#i had forgotten about it til u sent this.

[lechroniques]

"Did you ever read Le Diable boiteux? I feel like you'd find Lesage rather pleasant."

“𝓜𝒎 ⸺   no,   but   I   saw   Favart’s   operatic   adaptation   of   it   at   The   Comédie   -   Française,   I   believe   it   was   …   what, 1782?   Beautiful   production! That's if you   were   able   to   ᴵᴳᴺᴼᴿᴱ   the   annoying   excuse   for   a   tenor,   and   I   hesitate   to   call   him   even   that ...   he   had   ᴿᴬᴺᴳᴱ   like   a   fucking   garbage   disposal.”

[fencesandfrogs]

cloudtail’s daughter: jayfeather

alright, strap in, it's time for jayfeather. i've been holding it in on him for what feels like forever now; he's ya boy's favorite character

also, aside from dove and ivy, he's the character with the highest volume of changes to canon. even above cloudtail and brightheart, because they continue their lives, it's not a big deal. and lion and cinder go to the tribe, but like, that's it. (i'm figuring out if jay goes with them over the course of this essay. i think i said he did in holly? but he literally hasn't been mentioned once in that arc because there's a lot going on.) anyway lion and cinder don't get up to anything. but jay's priorities shift and we see that in his books. i'm really excited to write him but i need to finish arc 1 lmao.

but first, same deal as always. this is part of my cloudtail's daughter au, where dovekit and ivykit are born to cloudtail and brightheart. i don't know how well this will read preemptively, but i suspect it will be rather dependent on the others. cloudtail's daughter: dovewing and/or the long post that explains it are both good places to start, see the cloudtail's daughter tag on my blog.

[2.5k words, 14 minute read, one of the last warriors essays on this blog. i'm going to finish out with my character essays and then everything will be on new sideblog. so check out @mallowstep for more.]

section one: the leafpool business

at the beginning of this series, leafpool and jayfeather are on bad terms. they will stay on bad terms for basically the entirity of the book series. while one of my main complaints with po3/oots is the lack of acknowledgement of adoption, jayfeather has been lied to by his mother and his mentor, something neither hollyleaf or lionblaze have to contend with, and then his sister kills herself over it. obviously she doesn't, but from his perspective. so he blames leafpool because he was really close to hollyleaf and now she's gone, and it's his first real loss, and there's so much going on.

and so he's a grouch and he's unhappy and he's just trying to function when his whole support system has been dismantled over the course of what, like, a quarter moon? yeah so dovekit and ivykit are like "wow what a grouch he sucks" the same way they don't realize prey is dying of thirst & etc.

for the most part he's j chilling and then hollyleaf comes back and man is it some family drama. unfortunately it's postponed til book 4 because hollyleaf and jayfeather have journeys but anyway i'm getting ahead of myself, because this section should end and unlike the hollyleaf essay i want to actually have decent organization.

section two: hollyleaf is away (but jayfeather doesn't get to play)

holly, cinder, and dove go to deal with beavers. we only get jayfeather through lionblaze in the books, but jayfeather is...conflicted. he got his sister back and lost her again and oh i should say. i think jayfeather and hollyleaf are the closer pair of the siblings. not that they don't love lionblaze the same, but you know how cats pair bond? like, it's usually a trauma thing, but even in feral cats, you see very close friendships. anyway yeah so for other au's i've been sorting siblings n denmates into pairs for this purpose (mostly jaywing au because there's a lot re. dovepaw and jaypaw and remember they are reincarnated siblings they've got a close bond going.) and it's kind of...i don't know my point is jayfeather misses his sister because she's like, his best friend too. or she was. and then she died and now she's back and she left again, and lionblaze is more concerned about cinderheart, so jayfeather just comes off as grouchy all the time. but really he's lonely and sad.

so yeah, jayfeather is kind of moping around camp and then the tree falls and whoops now briarpaw/light is parapalegic.

and uhh this goes more or less as in canon but we don't get pov which is fine bc u can sub in canon. but jayfeather? he's still a sad boy but now he's a sad boy with purpose and that makes all the difference

yeah he's close with her. they're sweet. it's sweet. he's pressured by brambleclaw to take an apprentice. he's bristly and angry and "you're not my real father" you know?

beaver crew gets back. jayfeather, who had missed holly, is back to being angry for...angst and plot purpose, really.

but you know, when you love & miss someone and they leave and they come back and somehow that's worse because now they can leave you again? and you can't tell them you want them to stay because you're angry and hurt but you want them to stay? god i'm excited to write these chapters i love emotional turmoil.

he's protective of briarlight, he's trying to keep dovepaw from being a medicine cat, hollyleaf is apologizing but he's not ready to hear it and lionblaze and hollyleaf are beginning to reconnect and it feels like betrayal. so when cinderheart and lionblaze go to the tribe, he tags along. everyone, uh, strongly encourages he go. he is the big grouch.

section three: time travelling times

okay so the timeline for these books is...messy. if you track the chronology of my writing, it's messy. which is to say, i was thinking i could put forgotten warrior and distant whispers over the same time span, but that actually doesn't work, as i review my notes for FW because a big part of it is ivy and holly's relationship. so. fake news. whoops. that sucks.

or maybe it doesn't? idk i don't usually tell linear stories. i like messing with emotional impact of events. so writing 600k of very linear story telling is very not easy for me. but i'm trying.

right so basically the official order of events until i change my mind again is as follows (names abbreviated as DIHLJC because they're all unique): DCH returns from beavers, DILCJ go to tribe with some other random warrior undecided, J + rando return, JH start awkwardness (beginning of TFW, middle of DW), DILC return (end of DW), time travel stuff (middle to end of TFW). hopefully that was intelligble, but it is admittedly 85% for my own benefit.

alright so we've covered during beavers, now jayfeather and hmmmm let's say, uhhhh, let's say they go with, literally any interesting background character, uh, bumblestripe! he doesn't do anything in this au bumblestripe goes with them. also since his name starts w b i can still write DIHLJCB and have things be unambigious. and it means there are fewer bs in thunderclan and trust me you don't know how frustrating the existence of like 6 b characters is.

alright so we really have 3 sets of two pairs of cats here. maybe i won't go w bumblestripe, bc he doesn't have an existing relationship w jayfeather. i dunno. i'm a big fan of jay & briar, whether as a ship or just besties, but that's just out, and hollyleaf can't come a) because i said so and b) honestly maybe she can? actually wait hold on that solves my problems. hot damn so 6/6 of the pov cats go to the tribe and this will be one of the only times all six characters are plot relevant at the same time. but i'm going george r r martin on it and seperating the books not by time but into DICL + JH because they're two completely separate character arcs that happen to take place at the same time. (don't worry i'm going to resolve the fallen leaves thing. in this essay ig bc i've already covered hollyleaf.)

okay so yeah hollyleaf is sent bc jayfeather isn't planning on staying w tribe for long time. just short time. and he's all "firestar why"

"well jayfeather," firestar says, "you don't talk to your family."

"i talk to dovewing," jayfeather says

"you're not related to her," firestar says

"there's a whole prophecy about how i'm related to her," jayfeather says

"you know about that?" firestar says

and that's how the cat gets out of the bag.

so anyway. jayfeather and hollyleaf are sent because...hold on, spinning the wheel of reasons for a character to go on a field trip...because...because...because...because...jayfeather had one of those dreams. i don't know. rock or something. now he's going.

they get there, and this is where the books get a lil time wonky, bc jayfeather and hollyleaf stay for like a moon, during which jayfeather goes back in time. i think.

i haven't worked out the details and probably won't until i do an updated au synopsis because it's hard to keep track and i'm more concerned about character through lines. like, jayfeather does this and he feels sad, and hollyleaf is sad about her ghost boyfriend, and they're travelling back together, and hollyleaf is his sister and she doesn't make him feel like he needs protection and lionblaze is bad at that, and they start to talk again.

and yeah, they bond. again. it's kind of, on top of their old bond? like they don't repair anything, they bond like strangers. but it's not nothing, and that matters.

so jayfeather gets back, and we're moving into book five, and i don't remember when the last time i made a section break was or what number we're on, so...sorry.

section ???: old man yells at cloud

alright it's finally jayfeather's moment. you know, he's one of my favorite characters, and he only gets a book and a half. "but mateo," i hear you saying, "doesn't every character get a book and a half? and more importantly, 6x1.5 is 9, so how does every character get a book and a half?" well, yes, every character does, but dovewing and ivypool are relevant in books 1-3 and 6, cinderheart in 1-3 and 5, lionblaze in 1-3, and hollyleaf in 2-5 (and has a critical role in 1 and 6, just no character development), while jayfeather is just really essential to books 4-5, and has a background role in 3. that means he's about equal to lionblaze. he's equal to lionblaze. as far as the numbers go, i cannot tell you. it's a mystery.

right so the reason for this is because (a) jayfeather doesn't do that much in oots. i love him, but he's not, like, super important, and (b) he's going to work better in these books if he's concentrated. because his big theme is his relationship with hollyleaf and the past. they're both kind of stuck in it but in different ways. and that prevents them from ever properly healing. so jay never has a full arc in this. i mean he has a full arc, it's just not a satisfying one. and that means he's sort of got to be put in the containment units.

so anyway, he gets his real big moments in the fifth book, when he's reuniting starclan. i think this is one of the riskier decisions on my part: we'll see whether or not i can deliver on him the way i plan to. but i think i can pull it off so that his arc is more meaningful condensed as such.

right. so. jayfeather is decided. he is going to fix starclan. because dead cats need to get thier shit together and he dgaf.

he spends a decent amount of time arguing with yellowfang and bluestar, because basically no important cats have died. at least we're in omen of the stars so it still makes sense? i have no idea why yellow/blue are still so important. please kill more important cats. it makes us feel things.

but feathertail is also probably going to be involved, i don't know. i haven't read these books (specifically, books 4 and 5 of oots) in forever so i don't really remember what happens. but he's kind of, super done with everything. i think he'll probably try to get the support of mothwing and kestrelflight (which is canon i believe?) and try to work as a team. i feel like there's weirdness w shadowclan too i should sort out.

so yeah, there's some medicine cat bonding, everything is OK, sol is happening? but cinderheart is dealing with that. jayfeather is naturally very upset about disconnects with sol but like he's also dealing with stuff i...i really need to reread outcast and sign of the moon. well, they're on my list after "all of these fucking riverclan novels like why they don't show up in the main series but i still have to read a bunch to be able to write them that's not fair."

alright, well, with that very vague description of what happens, moving on, the prophecy gets revealed to the clans at a whole in like...the ending eighth of this book. trying to maximise the amount of exposure to other clans without messing with the pacing.

so jayfeather and undecided warrior B (definitively not hollyleaf) go to windclan. jayfeather is...very unhappy about this. he does not want to leave. thunderclan is his home, and he's blind, and it's really hard to adapt to a new space and he thinks everyone is going to treeat him badly.

and well, if you've read my culture posts, windclan is....very pro-medicine cats and pro-prophecy cats. funerals. mourning. prayer. is probably the best place to start, but to get to the meat of it, start with general clan culture. to summarize, windclan: religious. but kind of like catholics, they don't believe in an individual connection with starclan. only leaders, and medicine cats, and very rarely members of prophecies have a connection. so. jayfeather. he's twice over. that's very cool to windclan.

so cats are kind of falling over themselves to help him, and like. i mean jayfeather is a grouch and he hates that he needs someone to help him through the territory, but at least they don't treat it like a chore, or like he's pitiable. this is a desirable task. apprentices want to know about his powers. and kestrelflight is a respected part of the clan, arguably more important than onestar, and jayfeather has never really gotten over being shoved in the healer hole as a child like it was lesser or easier to be a medicine cat, and so it's a big change.

and yeah. so i mean. an unobservant reader might say jayfeather has sufficient ego. he does not need stroking. they, of course, would be wrong.

jayfeather has a complex, but it's not an ego issue. he's...he's been denied everything he's wanted, and he's jaded, and weary, and he's never really believed that his clan views him as able and equal. in canon, at present, he's lost almost every cat he's every cared about. alderheart is his strongest remaining tie, and his fear at losing him, but willingness to let him leave, is very telling.

so yeah, jayfeather enjoys being accepted. anyone would. he doesn't really have confidence issues, but....argh. i know why this is good i swear it'll come out in the writing.

anyway, that's...that's pretty much it. jayfeather? done.

[lit-works]

Untitled Doctor Strange fanfic opening

Locked in deep concentration over an ancient and obscure text, Dr. Stephen Strange barely noticed Wong's gentle knock which made him aware of his surroundings. The dark, book-lined walls. The fireplace, carved with the likeness of several minor demons; censers, braziers, ointment jars, and amphorae of a dozen dead civilizations. Dr. Strange floated above cushions from a long-forgotten dynasty, the mystic text he studied suspended in air before him.

He was in his study. His Sanctum Sanctorum, in Greenwich Village, New York City. He took a deep breath and told Wong to enter.

The loyal servant Wong inclined his head deferentially as he brought in a tray. "Your pardon, Master," Wong said quietly, "You asked me to bring you breakfast."

"Yes, Wong, but i said i would not be taking meals this evening, you needn't worry about breakfast until tomorrow morning."

"Master, it is morning. You have worked through the night once again."

Startled, Dr. Strange looked up at the circular skylight, where bright morning sunlight shone through the Greenwich smog. Strange floated gently down to the cushions, laughing. When he smelled the aroma of eggs benedict, he realized he was famished. As he ate, he discussed with Wong the affairs of the coming day. Finishing the excellent meal, he felt refreshed, as if he had slept the whole night through.

As he moved to set down the breakfast tray, Wong uttered a strange sound. Strange looked up, and an oath on the Hosts of Hoggoth escaped his lips. Wong's eyes had gone white. His bald head glowed, he stood motionless as a statue, speaking in a voice not his own--a chorus of voices, spectral, other-worldly. "Doc-torrrrr Sta-rrrrrange." they called.

Dr. Strange's defensive spell was ready even as he leapt to his feet. "Wong --what have you done with Wong? Who are you?" his mind raced, considering a hundred possible foes who could do this. But, no spell of evil intent could penetrate the enchantments around his townhouse without alerting him!

"We come in peace." the voices said through Wong's mouth. Even as the voices became clearer and firmer, images split off from the servant's head and floated into the room. The floating heads throbbed eerily, stretching here, shrinking elsewhere, like reflections in a pool of oil. The new faces, like Wong's and yet unlike his--they resembled others Strange knew, but who--?

"Do you not remember us, Doctor Strange?" asked one, his Jowls swelling beneath his chin. Another, edged with prismatic flickers of light, says, "We are the six sorcerers, from the realm of Trofane," Then, indeed there were six heads moving in a circular pattern around Wong.

"Yes...Trofane, a dimension very close to Earth's in the spectrum of infinite universes, and the six powerful guardians of order." Dr. Strange recognized their auras now, he had no need to fear. "I am honored by this...unexpected visit. Revered ones," Dr. Strange said, "How may i help you?"

"Forgive our possession of your servant--"

"--but we lack the power to cross to your dimension in our true forms--"

"--for we have been drained by a full-scale attack, which has devastated our home dimension!"

"An attack?!" Dr. Strange cried. "By whom?"

"The forces of two other dimensions--"

"The Twelve Dominions, that tyrannical empire--"

"--and its nemesis, Landark, the dimension of Blindness."

"But they have warred for centuries! What could bring them to cooperate in attacking your realm?"

The replies of the six came in rapid response, "Not cooperation--"

"--a truce of sorts."

"They have agreed not to pursue their long battle in their own realms."

"Both realms are nearly devastated, and they do not wish to risk further destruction."

"So they carry their struggle to other dimensions --neutral battlegrounds."

"Dimensions such as our own Trofane and nearby Caravanda, which are only stepping stones to other dimensions."

The heads bobbed around Dr. Strange, much as questions crowded his thoughts. "I survey the nearby dimensions regularly," Dr. Strange said. "I have seen the battles between the Dominions and Caravanda --but these new invasions you mention, of Trofane and Caravanda--"

"You have not detected them--"

"--For the Dominions' ruler, Kallesh Ghann, has cast spells of concealment upon his forces' movements there--"

"--so that his enemies in the dimension of Blindness may not discover their movements."

"Your pardon, honored masters, but i know Kallesh's power. He could not possibly cast a spell that would foil my observations."

"Your words ring true, Doctor--"

"--but your knowledge has grown old. Kallesh has increased his abilities of late--"

"--we ourselves did not learn how much, u til his forces invaded Trofane."

"His mastery of magic now rivals, if not surpasses, your own. We know not how."

This was ill fortune. Kallesh Ghann's tyranny was well known. His nemesis Bel Auric of Landark, had kept him in check for decades, but if Kallesh now matched the sorcerer supreme in power, the Dominions would soon conquer their lifelong enemy.

Unanswered questions still nagged at the Doctor. "And yet you say they fight in other dimensions. If his power has increased, why should Kallesh not just invade Landark directly?"

"Look to the histories of these powers--" one of the six sorcerers replied. "The Dominions and Landark were once a single dimension politically divided over slavery. It is through an enchantment of amazing power that the slavers of the Dominions split their realm from that of their rival's."

A 2nd guardian took up the narrative, "in an act of spite, Kallesh used his most powerful sorceries to steal away the very light of Landark. Since then, the realm has languished in unnatural darkness, and has become known as the dimension of blindness. Still, the forces of Landark fight on.

A 3rd concluded: "With the interim dimensions of Caravanda and Trofane nearly leveled by war, the opponents must travel farther afield, beyond them, to one that adjoins them both. Your own dimension, Doctor Strange--Earth's!"

The news stunned Strange. After countless attempts by would-be conquerors to subjugate Earth's dimension, this new danger was unexpected. ---Earth itself was to become neutral ground for a conflict between warring universes!

Doctor Strange stammered a question. "Wh-when?"

"Time is a human construct. You have days at most...perhaps hours."

Hours--until Dr. Strange faced the combined might of two warring dimensions. His power was great, but the task seemed impossible. Still, he did not even consider surrender. "Thank you, honored ones, for this warning. Now, i must prepare for the foes."

One of the six sorcerers spoke, "Do not be hasty, young magician--"

"--you cannot hope to save your realm by force alone--even yours, known through the 6 dimensions for unrivaled skill."

"We must noe depart. Good fortune to you, Doctor."

"We shall not meet again, we fear."

"The invaders even now fight a lost battle on our desolate terrain--"

"Before moving onto your own."

"May the omnipotent Oshtur guide you--"

"--and the blessed Vishanti watch over--AAAAHHH!!"

The faced contorted in pain, then vanished. Doctor Strange felt sorrow at what he knew was the passing of these magi.

As the glow faded, Wong stumbled and regained consciousness. "Master-what?-I felt such tremendous power..." he seemed glad to find his master unharmed, and then sudden fear showed in his eyes. "Do i have my own body back?"

"You're alright now, Wong," Dr. Strange assured him, quietly examining him to make certain he was correct. Wong appeared unaffected. Strange issued speedy instructions to cancel all appointments, then sent Wong away. Strange had much studying to do and little time before the invaders arrived.

How little time, was very quickly discovered. Hardly minutes after Wing had left, he knocked urgently, then burst into the study carrying a small radio. "Master, i was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes--the radio--" he stoped and they both listened as a panic-stricken radio-personality spoke of "monsters" appearing in three different locations across New York City.

So--it had begun, and such was the power of the invaders' concealment that Doctor Strange did not feel their presence! At his mental command, the cloak of levitation and the Eye of Agamotto floated to him. Passing through the wall of the Sanctum, he floated invisibly over the village streets to meet the invading forces.

[mayaparker]

Not My Spirit;

Maya “Chaotic Dumbass” Parker, @scarlettxruby and @rydenbolt find themselves inside a Victorian asylum 

When Ruby woke up, it was dark. Nothing strange really, other than her room was never this black. There was always light from the windows streaming in, both day and night. And while darkness didn’t bother her since even then she could usually see, something about this darkness was... wrong. Ruby sat up. The sheets beneath her hands were wrong too. They were thin and scratchy, not at all like her own soft ones. The smells were... Ruby wrinkled her nose. Antiseptic and something else... Her heart beat just a bit faster. No way. No fucking way. She knew that smell. It was something she'd never forget. Just when she was about to stand, a slash of light split the darkness. "Oi... wakey wakey little lady," an oily voice said from the square of light set into what had to be the door to the room. Something hard tapped against something metallic. "No funny business like yesterday, or you'll go back in the chair. Got it?" Ruby was so shell-shocked that she could only nod as the door opened and a man in dirty white coveralls - flanked by three others dressed just the same - stomped towards her. By the time he had the manacles around her neck and wrists - at least partly silver, since they burned the moment they touched her skin - Ruby was just beginning to realize what was going on. This had to be another pocket verse. She was led out - barefoot and in nothing but a shift (a /shift?/ what year was this supposed to be?) - and down the hallway. Hands reached out of the small openings in the doors lining the hall, and here and there people sat along the wall, some dressed properly, others not so much. But the clothing was... "What year is it?" Ruby asked as she was marched along. The man ahead of her snorted. "Losing track of time now too, love? Aren't you just a peach." He spat into the corner. "It's 1899. Least 'til the morning. Then it's a new century. Gonna be one helluva row tonight amongst your lot I s'pose. Warden says we gotta take extra care of the ones what causes trouble." He glanced back at her. "See the new year in right proper. If you catch my meanin'." The yellow-toothed grin he shot at her did nothing to alleviate Ruby's fears.

Maya walked up to Ruby's house with an increasing sense of dread. The pocket universes were popping up all over town, each one seemingly more dangerous than the last. She approached the front door and tried to call Ruby again. It went to voicemail. Again. With a deep breath, she tried the front door and found it unlocked. She stepped inside and the room spun. When it came back into focus, she found herself in a dirty stone building. "Well, that explains that," she muttered to herself. She treaded carefully down the hallway, looking for Ruby or whatever monsters might be lurking here. As she walked, she realized it was some kind of asylum. From a table she picked up a large syringe. Dangerous thing to leave lying about. She turned a corner to see four men leading Ruby down the hallway. "Yeah, I'm going to have to insist that one gets discharged. Effective immediately."

Once Ruby saw where they were, she tried to backpedal. "Let go..." she said, struggling a bit in the orderly's hold. The old stone walls and the smell of antiseptic and unwashed bodies hit her full on as they entered the corridor. "Let me go!" She pulled hard, breaking the grasp of the man holding the chains. "Oi! I said no trouble!" he snapped. Something hit Ruby hard in the back, sending a jot of pain through her limbs. She staggered, nearly falling to her knees. "There now, see? That's better..." The orderly gestured to bring her along, and they dragged her down the corridor, stopping only when another figure stepped into view. "Get outta the way, girl." The first orderly gestured with his billy club. "Go back to your room."

"Um, no?" Maya replied. She was doing some quick calculations in her head, but she needed more information. She tried to see past the orderlies to determine how much help Ruby might be able to offer. It might not be as much as usual considering her history with asylums. But if Maya could at least distract a couple of them. A shout from behind her drew her attention for a second, but she wasn't sure if it was from a patient or an orderly. All Maya could do was try to solve the situation in front of her. "Like I said, you're going to be letting her go now," she repeated.

"Wha'??" The orderly stopped, looking at Maya as if she'd grown a second head. "Are you deaf, girl? I said, back to your room. Or I'll smash those pretty teeth in and send you back meself." He took a step towards her. He was a large, bulky man, lots of poundage that might've once been muscle, but still much larger than Maya. Ruby had come around a bit, though her entire body ached from the jolt in her back. This wasn't the same as when she'd been a patient, she told herself. Or tried to. Her head was foggy. This was some reject movie set. Some Victorian nightmare that didn't really exist. And she wasn't a helpless human this time. But she needed to get the silver chains off before she could be any help. "Maya..." Ruby called. "Belt..." The key to her shackles was on the orderly's belt.

"That's very rude," Maya replied. This was an old trick for her. If she could just distract the man long enough for Ruby to get away or for someone else to intervene, it would be fine. Winning the fight was not priority. Anyway, the man walking toward her was much bigger than she was, but she was certain that she was smarter. Maya didn't look at Ruby when she mentioned the belt. She only nodded, almost imperceptibly. She waited, posed for a fight. When he finally lunged for her, Maya ducked and used his own weight against him. He went sprawling to the floor. She used that moment to yank the keys from his belt. More shouting echoed down the hallways. Maya turned to look at Ruby again, keys in hand.

Asylums in that day and age were full of dark, creepy secrets - mostly the kind respectable families wanted to put away but some... Some were circus show material. Stuff horror movies were made of. And they always got shoved down a basement, locked up and key thrown away. St Agnes asylum had its own beast in a cage, chained up and forgotten until the single daily mealtime it was entitled to just to keep it alive. Him, it was a him, though most of the staff had forgotten. That was the number one mistake they've made - you should never lock up and just forget about the thing that needed a cage to contain it. At some point, he'd be rattling that cage hard enough for a screw or two to come loose. And then it was only a matter of when utter chaos would be unleashed. The shouts down the hallway belonging to the wards of the asylum soon turned into screams. Something got out, something that didn't belong even among the craziest of nutheads, rapists and murderers that plead insanity to get off the gallows.

Ruby waited as patiently as she could, trying to be still and compliant so the other guards would focus on Maya and the man in front of them instead of her. The man wasn't all that smart, and he certainly wasn't fast. So when Maya finally slipped by him and snagged the keys to her shackles, and she felt the attention of the two men shift to Maya, Ruby finally reacted. She'd been slowly wrapping the chains around her arm. It burned, but she would heal. So when she spun and swung at the first man's head - the man with the cattle prod - she connected with a solid 'thud.' He went sprawling, dropping the prod that went skittering across the stone floor. The second man lunged for Ruby, but she ducked him, leaping on his back and wrapped the chain around his neck. She pulled hard, cutting off the man's air. "Prod!" she yelled at Maya as the fourth man went for it. The screams that found their way up the hall drew Ruby's attention as the man struggled in her grasp. They were different sorts of screams. The kind that you ran away from, not towards. "Maya..." Ruby said again, still shaking the fog from her head.

Maya felt a yank as the man tried to trip her. She responded by kicking down hard. He groaned and let go. Starting towards Ruby, she watched as her friend sent one of the men to the floor. A second Ruby seemed to have pretty well under control. Her shout didn't meant much to Maya though. In her second of confusion, the fourth man grabbed the prod and shoved it into Maya's ribs. She shouted as the electricity crumpled her to the ground. The shouting grew louder. Maya pulled herself to her feet. "I think we're going to have company," she said in a hoarse whisper with a nod to Ruby. The man who had just electrocuted her seemed to have the same idea as he turned his attention to the end of the hallway.

Ruby wasn't keen on killing, but in this case - especially since these fucks weren't real - she would make an exception. As Maya got tazed, and the shouts from down the way grew louder and closer, Ruby gave a quick yank on the chain. There was a wet, snapping sound as the guard jerked once and grew still. Ruby let him fall to the floor before turning to Maya and the other guard. He was pale as a sheet, and when something ran towards them - something covered in blood and torn clothing, fleeing for its life - the guard forgot about Maya and Ruby, dropped the prod, and fled back down the hall. Ruby wasted no time uncuffing herself with the key Maya had, and then helped her friend to her feet. "Yeup. We should go..." Snagging the prod from the floor, just in case, Ruby backpedaled a bit, searching for a way out.

His progress was slow down the hallway, because at every step, there was something that bravely but foolishly tried to charge at him only to end up smashed into the wall. They were mostly people, people the beast didn't give two shits about. After all, he wasn't one of them, didn't think of himself as one of their kind. They were meat and bones to chew on. And being locked up for so long made him hungry. So very, very hungry... The man in front of the best faltered, a prod half raised in a poor attempt to strike but he had second thoughts halfway through. What stood in front of him would make anyone second-guess their life choices. Neither man nor animal, part wolf and part human, jaw full of bloodied teeth and claws sticking out of fingertips. The ward let out a sound, squealing like a pig before the beast jumped him and tore into his big fat belly, muzzle digging in deep. They slid down the corridor for a few feet, propelled by the speed with which the beast collided with the man and when they came to a stop, that's when Maya and Ruby would see it - a big, black wolf-man, neither here nor there in his transformation, feeding on the still twitching soon-to be corpse of one of the orderly of the asylum.

Maya was all for getting the hell out of there. Clearly whatever was coming was worse than the orderlies and she did not want to meet it. Slowly, she backed down the hallway, looking for a weapon or an exit. But she wasn't about to turn her back on whatever this was. She froze when it came into view at the end of the hallway. It looked like...But it couldn't be... "Ruby," she whispered, "I think that's Ryden." She only had a glimmer of recognition because he'd semi-shifted for her once before, in the abandoned cabin over a year ago. But this was different. Whatever he was now was not what he had been then.

Maya was right. This was not the Ryden they both knew. Nor the wolf who was the member of Ruby's pack. This was The Beast - the embodiment of the demonic ritual Ryden was exposed to on the day he'd been bitten. It was the thing the horror movies tried to portray, the thing that gothic literature attempted to describe - poorly in comparison to what was feeding in front of them. When it hollowed out the man's stomach cavity, he stood back on his hind legs to a height so impressive he made ceiling look closer to the floor. He dwarfed everything around him. Curled fingers were more paws than hands, long claws painted crimson. His slobbering snout was dripping with blood. He let out a terrible howl that shook the corridor and all its adjacent rooms. And then his attention turned to the next thing that was moving.

Ruby knew it was Ryden. Even as twisted and horrible as the creature was, she could smell her friend beneath it. Barely there, and without any consciousness of the man he really was, but there. This was the thing she'd never seen. The Dark she smelled in him at times. "It is," she told Maya. "But it's not him either. It's..." She shook her head, keeping hold of Maya's arm and backing slowly away. You never ran from creatures like this, as it only drew their attention. The gore and the horror didn't bother Ruby. It was the not rightness of the creature that bothered her. No wonder Ryden felt the way he did about it. And what better place for it to come out than this?? The howl shook the walls, and the wolf inside Ruby stood up, lowering her ears and growling. But it would be no match for the beast down the way. Better than either Ruby or Maya, but still a much weaker creature. "Do not run... find a doorway... something... before he-" It was too late. The Beast saw them.

Maya nodded, eyes never leaving the creature that used to be their friend. She didn't move as Ruby tugged at her arm. But it wasn't fear that froze her in place. Not at first. She couldn't just walk away. They couldn't leave Ryden in this place. Fear replaced her concern though as it howled. She swallowed. "Fuck," she whispered. Ruby, in her wolf form, might have a hope of outrunning it. Maya human as she was had no chance. As her mind raced to come up with an alternative way of not being ripped apart, she remembered her experiments with Faye. "I have one very bad idea," she whispered to Ruby.

The beast lowered himself to all fours, to creep better towards them, stalking with his grey, glowing eyes pinned on his next two targets. He seemed to be grinning, but it was just a snarl giving way to too many sharp, deadly teeth. He lowered himself all the way down to the floor, ready to pounce, because their heartbeats were enough to set him off. A low growl announced a deadly leap in their direction.

Yes, they could just walk away. Ryden wouldn’t be left here. He’d be spit out along with them once they did whatever it was they were here to do. But if he got spit out like this... “If it involves trying to talk him down, it won’t work. Ryden’s not in there.” She didn’t want to leave him either, but the wolf in her screamed retreat. She was brave, but not foolish. Ruby tugged harder on her friends arm. “Maya...” Ruby would shift if it came to it, and do what she could. At least she had a chance of maybe slowing the creature down, drawing its attention. Maya was just a soft morsel, unless she had something up her sleeve.

Maya looked away from the creature to give Ruby a look. She might be stupid sometimes, but she wasn't /that/ stupid. She turned quickly back to face the wolf man though, knowing better than to take her eyes off it for long. She took an involuntary step back as the wolf shifted onto four legs. "More like using my magic touch," she added. It was fully fear now that had her frozen to the spot. She needed to move. Part of her brain was screaming at her to move. As for her idea of a plan, it had sounded crazy in her head, but it sounded even more so when she said it out loud.

The beast leaped and a quick swipe of his massive arm had Maya pushed out of the way like she was nothing but a rag doll to him to throw around. Maybe he had sensed a shadow of a threat in the wolf lurking within Ruby and she was the first one he went for, circling her as if to challenge her. Then his first strike fell, slamming straight into her to bring her down to the floor, aiming to bite into her neck. That was how the wolves hunter prey smaller than themselves - they went straight for the neck, for the kill. The supernatural strength in her arms was the only thing that kept him at bay, jaws snapping mere inches away from her face. She was screaming for Maya to get away, to run.

Ruby shoved both hands hard against the beasts neck, holding him back with every ounce of strength she possessed. The muscles in her arms strained, and hot slobber dripped onto her face. “Run!!” She screamed at Maya, growling at the beast above her. She couldn’t shift like this. She’d be ripped apart the moment she was vulnerable. But Maya didn’t run. Instead, she did the opposite, throwing herself at the creature. She was no match for him strength wise. Ruby kicked at the beast with her legs, but she was pinned. “Put him out!” She yelled at Maya, knowing some of what her friends magic might do. She would shift if she could get away, but she needed space.

Maya found herself suddenly on the floor again. Pain blossomed in her ribs. She shut her eyes against the tears that sprang to them. It was enough though to break her out of the fear that had grabbed hold of her. "Ruby!" she shouted as she saw what Not Ryden was about to do. Despite having just argued that she wasn't that stupid, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around the creature, trying to pull him away. She felt, among many other things, the electric shock that accompanied her accidental use of magic. It was a begging for calm and peace that she felt from the bottom of her heart. It was instinct without fully understanding what she was doing. Her conscious focus was on trying to drag him off of Ruby.

Maya was just a flea attaching itself to the massive, fur-covered bulk of Ryden's back and for a second, it seemed unlikely that she'd be able to do more than a flea would. If they were lucky, she wouldn't annoy him enough to shake her off with a kick. But the deadly jaws stopped snapping at Ruby as she fought her best to push him back, her trembling arms ready to give in any second against the sheer weight and power of the beast. Ruby could now see the dilated pupils in the silver of Ryden's eyes shrink as he blinked, confused by the electric shock of magic Maya sent through his body. It was making him feel things other than endless rage the beast fed and thrived on. With a huff alike to a massive sneeze, the beast scuttled off Ruby, hunching and whining as if hit by some unseen force strong enough to kick him away. Ears flattened, he curled up in a corner, ducking his face under a paw as if to hide it.

Something happened then, and Ruby saw something in Ryden’s eyes shift. She felt the residual of whatever Maya had done as it fizzled over her too. The beast moved off, whining in a way that tugged at something inside her

Maya slipped to the floor as the wolf man let go of Ruby. She tried to breathe past the pain in her ribs. Her gaze quickly sought out the creature again, trying to see if it was going to attack. What she saw instead stole her breath. She looked down at her hands, realizing slowly what she had done. She swallowed. Without getting up, she picked her way carefully over to the creature. Maya was careful to make no sudden movements. "It's okay," she spoke softly, "We can help you. Did they hurt you?" It was a tone she would use with any injured animal. She trusted Ruby to recover, even shift if she needed to. First in Maya's mind though was making sure that the creature wouldn't attack again the minute their backs were turned.

She pushed to her feet, looking between the shivering beast that was her friend, and the witch that was also her friend. “Be careful,” Ruby told Maya. “I’m gonna change, just in case.” There was the span of less than a minute where Ruby changed into her lupine counterpart. She shook herself, breath steaming in the cold air, but stayed where she was. She lowered her head, ears forward towards the other creature, and whined. ~Hurt you?~ she echoed Maya, stepping close to the witch. ~Bad people.~

The beast whined, lowering himself all the way down against the wall. What would be soft cries coming from any other animal, they resonated loudly out of him in an unnatural, guttural way. Long tongue licked at his wrist where he was bound before, all those long long years in a dark basement, as any animal would when injured, in pain or distress. You could almost think that it was an animal like any other, abused, misunderstood and just wanting to live. Maya sent out calm, and calm he was, but only for a moment. Very very brief moment. A snarl bubbled up from within him again and angry, murderous eyes focused on Maya. Whatever they thought they saw, it was gone or wasn't in there to begin with.

Maya noticed the marks on the creature's wrists as it licked them. "We can get you out of here. Get you somewhere no one will hurt you anymore," she continued. She clamped her mouth shut to keep from swearing as it brought its gaze back up to her. Whatever moment of calm was gone. Again she needed to run, but knew that sudden movements would only make things worse. She stopped. "Okay, never mind," she said in the same calm tone before reversing direction.

The wolf gave a warning growl as the beast seeped back in. She took one step between him and Maya. ~No.~

Whatever this beast was, it said nothing in response to Ruby. Ryden's true wolf, although not a wolf of many words, was open to communication, to feelings. It was vibrant with emotions, as any living creature is. This thing was a black hole for anything but wrath. Nothing went through to him, not a friend, not an enemy, not a fucking baseball bat. It didn't feel fear, regret or sorrow. He was rage incarnate, one of the seven deadly sins in its true form. And he went at Ruby full force again, claws into her snow white fur, teeth bared for her neck.

Maya couldn't help, but scream again as the creature lunged for Ruby. Any emotional confusion about wanting to help her friend evaporated. There was nothing left of Ryden in this thing. The only way to actually help him would be to get the hell out of this pocket universe. Without killing Ruby of course. Maya pulled herself to her feet. She wasn't sure it would work twice, but she had to try. They just needed to space to get out of this place. She took a deep breath, focusing this time. Hoping that it was too much focused on Ruby to pay much attention to her, Maya took a step forward and attempted to lay a hand on the creature.

Ruby felt the impact like a runaway train, claws and teeth piercing flesh that had already started to heal. The wolf ducked to the side, using her smaller form to sidestep a bit. But he still grabbed her and held on. She clamped her teeth over the side of his head, one ear and one eye obscured by her massive jaws. She tried to shake him, to toss him aside so they could run, but it was like trying to throw a mountain. Claws dug into her flesh, and Ruby yelped shrilly as something snapped. But she didn’t let go.

Ruby had another disadvantage - she wasn't shifted halfway through, had no opposable thumbs and if she stood up on hind legs, she could only do a trick dog lovers would aww at. Ryden was a human form with all the advantageous features of a werewolf. Ruby had everything going against her but her brave, strong heart and an urgency to protect a friend. A friend Ryden didn't mistakenly ignore this time. Maya did receive a kick this time, right into her stomach, shooting her to the opposite wall like a ball from a cannon. Ryden's hand found Ruby's sensitive underside, claws digging into the sensitive spot under her ribs. Just another push and he'd break flesh, reaching for her intestines. She fought back though, witch such fierceness despite the pain that Ryden couldn't keep a very good hold of her. Her slick fur was constantly slipping from his grasp, taking advantage of her smaller frame. So he caught ahold of her back leg and tossed her away like a dog-shaped toy. He didn't even wait for her to properly land before he rushed after her to fetch her in his open maw.

All the breath left Maya's lungs as the creature formerly known as Ryden landed a kick in her stomach. She skidded to a stop. Tears sprang to her eyes again. "Fuck," she wheezed. They had to get out. One of them had to get out. Maya had to tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her to look for any exit. A few feet to her right was an half open window. She dragged herself to her feet. Every movement hurt. She climbed onto the sill. One last time she looked back at the two wolves fighting. "I fucking hope this works," she whispered. "See you on the other side," she shouted, hoping to buy Ruby a distraction. Maya then turned and leapt from the window. It was only the second story. Not good by any means, but could be worse. A moment later she landed on soft grass and quickly tipped into a somersault. She ended up laying flat on her back, staring up at the cloudless sky outside Ruby's house.

It was pushing past the limits of dangerous. Ruby’s tender belly scraped raw from the claws that tried to eviscerate her even as she struggled and fought and tried to keep the beasts attention away from Maya. But the beast was part man, and Ruby wasn’t. He had advantages. All the advantages. And when she was tossed like a rag doll, dazed and ears ringing, she almost couldn’t get back up. She barely registered Maya’s form moving out of site, but the teeth and claws coming at her drew her attention. Blood ran from Ruby’s wounds, flecked the foam on her muzzle as she breathed heavily, but she pushed to her feet, teeth bared and limbs shaking, ready to meet him head on, if it would mean Maya’s escape, and hopefully both of theirs too. And then she was steaming and panting on the lawn.

The moment Maya had jumped out of the window, time in the pocket world seem to slow down, leaving Ryden in mid-leap after Ruby. What tumbled past Ruby wasn't the beast, but a limp, naked form of nothing but a man, unconscious to even brace himself for the fall. He rolled over the grass on Ruby's front lawn, the earth cushioning his fall and stayed down, sprawled on his side.

Maya heard with relief Ruby and Ryden on the lawn beside her. Turning her head to check on them, she found they were both naked. She should probably help with that. But she needed a second. Her ribs were screaming, but not quite loud enough to drown out the pain from her legs. "Alright, anybody dead?" she asked in a breathless almost laugh. They were out. The asylum was gone. There was going to be some fallout to deal with, but it could've been much much worse.

Ryden was unresponsive, lying sideways on the ground with his back turned to them. But the way he lay there didn't seem unnatural, like a dead body would sprawl. He was very much alive, just knocked out.

Ruby groaned, holding her own side and coughing wetly. There were long, bleeding gashes across her shoulders and belly, and she was barely holding on to consciousness.

"Okay, I'm taking that as a yes," Maya said as she pushed herself off the ground. She had to downplay it a little. After all the horror of it all was almost too much. She looked between Ruby and Ryden. He was unconscious, but at least seemed relatively uninjured. Ruby needed immediate medical attention. But Maya would need help for that. She could stop the bleeding if she could just get Ruby into the house. Using the last stores of her magic, she pressed a hand to Ryden's back, sending a shock of adrenaline through him. Hopefully it would be enough to wake him up. Immediately though she got out of the way, just in case. Moving over Ruby, Maya tore off her shirt to use as a makeshift and very temporary bandage.

It worked like a charm. For all intents and purposes, when Ryden was fully human, he was human all the way, super strength aside. He jolted up, stumbling with a yelp, like someone had just poured ice cold water on him while he slept. "Wha... huh... aah?!?!" He panted, frantically looking about himself. But he was used to it. Waking up someplace he didn't remember he was headed to, butt nekkid and confused was pretty much your every usual Thursday for him now. What was so totally wrong with this picture was Ruby on the ground, bleeding and Maya trying to fix that. "Shit... fuck!" He cussed under his breath, immediately going over to them. "What the fuck happened?"

“Ow...” Ruby murmured as Maya pressed on the wound. Her ribs and insides were mending like normal, but the rest didn’t seem to be improving much.

Maya spared a glance Ryden's direction as he leapt up. "I know," she said softly to Ruby, "I know it hurts." She looked back to Ryden. "I need you to help me get her inside," she half-ordered. But some of the authority was lost by the breathlessness of her voice. She couldn't take a deep breath without her ribs screaming in protest. But she just gritted her teeth against the pain. Ruby's external wounds weren't healing like they should and that took first priority.

Ryden nodded at Maya's instructions, carefully tucking his hands under Ruby to gently lift her up. "Hang in there babe, we'll fix it." He attempted to comfort her but it was secondary to getting her inside as carefully as possible. He pushed the door open with his shoulder and went for upstairs, where Ruby's bedroom was. The last time they were here, he'd stolen a wish he shouldn't have made.

Maya walked behind Ryden into Ruby's house, pain echoing with every step. She swallowed it and tried to keep the wincing to a minimum. While Ryden headed straight for the upstairs bedroom, she stopped in the bathroom for first aid supplies. She then followed them upstairs. Without hesitation, she went to Ruby's side to properly patch up her wounds. Ryden would get whatever he'd come up here for. Now that he was himself again, she could trust that.

Normally, Ruby was more worried about others than herself. But right now she didn’t have much choice. She groaned as Ryden lifted her, head rolling against his shoulder as he carried her inside. Her breathing wasn’t as labored anymore at least.

Putting Ruby down on the bed, Ryden immediately knew what he should be looking for. He rummaged through the same drawer he looked into before, back on that night when Ruby was bitten. As expected, he came up with a couple of blood capsules Ruby had stashed. She snapped one open for her, sitting on the bed to help her drink from the tiny vial.

After bandaging Ruby up, Maya moved on to her next task: clothing. She pulled out some loose fitting clothing and set it on the bed beside Ruby. It could wait until Ryden was done feeding Ruby from the capsules. She did her best as she moved around the room to cover up that she was injured. She dug through a few drawers before finding some jogging pants that might have a hope of fitting Ryden. She tossed them on the bed too. Finally, she sat on the edge of the bed, trying to breathe properly. The room had started to spin a little, but it would pass. She should get water. They could both use water.

The blood capsules were a precaution from when Ruby had been human. But they were still effective. She coughed slightly as Ryden poured the thick substance into her mouth. But she swallowed it down. It started to work almost immediately, though still a bit slower than usual. There would be some scarring, but Ruby could live with that. Finally she groaned again, opening her eyes to see Ryden’s face, his grey eyes. Not the beast or the wolf, but her dear friend. She weakly tipped her forehead to his, sighing wearily but in relief. “There you are...”

"What, have I been away." A smirk tugged on a corner of Ryden's mouth and he ducked down to press his forehead against Ruby's briefly, closing his eyes for a second against the touch. When he parted from her, he looked around to Maya, where she was sitting on the bed. He kept one capsule for her and was handing it over to her. "What's going on?" If she thought he hadn't noticed her injuries, she was mistaken.

Maya turned her head back to give Ruby a soft smile. "You scared me for a second there, Ruby," she said. She took the capsule from Ryden with a quiet thanks. She shook her head, "It was one of those fucking pocket universes. This Victorian era asylum," she explained before cracking open the capsule. She drank it down. Relief seeped through her immediately. It wasn't complete, but it was a hell of a lot better. Maya finally took a full deep breath. "I put some clothes out for you guys, if you want them," she added.

“Sort of,” Ruby said to Ryden, giving him a soft smile. “But you’re back now. And sorry ‘bout that,” she said to Maya. “It was fucked. Felt like... bad memories,” she huffed. “You good?” she asked the witch, seeing the capsule Ryden handed her.

Ryden regarded Maya for a good, long second until she drag the capsule till the last drop. "Thanks..." He mumbled, warm palm resting against Ruby's forearm. "And I'm guessing the reason I don't remember it is cause I wolfed out there." He concluded, all on his own. "Who did this to ya both?" He put he next awkward question out there, up for grabs for anyone willing to answer it.

Maya scooted up the bed to sit next to Ruby. She leaned back against the pillows. The fabric felt cool and soft against her skin. She'd abandoned her shirt to the floor once she'd gotten proper bandages. Eyes closed, she gave Ryden a nod, "You did." She didn't answer his second question though. It wasn't him, not really. "I'm okay," she said. She opened her eyes again. Her limbs felt heavy. She could breathe again, but she still felt sore all over. With her human rate of healing, it would probably be a few days before that fully faded.

Ryden sucked his bottom lip in, teeth biting in a little when Maya confirmed his fears. It wasn't the first time he'd hurt someone without even knowing. It wouldn't be the last either, he knew it. And now these two knew that as well. Good. It was just a matter of time when they'd stop calling and meeting up, having seen him in their nightmares too many times to handle him in reality. Good, good. Hardly any of these thoughts showed on his face as he grabbed the clothes Maya had found for him and started putting the ill-fitting sweats on. Tight as they were, they'd do the job. "Gonna grab ya water and stuff." He announced, going downstairs to the kitchen.

Ruby hummed in agreement that Ryden had indeed wolfed out, but glazed over the second part. “I’ll just be glad when these things go away,” she said of the pocket verses. It didn’t matter what or who had hurt them. It wasn’t him, that’s all that mattered. That and they were all okay now. “Good,” Ruby said to Maya, still leaning slightly against Ryden. She didn’t bother with clothes. She was too tired. But she watched Ryden go with a concerned look, listening to him moving around in her kitchen.

Maya shook her head as Ryden started to leave. "No, bed," she argued weakly. He was already gone though. "Me too," she agreed with Ruby. She then pushed herself off the bed. "I'll be right back," she said, "Get dressed if you want. It'll start to get cold soon." Maya padded downstairs. Her footsteps were louder than usual. She stopped and leaned against the kitchen doorway without a word.

“‘M’good,” Ruby murmured. Though as Maya followed after Ryden, she did reach to slowly pull what maya had laid out. Since she’d gone to all the effort. And apparently would be coming back with Ryden. Sleeping in a warm pile sounded like heaven right now. She could hear Ryden’s voice in the kitchen, and even though she tried not to, she couldn’t help but overhear.

The moment he'd heard Maya's shoulder hit the doorframe with inaudible, dull thud, Ryden turned the tap off, placing a glass of water down on the counter. "Your ribs are bruised. Not broken, but definitely bruised." He informed her, not because he could sniff out but because he knew how a person moved when their ribcage was in terrible pain. He wasn't turning around to look at her.

"You can say that again," Maya agreed. It wasn't the first time she'd bruised her ribs. She did sort of hope it was the last time though. She doubted it, but she hoped anyway.

"And Ruby and that gash she got... Was it a pocket world monster or... was it me?" Ryden asked, in that calm voice that asked for nothing but the truth and he wouldn't ask for it twice.

Maya knew that tone. She'd used that tone. "Trust me, that thing wasn't you, but yeah, technically it was you," she couldn't help but couch it. It wasn't him. After having looked it in its eyes, she had to say as much. "And, um, I did some magic on you. Sorry about that," she added as long as they were laying everything out on the table.

Ryden’s shoulders twitched as he snorted out a weak smile. "That's my girl... Good job." He'd usually very much mind if anyone practiced any magic on him he didn't voluntarily agree to. But in this case, he'd encourage Maya to throw all the fireballs and lighting bolts or whatever at him. Anything to keep him from hurting her and other people, because he couldn't stop make sure he didn't himself. He turned the tap water back on and poured another glass. He emptied it right after then filled it again.

Maya's lips tilted in a crooked smile. "Are you hurt at all?" she asked. She'd already scoped him out earlier, but he might be better at hiding it than she was. She watched his back too, trying to tell how he was doing. Not well, she guessed. But Maya didn't know how to help. Other than staying, she didn't know what she could do.

"Yeaaah. I'm like a cockroach. Indestructible." Ryden picked up two glasses of water, finally turning around. No one would've guessed at what had happened earlier just by his expression. He looked like a veteran to pocket universes, violence and friends in distress whom he'd almost killed. If he was troubled by it at least a little, he didn't let it show. "I guess I gotta pamper you two now, cause I got yer asses whooped. Ya shouldn't move much. It's gonna hurt hell of a lot more f'ya do."

Maya nodded. There wasn't much else to say on the point. She watched him turn, dark eyes soft and full of concern. There was nothing in his expression that suggested Ryden wasn't fine. But she knew what had happened. Maya managed a laugh and then winced. "You think this is my first rodeo?" she asked, "I can handle a couple of bruised ribs." She took one of the glasses from him and sipped. "C'mon," she gestured with a nod of her head towards the stairs, "There's a bed upstairs that's calling our names."

"I think you ride that bull too hard and too often for your own good,” Ryden said softly, letting her take a glass off him. "But yer not the only one t'blame." He followed her back to Ruby's bedroom, putting the glass he carried for Ruby on he nightstand and within reach.

Maya smiled a little brighter, "I'll get up to a minute one of these days." 

Ruby listened to the quiet conversation in her kitchen. She didn't think Maya would outright lie to Ryden - just as Ruby wouldn't - but to hear him ask outright if it was him that had hurt them was heartbreaking. Ruby knew it /wasn't/ him, not really. Just whatever was inside him that was /using/ him against his will. A parasite that needed out. She huffed a small laugh to herself though as Ryden mentioned them getting their asses whooped. It was true. She was gonna have to hit the gym apparently. As if it were that easy, of course. But then he and Maya were both coming back upstairs. Ruby murmured a soft thanks for the water, taking a small sip to get the bad taste out of her mouth before taking a longer one to help her thirst. She sunk back down under the covers afterwards, watching the others sleepily. "Ain't no blame to lay on nobody..." she said, shifting the covers if they were going to lay back down.

"Shut up, badly hurt losers ain't allowed to talk," Ryden spoke too softly for it to be anything but his usual way of showering someone dear with tough loving. Or rather, a convenient cover for the guilt he felt at seeing Ruby hurt but still ready to forgive. Wasn't he supposed to take good care of her too? When her brother got her bit, she was left with no one to guide her through the life-changing transformation she'd gone through. Ryden was there to make up for that. If fate had ever poked him in the eye, telling him that something was his responsibility, it was that time, when he chased Johnny away and took over as something like Ruby's mentor or alfa or whatever wolf crap equivalent would that be. Nice job he'd done there. She told him she was grateful for letting her be independent and find her own way through this. He thought he was being negligent. He couldn't even find her a real pack. He just assumed she didn't need it just like he didn't. He sat down on the bed, lowering himself onto the mattress next to Ruby. He'd heard from other werewolves that their kind had a strange, comforting sort of healing powers when in a pack. Not the kind that would cure cancer or provide an antidote to a poison. But the kind that came with being surrounded by a family and warmth. He scooted carefully closer to Ruby, wrapping an arm around her in a way he wouldn't put any painful pressure on her injury. His warmth against hers, he felt an instantaneous relief himself, some kind of toasty, pulsing feeling inside that could only be described as a healing energy that mostly healed the soul, rather than the body, and maybe took some of the pain away too.

Ruby huffed a small laugh, but kept mostly quiet after that. Truth was, she could've simply run away from The Beast. Snagged Maya and forced her to follow until they found a way out that would save all of them. But it hadn't worked out that way. That wasn't Ryden's fault. If it wasn't for Ryden, Ruby would be dead right now. She would've bled out on the bathroom floor. And that would've been the end of her story. But it was because of Ryden that she was here now. Alive and finding her way through all the things life brought to her door, sometimes quite literally. But it wasn't up to him to find her a pack, no matter what they were to each other. Her pack was here. In Ryden and Maya. And in others that weren't present. And with that, Ruby was happy. So she made room for him when he slid in next to her, groaning in relief as his warmth - and whatever other power their kind had - rolled over her. Her injuries still pained her a bit, but the ache in her chest eased. Like a weight was lifted. She lay her arm over his, fingers stroking his skin in sleepily, idle affection as Maya joined them.

Maya curled up on the other side of Ruby. She hadn't had a proper night's sleep in a long time, but right now was probably her best shot at it. "Okay, wake me up in about five years," she murmured as she closed her eyes. Her ribs still ached dully, but she was exhausted enough not to be bothered by it. "And nobody go feeling guilty over things that aren't their fault."

Ryden pressed himself flush against Ruby's body, so that he could reach over to Maya as well, easily scooping both women into his wide arm-reach. He buried his face into Ruby's hair, warm palm spreading over the side of Maya's ribcage. Whatever Ruby and Ryden shared, it seeped some into Maya too. Sleep wasn't going to come easy to him. But holding them both safe in his arms made him feel a little less like a wolf in sheep's clothing, meant to destroy everything good that despite the evil in him tried to surround him.

Ruby sank into the warm cocoon of blankets and bodies, bolstered by the wolf at her back and the witch at her front. She was already drifting off, too tired from the shift, her injuries, and being cast in and out of reality to stay awake much longer. Ryden's breath was warm in her hair, and she used the rise and fall of his breathing to slow her own. She tucked herself against Maya's front, inhaling the smell of magic and warm, sweet things mixed with Ryden's own comforting familiar scent. Later, there would be things to talk about, but right now this was the best place any of them could be. Ruby hummed softly, voice barely there as sleep pulled her down. "This ain't the threesome I dreamed about... but it'll do..."

[nintn19]

Pathfinder

fucking idiots leaving a pathfider out on their own without any brutes

ohh youll be fine compass your the best you can get back to camp. you dont need any muscle

im gonna fuckin die i hate this i swear im gonna leave as soon as i can

pathfinding is a tough job once this reality went to shit people had to adapt and finding a safe way out of non euclidean space or get lost eternally. thats my job, i have to keep a map of the path and fold cubes of cubes in my head or everyone dies. cant quite explain it but some people can do it better than others and they are the ones who get to go explore, in todays case an abandoned school building that once i pass will lead back to camp. yeah fuckin why did they think i could do this shit by myself its clearly non euclidean and who knows

ah shit great just great fuckin hate this part of the job. senters are in the fuckin court yard

uggggggggggggh for those who are blessed with ignorance of senters let me be the baerer of nightmares. senters are an unholy chimera of dog, grub, spider, and seven year old human. they have the head shape of the dog but only the shape there are no eyes, ears, or fur the only remaining feature is the nose which is where the name comes from as they can find a sent better than any other horror. the true horror starts early with the mouth, one could be forgiven for thinkimg senters dont have one but thats cause they usually keep it closed. if they ever decide to open their maws, one you have gotten to close and should pray to any god you hope favors you and second you will see the skin about where a dog would have a mouth start to streach and tear like thin plastic. holes will form and strings of skin will streach from the bottom jaw to the top revealing rotting teeth that will never stop bitting until you are good and dead, if youre lucky. moving down you will find arms attached about the neck of the senter that are the size of a seven year old child that are used to grab and hold the poor soul as the senter eats them living or recently dead. the body is that of a grubs which will pulse with what is at best a heart beat and at worst someone who will be forgotten all to soon. the legs are thin and sleek, copied from a spider, and can carry the senter to where the nose points at near enough to 20 miles per hour if motivated. these are the fuckin things that are in my way

yaaay i get to cover myself in lavender perfume, which wouldn't be much of an issue so long as i didnt basically need to dump the whole bottle on myself. believe it or not someone can learn to hate the smell of lavender especially if when even you have to put it on you then need to walk past scores of hell spwan that want to eat you.

fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck i hate thiiiis walking through a hoard of senters is scary as shit the fuckers are taller then i am and if just one gets too good of a sniff the rest will stampede in the same general direction

holy shit thank fuck once im past these doors i should be safe for a little bit. *deep inhale* *exhale*

f

u

c

k

they caught wind of my breath great just great okokok i got five minutes till they break the doors down

oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck

three lefts

third door open twice to a class room

count to 3

open a third time step into a new hallway

close door

flip a 180

walk through closed door

same hall way but now they have to find a different way here that should buy some time

locker g19 is bigger on the inside that sould be a good place to hide til the senters get bored

jesus fuckin christ god fuckin damn it

the tell tale sharp clicks of chitin of tile could be heard echoing in the hall along with the deep inhales of a senter trying to locate its prey

click

click

click

sniff

then the skin starts to tear as it opens its jaws

fuckin shit my heart beat is fuckin loud

click

click

click

goddamn that a strong organ its shaking my whole ass body jesus fuckin hell

click

click

click

ahhhh i can see it through the slits its right outside its right outside and it stoped

its head is swiveling from side to side still questing for my sent

badum

badum

badum

pleaseleave, pleaseleave, pleaseleave, pleaseleave

hooooooo fuuuuuck it moved on ooooooooh fuck why did they have to leave me alone aaaaaand now i have to stay here for another hour

then as soft as a lovers first questioning kiss i hear next to my ear

"Oh there you are"

[alarriefantasy]

heyy just wondering do u have any exes to lovers fic rec? thxxx!

Yes yes!!! Surprised I haven’t made this already!

                                             Exes to Lovers

Sometime Around Midnight by cherrystreet

Words: 3k

Or, Louis is trying to get over his ex, and he thinks that paying their favourite band a visit might help bring him some closure.

He’s wrong.

it’s not the flowers in your hair by Awriterwrites 

Words: 4k

Then, Harry’s mouth is on his and it’s wet, almost vicious, and God, this is everything Louis has ever wanted. Louis hears himself gasp in surprise but he welcomes it — invites Harry in by gripping his forearms and widening his stance so Harry can push closer, closer, closer. Harry’s skin smells like the woods in late spring and his tongue is insistent as it pushes into his mouth and God. The taste of his mouth. Louis fucking missed him so much.

We Gotta Get Away From Here by AFangirlFantasy

Words: 4k

Or a Royal AU where Prince Harold needs saving and Louis is his Knight in shining armor…sort of.

In Like a Lion by Cori Lannam (corilannam) 

Words: 7k

Of all the frozen yoghurt joints in all the world, he walked into Louis’.

Or, Louis got over Harry a long time ago. Sort of.

Now That It’s Over by lululawrence 

Words: 8k

Or the one where Harry and Louis broke up two months ago, and Harry just might be sabotaging Louis’ dates.

 I Built This Bed For Two (I Built This Bed For Me and You) by eli_ssabeth

Words: 8k

OR Harry and Louis broke up after uni and haven’t seen each other since—until they’re roped into doing a Buzzfeed video together. Featuring awkward cuddling and a reunion that just needed a kick in the arse, gleefully provided by Niall.

Imposter by thewherethefislouisface (theycallmelolo)

Words: 8k

Louis needs a wedding date and his ex-boyfriend might not be the worst option!

give me things to stay awake by embodied

Words: 10k

It’s shitty and it’s counterproductive and it’s self-indulgent, but he lets it become a thing. On Saturday nights Harry goes out and gets so pissed he can’t stand, and when the bartender cuts him off he rings Louis and is in his car within an hour. It’s not a cycle he’s proud of, but it’s also something he can’t resist, and he keeps doing it as long as Louis keeps showing up.AU. It’s been a year since Louis broke up with Harry.

Over by allwaswell16 

Words: 11k

Harry still thinks about the one who got away. Louis still wonders what went wrong with the man of his dreams. A year after their breakup, fate intervenes in the form of a photographer looking for strangers to pose as a couple.

Seven Simple Words by jacaranda_bloom

Words: 15k

OR the one where you don’t always get what you want the first time around, but sometimes the universe decides to give you a second chance at getting it right.

a twist of fate by orphan_account

Words: 16k

He knows that voice.

It’s the voice that told him “I love you” so many times, the one that could leave him blushing and glowing and enchanted with just a few simple words. It’s Louis fucking Tomlinson, standing there in a white dress shirt with a black stripe on the collar and a disheveled bowtie and a pair of Vans, hair done into a perfect sexy swoop, eyes brighter than any star Harry’s ever seen, with a smirk on his pretty face.

He Was a Different League (When I Was Nothing Much) by AFangirlFantasy

Words: 21k

Sick of being alone, Marcel is forced (by Niall) to join an online dating app. The idea is well and all, except for the inconvenient fact that he hasn’t moved on from his childhood sweetheart - Louis. If only Marcel could learn to let go, he might actually be able to love again.

Or, an AU where finding that ‘someone new’ actually leads to finding that ‘someone old,’ and Marcel is painfully oblivious.

Things Gone Cold by MediaWhore

Words: 24k

With his soulmate’s thoughts about him written on his skin and the world’s eyes trailing his every movement, Harry Styles is having a bit of a rough time releasing his second album in peace. And that’s not even counting the breakup. Or the car crash.

Take Me Back to Where We Started by amory

Words: 27k

Harry and Louis haven’t spoken since they broke up four years ago. As boarding school sweethearts they once spent every waking moment together, but now they can hardly stand to be in the same room. When their five year class reunion comes around, both boys decide against their better judgement to return and (hopefully) have a good time.

The only problem is, they’re both still hopelessly in love.

Starring Harry as the petty ex, Louis as the new James Bond, Niall as a boy genius and fake boyfriend extraordinaire, and Liam and Zayn as two friends just trying to make it out of this weekend alive.

If I had no love to give (I wouldn’t give it to you) by kingsofeverything

Words: 30k

Small town restaurateur Louis Tomlinson needs someone competent to work in his kitchen.

Chef Harry Styles needs a job.

Sounds Like Heaven by captainsftlouis

Words: 30k

Or, a very painful au where singer/actor Harry Styles and songwriter Louis Tomlinson are married and have a daughter, but are not together any more. Except of course, it’s not that simple.

like a timebomb ticking by infinitelymint

Words: 31k

Louis loses everything. Harry’s still there.

The End Should Be A Good One by bananasandboots

Words: 43k

Or, the one where Harry loses the love of his life on New Years Eve and finds him again, six months later, ready to open some poorly-stitched wounds.

No One Does It Better by nodibs

Words: 49k

Harry’s an alcoholic and Louis is a bartender. The first time they meet isn’t the first time they’ve met.

The Second Hand Unwinds by FullOnLarrie

Words: 51k

Louis Tomlinson is one of the first members of NASA’s top secret Chrono Exploration Program. When things go wrong and he’s sent further back in time than planned, he has no other option than to show up on his ex-boyfriend’s doorstep.

Feels Like Coming Home by phdmama

Words: 60k

The last thing Harry Styles expects when he’s hanging out at the Someday Cafe in Somerville one rainy October day is for his ex, Louis Tomlinson to walk through the door, but that’s exactly what happens. After a spectacularly ugly break-up three years prior, Harry hasn’t heard one word from Louis, and he’s moved on. Gotten over him. But having Louis back in his life, not to mention working at the restaurant where he’s a chef, isn’t easy, and the feelings that Harry thought he’d left turn out to be not so easily forgotten.

This is a story about love and the power of forgiveness, and how the hard choices we make define us, and change our lives.

don’t tell the gods (we left a mess) by bottomlinsons

Words: 71k

After a misunderstanding with Liam’s mother, Louis agrees to accompany his best friend to a family wedding and pretend to be the world’s best boyfriend. But their simple plan goes awry when he learns that Harry, ex-boyfriend/ex-love of Louis’ life, will also be in attendance. (aka: fake!boyfriends with a twist ft. bromance, romance and cake.)

Truth Be Told (I Never Was Yours) by JustForTommo

Words: 76k

or the one where Louis and Harry have a complicated past, Louis is getting married to someone that’s not Harry, and the universe has decided to have a laugh and make Harry the wedding planner.

Perfect Storm by @cherrystreet 

Words: 80k

What do you do when your best friend asks you and your (now) ex to be the best men at his destination wedding? You can either tell him the truth, tell him you’re not together anymore, and deal with the consequences, or you can pretend you’re still together and roll with it, just pray you don’t spiral. Fake it ‘til you make it. You know, for the sake of the wedding.

Harry and Louis choose the latter.

somewhere in between lightning by jassy117, nauticalleeds, shiningdistractionwrites

Words: 99k

A summer gone wrong (or very right) when, under Liam’s persuasion, Louis finds himself drunkenly applying for Love Island, and getting accepted. Oh, well. A summer spent on an island paradise couldn’t be all that bad, right?

Imagine his surprise when Louis arrives in sunny Majorca to find that his first love and ex-boyfriend, Harry, is another contestant, about to capture the hearts of everyone in the villa. Most normal people don’t have to face their ex on an otherwise straight TV show. Most normal people don’t fall for their ex again in front of the whole nation, either. Too bad this whole situation isn’t normal.

Mine Would Be You by crinkle-eyed-boo (KimmieRocks)

Words: 114k

Louis returns to New York City five years after he left it – and the love of his life – behind. He didn’t intend to see Harry again, but fate has a funny way of pulling them together, whether they like it or not. After making a begrudging truce, they both start to wonder: Would it be so bad if history repeated itself?

got the sunshine on my shoulders by hattalove

Words: 124k

five years ago, harry styles left his tiny home town to make it big as a recording artist. he didn’t have much regard for what he left behind - a life, a family, and a husband, who woke up one morning to find him gone.

now, harry has everything he could possibly want: he’s rich, famous, and adored by everyone he meets, including his boyfriend. but when said boyfriend proposes to him, he’s forced to face the uncomfortable facts of his past - and louis, who’s spent the last five years returning every set of divorce papers harry sent him.

(or, an au based on the movie sweet home alabama.)

Don’t Let It (Me) Break by falsegoodnight

Words: 168k

Or the one where Harry is oblivious, Louis is broken, Zayn and Liam are in love, Gemma and Lottie are lovely, and Niall is just waiting for everyone to get their shit together.

And it’s all Malcolm’s fault

♡ credit to the owner of the manip

♡ updated: 3.18.21

♡ past themed recs here

[adogwithearsandnose]

March 31, 2020

Had class, P came over for 10 min. to do dishes, then laid in my gray bedroom and remembered they had class soon. Felt forgotten, got angry, stuffed it in til they came back and we talked. P had class in living room while I took a bath, ate a piece of chicken, got into bed with a book I did not read. After we talked, stepped over the earlier anger into the deeper depression, general anxieties, memories of prior moments of house-ridden-ness due to depression and illness–���how it feels like a punishment to grow out of those moments of life, but to now be forced back into their arrangements. Can’t wait to go to P’s house, it makes me nervous but its something to distract me from the wildness, and it will be uncomfortable enough that it will probably distract me while I’m there too. We looked into each others’ eyes after we made plans to spend Thursday night together. They left and a couple minutes later sent me a picture of orange tree branches pressed against a vivid blue sky. An orange street lamp radiates through the branches, it’s light appearing even more bright than the glowing branches themselves. The picture was followed by a text that said “ <3 thinking about u” These are the texts I need. I texted back, “u warm me *orange heart*” then “Thank you for sharing”. I am truly so thankful P shared. It makes my insides feel like the glowing, growing, blossoming branches in the image. Feeling moments of love feels more and more profound each time it happens under the circumstances––again a deja vu to feelings felt deep into illness and depression.

I eat pancakes and watch Unorthodox. I make some more space in my living room. I unpack the drawing materials. Draw a drawing from the heart. Inspired by David Dupuis. A drawing of an idea. And an under drawing for the larger drawing I am working on. I do the all of the drawing after taking a hit of some muscle relaxing weed. I feel more open and play music to allow my tumultuous feelings to glide along a harmonic resonance. I step back and feel the warm feeling of knowing I get to tell P I did some drawing, and that I get to bask in their being proud of me for doing so. Their light is so bright––grow me! Grow me!

[yumikoflare]

oMG DUDE AS UR SENAPI I NEED TO KNOW 1-6 12-16 20-23!!!!!!!!! bby i'm so proud :,)

STARTS SWEATING H-HI (⁄ ⁄^⁄ᗨ⁄^⁄ ⁄) YEah i may or may not have a crush www i was gonna tell u but i saw u were popping up in my notes so i was like hey maybe she’ll see the ask meme and i can gush asldakdsa ANYWAY

1) Describe them in 3 wordsWHAT HOW DO I UHHHHH...... probably ‘humble, thoughtful, trustworthy’ :o

2) Their favourite style of clothinghmmm he doesn’t rly have a ‘style’? just super casual stuff like me tbh, just short-sleeved t-shirts and pants or shorts is mostly what he wears LOL

3) What mannerisms do they have?UHHH he hides his face a lot..... he laughs when hes embarrassed - OH he hums a lot and sings under his breath and sometimes he dances a bit when theres music on like..... asldksalsakdaskfddsj

4) Do they play an instrument?yeah !!! he plays piano really well and actually writes songs! he’s so talented jsdhfsjdn 

5) How did you meet/become introduced to them?school  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we’ve been growing up beside each other for the past few years and never really got close til recently so it’s aaaaa - UM ive been lowkey avoiding saying his name but this explanation is gonna make it rly obvious LOL basically when my core friend group was formed, he was the person i was the least close with but we all had the same humor pretty much so we all bonded really fast and stuff so i guess things just took off from there

6) Favourite thing they’ve ever said/texted/messaged?FHDSJFSDHFISDHFESIH DONT DO THIS TO ME !!! i dunnoooo...... he says a lot of sweet things...... something that comes to mind is when i won the title of salutatorian he texted me a ton of stuff abt how he was super proud of me and how he was happy for me and whatever and i mdskfejh

12) Have they dreamed about you? (if you know)idk LOL probably not  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i haven’t dreamed abt him in particular bc my dreams aren’t rly like that

13) Can they dance?HELL YEAH I’M SO HAPPY YOU SENT THIS ONE OKAY OKAY OKAY LET ME GUSH OKAY SO he was.... the first person ive ever slow danced with and Listen Here. when i say he can dance i mean he’s a professional dancer and he’s really good and like the feeling of being held by a freaking professional when you’re a clumsy person who looks ridiculous just stepping side to side is like nothing else.... it’s like overwhelmingly embarrassing but also just having someone so amazing to guide you is like sdfkdsfselfkeso i cri everytime...... i’m so bad at slow dancing i didn’t even spin the right way the first few times but he still smiled and told me that i was doing so well like i’m....... deceased

14) What does hugging them feel like?this question actually made me smile just now i had to cover my mouth bc just the thought of hugging him makes me so happy im (∗∕ ∕•̥̥̥̥∕ω∕•̥̥̥̥∕) idk dude it’s just....... my chest feels so light and i feel so happy??? that’s the best i can explain it aa aaaaaa a ahh

15) Your favourite thing about them?IFGHFDIDGNJD DONT DO THIS TO ME EITHER how the heck you expect me to pick 1 singular favorite thing...... alright i do gotta say though like.. i mentioned earlier he’s thoughtful so to elaborate on that, he *remembers* the little things i say; he pays such close attention to the things i say, he brings things up in conversation that i was sure he’d have forgotten bc who listens to me when i ramble??? certainly not anyone??? including me?? LOL but he does like.... dude....... wow......

16) Their favourite thing about you?heck if i know ???? i’d have to ask but i cant rn he’s sleeping ahaha - i dunno but he’s described me as ‘smart, funny, and beautiful’ so idk im fsitjeuwaerewoi

20) Could they imagine growing old together with you?idk !!! i’m sure we both can ideally but we’re still so young the chances of that are very low ｡(*^▽^*)ゞ i think it’d be amazing if we were still at least friends by the time we were much older aha that’d be really nice

21) What would an ideal date with them be?MFSDKFHGJ uhH idk ...... probably walking around somewhere scenic? we’d get lunch or something and then gets drinks, walk around and talk, take pictures of each other and with each other, just sit together in the silence, head home before it got dark and play overwatch w/ each other and yell when we’d lose even if it was 3am (does this count as a date anymore do people go on dates at night LOL) and then i could spend the night at his house and we would lazily argue who would say ‘goodnight’ last

22) Are they competitive?heh i’d say he is!! he doesn’t really express it but when we’re gaming he gets super into it sometimes and he focuses a lot it’s actually really cute fskdmgk he’s competitive outside of just gaming too but that’s the main thing

23) What do you do together?mostly gaming LOL we play overwatch with each other a lot and we talk pretty often, kinda just abt life in general?? sometimes we’d talk about writing too... but yeah we’re both pretty awkward so we often talk about trivial things until we both find a topic we can talk a lot about

THANK YOU SM FOR SENDING THIS MARI YOU GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO GUSH ABT HIM ;;;;; i love him so much i wish i saw him more often aaaaahhh again thanks i hope these answers are at least a little interesting to read www ヾ(〃ω〃ヾ))

[survivorkomnata]

Episode #10: “ I'm a fucking Virgo. If you burn me I will never forget it.” - Jess

Dear Alyssa,

For someone who claims to have a HUGE interest in Astrology.... you seem to have forgotten the fact that I'm a fucking Virgo. If you burn me I will never forget it. You declared war and that's on YOU.

i hate this “we only start talking an hour before tribal” nonsense that this merge tribe has going on. like pls get your lives together sooner. i don’t even message ppl anymore bc we just do the “yaaa i haven’t heard anything” “me either” back and forth

i feel pretty hopeless in the game i’m ngl, fully think we should just wrap it up now and give zach the win

alyssa is an emotional and illogical player who came into the merge with the goal of miguel and luke being voted out for voting against her premerge. she didn’t think of the long term, only revenge. it’s embarrassing.

i don’t rly have an endgame path. or anything anymore. i miss luke and stephen.

So, yesterday was a bit of blindside for me. Not even really because Luke left, I woke up that morning willing to vote him out myself, but because I was unable to get Karth, Tim, or Alyssa on my side. I don't think any of them are truly "against me" at this point but it's a little worrying that Luke left over Jake, who I still don't really have a strategic relationship with.

Alyssa confronted me last night saying that other people had gone to her and said that I was planning to target her once Jake was gone. This isn't exactly true, but it has enough basis in reality since I have talked in the "4-elements" alliance about how we should target Jake before going after Alyssa. I'm not sure who went to her with this idea, nor do I know if she was even approached with it in the first place. Alyssa has deceived me for 2 votes now. First, she outright lied to me about voting Zach out at F10 (I still don't technically have confirmation of this, but it makes sense that she'd take out Luke/Miguel as soon as possible). More evidence supporting that she lied is that the former Kato2.0 side decided to vote Luke out next, which would be odd if he was the one to flip to their side at the first merge vote.

The second thing she lied about was being on the fence at this last tribal council.  After Luke was gone she told Jess that we "should've known she didn't want Jake out" despite her never saying that to us. It's clear that Alyssa had planned to vote Luke out as soon as she knew this would be a 5-4 vote. But she lied to me about that and wasted my time up until the very last minute.

Basically, what I'm saying is... it's getting exhausting to try and work with her strategically. It's not like Ally/Jess/Karth, who I feel I can talk frankly and honestly with. I want her and Jake gone. Jake hasn't really "wronged" me in anyway, but I can tell him and Alyssa have to at least be a little close so the jury can have both of them. Honestly, I kinda want them both gone more than Zach at this point. I'm doing my best to win this upcoming immunity challenge so people stop going behind my back, but if Zach were to win.. well... I certainly have a few alternatives in mind.

I am feeling a bit stuck in this game. With Zach in the game I feel my game is pretty restricted and I would feel too bad to backstab him. I already felt bad for voting Luke. I just dont know what to do here.

i have no idea what’s happening

zach and karth have reached out to me about potentially trying to reconcile and ofc i’m open to that

i’m kinda worried they’re voting jess out and i hope not bc i love her

i wish i had any kind of idea what i was doing

i wish luke didn’t get voted out

i wish this idol search made sense

i wish i was a little bit taller i wish i was a baller

So apparently Zach and Jake are throwing around Stephen's name with my name as an alternative. I'm not surprised at all at this rate. I figured this would happen as soon as I took my strike at both Zach and Jake.

The only possible saving grace from this all is that both Alyssa and Tim let me know about it. This kind of gives me a glimmer of hope that both of them aren't willing to at least vote me out at this stage in the game. If they'd did.. they'll look like idiots because I'm playing such a horrible game. I have yet to make a big move or win an immunity, I don't have any solid alliances aside from "The Last Hope" which honestly just a circumstantial alliance and most likely we die soon. Taking me at this point is ridiculous because I'm literally the perfect person to sit final 3 with right now.

My game plan at least now is.. I want either Zach or Jake to go. If I can work the angle of Jake or Zach trying to get me out as a way to sway people who think I'm their best friend in this game... yeet. If not I am dead and I will write my own eulogy....

If I get voted out because I lost immunity by 1 point.. I WILL FUCKING RIOT.

Ok so sorry for the lack of confessionals going on I have a lot (of good things) happening in my life atm. Anyways, I got sent to the basement which sux and now the vote is super stressful!!! I'm pretty much pulling a lot of strings within the tribe atm and trying to balance it all! I have Zach and Jake in my pocket completely!! Jake and Alyssa are like on my coat tail and Jess/Stephen/and Ally are in their grave ready to be destroyed lmaoo. Fingers crossed I don't go home.

im vulnerable, and it's an hour til tribal. i'm unsure of what's going to happen. here's a quick recap:

A - i go to ally/stephen to encourage reconciling. i think this is genuinely smart as we are all 'big threats' and it's stupid to let middle players slide by while helping pin bigger threats against one another. they basically end up agreeing (more so stephen). B - alyssa and tim come to me (separately) saying that they are throwing my name around, and tim goes even further to say that they want to split between me / jake. this sounds really believable based on track record. C - ally pms me saying that she heard X told Jess who told her that i'm targeting stephen. i say it's true, but under the circumstances that people are saying they are going after me. D - we talk in the "alliance" chat and come to a conclusion that jake should be the vote as he best fits the "middle player" role, thus being dangerous. though i disagree, i'm in no position to bury karthik/tim in a hole. E - with karthik spearheading, i help flip the vote from stephen to jess. this is because jess will weaken that side, and i don't trust her. at all. on top of that, it helps me not worry as much abt alyssa being sketchy & it keeps my promise 2 stephen/ally in the sense of not voting stephen (and i can argue saying that with them lying at merge, i had to be reaaaalllllyyyy cautious). F - i'm unsure about my idol. it could still happen. right now i'm leaning towards playing my idol because i want it GONE. by using this idol, here are the outcomes: F.1 - the vote is 4-4 or even more slanted, and i idol successfully, meaning jess will leave this game. F.2 - i receive 0 votes and completely waste it. this makes me more vulnerable, but also, could help if i utilize it correctly/effectively. F.3 - I receive 3 votes (give or take) and it's ineffective but shows that i can't trust ally/stephen and by attachment, jess (who should be gone). i guess my preferred order would be F1 -> F3 -> F2 just because if i use it, i want it to be as effective as possible since wasting an idol isn't going to help my case at FTC (which is already weak LSDGKDSLGDSH).

my gut is really sick (as always bar f9.. so just f10). i don't THINK i'm getting any votes, but u can never be too sure. to elaborate on the entire point of 'F', i want to go over pros n cons of idolling (and wasting it). PROS: - no more paranoia for me (GOD BLESS) - i'm much more vulnerable, meaning they may not target me (double-sided) - im 100% safe regardless, and in f7. CONS: - im more vulnerable; easier to target. - ppl are shook bc i dont trust them/ didnt tell them - its wasted and doesnt help my FTC case.

and lastly, who has the idols? [based on tribe idols] CONFIRMED: me . (OG Takagi idol) LIKELY: alyssa (the only person who could have two) COULD POSSIBLY HAVE ONE: stephen (someone probs has attila, i think itd be him or alyssa). karthik (basement king, but def not tribal idol probs .) jake (og kato, could have the kato idol). NOT LIKELY: tim (og takagi/nu-kato. both idols were gone, so i doubt it. but, maybe basement??) jess (unless she worked w alissa n found attalia, it's no) DEFINITELY NOT: ally (was on OG Takagi (my idol) and takagi post-swap, so unless swap idol, N/A).

Jess is voted out 5-3. She becomes the fourth member of our jury.

[djrelentless]

“The Day The Rose Died”

July 18, 2015 at 7:29pm

On July 18th, 1988 I was at work spinning at a lesbian bar called Paradise in North Tampa, when my straight uncle, Marvin walked in. It was a Monday night. I knew immediately that something was wrong. My uncle would never come to a gay bar. He walked in and asked the bartender where he could find me. He was sent in my direction. I remember my heart beginning to race.  My mind began to race. Why was he there? What was he going to tell me?

Well, like I had done 6 years earlier with him, he came to tell me that my mother had died. She had checked herself in the hospital that previous Friday because she had not been feeling well. I knew this because she called me that morning before she left. She told me that it was nothing to worry about. They just wanted to run some tests. She said she would call me when she was released on Monday.

I know it's a sad commentary on me, but I do not have any photos of my mother.

Monday came but I had not noticed that she had not called because I was called into work at Vinyl Fever (the record store I worked at during the day). And whenever I worked at the store I had about an hour between the time I had to be at the bar to spin. So, I had not checked my answering machine. If I had...I would have heard the news before I left for the bar.

I remember everything going in slow motion. I remember the owner, Larry walking up to the booth and telling me that I could go home. I wasn't crying. I wasn't really doing anything. I was suddenly numb. I remember my uncle walking me to his car. I remember several of the customers' faces. They looked very concerned and sad for me. I only lived about 7 minutes away from the bar if you were driving. It seemed like that was the longest ride home ever. I remember thinking that I really didn't want to go home. There was no one there (except my Double-Yellow-Head Amazon Parrot, named Charlie).

My boyfriend, Jeff had left me about a month before for a real girl that he had met on vacation with his family in South America (if you ever wondered who Jade Elektra is singing about when she sings "If I Were A Woman"... now you know). So, I was going to be alone with my thoughts. And that was the worst thing for me at that moment. You see, I had just gotten my mother back into my life the year before. We had not spoken for years. My mother had a major drug problem during the 70's and early 80's. She had been in and out of prison for possession and trafficking drugs. So, when she got out in 1981 I told her that I did not want to live with her until she got herself together. She had used my brother and myself as financial security by getting on welfare. Then she was able to get back on drugs easily. I decided to stay with my grandmother. She was very upset with me. My grandmother (Marvin and my mother's mother) died in 1982 and I stayed with Marvin and his new wife, Debra.

So, out of nowhere on July 4th, 1987 I'm in bed with my boyfriend (Jeff) and there is a knock at our apartment door. I was thinking "Who the hell is at the door?" We weren't expecting any company that day. To my surprise, it was my mother and my little brother, Zuberi. I had not seen my mother for 5 years at that point. And I had no idea that she had been keeping tabs on me and my where-abouts.

"We were in the neighborhood and thought we'd stop by. Can we come in?" I was flabbergasted. "Of course". I was in nothing but a robe. Jeff came walking out of the bedroom in his underwear. "Who is it, babe?"

"Uh... it's my mother and my little brother".

Jeff scrambled back to the bedroom. He knew that I hadn't seen her or spoken to her in years. She and I had not discussed my coming out as gay. I mean... she asked me when I was 11, but I denied it.

"You ain't gotta hide in the room." she said. "What's your name?"

"Jeff, ma'am." he said. "Ma'am! Don't call me that! I ain't that old!" we all laughed.

And from that moment on, she was back in my life. She loved Jeff. She was interested in my work and my passion to perform in drag. She even came to my shows. It was wonderful to finally have the relationship that we were supposed to have. All of the hurt and painful words from the past were forgotten.

So, it was really hard to digest the idea that our mother-son relationship was over. It was almost as if she knew that she was going to die and she had made the decision to fix what was wrong with us.

We arrived at my apartment and Marvin asked if I needed anything. I said "no" and made the walk up the stairs to my apartment in Gragston Oaks. I remember sitting in the dark in my living room. I felt like crying, but I didn't. I couldn't. I couldn't because I was angry. How could she come back and just leave me again? I know it sounds selfish, but I felt that I deserved to have a mother after not having one at all during my early years.

So, I went back to work the next day. Everyone thought I was cold hearted, but that was how I was dealing with it. Larry, the owner of Paradise told me to take the weekend off. The funeral was coming that Sunday. Thank God that the record store really needed me. I was the only one there who worked with Dance Music.

The day of the funeral came and I couldn't go. I did not want to see her in a coffin. I didn't want to remember her in that way. So, I did not go. Plus...I have never been good at funerals. And of course a lot of folks thought I was being disrespectful to her by not showing up. But if they knew that I hadn't cried they really would have thought I was an awful person.

So, when did I cry? It was about 2 weeks after the funeral. A group of my friends - Calvin, Kevin aka Monique, Chanel, and Vanessa invited me to go out, but because most of us were under-age we had to go out in St. Pete and in drag. Drag meant we were going to stay at Vanessa's place in St. Petersburg. My drag name back then was Ebony. Monique was driving, so she was coming to pick each of us up.

Now, the car was only a four seater. So, it was already full when we finally picked up Vanessa. And Vanessa was pulling a diva moment by insisting that she must sit in the front. I had the longest legs and should have been in the front, but I let her sit up front as to not hold us up any longer. I was just happy to not be at home and feeling sad. I was sitting directly behind Vanessa and she would not move the seat up. So my knees were lodged in place. I asked her to move it and she replied with a statement that would become a classic amongst our crew.

She said "Oh don't try it Miss Ebony! Or I will make Monique stop this car and you will what!!!.....WALK BACK TO TAMPA!" in her nasally voice.

Everyone laughed. She was such a spoiled bitch! Just because she was the cutest out of all of us in drag, plus she was feeling fab because we had to stay at her place. We arrived at some bar in downtown St. Pete - I don't remember the name.  As we got in, I suddenly started having a really overwhelming sad feeling. I decided to stay a little distant from my friends. So, I went over to the pool tables where two cute guys were in the middle of a serious game. They noticed me watching and asked if I wanted to play the winner. "Sure" I said. It would be a good distraction from my loss.

Well, Vanessa being the attention whore she always was barged into the pool table area."Oh, Miss Ebony...playing pool is not very lady-like!" she said, trying to embarass me. But when one of the guys said she was hot, she suddenly decided that she would try her hand at it. By this time I had had enough of Vanessa and her shenanigans! All I needed was one more smart comment from her mouth. And of course she did it.

"Miss Ebony...this is how you play pool, gyrl! I'm a natch-u-ral woman, darling!"

I couldn't even have one moment away from her vanity! I was about to crown her with a pool stick when Chanel grabbed my arm and pulled me outside. I began to cry. I began to cry like never before. And believe it or not, I felt a lot better afterwards. What I didn't know was that Vanessa had no idea that my mother had died. She was just treating me like she always did. And oddly enough, I was grateful for that. Later that night she decided to be even more fab and bring home one of the guys from the pool table (which was weird since we were all sleeping in her room at her place) and she got what was coming to her.

Vanessa was a bit of a tease, but very naive to sex since she was only 16. She had us all on the floor while she was and  fooling around in her bed. I think his name was Rico. All we could hear was a lot of heavy breathing and Vanessa whispering "Stop" and "I might do that, but not that". After about 20 minutes of being teased, I guess Rico had grown tired of playing. Suddenly we heard a loud cracking sound. Monique jumped up and turned on the light. To our surprise, we saw Rico partially nude pulling up his pants and Vanessa in her night gown holding her leg with a broken tennis racket laying at her feet. She was trying to hold in the tears and the pain. Apparently, Rico grabbed the tennis racket and broke it over her right leg after she tried to kick him in the balls. He stormed out of the house.

Right at that moment, Monique said in Vanessa's voice "Whatchu feeling?!"

We all laughed, except for Vanessa. She was very embarrassed. That was all worth the back seat and pool room antics.

When I got home, I actually felt better. I realized that I was lucky. Yes, I had lost my mother, but I was extremely lucky to have had the time that I did with her. My mother taught me at a very young age that I could be whatever and whoever I wanted to be and she was going to love me regardless. Til this day, I still miss her and wish that she could have been around when I was making my records and creating music, mainly because she is sprinkled in almost everything I do. Thank you for giving birth to me when you were only 17 years old. Thank you for being the woman you were. We were both kids when I was growing up and I never got the chance to tell you that I understood that fact. I love you, mama (and I never called her that- I always called her by her first name, Rose).

Rose Marie Green, my mother died on July 18th, 1988.

[mayaparker]

Wild and Bittersweet Honey;

@aedanthewitch, Maya and @rydenbolt all do their best to help @scarlettxruby though a painful Blood Moon. 

Ruby had decided awhile ago that this was probably not the best idea she'd ever had. Her moonlight charm was a good one, strong and well-made, but the pull of the blood moon - a lunar eclipse no less - was not making this easy. It had started as Ruby feeling the usual crawling anxiousness that came with the moon's call. That she was used to. But then when the magic of the charm said 'haha nope' to her body's want to shift, that's when Ruby had started to feel ill. She'd never resisted the moon before. But she couldn't do it this time. Not the Blood Moon. She'd told Ryden she'd be riding it out at home, Maya too. Just in case. Because the feeling of wrongness, of fear, where this type of moon was concerned, was too much. She would resist, no matter what. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much her body screamed at her to give in. She wouldn't. Not this time. By the time someone knocked on her door, she was shaking with fever, her body on fire as the magic did it's job and kept the wolf contained.

Aedan was spending the blood moon alone rattling about his house. With its new windows in and tarp on the roof, it was so much easier to deal with the inside too. But he was so damned bored. After so long working on the place all alone, it got lonely. And what with the moon the way it was, he couldn't help but think of Ruby. Especially after the Spirit ritual. [Text From Aedan to Ruby] *Image Delivered* The image contained in the text was of the red moon set upon a clear night sky from Aedan's overgrown courtyard. [Text From Aedan to Ruby] Look at that moon! Made me think of you =D

Maya knew that Ruby was trying to ride out the moon without shifting. She personally thought it wasn't a good idea, but Ruby was an adult. Of course that didn't stop her from doing research into what kind of magic might help ease the unavoidable discomfort Ruby would feel. And after several texts went unanswered Maya showed up on Ruby's doorstep, magical chocolates in hand.

Ruby heard her phone ping from where it was somewhere under the covers nearby. Blearily, she pulled it out and saw the text from Aedan. She smiled despite herself, and sent off a couple of texts in return, though it took her a minute. [Text From Ruby to Aedan]  hey u. [Text from Ruby to Aedan] did it?

Ruby also saw the texts from Maya, and scrolled over, squinting at her phone. [Text from Ruby to Maya] not dead. [Text from Ruby to Maya] 💗

[Text From Aedan to Ruby] Yeah. [Text From Aedan to Ruby] You're the only person I would think of. Especially after telling you that story with the Spirit and the Celt.

Maya's phone went off as she raised her hand to knock on Ruby's front door. She pulled it out to see that Ruby had finally texted her back. Rolling her eyes, but glad that her friend was okay, Maya shouted, "Too bad I'm already here."

Ruby smiled, though she had to set the phone down for a second as she felt ill again. But it passed about the time she heard Maya's voice from downstairs. Ruby groaned. "M'fine..." she said, not that Maya could hear her. She blinked at her phone again, the words blurring slightly as she replied to Aedan. {txt} I like that story.

[Text From Aedan to Ruby] I'm glad. I got a present for you when we next hang. Aedan stepped back into his house and idly ran his fingers over the half-bound leather book that he was still working on.

Ruby hummed, smiling still despite how bad she felt.

[Text from Ruby to Aedan] prestne? rly? [Text from Ruby to Aedan] bday's not til may. [Text from Ruby to Aedan] beltane.

Maya waited for a moment, but heard no noise from inside the house. She rolled her eyes again. If Ruby hadn't already texted her back she would've been more worried, but since Ruby had Maya knew that the woman was inside and probably just sick as a dog. A pun intended. Maya tried the door and found it open. "I know you're like the Big Bag Wolf now, but you can't leave your door unlocked," she said as she walked in, closing and locking the door behind her. Not seeing Ruby in the living room she made her way up to Ruby's bedroom. Standing in the doorway, and seeing Ruby in her nest of blankets, she put a hand on her hip, "So this idea looks like its going super well for you?"

Ruby growled (quite literally) at Maya's voice. "'S'fine." She buried herself a bit further under the covers.

[Text From Aedan to Ruby] A present indeed. But it's not for your bday! Just a wee silly thing to make your day. Aedan settled on his dust-sheet covered Rococo armchair (which he didn't think would suit the rest of the place once it was all done), and turned his focus to finishing the bind of the book.

Maya shook her head although Ruby couldn't see it. She heard the growl too and knew that her own tone was probably playing with fire. "I come bearing gifts if that helps," she said, not yet moving into the room.

Ruby's growl turned into a groan as her head throbbed madly. "A sledgehammer? To bash my head in?"  In the sudden wave of pain that rippled through her, Ruby forgot to send a text back to Aedan, and ended up knocking her phone underneath the bed.

Maya laughed. "Well, how about you try this chocolate first and then we'll see if I need to go pick up a sledgehammer," she said and finally crossed over to sit on corner of the bed

Aedan knew people had better things to do than text every five minutes, so he simply thought she'd gotten herself distracted by something. He used the time to continue his work on her present.

"How 'bout you get the hammer first... got one out back..." Ruby's voice was muffled from beneath the covers, and she barely moved when Maya sat down.

Maya tugged at Ruby's blankets. "How about you sit up like a big girl, try this and while we see if it works I'll pop down and grab the hammer?" she asked. In the back of her mind she knew the tone was probably a bad idea. Not as bad as Ruby deciding a blood moon was the best time to try her first attempt at not shifting, but still a bad one.

Ruby would've snatched back on the blankets, but she couldn't muster the strength. She also might've used her feet to shove Maya off her bed in a fit of pique, but she also couldn't find the energy. "You're such a bitch..." Ruby murmured to herself (not really meaning it, of course), but stuck her hand out from under the blanket for the chocolate."'S'my phone?" she asked suddenly, realizing it wasn't there.

"You think that's news to me?" Maya asked with playfulness in her voice. She put one of the chocolates in Ruby's hand. "Not sure," she replied, "Probably dropped it." As she said it she got up to search and found it easily under the bed. "So need to text someone else back that you're not dead or is it something more?" she teased even as she dropped the phone back beside Ruby's head.

A noise scraped against the shingles of the roof right above Ruby's bedroom window. At first, it was a heavy thud landing above their heads, a dull bang against the ceiling and then a dragging sound of something heavy walking, or rather, creeping carefully over the slanted rooftop until it became a shadow outlined against the windowpane behind Ruby's bedroom curtains. A large, looming shadow now looking for an ajar window to go through.

Ruby just snorted again and took the chocolate. It started to melt in her hand as hot as she currently was, so she ate it without much hesitation, grimacing at how dry her throat was. She had to uncover herself a bit to get to her phone, not answering Maya's question.

[Text From Ruby to Aedan] ty. [Text From Ruby to Aedan] im not ded btw. Ruby was about to send another text off to Aedan, when the sound of something on her roof took her attention. The text got cutoff midway-- [Text from Ruby to Aedan]I'm ju- - --as Ruby pushed to her elbow. A moment later, she groaned a fell back on the bed. "Use the door!"

[Text from Aedan to Ruby] You're not dead? Why? What's wrong? [Text from Aedan to Ruby] Do you need a charm or tea or something? [Text from Aedan to Ruby] Ruby? Is this a mark thing?

Maya snorted, "I'll take that as something more." She was distracted by whatever other teasing she might've done, by a loud thud above her head. Looking up she frowned, trying at first to write it off. But the dragging sound was hard to write off. She turned just in time to see a shadow appear outside Ruby's window. In contrast to Ruby's nonchalance Maya's heart skipped several beats before going into overdrive. At least until she recognized Ryden. Opening the window for him she said, "For fuck's sake, dude, have you heard of knocking?" as she tried to get her heartbeat under control.

When she realized it was just Ryden, Ruby wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or what. This had been a dumb idea she knew. To try this for the first time during such a powerful moon. But it scared her too much to lose control again. Or whatever had happened last time. She'd glanced at her phone again, seeing that she'd made Aedan worry, but before she could reply something twisted in her gut, doubling her over and whiting out her vision as she cried out. Her phone fell to the floor, forgotten.

With the panic setting in about Ruby's wellbeing, Aedan had to force himself to wait for a reply for more than five minutes. It just so happened that while he was waiting, he was also packing some things into a rucksack. If she didn't reply within the hour, he'd find her house to check on her.

Slipping into the room through the window as nimbly and stealthily as only a supernatural creature could, Ryden seemed a bit... odd. Though that was a major understatement. His eyes had adopted that otherworldly quicksilver glow and every source of light reflected around his pupils like moonlight against still water. He was brimming with some kind of electric energy and a witch would be able to feel it right to the bone. There was also something off with his posture as well. Usually slouching, now he had a sort of straight-spine dexterous elegance to him. It was a full moon after all and although his body wasn't shifting, his mind wasn't entirely his own. A wolf in a human body was a strangely mysterious, fascinating presence and Ryden, although not born a wolf, wore it like his favorite sweater. It almost fit him better than being himself. Glancing at Maya, he reached back and knocked on the windowpane, just to make up for not knocking before. Passing her by, he stood at the foot of Ruby’s bed just as she shrunk in on herself in writhing pain. A low growl bubbled out of Ryden’s lungs as he crawled onto the bed. He still didn’t know how, but he’d felt Ruby was in pain, even from a distance away. He didn’t question it – instincts weren’t there to be questioned. So when it became too intense to ignore, he came to her as if on a call and a locked front door obviously couldn’t stop him.

Maya got about halfway through rolling her eyes at Ryden for his belated knock when Ruby screamed from behind them. It registered with her, faintly, that there was something different about Ryden, but her mind dismissed that information for now. Her heart rate kicked back up as she whirled around. "Fuck," she said and moved around to crouch beside Ruby's head. "I think you gotta shift dude," she said softly, "I can't imagine this is better."

It had been five minutes or thereabout so Aedan sent another text, desperate to know if she was okay. [Text From Aedan to Ruby] Ruby? Seriously, is there anything I can do? [Text From Aedan to Ruby] Please reply asap. Or I'm coming over.

Ruby didn't know what was wrong, but it felt like someone had shoved a white-hot blade through her guts and out through her spine. The ring on her right hand flared white-hot, and the smell of burning flesh rose in the air as the magic of the charm pushed back against the magic of Maya's remedy. Ruby's scream turned to an almost animal-like wail, and her nails ripped into her mattress just as Ryden crawled towards her. The pain was like nothing she'd ever felt, and Ruby had lived through some hellish nightmare situations. She grabbed for Ryden as he came close, fingers twisting against whatever fabric they could find as she panted through the wave of anguish. She registered Maya, but shook her head, a buzzing sound rising in her ears.

Ryden’d immediately reached out to her, taking her into his arms and gathering her up against him even as her fingers dug into the fabric of his short-sleeved shirt, which was the only top he had on despite the cold night outside. He left Rein’s place in a rush, on an instinctive whim, and forgot to put his jacket and shoes on. But cold never bothered a werewolf anyway. He held her tight, pulling her onto his lap, as if wrapping his arms around her would protect her from whatever was hurting her inside.

After another long time of no replies, Aedan swore to himself and hopped his motorcycle. If she was in danger, he had to check. He sped to her address and felt his heart race when he heard screams carry through the night.

Maya froze as Ryden pulled Ruby onto his lap. She took a second to assess how likely she was to get her head bitten off if she tried to do anything. What she had noticed about Ryden earlier was sinking in. But her own protective instinct was stronger than her self preservation. Carefully she sat on the edge of the bed and brushed Ruby's hair off her forehead, a small electric jolt passing between them as she did so. "Tell me you got some kind of potion or something downstairs?" she asked, an undercurrent of hopelessness in her voice. Obviously her attempt at helping had either done nothing or, she worried, it had made things worse.

Ruby clung to Ryden, her cries muffled as she turned her face into his neck. Her nails cut into him, digging in as tightly as the fire twisting deep in her gut. Her body writhed, like an animal in a trap, but Ryden held her fast. The pain rolled on, over and over again until Ruby felt like she'd surely die. She might have begged Ryden to kill her at one point, when she felt the fire rise to her chest and squeeze her heart like a vice. Squeezing the breath out of her for a long moment before it released her with a suddenness that had her sagging agaisnt him. "Make it stop..." she sobbed weakly, but whether she was speaking to Ryden or Maya was beyond her.

When Aedan got to the house, there was no mistaking who it was that was screaming. He tried knocking but there was no way it could be heard over Ruby's voice. And he didn't want to leave anymore time, so his patience was obliterated. Without invitation, Aedan entered through the unlocked back door and ran upstairs. “Ruby?” He opened the bedroom door to see a mess of a scene. He almost didn't notice Ruby, concealed in a mass of muscle and tattoo.

Ruby smelled him before she heard him. Peppermint and old stone. No... no, not like this... she didn't want him to see this. "Maya..." Ruby pleaded as Aedan's scent grew stronger. She couldn't let him get hurt because of her…

“Shhh…” Ryden hushed her when she begged, her nails into his skin not even registering. Practically the moment they’d rip a tear into his skin, it would heal, so this hindrance wasn’t worth his attention. “Breathe.” He spoke calmly into her ear, voice unusually flat and composed even as his arms squeezed her tighter. As almost everything Ryden did since he was bitten, he had no clue why he did it or how exactly it worked. But his instincts were almost always completely right and accurate. He never meditated in his life – he didn’t believe in energies, chakras, whatever – couldn’t keep still to save his life. But something told him to breathe with her, open up a hidden door inside him and let her pain pass through it, take some of it from her to make it easier. And it… seemed to work. He started feeling what she was feeling and it was horrible. He wouldn’t be able to take it all away – not now, when he was still unsure how this peculiar skill he had worked, but he could share some of the burden, provide comfort and warmth, security of a pack member being there to lick another’s wounds clean. It wouldn’t heal the wound, but it would numb it, maybe stop the bleeding. “Breathe.” He repeated, gently rocking her now. Aedan entering the room was yet another thing that didn’t register.

It was hard to tell what was happening, but what Aedan could see was a woman he cared for being restrained after tonnes of screaming. “Let go of her,” he said, not noticing Maya on the bed.

Maya didn't know what she should do. "It's going to be okay, alright?" she said softly. Gently, she brushed Ruby's damp hair off her forehead again, hoping that at the very least her touch might be comforting. As she did so she felt something akin to a low electricity pass between them, but didn't pay it much mind. Instead Maya's expression broke into guilt and sorrow at Ruby's pleading of her name. It was an expression quickly replaced by confusion as she turned at the sound of someone's voice behind her. She stood immediately, putting herself between the wolves on the bed and Aedan at the door. "Aedan, it's fine. They're pack buddies," she said.

“So what was that screaming? What's wrong with her?” Aedan set his rucksack down to try find something to help her.

Later, Ruby would look back and wonder why she had ever been so afraid of the red moon. Surely this was worse than anything that could happen to her. It wasn't like she remembered it anyway. But no other moon had ever frightened her before, other than her first one. But gods above, this was like death. This was worse than death... death was cold. Death was nothingness. This was pain and agony and magic rebelling against magic holding back even stronger magic. And removing her charm would either make it better, or make it 1000 times worse. So she tried to focus on Ryden's voice, the deep rumble of it in her ear. The smell of the Other he carried with him, inside him and around him and over his skin. "I... can't..." she stuttered, coughing and shuddering against him. But he kept up his mantra ,and eventually, after feeling like she'd been flayed to the bone, Ruby felt her breath catch in her throat. She moaned again, but her eyes fluttered shut as Ryden started to rock rock, and as Maya's cool fingers touched her forehead.. The pain was there, very present and white hot as ever, but bearable now. "'M sorry..." she murmured between breathes. ""m'so sorry..."

Maya shrugged, shaking her head helplessly. "I don't know," she replied, "She's trying not to shift and I brought over some shit I thought would help. But..." She trailed off shaking her head again. "But point remains, I wasn't completely convinced Ryden wasn't going to bite my hand off for getting too close and he sleeps in my bed sometimes, so I'll take any suggestions on how to help with you over there," Maya said, not moving from where she stood in between Aedan and the bed.

With Ruby calming down even for a little, Ryden gathered her up, hooking an arm under her knees, the other against her back. He was carefully picking her up from the bed.

Aedan felt lost. He'd never seen Ruby like this. Vulnerable and terrified. “I- A painkiller maybe?” He didn't know why he felt a pang when he saw how Ryden was treating her. How close they were... It wasn't Aedan's place to be jealous.

Ruby’s skin burned. Like she was on fire. The magic raging inside her was exacting a price, and that price was pain. Hers and that of the people she cared for. She would be mortified and ashamed once she recovered.

"Right because none of us thought of that," Maya replied in a sharp tone that Aedan didn't deserve. Hearing movement from behind her she turned again to see Ryden picking Ruby up. "And where are you going?" she asked, tone still sharp, but concerned as well.

Carrying Ruby bridal style and slipping off the bed, Ryden looked very much like a beast turned human with his sleeveless shirt and bare feet, come to take the troubled maiden away. At Maya's voice, he gave her a cold, indifferent stare of an animal who didn't care much for explaining itself to humans. "Out. To shift. Night calls." His eyes reflected light like a predator in the dark as his gaze slipped to Aedan, finally noticing a stranger in the room.

Aedan held his hands up with the look of annoyed resignation. Even with Maya's obvious denial of the painkiller, he continued digging for something to help Ruby. He found a jar of honey filled with herbs and flowers, “Here. This- this might help.” Aedan didn't notice Ryden's gaze.

"No..." Ruby tried to protest as Ryden picked her up. Even if it was probably the best idea, and she trusted him, she didn't trust herself. Not like this…

"Not yet," Maya said, moving to stand in Ryden's way. She hoped that Aedan would have an idea. Ruby had said she didn't want to shift, which meant that Maya would do what she could to help her. Even if it meant having to see Ruby in pain. She nodded in Aedan's direction, still looking at Ryden, "Let's try what he's got first okay? It's what she wants. Dumb as it might be."

Aedan straightened up and approached with the jar. “It's a druid recipe,” he said, as if that might convince a terrifying tattooed man to leave Ruby to her wishes.

Ryden paused when Ruby protested, studying her face for a moment before he pressed his forehead against hers in a gentle attempt to wordlessly persuade her. He looked back up at Maya as she stood in his way - which was not a smart thing to do when the blood moon was full. "Who?" He asked, tilting his head in Aedan's direction - a very inhuman gesture but it screamed distrust.

Aedan was a self-proclaimed idiot and didn't notice how Ryden looked at him. All he could think of was how Ruby was in pain. And what this man was trying to do was completely against her will.

The ring on Ruby's hand burned, starting to glow as it worked to resist the ever-encroaching pull of the moon, and the animal that scratched and clawed beneath Ruby's skin, wanting out. She opened her eyes when Ryden paused, the blue gone and only crimson remaining. "Please..." she asked. "Try..." The tone of her voice was such that it told Ryden that if this didn't work then he could take the ring from her hand and let the moon have her. 

Maya could see Aedan coming closer with the jar out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't help the way her heart rate picked up. While she knew that it wasn't a smart move to put herself in Ryden's way at this moment she trusted that he wouldn't hurt her. Whether or not that was rational was its own whole question. She didn't trust him not to hurt Aedan if his instincts told him he had to. "I know," she said with a tight throat, watching Ryden press his forehead to Ruby's. She hated to see her friend in pain. "He's a friend," she answered and reached out to take the jar from Aedan without looking away from the wolf in front of her. She was sure it was the wolf in front of her.

Ryden growled lowly at Ruby's plea. He wasn't trusting the stranger. But then again, there were few who Ryden trusted. And he tried to connect to Ruby, to speak to her without words, as they would when they would shift. But her wishes were shutting him out and it unnerved him. Ryden the human was a friendly, chatty, loud sort of creature. His wolf was a complete opposite - reclusive, careful, solitary. And it didn't like more than one person around him. The energy the full moon filled him with crackled with annoyance about him. He bared his canines at the jar being passed around.

Ruby would have to explain later, if Aedan still wanted to speak to her after tonight, that Ryden was only doing what instinct told him to do. That he wasn't trying to force her or make her do something against her will. Ryden would never do that. It was the wolf. The wolf knew what needed to happen, just like Ruby's wolf did. Even if the human side of her was too idiotic to let it.

"Yeah, I'd stay back by the door," Maya said, finally turning to face Aedan for a moment. She then turned back to Ryden. Slowly she opened the jar and held it out for him to sniff. "You can try it first if you want, but it's what Ruby wants. You know it's what she wants, even if it's wrong," she said.

Ryden's growl tugged at something inside Ruby. The wolf lurched against the magic holding it back, and she growled in return as she felt his unease, and the urge to protect him rose from out of nowhere. 

Aedan relented his jar to Maya but refused to completely leave Ruby's side. He wanted more than anything to see if he had helped her with it. And given the nature of her mark and new spiritual discoveries in the past weeks, he didn't know how that would affect this. Though, he did step back from Ryden to keep from being gutted.

Maya turned to Aedan again when he didn't go far. She did it slowly, without any sudden movements. "Could one person in this room please listen to me?" she asked, "I know you want to help, but I need you to do it from over there."

 “And if she's allergic to the honey? I know how to treat it but I can't from the corner of the room,” Aedan asked.

Ruby had never done this before: been around others when she and Ryden were shifted. Or in the process. She'd been around Maya before as a wolf but never during the moon. This was perhaps why. Ryden was pack. He was Other. Alpha. Whether his human side wanted to be or not. And Ruby's wolf would listen to him. But Maya was pack too. At least to Ruby. And Aedan was... he was so much more than that.

Ryden tilted his head curiously at the offered jar, but he was more curious about the person holding it rather than the jar itself. Maya he did trust and she was very wise to not make any sudden moves. He didn't sniff at the offered item and instead, carefully crouched down so he could lay Ruby down onto the floor. Whatever they were planning to give Ruby, best do it quickly, before Ryden changed his mind. He was as tense as a bowstring, ready to shoot at the slightest sound. He remained kneeling, hovering over Ruby's weak, pained form, answering her growl with fussy sniffs against the top of her head.

Ruby groaned as Ryden lay her down, unwilling to let go of him just yet. Her fingertips were bloodied from where they'd dug into his skin over and over even as he'd healed, and her skin flamed. The ring glowed, and Ruby fought the urge to claw it off her finger. Ryden's fussiness was met with a low sound that wasn't a growl,but something different. A sound that meant she was alright. She hurt, but she was alright.

Maya let out a breath, "That I also know how to help with. We had to deal with allergy attacks all the time at the group home." She turned back at the sound of Ryden moving. Ignoring Aedan for a moment she knelt carefully beside Ruby. "Alright," she said, "I'm going to need you to sit up for me for a minute." As gently as she could she propped Ruby up enough to take a sip from the jar. She spoke softly too the whole time, nonsense about how it was all going to be okay.

Aedan felt powerless. Useless. He ran his hands through his hair and back down his face with a grumble. He wanted to help Ruby so much. That's how they'd met in the first place. She had needed him. And now she needed something he couldn't give her. 

Ruby drank from the jar as it was lifted to her lips. The honey was sweet, and after a few seconds Ruby reached a hand up to grip the jar over Maya's. There was a slow feeling of euphoria that washed over her, and whether the draught negated whatever magic was at war with the magic of the charm, or just numbed things alltogether, Ruby couldn't say. She drank greedily, perhaps too much, and when she finally released the jar her mouth was stained with honey, as where her chin and neck where it had run down her skin.

Hovering over her, Ryden watched her drink, expression calm but anxious to see her reaction and confirm if this helped.

The fire in her belly started to ease, drawing to a point on her hip that flared brightly: her mark. But that was a feeling she was used to. A feeling Ruby knew wasn't meant to be pain. But something else. When she opened her eyes this time the red had started to recede. Her hand raised Ryden's face, and she tilted her forehead against him, making a small sound that said she was alright. Her other hand she held out towards Aedan, towards the silhouette she could see against a backdrop of stars. "'s'alright... won't hurt you..." she beckoned, unsure if he would come close or not.

Maya heaved a sigh of relief. Her shoulders slumped. "Oh thank God," she breathed. She made no move to stand or go anywhere. Instead her eyes closed as her brain processed what had happened. When she opened them again a moment later they were watery. It didn't take a genius to realize that the chocolate she'd brought, now abandoned on the bed, had made Ruby's pain worse. Maya blinked a few times, hoping that every in the room would still be too focused on Ruby to notice her momentary almost tears.

Aedan felt a wave of relief and approached, not needing Ruby's assurance she'd not hurt him. He didn't care about his own safety when he'd heard those screams and saw her pain. “Ruby…”

"No..." Ruby said to Maya, still leaned back against her. "Not you, hm? 's'good magic... yours." Her words were a bit disjointed, but Ruby hoped she got her point across that it hadn't been Maya's chocolate's, but the ring itself, that had caused the pain.

Ryden closed his eyes briefly at Ruby's touch, her reassurance enough to put him at ease. Without much joy or reaction at all, because he wasn't quite human enough for human reactions and expressions, he retreated, standing up to pad on bare, dirty feet over to a sofa in the room, which he'd climbed to perch on its headrest, one leg folded under him. He sat there, overlooking the room, a quiet, vigilant spectator now that the danger was over. 

The moment Ryden was less terrifying and less 'on Ruby', Aedan finally knelt beside her and took her hand, “Ruby, oh God.”

"Shhhh," Maya replied, running her fingers through Ruby's hair, "You don't have to talk. It's okay." She swallowed thickly and tried to discreetly wipe an escaped tear from the corner of her eye. After another blink she moved out of Aedan's way. She moved to sit on the bed, knowing that Aedan would need to check Ruby himself and wanting to give them both space for that. Maya looked over at Ryden and nodded, saying without words that she appreciated his letting them help.

Ruby let Ryden go, feeling his ease now that the Druid's magic had calmed her. It wasn't the same a witch magic, she'd learned. So perhaps that was what had made the difference. Maybe they would never know. But Ruby was certain that none of this was Maya's fault. It was hers, and no one else's. She could only tip her head against Maya's cheek, much as she had done Ryden, as Maya moved away. "I’m sorry...." was all she could say as Aedan knelt beside her. "I'm so sorry..."

When Maya's and Ryden's eyes met, there was definitely recognition in his silver orbs. He was gone enough to be a different person, yes, but not too gone to not have kept at least a part of himself. Another different thing Maya would notice were army tags hanging around his neck like a necklace - something he never wore before. The item most definitely exuded magic, the kind that would keep him from shifting fully - his own personalized moon charm.

 “Why are you apologising, Ruby?” Aedan ran his thumbs over her knuckles, “You should never apologise for something like this.” He held her hand close to his chest, “God, are you feeling better, now?” He could see she was, but he needed it in words.

Maya might've done a fair number of stupid things tonight, but she wasn't an idiot. Ryden wasn't Ryden at the moment. At least not the one she was used to, which was why she had sat on the bed and not next to him. Her eyes caught the chain around his neck and she frowned. Without the pressing concern of Ruby's pain to worry about it was easy for her to put two and two together. "Are you doing okay?" she asked him, watching carefully as she waited for Ryden to answer. He didn't seem to be in as much pain as Ruby had been, but she also knew him well enough to know he probably wouldn't show it unless he had to.

It was times like these that Ruby felt like she was cursed. That no matter what happened, no matter how much she grew or learned or recognized about herself, that she would always always hurt the people she cared about. If not physically, then... well. Like this. She blinked past the sting in her eyes, wondering why he wasn't hightailing it the hell outta Dodge. "I'm... because I hurt people. It's what I do." She swallowed. "But... yeah. It's better." She smiled at him, squeezing his hand.

“You're acting as if you hurt someone tonight. You didn't! Not at all,” Aedan reached over to run his fingers through her hair to soothe her, “I was just scared you were in pain.”

Ruby wanted so badly to protest. It was habit. Or had been. Taking the blame on herself for anything that went unexpectedly. But she couldn't bring herself to dispute him. So she just nodded. But as far as the pain went. "I was," she told him truthfully. "It felt like... I can't even say." She would have to shift now, she knew. Or else the pain could come back. She glanced at Ryden, at quietly on his perch, and wordlessly tried to tell him that she would go with him now if he wished it. Even if she wanted to stay here.

Eerie, reflective eyes directed themselves at Maya when she spoke and for a moment, half immersed into the shadow of the corner he scooted over to, it seemed like Ryden would jump out like a monster from the dark to eat everyone's faces off. But instead, he grinned widely at Maya, showing full rows of unnaturally white, straight teeth. There were too many of them though and they practically glowed with how white and perfect they were. The sharp canines poked against his bottom lip. "Hey cupcake girl." He purred, finally showing some real recognition of Maya. Then he glanced over at the other pair, hunching over to rest his elbows on his knees. "Bullshit, drama queen." That one was directed at Ruby and her whining. "Wanna know who hurts people? Look back here." His sharp grin was directed at Aedan with those words.

Aedan was soothing Ruby when he heard Ryden speak. Why did those words send a shiver down his spine? He didn't dare look behind him, instead he focused on petting Ruby's hair. “I'm sorry I didn't know, Ruby. I'd have helped sooner.”

Maya knew enough of werewolves to not be scared of Ryden, to not think him a monster. She got the strangest feeling that he wasn't exactly like Carson or Ruby or even Officer Baer. But she couldn't put a finger on why. She smiled though, taking his words and smile as a yes that he was doing okay. She too looked over at Ruby when the woman tried to claim that she hurt people. "Wolf man over here didn't even bite anyone. We're all fine, no one hurt," she said, half serious, half teasing. Shaking her head at Ryden she added, "Hey, play nice with the guy who actually fixed the problem."

Ruby growled at Ryden over Aedan's shoulder, but only to let him know she didn't agree with what he said what he said about himself.  "There's nothin' you could've done," Ruby told Aedan. "I should've just shifted and been done with it." She didn't say anything to alleviate any fear the Druid had towards Ryden, her wolf unable to challenge him over mere words.

"I'd give 'um a medal for it but I ran out." Ryden's baritone rumbled sarcastically, settling more comfortably on the sofa's headrest. It was pretty amazing how he balanced on it.

Aedan continued to try and ignore the threat of Ryden's rudeness, focusing on Ruby, “Well, maybe. But the honey could've helped sooner. Is there- there anything else I can do to prevent it? I have to admit, I've only done a wee bit of reading on werewolves.” 

Ruby shook her head. "No. Any normal moon wouldn't have done this. A blood moon..." Ruby frowned. "It's too strong. He's been a wolf longer than me." She tilted her head towards Ryden. "So it don't affect him the same way when he wears a charm." 

“Right because your whole YA fantasy cover was so helpful," Maya almost snapped. With the relief ebbing away, she felt on edge again. For the last couple of days she'd felt herself creeping towards it and knew it was probably only going to get worse. Not that she planned on admitted that. Instead she closed her eyes again and shook her head. A voice that sounded suspiciously like Ryden's in her head reminded her not to get worked up about things that hadn't even happened yet.

Ryden gave Maya a raised eyebrow look then dismissed her moment of almost snapping. He shrugged casually when Ruby explained he wasn't affected the same because he'd been a wolf for a longer time. Because who knew and whatever. He wasn't about to question it. He was just glad his own charm worked, well, like a charm.

Ruby wasn't going to tell Aedan that Ryden didn't trust witches much, other than Maya. Or much of anything related to the other wolf. It wasn't her story to tell is all. She flexed the hand that she wore her charm on. "I'm gonna find this witch and punch her in the fuckin' face though..." she said, tryin' to lighten the mood.

Aedan gave an uncomfortable chuckle, “Never punch a witch. You should know that by now.” 

Ryden chuckled at that, "Yeah, don't punch. Slit their throat. Can't cast a spell if they can't talk, yeah."

Part of Maya wanted to go and sit next to Ryden, but she didn't. Not tonight at least. Thoughts a little more clear she turned to pay better attention to Ruby, which she was what she should've been doing. "Yeah, not unless I get to her first," she muttered more to herself.

"Never punch a witch that don't deserve it," Ruby countered. "He's kiddin'... mostly," she said, glancing at Ryden and then back to Aedan.

Ryden’s toothy grin said that he was everything but kidding.

Aedan bristled, suddenly feeling a pang of unease, “I meant that if you upset a witch... It was just supposed to be a stereotype. don't worry.”

"Good thing you're not a witch, hm?" Ruby whispered, leaning close, still holding onto his hand. "I know what you meant..." she reassured him quietly.

Maya sighed. She had been worried about the physical damage that Ryden might cause Aedan while they both tried to help Ruby. She hadn't even thought of the potential emotional damage. This time she did get up, cross the room and sit on the same couch as Ryden "At least pretend like you're trying to play nice," she said giving him a very light swat on the arm. 

“Problem is, most people can't tell the difference,” Aedan replied. 

"I can," Ruby told him. "And now they know too," she said of Maya and Ryden. What the others would do with that information, Ruby couldn't say. 

"But I ain't nice." Ryden said flatly, catching Maya's wrist before the swat landed. But he didn't grip hard and he was grinning. He let her wrist go the next second. "So, where'd ya get that junk charm?" he asked Ruby, glowing eyes glancing down to their joined hands. He put two and two together instantly.

"Witch in Grisielle," Ruby said, glancing at Ryden. "I should've gone to someone I knew. Like Faye or Damek or... somebody..."

"Bullshit," Maya replied as if it were as much a fact as how many eggs needed to go into a cake. She turned her attention though to Ruby and Aedan while putting her hand back in her lap. "You still can," she said to Ruby, "If you ever think this is the route you want to go again after tonight."

"Yeah. Ya should've." Ryden didn't sugarcoat it, as usual, but he also knew that saying I told you so wasn't exactly productive. So that was where he left it and he wouldn't say it twice. Everyone had the right to learn things the hard way once. He settled back, bulky tattooed arms crossing over broad chest. He snapped his teeth playfully at Maya at her comment.

"I know..." Ruby said to the both of them. She'd definitely be getting a better charm. But as for not shifting again, she wasn't sure. This had been... a singular experience. "Are you alright?" she said to Aedan, realizing that she hadn't asked him that yet.

Maya spared a glance over at Ryden on the other side of the sofa. "Should've said I like it when you're not nice. Wouldn't have been able to argue on that one," she teased. She turned back to Ruby and Aedan though, wanting to make sure they were both okay. Even if he wasn't she doubted Ryden would admit it, especially not in mixed company.

Like Maya, Ruby knew better than to ask Ryden outright if he was alright. He was... better... than he had been when he first arrived - she could tell that just by the scent he put off - but there were still things that flittered about under his skin. Running and crawling this way and that. She felt the same way. Though whatever was in the honey she'd drank still had her feeling a bit high as well.

Ryden barked out a loud laugh at what Maya had to say but otherwise didn't comment further. Instead, he interrupted the other couple again. "You tell me when you ready." He put that thought out there for Ruby because he was pretty sure that the healthiest thing she could do right now is get out there and actually shift. 

Maya nodded, "He's right. You should probably go before we're back where we started. I'll make sure Aedan gets home."

Ruby nodded at Ryden and Maya, grateful to the both of them for different reasons, before turning back to Aedan. "You can stay here if you want... both of you." Maya too. "It's late and... well... I've got plenty of booze." 

'”'m fine, Ruby,” Aedan stood, “'I'll call you in the morning, okay?” He turned to Maya, “I came by bike. I'm fine.”

Ruby watched him leave, unsure what she felt other than... the sudden urge to run and run and run. "I'm ready..." she told Ryden, standing and brushing herself off.

"Please do," Maya said to Aedan. She gave Ruby smile, "Oh don't worry I know how to help myself to your booze. But I'll probably head home too."

Ruby nodded. "Be careful, okay?" She didn't wait for Ryden, making her way downstairs and out the front door after she heard Aedan's bike drive away. The moon was dark and red and looming, and Ruby looked up at at, hating it for the first time in a long time. 

"Hell yeah." Ryden readily jumped off the sofa but before he walked away, eager to just go and finally shift, he gave a lick to Maya's cheek. "Bye cupcake." Walking over to the same window he came through, he pulled his shirt off, leaving it on the floor. And with that, he was gone through the window, nimbly maneuvering down Ruby's roof.

Ruby pulled off her useless ring, held it in her hand briefly before tossing it into the bushes. By the time she pulled off her clothes, she could already feel the pull of the moon. It hurt when she shifted, but Ruby was glad for it. At least until she could no longer remember who she was, other than the White Wolf. She stood in her front yard and waited for the Other.

Maya nodded to Ruby, "I will. See you later." As for Ryden's goodbye she wiped her cheek, laughing. "See you later, werido," she called after him as she shut the window. After giving the two wolves enough time to wander off she made her way downstairs and out the front door, locking it behind her.