the way. It's helped a lot," Lucas admitted, putting the coffee cup down on its plate. "I've researched all about bipolar disorder almost constantly the last few days, but I still had no idea how to help him or be there for him. So thanks."

Leo shrugged, holding his hand up for a fist bump over the table. Lucas obliged, rolling his eyes and smirking. "No problem, man," he said, dropping his hand in his lap. His smirk fell from his face however and he glanced down at his plate. "I should probably apologise about the other day, as well. For shouting at you and then ditching you in the middle of the city at night. That was pretty shit of me to do."

Lucas shook his head, touching Leo's wrist momentarily. "It's okay. I get that you were just stressed about Eliott," he reassured, eyes softening.

Leo sat up straight, huffing. "But that doesn't give me an excuse for how I reacted. You had absolutely no idea what was going on and you weren't to know about what to do or not do if Eliott hadn't told you yet," he said, speaking rapidly, "Yeah, I was scared because that was a pretty bad episode in a long time, but you looked even more terrified with the situation. I shouldn't have been so harsh." Leo placed his hand on top of Lucas' and sent him a half smile. "So, I'm sorry once again."

They sat in silence for a little while after that, drinking their coffee and watching the world go by. It was pleasant again with Leo. Lucas had almost forgotten about how comfortable he could be around Leo. But something still nagged at the back of his mind, a whisper that grew louder and louder until it was almost screaming in his head.

"You said your mum has been sick on and off for years. What did you mean by that?" Lucas asked slowly, tentatively, voice low and hesitant. He sipped his drink, looking up curiously over the rim of the cup.

Leo scratched the back of his head and drummed his fingers on the table, nervous. "Ever since I can remember, our mum has always been pretty unhealthy and weak. She often ends up in hospitals long term for treatments pretty frequently," he explained, frown deepening with every word, "She was doing okay for a good while recently, but she fell ill a couple weeks ago and had to be sent to emergency care in the middle of the night. I think Eliott was staying at yours that night, actually." Now that he thought about it, Lucas could remember how Eliott had gone, stating that Leo had called him to come home for a family emergency. His gut twisted horribly as he remembered the slight bitterness he had felt when Eliott left him, now seeing as it was because his mother was sick.

"Eliott never took it well, our mum getting sick. He tells people she works a lot like our dad, but she's just usually too sick to leave hospital or hospice," Leo added, almost choking on his hot coffee as he remembered the extra detail. "It's a complicated situation to say the least."

Leo's phone chimed in his coat pocket then, a light, tinkling sound and he pulled it out to look at his message. His eyebrows furrowed with focus as he read over the message and then he slid it back inside his pocket, finishing off the last few mouthfuls of his coffee in one large gulp. Lucas squinted his eyes and tilted his head as Leo proceeded to get up from his seat, wiping his mouth on his napkin.

"That's my cue to leave, unfortunately. But it was good to see you," Leo said, pushing his chair under the table. He pulled out a few euro coins from his wallet and plopped them onto the table.

Lucas grabbed his wrist to keep him from going. "You're sure it's okay for Eliott to keep staying with me?"

"I think it's better for him right now. He feels safest with you, clearly, so yeah." Lucas nodded, dropping Leo's wrist. "See you at school tomorrow?" he added, raising his eyebrows.

Lucas nodded, smiling. "Probably. See you later." He watched Leo crossing the street again, waving over his shoulder and walking back in the direction he had originally come from earlier. Lucas continued to sip his coffee and eat his cake for a few minutes before going inside with the cash to pay for their food and grab a croissant to go.

With the birds singing their light tunes and the lightest of breezes on his skin, Lucas wandered his way back to the flat, happier than he'd been in a while.

[theboondogglepub]

A Land of Gardens Black. Part 2.

Part 2: The Catte Army that Baps, Far and Away we Travel Still...

What ho, what is this?

You’ve returned to our play? I cannot say I’m surprised I took your breath away. Very well, I can see you thirst for more of this bard! I am not wont to deny audience hunger this hard. Let me restring my lute, and twine my guitar, figure simple words out I can rhythm very far. Yes of course! It is time, and I must not disappoint. I believe our next chapter begins where roads joint. Where was I? Oh yes! It is time we took notice of Cattes. Of stalwart brave fighters who oddly take naps. It is time, I do think, to appraise the Catte army of Baps.

Stare out if you will, and do not miss a thing. Complexities abound when I get ready to sing. You and I see a town, quite the normal seen sight! Though do you share my wonder why they lack any light? Streets awash with people in clutters and slums, nary a working street lamp just rows upon rows of bums? We see here two roads in the middle of town, and two groups on said roads, all sharing in frowns. A blockade on both ends, and two blockaders at that, one group for the Botanist queen, the other sworn to Catte. Let’s look in now, stay quiet! You don’t want them to hear! Perhaps a bit of eavesdropping with make things more clear.

“I demand passage!” He cried out in the direction of a conifer tree, tapping his cane on the cobbled path as he walked into town. “I have a message for her Lady of Cattes! It is quite important!” The blindfold he wore made seeing the blockade of Her Lady of Botanist Divinity hard to see, not that it mattered as he still was aways from the road yet. “I am Aster of Chants! A monk sent by our Lady of Divine Pure White! The Botanist Queen Herself!” He bumped into a light pole, and demanded audience with it. “It is imperative she hear this right away!” While Aster chats with a light pole, let us see what else is happening.

“What do you mean I cannot cross? I have friends over there! This is absurd!” At the borderline stood stalwart a woman of impressive strength and azure hair. On her person she hefted her shield, her sword, her backpack, her friends backpacks, a water heater, a steer, a baby carriage, half of a tree (the best half, if you were wondering), exactly three uneaten pies, and a loaf of pumpernickel bread, all tied together into a fashioned backpack of sorts made of rope. Her eyes glared at the men and women that guarded the border, their pristine white uniforms opposite the enemy border watch in black uniforms that guarded the other side of the street. An enemy watch that was… exactly 10 fulms away from them, facing the other direction.

“We are sorry Lady Braum the Azure Knight, but there is nothing we can do.”The pristine white uniformed man said. “It is the Botanist Queen’s orders that no one travel beyond this street. There are rumors and more than rumors that a war is about to break out, and we must be ready. It is for your own good that no one be allowed to cross.” The white uniformed person told the azure knight of absurd encumbrance.

“Hah! You would say that you white uniformed dog! I spit on your mother’s grave and speak to your father about your crass language! HMPH! It is the Queen of Botanists that sways and grows ever dangerous!” Exactly 10 fulms away from them, a black uniformed soldier turned ever so slightly to throw his insult. It wasn’t a very good one.

“How DARE you!” The white uniformed soldier replied. “I will see you to fisticuffs on the battlefield, you Catte soldier confederate! You, you, you… MEWLING!” That last insult drew an audible gasp from everyone present. Ashe, Azure Knight of impressible mettle and bizarre encumbrance, remained at her side and waited. She would be waiting a while.

Meanwhile on the other side of the blockade,  exactly 10 fulms away a small group of travelers sought passage. Most of these travelers were heavily cloaked, however one… “HURRR you cannot do this to me! Do you know who I am?” A beefy shirtless man stood staring down his side of the blockade, blond beard bristling. “I am the second greatest Dragoneer, second greatest lover, second greatest puncher, wine-taster, dead-lifter of weights, and skipper of stones and coins. Why, were I not a peaceful and negotiable man just trying to sell people on the fine art of shirtlessness! I would show you the strength that has been passed down my family line for gene-” Just then he was interrupted.

“Heeeeeey,” A singular voice clamored accusatory, surly, feminine and quite direct. It was a voice that echoed high in the streets, demanding attention and notice. It was Z’ylarix of Fire, and she strode upon a steed/chocobo/chair/bear/owl combination. For you see, Z’ylarix of fire used everything, and rode everything, all at once. “I see you there. Don’t deny it! You will come with me this instance! There is no escape, not any more for deserters like you!” Striding forward atop a, for the sake of convenience we’ll call it a ‘mount’, from the direction leading into town, Z’ylarix of Fire pointed her sword/dagger/staff/knife/other dagger weapon (To be fair, it is quite impressive despite its odd name) down on the well-cloaked crowd. She called someone in particular out, but whom it was not yet quite known. “It is time you came with me!” One of the cloaked figures broke out from the crowd, and began making a mad dash away, only to be caught in Z’ylarix’ patented net/ropes/trap/box/assortment of trinkets that was thrown by the dark rider herself. “There is no escape! The Admiral demands it!” From there, the netted body and Z’ylarix rode away.

After a travel, large and imposing black gates open and creak, and the room beyond requires much of me to speak. It is wide in its scope, and tall in its lift, and in threw Z’ylarix the man known as the agent of Grift. Still in a bag, and the bag in a net, you’d be wise to consider his death a safe bet. The Grifter did shuffle, did sway and crawl out, only to look on at his peers with a definitive pout. He wore an eyepatch, and another on top. Another and another which all shuffled with a hop. Let us hear in and see what this meeting does bring, perhaps more revelations upon which I will sing.

“SO,” She scowled, and we shall get into who she is quite quickly, for now her face is covered in a black mask. “The MAD PATCHER! Made any eyepatches lately?! Or perhaps… CONSPIRED WITH THE ENEMY?!” She, the Admiral of Cattes and Lord of the Gardens Black, stood up and slammed her rifle onto the table, letting it lay there as an object of imposing fear. Under her black mask, the Lady of Cattes twitched her cat ears, and flicked her cat tongue, and scratched her cat nails along the table. She wore red sewn with red stitching, red fangs on her black mask, and red draped on her cloak. She wasn’t grand, but imposing, commanding the room.

The Mad Patcher replied. “Oi don't nu waaat yer are blatherin' aboyt.” He spoke an eclectic… accent? Speech pattern? He.. did he even speak? Or was it some form of grunting? “Al' oi want is for peace among de people. dat is al', perhaps we can reach a resolushun? wud yer care for an mince pie patch?” The Mad Patcher was called so for his abundance of eyepatches. He wore an eyepatch on an eyepatch, and another on top. He wore patches on his shirts, on his pants and on his boots. He wore patches on his fluffy Catte ears, and it was rumored he was once a time ago a sailing Corsair of some type. Now he was just the Mad Patcher. If there was a thing that required a patch, the Mad Patcher was there, ready to patch.

The Black masked Queen of Cattes was having none of it. The Admiral of Cattes took out another gun (this one more a derringer), and shot the Mad Patcher in the shoulder, causing him to wince and bend. She laid that gun out on the table next to her first. “WHAT SAY YOU my COUNCIL? He has chosen his side. Shall we show what happens to those who do not choose correctly?!” The Admiral of Cattes looked on her council, and waited to hear their wisdom.

To the Admiral’s left was Kai Aries, the astoundingly cute. She wore pink sweaters and frills, and pink ribbons on the frills. Pink bows on her ribbons and pink tassels on her bows. She was small, but not tall, and had big eyes but no tail. She had cat ears, and wore a pair of cat ears behind her cat ears. Kai Aries was known for her resounding style, and also her battle precision. Kicker of groins, there was not a foe downed by her that didn’t wheeze for days after. Men feared her kicks, women feared how her kicks could hurt so bad, and her allies feared naught but being dressed up in pink on a whim. To deny Kai’s proclivities of dressing people outside of the Admiral in garb meant... well, you can guess it. Yup. A kick to the groin. She gave a thumbs down. “The Patcher did not let me patch his pants pink. I say punish him.”

Past Kai Aries sat Catherina of the Lynx, and in her shadows peered out from pure darkness the eyes of 1000 cattes. Not a simple thaumaturge, she was a black mage. More than a black mage, her every shadow was pitched in darkness, and in each shadow a pair of catte eyes glowered out from. In the curves of her form fitting gowns, in the crease of her bent knee, under the brim of her hat. Catte eyes. She sat bored, reading a book laid inside another book inside yet a third book. “Oh? Him? I suppose yes. He should be punished. Go ahead.” Each word Catherina spoke was echoed by meows coming from everywhere and nowhere, and as she finished speaking she returned to her book. Disinterested.

Beyond Catherina was the Mookie of Boolie, a large buxom creature of insectoid and feline nature and elusive dangerous beauty. Not quite a wasp, nor butterfly, nor a caterpillar, not a catte, the Mookie of Boolie was at once a little of many differing insects, and sat upon a tufted mushroom of multitude vibrant colors. She smoked a pipe, blowing out idly as she observed the Admiral’s rage. Hailing from the land of Boolie, Mookie was the ruler of the distant realm on the edge of the Garden’s Black. She ruled for she was the greatest of her species, the Queen of Boolie, and all respected her and the hard earned title. Mookie slowly piped out several circles, blowing an arrow through each expertly. “Not lewd enough for my taste. I vote punish him. Humble the egotistical fool.” Her words cut through the smoke rings, an air of dominance through them all.

Lastly to the Admiral of Catte’s right sat, or more so loomed, the shadow of Aifread. I say and emphasize shadow as Aifread did not speak, did not possess shape, did not do more than loom dangerously. Her shadow cast 15 fulms high behind her, but where the shadow originated from, nothing sat. Just a spectre with flickering cat ears. Long did rumors circulate that Aifread was nothing more than a simple Catte once, much like many of the denizens of the Garden’s Black. Other gossip placed her as a pool of liquid shadow that did the dark biddings of her dark Admiral of Cattes. Still others said Aifread was once a normal though affluently wealthy Catte, yet bought herself the right to cease to exist, thus becoming a shadow of ill-intent. Whichever was true was little known, what was known however, was she was easily distracted. Sitting to the Admiral’s right, the shadow of Aifread, again merely a shadow near 15 fulms tall, noticed a mouse and pounced. The Admiral of Catte’s regarded Aifread. “Well? Which way do you sway on the matter?” With the reminder given, Aifread, again a massive cast shadow of a creature, pointed down. Her vote was given.

“VERY WELL,” The Admiral of Catte announced her decision, laying yet a third gun on the table with a slam. This one a drum magazine style tommy-gun. “You, Mad Patcher shall be punished for your impunity! I declare the punishment as… DEATH!” Having said that, the Admiral of Catte’s leveled her fourth gun drawn from her coat, this one a sniper rifle with a solid oak stock, and fired. POOSH went the bullet, and the Mad Patcher fell over in a slump, shot right between the eyes. Dead.

Minutes passed, and a conversation about changing the curtains to a shade to match the new season began. They decided on paisley. Then, “UUUUUUHHHH” The Mad Patcher inhaled sharply. “T- Tanks me queen .” He said, barely understood.

“Now, think about why I killed you next time you go and do something stupid Mad Patcher. To the dungeon with him! I demand he be killed at least 5 times before breakfasts, and 15 more before dinner for the next two sennight!” With the Admiral’s declaration, black uniformed guards stepped up to, picked up, and carried the Mad Patcher away. “And no desert for him! The delinquent!”

Now we have seen a bit more of the cast, and yet the third still waits to be shown at last. We have met Aster of Chants and Ashe the encumbered, but what of the rest who are still as of yet unnumbered? What of Locke of the Tin, or Maeze of the paths, or Kayne the pure or of Lulu of Crafts? What of Naih the quite strange, or Anhashy the bold, what of all of the clans of Blacke who hail from the cold? We’ll meet them all soon, and more I do swear, I just have to muster the desire to care. What is that you say friend, there is story to tell you must hear? Yes, I believe we’ll begin again when the tune once again finds my ear. Just time to rest, that is all I do ask, soon once again in my tale you all will bask.

[eatbreathewrite]

The Adventures of Todd and Granny

(Alternatively: “I Saw Granny Ethel with the Devil”)

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V

Yard Work

Of the many lessons instilled in him by Granny Ethel, the one that Todd knows best, is that good, hard, honest work keeps the devil at bay.

It’s only a saying. But he takes it to heart, if only to reassure himself that his brethren don’t know or care where he’s disappeared to for the past few months.

Really, they shouldn’t care. They’re often called away and sent on wayward tasks by superiors and skilled summoners alike. Sometimes for years.

Todd wouldn’t mind living like this for a decade, or two.

The Human Todd—Theodore—though, doesn’t seem to hold the same morals.

“Ugh—why won’t the damn thing just start?” he gripes at the old push lawn mower, rusted and peeling with age, as he yanks the motor’s rip cord for the third time in a row—unsuccessful. Not even a stutter. The heel of his shoe bounces off of its faded red deck with a dull, metallic thump as he tries to kick it into submission, but hitting machinery never inspires it to suddenly, magically work.

It isn’t that it doesn’t have gas—Todd has made sure it’s well taken care of in its old age and properly filled. It isn’t that it’s missing its grass-catcher bag, either. That’s another issue to be met further down the road.

Ultimately, it’s just Theodore’s poor luck and impatience. And a dirty carburetor, perhaps.

He’ll let him struggle obliviously for a few moments more—but only a few. Granny Ethel’s lawn is overgrown with a wily mass of green-yellow grass up to his shins, in desperate need of taming. But for now, he just shakes his head and minds his business at the stone-bordered garden on the other end of the lawn, getting his claws dirty pulling stray weeds from between herbs and taking notes on which ones need pruning.

More importantly, he only allows Theodore to swear so loudly because Granny Ethel is currently absent.

Their friend Sam from the grocery store kindly drove her to her routine check-up at the local clinic earlier that afternoon, though they probably would have walked if it wasn’t in the next town over.

Being who she is, he’s still a bit surprised they didn’t.

Another kick echoes off the metal body of the lawn mower—followed quickly by a strangled yell and the sound of something heavy—someone—hitting the grass with a sharp rustle. A soft landing.

Maybe he’s lucky after all.

Todd still ignores him, and pauses briefly to admire the ruby red glare of a ladybug landing on the back of his dark hand. Even as the swishing of disturbed grass only grows closer, until a distorted human shadow blocks the bright patch of sun reflecting off of the ladybug’s fragile shell.

Theodore clears his throat.

The ladybug’s wings unfurl in a flutter and it flits away, following the wind.

Again, he clears his throat to garner attention—and Todd ignores him. But he does keep him in the fringe of his peripheral vision.

“No help at all.” He huffs out an insulted breath as he stomps away, unkempt, sweaty blond hair flouncing with each step. It must be the hardest he’s worked out in ages, to get so worked up.

But Theodore doesn’t return to the lawn mower—this time he heads toward the far corner, to the small brown shed topped with a patchy, bright yellow roof. Unpainted, unfinished. It’s something Todd will take care of at an appropriate time. Granny Ethel’s birthday, perhaps…though she hasn’t mentioned it just yet.  

The doors rattle as he gives them a shake—locked, naturally. He sets his hands on his hips and hangs his head in defeat. Bends down and almost collapses in the grass, ready to give up, but stops. Frozen, as if struck by inspiration. His head tilts dramatically as he peers toward something in the corner, resting in the shadows between the shed wall and the fence.

Todd has to admit, this interests him greatly—he turns his head to watch, but doesn’t move from his spot beside the herb garden.

Theodore straightens up and slinks toward the shadowed nook, reaching a hand out into the blackness. And when he draws it back, a scythe handle is gripped in his palm.

It’s dusty. Rusted and bent at the edges, probably dull—and complete with another hand grip protruding from the main rod like a functional tool. Made of old wood; reliable wood. Hand-carved. Theodore wheezes out a laugh of disbelief and quickly turns. Todd can’t turn around fast enough and catches the brunt of the victorious grin wrinkling his face. Knowing, and so triumphant. The absolute epitome of foolish Pride.

He doesn’t even know what he’s holding, certainly. Not with those pristine, clean hands that have only been pricked by a splinter today.

Todd rises to his feet, to his full height. There’s no need to heed ceilings—not outdoors. When he takes the first step, Theodore’s smile crumbles. He clutches the scythe to his chest and takes a step back, shoulders tense. He holds the eye contact just to spook him. Just a bit.

But he doesn’t walk to him. He reaches the lawn mower and kneels to pass a hand over its motor, clearing it of whatever issue remains.

Ah. Like he thought. It’s the carburetor.  

He takes the rip cord in one hand and gives it a brisk yank—the motor stutters. Again, he pulls it, and the machine roars to life. Obedient, like a well-tamed beast.

Theodore’s strangled yelp of outrage satisfies the primal human vengeance he’s come to know as “pettiness.”

As the lawn mower idles, Theodore sets the scythe carelessly aside, dropped against the shed, and trudges through the tall grass toward it. He seizes it by the handle bar without sparing Todd a second glance even as he towers over him, still kneeling, thanks to the height of his spiraling horns.

Still, he doesn’t seem to know just how to operate the machine he snatched away. He pushes it forward, too rough—and jumps back with a start, cursing as the fresh-cut grass clippings pepper his navy-blue slacks in a rush of green.

But the beast has already been released, and as his fingers slip from the handlebar, it creeps its way forward without prompt and with surprising speed.

Straight into Granny Ethel’s beloved and flourishing lantanas.

Then right over them.

Both, speechless and stock still, stare at the vermillion whirl of shredded petals spit out in the lawn mower’s wake. Even as it bumps into the fence and tries to continue on, unaware—until it topples over and chokes itself out, blades whirring to a halt beneath its casing.

Just in time, too. In the distance, but not too far away, a car door slams shut. Swift and familiar, shuffling footsteps fast approach. The wooden side gate creaks open.

“We’re back at last, dears! I’m sure you’ve been working hard. Why don’t we take a break? I saw the most charming bakery on the way home and couldn’t help but—”

Something crashes against the cobblestone walkway. Soft—covered in a plastic bag. Bread. No, cinnamon buns. Todd can smell the sugary vanilla sweetness through the package. But he can’t quite turn to face Granny Ethel as a red hot glare fills his eyes, aimed only at Theodore.

But—no. It isn’t entirely the man’s fault.

It’s his, too, for playing a jealous, petty little game. Because he could have stopped the lawn mower and didn’t.

Sometimes, standing idly by is the worst sin of all.

Todd’s heart caves in as Granny Ethel breathes in and exhales, speechless, and presses her hands to her mouth when he turns to face her.

“Oh, my… The lantanas.”

Her eyes dart to the ruined mess of flowers and she takes a tiny step forward, over the fallen bag of sweet bread. Drops her hands from her mouth and holds them out in front of her as she ambles forward—and stops, a safe distance away from the destruction.

“Oh, my dudes, yikes,” Sam breathes, hissing in through his teeth and rubbing a brown hand across his frowning, pursed lips. “I, uh—I’ll go in and mix up some juice or something. You’ll need it.” He picks up the fallen bag of buns on the way.

Todd’s shoulders hunch as he very nearly curls in on himself in shame, wrapping his shawl tight around himself—because the heat never bothered him and it’s his it’s special and it was a gift from her and, somewhere deep down, he vows to never disappoint her, to hurt her, in such a way again. Ever.

Theodore, flushed deep red from neck to ears ever since his grandmother walked in, shuffles half-heartedly in front of the straight line of shredded lantanas, at least self-aware enough to realize he’d made a grave error. His hands knead roughly together, pale skin turning whiter from the pressure. Sweating, still, but not only from the summer heat.

“Gran, I…”

“Charles grew that patch for me.” Her soft poofs of cloud-white hair twist in the breeze as she closes her eyes and dips her head toward her chest, eyes closed. “Oh, they’ve been there ever since he planted them. Every single one.” She folds her hands in front of her loose, sunflower-yellow dress and shakes her head, saying no more on the subject.

“Oh my God. I’m so—Gran, I don’t… I didn’t mean to, it just… It wasn’t my fault!”

His frantic cry goes unheard by Granny Ethel as she stands with her head bowed in silence.

“There’s a silver lining, here, my dear.” When she looks up, her eyes shine behind her glasses, unshed tears catching sunlight, but her stare is hardened. And harsh.

Even with that small, tired smile, her fury is a cold-burning flame.

“You see, these particular flowers can live again. We will collect the undamaged stalks that are left and root them. Replant them. Then…” Her voice trails off into the silence of an unspoken thought. “For now, I’ll leave you two in peace to finish the yard work.”

Neither speaks a word, stuck in mortified silence, even as Granny Ethel disappears into the house.

The silence is only broken moments later when Sam makes his way back outside holding a tray filled with a glass pitched and three glasses, as well as a small pile of cookies. Peanut butter, of course.

But no sweet cinnamon buns.  

“Here’s that drink! Lavender lemonade with honey—and Granny’s special peanut cookies,” he smiles, trying his best to keep up a positive atmosphere as he sits cross-legged on the lawn with the fine silver tray in his lap. “She helped put it together, dudes, so don’t forget to thank her later.”

Theodore scoffs and grumbles out, “I’m allergic to peanuts,” but Todd knows that isn’t true. He’s seen entire containers of peanut butter disappear overnight, at times. And Granny Ethel simply wouldn’t do something that selfish, so he’s the only suspect.

But if the man is going to be that way about it, then all the more treats for him and Sam. He drains one of the glasses in a single gulp and devours two of the delicious, crispy cookies, nodding in appreciation. Because it’s what Granny Ethel would want—and he’d rather die than let her hospitality go to waste. Her happiness always comes first.

He hopes she’s not crying.

“She’s busy crocheting something in the den, by the way. Humming, and everything. Boy, am I glad she’s not mad.” Sam also eats a cookie and speaks around the crunchy bits in his mouth, providing him with just the answer he sought. “But, man, that’s some gnarly garden carnage, there.” He nods his head toward the lantanas and whistles low. “Did you apologize?”

“Why would I?” Theodore snaps, arms crossed tight as he refuses to look at the flowers and their faces, still evident in his guilt by the way he answers so quickly. When no one gives him an immediate response, he breathes a theatrical sigh and clomps toward the fallen path of ruined flowers. Hands on his hips, now, he observes the mess. “Is any of this even salvageable? None of the stems look un-shredded!”

“You should apologize,” Sam insists lightly, taking another cookie when he finishes the first. He meets Todd’s eyes and they share a knowing glance. Then, his brown eyes light up. “Oh—and by the way, Granny’s appointment went great! She’s fit as a fiddle.”

By now, Theodore is squatting amongst the flower shreds, combing through the mess for anything that looks particularly helpful and root-able. “Of course she is. Her energy knows no bounds.”

Todd can only nod. Granny Ethel’s health is nigh infallible. But—that aside, it’s time to return to work. He finishes his cookies, brushes the crumbs off his palms and carefully makes his way to the flower patch to pick out the lantana stems they can still save.  

There are few—but a few is better than none. And for the rest, they can grow from the seeds.

It will take some time to return Granny’s beloved lantana garden to its former glory, but not forever. And before they know it, this day will be nothing more than a mistake of the past.  

So, they continue their yard work until the day’s chore is done.

The remaining lantanas: neat. The lawn: trimmed. The herb garden: weeded and pruned.

When the tools have been returned to their proper place, they leave the yard behind, and Todd gives one final, sweeping glance around the space as he slides the back door shut.

Something is out of place. He can’t quite pin down what, but later, when he curls up in his small twin bed and drifts to sleep in the room he shares with Theodore, he dreams of a rusted scythe that he can’t quite remember putting away—one that he promptly forgets when he wakes.

[stupid-jeans]

how to return home ch7 (Jalton, M)

Over here at AO3

Summary/Notes: Here we go!! Sorry for the delay! Updates may be a little slower...baby is very mobile which leaves me with little time and little energy! Haha. But I promise, I'm still writing! 

The aftermath of crossing the line. This chapter is T.

In the morning, Jaz wakes up to find him still on the line, his steady, even breathing calming and familiar. Reassuring. There’s still an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach, knowing they’ve obliterated whatever hint of a line still existed between them. She doesn’t want to say that they can’t come back from this, but it’ll take work. If he wants to come back from it. If she does.

God.

Suddenly, all she can think about is his voice and how he’d sounded saying her name. Her cheeks warm at the thought, and the rest of her body isn’t far behind. She disconnects the call and slips out of bed. Regardless of the heat or humidity, this morning definitely calls for a run.

The sound of the dirt under her feet is familiar now. It’s different from the sand back in Turkey, but this place has wormed its way into the fabric of her soul the same way the quonset hut had. The birds, the breeze, the rattle of truck tires on the road, it all settles her, like looking down the scope of her rifle. Maybe moreso. And she has to wonder at that.

Nothing has ever made her feel more whole than lining up her shot and taking it. The black and white of it had appealed so strongly to the younger version of her, the one who grew up in a world of grey. The one who grew up powerless and lost. Jaz isn’t that girl anymore, and she hasn’t been for a long time, but the distance seems more tangible now, between the past and the present. She’s not lost anymore. And she’s definitely not powerless.

After this last deployment, she can admit that the reason for that is Adam. He’s the reason she’s still here, in more ways than one.

Her phone rings and Jaz drops the damn thing. It clatters against the cracked pavement of the track and skids a bit, but stays remarkably intact. Muttering curses under her breath, she bends to pick it up, finding Gavin’s name on the display.

“So first of all, you need to tell me how your night went. Connie says you have a gentleman caller, which I can only assume is one Mr. Adam Dalton. And secondly, guess who has a hot date on Friday?”

“That was quick,” Jaz says, choosing to ignore the first part. “Who is he? Send me his picture. He’d better be hot enough for you.”

“You come back to the house, I’ll tell you all about him. Lord knows how you run in this heat, Jazzy. I broke a sweat just walking from the car to the porch.”

“It’s not that bad,” she scoffs. “I’ll be back in 20. Think you can handle that?” There are still laps to run, her head’s still not entirely clear, and there’s energy coiled in her muscles that needs releasing..

“You’re lucky I love you. Iced tea’ll be cold by the time you get back.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know,” Gavin says and Jaz laughs as she hangs up and starts off along the track again.

Jaz’s thoughts drift back to Adam, to their conversation by the fire after Tehran. The darkness creeps up on her too, not that she’d told him that. She wonders, though, if that’s why he’d confessed to her. Still, her darkness isn’t the same as his. Killing isn’t her poison. That’s just a side effect. No, control is her thing and always has been. And Jaz has been wondering lately, whether her darkness looks like too much control or none at all. She’s not sure which one is scarier.

Coming to a stop by the bleachers, lungs burning, sweat pouring off of her, Jaz pauses and looks across the track at the low brick buildings of the high school. She tries to imagine, like in Elijah’s kitchen the other day, what it would be like to have grown up here. Maybe she’d be married now, have a family, a normal job. The thought makes her laugh a little and Jaz shakes her head to clear it before heading back toward home.

**

As promised, Gavin is waiting for her with fresh iced tea and pancakes and Jaz doesn’t even consider a shower before joining him at the kitchen table and digging in.

“Show me,” she says around her first mouthful, beckoning with her free hand.

“Slow down there, cave girl,” he teases, but hands over the phone with a photo already on the display.

“Damn,” she says once she swallows her food. “He’s like...a bodybuilder model or something. Nice catch.”

“Right? He’s delicious.”

“Where are you going?”

“A club in Huntsville.”

Jaz almost asks why but the look in Gavin’s eye tells her and she suddenly remembers where they are, in rural Alabama. The city is safer.

“Text me when you get up there,” she murmurs. “If you need me, I’ll be there.”

“You sound just like Connie,” Gavin laughs. “I promise I’ll be extra careful. Just for you. But, girl, I have to get laid and he is...a fine, fine choice.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Jaz agrees, laughing.

“And don’t you dare think I didn’t realize you dodged the Adam question. Which definitely means there’s something to tell, so spill it, Jasmine. I’m waiting.” He lifts his brows and grins expectantly.

Jaz stares down at her plate of half-eaten pancakes, blushing faintly. Her phone buzzes and she takes the  opportunity for a distraction.

 Adam: Saw these and almost bought a box out of habit.

A picture of a box of poptarts accompanies the text and Jaz actually laughs out loud.

“Uh huh.” Gavin smirks knowingly. “What’d he send you? A dick pic?”

“What?! Ew, no.” She makes a face and swats at his hand when he reaches for the phone. “And if I was laughing at that, we’d have a problem.”

“Alright, alright, calm down. I’m just asking is all.”

Jaz: You shoulda bought some. Maybe i’d come eat them. She hits ‘send’ before she can overthink it. At least he texted her first.

“We...maybe escalated a little last night,” she admits to Gavin, who makes some ridiculous high-pitched screaming sound that nearly has her covering her ears.

“You had phone sex with Commander Adam?” His head drops back dramatically and he throws his hand over his eyes for good measure.

“Could you maybe not call him that?” she groans, instantly regretting her decision.

“I’m sorry, but that’s just hot, okay?”

“Yeah.” Jaz grins at her fork. “Yeah it was.”

 A: I’ll pick some up next time. ;)

“I’m going to take a shower. And then we’re going out on the boat. With lots of alcohol.”

“Yes ma’am,” Gavin agrees, saluting her. “Go, go. I’ll clean up.”

In the shower, Jaz wonders if Adam really means it. She’s not sure if she’s ready to find out. But the thought is there. It’s a start.

**

Texts for the rest of the day are sporadic, mostly because her phone overheats in the sun after a while and the battery drains from searching for a spotty signal. But it’s enough to reassure her that things are okay. Adam’s acting normal. Maybe a little flirtier than usual, but normal.

Jaz spends the day in and out of the water with Gavin, talking more about his new potential boytoy, and about Adam. They talk about maybe a day trip somewhere, or even spending a weekend on the coast. She doesn’t talk about Pennsylvania. She’s not ready for it yet.

But the sun and the soft lapping of the water at the sides of the boat make that seem okay. Jaz doesn’t have to have all of that figured out right now. It’s enough to just be here and think about the possibilities of the future and know that, right now, she has control over all of them. That feels pretty damn good.

**

It’s around dinner time before things get weird. She texts him when they get back in the truck to drive home, her phone charging on the cable in the console while Gavin cranks the radio, rolls the windows down, and navigates the dirt back roads with enviable precision.

All she says is, I kind of can’t wait to hear your voice tonight with her own winkie face. And the read receipt goes on almost immediately, but he doesn’t reply. No pesky little ellipse, nothing.

Pushing aside her unease, Jaz watches the dust kick up from the tires in the sideview as the sun sinks below the trees, casting an orange glow over everything. It doesn’t calm her at all.

**

Dinner is over before she caves and texts Adam twice more. Again, the read receipts pop up instantly, but no reply. Growling in frustration, Jaz shoves the phone onto the nightstand and stares at the stars on the ceiling. There’s no way she’ll sleep tonight. Instead, her mind turns over every last possibility.

He hates her. That’s where it starts. He hates that she pushed him, that they crossed a line they could never ucross. He resents her for putting his career on the line. He resents her for putting her career on the line.

Then it shifts into, he was just pitying her, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings and now he doesn’t know what to say about it. She’s been reading things into their relationship for months and it’s all in her head. He’s her CO and there’s no way he could ever feel that way about her.

Then it’s, he met someone else. He’s on leave, he’s allowed to have a little fun. And he’s attractive and sweet and kind and thoughtful and smart and funny and...The problem is, he’s all of those things, and any reasonable girl would be attracted to him. So maybe he’s out with her. Spending the night in her bed. Making her beg. Whispering her name.

The thought makes her feel sick to her stomach and a little like crying. Pushing it away, she grabs her phone and stalks outside, huffing as she climbs into the bed of Elijah’s truck with a blanket.

“Going a little crazy here, Vallins. I could really use your help,” she mutters. It’s been a while since she’s talked to him. Out loud, anyway. Strangely, it makes her feel a little better, even with no response.

It takes a while, but exhaustion eventually wins out and Jaz falls asleep out under the sky, willing herself to believe that the last option isn’t an option at all. Because thinking of him with someone else is awful, but thinking about him dead is a million times worse.

**

It’s Dale’s truck pulling out of the driveway that wakes her the next morning. The sun’s just barely over the horizon and everything is covered in a faint haze. She’s covered in dew and her phone is still clutched in her hand. No new messages. Her stomach lurches.

Before she really registers what she’s doing, she texts McG and demands he call Adam immediately. And then she calls Amir.

“Hello?” the voice that answers is decidedly not Amir, but it’s familiar.

“Have you talked to Top?”

“Not in a couple days?” There’s rummaging in the background and Hannah’s murmuring to Amir, asking the same. “No, not since earlier in the week. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. Probably nothing. He’s just...not answering.” It sounds so damn stupid when she says it like that. She’s showing too many cards. But the ache in her chest is worsening with every passing second and Jaz can’t think straight.

“We’ll try. Amir says he probably went camping.”

“He would’ve told me,” Jaz replies. The distress is apparent in her own ears and she makes herself take a breath.

“Hey, we’re here. We’ll figure it out, okay?” Hannah’s tone is soothing and warm and it reminds her she’s not alone in this.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Give us ten minutes and we’ll get back to you.”

Jaz nods even though Hannah can’t hear her and hangs up the phone. McG’s response isn’t anymore helpful.

“Phone’s dead,” he says. “Or at least it’s going straight to voicemail. He probably went camping.”

“That’s what Amir said.”

“Do you think something’s wrong?” he asks. McG trusts her instincts. Normally, Jaz does too. But that’s the job. This isn’t that.

“I don’t know,” she admits, hugging her knees and exhaling shakily. “I don’t know.”

“Hey, Jazzy, I got you, okay? Whatever you need. You know that.”

“I know.” The small bit of relief she’d felt at Hannah’s reassurance returns now and she tries to hold onto it.

“You could always go up there, you know,” McG says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

“Yeah.”

Connie appears in the porch doorway then, and even from here, Jaz can tell she’s worried.

“Listen, I’m gonna go. Call me if you hear anything?” she asks.

“I got you,” he repeats.

Jaz hangs up and climbs out of the truck bed, walking back toward the house. Her muscles ache and she knows that means she slept like crap. She hates not being on top of her game.

The porch steps creak under her feet and the smell of fresh coffee greets her before she’s even reached the top step.

“Talk to me, sweetheart,” Connie murmurs, reaching out for her.

After a moment’s hesitation, she lets herself be gathered into Connie’s arms, and it’s the strangest thing, because somehow, that’s more comforting than Hannah and McG combined.

“Adam’s missing...or at least he's not answering? I don't...it's not like him. He doesn't owe me anything and maybe he's just camping but--” She draws a shaky breath as Connie kisses her hair.

“Now, I’d never tell you what to do. But if it were me? If I truly thought something might be wrong? I'd go see for myself, just to be sure.”

“Yeah?” Jaz lifts her head to look at the older woman. Her eyes are just like Elijah’s and she can imagine him telling her exactly the same thing.

“Let’s go book you a flight to Pennsylvania.”

It feels good to have a course of action.

**

Gavin drives her to the airport two hours later. The trip is mostly silent until they’re pulling up to the curb. There’s too much nervous energy thrumming through her for mindless chatter.

“You’d better kiss him,” he says, and Jaz lets out a startled laugh. “Cuz you’re gonna go there and he’s gonna be just fine. So yell at him for being an idiot and falling off the grid without telling you, and then kiss the hell out of him.”

“He’ll be lucky if I still want to kiss him after this,” she counters, shouldering her bag.

“Oh, you’ll want to kiss him alright.” Gavin leans across the console and kisses her cheek. “Don’t disappear on me, okay? Come back. He gets you the other nine months of the year.”

“I’ll be back,” she vows, hugging him before getting out of the car. This is home, after all. She has nowhere else to go. And she wouldn’t want to anyway.

**

On the plane, Jaz realizes two things. First, she hadn’t mentioned anything to Gavin about his date. And second, Hannah had answered Amir’s phone. At 6am. Both of these things are enough to distract her for the duration of the flight, a welcome reprieve from worrying nonstop about what kind of horrors await her in Pennsylvania.

When she closes her eyes now, she can see that doctored picture of Adam, the one Arthur had shown her. So she doesn’t close her eyes. Instead, she crafts her conversation with Amir, calling him out for not telling her sooner. And the subsequent discussion with McG about all the ways they could tease Amir about his new girlfriend. The one he’s apparently sleeping with. At least someone is getting laid.

And then she thinks about Gavin and his bodybuilder model boytoy, and whether those two have anything in common at all. About whether that even matters, if he knows it’s just a rebound anyway. And whether it counts as a rebound, really, when the one you’re rebounding from isn’t really gone so much as dead.

The morbidity of that makes her chest ache, but the plane is descending now and Jaz turns her attention to the ground, watching the details come into focus from above. It’s easier to focus on concrete things.

Her phone goes off almost as soon as she turns it back on. Texts from Amir and McG and Dale and a voicemail from Patricia. That one, she deals with first, skipping the message entirely in favor of speaking to the Deputy Director directly.

“They found him. He’s going to be okay.”

Patricia must keep talking after that, but Jaz doesn’t hear a word of it. She watches the other passengers disembark in a trance, the words repeating in her head.

 They found him.

Trembling in her seat, clutching the armrests until her knuckles turn white, Jaz fights a losing battle with her emotions.

 He’s going to be okay.

When the tears start, she doesn’t even try to stop them.

[wotzup]

Hanged

This is a original story I wrote. I kinda contains references to depression and suicide and if you can be triggered by it I will advise you to stay away from it. Anyway you can give your feedback on it(if you want). I hope you all like it :)

Stars. Blinking beacons for the ones astray in the vast sea. Shining brighter and brighter as the night goes on before the sun rises bringing a palette of color to the once dark and mysterious sky. But there are some days even the brightest may fail to shine. Clouds, blocking their rays to guide other, only to make them fall into the pit of nothingness.

Some people lose their sight in things in life at some point in their life. They wonder, "What's the point in even continuing when you're marching to you gravestone anyway?", there is an answer to this that these people fail to see. They become blind and make haste decisions. Life is a treasure even if death is going to sweep you away.

"Hey whatcha doing in there?"

"Oh just writing."

"What is it about?"

"You'll find out soon enough.", she laughed. This had been the umpteenth time she had locked herself in that month. She had not let anyone enter the room after school, by saying excuses like she was writing something or planning. For what now, no one knew. Not even him, her closest friend. He wanted to know. Every time he'd ask her she'd run away saying a dismissive reply sighing almost depressed. She'd distance herself from the rest which worried him greatly. It was peculiar and it only fueled his wanting to know what was going on.

"Hey, you out there?" she knocked on the door. He crawled to the door replying to her question. "Let's say I was a ghost, how would you react to that?", it was a weird question for one person to ask. Sure one may or may not ask this to another at one point in life but he never expected it to be now. "Umm... why are you asking this?"

"I'm just curious that's all."

"Well then, I'd first be terrified,", she giggled, "then I'd ask you how it happened and try to help you."

"I see. Thanks."

"So why did you ask me this?" the answer he received was silence. He shrugged, moving back making himself comfy as he leaned back onto the walls of the corridors as he waited for her to finish her work. He wasn't ready to leave her alone. Even if she did lock him out, like his current position, he was ready to do anything in his power to help her. Like now, to give her company as they walked home completing their long day at school.

Finally after what seemed like ages(and boy it was), she heard the door click. He snapped up from the ground, watching the door swing open revealing her all ready to go home for the day, with a bright smile. "Let's go home." she said, walking a few paces towards him. He got up from the ground, wiping off the non-existent dust from his pants, picked up his bag and together were making their ways to their houses. As they exited the school's building he could see the sun setting, just like any other day. The sky sprayed with a bright orange with hues of blue and purple making a beautiful mixture in the sky that complemented the white fluffy clouds that danced in the sky. Yup, it was getting late.

He had an urge to ask her. Though he felt as if he was nagging her, he felt it was only right if she were to tell her problems aloud. Maybe he could help her, just like she did like when she stopped him from committing a mistake that would have broke the many people that cared about him. It was one of his lowest days but from then she had become his model, guiding him to safety like a star does to a sailor man trying to find his way back home in the arms of family and comfort. He wanted to be that star for her boat. Yes, he was desperate but equally worried.

"Hey," she broke that uneasy silence that lingered between the two. She was looking at the ground as she said, "Can you meet me by the ghost house at midnight?", her tone was almost pleading. He thought, for a moment. Maybe this was his chance to help her! "Sure." He might need to formulate an escape plan before leaving his house as he knew very well his parent would not allow him so late at night and especially not to the ghost house.

The ghost house, as everyone called it though it was a mansion, was obviously haunted. There were rumors that a young girl's spirit still lingered there and hung there victims to death but there was a catch. There was no proof., None of the missing bodies were found except for the bloody noose that was usually thrown outside the house anytime someone died there. No one knew how the girl had died. It was a mystery along with the peculiar disappearances of the corpses of the ones missing.

As he promised he came to the ghost house at midnight, well a minute late but it was fine as he could see her walking down the secluded road, a black cloak that kept her well hidden in the moonless night, wrapped around her pale delicate structure. "Have you been waiting for long?" she asked once she reached a closer distance. "Nah."

"Let's go."

Never had he been so scared in his life. He had only had the guts to pass by the gates of the house, and that to because of a dare. He gulped as he inched behind her, who was skipping in happiness, or it seemed to be like that. "W-why do you seem so happy?"

"Don't tell me your a scaredy cat?" she smirked as she played around with the lock, trying to click it open with a hairpin pulled out from her hair.

"Bingo." she shoved the door out of the way, bending forward stretching out her hand, asking him to enter first. "Thanks..." he grumbled as he trudged into the house. Boy, was the boys something he'd never seen in his life.

On the inside it looked more of a palace than a mansion, with a high ceiling from which hung a humongous chandelier, not shining as bright as it should if there were inhabitants in the house. He saw something flickering within the chandelier before it busted into a fury of light. Now the chandelier was glowing dimly just enough to see. He turned off his flashlight looking around frightened. But there was something off. Why on earth were the candles lit? It didn't make sense. But then again he was in the ghost house where nothing made sense. Suddenly the door shut behind them with a bang. Looking at each other in shock they ran to the door trying to pry it open but it was a futile attempt.

"No this can't be happening." his voice shook, breathing heavily. It was like one of those scenes in those horror movies he used to watch. "Don't worry it will open for us... in sometime. Hopefully."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Meanwhile," she scanned the dimly lit room.

"Ooh this room seems cool!" he heard her yell from behind. He shushed her saying, "Let's say the ghost comes."

"We'll fight it of course. People who came here always came here alone but we are not alone. We have each other." she gave him a pat on the back. "Let's go to that room." she zoomed away dragging him behind her, forcibly. He mentally groaned. Today they were going to die.

She pushed open the large lavishly decorated door of the room, whose creaking resonated from the walls of the building. The room was dark with nothing to be seen making home feel worse than what he felt before, except for those places that were right in front by the door before fading into darkness. Judging by its looks, it was a dining room like those in palaces but he couldn't see any table. He wanted to go home. If only she would listen to him.

She ran inside, making him have no other choice but follow just like before. He took a few steps inside and the door shut behind once again. It was pitch black. He took a shaky breath. "Where are you-" he screamed in terror as he felt a rough tight grip on his neck pulling him upwards. The grip was almost choking him as it dragged him. He wanted to tell for help but he couldn't speak. He was struggling against it but it was of no use. He had no clue where she went either. Suddenly his upward ascent had ended and he was standing on a platform of some sort yet he was immobilized. There was no chance of escape.

The lights of the room were turned on, blinding him for a second before he stared at the sight he saw. She was a ghost. A pale spirit that seemed very angry. 'That can't be her...'

"How do you like my house?" she hummed smiling innocently. "Seems nice right? Seems lavish and beautiful. Something that a normal person would dream to live in if it weren't cursed."

"W-what do you mean by cursed?" he felt the need for answers. He couldn't believe what was going on. Was this all just a dream? All he could do was hope.

"The family that lived here had been cursed to be ghost forever. They found a loophole though, if they were to lure a person into their trap the ghost would go to heaven or hell, depending on how they were meanwhile the person who was lured becomes the ghost." She explained. He couldn't accept this. Was he just a pawn in her game to release herself from this world? Did he only mean that much to her?

"They needed to get close to the person to so do the switch. You were at an emotionally low state when I met you. So perfect, like a fitting the final piece of the puzzle, completing it." she gave a deep laugh examining her fingernails, "So I choose you. It took me sometime to fix my trap. That time I locked myself in the room it was for the final stages of the plan, including a suicide note. I forged your handwriting if you wanted to know. Thanks for your help, really. I can finally get out of here."

"Why?" he gave a out a choked sob, looking at her betrayed. "When I was lured here I wasn't like you. I wanted to live. I was just naive to understand I was being played. If I had another chance I would love to live my life to the fullest unlike you who was ready to just throw it away as if it was trash." she growled. "Thanks for the birthday present."

With a snap of her fingers the platform gave way making him hang. Immediately his hands flew to the rope trying to take it off, flailing around. His throat constricted, blocking his breathing passage. He was choking to death as the rough rope seemed to grow tighter on his neck. The lights of the world seemed to dim as the pain he felt on his neck seemed to increase. All of a sudden a bright light shone in front of him.

The world had seemed to stop for a second and before he knew it he was standing in front of his corpse with her nowhere to be seen.

[happywitch416]

Chapter 33

The air warmed the closer they drew to Solitude and Elena took a deep breath, feeling her shoulders relax and weariness of the past months travel beginning to ease. Home was just around the bend, the lighthouse just behind. She turned with a grin to Serana. "Do you think-"

A deafening roar filled the skies, followed by the panicked screams of the city. Elena lurched to a stop, her heart slamming against her ribs. "No." Her eyes fixed on the city above willed the dragon to appear over the marsh. Another roar and flames erupted in the palace district. "No." Serana wasn’t sure when Elena had gone from still to moving but she was almost out of sight before she had her own feet going. "Here!" Elena veered from the road to the rock face. "Short cut."

For a panicked moment, Serana thought she meant climbing the cliff face and let out a half sigh of relief when Elena slammed her hand into a hidden button launching open the door and led them into the earth. 

They came out under the windmill, fires raging as guards volleyed arrow after arrow skyward. Townsfolk ran screaming for cover, the blacksmith ordering those who weren’t to douse the fires. Several mages appeared settling ice over blazes as quickly as they could, but more fire rained down from the sky faster than they could put it out. "Serana." Elena's fingers were tight on her arm, her face pale and eyes wild. "Get the girls. There’s a wall in the basement, Runa knows." 

Serana nodded and Elena went to dash back into the tower and its stairs that continued to wind upward. She grabbed her arm and pulled Elena to her for a searing kiss. "You come back to us." Elena blinked several times wonder filling her face for the briefest of moments before she nodded and disappeared up the stairs. 

 Runa hit the button, once twice three times and the wall didn’t move in. Joris looked to Ilia and Serana over the girls’ heads. "I’ll stand outside." She said roughly. Ilia shook her head, whatever plea dying unspoken as Serana interrupted. 

"We can get to the windmill, it’s not far, and then down." 

Runa clapped her hands drawing startled looks from the adults. "I know a safe way past the house of the dead, it goes right at the wall." 

Runa hadn’t been joking, the little space had been tight for the adults, but it popped them out within feet of the wall. Serana led the way, Jordis and Ilia bringing up the rear but none of them could grab Sofia when she dashed from the wall. "It’s mama!" 

Serana's heart fell, she hadn't realized the city had grown silent watching with bated breath as the lone woman perched on the battlements stared down the dragon. Sofia went running towards Dour and Serana caught her, hands firm on her shoulders. "Your mother would never forgive me." 

"Where's the guard?" Tears began to fall as another burst of sunlight splintered above them. "Serana, why aren't they helping her?" 

"Kaan drem ov." The dragon speech echoed down and Serana didn't answer, didn't know how. Elena's voice cracked through the sky again. "KAAN DREM OV!" 

The dragon's roar sounded like mocking laughter and Elena let loose another arrow, striking true. It faltered, its wings falling and dropping it briefly before roaring again. 

"Krii Lun Aus." Wind whipped through the city biting with cold, an eerie smoke forming around the dragon before a war cry rent the air followed by flashes of light that left their vision speckled and ears ringing. The dragon crashed to earth, tail narrowly missing the houses as they flattened themselves against the wall. The smoke was replaced with a golden light swirling around the dragon as the body burst into flames. The gold swirled upward, enveloping Elena who was still standing on the battlements before forming into golden dragon wings that stretched from her shoulders. The silence held for a breath then two before the city erupted into cheers as the wings faded. 

  Once the shock had worn off the city erupted back into motion, putting out fires and tending the wounded. Elena had thrown herself into making potions with Angeline, tried her best to ignore everyone who came to stare, tried to ignore the questions even more. Angeline shooed them gently away and quietly suggested Elena take the back still room. Serana found her much later. She was folded into the furthest corner of the ramparts, head against her knees and hair falling around her. Serana scuffed her boot, not wanting to startle her. Green eyes peeked from behind the red curls before disappearing again. "Are you alright?" 

"No." Her voice was hoarse, throat aching from using words not meant for human tongues. 

Serana settled before her and let the quiet rest for a time. The sun was sunk almost below the horizon when she spoke again. "What happened?" 

Elena’s continued silence was finally broken with a long sigh. "I..." She took a deep breath. "I am not just Kyne’s Champion. I am Dragonborn." 

Serana reached out gently, fingers soft against her arm. "And that means?" 

"It’s an old story and a prophecy." She mumbled into her legs. "But one every Nord knows by heart before they reach their tenth year." She looked up finally and only her training at the Bards College got her voice past the tightness in her throat. "When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world. When the Brass Tower walks, and Time is reshaped. When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles. When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls. When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding. The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn." 

"The World Eater?" 

She settled her face against her knees again, arms wrapped tight around them. "Alduin, Firstborn of Akatosh. The World Eater is a dragon." 

Serana stared at her. "It’s another scroll prophecy isn’t it?" 

"Of a sort. Alduin was defeated by Nords who had learned the Thu’um." Her rueful laugh was short-lived. "The song does a better job telling the supposed prophecy." 

"That’s the one you pay them not to play." A noise of affirmation rumbled from Elena. "How does it go?" 

Elena sighed, straightening. Dark half-moons had settled under her eyes, between them and the growing the dark, her eyes took on an eerie glow that reminded Serana of the golden power from the dragon. Her voice was barely a whisper. "And the Scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold, that when brothers wage war come unfurled. Alduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound, with a hunger to swallow the world." 

"That’s not the whole song." Came a voice from the stairs. Maga leaned a little heavily on the stone, exhaustion settling deep in her old bones. "Good to see you again, Serana." She gave a serene nod before fixing back on Elena. "And you have finally grown big enough balls to accept who you are." 

"Mother-." 

"Don’t. I won’t hear it. Nor will Kynareth." She leaned down and poked Elena’s shoulder hard enough Serana winced. "And what kind of example are you setting for your girls?" 

A strangled sob left Elena as she threw herself to her feet. "You think I’m not thinking of them??" 

"Elena-." She folded her hands calmly into the long sleeves of her robe when Elena cut her off as she started to pace. 

"The last time I was here you yelled at me for never being home and now you want me to go fight the Eater of the World? That's not a day trip!" She looked around desperately for something, anything to fill her hands with but there was nothing but stone. Her fingers found the pulse in her wrist and squeezed. "I didn’t even get to see them! I still haven’t!" Her eyes fell closed and she slumped into herself. "What if I hadn’t been here. What if I was too late." 

"You have the power to make sure it never happens again." Maga said simply. 

"And what if I can’t?" Her eyes snapped back open with a snarl. “What if I am not this supposed hero, just an unlucky bastard cursed with this voice?”

"That’s for the Greybeards to decide. Going to speak to them would do you some good. You haven’t been to the Throat of World since you left for the Legion." She shook invisible wrinkles from her robe. "Kyne will have the answers you seek." 

"I don’t want answers." She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I don’t want this." 

Maga stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. "I know, my darling girl. Maybe Magurn and I shouldn’t have called you our dragon child. But you have been called." She squeezed gently and stepped away. "And if you don’t answer, how many more times will you have this fear? How many parents will you have face this same fear, when they are powerless to stop it?" 

She spoke so softly her words were almost lost to the wind that started to blow. "I’ll go."

Chapter 34

"But you just got home!"

"That’s not fair!" 

"But mama!" 

Elena settled heavily against the table, arms crossed as the girls let her know their opinion on her leaving. Again. "I know, loves. But I." She took a deep breath. "It’s not that I want to. I would rather stay here." 

"Could someone else stop the dragons?" Sofie asked softly her face falling when Elena shook her head with a shrug. "Promise you’ll be back soon?" 

She held out her arms and the girls piled into them and she brushed kisses to the tops of their heads. "As soon as I can." She took a deep breath, hoping this feeling would last up the 7000 steps.

That they still loved her when she came back down.

Chapter 35

“You didn’t have to come along you know.” Elena fought to hide her grin as Serana pulled her hood up again. She had given up keeping hers up in the wild mountain wind several thousand steps down. 

“And miss seeing this place?” She gave her a halfhearted glare. “After hearing your terrible descriptions of places?” Serana pitched her voice. “It had rocks. And some flowers, the little yellow ones. And water.” Elena let out a snort of laughter, taking the criticism with grace. “There’s a reason why you have so many books.”

“Yes, yes or I’d bore the girls to death. So I have heard.” They came to another waymarker and Elena fell silent, running her fingers over the etched words for a long moment before moving on. “It’s not the same anymore.”

“More exciting the first time?”

She shook her head. “Emptier. Like.” She grew quieter again, studying the ground before their feet. “Like it’s just wind here, there’s nothing. Just wind.” Serana watched her quietly, as Elena’s brows furrowed. “This is supposed to be the most sacred of places in Skyrim to Kyne. And yet it's empty.”

“Maybe she’s not a fan of the cold.” Serana let out a huff of relief at the smile that cracked Elena’s face. A question came to the forefront of her mind, one that she had been ignoring ever since the defeat of the dragon and had spent the better part of their journey shoving into a far corner. The carefree touches and closeness she had come to associate with Elena were gone. She caught herself reaching out only to fall back, and Elena avoided her, the moments she knew that would have been filled with an arm around her or a brush of her forehead against hers were replaced with a tenseness and wariness that reminded her of a trapped animal.

 The snow picked up and with a groan, Elena led them into a hollow in the cliffside to wait it out. She settled cross-legged on the ground, trying to find her center, reaching out around them. And felt nothing. She let it go and studied Serana for a time. Serana stared out at the snow with a slight frown and a stillness that mirrored the stone around them. “You’re brooding.” 

“Hardly.” Elena's only response was a disbelieving quirk of her eyebrows. With a heavy sigh, Serana joined her, mirroring Elena’s position. The blinding white of the snow cast her into a dark shadow except for the glow of her eyes. “About before, with the dragon in Solitude.”

Elena’s thumb made its way to her wrist, settling firmly against the bone there as her gaze emptied. “When you kissed me.”

“I apologize if-.”

A short, harsh laugh interrupted her. “By the winds, you think I’m upset?” Amusement settled into the quirk of her lips, her gaze warming but panic flickered across her face too. Serana managed a mute nod. “Serana. I.” She fell quiet and shook her head. “I did not mind in the slightest. It was. Nice.”

“Oh.”

Elena grumbled, brows furrowing as the line of her mouth hardened a moment. “I’m not. Ugh.” She met Serana’s gaze, searching for a moment before the words rushed out of her. “I have wanted to forever and I’ve wanted to kiss you back, but I was worried you regretted it or needed space to think. I know I am not anything special and you-.” Serana cut her off with a soft kiss, staying close when they parted. “Oh.”

Serana laughed softly. “I wouldn’t have if I didn’t want you to.”

“Oh.” Elena’s lip caught between her teeth a moment, cheeks flushed crimson, joy and wonder in her eyes. She reached up, faltering a moment, her thumb gentle along Serana’s chin and jaw. “Can I?” The barest of nods and Serana’s laugh was cut short by the heated press of Elena’s lips on hers.

A Warrior’s Heart

[mastersblog2019]

21/10/2019 - script

I got the script completed for the comic a couple of days ago, and will be posting it under the read more, it might still need a little work but I’m moving on to trying to draw some thumbnails of how certain scenes would look.

Script ideas

(possibly start with a written story / story book into? Maybe)

 Start scene it's dark, and there is a single candle in the middle of the frame. It has a few frames of build up until there is talking.

 Older sibling: - So for this practice, we have come to where the source of the element, will be at its strongest.  All you have to do is  to make it dark without snuffing out the candle.

 Youngest sibling: Is that it?

 Older sibling: Yep that's all. Make it dark and keep the candle lit. Just wrap it up like a big old blanket but don't snuff it out, got it? You think you can do it?

 Youngest sibling: Yeah I know I got it.

 Older sibling: Alright then give it a go

 There is silence for a few frames as the candle still flickers, youngest sibling is possibly making small groans and grunts of effort.

 ……

 Older sibling:..... Are you clearing your mind?

 Youngest sibling: Yes.

 Older sibling:...

 Older sibling: Try picturing the-

 Younger sibling: The candle I know just give me a second.

 The younger sister’s face is red from the effort of concentrating on the task.

 Older sibling:... (youngest sibling name)?

 Youngest sibling: I've almost... Got it...

 In frame you can see the candles light and from above a dark pair of teeth are slowly descending on the candle. The youngest sibling’s straining at this point and all sweaty.

 The dark  teeth bite down onto the candle with a chomp.

 Someone: (dog's name)!

 Something falls over, the dog is barking and someone shouting. There is chaos .

 After a few frames a torch is turned on, and  like a spotlight it  reveals an underground cave with a dark lake. The youngest sibling is standing there with  large dog with a candle between its teeth. The floor is covered in wax and smudged chalk Lines. The cave is huge and the light only barely reaches the edge of the cave.

(The torch is in fact a round floating orb with a single dot of light shining out of it. The torch orb floats in the older siblings hand, it looks strikingly like an eye).

The lake is pitch black absorbing all the light.

The characters are  in a smooth clearing. Probably a part of the cave that was worn down by water.

The youngest sibling is staring wide eye facing out towards the source of the light.  The youngest sibling is trying to pull the candle out of the dogs mouth.

 Half the candle drops out of the dog's mouth  and the youngest sibling falls over.

 Youngest sibling: I got the candle back.

 Younger sibling lifts up the candle smiling nervously.

The older  sibling stares blankly

 Youngest sibling: oh (dogs name) you scamp! don’t worry we got more candles we can just set it up again right?

(remove??)

 There is  silence.  While the youngest sweats looking at her older sister, who has a second to look at the youngest sibling then at her phone to check the time.

  ******edit here this is too sharp to me???

 Oldest sibling: this isn’t working and it’s time to go come on.

 The oldest sibling bends down and grabs some of the things that are scattered about on the floor while the youngest looks shocked.

 The younger sibling scrambles up from the floor looking panicked and the dog looks at the two.

 Younger sibling: No no wait! Just a few more minutes I can do it.. let’s just reset set everything up. I’m sure I can get it this time-

 Older sibling: no that’s enough for today we can try again tomorrow all right?

 Younger sibling: but-

 older sibling who has collected everything starts walking out of the cave with her huge torch and bag lighting the way out,

 The oldest is at the cave entrance a while away with the light floating above her.

 Older sibling: are you coming?

Youngest sibling: …..

The youngest sibling looks down and then looks up.

 Youngest sibling: yeah,

 Older sibling: then come on then we don’t have all day get a move on.

 Youngest sibling follows begrudgingly with the dog on her heals.

Youngest sibling: come on (dogs name)

The older sibling waits for her to catch up and  hands the youngest a normal flash light while the floating orb flash light floats overhead.

Older sibling: watch your step.

 The two walk for a little bit. The youngest looks down at the floor pointing the torch down at her feet and  following just behind the oldest.

 The oldest turns to look at the youngest. Seeing the younger sibling look so sad makings the oldest sibling sigh and try and lighten the mood.

Oldest sibling: hey it’s the festival tonight, the firework should be good, are you thinking of watching them?

 The youngest sibling shrugs. Not really giving an indicator of ifs she’s excited or not.

Youngest sibling: I guess so.

There’s another frame of silence.

Oldest sibling: you guess so?

Youngest siblings: yeah I guess so. So

Youngest sibling shrugs.

There is another pause.

Oldest sibling: is this about the fact you can’t go the festival?

The youngest pulls a face.

Oldest sibling: it is isn’t it?

The youngest sibling snaps waving her arms around

Youngest sibling: NO NO ITS NOT I just-I never get the leave the woods and each year its “no (youngest name) not this year your too young wait until next year” or “no (youngest siblings name) you don’t have your powers yet” and  “if you don’t have your powers you might not be able to get home wait until you get them”

Youngest sibling: and it’s just

Youngest sibling flings her head back and shouts.

Youngest sibling: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The dog spooked steps away from the youngest sibling.

The youngest sibling huffs annoyed.

Youngest sibling: I just want to see what’s outside this woods.

Oldest sibling shrugs

oldest sibling: well it’s not as exciting as you make it out to be.

Youngest sibling: hey you don’t get to say that! You can go to town whenever you want.

Oldest sibling: yeah well that’s because I’m older than you, I need to get some cash and I have my powers  so I can get home.

The oldest sibling flicks the youngest in the head.

Oldest sibling: dummy.

Youngest sibling: HEY don’t call me a dummy!

Oldest sibling: and  what you going to do about it dummy?

Youngest: I- I-

Youngest: I- WILL SHOUT REALLY LOUD SO A Stalagmite WILL FALL ON YOU BUTTHEAD!

Oldest sibling: … you mean a stalactite?

The youngest sibling blushes.

Youngest child: …no…. yes

The oldest sibling laughs at her.

Oldest sibling: now come on I want to get out of this cave before we run out of day light.

Youngest child: UUGGHH JERK

******edit here e.g. add the how it was important to the youngest sibling why learning this stuff is

 The two for the next part would walk up out thought the cave, maybe a zoomed out version of the cave as if the ground has been cut into two, so that the viewer can see the underground caves like an ant farm and the shape of the mountain its cut into. That or a few frames of the two climbing out of the cave, with small lakes, groups of bats hanging from the ceiling and dark branching paths that the older sibling pulls the younger away from as the youngest looks into curious of what’s inside.

they finally emerged out from the cave. outside is lighter compared to the dark cave, and plant life grows out  the rock face around the cave. Trees can be seen, they move across the mountain covering a large body of land, which then rolls down into a dip sat in the middle of  the mountain range. Within that dip is  a town that sits happily, with neat little houses and neat little roads  and a rail way that scatters far and wide into every direction.

( all thought I don’t think you can see this at this particular spot, it depends on how I do the framing or how the visuals work.)

The oldest sibling stretches after the long walk up and out of the cave.

Older sibling: oh finally sunlight

She snaps her fingers and the floating orb of light fades out of existence.

The dog charges  out the cave almost knocking over the oldest and a mouse  that lives in the oldest hair.

the mouse and the oldest sibling looks annoyed at the dog, who has now decided to roll out on the grass and sniff around  the trees. the mouse squeaks annoyed and shakes a tiny paw at the dog before hiding back into the older siblings hair.

The youngest sibling runs out after the dog huffing.

Youngest sibling: (Dogs name!)

She puts her hands on her knees standing next to the oldest sibling.

The dog pecks his ears seeing her giving a big dumb doggie smile.

Youngest sibling: oh no.

The dog charges back knocking over the youngest sibling and nearly knocking over the  oldest sibling again.

The dog wags his long tail and full on slobbers on the youngest before licking her very happy to see her.

Youngest sibling : (dogs name) stop eww that’s gross stop. (DOGS NAME)!

The youngest sibling is pushing at the dogs face trying to stop the puppy love to the face with no real effect.

Oldest sibling: come on off you lug.

Oldest sibling grabs the dog around the middle but instead of being fully able to pick up the dog she more angles him off the youngest sibling hind legs still on the ground but front paws in the air. The dog is almost as tall as the oldest sibling while tipped up like this.

Before the oldest sibling can put down the large dog the dog almost melts out of the oldest sibling arms becoming flat and long and slides down and out onto the ground before popping back into a more solid form.

The older sibling stares for a second before looking at the youngest sibling where the dog has sat next to quietly looking innocent (as much as  a large jet black dog with a crocodile like mouth can)

The oldest sibling sighs.

Oldest sibling: you really need to get dog under control.

The youngest sibling looks up looking wide eyed pretending to be just as innocent as the dog.

Youngest sibling: he’s just being playful.

Both the dog and the youngest sibling stare wide eyed at the oldest sibling.

The oldest sibling just looks tired.

Oldest sibling:  … yeah fine whatever.

The oldest sibling sighs

Oldest sibling: lets head back we need to get going.

Youngest sibling: yeah ok fine.

The youngest sibling pats at the dog to get up and they both get up to start the walk back.

The two start walking away from the cave and around the mountain which the cave is cut into, which leads around the a part of the mountain that has carved out, or the rocks have naturally bent into a grove into the rock face.

A voice comes from above..

 Mountain mother: hey you two.

The oldest sibling looks up smiling

Older sibling: hey mum.

the camera looks up to see a huge giant siting in the grove  of the mountain. trees and plant life grow out of her clothes like a blanket of green, she looks tuff and could crush the two sibling with her little toe but her smile is sweet and loving. She is leaning in interested of what the two have to say.

Mountain mother: so did it go well ? you know the whole….

The mountain gestures for a frame.

Mountain mother: connect with nature and the universe to you know…. Bend it to your will?

Mother mountain looks down to see the two siblings pulling a face

Mother mountain: oh that bad huh?

There’s a frame of silence.

Mother mountain: well there’s always tomorrow… you can try again then.

Yongest sibling: hey mum….

The youngest twiddles her thumbs

Youngest sibling: do you think I would be able to go the festival today? I know I didn’t do the..

The youngest sibling gestures while pulling a face

Youngest sibling: bending the universe to my will? But I could still go? Maybe?

 Mountain mother: sigh sorry kiddo, you know the rules but you can come and sit with me and watch the fireworks if you like?

 Youngest sibling: … yeah ok mum.

 Mother mountain: hey don’t look so down! You will you will get it kid-o.

Mouther mountain: sometimes these things take time you will get it in the end.

Younger sibling: you think so?

Mother mountain offers her little finger in comfort.

Mouther mountain: of course kid-o.

The youngest sibling smiles at her.

Mother mountain: hey, (oldest sibling) don’t you say you need to do something? You said you where out of coin, before you want into the caves.

Oldest sibling: oh shoot! Right! yeah I really need to go. The second hand shop is closing soon and we really need some cash.

The oldest turns to the youngest.

Oldest sibling: are you going to head home?

Youngest sibling: yeah I think so.

Oldest sibling: well-

The oldest sibling passes a set of keys to the youngest who grabs it between her hands.

Oldest sibling: you’re in charge of locking up. Keep out of trouble all right?

Youngest sibling: ok fine.

Youngest sibling jangles the keys.

Oldest sibling: I will see you soon.

Mother mountain: see you soon sweetie. Make sure to keep you feet on the ground!

Oldest sibling: ok mum, bye mum!

And the oldest sibling runs off.

The youngest looks off into the distance.

Mouther mountain: I guess your leaving your mother too?

Youngest sibling: yeah sorry mum

Mother mountain smiles.

Mouther mountain: I’m just teasing sweetie. You go on your way.

Youngest sibling: bye mum. See you tonight.

Mouther mountain: see you tonight.

 The youngest sibling then walks home with the dog walking behind her, thought the woods to a small cottage or wooden log in the woods, that has a garden with fruit  and veg growing just outside of it. There is also a river running very close to the home and a wind chime ringing by the door. Golems sit by the door and the rocky little head turn looking at the youngest sibling who gently pats there heads when she passes.

She unlocks the door and lets both herself and the dog in.

(idea for this part she convinces herself to go down the mountain?? Either that or montage of it coming night and she goes out to see her mountain mum?? I’m not sure need to work on this bit) Need something here. Also should I include the other mums or are they too much? (maybe I mean I have no character arcs for them) (I guess they could be care takers for the two because mother mountain can’t move from her mountain?? Sigh writing is hard)

(Either way this leads to the youngest sibling going out at night and then falling. End notes.)

And the youngest flops down onto a sofa. With a book and the dogs head in her lap.

Youngest sibling rubs the dogs head between her hands, pushing the cheeks together.

Youngest sibling: I guess we just have to wait until next year (dogs name)

Youngest sibling looks up dogs head still In her lap.

Youngest sibling: I just need to get my powers, and then everything well be good. then I can finally see the world.

The dog rubs against the youngest sibling and the youngest sibling scratches him behind the ear.

Youngest sibling: I will just have to work hard. Wont I boy?

The scene fades out and dark evening slowly draws in, displayed in three frames of the sky changing colour.

(edits notes for possible ideas: add in a bit about the oldest sibling is going out to the second hand shop to sell some stuff for cash and that’s why she’s going out and so the youngest sibling goes looking for her older sibling later on in the story instead of going to a fair? If this did happen I would need to have the youngest sibling try and go home first, and I think this would be a better solution than her crying that she can’t get home so.  ADD METION OF WHERE THE OLDEST SIBLING IS GOING.)

The youngest sibling walks out of the house with her dog who follows behind as he always does.

Youngest sibling: I cannot believe (oldest sibling) is not back yet. she said she would be back in a couple of hours.

She pulls a face as she pretends to copy her older sibling.

Youngest sibling: the town is Boring she said.

She crosses her arms.

Youngest sibling: If it’s so boring why isn’t she back yet?

Youngest sibling: she such a liar (dogs name) I bet she having a great time. Doing carnival stuff

She sighs

Youngest sibling: she’s a jerk,

The youngest sibling walks for a little bit grumpy.

Youngest sibling: I hope she gets me a toffee apple or something.

The youngest sibling walks for a little bit

Youngest sibling: what do you think boy? Do you think the fireworks are going to be good this year? (oldest siblings) said that the firework display should be big this year, I mean I heard some fireworks earlier- oh look!

The youngest points up at the sky at the colours that bust across the sky between the trees.

She stares for a second smiling. She starts to run and then turns towards her dog.

Youngest sibling: Come on (dogs name) we don’t want to miss the show-

She trails off staring at the dog.

The dog is stood still staring out at one part of the woods, its dark but his attention is fully snared but what’s out in the dark. The fireworks keep going up into the sky.

Youngest sibling: (dogs name)?

The dog growls the “fur” on his back raises.

The youngest sibling leans up close to the dog looking out into the dark.

The youngest sibling: what is it boy?

In the dark a single shape is wiggling its paper thin and blacker than the  night around it. Sliding across the forest floor.

The youngest sibling whispers

Youngest sibling: What is that-

The hand turns almost hearing the youngest sibling and more slides out of the dark all them long like rounding the trees and across the floor.

The youngest sibling starts to run pulling at the dog to get him going.

Youngest sibling: I don’t like this… come on (dogs name) we need to tell mum.

The hands start to warp around the youngest siblings ankle she falls to the floor and the dog growls and bites at them making them let go of the youngest sibling.

More start to slide in.

the girl scrambles up and starts to run

(note: maybe she climbs up on the dogs back? Ikd need to edit / reread)

youngest sibling: COME ON BOY RUN! We need to get to mum

arms fill the path.

The youngest sibling shouts out and the two turn away trying to find a new path.

But more and more arms are filling each path. and the two are chased across the woods

Until the youngest sibling ends up at a cliff where the two slide to a sudden stop, with a few stones falling off a and down to the edge of the woods and houses in the town in sight.

The girl pulls away from the sharp drop pulling the dog a way slightly holding him close.

For a second she breathes for a second.

Behind her the hands are reaching out

She turns and her eyes widen stepping back into the dog they both loose their footing and tumble down the mountain.

While they fall the colours shift ever so slightly  or the colours invert.

The hands are still for a second

All surrounding that corner and then they pull away back from where they came.

[mabsj]

Hi there everyone and good evening. I started to type this post on 19/03/2020, Thursday, 11.30pm. I would like to share to you another horror experience happened to me at Malaysia estimated about 2years ago.

The incident happened along the journey of going to the destination and back to Singapore. That time I was sending my Late Uncle to Thailand. He usually take train(KTM) to go back to his hometown. And his hometown is at Narathiwat, Thailand. Usually his departure to home goes smooth but only for that time of point, it didn’t. He missed his train to Thailand and was stuck at Malaysia train Checkpoint. He decided to stay at the pavement of the Malaysia Train Checkpoint and wait for the next available train the next morning. I could remember the train the he should be boarding departs at 8.30pm and he want to wait till the next morning at 10.30am the next train departs to his destination. As a nephew, who wants to let him stay cold outside there without proper rest. So I grab my brother car and decided to fetch my uncle at Johore Bahru and send him to Kelantan. So from there he can take bus or train to his hometown. I know it’s sounds crazy but his wife at Thailand expected for his arrival.

Manage to grab my brother car and zoom I speed off to fetch him and when I arrive, drink some coffee and fill up petrol and starts the journey. I start my journey at around 10pm at night. I don’t know how long the journey would take at first but according to Google Maps, total journey takes about 13hrs.

First leg of the journey after a few hours of driving, I reach RnR Ayer Keroh, that is Alor Gajah, Malacca Zone. Have to rest for a moment after driving more than 2hrs straight. Freshen myself up and had my massage from the Massage Chair on every RnR Stops. After 1hr of rest, we continued on and pit stops followed by Kuala Lumpur. And from there, my Late uncle ask me to cut through the road. And I know if I were to cut through, I would pass by Raub old highway. And it’s a pitch-black road where cars or motorcycles would use their high beam lights to see through. I got no choice but yeah just want him to arrive as early as possible. And along the road between Kuala Lipis and Gua Musang if I could remember clearly, something happened.

The road which is totally pitch-black while your surrounding is all woods, trees, road lamp only depends on your vehicle high beam lights, just imagine guys, after for an hour I drive, I don’t even see any food stalls. To my thoughts, who would want to set up a stall in the middle of nowhere. And indeed, we saw one. My Late uncle told me to stop, and get ourselves some food and drink to eat and rest for awhile.  I told my uncle, In English,”Are you sure uncle? That shops seems to look different. Driving for hours and out of nowhere appear this shop with no customers sitting on it.”. Maybe it’s late night. “Just stop. We take a rest for awhile. You are tired”. So I had no choice but to make a U-Turn and stop and park beside the Warung.

I was still inside my car while my Late uncle already got out of the car and even sitting on the chair. I got chills around my body. My body hair stands up and I know it does not seems right. Maybe It just my negativity thoughts. So sit with him and waited for order. The light was on but there is no one around. So I walk around the shop and thinking the owner of the shops may be resting or something. I don’t dare to enter the cashier area as I scared I would be caught as intend to rob. So I slowly walk and suddenly a voice came being heard from my back. “Yes What do you want to eat?” Shit Crap I jumped and turn around with shock while catching my breath. I just pass by there and I am very sure there is no one there. “We would like to order some food and drinks”, I replied to him. He walk to the table where my Late uncle is sitting. I followed him by behind. Ordered some food and the way he talk, replied is sound like creepy. The food was prepared quite fast. Usually it will take about 15-20mins. But this one, he served withing 5mins together with our drinks.

So while we are eating, we heard a car passing by. And upon passing by, that car sounded their car horn at us. Maybe he wants to indicate he is passing by. So we both let it be. But it happends again. Another car pass by and sounded their horn at us. Not only once, but nearly 4 times. “Lets carry on our journey. We are running late”, I told my Late uncle. And he agreed. We called the Warung uncle and our eyes are looking at the cashier area because that’s where we last see him entering. And suddenly, we heard a reply behind us. I was shock like how in the world he is right behind us?! I just literally gave him the cash and told him to keep the change and I told my uncle to get into the car. As soon as we get inside the car, I drive off. Make a u-turn to continue with the road. And just about 100m, I look at the Warung through my rear-view mirror. And to my surprise, the chairs were flipped upside-down. Usually when it was put like that, it indicated the shop is closed. I just continue on. I thought to myself maybe I was a little bit sleepy. Few hours later, we arrive at my uncle destination, Tumpat KTM station. We arrive early and luckily his train was due to arrive in 2hrs later. And that was the last train. So I accompany him bought the train ticket, and buy some titbits for him to eat while in his journey to hometown and check-in. Before check-in, my Late uncle advise me to find a hotel or a safe crowded place for me to sleep and depart in the morning instead of straight after this. “it’s ok. I will be fine. If I were to feel totally sleepy, I will find a petrol station or pit stop and get myself to sleep”, I said to him. Just be careful, update me where is your whereabouts, and keep praying inside your heart if anything happened” he said. I was clueless but I was too tired to think for an answer.

After sending him, I went to nearby shop to buy some drinks and ciggerate. A long journey back, but this time, I decided to take a shortcut to Johore Bahru. Instead of driving back to where I drive previously, I decided to drive by Terengganu, Cherating, Kuantan, Mersing, Kota Tinggi, and lastly, Johore Bahru. The journey took about 9-10hrs according to GPS. The GPS that I use previously is Google Map. But this time, I use WAZE. A lot of people said WAZE is much better. But yeah, there is positive and negative of it. and furthermore, the route that I’m going to drive is Kampung Area. Where the road is only meant for 2-way Traffic, no lamp post. And the darkness is, I could say honestly, from the view inside your car, the visibility is just 5-8metres without your headlight turn of. But if with headlights on, if you are using Halogen Headlight, low bean your visibility will be around 10-14metres. But with high beam, you can barely see after 100metres of your view due to fog. Advisable use HID 8000K. its white and yellowish. And that’s the minimum of using low beam. Don’t use LED. It may be clearer but you going to blind up the oncoming traffic. That point I was using Halogen light. The length you may heard it quite far. But in reality, inside your car, your 10-14metres is not exactly as what being mention. It was counted from your car front bumper to the furthest.

I started my journey. Just after I turn right upon junction ahead, I saw the dark road ahead of me. There will be cars but minimal. Like you can see around 1 or 2 in every 7-8km. and the dangerous is, the bend, big lorries, blind spots. That is not going to be my dangerous. There is much more dangerous ahead which without my knowing.

I just enter the zone of Terengganu. It’s creepy. Been driving for 1hr. And I don’t see any food stalls. Kampung route they do have food stalls but not like RnR. This one is built just beside the road. Some of it will open 24hrs but some will not. 20mins driving along Terengganu zone…………

 20mins of driving, in the middle of nowhere, pitch black just only hoping for your headlight, MY CAR SUDDENLY BREAK DOWN! Break down in the middle of nowhere. You don’t even know how far is the workshop and you don’t even know how far is the petrol station. And furthermore, some of the kampung area have telecom signal and some do not have and some will have but not as strong. And my phone signal is weak. Like 1bar. And mostly will be no network. I was scared at that point. So I try some of my basic knowledge and see what’s wrong with my car. Theirs is a different between car battery weak, no petrol and sparkplug out. I just top up petrol before my journey back and petrol is out. I turn my car key to ignition slot and turns out all the indicate is still clearly visible. No weaken of lights symptoms. I tried to start the car and my car cranks up. And spark plug and battery is not an issue. So I look around the engine bay with my phone torchlight to see anything burst. And suddenly…

Guys. My boot door suddenly SLAMMED!!! “BAAAM!!!” I was shocked till I hit my head on the hood cover when I suddenly raise up my head in a shocking way. My heart pump truly fast. Just like you finish your 400m sprint. Firstly, I thought it’s the wind. But it’s impossible. It may be cold at night but there is no wind. I’m driving an SUV and my boot door opens sideways. I mean pull the door and it opens sideways.  So I check inside my car if there is any animals like monkey or something but there’s none. So I check the surrounding of my car and still there is no one. To my confusement, “maybe passing by cars that regulates winds close my boot door”, I said to myself. So I didn’t manage to see what is the issue to my car engine bay, I decided to give it another shot to start the engine. Just by only one CRANK, the engine starts running. Felt happy and closed the hood of my car and get inside my car and start driving.

Everything goes smoothly. BUT only for the time being. I didn’t ever thought of what is going to happened next. What happened next is, my car became heavier and heavier. My thought was maybe I’m driving uphill. But at the same time, I played surah Yassin through the CD Player. When it started playing, my car begins to shake aggressively. At the same time I heard soft screaming. I was like, gosh. May this be a bad dream. Not reality. Hahahaha. Just want to make myself relax and not to think negative. I decided to play it louder. Not too sure whether I turn the volume up to the max or not, I just turn it up to full blast. I can’t stop the car because the road is like pitch black. And I know it’s not safe to stop. Make my decision to continue driving and stay inside my car.

Multiple cars high-beam at me. Even the truckers. Just to be safe, I turn on my hazard lights and driving slowly so that it any vehicles behind me can pass by. I have to search for a nearby Mosque. I can’t go to Surau because surely it will be locked. So I go to Masjid and it’s 45mins from my location. Like it or not, I just have to make my way there to make myself safe. 45mins of driving, I reach to nearby Masjid and the gate is still open and I drive inside and park my car and I went to take my ablution and sit inside the Mosque till I fell asleep till dawn. I woke up upon hearing the Azan Subuh. Wake up, and re-take my ablutions again and do my Dawn prayer.

Get into my car once done praying and I didn’t realise my phone battery was dead. Charge it up and to my surprise, I got a lot of whatsapp missed call from my Late uncle and his wife, FB calls and text even from my wife. So I told my wife, I’m fine and want to continue my way back home. I’m still at Terengganu Zone. Been driving for 3hrs and still at Terengganu? Usually it will take about 1-2hrs.  She will know my whereabouts because we both install GPS Tracker app so we will know where each other are if we were to go for holiday and we lost each other. I arrive Johore Bahru at around 6pm. Reach home at around 7+ pm. I wash myself up and had my dinner and have a chat with my wife. She told me that my Late uncle was worried because he told my wife, while on my way sending him to Tumpat,Kelantan, there is something following us when we stop for supper on this one Warung. He wanted to accompany me till dawn but I insist of him to reach his hometown meet his wife on time.

My Late Uncle worried till he call me non-stop and ended up to inform my wife if I were to reach home, told me to give him a call. I did and I told him what happened. I do know it’s spiritual activity around that Kampung but I know, Kampung area is always like that. Weird things happened during at night. Just need to calm down and realise yourself and know what decision are you going to make to protect yourself. To me, something like this is what I call Challenging. It challenge your mentality, your Iman. I may be scared but not totally scared. Because what I learn is, if you are scared with spirits or could say Syaitan(Satan), Syaitan will continue playing with you. But if you are brave, remember, Allah is there to protect you. Don’t ever kneel down to Syaitan. It will be the worst. That’s all for my Paranormal Incident that trully happen to me after I send my Late Uncle to Tumpat,Kelantan.

 Assallammu’alaikum

Signing off,

~Azah~

[kissmeunderthestarlight]

If I(Mingyu's Ending)

Requested by: peachyyraphiee

~If the word I said countlessly came true. If I If I If I If I If I If I. The to do list, because I couldn't do it, its meaning is completely changed. If I If I If I. Yeah I don't want to calculate the widened angle between us. If I If I If I If I If I If I If I If I If I I'm late but even now, my eyes and mouth are full of you. A day passes and the regret is too deep, I'm drowning in it~

Recap:

Taehyung ran somewhere off to the right, Joshua somewhere to the left, and Mingyu simply ran straight away from you. You smirked as you decided which one to run after and took off after him, not knowing at the time that this choice would eventually change how you and him saw each other.

*********

You followed Mingyu off and sighed in exasperation when you saw the back patio door open. "Yah! I don't wan-"

You scoffed and shook your head before heading out the door after him, looking around the porch to find him. Something which you found hard to do when you noticed it was pitch black outside apparently from Mingyu switching the light off before he came out. Stepping out farther onto the porch you looked around not seeing him anywhere.

"Mingyu?" You called out confused when you saw a shadow moving to your right.

You went towards it only to jump when you felt a pair of hands on your shoulders. "Gah!"

You turned around and stared wide eyed at Mingyu, who was doubled over with laughter. Confused you turned back to the spot where you saw the shadow moved and tried to figure out how he moved so quickly behind you.

"H-How'd you do that?" You asked Mingyu as you turned back towards him with your eyebrows drawn together.

"How'd I do what? Scare you? Easy I-"

"No! How'd you get behind me so fast? You were just over there," you whisper-shouted as you pointed behind you.

He looked over your shoulder in the direction you pointed with confusion. "No, I wasn't. I've been standing over here by the door."

Your eyes widened and you both jumped and turned around fast when you heard a loud thump from something falling. Something quickly ran out from the shadows and Mingyu let out a girly squeal, you both quickly attaching yourselves to one another in fear. The large shadow became smaller and smaller before you saw a small cat run out into the light making you let out a small breath of relief mixed with a laugh.

~If I could, If I could, If I could. I'll do whatever. If I didn't let go of your hand then would we be still holding on to each other still. If I If I If I If I If I If I. Before your small scars gather and become big, if I had recognized them first. If I If I If I If I If I If I~

You went to move away from Mingyu but found you couldn't move anywhere since he still had a death grip on your arm. Staring at him with an amused expression as you thought back to his girly squeal of fear. He stared at the cat with wide eyes, not daring to look over at you and see you laugh.

"Did it scare you, Mingyu?"

"Psh, of course not. You were the one that was scared," he said as he walked over to the cat and shooed it away making you even more amused.

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure I heard a very girly scream come out from you when that cat ran out."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that was you," he said before clearing his throat and making a show of looking for anymore stray cats.

"No, it was you." You felt a smirk cross your face when you saw him stiffen slightly.

"N-No, it wasn't me."

"Mhm, okay."

"Yah, Raphie~" He whined as he turned towards you and pouted.

You laughed and shook your head, "Fine, I won't mention it. To anyone but you I won't at least."

He sighed and you let another laugh slip out as you took a seat on the porch steps, looking out over the yard and noticing the stray cat from earlier. You looked up as you heard Mingyu's footsteps walking towards and patted the spot next to you, waiting for him to take a seat beside you before leaning against him and laying your head on his shoulder. He looked down at your head resting on him and smiled slightly before resting his arm over your own shoulder.

~Where you going, where are you going? Why do I feel my grip loosening? My fist holding onto the edge of your clothes. Why am I losing strength? Our path, our promise to be together is already thwarted and you walk away, turning your back on me~

"Tonight is nice," he said softly, almost a whisper carried by the wind.

You made a sound of agreement, not wanting to break the comfortable silence that had settled over the both of you.

"Hey, Raphie can I tell you something?"

"Mhm, go ahead."

He cleared his throat and let out a big breath, showing you that whatever he had to tell you was big. "I-For the-no. Uhm, let me restart." He stuttered out nervously, making a small smile cross onto your face. You sat up and faced him grabbing ahold of his hand, lightly squeezing it to help him calm down which worked when you saw his shoulders visibly relax.

"When I first met you two years ago I knew from the first time I saw you that we'd be close, but over the years our close friendship changed into something else for me. My feelings for you slowly changed from friendship to..." he paused and took your other hand into his own before continuing while looking you in the eyes, his gaze never wavering. "I have slowly fallen completely and wholeheartedly in love with you."

You froze and stared at him with a shocked face, not expecting him to say that. Slowly you closed your open mouth and looked down a little, not exactly knowing how to respond. No, you thought to yourself, Maybe over the years my feelings have also changed. I've just been to blind. You knew what your feelings were you just never thought about them, never wanted things to change. You were too scared to admit them to yourself.

Instead of saying something, which was making Mingyu even more nervous, you threw your arms around him and pulled yourself closer to him. Mingyu, shocked from the sudden embrace, slowly wrapped his own arms around your back and stayed silent not sure what exactly the hug meant.

You pulled back and smiled at him, "I love you too."

A big smile crossed his face and he tightened his embrace, pulling you even closer to him. "Thank you," he whispered against your ear making you let out a small laugh.

~It reduces to a single dot, it's too empty outside of that interest. I hope that that dot comes back before me and turns into you. If I could If I could If I could, I'll do whatever~

*Time Skip*

You and Mingyu sat nervously in front of each other at the table, you fiddling with the edge of your dress and Mingyu tapping on the table, neither of you looking at the other. It was your first date since you both confessed your feelings and to say things had been weird was an understatement. Every time you both found yourselves in the same room you'd both avoid each others eyes and you always ended up having to leave the room because of the heat quickly rising to your cheeks.

This was the first time the both of you would be alone since that night and the awkward silence was suffocating. You cleared your throat and took a sip of your drink, trying to soothe your dry throat.

"This is a nice restaurant," you said to break the silence and making Mingyu jerk his head towards you.

"U-Uh, yeah it really is. Joshua hyung said the food's really good."

"Oh, Joshua has been here before?"

"Mhm, him and some friends came here before. He told me that they have (y/f/f)[your fav food] here and I knew you liked it so I thought you might like it here."

You felt a smile cover your face, "You remembered I liked (f/f)?"

"Well yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

"I never told you that was my favorite though," you said with sudden realization, wondering how he knew.

"No, but every time we go out to eat you always order it so I just guessed. Was I wrong?"

You were shocked into silence, though this time it wasn't because it was awkward rather because you couldn't believe Mingyu cared that much about you to pay attention to something so small. "Mingyu-ah that's- that's so sweet."

He smiled and grabbed your hand that was laying on the table top, slightly squeezing it. "I love you."

"Haha, I love you too."

You both ordered and spent the rest of dinner talking about random things and enjoying yourself, though you were sad when you were finished. He was walking you out of the restaurant, his hand on your back, and opening doors for you when he stopped outside of the car.

"Hey, you remember that one place we went to a few years ago for ice cream?"

You thought back and laughed when you remembered, "Yeah, their ice cream was amazing!"

"Want to find it?"

"Find it? You don't know where it is?"

"Nope," he said as he laughed.

"Mingyu, we could get lost."

He pulled you closer and leaned down, "Isn't getting lost the fun part?"

Smiling you wrapped your own arms around his neck and nodded, "True. Let's go."

"First," he said before bending down and kissing you. He pulled back and smiled, "I've been wanting to do that for a long time."

You laughed and stood on your tip toes, kissing him back and smiling. After kissing you sweetly on the forehead Mingyu helped you into the car and then got in himself, heading onto the road so you could start you adventure to find the ice cream parlor.

You were both so happy that you could be comfortable around each other again, and the ride was filled with stories and jokes followed by laughs. Both of you enjoyed yourself and neither let go of the other's hand. And you happily thought about how this was just the beginning.

[localfreshies]

New Post has been published on Local Freshies | Be a local wherever you go

New Post has been published on http://localfreshies.com/lookout-pass-snowiest-ski-resort-idaho/

On the Lookout for the Snowiest Ski Resort in Idaho

Where is the snowiest ski resort in Idaho? Is it Sun Valley? How about Schweitzer? Nope. It’s a small spot nestled on the border between Montana and Idaho called Lookout Pass. With nearly 400″ of snow annually, our Idaho road trip wouldn’t be complete without releasing our inner powder hounds on their snowy slopes. But, first things first… it’s breakfast time. Asking around, we heard the Red Light Garage is a sure thing to start our day in “Historic Wallace.”

A Huckleberry Pancake the size of your Head

Classic license plates & street signs in Red Light Garage

Loading up our gear, we slowly meander our way to the restaurant. Immediately stepping through the front door, we’re impressed with the atmosphere. It’s cozy and eclectic. The walls are checkered with license plates and memorabilia dating back to the 20’s & 30’s, while in one corner sits a working jukebox filled with classic rock from the 50’s & 60’s. Decades of history harmoniously living together!

Sitting down, we start with two cups of coffee and a couple of menus. Not knowing what they’re famous for, we ask Dirk, our server, what we should get. With a friendly smile, he suggests homemade biscuits and gravy with a huckleberry pancake. Yup, I said pancake not pancakes. The pancake is massive… The size of a dinner plate and boy is it good! It’s a bit denser than a normal pancake and filled with lots of huckleberries. The bitterness of the fruit matches perfect with the syrup and sweeter pancake batter. Their specialty though is the biscuits and gravy. The soft biscuits are covered in a thick homemade sauce that is spicy with little peppery notes. Both meals are just the right size allowing us to finish them without feeling over stuffed. With our stomachs full, it was time to head out.

A Tea Room and Moose Antlers for Sale

A great example of a classic taxidermy mount at North Idaho Trading

With uncharacteristically cold weather lingering and no new snow reported, we weren’t in a rush to get to the slopes until it warmed up a bit. This was the perfect chance to check out the town. Wallace is not your typical destination. In an old Hardware Store, you have Price Tag Antiques & Silver Tea Room, an antique shop with an official tea room. Next door is the North Mountain Idaho Trading company filled with vintage guns and amazing taxidermy items like moose antlers for $30/lb. You’re definitely going to experience things you wouldn’t see anywhere else. We meet up with Dave again, from last night’s dinner, but this time he has company. Ryder, a newer transplant to Wallace, also has a shop in town that we needed to see.

A professional bull rider becomes a high end boot designer

A self made man, Ryder Gauteraux started making chaps for himself during his time as a professional bronc rider. They were so good that people started requesting other leather items like purses and even cowboy boots. He knew he couldn’t rodeo forever and needed something else. With such a growing demand for his leather, why not do it for a living? His can do attitude transformed his craft into a full time successful business called Gauteraux and Co.

Custom cowboy boots… From the wild to your closet!

The major obstacle for Ryder was finding alligator skins for his boots. All the best hides were coming through a tannery in Georgia but he couldn’t buy the volume he needed. He figured out that if you provide your own ‘gator, they’ll tan it for you without any issue. Connecting the dots, he remembered a friend telling him the best alligator skins were from SE Texas. That particular region is clay instead of swamp so the alligator population has less competition, translating to fewer fights and scars. Now every spring, Ryder gets his tags, goes down TX, and hunts 25 alligators himself. He processes the meat and gets the hides tanned ensuring he has the leather needed for his custom boot orders. Some of his clients even join his hunts, making it a truly customized experience.

Ryder’s workshop has everything in its place & a place for everything

After a tour of his workshop, it was time to hit the snow and get some turns in. Before we left, we made sure to schedule another meetup with Ryder at his coffee shop 6th and Cedar AND to check out the old historic hotel he was renovating.

Snowiest Ski Resort in Idaho

Lookout Pass Ski Patrol lodge

Hopping onto I-90, we did the quick 20 minute drive up to the snowiest ski resort in Idaho, Lookout Pass. Arriving around 11 AM, the sun shone brightly even though it was still a bit brisk outside. In the parking lot, there were only a handful of cars, and remember, it’s almost lunch time! This was going to be the theme of the trip… Nonexistent lift lines and amazing snow. Throwing on our warmest clothes, we looked up to the slopes. The front face is wide and has a gentle pitch perfect for carving. Even at 11 AM, the majority of the corduroy was still untracked! We quickly load onto the first lift and leisurely ascend to the summit. From there, three lifts are laid out to access separate zones across the 540 acres.

Great place to learn

Even though the trail map doesn’t show a lot of easy terrain, it’s a great place to learn. Most of the steep slopes can be avoided, but if you do accidentally end up on one, you’re able to navigate down smoothly.  For the easiest terrain other than Chair 4, head to Huckleberry Ridge and follow it around the mountain. Besides a gentle run, the views are spectacular. Take it slow and snap lots of pictures!

Intermediate Terrain

Jaime enjoying the soft snow & sunshine at Lookout Pass

If you’re an intermediate, this resort is perfect for you, especially if you just graduated up from beginner. Red Dog and Marmot are a good introduction to intermediate runs, located on the North Side. For something a bit more steep, hit runs off the Idaho side like Bonanza or Black Bear, heading over to Gold.

Experts

There aren’t any massive cliff bands or scare-your-pants-off descents, but they do have a few quick shots of steep runs that will keep you alert and entertained. Even though there wasn’t a ton of fresh snow for us, we did hear the Lucky Friday Glades are a lot of fun when it’s dumping as well as the trails off of Chair 3. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t share fresh Pow with us but it just means we have to come back another season.

Be VERY aware of schedule

Without a large population in the area, Lookout Pass’ lift schedule varies quite a bit. During January/February, they run their operation 6 days a week, closed on Tuesdays. In March/April, they’re open Thursday – Monday, still giving you 5 days of ride time. This just means you get more powder days on a Wednesday or Thursday depending on the time of year!

The Future of Lookout Pass – Steep Terrain is coming!

The future of Lookout Pass… St. Regis Basin in the distance.

Finishing up on the slopes, we met with Jason Bergman, Marketing Director of the resort. Even with 18 years in the industry, skiing has kept him young both physically and at-heart. We talked about how amazing it would be to have more steep terrain access. His face illuminated as he said that is EXACTLY what they are planning in the next few years. He asked if we remember looking from the top of the Montana side. How could I forget!? The steep terrain in the St. Regis Basin looked amazing with massive steep faces dropping down into the valley. Jason grinned and said their plan is to install two new lifts to offer exactly that access!

Our conversation drifted to tomorrow’s plans. We definitively wanted to ride more but also hoped to get some backcountry in while we were in the area. Directly from his office, he pointed towards the other side of the expressway. Jason said the low angle terrain was perfect for us to experience their backcountry and find some secret stashes. With a plan set, we slapped high fives and headed back into town to celebrate the day. It was time to hit up Wallace Brewing. Yes, there are TWO breweries in town. Talk about my kind of place!

Wallace Brewing – An Award Winning Brewery

As day became night, snow began to lightly fall. Watching the flakes dance their way down in the orange glow of streetlights, we walked into the tasting room of Wallace Brewing. This isn’t your typical brewery. First, they’re known for their Lagers, which is a rarity in and of itself. Second, they are multi-award winning. Wallace Brewing is one of the ONLY Idaho breweries to win a Gold medal at Craft Beer Week in Bend, OR.

The Full Lineup

Chase, the owner, greets us and brings out flights of all their beers. He sits down and gives us the scoop on each one. All eight varieties were unique, memorable and worthy of a mention.

Huckleberry Shandy – The first ever Shandy was invented in Germany for a bike race. The organizer didn’t order enough beer so he cut it with lemonade, which now has become a staple for cycling. With Wallace being such a mecca for summer biking, it makes sense they needed a Shandy. Wallace Brewing starts with house-made lemonade and throws in over 25 LBS of Huckleberries, locally picked. On a hot summer day, this is a nice light lager with a slightly tart finish that isn’t overly sweet.

Compressor Smash (Amber Lager) – Between the town of Wallace and Mullan, an industrial region sits named the “Compressor District.” During the mining heyday, this area housed all the compressed air units needed for the mines to power the drills and pump fresh air underground. The complex flavors compressed into this light bodied lager fits it’s name perfectly.

Red Light Irish Ale – Wallace was home to a “red light” district until the late 1980’s and was only shut down because the FBI was relentless. This apricotty Irish Ale has a texture reminiscent of marshmallows. It’s understandable that they won a bronze medal at the North American Beer Association.

It’s true, the beer is of historic proportions

1910 Black Lager – Out of all the beers on the list, this is THE beer everyone should try. A German Schwarzbier, this is the one that earned a gold medal at the Best of Craft Beers in Bend, OR. Just as the Great Fire of 1910 was the largest forest fire in US History, this beer will knock your socks off! The chocolate malt is cold steeped allowing you to taste the grain kernels. Words honestly cannot describe how delicious this beer is.

6:60 Pale Lager – The 6:60 stands for 6% ABV with 60 IBUs. This crisp brew doesn’t have the bitterness a 60 IBU would normally hold. The introduction of orange citrus notes allows the beer to finish smooth.

Vindicator IPA – Named after the Mullan mine, this IPA goes back to the original style guidelines of what an IPA should be. This means you should taste the malts along with the hoppiness.  Definitely a good option for anyone that enjoys an IPA.

Jack Leg Stout – This slightly sweeter stout was off the menu for a few years, but it’s now back! Made with crushed oats, it tastes of dark chocolate and cherries. Normally stouts aren’t summer beers but this one pairs extremely well with vanilla ice cream.

Wallace Strong Ale – Another medal winning beer.  It’s a big, malty English strong ale that packs a wallop in taste and ABV. Once a year, they release an oak barrel aged version filled with oak spirals soaked in rye whiskey. If you find one of these limited edition ales, be sure to pick it up because they only produce 1000 bottles a year.

Bat Waves?!?!

Touring the brewery, we learned Chase’s past is just as exciting as his present. In a corner of the brewery is a coat with a Bat Waves symbol on it. Chase is one of the founding members of this famed mitten manufacturer. I stood there dumbfounded! Back in the 90’s, this brand was seen EVERYWHERE in the world. Known for their quality, even Pros who weren’t sponsored by them wore their gloves. He pointed over to the other side of the street and said that was where they used to make them. Wow… This little town was a mega hot-bed in the snowboard culture arena! After a great conversation and a growler in-hand, it was time to grab dinner next door.

1313 Club

If you’re looking for a comfortable bar with character, amazing staff, and a great burger, then 1313 Club is your place when in Wallace. As soon as we walked into the restaurant, it felt like we’d been here a dozen times. With a big hello, Eric, the owner, sits us at the bar.  He has a big up-beat positive personality that any true bar owner should hold, quickly cracking jokes and making you feel right at home. This is another great reason to visit Wallace in the winter. In the summer, the place is PACKED, trying to get everyone in and out. During the winter months, you get a chance to feel the soul of the town and connect with people. With a bit of guidance, we ordered some food.

Classic bar fare done right

Macho Nachos & 5 Alarm Burger at 1313

In a jiffy, the five alarm burger and Macho Nachos show up. The burger had the right amount of spiciness to ignite your taste buds but not too much so you actually taste how juicy the burger is. If you do get a burger, be sure to ask for the beer battered fries. The batter is extra crispy yet still soft on the inside for the perfect fry. Now, the Macho Nachos are exactly what the name connotates… IT’S HUGE! They might not look big to some, but once you dig in, it feels like they’re never ending. To wash down your meal, their beer selection is amazing. On tap, they have quite a few of Wallace Brewing’s beers along with a North Idaho Mountain brew as well.

Looking outside, the light snowfall began to transition to bigger flakes. Finishing up dinner, it was time to head back to the Wallace Inn and get some rest.  Tomorrow’s backcountry mission was going to be off the hook!

Our next day’s adventure would lead us into the wilderness to find some untracked pow…

This leg of our trip is sponsored by: