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twoidiotwriters1 · 4 years ago

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Written In The Stars CXLI (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: That’s right PoA gifs are making a comeback -Danny

Words: 3,121

Series’ Masterlist

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Chapter Three: A Brief Talk.

Mel was packing up the stuff she'd taken to the mission when someone knocked on the front door.

She heard Erick said he'd get it a second later. Mel put everything in her bag and hung it over her shoulder, rushing out of her room. Dumbledore stared at them with a smile.

"I must say you worked faster than expected."

"We did our best — Oh!" Erick went to the living room and grabbed his bag, drawing out the men's wands. "These are from the death eaters — maybe you'll be able to track them down?"

"I could, if Ollivander hadn't gone missing," Dumbledore said sadly. Mel didn't ask about it, she wasn't ready for any more bad news. "Anything I should know?"

"Yeah," Mel approached. "I'm upset."

Dumbledore gazed at her quietly.

"I said I'd tell you everything and I will, but you must wait a bit longer. We'll visit Harry's house tonight, and pay a visit to Slughorn."

"You said we couldn't talk to him."

"This time will be different. This time I'll go with you."

"How wonderful," Mel said sarcastically.

"I'll get my stuff," Erick gave her a look that was meant to stop her rudeness.

"Very well," Dumbledore nodded, "do close the door on your way out, Mr Flint."

She followed him out in silence, her uncle approached the entrance of the Dursley's house and knocked on it.

"Were you in danger?"

"No."

"Then you know I didn't lie."

"You didn't tell us everything," She replied. "You keep withholding information and I'm not some disposable thing you can use as you please —"

"That was never my intention," Dumbledore interrupted. "By the end of the year you'll know all, and you'll understand why I've acted this way."

Mel seriously doubted that but she'd been proven wrong before, she was willing to hear his side of the story.

Mr Dursley complained all the way to the door, he opened it abruptly, freezing at the sight.

"Good evening. You must be Mr Dursley. I daresay Harry has told you I would be coming for him?"

Harry rushed down the stairs and stopped at a considerable distance from his uncle. He looked torn between amusement and panic, holding a pair of trainers in one hand and a telescope in the other.

The young witch eyed Mr Dursley up and down and held back a smirk. He was wearing a reddish dressing-gown. The last time she'd been standing this close to the man he'd looked gigantic, now he was barely able to reach her nose.

"Judging by your look of stunned disbelief, Harry did not warn you that we were coming," Dumbledore said happily. "However, let us assume that you have invited me warmly into your house. It is unwise to linger overlong on doorsteps in these troubled times. It is a long time since my last visit, I must say, your agapanthus are flourishing. What do you think, Mel?"

"Oh, it's been years," Her voice trembled with contained laughter. "The house looks exactly as I remember, though. Is your chimney still the same after the Weasleys burst through it?"

Harry snorted at this, and this caught the old man's attention.

"Ah, good evening Harry... Excellent, excellent."

"I don't mean to be rude —" Mr Dursley spoke.

"— yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often. Best to say nothing at all, my dear man. Ah, and this must be Petunia— Albus Dumbledore, we have corresponded, of course. And this must be your son, Dudley?"

Mel looked at the boy, it had been almost two years since she'd last seen him: He was muscly big, with the body of a trained wrestler. She didn't like that he'd be able to kill a child with his bare hands and call it a sport.

"Shall we assume that you have invited us into your sitting room?

Dumbledore crossed the hall and she followed, Harry jumped the last steps and approached them.

"Aren't — aren't we leaving?" He inquired.

"Yes, indeed we are, but there are a few matters we need to discuss first. And I would prefer not to do so in the open. We shall trespass upon your aunt and uncle's hospitality only a little longer."

"You will, will you?" The Dursleys were all glaring at them.

"Yes, I shall."

He drew his wand so rapidly that Harry barely saw it; with a casual flick, the sofa zoomed forward and knocked the knees out from under all three of the Dursleys so that they collapsed upon it in a heap. Another flick of the wand and the sofa zoomed back to its original position.

"We may as well be comfortable."

"Sir," Harry started anxiously. "What happened to your — ?"

"Later, Harry. Please sit down."

The boy looked at her searching for an answer, but she had none. It was her first time seeing Dumbledore's injury as well. She walked up to the armchair and stood next to where her uncle had seated. Harry sat in front of them.

"I would assume that you were going to offer me refreshment, but the evidence so far suggests that that would be optimistic to the point of foolishness."

A third twitch of the wand, and a dusty bottle and five glasses appeared in midair. The bottle tipped and poured a generous measure of honey-coloured liquid into each of the glasses, which then floated to each person in the room.

"Madam Rosmerta's finest oak-matured mead," said Dumbledore.

Mel took her glass and inhaled the sweet scent before drinking it, hiding her grin. She was starting to feel less annoyed now that Dumbledore was torturing the Dursleys with his displays of magic.

"Well, a difficulty has arisen which I hope you will be able to solve for us. By us, I mean the Order of the Phoenix. But first of all, I must tell you, kids, that Sirius's will was discovered a week ago."

"Oh. Right..." Harry muttered.

"This is, in the main, fairly straightforward. You add a reasonable amount of gold to your account at Gringotts, and you inherit a few of Sirius's personal possessions. Emily knows this of course, but Sirius left the other half of his gold to you and your brother, Mel. As well as the rest of his belongings, which you'll be able to use once you're of age."

It was obvious Leon was going to inherit stuff from Sirius, the man was eager to provide for his new family, he wanted to be there, make sure his son would never be left to his luck.

"The slightly problematic part of the legacy —"

"His godfather's dead?" Mr Dursley interrupted. "He's dead? His godfather?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore without further explanation. "Our problem is that Sirius also left you number twelve, Grimmauld Place. To the three of you."

"He's been left a house?" Mr Dursley questioned.

"He's not done talking," Mel snapped, Mr Dursley turned purple at her statement.

"You can keep using it as headquarters," said Harry. "I don't care. You can have it, I don't really want it."

"Me neither," Mel accepted. "I don't need it, nor I think my brother will want to use it once he's old enough."

"Brother?" Mrs Dursley asked in bewilderment.

"That is generous," said Dumbledore. "We have, however, vacated the building temporarily."

"Why?"

"Well, Black family tradition decreed that the house was handed down the direct line, to the next male with the name of 'Black.' Your brother should be the one to take it, but we can't be sure if the rules apply since Emily and Sirius decided to use her last name. While Sirius' will makes it perfectly plain that he wants you to have the house, it is nevertheless possible that some spell or enchantment has been set upon the place to ensure that it cannot be owned by anyone other than a pureblood."

"I bet there has," Harry lamented.

"Quite. And if such an enchantment exists, then the ownership of the house is most likely to pass to the eldest of Sirius's living relatives, which would mean his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange."

Harry stood up in distress.

"No..."

"Well, obviously we would prefer that she didn't get it either. The situation is fraught with complications. We do not know whether the enchantments we ourselves have placed upon it, for example, making it Unplottable, will hold now that ownership has passed from Sirius's hands. It might be that Bellatrix will arrive on the doorstep at any moment. Naturally, we had to move out until such time as we have clarified the position."

"But how are you going to find out if we're allowed to own it?"

"Fortunately, there is a simple test."

"Will you get these ruddy things off us?" Mr Dursley yelled.

Harry looked around; all three of the Dursleys were cowering with their arms over their heads as their glasses bounced up and down on their skulls, their contents flying everywhere.

"Oh, I'm so sorry... But it would have been better manners to drink it, you know."

Mel left her glass on the coffee table and waited.

"You see," Dumbledore continued, "if you have indeed inherited the house, you have also inherited..."

There was a loud crack, and a house-elf appeared, with a snout for a nose, giant bat's ears, and enormous bloodshot eyes, crouching on the Dursleys' shag carpet and covered in grimy rags. Aunt Petunia let out a hair-raising shriek; nothing this filthy had entered her house in living memory.

"Kreacher," said Dumbledore.

"Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't, Kreacher won't! Kreacher belongs to Miss Bellatrix, oh yes, Kreacher belongs to the Blacks, Kreacher wants his new mistress, Kreacher won't go to the brats and the Black bastard! Kreacher won't, won't, won't —"

"As you can see," said Dumbledore over the yelling, "Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership."

"I don't care," said Harry with repulsion. "I don't want him."

"Won't, won't, won't, won't —"

"You would prefer him to pass into the ownership of Bellatrix Lestrange? Bearing in mind that he has lived at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for the past year?"

"Won't, won't, won't, won't —"

"No," Mel replied, "we need him far from them."

"Give him an order," said Dumbledore. "If he has passed into your ownership, he will have to obey. If not, then we shall have to think of some other means of keeping him from his rightful mistress."

"Won't, won't, won't, WON'T !"

"Kreacher, shut up!" Harry demanded.

It looked for a moment as though Kreacher was going to choke. He grabbed his throat, his mouth still working furiously, his eyes bulging. After a few seconds of frantic gulping, he threw himself face forward onto the carpet (Aunt Petunia whimpered) and beat the floor with his hands and feet, giving himself over to a violent, but entirely silent, tantrum.

"Well, that simplifies matters," said Dumbledore brightly. "It seems that Sirius knew what he was doing. You three are the rightful owners of number twelve, Grimmauld Place and of Kreacher."

"Wonderful, I own a haunted mansion," Mel sat heavily on the armrest of Dumbledore's chair.

"Do we have to keep him with us?" Harry asked.

"Not if you don't want to. If I might make a suggestion, you could send him to Hogwarts to work in the kitchen there. In that way, the other house-elves could keep an eye on him."

"Yeah," said Harry, "yeah, let's do that. Er — Kreacher — I want you to go to Hogwarts and work in the kitchens there with the other house-elves."

"You're not allowed to leave your duties unless we ask you otherwise," Mel added.

Kreacher, who was now lying flat on his back with his arms and legs in the air, gave Harry one upside-down look of deepest loathing and, with another loud crack, vanished.

"Good. There is also the matter of the hippogriff, Buckbeak. Hagrid has been looking after him since Sirius died, but Buckbeak is yours now, so if you would prefer to make different arrangements —"

"No," said both of them, then Harry added, "He can stay with Hagrid. I think Buckbeak would prefer that."

"Hagrid will be delighted. He was thrilled to see Buckbeak again. Incidentally, we have decided, in the interests of Buckbeak's safety, to rechristen him 'Witherwings' for the time being, though I doubt that the Ministry would ever guess he is the hippogriff they once sentenced to death. Now, Harry, is your trunk packed?"

"Erm..." Harry blushed.

"Doubtful that I would turn up?" Dumbledore smiled.

"I'll just go and — er — finish off," said Harry, picking up his telescope and trainers.

"I'll help," Mel said.

It was the first time she'd ever been in his room. The only time she'd managed to look around was when they rescued him on the Ford Anglia. It was evident this was the only place in the house Harry was allowed to exist freely: A bit messy from running around and packing everything in a hurry, but she didn't mind it at all.

"Cozy," She teased.

"Shut it," He replied, hastily picking up his stuff. "I should've known... of course he wouldn't leave me..."

"You had your reasons to doubt," She shrugged, then added. "We both do..."

Harry stopped and looked at her, but she wasn't in the mood to talk. Mel helped him pack and soon enough everything was in place, she grabbed Hedwig's cage and smiled at the creature.

"Hi there..." She looked back at him. "I'll never forget the look on your uncle's face when we arrived, he looked so frightened!"

"I'm glad I don't have to stay," He picked up his stuff and guided her out. "Because he would murder me if I did..."

Mel snorted, following him to the hall. However, Dumbledore hadn't moved.

"Professor?" Harry spoke. "I'm ready now."

"Good. Just one last thing, then... As you will no doubt be aware, Harry comes of age in a year's time —"

"No," said Mrs Dursley.

"I'm sorry?" said Dumbledore.

"No, he doesn't. He's a month younger than Dudley, and Dudders doesn't turn eighteen until the year after next."

"Ah," He smiled, "but in the Wizarding world, we come of age at seventeen."

"Preposterous," mumbled Vernon.

"Now, as you already know, the wizard called Lord Voldemort has returned to this country. The Wizarding community is currently in a state of open warfare. Harry, whom Lord Voldemort has already attempted to kill on a number of occasions, is in even greater danger now than the day when I left him upon your doorstep fifteen years ago, with a letter explaining about his parents' murder and expressing the hope that you would care for him as though he were your own."

Dumbledore's air changed, and although it wasn't obvious, he was once again emanating power, now more than ever he looked like a man no one should try to upset.

"You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. I'm thankful Emily agreed to move in next door all those years ago and relieved a bit of Harry's misery. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you."

"Us — mistreat Dudders? What d'you — ?"

"The magic I evoked fifteen years ago means that Harry has powerful protection while he can still call this house 'home.' However miserable he has been here, however unwelcome, however badly treated, you have at least, grudgingly, allowed him houseroom. This magic will cease to operate the moment that Harry turns seventeen; in other words, at the moment he becomes a man. I ask only this: that you allow Harry to return, once more, to this house, before his seventeenth birthday, which will ensure that the protection continues until that time."

Mel would've loved to add a few insults of her own, but she knew there was no use, they would never learn, would never feel guilty for treating Harry the way they did and to be honest, Dumbledore was right, Mel and her mother were his real family.

"Well... time for us to be off," said Dumbledore, standing up. "Until we meet again."

Mel looked at them one last time without saying anything, something in her felt different, there was a bittersweet emotion that kept her from enjoying herself, and at the same time stopped her from snapping.

"Bye," said Harry shortly.

"We do not want to be encumbered by these just now," Dumbledore said, pulling out his wand and pointing it towards the boy's trunk and owl. "I shall send them to the Burrow to await us there. However, I would like you to bring your Invisibility Cloak... just in case. And now, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."

Erick was waiting patiently against the front of her mother's car. His backpack was hanging from one shoulder, and when he saw them he quickly approached.

"All good?"

"Yes, we just wanted to chat a moment before leaving."

"Chat?" Erick raised a brow, he knew the Dursleys weren't friendly people.

"We'll explain later. C'mon, time to go."

"We're not taking the car?"

"No," said Dumbledore. "It'll be faster if we use magic. Keep your wand at the ready."

"But I thought we're not allowed to use magic outside school, sir?" Harry asked.

"If there is an attack," said Dumbledore, "I give you and Mel permission to use any counter jinx or curse that might occur to you. However, I do not think you need worry about being attacked tonight."

"Why not, sir?"

"You are with me... This will do."

He stopped at the end of the street.

"You have not, of course, passed your Apparition Test," he said.

"No," said Harry. "I thought you had to be seventeen?"

"You do," said Dumbledore. "So you will need to hold on to my arm very tightly. My left, if you don't mind — as you have noticed, my wand arm is a little fragile at the moment."

Erick looked down briefly at his hand and paled.

"Professor, I passed my apparition test last month, I can take Mel so you don't tire yourself out."

The idea of Dumbledore 'tiring himself out' was laughable, but Mel didn't want Erick to feel stupid, and it appeared that Dumbledore was of the same mind.

"Very well, Mr Flint, if it's not much trouble..."

"It's not."

"You know where to go."

Erick offered his arm to her.

"Ready?"

"Like we have a choice," She groaned, firmly holding onto him.

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

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#twoidiots writing #hp fanfic #Harry Potter #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter xoc #WITT fic

15 notes · View notes

jimimn · 4 years ago

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HI ITS ME WHO'S NOT OVER JJK BLONDE SELFIE AND WILL NEVER BE -💫

HELLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO <33333333

HONESTLY ITS THE WAY YOH SAY SUCH NICE THINGS AND I DISAPPEAR FOR DAYS ON END BECAUSE INCONSISTENCY BLEEDS INTO EVERY CORNER OF MY LIFE FNEKALKD BUT I'M GETTING DONE WITH MY FIRST LEG OF EXAMS ON MONDAY SO YAY TO THAT!! OKAY I THINK WE'LL MOVE SLOWLY WITH BABY STEPS JUNGKOOK DROPPED SOME SELCAS JIMIN DROPPED SOME SELCAS IN THE WORDS OF THE LEGENDARY JEON JUNGKOOK ALL WE NEED NOW IS "together..BAM!" (THAT'S LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS EVER THE WAY HE SAYS IT 🤧)

YES IN THIS HOUSE WE SCREAM OVER JIMIN'S DISRESPECT HE IS THE PARAGON OF A MULTI-FACETED MAN THAT HAS US WRAPPED AROUND HIS FINGER. THE AUDACITY 😤

CHANEL X JIMIN LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN AND OMG THAT SELFIE THAT DROPPED?? SIR???? WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?? I MEAN YES BH SAID LET'S DROP SELFIES IN BULK BUT THAT ONE PICTURE OF HIM IN BLACK(GREY? I DONT KNOW FHSKKAJF) WITH THE SHIRTS UNBUTTONED!!! THEM COLLARBONES ARE FREE AND THEY'RE THRIVING IN THE OPEN IN THAT ONE. ALSO HIS LIPS ARE SO PRETTY. OH GOD LITERALLY HE HAS THAT COCKY SMIRK ON HIS FACE WHEN HE KNOWS HE DOES HOT BOY SHIT LIKE SHUT UP OK YOU CANT DO THAT JAIL FOR U NDNSLSKAJJW

SUCH A FUCKING TEASE THATS RIGHT!! EVEN STRAIGHT MEN?? BRO LIKE HOW DO YOU HAVE ALL GENDERS JUST TRIPPING OVER THEMSELVES FOR YOU IT'S INSANE AND OMG MISS SHIVI HAVE YOU SEEN THAT ONE CLIP IN WHICH JIMIN HOLDS HIS GAZE WITH THESE MEN WHO LOOK AT HIM (i think it was bon voyage?) and when they cross each other he JUST SMIRKS AND RUNS HIS HAND THROUGH HIS HAIR LIKE YEAH OK ALEXA PLAY I'M SEXY AND I KNOW IT. AND YES I'LL LISTEN TO EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY ANYTIME 💗💗

12PM KST IS THE HOLY HOUR I TELL YOU ALTHOUGH I REMEMBER WAITING THE NIGHT BEFORE BE CAME OUT WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO COME AND BH WAS JUST LIKE "yea...no" OMG THAT'S AWESOME YOUR COUSIN'S VISITING YOU

HHFJDOSO YEAH IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE THEY DID THE JUMP ALTHOUGHHHH I'M POSITIVE THEY'LL DO SMTH COOL LIKE THAT IN THEIR CONCERTS BECAUSE THEIR PERFORMANCE QUALITY IS JUST.. THROUGH THE ROOF IT'S CRAZY!! WHEN THE PERFORM WINGS?? LIKE HOLY SHIT NO CHOREO NO POSITIONS JUST BTS RUNNING AROUND THE STAGE MAKING THE CROWD GO FERAL I LOVE EVERY WINGS PERFORMANCE SO MUCH MY SEROTONIN LEVELS ARE ALWAYS AT A HIGH THEN. OOHH MY GODDD BS&T IS REALLY THAT BITCH!!!! WHO'S DOING IT LIKE HER TODAY NO ONE IS EXACTLY. AND NOOOO I TOTALLY GET IT WE THINK ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH THAT ACCIDENT HAS THE SAME EFFECT ON ME. IF ONLY YOU'D TOLD ME THEN IN 2016 THAT THAT ACCIDENT WAS THE START OF SO MANY I'D BE PREPARED FOR EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWED (see: him basically stripping himself that one serendipity performance. holy shit.)

FOR REAL THO CHRISTMAS LOVE DROPPED OUT OF NOWHERE AND DO YOU REMEMBER JIMIN SAYINF uUH iM nOt wORkInG oN a SoLo SoNg aT ThE mOmEnT heHe LIKE ALL MEN DO IS LIE OK AT THIS POINT. BYE. YES TAEHYUNG DID WARN US BUT ARMYS (LIKE MYSELF) PUT THEIR CLOWN WIGS ON AND THOUGHT IT WAS KTH1 LMAO. OMG I HOPE YOU DON'T SLEEP THROUGH ANY OF THEIR UPCOMING SONG RELEASES BUT I'M SURE IT'S THE BEST FEELING TO WAKE UP TO CHECK YOUR NOTIFS AND SEE "Big Hit Labels" BECAUSE THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE FIREEE. DUDE SERIOUSLY I NEED JIMIN TO GO LIVE AGAIN (although we've been well fed by namjoon for now🤧😌💗) LIKE THAT ONE YT LIVE WHERE HE SAID "O...M...G" SHUT UP STOP BEING SO CUTE I'M DHJSWLIFJWKALS

LMAO OKAY YEAH THAT'S VALID YOUR BLOG THEME IS BASICALLY ✨jimin✨ AND I LOVE THAT IT REALLY GRAVITATED ME AND YOUR URL OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDD YOUR BRAINNN 💆‍♀️💆‍♀️💆‍♀️💆‍♀️💆‍♀️

YES YES YES JIMIN IS SO PERFECT AND THE SOCK DOODLESSS 😭😭😭 oooo so when did you get into giffing? how did you start? BROOOOO YOUR URL'S ORIGIN STORY. I LOVE IT WOW YES IT'S DEFINITELY GOT THE REQUIRED ✨pazzaz✨

NOOO OMG THIS URL IS YOUR BRAND LIKE YOU'RE A LEGEND ON ARMYBLR I LOVE IT SO MUCH. BUT STILL!! IT'S YOUR CHOICE AT THE END 💖

OMG QUARANTINE DID IT'S ONE GOOD JOB AND GOT YOU INTO BANGTAN YAY. OMG YOU AND MISS LIFEGOESMON ARE FRIENDSS??? LEGENDS INTERACTING THIS IS SO COOL. LMAO THE PARADIGM SHIFT YOU MUST'VE FELT FROM LISTENING TO STAY GOLD (WHICH BTW THE MV...THE LITERAL CUTEST OH GOD THE LITTLE DOG AND JIMIN'S LITTLE SMILES DHSJAOWO) TO THEN GOING TO BST IN WHICH JIMIN IS BASICALLY STRIPPING AND JUNGKOOK IS UPSIDE DOWN LMAOOO. YES BS&T HAS EVERYONE HOOKED THE POWERRRR. YOU FALLING DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE WITH YOUR FRIEND'S ASSISTANCE OH GOD THIS IS SO CUTE 💓 EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM 🥺🥺🥺

AAAAH OKAY MY STORY ISN'T AS INTERESTING AS YOURS IS BUT IN 2016 BASICALLY ALL I KNEW OF KPOP WAS GANGNAM STYLE AND WASNT WILLING TO CUANGE THAT PERCEPTION (FOOL BEHAVIOUR I TELL YOU) AND WAS TOO BUSY OBSESSING OVER ONE DIRECTION'S REUNION AND SO ONE NIGHT (THE NIGHT BEFORE JIMIN'S BIRTHDAY 🤧🤧) I JUST STUMBLED UPON THEIR BS&T TEARS MV AND I HEARD IT AND I WAS LIKE OMG!! THIS IS THAT SUPER ADDICTIVE SONG THAT I'D HEARD SOMEWHERE AND IT JUST SPIRALLED FROM THERE I REMEMBER SEEING JIMIN AND BEING LIKE 👀👀👀👀 WHO IS HE I LIKE HIM AND JUST HIS AURA DREW ME IN SOOO MUCH AND WHEN I WAS GETTING INTO THEM I REMEMBER WRITING THEIR NAMES IN MY NOTES TO SEE IF I COULD REMEMBER 🤧 AND I STILL HAVE THAT NOTE FROM 4+ YEARS AGO 💓 AND YEAH BASICALLY SEEING THEM DO ALL THE MUSIC SHOWS AND STUFF AT THE TIME WAS SO COOOL AND MIND YOU BH DIDN'T HAVE SUBS FOR BANGTAN BOMBS THEN SO WENT ON THESE SKETCHY DAILYMOTION TYPE SITES LOOKING FOR ALL THE CONTENT I COULD CHURN OUT LMAO

AND YES!! COURTESY OF YOU I DID WATCH SOME RUN EPS!! I WATCHED THEIR CANADA ONES SPEAKING OF WHICH I LOOOVE THAT PART WHERE THEY'RE DOING THAT SONG GUESSING THING IN THE MORNING AND JIMIN SAYS "are you cold?" 🥺🥺 TO TAE AND HUGS HIM URRHRHEHSJSJSH AND I ALSO SAW THE ONES WITH THE PUPPIES GODDDDD I LOVE THE PUPPIES ONE SO MUCH LITERALLY JUNGKOOK AND HIS DOG (MIRI?) OH MY GOD THAT LIL FLUFFER AND ADAM IS MY ICON WITH HOW HE JUST DID HIS OWN THING LMAO.

BUT ANYWAY!! DO YOU HAVE A FAVE ERA?? LIKE DO YOU EVER LOOK AT THEM AND GO "Damn I wish I was a fan then" BECAUSE HONESTLY I WISH I HAD STANNED THEM IN THEIR DOPE ERA BUT I DON'T THINK I WOULD HAVE SURVIVED JIMIN THEN DHKSOWID-💫

FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME!!!!!!! ITS OKAY!!!!!!!! I TOTALLY TOTALLY UNDERSTAND!!!!! AND YAYYYYY CONGRATS I HOPE THE FIRST LEG OF EXAMS WENT WELL <333333 AND OH MY GOD you’re gonna make me cry with the together baam goddddddd same one of my fave moments and jimin’s giggles after that 😭😭😭😭 my babies <3 :((((

that..... black suit selca....... that opened button...... like open one more dear sir who’s stopping you... just do it <33333 YEAH he totally needs to shut up with his i know im hot side it just kills me every single time 😭😭😭😭😭

LISTEN THAT BV3 MOMENT S H O O K ME OKAY????? THOSE GUYS LOOKED AT HIM AND HE WAS SO FUCKING SMUG ABOUT IT (AND HE SHOULD BE) AND THE WAY HE LICKED HIS LIPS AND RAN HIS HANDS THROUGH HIS HAIR????? LIKE HE KNOWS HE HAS EVERY SINGLE PERSON; NO MATTER WHAT GENDER; WRAPPED AROUND HIS LIL PINKY LIKE THAT???????

OH MY GOD ME TOO I LOVEEEEEEEEEEE THE WINGS STAGE AND WATCHING THEM HAVE SO MUCH FUN IS JUST SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I ALSO ABSOLUTELY LOVVVEEE THEIR ENERGY DURING THE SY TOUR MEDLEY WITH IDOL AND BAEPSAE AND FIRE AND DOPE ZSXDFGFCHGVJBHJN THEY JUST LOSE THEMSELVES IN THE CROWD AND THE MUSIC AND ITS JUST SO FUCKING SURREAL TO WATCH HOW MUCH THEY ENJOY DOING WHAT THEY DO!!!!! kinda makes me want to find that happiness and passion in whatever i do in my professional life <3 and LISTEN jimin said the break the soul commentary THAT HE COULD DO SERENDIPITY SHIRTLESS TOO. THE AUDACITY. HE SAID THAT WITH HIS WHOLE CHEST.

YOU KNWO WHAT I THINK JIMIN WON’T GIVE US A HINT BEFORE DROPPING PJM1. HE’LL JUST DROP IT ONE FINE DAY OUT OF NOWHERE LIKE HE DROPPED PROMISE AND CHRISTMAS LOVE (i wasn’t here when he dropped promise but i read that on twitter sdfghjkl) AND NO PLS NO I DO N O T WANT TO SLEEP THROUGH JJK1 OR KTH1 OR PJM1 OR KSJ1 OR NAMGI MIXTAPE 3 OR HOBI MIXTAPE 2 OR ANYTHING BASICALLY YOU GET IT i had slept through dynamite cb because i had NO CLUE that they were gonna drop it at 1pm kst rather than 12 am kst. i was under the impression that since they dropped all the teaser pictures and the teaser itself as 12 am kst, the mv will drop at 12 am kst too. and I woke up like two hours after the mv dropped (which was almost noon my time) and i felt like A FUCKING FOOL AND I JUST 😭😭😭😭 NEVER WANT TO FEEL LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN 😭😭😭

AND YES BABIE NEEDS TO COME LIVE SOON PLS I MISS HIM SO FUCKING MUCH :((((( AND HIS O...M.....G HAD MADE ME FUCKING SOBBBBBBBBBBB his yt live god he looked sooooooo fluffy with his hair and his tiny hands and his puppy eyes and soft voice im just so 😭😭😭😭😭😭

NO NONNONONONO PLEASE IM NO LEGEND DON’T SAY THAT IM EMBARRASSED im just a normal fangirl who makes okayish gifs 😭😭 and ok yes so i started giffing LONNNGGGGGG time back on a different public fan forum from my country but i never knew the right process and stuff so obviously the gifs were shitty lmao BUT ANYWAY i got into gifmaking PROPERLY this in july last year and obviously struggled a lot in the beginning because i didn’t know shit about colouring and stuff lmao but i kept practicing and even though im not perfect rn i do think that i got better. i love giffing tho. its such a nice creative outlet and whenever i gif the boys it brings me so much happiness :( <33

AND YES ASDFGHJKL ME AND HER ARE FRIENDS SINCE A VERY LONG TIME SDFGHJK LIKE LONG BEFORE BOTH OF US GOT INTO BTS SDFGHJ and ah yes the whiplash lmaooooooo and you’re right god the stay gold mv is SO FUCKING PRETTY THE COLOURS IN THAT ENTIRE MV HELLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AND JIMIN AND TAE AND JOON WITH THE DOGGO JUST EVERYTHING SDFGHJK <3333333 AND BS&T DUDE I GIFFED THE MV YESTERDAY AND IM 💀💀💀💀💀 (like i just giffed jimin from the mv but i did watch the whole thing 5647589 times <333333) AND GUESS WHAT!!!!!! I WAS A LILLY SINGH FAN (IDK IF YOU KNOW HER SHE’S A YOUTUBER) BACK IN 2016 AND PEOPLE BACK THEN HAD REQUESTED HER TO REACT TO BS&T MV AND I HAD WATCHED HER REACTION VIDEO AND (although it didn’t stick with me back then because i was a fucking fool) I DID SOMEHOW REMEMBERED THE JIN AND STATUE KISSING MOMENT AND WHEN IN 2020 I SAW THE MV AND SAW THE KISSING MOMENT MY BRAIN JUST!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS LIKE HOLY SHIT I HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE SOMEWHERE AND THEN I REMEMBERED I HAD SEEN THIS IN THE REACTION VIDEO LMAOOOOO i wish i hadn’t been a fool and gotten into them back then :((((

AH NO OMG YOUR STORY IS SOOOOOOO CUTEEEEEEEEEE ATLEAST YOU WEREN’T A FOOL LIKE ME TO NOT GET ATTRACTED TO BS&T THE FIRST TIME OF SEEING IT!!!! I WANNA HIT MY 2016 SELF LIKE DAMN YOU YOU FOOLISH ASSHOLE AND yes omg how did y’all do the subs thing damnnnnn i can’t imagine

AND YES THE CANADA RUN EPIS ARE LOOOVVVEEEE and that vmin moment plsssssss i cry everytime 😭😭😭😭😭 it is just so soft and innocent and tae’s little smile after jimin just turns around and hugs him 😔😔😔😔 i love soulmates 😔😔😔😔 AND MIRI YES OMG EVERYONE WAS SO IMPRESSED BY THE LITTLE CUTIE AND THE WAY JUNGKOOK JUST KEPT ADORING HER THROUGHOUT MADE ME SO SO SOFTTTT and bro adam is me. i am like that. lazy and un-motivated AF. although if i were a dog and jin were to be my owner i would listen to him so well and jump on him every chance i’d get 😌😌😌

GOD YES RED HAIR DOPE ERA JIMIN 💀 BABIE BUT MAKE IT SEXY 🥵🥵 AND OMG YESDGFHG MY FAVE ERA IS HYYH. ORANGE HAIRED JIMIN. PLS. HE’S EVERYTHING. I WISH I HAD GOTTEN INTO THEM DURING THAT. LIKE THAT ERA IS ..... SOMEHOW SO FUCKING WILD AND STILL SO ASSURING AND CALMING ????? KEEPS ME ROOTED LIKE IDK HOW TO EXPLAIN DFGHJKL AND WINGS TOO DAMN I WISH I WAS HERE TO LIVE ALL THOSE AMAZING ERAS. but even though i wish i had gotten into them earlier... i think i found them when i needed them the most. I was going through a very difficult time last year and they somehow they made me feel so fucking safe and at home that the connection was instant. honestly i’ve never stanned or felt a connection with any celebrity as strong as the one i feel with bangtan. its like... they don’t know i exist but they still know EXACTLY what im feeling and what to say or do at that time to make me feel comforted. Its weird god but its true :((( SORRY I GOT EMO I JUST LOVE THEM A LOT SDFGHJKL

#anonymous #replied #💫

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strangebrews · 5 years ago

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tea for two

Summary: After nearly two hours of preparation, Alfie was finally ready. The table was set, the tea was brewed, and the poison watched at the end of the counter. That was Alfie’s source of entertainment. // Alfie engages in tea party Russian roulette that he himself organized. Tommy, eventually, reacts.

Notes: i had a tiny idea regarding alfie organizing lethal tea parties for funsies a while back, and it became this. also thank you to @sholomons + @those-peakyboys for reading bits of this as a sanity check <3

Warnings: Suicidal Ideation/Suicide Scare/Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms/ - those are the main ones, but if you think there should be more let me know. The rest of them can be found on the AO3 post. I promise this isn’t some devastating ending though, lmao, technically is supposed to be //romantic// in a twisted Tommy Shelby way.

On AO3

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

Alfie indulged in the art of organizing tea parties later in life, once the crime became routine and uninspiring.

The idea came to him one afternoon, while thumbing through the day’s post. He was struck by a revelation, of sorts, “yeah, because when I went to pick up my cup, right,” he had described the moment to Tommy in detail, “I noticed that there, at the very bottom where the tea leaves floated—there was a message.” His eyes had narrowed, voice low, fingers motioning in the air trying to conjure up the image, “and you know what they were saying to me, those leaves, Tommy—they were saying Alfie, you have got to stop hanging around that Shelby—his witchcraft and madness are starting to rub off on you ” he’d cackled then, which meant the origins would remain unexplained.

Alfie did, however, commit himself to the task.

He decided the event would take place in his dining room, using the hand-carved table featured there. Tommy watched him prepare from afar the day of the first tea party. He did not endorse the fucking behavior, but he was curious—it was rare to see Solomons fuss over plate placements.

A frilly tablecloth was dug out from the back of a cupboard, and freshly picked flowers decorated the middle. Alfie used his best porcelain set—the one he claimed was the last heirloom still in his possession from the mother’s side of his family. That bit was a lie, he had admitted to Tommy one day. Instead, he had Ollie scavenge it from some shop window with a sock over his head and tears in his eyes—but that tale was far less interesting. And the foundational role of any host, Alfie knew, was to entertain his esteemed guests.

Tiny silver spoons—ones which nearly disappeared in Alfie’s hand—lay atop carefully folded napkins. He drew the shades, and arranged the biscuits, lips pursed in concentration. The scene looked quite pretty, actually. Meticulously organized—an unexpected detail coming from Alfie Solomons.

And after nearly two hours of preparation, Alfie was finally ready. The table was set, the tea was brewed, and the poison watched at the end of the counter.

That was Alfie’s source of entertainment.

+++

His guests were an array of different people. Old friends, new enemies, long standing members of his payroll, a few of the fanciest individuals he knew—each person with some form of stain on their record, at some point having wronged him. Alfie was not entirely cruel.

“It’ll be a shame,” he had said, “but everyone dies at some point, yeah?”

The trick about the poison was that it took a while to pollute the veins. Alfie had considered this detail as thoughtfully as he had the decorations—determined to avoid frothing mouths from ruining the appeal of his parties. The winners would appear fine until the next morning, so the poison was untraceable in both taste and source.

For a while, at least. Though even if the pieces were eventually slotted together—who would be brave enough to accuse an aging man of serving tea?

“It just might be genius, Tommy.” Alfie had lifted the vial towards him, eyes glazed over with self-admiration. Going after him would look ridiculous, Alfie knew this. Tommy knew this, and he smiled besides himself. Perhaps it was.

And as any good host, Alfie partook in the activity himself—an equal player in the game. A few clear drops coated the bottom of a cup, the cups were mixed up, the location was forgotten.

The fact that Alfie had grown desensitized towards his own death was no shock—he and Tommy shared the same indifference. Though what Tommy struggled to understand was his sudden interest in openly pursuing it.

Though, didn’t they do that already? Alfie had asked. Their years brimmed with pacts, vindictive partners, with mouthing off to men whose fingers trembled against triggers. They had never run in the opposite direction of death, rather alongside it—the place where their paths would converge had always been just along the horizon. Alfie’s behavior was nothing but a variation of that.

“More creative.” he had claimed—better than being killed by a gun or a knife, “Or by a blade sewn into a fucking hat. Imagine that.” he smirked. It was only funny because they were past killing each other now—Alfie had beaten Tommy to the initiative.

+++

Of course, the cordial invitation had been extended to Tommy Shelby as well.

“And how have I wronged you?” Tommy had asked. Alfie laughed, promising it would be a clean cup, but Tommy refused regardless. The whole matter was much too dramatic for his taste.

He would stay the night of the tea party, though—was due for a fuck, anyway.

In truth, Tommy had been staying the night more frequently.

It was Alfie who had initially offered to move the location of their meetings . The official reason he’d cited was for more security, but Tommy had seen him holding his back in pain each time he’d stepped out of the office.

Fucking in a bed, as opposed to on a desk, toed the line with an intimacy Tommy was cautious about crossing, but the suggestion was too enticing to refuse—aging had not been doing either of them any favors. And because it was Alfie who had made the proposal, Tommy still had room to cut himself free of any strings attached.

The routine had continued as usual at first—business, fuck, leave. Tommy would gather his clothes frantically afterwards, hopping out the door with only one sock on. He was terrified of the implications staying longer would have—the consequences it could bring.

Though that chaos eventually transitioned into a slower collection of his belongings—fatigue and the haze of his orgasm tethering him to the bed. He stayed for longer, counted the cracks in Alfie’s ceiling and the number of stripes on his sheets. These extra moments seemed progressively less threatening.

“Are you truly that desperate to return to that lonely fucking castle of yours, mate?” The question came months later, while Tommy sat on the side of the bed, rubbing the stiffness from his legs. He was startled by the voice—Alfie tended to slip into a slumber nearly immediately after they’d pulled away from each other.

Lonely castle. It sounded worse when phrased that way. A kingdom crafted at the expense of everyone around him. Pitiful.

Tommy had not entertained Alfie with an answer, but still chose to lay back down—comforted by the idea of a few more hours of sleep. He left the next day wordlessly, and sleeping over became routine. The castle would still be standing in the morning.

Yet that change didn’t mean anything, Tommy reasoned. Whether he permitted himself to stay or not, it was still just fucking —nothing more complicated than that.

So perhaps it’d be a shame if Alfie finally won one of his rounds, Tommy thought the evening of that first tea party—his business would be missed. But he remained, on the whole, unbothered by it.

Everyone died at some point.

+++

Each chair was occupied with an esteemed guest the first time. They were all impressed by the sudden burst of hospitality—thankful for Alfie’s unspoken forgiveness of their past transgressions against him.

Assumption was quite lethal.

Meaningless chatter swelled the air in the room, shrill laughter echoing off of the walls. Alfie floated from place to place, offering stories and more food, savoring each one of his sips. He chuckled often, rolled his eyes on cue, and held his pinky up.

It was a performance, yet no one in attendance was aware they were a part of the show.

He caught their attention in particular with a story from before the war. Something to do with a stray dog, an appalled mother and a wet carpet—certain elements of which were exaggerated. “Oh Alfie!” he’d felt a small pat on his shoulder, a gesture which in any other circumstances would have earned the person a cut on the cheek, but Alfie simply smiled and patted back. It could be you .

Alfie found excitement in it all—an ironic strengthening of the energy which had been slowly draining from his body.

It was nearly enough to forget about the cancer.

Cancer could have been considered a motive—it was the letter from the doctor speculating about his expiration date which had sparked the inspiration for the tea party business. Though Alfie didn’t like to dwell on that coincidence. Much rather preferred to keep the reason as Alfie’s sudden burst of twisted thrill-seeking . Not that anyone would know about the sickness, regardless—Thomas Shelby included. He fully intended to live out these days undisturbed by sympathy.

He came to bed that night with cheeks flushed and things to say. Granted, Alfie always had a mouth full of words, but they were stories this time—things he’d seen and heard. Tommy had propped himself up against the headrest, pulling on cigarette after cigarette, feigning disinterest.

A cousin of the Sabini’s had brought Alfie a bottle of wine, he learned. There had been a bit of tea spilling on the carpet sometime in the middle, though it had occurred after a refill, Alfie reassured. Nearly everyone offered some comment about the design on the porcelain, sniffed the flowers, and claimed they had enjoyed themselves in the doorway.

“Silly little puppets, yeah—every last one.” Alfie had laughed and blown the candle on the nightstand out. It was nice, actually, being able to share this bit of secrecy with Tommy. An outlet, of sorts, and it helped that Alfie did not have to truly explain himself to him.

It was the first night Tommy stayed which did not involve fucking.

+++

Tommy continued accepting the invitations to be an invisible guest.

Unsurprisingly, one party had not been enough to satiate Alfie’s newfound appetite for this version of Russian roulette and finger sandwiches, so he kept organizing them. It tended to be the same crowd each time, with a few new faces here and there—replacements for any vacant seats.

Alfie gradually grew fancier—a nicer tablecloth, more biscuits, a larger array of tea. He had different stories to tell, new rings to show off and even Ollie had grown quite fond of the flower picking aspect of his job, asking a few days in advance if he had any preferences.

Alfie collapsed beside Tommy after the fifth party, exhausted and unwilling to relay the night’s events. It wasn’t necessarily healthy for his back, Tommy had mused—all those hours of wandering around the room, hunched over chairs—but his mouth stayed shut, and they fell asleep in silence.

Even after nights when his insomnia had been generous, Tommy woke first.

Alfie breathed beside him.

It was a relief, Tommy admitted—spared him the dramatics of having to drag Alfie out from between the sheets himself. He’d imagined that scenario once or twice while waiting on Alfie to stop his entertaining, considering what exactly he would do with Alfie’s body just—laying there. Notify the staff most likely, but he wasn’t quite sure what beyond that. Perhaps shake his hand, or pay his respects through a whispered congratulations , yet Alfie always managed to interrupt that train of thought before anything concrete was decided on.

He was hesitant to leave the morning after the fifth night, oddly disappointed that Alfie had not shared any stories. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but he decided to wait until Alfie woke. There was time to spare, Tommy argued with himself, it was the weekend—as if that meant anything in this line of business.

Idling in bed until the moment arrived was out of the question. Roaming his halls also seemed inappropriate—and risky, in case Ollie had let himself in. So Tommy settled on visiting the kitchen to eat. Attempt to, at least.

Preparing food provided only momentary relief from the fact that staying had been an absolutely idiotic idea. Tommy brewed some tea—for the irony, if anything else—and made toast. Some for him, some for Alfie, though he winced at the choice and threw Alfie’s portion in the bin. Too much.

He opened the morning paper. Squirmed in his chair. Checked the time. Returned to reading. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Alfie eventually joined him in the kitchen, sleep still settled on his limbs. His hair was sticking up in uneven tufts, beard flattened on the side he’d been lying on. Nothing indicated he was surprised that Tommy had remained in the house.

“So you’re still here then, eh?” Tommy said, eyes on the news, but desperate to fill the silence.

Alfie only ran a heavy palm across his face. “Yeah, still fucking here.”

+++

The parties remained successful and Alfie’s enthusiasm persisted. Guests streamed in week after week—whether out of fear or curiousity was unclear. It was quite unusual to be in Alfie Solomon’s presence within an unthreatening environment, but they seemed to appreciate his change in character.

And the tea was always delicious.

It was Tommy who suffered the change in opinion, pacing the bedroom with a clenched jaw. He had certain ideas—to make an appearance, peek through keyholes or press his ear to the door, to somehow interfere—but he cast them all aside.

Time alone had never been healthy for him. Funny, for a man who ensured his own abandonment.

Nervous. The word finally rose above all of the other thoughts at one point and settled bitterly on his tongue. Tommy was nervous.

“Aren’t you fucking bored of this yet, Alfie?” he asked as casually as possible, in between pulls of his cigarette, but Alfie had shook his head.

“I should have done this sooner.” he claimed, eyes dancing, and for some reason the sentence felt like a slap to the face.

Tommy did not fight back.

+++

Alfie retired earlier than usual one night, reasoned it was due to a headache. Tommy bit down on his lip to prevent any visible reaction.

He slipped under the covers, hand searching for the band of Tommy’s pants —ar ousal had always reigned above pain for Alfie —but Tommy swatted it away, ignoring the slight tenting. “Not today, Alfie.”

Alfie grunted. It was not necessarily unusual for Tommy to refuse him, though Tommy’s face was flushed, teeth gnawing at the inner flesh of his cheek. There was still potential in the moment.

“But Tommy,” he whispered, sliding up against him, lips grazing Tommy’s neck and fingers playing at his hip. “I may be dead tomorrow.” and he placed a firm kiss to his Adam’s apple. It was only meant to be a teasing remark —nothing more than Alfie’s greedy attempt at extracting a fuck out of the other man—but the words wrapped themselves around Tommy’s throat.

Tommy snatched Alfie by the hair, tearing him away from his skin. Their eyes met, Alfie squirming besides himself under the cold stare. “You might be dead tomorrow.” Tommy repeated, nodding in agreement. Out of reach .

And he kissed him.

Once. Twice. Grip slowly loosening, hips finally shifting into Alfie’s touch. His hand remained in the hair, the other one snaking around Alfie’s waist, clothes being peeled off feverishly. Alfie’s efforts proved successful.

They fucked that night to the brink of exhaustion, wrapped in the darkness, spent and gasping for air, and when Alfie pulled away, Tommy choked on a please echoing in his throat.

It was a hollow plea—for something he was too terrified to admit.

+ ++

The following morning after he woke, Tommy lingered in bed.

Alfie snored facing him, rested on top of his left arm. Sleep softened him, Tommy noted—hid the pain behind his eyelids, smoothed the creases from his forehead. He reached out hesitantly to run the backs of his fingers across Alfie’s shoulder, along the shell of his ear, his jaw, tugging down the covers to find his thighs. It was a peaceful moment—rare and terminal—and Tommy was suddenly gripped by an urge to memorize it. Drink in every detail.

Tommy took advantage of the safety unconsciousness had provided him and settled back down, shifting closer to Alfie’s body—close enough so that the tips of their noses were brushing against one another. He lay still, soaking in the warmth of Alfie’s exhales, and tried to align their breathing.

The task proved to be more challenging than expected. Tommy stumbled over his own inhales, yet Alfie continued to be one breath ahead of him. Inhale. Exhale . Out of sync. And it was a silly effort, naive and trivial, but Tommy’s heart still hammered at his ribcage in frustration. Because there had to be something there , in the alignment. Some kind of meaning, a mutual understanding shared between their bodies. A form of reassurance. A sign of togetherness —that Tommy was not fucking mad for wanting to share these breaths with Alfie for longer than the bastard had planned for himself.

But each attempt sputtered and failed.

He slammed his fist into the mattress and rolled off the bed, waking Alfie in the process.

The toast was burnt that morning.

No tea— fuck tea.

Alfie walked into the kitchen, rubbed a palm across his face instinctively. The regular question never arrived, but he answered its ghost regardless. “Still here.”

Yes , Tommy thought, miraculous .

He left for Birmingham immediately after breakfast, and abandoned his tendency of visiting Alfie in between the special occasions. He would know when the next party would be—the invitation would arrive in the post a few days before it.

+++

A week later, there were only 16 people in attendance, two couples were missing. Whether they had grown suspicious or were dead was left unclarified—Alfie was only interested in one outcome.

The event proceeded as usual: eat, laugh, sip, Alfie refilling his cup more frequently than usual. Nobody questioned the absence. It was normal.

And then it was not, because Tommy Shelby walked into the room — eyes bloodshot, scanning the scene.

There was a 1 in 16 chance that Alfie poisoned himself today, Tommy noted, but he had endured this night after night and he found he’d grown quite bored of the adrenaline. The uncertainty. So he took a stand at the head of the table this time around, his hand hidden behind his coat.

It was meant to be a distraction, perhaps a form of confession —anything to get Alfie to stop these fucking games. Whispers swept the room, mouths parted in surprise—it was a rare occurrence, seeing Tommy Shelby in attendance—and Alfie sighed, because he knew, he fucking knew that Thomas was here to spoil the fun.

The gun pointed to Tommy’s head, and Tommy’s head pointed towards Alfie.

“One,” 15 pairs of alarmed eyes stared at Tommy’s finger on the trigger. Only 1 pair glared back into his own. Alfie refused to set the teacup down.

“Have you gone fucking mad, mate?” Tommy had actually heard they called this love .

“Two.” The guests were moving, tripping over chairs, rugs, each other, searching frantically for the exit. The taboo of witnessing a potential suicide outweighed their curiousity, it seemed. So easy to clear a room.

The doors slammed shut, silence replacing the sound. It was empty now. Just him, and Alfie, and the gun, and the poison laughing out from one of the cups.

“Three.” Bang.

Tommy’s body crumpled to the floor.

He was lying half underneath the table when Alfie finally walked over. His eyes were wide open. Unscathed.

Alfie snatched the gun from his hand, clicked open the cylinder. “Tommy, you know, you’re not fucking invited to the next one, yeah?” the first shot had been a blank, but there was a single bullet inside. “Right—on account of the fucking mess you’ve made here today.”

“I’m well aware, Alfie.” he was tracing the pattern of the table’s wood with a shaky finger. Alfie grunted and tossed the gun aside. He collapsed awkwardly beside him, taking Tommy’s hand into his own. It would weather his joints even further, lying down here on the floor, Alfie was well aware, but this was the only act of affirmation which seemed appropriate.

He did not ask about the bullet. He knew why it was there. Kept as a precaution—in case Alfie had decided to drink anyway.

They breathed together.

#ok giving up after this try #tommy x alfie #alfie x tommy #sholomons #tofie #tommy shelby #alfie solomons #thomas shelby #peaky blinders #mine

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tbhwhocaresanymore · 5 years ago

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Nancy Drew 1x16

Oh my God you guys it has been so long since I have been able to watch a show that is so well written that has clearly been planned out from the beginning where the viewers have been able to theorize and have it pay off and Jesus Christ it is GLORIOUS. If I ever write for a show I would want to work with these writers on a show like this.

Before anything else let me start off gloating that I started calling Nancy as Lucy and Ryan’s daughter back around episode 9 or 10 and I am so fucking vindicated right now, I have been riding an otherwise unattainable high nonstop for the past three days. @kat--writes is this how you feel when you accurately predict things??? Because it feels AMAZING.

For the rest of the episode first can I just say how horribly tragic Lucy Sable is? Kudos to the writers because it was a stunning plot twist that I never saw coming but for some reason it’s almost worse than a murder to me? If for no other reason than how it has affected and will continue to affect everyone around her. Ryan who is now going to be even more guilt ridden about not getting to the ice cream parlor on time, Karen and Josh trying to avenge a murder that never even happened, Tiffany Hudson who died for nothing, Nancy who will be forever wondering if her mother slipped and fell or if she really did kill herself right after Nancy was born because if anything will give you an abandonment complex it’s that.

And hearing Carson say what happened that night with Lucy (PHENOMENAL acting by the way, maybe best scene of the season so far) makes rewatching the earlier episodes, especially 7/8 where Nancy was accusing Carson of murdering Lucy so much more tragic. This girl who he and his wife clearly cared for and felt sympathy for, begging him with her last words to take care of her daughter, knowing he looked away for less than two seconds and probably spending weeks if not months if not years questioning if he’d just looked up a half a second sooner if maybe Lucy would still be alive. Seeing Lucy’s daughter, his daughter, accuse him of murdering Lucy had to be a gut punch and it gives his character so much more depth. I just hope this doesn't put too much of a strain on his relationship with Nancy because they have finally gotten to such a good place and as far as Carson is concerned Nancy is his daughter, and he wasn’t trying to lie to her about Lucy. All he was trying to do was respect Lucy’s dying wish and protect her from the Hudsons. I mean he was willing to go to prison for murder before admitting what happened on the bluffs that night, that should count for something.

Moving away from the Shakespearean levels of tragedy for a moment.

God I fucking KNEW Owen was shady I have known it since the beginning. Granted I do not have absolute confirmation yet BUT: him being in his car outside the Claw when he said he would be out of town, holding a piece of Lucy Sable’s skull? (As far as the skull goes though, loved that bit of Bess/George/Nick teamwork to casually hide it from the cops.) Creepy bastard, thy name is Owen. I have no idea how it will play out yet but I hope to God that it will. But also that is going to be a bit of a blow to Bess, finding out her cousin is whatever he is, and also Nancy who literally just had sex with him.

Speaking of.

Much as it pains me to admit, the writers are clearly taking several steps away from Nancy x Nick for the moment, probably to give Nick x George a fighting chance. Side question. Why is Nick sleeping on a couch when he has over four and a half million dollars? Like he could afford to build a house with that much money. But I digress. I think it will be good for George to have a love interest who is A her own age and B not married, especially someone who she already had a good friendship with. Maybe since Owen is a Confirmed Shady Motherfucker the writers will either keep Nancy single for awhile or pair her up with Ace because their chemistry is off the charts. And as long as we’re on the romance topic, Bess. BESS. My sweet queer daughter. Where are Lisbeth and Amaya? Last time we saw Lisbeth they admitted they were kind of falling in love and slept with each other, last (and first) time we saw Amaya I fell in love and she and Bess had more chemistry than a high school sophomore. GIVE ME MY ON SCREEN BESS ROMANCE DRAMA WRITERS. And am I the only one who finds it a little bit weird that Bess is apparently so good at other people’s relationships when she has never really had one before?

I’m going to take a quick minute to be sad about Nancy x Nick so if you don’t like that you can skip this paragraph. NED NICKERSON. How the FUCK can you be so totally fine with Nancy sleeping with Owen when you two are clearly soulmates and you never liked him anyway? After the inevitable Owen betrayal possibly one of two things will happen with Nancy. She will regress and start to push people (read: love interests) even further away than before, OR she will finally really start to open up to Nick and they will find their way back to each other. Admittedly the second one is unlikely since Nick and George literally just got together but you never know. Just as long as Nick doesn’t cheat on George with Nancy because those two are finally friends and are really good friends to boot, and also George deserves way better especially post Ryan Hudson affair debacle. Maybe she and Nancy can bond over having shady not good for them older boyfriends.

On the topic of Ryan being Nancy’s biological dad every time George complains about Nancy asking favors I want her response to be “you had sex with my dad” every time.

Now we will talk about the promo for the as of now untitled next episode and also what the rest of the season and possibly season 2 have planned.

In episode 17 Ryan will clearly be Going Through Some Stuff, and will also find out that Lucy was pregnant. Whether he realizes she had the baby or thinks it died with her remains to be determined, but that shot of Nancy with a busted lip and her hair cut off in a car being driven by Ryan makes me think maybe he snaps and kidnaps her? It’s a bit of a stretch but it would certainly be interesting. I think we’re also going to see more of the Aglaeca coming after Nancy for not paying the toll, because for a minute we can see Nancy sort of choking and putting her hand to her throat like she’s about to throw up again. Maybe it’s going to keep coming after Nancy until they finally let the Aglaeca have Owen, or maybe its going to try to kill Nancy as punishment for saving Owen. I don’t know but I can’t wait to find out.

For the rest of the season/next season there are a couple threads not related to Ryan finding out Nancy is his daughter. There’s the new detective but I’m not talking about him. Joshua Dude, Lucy’s brother. He is still out and about wherever he is, and does not know his sister killed herself. This will probably not exonerate Ryan in his mind as Ryan’s family is part of what drove Lucy to suicide. Maybe he will come back and decide to sort of take revenge on A the Hudsons or B the town of Horseshoe Bay as revenge for what they did to Lucy. (Sort of like the Black Hood from Riverdale but you know, well done.) There is also Everett Hudson. Last time I checked he had just been arrested for sinking the Bonny Scot and racketeering and insurance fraud and stuff, what the hell is he doing at a yacht club? I can only assume he got out on bail so maybe we will see Nancy (possibly together with Ryan) work to put him behind bars for good. Maybe Carson Drew will finally leverage some of that dirty laundry he has on the Hudsons, or better yet that Grecian urn thing Ryan has will finally be put to good use. And then in the future although there is zero proof of this I still want A for George to become clairvoyant/psychic like her mother and B for George and Bess to be cousins. I don’t think I’m asking for too much here.

Finally, because of how much of a staple character he is in the books I refuse to accept that Chief McGinnis is gone for good. My very being rebels against it. But before you scream at me about how different the show is from the books (those two or three of you who have read the books anyway) even if he were an original character I would want him to stay. He is a fantastic character, he was just starting to get depth, I adore his relationship with Ace and on top of everything else he’s good Native American representation.

I ALSO WANT VICTORIA TO COME BACK. I HAVE NOT SEEN HER SINCE 2019. WTF WRITERS. YOU CAN’T JUST MAKE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH A DYSFUNCTIONAL PSYCHIC ALCOHOLIC MOTHER LIKE THAT AND THEN ONLY PUT HER IN TWO EPISODES.

Dead Lucy should also continue to stick around, maybe she can teach Nancy how to hang from ceilings or they can bond over how much Everett Hudson Sucks. It’s just that Lucy spent all this time trying to show Nancy that she is her biological mother, and for her to move on after sticking around for 20 years right after Nancy learns the truth? It would be too - and I fully recognize I have used this word too many times but I am going to use it again - tragic.

The wait for April 8 is going to be an agony unlike any other but at least after it comes back there will only be six episodes left, and so it is very unlikely the show will go on another hiatus before the season is up. Let me know what you guys think will happen in season 2/the rest of season 1.

#Nancy Drew #Nancy Drew cw #George Fan #Bess Marvin #Lucy Sable #Dead Lucy #Ned Nickerson #the haunting of Nancy Drew #Ryan Hudson #Carson Drew #Nick x Nancy #Nick x George #Nancy x Owen #sorta Nancy x Ace #if you squint

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saiilorstars · 5 years ago

Text

The Girl in the Forest

Chapter 14: The Temptation

// Story Masterlist //

Fandom: The Originals

Pairings: Klaus Mikaelson x Original Female Character

Pronunciation of OC’s name: Ma-leh-nee

No real warnings for now!

Requested tag: @queenmj10

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Chapter Summary: Trying to get back to a normal life is getting far too challenging for Maleny, especially when she has some feelings she needs to work through.

A/N: A reminder that Maleny is back in her original body so her new face claim is the actress Angelique Boyer!

"You're not actually going to do this to me are you?" Maleny asked the dripping question of irritation. Her face contorted to pure annoyance as her gaze remained on Klaus who stood across her.

They were in a small room of the compound, one barely used and almost empty save for a table at one end. On that table were several forms of wooden stakes, ones that Klaus had placed himself.

He stood in front of the table, with his arms held out in the familiar Mikaelson way, showing he was very well going to make her do it, "I'm waiting, love."

"This is a complete waste of time," she declared and crossed her arms, refusing to move a step towards him.

"You said you wanted to avoid trouble and I can't very well have you running around without a clue of how to throw a punch at someone," he declared, still waiting for her to make a move. It'd been his idea to give her a proper training session, at least once every so often. If she was going to be escaping every time he told her to stay home she needed to know how to defend herself.

"Okaaay," Maleny drew out the word, "But this," her finger gestured between each other, "is a completely unfair practice round. You're a thousand years old and a hybrid with super strength meanwhile I'm a thousand in a mortal body. Show me where exactly I'm supposed to learn something here? How am I supposed to beat you?"

The last question made Klaus scoff, and earned himself a glare, "You're not here to win a battle against me. I'm an Original, with an extra, lethal, perk," he sent her a wink, "I am merely a..." he made a with a motion he was considering a choice of words, "...punching bag - a target. But I'm a difficult target that you..."

Maleny had her eyes narrowed down on him as he purposely trailed off, her tongue pushing against her teeth, "So...what you're saying is...I wouldn't be able to hit you?"

"Well..." Klaus took small steps towards her, "...it's like you said: I'm a thousand years old with super strength...quite strong..."

"Klaus, I swear to God this better not be one of your taunts," Maleny walked straight up to him, "I'm not an idiot."

"No, you're not," Klaus agreed with her quickly, remaining at ease despite her clear irritation for him.

"I'm not going to hit you," Maleny declared again, though she felt her hand already trying to form a fist instead.

"You couldn't even if you wanted to."

"I hit you before..."

"On the arm, my dear, and only because I allowed it so."

At this, Maleny growled and threw her first attempt of a punch across his face. Klaus easily grabbed her wrist and used it to turn her around, her back to him. She yelped as she felt her hand being forced against her back.

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

"Gonna have to do a little more than that, love," Klaus whispered in her ear, momentarily giving her a chill down her back.

At his laugh, she became even more annoyed and went for a second round. Upon being released she spun around and tried punching him again but he ducked just in time.

"Mal," he appeared bemused as he straightened up again, "were you actually going to punch me?"

By that time Maleny had worked up a breath, "I don't know..." she said in between her breathing, "...stand still and we'll find out."

"You were never this moody back in the village," Klaus remarked offhandedly.

Maleny gaped, "You are really screwing up today! This fight is completely unfair! I mean, who puts a human against a hybrid? I'd have a better chance against Cami! I don't understand-"

Klaus rolled his eyes and sped towards her, taking her up against the wall. Maleny ignored the clasp around her neck due to the brick harshly hitting the back of her head.

"Oow..." she shut her eyes at the terrible pain.

Alarmed by the fact he had actually hurt her, Klaus let her go and pulled her off the wall, "Mal? Maleny, are you alright?"

Maleny rubbed the back of her head, giving him a small nod, "I...I think so. But oh my God that hurts. I don't suppose you have ice?"

"I can...sure, yes, I can get some," Klaus hadn't even thought of using blood in his panic episode. He turned and headed towards the doors to get her the ice.

Maleny smirked and rushed to the table with the stakes, swiping one off the table and throwing it with all her might directly at Klaus. He stopped when he felt the stake embedded into his back. Though stunned, and frankly in pain, he turned to Maleny.

She stood straight, arms crossed, and with a smirk on her face, "I win."

"That's not winning, that's cheating," Klaus clarified as he pulled the stake from his back.

"I'm sorry, isn't that what you do? Use feelings to manipulate and win?"

Unamused, Klaus gave her a look, "Feigning a head injury will not win you a battle, Mal."

"I wasn't faking," Maleny rubbed her head once more as she walked towards the doors, "You owe me big for that one you stupid hybrid," she mumbled and left the room.

Anyone else might have died by that comment, but it being Maleny Klaus merely chuckled and went to retrieve the other stakes he'd left on the table. His mind was already setting up ideas on how to apologize for his apparent error.

~ 0 ~

In the lounge room, Cami was comfortably sat down, scribbling in her new journal. She was so focused until she sensed Maleny entering the room.

"Hey Mal," she looked up and blinked upon seeing the blonde with an ice pack behind her head, "What happened?"

Maleny groaned as she plopped down on the couch beside her, "Klaus had an idea," she grumbled, but Cami began to laugh. "Laugh it up, Camille O'Connell, laugh it up..."

Cami sobered slowly while the blonde rested her head on the couch, the ice pack in-between. "Is this how you two were in the past?"

Maleny scoffed, "No, in those days God forbid Maleny pick up a knife to defend herself."

"Aw, you were like Rapunzel locked in the tower," Cami nudged her, still in a teasing mode, "Let your hair grow out so you can play the part for real."

Maleny rolled her eyes, "You know, being a vampire has made you meaner. I thought hanging out with Elijah would make you more classy like he is."

Cami feigned offense and shut her journal, "Well, I never. I suppose this is the real you now, a hell of a lot more snappier than normal."

"I wasn't always this way," Maleny shrugged, tilting her head to glance at her cousin, "I had the good ole Mikaelson teachers. Finn taught me to tolerate those annoying people, Elijah taught me to be more refined and controlling, Klaus taught me how to talk back to those who thought they could wrong me, Kol taught me how to be mischievous and steal some good snacks, Rebekah taught me how to make sneaky excuses to sneak off," she cleared her throat when Cami smirked at the comment, "Not like that..."

"Yeah right," Cami waved her off, laughing once again.

"Oh shut up!" Maleny exclaimed, "Things are different now, I promise. Besides, I don't know who you're laughing at. I noticed you're closer to Elijah than I remember. Wanna talk about that, dear cousin?"

Now completely serious, Cami took her journal off her lap and stood up, "There is nothing there, I assure you."

Maleny took up Cami's teasing tone and said, "Yeah right!" as the blonde vampire made way for the doors.

"Shut up Maleny!"

Maleny laughed, "Oh c'mon, stay! We haven't talked in months and I heard you went looking for me right after you were turned. Thank you."

With a sigh, Cami turned back, wearing a light-hearted smile, "Don't thank me, I would've done it whether I was human or vampire. You're my cousin, I don't care if that was a lie a witch made up. You are my cousin and I love you."

Maleny reached a hand out for her cousin, unable to move just yet, "I love you too, Cami! And I'm really sorry being caught in a crossfire turned you into a vampire."

"It's actually great," Cami chuckled, having taken Maleny's hand, "I mean, once you get over the 'I'm dead' part, it's really nice. I have the entire world at my feet - I can go anywhere and do anything."

As she said those words, Maleny's smile faded and she turned her head to look away, "Yeah..."

"Don't get me wrong," Cami continued, too focused to notice Maleny yet, "Being killed by Genevieve wasn't exactly the perfect way to go...but then I got her back," she smirked, "Sent that bitch to hell...literally! But being this me is a little better. I'm happy."

"Good for you," Maleny said so quietly that made Cami finally look down at the blonde and see she looked almost discontent.

Cami let go of Maleny's hand and walked back to take her seat on the couch, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked about that." She should've known better than to talk about becoming a vampire around Maleny. That had been her one biggest desire as a human, and centuries later she still hadn't acquired it yet.

"No, don't feel bad," Maleny gave her a small smile, "I'm glad that turning didn't harm your personality. The only thing I wished was that you had turned by someone you knew and in much better circumstances."

As Maleny lifted her head, letting the ice-pack slowly drop, Cami reached and took it to place it down on the table in front of them. "I wish the same for you, Mal."

A resigned sigh escaped through Maleny's lips, "I don't see that happening anytime soon."

"Have you asked...?" Cami debated whether or not to finish her question with a specific person.

"I...don't know whether to ask about that or not," Maleny admitted, gently fixing her hair from the back, "Klaus and I, we're not...we're not exactly happy with our current conditions. I doubt asking him if he would even consider turning me could make anything better. And even if I did ask someone else, like Elijah, he wouldn't do it if Klaus didn't agree."

"There's always me," Cami weakly raised a hand.

"I don't want you getting into trouble with Elijah," Maleny patted her arm, "Hayley? I don't know...she probably wouldn't do if..." she made a motion with her hand, making Cami say simultaneously 'if Klaus didn't agree'

"So basically Klaus has to agree to this?" Cami asked, frowning, "That doesn't sound very fair."

"It's not just him," Maleny sighed and leaned back on the couch, "I don't know if...I want to turn. I mean, if I turned I want to know that I would have someone to spend eternity with. I don't want to be alone."

Cami would've scoffed and told her of course there was someone who would spend eternity with her if she just asked. But, she knew that Maleny was at a fragile point at the moment. She wasn't in a position to take those types of important decisions when she still had a curse to officially end. Cami also imagined Maleny had to clear her mind from all the lives she had lived as other people. She needed to figure out what it was she truly wanted before she turned.

"I don't know what may happen," Cami began softly, taking Maleny's hand, "But whatever you choose to be, you will always have me as your cousin."

Maleny smiled at that, "Thank you, Cami."

~ 0 ~

Hayley was busy munching on an apple whilst taking a walk around a long table full of more fruit and other various lunch meals. She heard footsteps coming in from the stairs.

"So, I take it your training session with Klaus went pretty well?" Hayley waved her bitten apple with a smirk, also winking.

Maleny ignored her blush and instead snapped, "You knew about that? I should kick your ass right here. My head still hurts."

"This is all pretty fresh," continued Hayley as she stirred a bowl of soup which was visibly warm, "Plus, I just saw a wicked piano upstairs that most certainly wasn't there yesterday."

Maleny blinked and looked up at second floor, almost as if she would see the new piano from where she stood, "For me?"

"I didn't know you played," Hayley remarked, still smirking, "I assume that was from Klaus."

"He's apologizing," Maleny smiled to herself before returning her gaze to Hayley, "I liked the musical instruments we had in our village. I never attempted to play until the piano was invented but I never really learned it all. But I can assure you that this," Maleny gestured to the table, "was not for me. There's no berries and Klaus knows I like berries," Hayley looked at the blonde with a looming tease, making Maleny deeply sigh, "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Hayley gripped the top of a chair whilst smirking, "So let me guess, you'd have romantic dinners like these?"

Maleny was not amused by the look on her face, "Be quiet."

Hayley, on the other hand, was having just a bit too much fun, "I'm not hearing a 'no'," she wagged a finger at Maleny and laughed.

Short tempered, Maleny grabbed a spoon and chucked it towards Hayley. Hayley easily stopped the spoon and set it down on the table again, "Gonna try a little a bit harder next time. Also, next time I'd go with the knife," she picked one up and pretended to model it for her, "It can do a little more damage than a spoon."

"You know just because you're all vampires doesn't mean I can't hit you one of these days," Maleny huffed and crossed her arms, "Oh, that reminds me, I know everyone in this place is a vampire so actual food isn't on your list anymore, but I could really use some."

"What's this?" Klaus came down the stairs to find the mysterious table of breakfast.

Hayley flashed a smirk to Maleny in warning of her next tease, "Maleny's present to you, of course," she told Klaus who quickly looked at Maleny in shock.

Maleny blushed and glared at Hayley, "Okay, Klaus, I know Hayley's the mother of your daughter but I'm gonna kill her."

Hayley bit into her apple, clearly satisfied with the results.

"Who's responsible for this?" Klaus asked once more, expecting the truth that time.

Hayley saw Elijah and Cami coming in from the streets and pointed at them, "This your work?" she pointed to the table.

"We've been out looking for the white oak stake," Cami explained, equally confused as Elijah once they saw the mysterious table of meals.

The silver lid on a platter on the table began rattling which left the group confused for a moment more. Klaus decided to be the one to reveal what laid underneath. He inched closer to the table and lifted the platter. As soon as he did two black starlings flew up, making everyone instinctively duck out of the way.

"What the hell was that?" Hayley stared up as the birds flew away.

Klaus found a white invitation sitting on the platter and picked it up, reading "Dinner, Your Home, 8PM," he looked up at the others, "An invitation from our mother."

That was a tactic no one was expecting.

~ 0 ~

Hayley laid flat on Klaus' bed whilst trying to keep her amused smile hidden as Klaus and Maleny angrily argued with each other once again. She'd really only came into the room to see how they would be dealing with Esther's 'invitation' and it seemed like Maleny had thought of the same thing since she came only two minutes after Hayley. But everything went wrong when Klaus told Maleny she would not be seeing Esther today as it was 'too dangerous for her human body'.

Shouting and disagreeing ensued afterwards.

"Are you seriously not going to let me see Esther?" Maleny had her arms crossed and half a room of distance between her and Klaus.

"You will see her, I assure you, but not today!" Klaus fired back, equally crossed as she was. Why couldn't she understand it was simply not the right time for her to meet Esther? Esther was full of tricks she could use at any moment, and since Maleny was the weakest out of everyone there had to be extra precautions.

"When?" Maleny challenged, "After you kill and bury her?"

"Well…" Klaus admitted with a sinister grin that wasn't a bad idea.

"This isn't a joke!" Maleny snapped.

"You're right, it isn't, so that's that then," Klaus waved a hand to dismiss the argument as he turned away.

Maleny blinked but quickly reacted and went to follow, "I am not finished!"

But Klaus turned back, more angry the topic was still being discussed, "This is more than finished-"

Hayley had heard enough, and frankly withstood enough, and sat upright, shouting, "Shut up the both of you!" and she quickly caught the two's attention, "Tell you what, Klaus, I'll take Mal and we'll both try to find a witch that can help us with your mother. Esther won't see her today."

While that mildly simmered Klaus' anger, Maleny grew even more furious, "Wow, it's like, when I speak, I'm on mute or something."

"Mal, stop," ordered Hayley who wasn't about to argue with her either.

"What's going on?" Cami entered the room looking pretty confused.

"I must say your shouts have gotten incredibly louder," remarked Elijah as he came in afterwards.

"Your brother!" Maleny gestured to the hybrid, "As always, he thinks I need to be babysat."

"You're a therapist, help them," Hayley told Cami, semi-mocking.

"I think we need to focus on Esther, don't we?" Cami looked around, "Arguments can be left for later."

"Quite right," Elijah agreed who went further into the room, "Esther's a master in the art of possession. We know whose body she currently inhabits. We must decipher her intentions before she finds a new host."

"Mal and I were going to get on that," Hayley explained, ignoring Maleny's glare.

"Since Davina's basically on the run I think it'll be far more difficult," the blonde added in and low mutter. Early in the day she'd went to go look for Davina, intending on discussing the fact the teen harbored the spirit of Mikael and possessed the white oak stake. But after several attempts, Maleny realized Davina had taken off.

"I told you that witch was no good," Klaus remarked but only tended to the fire more.

"Perhaps if you hadn't pushed her to that point she would've never done that," Maleny replied.

Hayley rolled her eyes and got up from the bed, "Well I've heard enough," she went over to Maleny, grabbing her by the arm, "We're going to find a witch."

"Actually," Elijah spoke up, "I was about to explain a little plan of mine for a witch. Cami and I have someone in mind."

At the mention of her name, Cami looked at him with blinking eyes, "We do?"

"We do," he smiled at her, "At the other side of the river, Marcel has made a couple of friends I'm sure could help us."

"Then see to it," Klaus said.

Elijah returned to Cami's side, "We'll be back," he told the others before dragging away a still confused Cami.

Hayley huffed and started taking Maleny towards the exit, "So we're going to have a drink," she announced, her voice challenging anyone to disagree with her.

Thankfully, Klaus felt better if Hayley was around Maleny so he let the two women go without a word of contradiction.

~ 0 ~

"I still don't get what I'm doing here," Cami repeated her statement for the third time since Elijah had brought them to the Algiers.

Elijah maintained his cool demeanor as they walked through the alley full of market stalls, "We need to find a witch, I told you."

"Right, but right now I think I can be more useful to my cousin."

"Actually, I would prefer if Maleny stayed with Hayley for the day."

The confession made Cami stop in her tracks, "Wh-why?"

Elijah stopped as well and sighed, "You saw how Hayley behaved throughout these months. She was a near savage, and with Maleny back for a couple of days it's caused so much progress."

It was then that Cami realized what was going on, "You're doing this for Hayley…" and for some reason, the thought made Cami slightly uncomfortable.

"She's had a difficult time," Elijah reminded, "I think that Maleny can help her, unlike us."

Cami sighed but had to agree. She did notice a radical change in Hayley and she supposed the woman did deserve some kind of peace in the meantime she had her daughter back. And so they continued to walk, now slightly less tensed, until they reached Marcel's loft.

Marcel was sorting through some books along with Gia, a newly turned woman Marcel was responsible for - or rather was pushing for Elijah to be.

Sensing their presence, Marcel lowered a book and turned around, "I wondered when you'd show up. Your pupil's waiting. it's not like you to shirk your responsibilities."

Elijah wearily looked at the dark-haired woman, "As you well know, she is not my... burden to bear. You turned her, you teach her."

Cami bit her lip as she watched a flash of hurt in Gia's face. The woman had no fault Marcel was trying to push her onto an Original. Sure, she turned by choice, but Cami doubted Gia was ever fully aware of Marcel's plan.

"Why'd you come?" asked Marcel.

"We're looking for a cooperative witch," Elijah answered.

"I don't know where Davina is, and given the fact that she's got your father on a leash, I wouldn't put her in the, uh, "cooperative" category-"

"Maybe another witch, then," Cami interrupted him, now eyeing Gia's hands.

Marcel lightly chuckled, "What makes you think I got another witch?"

"Well," Cami tilted her head with a fake smile, "The fact she has a new daylight ring is a dead ringer for a new witch."

Marcel saw an opportunity and snatched it, "Good point! My memory's a little shaky. Lucky for you, though, I know someone who can help! Gia?" with a sigh, Gia moved over to Marcel, "Why don't you take Elijah to meet our friend Lenore?"

Elijah glared at Marcel, his patience dangerously thinning, "If this is your idea of a joke, I can assure you I am not amused."

"Well, there's nothing funny about what's going on. Mikael's back, witches causing chaos. It just seems like you could use all the friends that you can get."

Elijah rolled his eyes and motioned for Cami it was time to go. Feeling awkward Cami shifted and went after the Original, a few seconds later a reluctant Gia doing the same.

~ 0 ~

While Hayley had opted for a needed drink at Rousseau's, Maleny ended up taking dragging her to a very different place. They were sitting outside a cafe, where Hayley did get her drink eventually. Maleny had, instead, a warm cup of coffee. As Hayley took repeated gulps of drinks, Maleny stirred her sugar blankly, her thoughts somewhere else.

"Okay," Hayley took a pause between drinks, "are you going to sit around and mope all day?"

Maleny raised her gaze to the brunette, still mildly distracted, "What?"

"I don't get it," Hayley flat out declared, her face seemingly trying to understand what she apparently was confused about.

"Don't get what?" Maleny tilted her head, leaving her spoon in her coffee.

"You," Hayley pointed, "and Klaus. What's the deal with you two? Isn't there some whole story behind your love or something?"

"You're forgetting that story is a tragic one where I died...over and over."

"But you're here-"

"Yeah, until someone finds my body and decides to use it for the curse again," Maleny's face contorted to that of the fear she'd been trying to hide, "Don't you see, Hayley? There is no time for love, or anything else, until I find the corpse and burn it."

Hayley remained silent for a minute or two, letting Maleny recollect herself, "Look, I know Klaus isn't going by this like you want him to, but he's just trying to protect you until were able to find the corpse. Believe me, I was under that game too when I was pregnant."

Maleny remembered the time very well, "Yeah, and then you died and became a hybrid. Is that what I need to do? Die and become a vampire so he'll stop trying to babysit me?" Hayley raised an eyebrow, silently questioning Maleny's outburst. Maleny sighed and returned to stirring her coffee, "I know he means well, and I appreciate it. I like that he cares, but…he can't tell me what to do. Especially when he knows what Esther did to me. I have to see her."

"And then what?" Hayley challenged.

Maleny rolled her eyes, seeing this would probably turn into another argument. "I need to see her, Hayley. Why can't anyone understand that?"

"I don't think you're understanding this," Hayley pointed at her. "I for once, agree with Klaus. I mean, do you know if you can actually die now? I mean, properly die?"

Maleny bit her lip, shaking her head, "No, I don't know."

"Okay, and I don't think you want to find out. Esther can torture you and and let us find out if you can. And, if it so happens you won't die, then you'll just endure immense pain over and over. Klaus just wants to avoid unnecessary complications."

"Amazing," Maleny sighed, looking to the side, "you're actually on his side."

"I want you alive, so yeah, I kind of am," Hayley lightly chuckled. She took a sip of her drink afterwards. "We love you, Mal. Don't forget that."

"Yeah, yeah," Maleny waved her off and decided to switch subjects, "I know you're only out here because Elijah passed you off. But just so you know, you're handling this a lot better than I thought you would."

Hayley tilted her head wearing a firm face, "Hey, why do you think that?" it was true, of course, but she didn't want others to know.

"I know you love him, Hayley, everyone knows."

At that, Hayley took a big gulp of her glass, "Loved," she corrected, "I was smitten, but after all this...it would never work. And I don't want it to."

"Is that why you stay away from Cami, though?" Maleny questioned, seeing Hayley tense up, "Because you're jealous it...might be working for them?"

Hayley stared at Maleny then sighed, "I don't have anything against your cousin," she truthfully said, "but...it's just a bit difficult right now to talk to her. If they want to start something, they can. I think she's so much more suited for Elijah. She's like him, in a way, and just because it didn't work for me and him then it doesn't mean I'll go furious if it works for them."

"That's very mature of you," Maleny blinked with genuine surprise.

Hayley smirked as she grabbed her glass again, "I'm a mom now, I have to be," Maleny chuckled as she reached to take Hayley's glass, "Hey!" Hayley frowned as the cup of coffee was slid over to her instead.

"Mom's tend not to drink a lot," Maleny then finished what was left of Hayley's drink, "and since I'm not a mom I can."

Hayley rolled her eyes and felt her pocket vibrate. She fished out her phone and read a text message from Olly.

"Something wrong?" Maleny noticed the air around them changed, and not for the best.

Hayley looked up, irritated, "We should get back to the compound. Klaus is gonna want to hear this," she waved the cellphone before it putting it back in her pocket.

Leaving the money for their drinks, the two women hurried back to give the news.

~ 0 ~

Gia was able to lead Elijah and Cami into the required witch's shop. Inside, a middle-aged woman named Lenore was grinding herbs in a mortar. When she felt the presence of the trio, she immediately ordered, "Go away, I'm busy."

"Yes, blatantly practicing magic, I see," Elijah sarcastically replied with, making the woman look up from her work.

"Herbal remedies for a neighbor who lost her insurance. But, my guess is an Original ain't here to talk neighborhood gossip."

"We have a favor to ask you."

Lenore rolled her eyes, "Quarter's crawling with witches, go ask one of them."

"There isn't time," Cami wearily told her, though knew she wouldn't get them anywhere.

Elijah took a discreeter tactic as he roamed a couple aisles in the shop, "It's unfortunate, isn't it? Bureaucracy has not been kind to your community. Those tax incentives on local businesses have been stalling for months. Of course, a persuasive person could potentially remove any red tape."

Cami smirked as the witch looked at them in full interest, "I'm listening."

"A certain someone- let's say a witch- has a troublesome tendency of jumping into other bodies. When she does so again, we would like to know into whom she jumps," and politely, he dropped a coin into the coin jar near the register.

Lenore, still rather unimpressed, monotonously explained, "Soul-branding. It's a sacrificial spell. I'm gonna need an item that's been spelled by the witch in question, and a python."

"We shall retrieve the enchanted item. Our partner will take care of the python," he gestured to poor Gia who'd been listening but not quite understanding.

"Ew, what?" she crinkled her nose at the implication.

Elijah turned to her, sounding almost patronizing when saying, "Second lesson of the day- acquisition through mind compulsion," and with that he walked out of the shop.

Cami nervously smiled at Gia, deciding just because Elijah wanted to be rude it didn't mean she had to follow his footsteps, "I can help," she offered herself up.

"Really?" Gia studied the blonde, having heard her story from Marcel and knew that this wasn't precisely the plan Marcel had in mind.

"Mhm," Cami nodded, still radically cheerful, "I mean, I've been a vampire myself for a couple of months but I have compulsion down pretty good."

"Well…" honestly, Gia didn't see another way around it.

"It's easy, c'mon," Cami took her by the arm and walked her out of the shop where Elijah had been waiting.

When he saw Cami with the new vampire, he raised a questioning eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

"Since you decided to be rude, I'm going to help her with the python."

"We have to acquire one of my mother's possessions," he reminded, rather irritated she was preferring to waste time with a woman they weren't responsible for, "We have to go, so let's," he motioned.

Cami thought he made it seem as if she were his follower or something, "No," she said before thinking clearly, "I will not."

"Excuse me?" Elijah stepped towards her, "Cami, this is no time to argue, time is precious-"

"You do what you have to," Cami snapped, "I'm going to help Gia whether you like it or not. We'll meet here afterwards. Call me if anything comes up," and with that she pulled Gia into a different direction.

Elijah glared but didn't insist. There was far more important things to do today and it didn't include arguing over unimportant things.

~ 0 ~

Klaus was dealing with the preparations of the dinner when Maleny and Hayley walked in, returning from their drinks out.

"So, I guess letting Oliver live paid off," Hayley announced and made Klaus turn around to see them entering, "He just informed me your mother has a partner-in-crime... another witch."

"Probably building alliances to kill you all," Maleny added, nowhere wanting to sound rude nor sarcastic, but it was the truth.

It didn't seem as if Klaus minded, he had something else in response, "There's something in the kitchen for you, Mal."

"Me?" the blonde pointed to herself, looking like a surprised child who'd been caught stealing a cookie.

"Special order," Klaus motioned for her to go see it.

"Well, okay then…" Maleny gave Hayley a confused face before walking away to see what her surprise was.

"So," Klaus then returned to the main problem at hand, "my mother has acquired a witch to aid her…"

Hayley nodded, "Why does she hate you so much, Klaus? She had six kids- it's not like she doesn't have the maternal gene."

"Seven, actually," Klaus corrected then quickly turned away and feigned interest in unfolded napkins, "And, I think at one time, she loved us very much. One died before I was born."

Hayley didn't mean to bring up what clearly seemed like a delicate topic, "I didn't know that."

"Years later, my brother Henrik was killed by the werewolves in our village. The loss of another child pushed my mother over the edge. So, she used her magic - along with Maleny's - to turn us into immortals. I think that's when she loved us the most. But, it was her undoing. It triggered a sequence of events that led to the reveal of her long-held secret ; my first kill of a random human triggered the curse of the werewolves. My birth father was the werewolf whose pack killed my little brother. Of course, when Mikael found out, he murdered my real father, and so, my mother lost her lover, too."

"Wow. No wonder she's crazy," Hayley whistled, "I'm out of my mind having just given away Hope... I can't imagine if she'd actually died.

"You know, my siblings used to tell each other she didn't hate us. She hated herself for what we've become," Klaus shared with her, the idea still troubling, "I think they believed that even after she tried to kill us all."

"What did you believe?" Hayley curiously wondered.

"I don't know. I just knew I wanted her dead."

"Well, every good story needs a wicked witch..."

"Are you guys insulting me?" Maleny came back into the courtyard distractedly munching on berries whilst holding a bowl full of more. "Because I prefer to be the nice little witch."

"Nice to see your self-esteem is still on point," Hayley playfully rolled her eyes at her and decided to go fetch herself another drink upstairs.

"You liked your surprise, I see," Klaus observed, seeing her happily nod in response.

"I haven't had berries in such a long time," Maleny chuckled and walked up to him, "Did you bring this in for me?"

"Sort of as an apology for earlier," Klaus admitted.

"Mmm, multiple apologies from you," Maleny bit her lip nervously, "I feel special today. Thank you."

"How's your head?" Klaus reached for her hair, gently touching where she'd hit her head. He was still incredibly guilty for his ridiculous mistake earlier. Part of the guilt came from his lack of memory. He wasn't used to dealing with people who weren't physically strong. Witches, for him, had been complete toys for his plots. He hadn't had the need for restraints anymore.

Maleny curiously watched him while he was in thought. "It's okay. I put ice and I feel good now. Especially with my gifts. I like this instead of arguing half the time with you."

"I dislike it myself too," Klaus sighed, "But you have to understand that out of everyone here, you're-"

"The weakest, yeah, I get it," Maleny rolled her eyes, wondering if that would become the motto every time they had this discussion.

"This is how we were before," Klaus reminded her, "and you know it. It's...it's like a default setting. Besides, with my mother around how do you think I feel knowing at any moment she could hurt you?"

Maleny couldn't help smile widely at all the concern she'd clearly underestimated, "Perhaps you should try trusting me a little more. I may not have all my power back but thanks to Isabelle and her coven I can defend myself. I told you, I did have earlier training too."

"I just don't want to take the chance," Klaus insisted, his voice unintentionally having gone softer, his hands reaching to rest on her arms.

Maleny suddenly found it difficult to swallow down her berry, "I, um, well…" she forced herself to stay calm even though the blue eyes she'd basically been charmed under for centuries were boring down into hers, "There will always be a chance as long as my corpse is still out there," she reminded, "It doesn't matter what Esther can do to me because someone else can do worse."

"Don't ask me not to care, Maleny," warned Klaus, "I didn't care about the city and it cost me my daughter. If I stop caring for you even for a minute then…"

Maleny raised an eyebrow, suddenly pieces falling in together, "Is that...is that what this is really about? You think what happened to your daughter can happen to me?" she sarcastically chuckled, "You think your actions of before will lead to the same thing for me again?"

Klaus stopped her and shook his head, "I chose to save Hope and left you, I forced myself to stop caring for you so that I could focus on saving Hope...and you were killed. I can't let that happen again - I won't."

Maleny smiled, pretty sure of herself, "It won't because I know you care for me. I know that I am important to everyone here and that is more than enough for me. And if the situation were to ever come up again, I would expect you to choose Hope over me in less than a second," she sternly warned him, "because that is what you must do, that is what you want to do and it's okay," she put her bowl of berries on a nearby table, "You don't have to feel guilty about it," she placed her hands on either side of his face, "I would never think you stopped caring for me because you chose your family over me."

"You are family," Klaus weakly argued.

"I may be, but you now have someone far more important than anyone else in this place: Hope. So please, stop with all this concern and fears for me. I will be just fine."

Klaus removed one of her hands and held it tightly in his, "No matter what, I will always strive to protect you," he gently kissed the back of her hand.

Maleny's breath hitched, thankfully lightly, and immediately sported a blush. She'd forgotten how easily she could be provoked by the man before her. Serving as a distraction, Elijah coming in cut through the moment. Maleny quickly returned to her bowl of berries and gave a sheepish smile to Klaus who'd been startled by the sudden movements.

"This looks good," Elijah remarked after studying the almost set table.

Maleny suddenly frowned upon seeing her cousin wasn't with him, "Where's Cami?"

There was a visible air of irritation around Elijah at the mention of the woman, "She decided to waste time," both Maleny and Klaus shared looks of confusion, "But we'll have the the spell," Elijah continued, "We just need something of mother's."

"I can take care of that," Klaus waved the problem off, "Of course I will need to give a visit to Marcel…"

"Then hurry," Elijah pressed, once again his irritation dripping in his tone.

Klaus made a face but decided to leave it for the time being. He turned to Maleny, wearing that firm face Maleny knew would once again tell her to stay put. Deciding to cut to the end, she raised a hand and spoke first, "Yeah, yeah, I'll be with Hayley," she dropped a berry into her mouth and smirked, "These could really go well with a drink…" she mumbled to herself as she went to go find Hayley.

Klaus watched her go fairly amused, and relieved. He then faced Elijah who was still pretty crossed, "Well, I've managed to fix my petty argument, will you?"

Elijah wasn't in the mood for his brother's sarcasm and so left without saying a word. Klaus gave off a chuckle before going on his way.

~ 0 ~

Gia and Marcel were discussing the matters of earlier events which Gia was blatantly accusing Marcel of being at fault of.

"A snake!" she plopped down on the couch, "That was my big lesson of the day. Snake-fetching. What a waste of time!"

Marcel laughed in amusement, "Hold on- you compelled yourself a snake?"

"No, I stole the damn thing!" Gia shook her head, feeling ridiculous, "Captain Condescension didn't feel the need to cover the mind-control chapter in today's lesson. I had to settle for his blonde friend to help me but in the end I got so stressed I just stole it."

"Blonde friend?" Marcel repeated, slowly understanding, "Ooh, you went out with Cami instead."

"She tried helping me, but I just didn't get it."

"Did you even try?"

"Yes," Gia said nearly certain until she gave up with a sigh, "No," Marcel tilted his head and pointed at her, "You said Elijah was going to be the one to teach me all this stuff, not his friend."

"Yeah, but, I didn't account for Cami," Marcel brought over some drinks and sat down on the couch with her, handing over a glass.

"Why Elijah? You want something from him, I just can't guess the reason why you'd think I'm the way to get it. If anything, you should ask the blonde."

"Actually, I want something for him, and it's the same thing I want for you."

"Which is what, exactly?"

"This. Us! Our new community! Look, I learned my lesson the hard way. You can't make your way in this town unless you got an Original looking out for you. Klaus is so fixated on those wolves, and Elijah's so wrapped up in centuries of his family's old crap that he can't see it. But, we need him. We need him to see us as family, too."

"I couldn't even get my own family to care about me. How am I supposed to win him over?"

"Like I said, I didn't account for Cami which was very stupid of me," Marcel took a drink, "Before Cami was turned she was almost going to graduate."

"Yeah, she mentioned that," Gia nodded.

"She liked helping people - that's what got her into this whole supernatural mess. And," he wagged a finger at Gia, "that's exactly what's going to get us an Original."

Gia stared at Marcel with confusion, "I'm not following."

"To get to Elijah, we'll get to Cami."

"Marcel, she was actually very nice and friendly. I don't wanna lie to her."

"Then don't, be a friend. That's all you need to be."

Gia considered his words as she leaned back on the couch and drank from her glass.

~ 0 ~

As Klaus and Elijah saw to the ends of the dinner preparations in the courtyard, Maleny and Hayley appeared at the rails upstairs.

"Guys," Maleny called, making the two men look up, "we have a problem."

"Marcel's witch is being held captive in the Quarter," Hayley announced, though no one seemed surprised of the news.

"Oh, perfect," Klaus rolled his eyes, "Mother's a step ahead, as usual."

"Oliver's with her. I'll go, and I'll get her to do the spell. But, I need the necklace," Hayley said as she went for the stairs, Maleny quickly following behind her.

"I'm coming too!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Of course you are," Hayley playfully rolled her eyes and stopped to allow the blonde to catch up with her. Being smaller meant smaller steps.

Klaus stared at the two with an uneasy look, "I don't like the idea-"

"I'm not going to be anywhere Esther like you wanted," Maleny cut him off, daring him to contradict himself. "I'm going to be far away with Hayley."

Klaus was at a loss of words knowing she was right. He hated when she twisted her words to favor her. With a small sigh, he pulled out the necklace he'd acquired from Marcel and held it over.

"I remember that," Maleny blinked at the familiar necklace, "Esther gave it to you…" and she then made a face, "Throw it out."

Hayley chuckled, "Let's just go."

"Wait," Elijah called, stopping the woman before they left, "Cami should still be around, she's with a woman named Gia. Ask for them. They have another ingredient needed."

"Why is Cami still over there again?" Maleny raised a questioning eyebrow at him, suspicious.

Elijah seemed to struggle answering even if the answer wasn't the complete truth, "We...had a disagreement."

"One that's kept her away all day?"

"Mal, isn't there a place you need to go to?"

Maleny raised her hands in defeat, "Yeah, okay. Save some of that for Esther though," she said before quickly rushing off with a dragged-off Hayley.

"Mal!" Elijah called after her, forgetting how sarcastic the woman often was. Beside him, Klaus was struggling to be calm about Maleny's remark. But it was just a little more difficult than he realized.

~ 0 ~

"Hey, Cami, when you get this, call me back okay?" Maleny left the phone message then hung up.

"Still nothing, huh?" Hayley asked as they entered the cemetery where Lenore was being kept.

"Nope," Maleny sighed and put away her phone, "I don't get how long stealing a python is supposed to take."

"Maybe she got held up, still, doesn't matter right now. We need to find Lenore first."

And so they found the crypt in which Oliver was holding Lenore. Hayley went straight inside and broke the chains binding Lenore.

"The python's here," Maleny frowned at the sight of the python wrapped around an hourglass, "So where's Cami?"

"They worked her over pretty good," Olly said as Hayley helped Lenore up.

"We need to get her out of here," Hayley announced which instantly put Olly into panic.

"Huh? Then what? They'll know that I let her go! Look, you asked me to infiltrate Cassie's coven, I'm not gonna blow my cover for some has-been hippie-witch!"

"That's rude," Maleny turned around, hands on hips.

"Well, it's the truth. How do I explain she got away?"

Maleny looked around then suddenly tipped over a book on a table, "You were assaulted," she announced calmly, "You can tell Esther - I mean, Cassie - that Lenore got rescued by her people."

"But we need to make it convincing," Hayley added.

Oliver glared at her, "Let me guess, you, uh, wanna beat the hell out of me? Make it look convincing?"

Hayley cheerily smiled, "Well, I can't say I wouldn't enjoy it!"

Oliver hung his head, still rather amused, "Okay, just... just not the face, okay?"

Hayley nodded in agreement and went to do the job. Maleny flinched with each punch Oliver took and had to admit she did feel kind of bad when the man fell to the ground unconscious.

Lenore had watched the entire thing in silence, feeling a mixture of confusion and horror. Hayley noticed both stares of the women and sighed, "He'll be okay, I promise," she told them.

Lenore slowly walked up to the two women, "What's your dog in this fight? You're not a Mikaelson."

"She is," Hayley nodded towards Maleny who quickly responded with a 'Hey!' in return.

"I am not," the blonde corrected.

"You're practically in a relationship with Klaus," Hayley accused with a smug smile.

"Says the woman who had his child and lives under the same roof with him," Maleny crossed her arms. Meanwhile, Lenore's confusion and horror only increased with each fire. Maleny noticed that and quickly tried mending, "This isn't as creepy as it sounds."

"I'm sure," Lenore weakly nodded.

Hayley let the whole thing go and focused on the important thing, "Listen, can we do this spell, or not?"

"After what that bitch and her lackey did to me? I'll do any spell that you want!" Lenore declared and walked out of the crypt with a huff.

Before Hayley followed, Maleny elbowed her in the ribs, "Seriously? 'Almost in a relationship'?"

Hayley rubbed her side and muttered, "You are."

"Which is the same thing I could say to you about Elijah."

"That was in the past," Hayley quickly pointed.

"So was mine!"

For a moment there was silence them broke out laughter.

"Maybe this is a little creepy," Maleny scratched her head, "I think we would make a really good reality show."

"Oh yeah," Hayley sarcastically smiled, "The vampires who can't die, the woman that's cursed, the hybrid who got pregnant by another hybrid, and the almost vampire therapist...yup, sign me up."

Maleny shook her head, "Let's just go before it gets worse," she swung an arm around Hayley's shoulders and finally went to follow Lenore.

Upon arriving at the store, Lenore quickly got to work. She set up a new Cauldron on the counter and was handed the bag of the python.

"So, will this take long?" Hayley asked, letting her impatience drip on her words.

"You want me to soul-brand the resurrected spirit of a thousand-year-old witch? It's best I take my time and do it right," but Lenore stopped momentarily to look at Hayley, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. No one should ever have to lose a child."

Hayley grimly agreed, "No. No one should."

Lenore then lighted a bundle of sage, "You have the talisman?" Hayley handed over the necklace Klaus had given them.

Maleny began curiously taking a closer look at the spell Lenore was conducting, "So, how will this spell work, exactly? You brand Esther with the spell, and then what?"

"Aren't you a witch?" Lenore asked, having sensed that earlier.

Maleny sadly smiled at the woman, "Let's just say my practicing days have been minimized. So, the spell?"

"The next time Esther jumps into a body, she'll be marked with a distinctive symbol on the back of her hand. This way, you'll always know who she is."

Hayley sighed, "We still don't know why she's here. When Esther held you captive, did she give you any idea why she's doing all this?"

Lenore surprisingly answered gravely serious, "Love!"

Maleny stepped back, concerned for the woman, "They must have hit you real hard at the head."

"What besides love can inspire such pain and cruelty? And Esther?"

"Esther a sadistic woman who does everything she does in the name of love," Maleny crossed her arms, "even when she wants to kill her children."

Lenore cut open the python to drop its insides into the cauldron, "Her love is very, very strong."

"Say what you want but that woman is worse than the devil," Maleny raised her hands and returned to Hayley's side.

They proceeded to watch the spell be finished. But as soon as Lenore did the spell, she fell forwards on the counter. It appeared she'd passed out. Maleny and Hayley exchanged concerned glances before Hayley stepped forwards and reached to wake her. Lenore came around just seconds before Hayley touched her and slowly stood straight again.

Maleny noticed the unusual confusion that flashed through Lenore's eyes, "Are you okay?"

"Yes…" but even the voice was kind of off.

"You sure?" Hayley asked next.

"Just getting my bearings…" Lenore promised but she lifted her hand and displayed a triskelion brand on the back of her hand, giving away her real identity.

Horrified, Maleny yanked Hayley back, "One step ahead of yes indeed," the blonde scowled.

Lenore, or Esther, looked down at her new body and finally felt together to start a very important conversation, "Maleny, so good to see you-"

"Don't-" Maleny violently pointed at her, "-don't you say my name you thief."

"Thief?" Esther blinked, momentarily puzzled on the meaning behind the word, "Why am I thief? I've never taken anything from-" she then realized what Maleny had meant and laughed, apparently amused at the accusation, "Your magic, I see. We were passed this, Maleny. Has the amnesia riled you up again?" she lifted an eyebrow and tilted her head, "We were alright, don't you remember?"

"I remember perfectly," Maleny gritted her teeth, "and while I was...civil with you, I was never content with you. I hate you - no, I despise you."

Esther didn't take that lightly as she straightened up, a momentary flash of anger in her eyes, "I was your mother-"

"You were never my mother!" Maleny snapped, so frustrated she didn't feel Hayley's hand on her arm stopping her from getting closer, "My mother died and you mentored me, that's all. My mother was Abigail, and she died."

Hayley was ready to attack at any moment, or at least get them out of there but she knew Maleny needed this moment to be well again. Hayley then felt her phone vibrate and the other two women heard its ringtone.

"Go ahead," Esther peered around Maleny, "You can answer it."

Hayley quickly answered the phone, "Elijah? We're at Lenore's shop-" but Esther cut off the connection after that.

"They're going to come for us," Maleny promised the woman.

Esther smiled softly at her, as if no disagreements had occurred only minutes ago, "My darling, Maleny, that's been the idea all along. You think I don't know Niklaus would come running for you?"

"What the hell do you want from us?" Hayley stepped forwards to stand beside Maleny.

"It's so lovely to finally meet you, Hayley," Esther returned to her soft voice, "It's really nice to have you both here," she gestured to Maleny.

"Wish we could say the same," Maleny muttered, crossing her arms.

"Although, Maleny," Esther's eyes lingered on the blonde woman with what Maleny would call a knowing smile, "I understand your presence with us is not...permanent?" the blonde stiffened, "The curse is not over and I know very well you can disappear at any moment."

"Oh, so you kept your tabs on me, I feel so special," Maleny rolled her eyes.

"Maleny, what ever feelings you have towards me know that I still love you as if you were one of my daughters."

Hayley scoffed loudly and mumbled, "Oh please."

As if to prove her wrong, Esther blurted, "I protected Maleny from the other side," that left both women stunned and frozen, "It's because of me the witches of this Quarter didn't perceive Maleny as a threat. I helped Davina to save Maleny in the cemetery. All this time," she went around the counter, making Maleny and Hayley step back, "I have been looking after you, don't you see?" she asked Maleny, "I only want to help."

"And what's your plan now, then?" Hayley demanded, "To 'help' us? We don't need your help."

"I understand Maleny is in search of her previous body's corpse and I can provide the needs for you to successfully break the curse for good."

"You can help me find my body?" Maleny asked, admittedly a little curious to see what the woman had to offer.

"Mal," Hayley whispered, hoping the blonde wasn't really going to fall for what ever tricks Esther had planned.

"What I want is to free you all," Esther announced, "The gift of a new body. Freedom from being a hybrid," she pointed at Hayley, "and freedom of being vampires of course. But Maleny is already closer, she only needs to burn the corpse of her last body."

"I don't...I don't understand…" Maleny glanced to Hayley, searching for an opinion the brunette had. However, when she felt hands over her shoulders she snapped her gaze back upfront and saw Esther.

"I have the ability to return to all of you to that you have lost," Esther continued her offer which she knew was sounding tempting, "To make it so that you could have families of your own. Wouldn't that be nice, Maleny?" she pushed some blonde hair over Maleny's shoulder, "Settle down and have children with my son?"

Maleny bit the inside of her cheek to prevent real emotions from becoming visible. Her mind was scrambled with the question, her heart racing with indecision.

"Leave her alone," Hayley hissed, moving to get Maleny away but Esther had the offer extended over.

"Hayley, this is a marvelous offer for you as well," Esther looked at her without letting go of Maleny, "You can be free and start your family away from all this supernatural nonsense."

"You can't come in here with nice words and expect us to love you," Maleny muttered, still staring hard at the witch.

"Take this as my seeking for forgiveness, because I have wronged you," Esther sadly smiled at her, "I can help you find your last corpse and end this curse. Once that happens, I can free Niklaus from being the monster he is and you two can finally live happily together."

"You have really built that fantasy into your mind, haven't you?" Maleny blinked, "There are no happily every after's in this world, Esther."

At that moment, Klaus and Elijah arrived at the shop. The first thing Klaus saw was his mother standing far too close to Maleny and rushed over. He yanked Maleny back with an arm around her waist and let it stay there, "I assume you've had the misfortune of speaking to my mother?"

"Unfortunately," Maleny mumbled, unconsciously leaning closer to him.

Esther picked up powder from the counter and flung it towards the group, creating an invisible barrier to protect herself from them.

"You hide behind your spells like a coward!" angry, Klaus shouted but his mother remained calm. She instead picked up more of the powder and threw it towards Elijah's side and stopped him from moving.

"I did not come here to wage war!" she told them all, but of course no one believed her.

"Everything you do is an act of war," Elijah snapped.

"I have come to heal our family, Elijah. My intent was never to harm! Only to heal, as I have already healed your brothers Finn and Kol. For you, I will undo everything that has been done, thereby giving you a new life! One without the vampire curse I inflicted upon you," she began waving her hand over the cauldron, causing the ground underneath them to violently shake, "Ask Maleny and Hayley to share with you two my loving proposition - ah," she raised a finger at Maleny, "and tell your lovely cousin, Camille, the offer extends to her as well."

At the mention of her cousin, Maleny lost it and charged for Esther but Klaus held her back with ease, "You leave Cami out of this! Don't say her name!" she angrily shouted.

The ground, and now the entire shop rumbled with whatever Esther was conjuring up, "There will come a time, my darlings, that you will beg for it!" she promised them.

The glass of the shop shattered inwards, making the group take cover as hundreds of starlings rushed into the shop. Esther took that precise moment to make her escape.

~ 0 ~

Later that night, Maleny had been preparing to go to sleep and simply put to rest all those ridiculous thoughts Esther had put into her mind. She changed into pajamas - a yellow blouse with thin straps and brown shorts - and set herself right to sleep. However, it was easier said than done. Her mind wouldn't leave her alone, and eventually, to distract herself, she opted for a snack. So, there she was in the barely used kitchen of the compound ransacking the place for needed food. Opening drawers and cabinets (which she couldn't really reach all the time) she found nothing.

"I am grocery shopping before I die of starvation," she mumbled to herself before climbing over the counter to check the last cabinet's top shelf. "Success!" she cheered after seeing a box of cookies. But when she pulled it out and saw they were just salted crackers, she wasn't that excited anymore. Glumly, she got comfortable on the counter and began eating.

She wasn't even tasting the cracker, merely acting like a machine crushing things. Her thoughts were scrambled and it was difficult putting them back where they belonged. The sound of her cellphone's ringtone did pull her back to the present, but it confused her because she was pretty sure she left it in her bedroom before coming downstairs. She had a conversation with Isabelle earlier that did not end so well and was partly the reason she couldn't find sleep.

The ringtone stopped and a couple minutes later, Klaus entered the room waving the phone at her. "So, Isabelle Collins and I agree that my mother is completely awful."

"You answered my phone!?" Maleny scrunched her nose and harshly bit into her cracker.

"It was left unattended. And the incessant ringing bothered me," Klaus came up to her and handed her the phone back. She took it and sighed, placing it down on the counter beside her. "She also mentioned your temptation for my mother's offer...?"

Under his questioning look, Maleny looked down, "If you had heard what she told me..."

"Hayley told me she offered to put us all in new bodies to live again," Klaus said for her, his tone letting her know he was already irritated with her. "And now I see you're actually thinking about it."

Maleny understood Hayley had spared him the whole ordeal of starting families and relieving the curse. She internally thanked her for that, she much rather preferred to do it herself, "She knows how to end my curse, Klaus. She knows how to find my corpse - or at least that's what I think she meant."

"Think?" Klaus moved in front of her, doing his best to not shout at her, "Do you even hear yourself?"

"Yes!" Maleny exclaimed, "And I'm sorry, but after a long time, it's...kind of impossible," she finished in a quiet tone.

"What exactly did she tell you?" Klaus inquired, knowing his mother had to have said something extra for Maleny after so long a time.

"Well," Maleny looked up from her lap, "First of all, she's the ancestor who's been 'looking out for me'...she's been protecting me from the other side."

"Not likely. She wanted to kill Hope if you recall."

"I know, and that makes thing worse for me, okay? I'm a nobody to this family and yet she chose me over her own grandchild," Maleny said, her tone implying she was still full of guilt. Due to it, her gaze fell back down again.

"You're never a nobody to this family," Klaus corrected and with a finger under her chin, he raised her head, "You are one of us, always have been, always will be."

Maleny contemplated his words' meaning, wondering if there was a double meaning he meant with it, "...she said she would help me find my corpse and end the curse, then...she would put you in a new body and we would be…" she bit her lip, finding it difficult to continue with a warm blush on her face.

"What?" Klaus motioned her to keep going, slightly impatient.

Maleny sighed and finally said it in one go, "She said we could start a family together...with...with kids of our own," she nervously scratched her cheek as she waited for Klaus to respond to that.

Klaus remained silent for a couple of seconds as he processed this...offer. He couldn't say to himself that he never thought about that before becoming a vampire. He had loved Maleny so much back then that he imagined that perfectly, honestly. It would always be an unfulfilled desire.

"Say something please," Maleny begged in a whisper, squirming on her spot on the counter.

Klaus cleared his throat, for the first time actually feeling nervous, "I, um, I think…" he sighed and decided to just speak the truth with her, "I think it doesn't matter what we think anymore. What's done is done, what can't happen, will never happen."

Maleny nodded, "You see how that offer can be tempting, then? To anyone who's gone through what I have, through what Hayley has, it's going to make them think."

"What about you, though? What did you think about it? Why was it tempting?"

Maleny knew what he was trying to get at discreetly and had to smile, "It doesn't matter, as you said. Things may not be perfect at the moment, but I want nothing from that woman. The idea of everyone being placed into new body...you being in a new body…" she made a face and shook her head, causing Klaus to chuckle, "...not gonna work for me."

Klaus took pleasure hearing that statement. With a smirk, he leaned closer to her, his hands on either side of her, "Care to explain the reasons?"

Maleny instantly blushed, having realized how that sounded, "W-we...we...we have more important things to worry about!" she stuttered to say all in one go, "Esther is a menace that cannot be left breathing. To think," she bitterly laughed, "in her delusional mind, this is all your fault. She's an awful woman and mother."

There, Klaus could not disagree. He took a long breath as he moved away from her, turning away, "She's always lied to us," he said quietly, "She lied to me...and made me weak."

Intrigued, Maleny curiously asked, "What do you mean?"

"You remember the starling necklace? I thought it was a special gift from her as a child, something to give me courage...but in reality, it only made me weak."

"What...what do you mean? She...she cast a spell on it?"

"The necklace was meant to make me weak so that I would never trigger the curse," Klaus bitterly explained, his fist balling up, "She made me weak, and thus hated by my father."

Maleny's brows furrowed together, confused, "But...you weren't weak - far from it. You were always strong, the most fierce out of your family if I have anything to say about that...though perhaps I'm a little biased," she pulled out another cracker from the box and grinned as he turned back to her, "That necklace didn't do anything to you. I mean, has there ever been anyone who stood up against you and lived?"

"You when you were angry," Klaus said without thought and made her laugh.

"Very funny," she later scolded, "I don't count. I was..."

"Special," Klaus finished for her, seeing how the word took her aback almost immediately, "You were special - are special," he corrected himself.

"Well, I don't…" Maleny started playing with a strand of her hair, avoiding his look, "...I don't think there's anything special about me besides the fact I'm cursed."

"If you choose to believe that then I will be highly offended," Klaus warned, and Maleny couldn't figure out if he was playing or not. She looked at him and displayed her confusion, "I think over the centuries I have proven that you were and are special."

Maleny began smiling as she remembered all his gimmicks from the past, "You paraded me around like some trophy, that's not being special…" yet she couldn't quite believe that.

"I'm sorry, love, but those were the times back then," Klaus excused himself with a crooked smirk that made her roll her eyes. He reached for her hand that'd been playing with her hair and leaned closer to her, "Though you can't say I didn't treat you well. If anything, I treated you like a Queen."

Maleny blushed as he kissed the back of her hand, his eyes always remaining on hers, "I know…" she whispered, sucking in a breath, "...and I always felt like one."

It was during those moments she was inclined to fall back on her previous feelings, the feelings she knew were still there only hidden behind a veil. There had been moments since she woke up in her original body, she admitted, where she wondered if perhaps she could find someone else to be with, to love. They were abrupt thoughts but it did make her curious. And yet, in moments like these, where she had Klaus that close to her, those thoughts were thrown out the window.

"Mal," Klaus spoke in a hushed tone but still managed to break through Maleny's thoughts, "what you said the first night you returned, does that...does that still stand?"

Maleny lifted an eyebrow, her mind racing back to her first night back in the Quarter, "Um...a bit more specific on the 'what' part would be nice."

"The part where you said you didn't know about 'us'. Do you still mean that?"

"Well…" Maleny bit her lip as she tried to think coherently under his hard gaze, "...um, I'm still...um...I don't think...I don't...I don't know," she felt horrible saying that, "Because, because things are so different from what they were back then. Things have changed. I no longer need protecting 24/7 and I don't want it to keep being a problem. Look at us, we've been arguing more than what we used to back in the village. I am not the same and...part of me wants to explore what that side has to offer for me."

"And I no longer fit into that world," Klaus assumed and quickly dropped her hand, meaning to leave when Maleny called after him.

"I want you there," she said sadly, "I do. And, maybe one day we can have a relationship, but when that happens you have to see me as I am now and not who I used to be. I am not Maya, I am not Cordelia, I am not the trophy Queen I was in the past. I am me, this me," she gestured to herself. "This me that will run every time you tell me to stay home...this me that's far more filled with problems..."

"You think those details will cut up my affection for you?" Klaus frowned, looking (and sounding) offended by the insinuation.

"Well...it might. What if when we are together you realize that I've changed so much you're not really content anymore? What if those feelings you had...vanish?"

"You can keep talking, you can keep saying all these things that are simply excuses, but your actions will speak far louder than your words," Klaus came back to her in a quick stride.

"What are you-"

Klaus yanked her forwards, abruptly kissing her. He easily slid her off the counter, and when she was on her feet he pressed her against it. There was no resistance - she gave in mere seconds after he initiated the kiss. She raised her hands to rest them on his arms, temporarily forgetting what point she'd been trying to make. So when he pulled away, it took her quite some time to gather her bearings.

"You can throw the excuses as many times as you want but I know you down to the core, Maleny Rowan. Your 'actions' have spoken far louder, don't you think?" Klaus asked, but really did not intend an answer he quickly continued, "The first time we kissed you didn't seem so confused, and now here we are. Your excuses are, frankly, offensive. I can't understand why you're building up layers. But, by all means, feel free to use this," he pointed between them, "as another of your excuses. My anger, my misunderstanding, anything just so that you won't have to make that decision. Oh, and look at that, here's another excuse you're welcome to use," he started backtracking towards out of the room, "...my leaving."

Maleny opened her mouth to tell him to come back but the words wouldn't come out. Instead she was forced to watch him leave angrily, probably a new level of anger he'd reached because of her. Minutes after the fiasco had finished, Hayley stopped by and leaned on the doorway, "Okay...I really was not trying to eavesdrop…" she began sheepishly and Maleny let out a deep, irritated sigh.

~ 0 ~

Hayley had taken Maleny out to the downstairs living room for them to have a drink and talk. She was sure Klaus had left the building to go brood somewhere else - and probably take out his anger on someone...but she wouldn't tell Maleny that one. She already had enough to deal with. Maleny sat on the couch, silently staring ahead as she thought over all that had been said and done.

"Okay," Hayley walked over holding two bourbon drinks in her hands, "so you want to tell me why you're making all this more difficult than it needs to be?"

Maleny looked up at the brunette, her mouth half-open in shock, "You're...you're taking his side? That's twice today, Hayley!"

"No," Hayley handed her the drink and took a seat beside her, calmly correcting her, "It just so happens that this time round I think Klaus is right...again."

Maleny blinked and looked down at her glass, "But I...I'm not…I am not making excuses."

"Maybe not intentionally," Hayley agreed with a shrug, something Maleny still didn't like, "But you kind of are, sorry."

"I-I'm not," Maleny insisted as Hayley took a drink of her glass, "I meant what I said."

"Mal, you helped me when you first go back so now I'm gonna do the same for you because miraculously there is hope for Klaus to get the girl."

"Oh, so now I'm just part of a story for someone else? No, no thank you!" Maleny shook her head, "If that's it, then there is definitely no chance of me getting together with him."

"There you go," Hayley pointed at the blonde, like she'd been expecting that type of response. Maleny looked at her, confused, "You just made another excuse," Hayley explained and took another drink, "It's like a reflex or something…"

"I...I'm not," Maleny took a big drink from her glass, swallowing it all down, "I…" she stopped and bit her lip as she considered, "...am I?"

"Let's think about this, shall we?" Hayley shifted so that her back was leaned against the couch. She crossed her legs and started thinking, "Apparently after you kissed the first time - and thanks for sharing that with me by the way," she sent Maleny a mocking glare which had Maleny sheepishly smiling for it, "You told him you weren't sure of a relationships because you preferred to wait for the curse to be over."

"And I stand by that," Maleny quickly said, "It's just a safety net. What if at one point I get sent back into the cycle and Klaus has to live with the fact I'm gone again? I don't want to do that to him."

"Okay, but tonight you added that you were afraid that because you changed so much you were afraid Klaus wouldn't feel the same way about you anymore..." Hayley pointed at Maleny as she recalled.

"Because it's true…" Maleny said weakly, "I'm not the same person anymore..."

"Also understandable," Hayley nodded but continued nonetheless, "However you then added the cheap excuse-"

"Hey," Maleny frowned, slightly offended but Hayley chuckled and went on.

"You said you wanted to see what your new self had to offer..."

"That's…" Maleny's eyes drifted to the side, about to come up with something else when it hit her, "...ooh," she went in a whisper.

Hayley drank more from her glass, half a smirk on her face, "You want to know what I think? I think you're just afraid."

"Afraid?" Maleny glanced at the brunette curiously, hoping for it to be explained.

"Mal," Hayley leaned towards her with a small smile, "being honest here, just between us," she motioned with her finger, "answer me this and be completely honest: do you or do you not love Klaus?"

Maleny's immediate response was to turn her head away, her hand once again nervously scratching her cheek, "Um, well…"

Hayley raised one eyebrow, "Mal?"

"The whole thing...it's just...hard…" Maleny ignored the call of her name and coughed awkwardly.

"Mal?" Hayley tried again, her voice taking on an edgy tone.

"I mean, the whole cycle of this love story is...it's…"

"Mal?" Hayley raised her voice and finally made Maleny look back at her, "Do you?"

Maleny released a tiny sigh, her fingers fiddling with her hair and her eyes intently staring at them, "Yes," she meekly answered. Hayley smirked as she saw the crimson blush taking over the blonde's face.

"So if you do, and Klaus does - because he clearly does - then what's the problem here?" Hayley motioned with a hand for Maleny to think for a bit.

"I'm…" Maleny made a face of guilt, "...afraid."

"Thank you," Hayley swayed her head, "You're afraid so that's why you keep making excuses. Now tell me, what exactly are you afraid of here?"

"I'm afraid...that…" Maleny paused for a moment, staring at her fingers which again fiddled with her hair, "because I'm different now."

"Ah, so that's the excuse that actually was real," Hayley playfully rolled her eyes.

"It's not an excuse," Maleny weakly argued. "I'm rightfully scared that Klaus won't love me anymore."

"Oh, Mal. You've changed with each body you inhabited and what happened? Nothing. The story just repeated itself: he fell for you, you fell for him."

"But he's so angry with me right now," Maleny bit her lip, "And I'm scared. How do I stop being scared?"

"That's just something you'll have to get over," Hayley shrugged, "And I'm sure it will pass once you realize that everything is going to be okay."

Maleny considered Hayley's words and leaned back on the couch, lowering her glass to her lap, "Thanks, Hayley," she looked at her brunette friend with a small smile, "It's good to talk it out with someone."

"Hey, you were there for me it's only fair I'm here for you," Hayley nudged the blonde, "Besides, us supernatural women have to keep together."

Maleny chuckled and got comfortable on her spot, now enjoying her drink, "More than that, we're like best friends."

"Ooh, the first witch friend I know for a fact won't kill me," Hayley also got comfortable and raised her feet over the table in front of them.

Maleny threw her head back as she laughed again, "You're an idiot!"

"At least I'm not a lovestruck idiot!"

"Hey!"

Hayley made a face as she slowly took a drink again.

As the two continued to chat and laugh, neither of them realized Cami had been in the compound. She'd been coming back after a long day, planning on telling Maleny where she'd gotten into since Maleny had left a dozen voicemails. But now Cami felt like Maleny had forgotten her, clearly more interested in her new best friend. Quietly, she hurried back out to the streets, her destination slightly unsure of.

~ 0 ~

The new vampire Gia was having a drink at the bar counter when she saw Cami come take a seat on the stool beside her, "You again?" Gia blinked, "You realize that cousin of yours is looking for you right? Not to mention your boyfriend in the suit."

"Bourbon, please," the blonde told the bartender before glancing at Gia, "He's not my boyfriend," she corrected then sighed, "And Maleny is pretty busy with her friend...and family, I guess."

She was well aware of the happenings of today with Esther and the Mikaelsons'. She'd gotten a voicemail from Elijah warning her to stay away from the cemetery and Lenore the witch who was Esther in disguise.

"So why exactly are you here again?" Gia inquired, "Not that I don't want you here, I mean...you're kinda cool."

That made Cami smile and look down, "You know how I mentioned that I almost graduated earlier in the year?" Gia nodded, "I went back today to the university and...got myself enrolled again."

"So you're going to become a psychologist now? For real?"

"Hopefully," Cami took her drink from the bartender and immediately drank down.

"And you're gonna get drunk to celebrate?" Gia blinked at the rapidness Cami took her drink down, "Not very psychologist-y."

Cami playfully rolled her eyes, "I'm blowing off steam."

"Steam as in your family problems? Because let me tell you, those Mikaelsons' are one hell of a horror story," Gia made a face and actually caused Cami to laugh, "Marcel's told me all about them and frankly I wonder how the hell has he survived so much of them."

"Because he's one of them," Cami blurted without thought, triggering more thoughts, "...just like Hayley is...and Maleny."

Gia noticed the softness in Cami's voice when speaking about Maleny, "...and you?" she added.

Cami looked at Gia with a sad smile, "I'm just the human that got in the way and accidentally got killed. I'm disposable to that family."

"Are you sure?" Gia thought back to Elijah who she was pretty sure saw her more than something 'disposable'.

"My only job since I've turned has been to find my cousin and now that I have...I've got nothing. All I do is follow Elijah around and-"

"Spend time with each other," Gia shrugged as she took another drink, "Kinda what couples do."

"We're not together," Cami repeated with a huff.

"Yeah," Gia scoffed, "Okay."

Cami mockingly-glared at the woman, "I came here because I thought we could actually be friends. Was I wrong?"

"Nah," Gia cooly said as she put down her glass, "Ever since I turned I haven't really made any real friends."

"Well then," Cami held her hand out, "Let's start over again and act like we didn't meet because we needed spell ingredients. I'm Cami."

Slowly, Gia took her hand and shook it, "Gia."

Cami widely smiled and returned to her glass, "So Gia, tell me more about yourself…"

#klaus mikaelson #the originals #ocappreciation #ocapp #tvd #klaus mikaelson imagines #the originals imagines #klaus mikaelson fics #the originals fics #oc: Maleny Rowan #fic: the girl in the forest #Camille O'Connell #elijah mikaelson #hayley marshall #marcel gerard #noblecrescentedit

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queer-cosette · 5 years ago

Text

Coco Writes

OK, so I know I’m not always great about summarising my fics on here; I usually just post links. But here is a masterpost of all my fics!

Les Miserables

The Leader And The Cynic

Rated T

1/1 chapter; 1226 words

Summary:

A series of moments from the relationship of Enjolras and Grantaire. Because now my happiness depends on the happiness of fictional revolutionaries. Modern AU

Read on FF.net

Series - On Se Sent Comme Par Magie

The Destiny Of Cosette

Rated T

No Archive Warnings Apply

22/22 chapters; 88,475 words

Summary:

Cosette is an ordinary Parisian teenager - until one day, she stumbles across a powerful Faery being attacked by an ogre! And when she inadvertently uses magic to protect the Faery, Enjolras, she realises that she’s maybe not as normal as she thought. Enjolras invites her to attend Faery school in another dimension with him, where they become friends with three other faeries - Courfeyrac, Jehan and Éponine - and form Les Amis. But all is not well in the Magic Dimension -

What’s the deal with Grantaire, Marius, Bahorel and Combeferre - four cute wizards from another school?

What are Patron-Minette - a trio of witches - planning?

And who is Fantine, the mysterious Nymph who keeps appearing in Cosette’s dreams?

Read on AO3

The Shadow Phoenix

Rated T

No Archive Warnings Apply

26/26 chapters; 165,435 words

Summary:

Les Amis start their second year at Musain College for Faeries, and right off the bat, strange things begin happening in the Magic Dimension. Musichetta, a water Faery, arrives at the school begging for help to rescue her friends, the Piskies, and Patron-Minette have busted out of rehabilitation with the help of a strange skeletal knight - who matches Musichetta’s description of the Piskies’ kidnapper. With the help of Musichetta, Feuilly - a Wizard and new member of Les Amis -, and Professor Mabeuf, the wise new philosophy teacher, this year promises to be as exciting as the last!

Read on AO3

The Warlock Of The Flame

Rated T

Major Character Death

18/25 chapters; 122,516 words

Summary:

Cosette’s life is going great! With Lord Méchant defeated, her final year at Musain College for Faeries is going to be normal (for once); her relationship with Marius is going spectacularly (and it looks like there’s a proposal in the pipeline!); and there’s nothing to suggest that the Magical Dimension is in any danger. But then news of something horrible happening on Musichetta’s home planet reaches the ears of Les Amis - and according to Headmaster Myriel, there’s only one Warlock who could have caused it. As Cosette and her friends face off with the culprit, it becomes more and more apparent that his true nature and past are darker than any of them could have imagined...

Read on AO3

***

Total Drama

Dear Diary

Rated M

Major Character Death, Reference To Eating Disorders and Attempted/Implied Sexual Assault

9/? chapters; 27,617 words

Summary:

"Dear Diary - My teen angst bullshit now has a body count."

Heather Chandler. Gwen Duke. Lindsay McNamara. Courtney Sawyer. Together they make up the most powerful clique at Westerburg High. Most people would die to get into it.

Courtney would kill to get out of it.

Enter Duncan Dean. He has a way with women, a way with words, and a very special way with a gun.

"It's God versus my boyfriend, and God's losing..."

Read on AO3

Read on FF.net

A Little Fall Of Rain

Rated T

Major Character Death

1/1 chapter; 663 words

Summary:

In the midst of the July Uprising, Gwen Thénardier takes a bullet for long time friend Duncan Pontmercy, despite his love for Courtney and his obliviousness towards her feelings for him. Gwen as Éponine, Duncan as Marius. Based off the scene in the musical. I don't own TDI or Les Mis. Warning: Character Death.

Read on FF.net

Freak Out, Let It Go

Rated K+ (G for AO3 users)

1/1 chapter; 271 words

Summary:

Alternatively called ‘What Happens When I listen To Avril Lavigne For Three Hours Straight’. One-shot starring our favourite crazy redhead. Enjoy.

Read on FF.net

Bubblegum Bitch

Rated T

1/1 chapter; 539 words

Summary:

Heather is shiny and perfect on the outside, but on the inside she's a backstabbing user - a mess.

Read on FF.net

I Wish

Rated T

Implied Character Death

1/1 chapter; 357 words

Summary:

When Courtney doesn't show up after TDWT's finale, Duncan does some serious thinking about the past.

Read on FF.net

***

Miraculous Ladybug

mArinette

Rated T

No Archive Warnings Apply

7/8 chapters

Summary:

Marinette tells a lie. A pretty big lie. And soon one lie turns into another, and before she knows it, she's going out of her way to keep the lie going.

When Lila lies, it's sloppy. But Marinette's lie is all too believable.

At least no one else is getting hurt by her lie.

But Marinette's about to find out how hard it is to be known as the school slut.

An Easy A AU.

Read on AO3

Series - A Miraculous Musical

Cute Boys With Short Haircuts

Rated G

No Archive Warnings Apply

1/1 chapter

Summary:

Marinette sees Adrien and Kagami kissing and jumps to conclusions. Hurt and upset, she heads up to her balcony to do the one thing that cheers her up: singing a really angsty song.

Adrien had nothing to do with the kiss. He just wants to ask Marinette out. He passes her balcony as Chat Noir and hears the most beautiful singing voice... but the song is so sad. And then he sticks around just a little too long, and catches sight of something he shouldn't have...

Read on AO3

Act One: Whalesong

Rated T

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

2/? chapters

Summary:

Marinette's family receives tragic news, and suddenly her cousin becomes her roommate. With her only possessions being a small suitcase of clothes and a bizarre hair-clip, anyone connected to María Sugrue-Dupain begins to become infected with some sort of singing virus - in which they have no choice but to sing about their problems. Ms Bustier, ever resourceful, takes the opportunity to direct the class in a production of the musical 'Heathers', and there is drama on-stage and off it.

But why does the singing virus exist at all? Why is Gabriel Agreste suddenly so interested in Adrien's schoolmates? And seriously, is Nathalie OK? The Gorilla wants to know if he should call someone. Should he call someone?

Read on AO3

Series - Let Me Be Loved

More Adventurous

Rated G

No Archive Warnings Apply

1/1 chapter

Summary:

"And it's only doubts that we're counting On fingers broken long ago. I read with every broken heart We should become more adventurous..."

As Marinette sings at a Kitty Section concert, Adrien starts to notice her in a new light. Unfortunately, he's too late, even if he's not quite sure what he's too late for.

100% inspired by 'More Adventurous' by Rilo Kiley

Read on AO3

***

Equestria Girls

Dazzlings

Rated M

Contains Major Character Death, Reference To Eating Disorders and Attempted/Implied Sexual Assault

13/13 chapters

Summary:

"Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw! Nancy Drew is onto you, Sunset."

Sunset Shimmer wished she was popular, and she became popular -

And suddenly she wished she wasn’t popular.

When Sunset is faced with a fate seemingly worse than death, mysterious new kid Flash Sentry suggests she take matters into her own hands and use drain cleaner, Ich Lüge bullets, and adult ignorance to make the world a better place.

But is his vision of a world without bullies really worth the cost?

Read on AO3

Read on FF.net

***

Original Work

Our Relationship Was A Rainbow

Rated T

No Archive Warnings Apply

1/1 chapter

Summary:

An original piece following the course of a relationship that in spite of glowing all the colours of the rainbow, ended grey and cloudy.

Read on AO3

An Anthology Of Verse, written by a traumatised (yet certified) idiot

Rated G

No Archive Warnings Apply

2/? chapters

Summary:

I asked my followers on Tumblr if they'd be interested in reading some of my original poetry if I posted it here. Four likes and a comment saying "Yes please!!" is more than good enough for me. I hope you enjoy it!

(Note: A lot of this was initially written a few years ago - or even longer. Some of it has - naturally - been edited since my initial draft, but some of it may have a different style to my more recent writing.)

(Another Note: I will be posting new poems as they come to me, or I rediscover them. I will also update tags as I go.)

Read on Ao3

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sleepyfan-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Family Secrets

Discord request fill! Continuation of this.

ES!IBVS is by @onebizarrekai

characters and pairing: Nevin Jovel, Isaac Beamer, Edward Quinton, Drew Jovel, Grandma Jovel, Nevaacward

warnings: none

word count: 2,035

summary: After everyone is in the right body, Grandma Jovel explains some things to Drew and Nevin.

tagslist: @anxiety-is-married-to-depression @angelofthehalfmoon @trainwreck-of-skeletons @hisame-amadashi @therandomskelekey @capisnotonfire

“You… You have magic, grandma?” Nevin asks, his eyes huge. Drew looks just as confused as he feels. He’d thought that he had to hide his new nature from both his grandma and Drew in order to protect them - he didn’t want any of this supernatural crap causing them problems as it had for him… But apparently grandma had magic… And a lot of it, if the silent, amazed and/or slightly terrified staring that his boyfriends were doing was any indication.

“Yes, moonlight.” She said with a fond smile, chuckling a little bit as she walked over and gently ruffled his hair “I had originally planned on telling the two of you about the magic that you two possess and what it all means on your sixteenth birthday - as your powers would have fully awakened then, but… You were bitten by a vampire, and I have been trying to figure out how to speak to you both about that for months without you fleeing. This whole body-swap thing was quite helpful in that, although I do not know who cursed you.”

“Uhm… Nev’s been what?!” Drew spluttered, his eyes widening in worry as he runs over to his twin brother, hugging the other tightly “Does that mean that you need to drink blood? I’m guessing that’s why you suddenly only drink lunch from that mysterious stainless steel thermos of yours.”

“I… Yeah. I just… I didn’t want you to worry, and we’re not supposed to talk about this stuff to normal humans and I… I wanted to protect you.” Nevin admitted quietly.

Drew scowled a little and huffed at that - he hated that answer. But he also understood that Secrets were important “Fine… You know I would have helped you, if I’d have known about this earlier, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Nevin sighed, a small smile appearing on his face. He felt better, now that the secret that he’d been keeping from his family was out in the open. He felt… Lighter and calmer. “So what’s this about magic? I’m completely comfortable about talking about these things in front of Ed and Isaac - unless it’s some sort of family secret that must not be revealed to others sort of thing, even to other magical beings?”

“If you truly do trust them, you may tell them later. But, I would rather tell the two of you of your birthright and what that means privately. It will make more sense once I have explained all that I can.” His grandma responded with a gentle, but firm smile “Besides, those two should probably head home and reassure their families that they are themselves again. The fighting between werewolf packs and vampire clans haven’t been bloody in decade, but still…. Old hurts and suspicions still linger, though it does warm my heart to see young ones like the three of you loving and caring for one another without reservation or fear.”

Edward and Isaac both blushed at that and nodded. Isaac is the first to speak up “Alright, Mrs. Jovel. We’ll go. See you later, Nev!” The two of them got up and left the Jovels’ place, heading to their respective homes, very curious about what they’d just discovered about their boyfriend’s family,

“Please sit down both of you, this is going to be a long conversation - but a good one, or so I hope.” Their grandma encourages the two teens. Drew settles down on the couch next to his brother, and the two of them lean into one another a little. She smiled a bit at that, clearing her throat, before saying “First thing’s first - if asked by other magical beings, I and other members of our clan generally either pretend to be unknown humans, or if we were seen using magic, claim to be either mages or witches. That is a lie, but one that has been very helpful in keeping us safe, and not being bothered or hunted by those who would terrorize us into submission, or kill us as our powers offend them.”

Nevin and Drew both tensed at that, pressing a little bit closer to one another, and Nevin’s eyes narrowed a little, as a low growl rumbled in his chest. Like hell was he going to let anyone hurt his brother.

“I am glad that the two of you understand the seriousness of this. Now, we are not mages nor are we witches. We are emotion elementals.” Their grandmother explains, confusing both of them “We have human-like forms, as it is easiest to blend in with such forms, and our spirits are far less prone to being captured and either sealed into various objects or gemstones to power certain kinds of weapons or defensive structures, when we inhabit a physical form. Twins are extremely rare and… I am sorry for the pressure that your mother put on the both of you when you were younger. As soon as I found out that the two of you were twins and what was going on, I took the two of you away from most of our clan.” She paused for a couple of moments, a sorrowful look on her face.

Drew shifted a little and asked quietly “Why… Why did they seem to expect so much out of the two of us? I mean, we weren’t the oldest nor the youngest of us and our cousins… So why did we… Were we watched so closely?” and why was Nevin in particular focused so intensely on, scrutinized and scolded for every perceived thing that he did wrong - whether he did it or not. Among other things.

“Because… You two may be the reincarnations of the leaders of our clan. They were a pair of twins as well. The two of you share have the potential to share quite a few of their powers. Their names were Nightmare and Dream Nightmare fell into the darker side of his powers and caused a great deal of chaos and suffering, though he was doing what he thought was best to protect everyone... Eventually Dream and he ended up in a climactic battle that ended up killing the both of them.” Their grandmother explained with a quiet sigh.

“... Don’t your friends and sometimes your boyfriends call you Nightmare, Nev?” Drew asked quietly, his eyes widening a little bit. There was something… Awfully familiar about what she was telling them, btough he’d never heard of any of it before now. At least… Not in this life. But it explained the nightmares that he occasionally had.

“Yeah, they do…And our friends also call you Dream from time to time. But that doesn’t mean that we’re the reincarnations of those people.” Nevin huffed, hugging his brother closer “No matter how we argue, I’d never hurt you seriously, much less kill you.”

“Neither would I hurt or… K-Kill you…” Drew responded back, hugging Nevin back tighter, tears in his eyes at the thought. Both of the twins shuddered and hugged each other tightly.

“Even if you are their reincarnations, the actions of what your spirit did in a past life does not affect what you will do in this one.” Grandma responded firmly, a determined expression appearing on her face. She sighed for a moment “However, there is a way to check to see if you are their reincarnations. The clan will want to have the two of you trained in how to use your powers and for the leadership of our clan - and perhaps to see if the two of you can lead our clan to greater political promince and other such nonsense, but that is not something I feel that either of you should be forced to do. The two of you show great promise and could be quite powerful, but no matter who you might have been… I love you both. And I will love, care for and protect you both to the best of my abilities, while encouraging each of you to be the best version of who you want to be, not who others may wish or expect for you to be.” She stopped talking for a little while, for which both of the twins were grateful, as they processed the information that she’d given them.

Drew fidged a little with his hands, before asking quietly “You said that there was a test to see if we’re the reincarnations of these past leaders? What… What is it?”

Nevin was curious as well and murmured “Would anyone else in our… Clan? As you called it? Be able to perform this test, or is it something specific?”

Their grandma sighed, and answered “You would need to be able to open and wear… Something. I will bring the boxes out.” She responded. She got up and walked out of the room, before returning with two applewood boxes with brass latches and hinges. On the lids of the boxes was the symbol of a massive apple tree. On the face of one of the boxes was the symbol of a stylized star, the other a crescent moon.

Drew and Nevin froze for a moment as she set the boxes on the coffee table in front of the both of them. Drew reached for the box with the sun symbol, while Nevin reached for the box with the crescent moon. The latches opened without any effort and without meaning too, the twins grabbed the golden circlets inside of them, putting them on. They then grabbed the robes - violet and gold for Nevin, bright blue and gold for Drew. The two of them got up and left the room in a daze, blinking as they changed in two different bathrooms.

Nevin stared at himself through the mirror - the cloth felt so familiar to him. Light, yet impossibly heavy. For a brief moment, his eyes glowed a bright cyan and he swore that he could see a pitch-black, shadowy figure looming behind him, reaching out for him…. Nevin ran out of the bathroom without a second glance, and nearly collided into Drew, who tackled him as Nevin fled all the way back to their grandmother, carrying his twin brother in his arms.

Drew meanwhile… He had stared in shock at the surprisingly elegant robes that he was in - as well as the yellow cape that he was wearing. A sudden wave of worry for Nevin had hit him and he’d sprinted straight for where he knew Nevin was changing, utterly certain that the other was in danger. Once the two of them reached their grandma however, the feeling of danger and fear passed, and both of the twins were calm again.

Their grandma looked at the both of them, a soft sigh leaving her before she walked towards the both of them, wrapping her sweet grandbabies up in a tight hug “I had hoped to avoid this for a little while longer. But this is your birthright. Do you wish to know more, or would you rather wait and process what I’ve told you?”

Nevin and Drew glance at one another before answering at the same time “Could you please hold off on further explanation for a little while? It’s a lot to take in.”

She smiles kindly at both of them and nods, hugging them closer to her “Of course.” They hug their grandma and one another until Nevin’’s cellphone goes off.

It’s his boyfriends, who are reminding him of the date that they’d agreed to in a couple of hours, asking if he was still going to come. Nevin hesitated for a moment, but both Drew and their grandma encouraged him to answer with what he wanted to do, so he texted back [can we reschedule? Grandma gave me a lot of info and I’m trying to process it all. Not sure how much more stuff I can process today.]

Isaac answered first [no prob - my mom is threatening to keep me in the house for the rest of the day anyways.]

Edward answered a couple of seconds later [that’s fine - I can’t imagine how all of this must feel. Love you, Nev. Love you, Ink.]

Nevin smiled a little and texted [thanks. I love you both.]. He’s not sure what all of this might mean, but the texts from his boyfriends had helped him feel a bit more grounded.

#ES!IBVS #esibvs errinkmare #nevaacward #nevin jovel #Isaac beamer #Edward quinton #drew jovel #grandma jovel #my writing

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glassrain · 5 years ago

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Alright, so. Personal-ish story and Prayer Request.

There’s this little boy that I know, let’s call him Drew (not his real name), and he’s about 6 years old. I used to work with him on Wednesday nights at church, and he was one of the sweetest little boys you could ever meet. There’s a little girl about four years old that he would look after, holding her hand and playing with her and making sure to explain to others, “It’s okay if she isn’t talking right now - she’s shy.” Sharp as a tack. Had this smile that stretched across his entire face, big cheesy adorable grin that was so bright it could light up a dark room.

He stopped attending church a few months ago, despite the fact that his aunt and uncle (who he was living with) were both amazing people and very steady attenders. And so, I’m going to share a little bit of his story and request prayers for this sweet little boy.

Until his aunt and uncle took him in, Drew's childhood was terrible. This couple first took him in because a policeman found him and his father begging for money on the street - they didn’t have any food, and Drew was barefoot - and he was taken from his father and then was passed around by several family members who all ultimately gave him up because they found his too unreasonable to manage. His father had been unable to provide for Drew properly because he was mentally unstable, and unfit to take someone into his care. Drew’s mother was addicted to meth and also neglected him while she’d had custody, and there had been some fighting between the parents over Drew, to the point where on of his parents began referring to him by his middle name in order to hide him from the other parent. Drew had also stayed some time with his grandmother, who may have been physically abusive as well as neglectful.

Until he was taken in by this couple at my church, Drew had grown up on a steady stream of R-rated movies and M-rated video games. While I’d never heard it, he apparently swore quite heavily for a 6-year-old. He’d never been to school before.

This couple that I know wanted very much to help Drew when they stepped up and became his foster parents. But there were many, many complications that cropped up. The system, first and foremost. The system in Michigan is (from the report these people have given to me, though I’ll admit that I have no personal experience to call on) terrible. There was no urgency to put Drew in a good home, everything took very long to finally work its way through. Also, the courts were more interested in reuniting the original family unit then they were in placing Drew in a healthy, stable home. Which is absurd when you consider his original living conditions.

Also, being in the foster system, this older couple found themselves handcuffed in terms of punishments/dealing with his more physical reactions to his upbringing. Spankings were off the table, of course. They were also unable to restrain him properly (such as hugging him close so he can’t lash out) when he was reacting violently to circumstances he didn’t like. (I remember once my younger brother was supposed to babysit for an evening while this couple went out on a date. However, when Drew realized that they were going to leave, he began shouting and battering his head against a wall. Needless to say, they didn’t go out that night) They were allowed to give him time-outs or restrictions, but these punishments held very little effect on him. He wouldn’t stay in time-outs, and blatantly ignored restrictions on games or sweets, and again reacted violently when the matter was pressed, which these two were not allowed to respond to properly. Due to his status as a ward of the State there was very little this couple could do to enforce their rules.

They tried to look into Christian counseling for him. They’d found a counselor they liked and trusted, but that fell though and Drew couldn’t get the help he needed from her. I don’t remember all the details and explanations, but I do know that it once again had something to do with Drew’s status as a ward of the State.

Drew is such a good, sweet kid. He really is (or he was, last I saw of him, and I’m sure that hasn’t changed). But he started acting out at school. He’d grow physically violent with the other children. He’d threaten to kill the workers and staff. It got bad, very bad, until he was finally expelled. He also lashed out at his aunt and uncle, and even attempted to set the house on fire, perhaps to burn it down. Clearly, this child has developed a ton of unhealthy behaviors and mindsets, and is reacting to the abuses he suffered. It breaks my heart.

He also is street smart. Growing up the way he did, I’m not surprised. He knew how to lie to the social workers, he knew how to work the system to get what he wanted out of his guardians, to back them into corners.

The clincher came when the aunt’s health started failing, and they felt that they God was leading them to let him go.

Drew is back in the system, properly, and has home-hopped once or twice in the past few months - families who tried to take him in but found that they didn’t know how to properly handle the baggage he came with. Furthermore, while this couple at my church very much wants to keep seeing him, they are forbidden to for two weeks after he has been relocated, so visitations have been broken at best. At the moment, Drew is at a Methodist Boy’s Home, but one of his cousins is working to take him into her home right now.

Please, if you can, pray for Drew. He’s been through so much, and it’s not going to get any better any time soon if he can’t settle someplace and really begin to heal from everything he’s suffered through. All of this is terrible for him and he needs God’s protection, guidance and healing. So please, please pray for Drew.

#personal story #prayer request #important #Very important #please pray

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pika-ace · 6 years ago

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ITH Wolf Children AU of the AU: Ruben

Special request by @kikabennet as she got all into this AU version of my ITH Wolf Children AU where Ruben was involved in the plot somehow and it was a blast to write.

(Also if you haven’t already, I suggest reading the original fic I wrote first for some context if you want it)

Also quick heads up as ages are a bit different; Usnavi’s in his mid twenties and Sonny’s between 8-10

Enjoy!

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed in the night sky as rain poured down. Ruben’s sneakers were soaked as he ran through puddles of water and mud, not caring that his feet were starting to freeze from the late fall air. He shoved aside branches and leaves as he ran, not caring where he was going, as long as it was away. Away from that place, away from…him.

Ruben’s head pounded, his body begging him to stop and rest. He had been running a fever for about a week now. This storm was undoubtedly going to make it worse, but Ruben shockingly didn’t care.

Tears blurred his vision as the combined physical and mental pain currently flowing through him was almost too much to bear. He had finally escaped, only to wind up lost and alone in the mountains during a storm. Was it too much to ask to have some good luck for once?!

Ruben sucked in a breath as he felt his foot dip down and his ankle twist, sending him sprawling onto the muddy ground. Ruben coughed and groaned as he tried to get up, but just…couldn’t. He was too tired. Guess that was wishful thinking.

Ruben’s head lay heavily on the ground as he felt his body shut down. This was it; he was going to die alone and forgotten and without a body for anyone to find. No better than how Ian had described it.

Through his fading vision Ruben saw two gleaming eyes cutting through the darkness, staring at him. The eyes stared and slowly drew closer, revealing a snout and two pointy ears.

Darkness took him.

Sonny stared at the man that lay before him. He had never seen any other humans on this mountain alone. Usually it was just him, Usnavi, or his friends, no one else.

Sonny moved forward and nudged the man’s arm with his nose. He transformed back and poked him. “Um…hello?” He called. “Are you alive?” The man didn’t respond. Sonny got closer and his ears picked up a distinct thumping noise in his chest.

The man still didn’t move. He couldn’t just lie out here in the rain! He could get sick! And Sonny was already late getting home; Usnavi wasn’t going to be happy that he was out in the rain. But he was helping someone; Usnavi would understand.

Usnavi wrung his hands as he stood by the back door, waiting for Sonny. He had called him back a while ago, and shortly after the rain had started. It usually only took Sonny about ten minutes to come when he called up the mountain for him, but the deadline had already passed. He just hoped Sonny wasn’t stuck in the rain. His fears diminished the moment he saw the brown wolf emerging from the trees but didn’t notice he was walking backwards and a bit slower than usual.

Usnavi grabbed an umbrella and hurried out to him. “Sonny, for god sakes, you had me worried, do you know how…late…” Usnavi trailed off as he saw Sonny and what he was dragging. Sonny had the back of the figure’s shirt in his mouth and it was filthy from Sonny dragging him across the muddy ground.

“Sonny…” Usnavi said warningly, expecting the worst.

“I found him, Navi!” Sonny said. “He wasn’t moving but his heart is thumping and he was too heavy to pick up!” Usnavi would have deflated in relief, but there was still the matter of this guy being a complete stranger. Usnavi hadn’t seen this guy around the barrio or Sonny’s school, and there was also the matter of why he was in the mountains.

“Are we gonna help him, Navi?” Sonny asked. “He feels sick.”

“Sick?” Usnavi asked.

“His face was warm on my nose,” Sonny clarified.

Usnavi looked down at the man again, feeling guilt gnaw at him. “…Sonny hold my umbrella while I carry him.” Sonny obeyed, transforming back into a human and taking the umbrella. Usnavi got the man’s arm around his shoulder and wrapped his arm around his back.

Sonny held the umbrella as best he could as Usnavi hobbled into the house. Once they were inside, Sonny helped his cousin bring the man to their bathroom upstairs to clean him up.

“Where’s he gonna sleep?” Sonny asked. They didn’t have a guest room, only their separate rooms.

“Let’s have him sleep in your bed,” Usnavi said. “Then you can sleep with me.”

“Why my bed?” Sonny whined.

“Because your bed is too small to fit both of us and you know I can’t sleep on the couch,” Usnavi responded. That couch was murder on his back, and if he wanted to tend to the fields, he needed a real bed.

“Okay…” Sonny sighed with a small pout.

Warmth. Soft pillows. Blankets. He was definitely dead. Perhaps those eyes he saw belonged to Death itself, coming to take him. Now he didn’t want to open his eyes.

Ruben grimaced as light burned his eyelids, prodding him to wake up, so he reluctantly did so. He blinked at the ceiling above him and looked around. He tried to move his head, but that proved painful.

Wait…pain? So…he wasn’t dead? Then again, he doubted Heaven would look like a kid’s bedroom. Ruben blinked…what the fu-

“You ARE alive!”

Ruben sucked in a breath and flinched as a mop of curly hair over a pair of bright brown eyes peeked up at him from the side of his bed.

“You slept a long time!” The boy said. “I wish I could sleep that long!” The boy then blinked, “Oh! Navi told me to get him when you woke up!” The boy scampered out of the room and Ruben heard him calling for ‘Navi’. Where the hell was he?

A few moments later, the boy reentered the room, followed by a young man that bore a bit of a resemblance to him.

“Hey…” The man said, walking towards him, the boy bouncing excitedly behind him. “You feeling okay?”

“W…Where…?” Ruben croaked.

The man quickly moved to the bedside table where some medicine and a glass of water was waiting. “Here, this should help…” Ruben allowed the man to feed him the medicine and water. “You’re at our house; my cousin here found you in the mountains.” He gestured to the boy.

The boy climbed onto his bed, mindful of his cousin’s warning to be careful. “My name’s Sonny, what’s yours?” He asked. With the way he was on all fours and staring at him, Ruben could almost see him as a dog wagging his tail.

“R…Ruben…” He managed softly.

“Ruben,” Sonny repeated.

“Well, I’m Usnavi,” The man said. “You…think you can tell us why you were up in the mountains in the rain?”

If Ruben had more strength he probably would have flinched visibly. “I…I was…running…”

Sonny tilted his head, “Running from what?”

“I-I got lost,” Ruben suddenly blurted out, trying to drive the conversation away from his memories. “I didn’t realize how sick I was so…”

“Well, where did you come from?” Usnavi asked.

“Um…I lived in Philadelphia…”

“Lived?” Sonny asked, catching the past tense. He had just started learning it in school. “Do you not live there anymore?”

“N-No…” Ruben shivered. “S-Something…happened…”

“What happened?” Sonny pressed, moving closer.

“Something bad,” Ruben answered quickly.

“How bad?”

“Sonny,” Usnavi said sharply and the boy retreated, looking at him with surprised eyes from the tone. “If he doesn’t wanna tell us, he doesn’t have to.”

“Okay…”

Ruben deflated in relief as Sonny jumped off the bed. Hopefully this wouldn’t make him look too suspicious. “You feel up to eating anything?” Usnavi asked. “It’s almost lunchtime.”

“Lunchtime!” Sonny lit up, bouncing slightly. Ruben felt a smile at his face from the boy’s enthusiasm and slightly nodded.

“What are we having, Navi?” Sonny asked.

“I was thinking Abuela’s famous soup,” Usnavi answered.

“That…sounds nice…” Ruben responded.

“Soup it is,” Usnavi nodded. “Wanna help, Sonny?”

“Yeah!” The two walked out of the room. Ruben still didn’t know where he was but at this point, he was just focused on getting some decent food for a change.

Sonny watched Usnavi intently as he sliced the vegetables on the cutting board, making Usnavi snort softly. He had never seen Sonny look so intense when he was cooking before. Though he almost had a heart attack when Sonny reached for the knife. “Can I try?”

Usnavi sucked in a breath and quickly pulled it away from him, “Maybe when you’re older, mijo.”

“Aww,” Sonny pouted.

“Don’t make that face, knives can be dangerous,” Usnavi said sternly. “Remember what I said about sharp things?”

“They can cut you really bad like my claws,” Sonny droned.

“That’s right,” Usnavi went back to cutting. “And speaking of your claws-”

“I know I know, I won’t tell,” Sonny said, crossing his arms.

“Say your rhyme,” Usnavi said. Sonny turned away. “Say it,” Usnavi repeated firmly.

“I’m gonna be a little boy, all the way home,” Sonny muttered.

Usnavi sighed, “I know you know better than you did before, but you can still get excited around new people,” He said. “I just don’t want you to slip up by accident, okay?” He ruffled Sonny’s hair. “You know I trust you with our secret, right?”

Sonny’s foul mood seemed to fade, “Yeah…”

Usnavi smiled and went back to cooking. Ten minutes later he put the finishing touches on the soup. “Wanna bring Ruben his bowl?”

Sonny lit up as he expected. “Yeah!” He ran up as Usnavi filled a bowl with the soup. He carefully handed it to him.

“Now walk slowly,” Usnavi instructed. “And don’t slip on the stairs okay?” Sonny nodded, his face becoming determined. His young eyes stayed firmly on the bowl in his hands as he slowly walked out of the kitchen.

“Don’t trip!” Usnavi called after him. “Watch where you step!”

Sonny had never felt more determined in his life as he gazed at the bowl in his hands. He walked as expertly as he could, climbing the stairs one at a time and pausing in between each one. Abuela’s soup was special, not one drop was to be spilled.

Before he knew it, he had reached the top, the soup undisturbed. Sonny smiled but turned serious again; his mission wasn’t over yet. Sonny slowly walked down the hallway towards his room where Ruben was staying. Sonny liked Ruben; he had a talent for knowing who was good and who was bad, and Ruben was definitely good.

Sonny entered the room to see Ruben still lying on his back, staring at nothing, but he blinked and looked at Sonny once he stepped in.

“Does it smell good?” Sonny asked with a smile; Abuela’s soup had the best smell in the world, Ruben had to have smelled it.

“Yeah…it does…” Ruben said, a small smile coming to his face. Sonny put on his game face again and carefully walked towards the bed, glad that he had cleaned his room a few days ago. Ruben slowly sat up, wincing in pain, and Sonny carefully raised the bowl.

Ruben took it and Sonny sighed in relief. “I did it! I didn’t spill!”

Ruben snorted. “No you didn’t.”

Sonny nodded proudly and Ruben picked up the spoon that Usnavi had placed in the bowl prior. He picked up a good spoonful and blew on it before putting it in his mouth. Ruben lit up and he started eating more.

Sonny beamed at him but his smile faded as tears started to drip out of Ruben’s eyes. “What’s wrong?” He asked. “Do you not like it? Is it too hot?”

“No…” Ruben said, his voice cracking. “No…it’s amazing…”

“Then why are you sad?” Sonny asked.

Ruben let out a sob, “I-I’m not sad…I’m happy…” He said shakily. “I…I’ve never had a-anything like this before…”

Sonny slightly frowned in confusion and looked at the ground in thought when he gasped. “We should get crackers!”

Ruben blinked and sniffed, “Huh?”

“Crackers!” Sonny repeated. “Abuela’s soup is even better with crackers; that will make you feel better!”

“Um…okay…” Ruben responded. Sonny nodded and bolted from the room.

Usnavi looked up as Sonny ran in, having just put down bowls of soup for them. “Hey; did he like the soup?”

“I think so,” Sonny answered. “He started crying but said he was happy, and said he liked it.”

“Really…” Usnavi said.

“Yeah, so I wanna bring him some crackers to help him feel better!” Sonny said. “Abuela’s soup is even better with crackers!”

A smile came to Usnavi’s face, “That sounds like a good idea, mijo.” Sonny bounced eagerly as his cousin when to the pantry and pulled out the box of Salteen crackers.

The second Usnavi handed it to him, Sonny bolted back upstairs, no longer needing to worry about spilling anything. He ran back into Ruben’s room and climbed up onto his bed, catching Ruben by surprise as he was just finishing another spoonful.

“Here!” Sonny opened the box and pulled out a cracker. “You have to break it into little pieces, so they float!” Sonny broke the cracker and dropped the pieces into the bowl. “Now try!”

Ruben smiled at the boy’s enthusiasm and got another spoonful of soup, making sure to get a piece of cracker and ate it. Sonny leaned forward in excitement and Ruben’s smile remained. “That is really good.”

“See? I told you!” Sonny exclaimed. “Now do you feel better?”

Ruben gazed at the boy, a smile still on his face, “You know what…I do feel better now.” Sonny beamed happily.

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed outside as rain poured. In the summer, the storms were almost relentless. In Usnavi’s room, a decently large brown wolf slowly opened his eyes and raised his head, ears on alert. Whimpering could be heard from the other bedroom.

Quietly, Sonny got up from the crook of Usnavi’s arm and softly leapt off the bed, trotting down the hallway. A brown muzzle poked through the slightly ajar door of his bedroom that Ruben was currently occupying, and the sound became louder. Ruben tossed and turned under the covers, whimpering and whining in his sleep. He clawed at the blankets as sweat covered his face.

Sonny carefully crept over to the bed and leapt up by his feet. Whenever he was having a nightmare, cuddling always made the bad dreams go away. Sonny carefully moved up the bed and curled up next to Ruben, giving his hand a lick. Ruben didn’t wake up, but his hand seemed to find Sonny’s furry head.

Ruben seemed to slowly calm down as his hand felt Sonny’s wolf head and ears, petting and scratching them and Sonny slowly lowered his head to go back to sleep.

The next morning, Usnavi woke up to find his cousin not by his side. Weird; usually Sonny didn’t wake up until he did if he didn’t have school. Usnavi got up with a yawn and by instinct, went to Sonny’s room before remembering that Ruben was currently occupying it.

Usnavi peeked inside to make sure he was still there and he snapped awake at the sight. Sonny was lying next to Ruben. As a wolf.

Usnavi felt his pulse pick up in fear and he quickly and quietly tiptoed into the room. He carefully pulled Sonny out from under Ruben’s arm and hurried out of the bedroom easily.

Sonny blinked and yawned sleepily in his arms as Usnavi hurried downstairs. “What were you thinking?” He hissed.

“Huh?” Sonny yawned.

Usnavi stepped outside so his voice wouldn’t carry and put Sonny down in front of him on their porch. “I thought you promised me you wouldn’t tell Ruben our secret!” Usnavi admonished.

“I didn’t…” Sonny transformed back sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “He was having a bad dream…”

Usnavi blinked. “What?”

“He was having a bad dream,” Sonny repeated. “Cuddling always makes bad dreams go away so I wanted to help Ruben’s go away…”

Usnavi couldn’t help but sigh while his heart slightly swelled from the innocence in front of him. Sonny always seemed to bond quickly with people, even complete strangers. “Alright just…promise me you’ll be careful,” Usnavi said. “We don’t want to scare Ruben away.”

“I will,” Sonny said.

Ruben slowly opened his eyes to bright sunlight and the same room he was in yesterday. It wasn’t a dream. It was real. He was really alive and here, in this house. He heard the light pounding of little feet and Sonny entered the room.

“Morning!” The boy chirped, full of as much energy as ever.

Usnavi wasn’t far behind. “Hey,” He greeted. “Just checking in if you felt up to some breakfast.”

“Um…” Ruben felt much better than he did the day before; a bit dizzy still but not terribly. “Y-Yeah…I think so…”

Sonny lit up brightly and Usnavi nodded. “Alright; can you stand or should we bring it up here again?”

“I-I can stand…” Ruben said. “I think…” As if to prove it to himself, Ruben slowly swung his feet out from the covers and slowly stood, keeping a hand on the headboard just in case. His legs were shaky and his head was slightly throbbing, but other than that, he felt stronger than he did back then.

Usnavi told him where the bathroom was so he could shower while he got some spare clothes for him and instructed Sonny to make sure he didn’t hurt himself. The boy eagerly agreed.

As Ruben stood under the shower, the warm water washing away any remnants of the mountain and blood he may have had on him, he couldn’t help but feel tears in his eyes once again.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity…he finally felt safe.

Ruben didn’t know where he ended up, but he almost felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. This place was such a wonder compared to the hell hole he ran away from.

Once he had fully recovered, Usnavi and Sonny gave him a tour of their little barrio and introduced him to a number of their neighbors. Sonny seemed especially enthusiastic about the whole thing. And when Ruben asked why, he wasn’t expecting the answer he got.

“Oh, well it’s probably because Sonny was the one who found you.”

“W…What?” Ruben asked.

“Sonny loves exploring the mountains around here,” Usnavi explained. “Um, when he found you, he came and got me, and we carried you back.”

“Wow…” Ruben said softly. “That’s…weird…”

“Weird how?” Usnavi asked.

“Because…I remember seeing something before I passed out,” Ruben said. “I saw two eyes and…now that I think about it…they looked like wolf eyes.”

Though he didn’t see it, Usnavi’s eyes flashed with something. “Well, you were pretty sick, it was probably just in your head,” He said quickly.

Ruben wasn’t so sure but responded anyway, “Yeah…you’re probably right…”

Ruben kept finding himself being taken very off guard by the acts of kindness Usnavi and Sonny were showing him. After telling them he really had nowhere to go back to and no money to his name, Usnavi and Sonny were perfectly willing to let him stay with them.

“If I was able to find a job here, then you can too; I know from experience that this is the best place to start over,” Usnavi had said.

“But…aren’t you two struggling enough as is?” Ruben had asked. While recovering he had watched Usnavi and Sonny’s schedule. Usnavi’s life consisted almost constantly of work, as he was up tending the fields outside every day.

Sonny’s routine was fairly normal, in going to school and coming home, but the boy still had to walk almost a half mile to get to the bus stop and they had no car, meaning they had to rely on others to get them places or simply walk.

“Do we look that poor to you?” Usnavi joked. “Really Ruben, it’s no big deal.”

“Yeah! We want you to stay!” Sonny chirped.

“But…you don’t have enough room,” Ruben weakly protested. “I can’t keep taking Sonny’s bed…”

“We’ll work it out,” Usnavi reassured him. “I’m sure Benny and Kevin can help us out.”

“Can they build Ruben a bed, Navi?” Sonny asked.

“I don’t know, guess we’ll have to see,” Usnavi smiled. “But really Ruben, don’t worry about room; this house is already pretty big, one more person living here won’t hurt.”

Ruben didn’t know what to say. Honestly, he wanted to refuse, but weighing his options, he really had no choice. But then again, he’d much rather stay with Usnavi and Sonny rather than go out and risk Ian again.

Sonny had jumped up and down happily and wrapped his arms around Ruben’s waist when he agreed to stay.

“Ruben’s gonna stay!” Sonny exclaimed happily. He looked up at him. “Can I call you Uncle Ruben?”

Looking at the excited gleam in his eyes, Ruben couldn’t help but feel he made the right decision right then and there.

The first thing Ruben wanted to get done was find a job. He couldn’t bear to live in Usnavi and Sonny’s house without contributing in some way, especially after they had gone out of their way to get him a bed which was placed in a spare room next to the kitchen.

Thankfully it didn’t take him long, as this barrio as Usnavi called it, was very small. Before long, he got a job at the local pharmacy, which wasn’t too far from the bodega where Usnavi worked. Which meant Sonny and his little friend group started paying him visits on his shift more often than he expected.

Not that he minded; it was nice having a bunch of kids burst in and run up to the counter to tell him exciting things that happened at school. It wasn’t like they were asking something of him with stubborn persistence, they genuinely just wanted to see him. And that brightened Ruben’s day all the more.

Ruben was honestly starting to not recognize himself after a short month of living here. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt like this; happy and safe, with control over his own life.

He felt important, wanted; and Sonny made him feel that way the most, always asking him for homework help or just sitting with him to talk about everything and nothing. Ruben found himself wishing there was a way he could pay the boy back for his kindness.

One day, Ruben went downstairs after hearing some kind of commotion, only to find Usnavi holding Sonny on the couch while whispering some soothing words to the seemingly upset child.

Usnavi eventually seemed to cheer him up and the boy hopped off the couch to get some soda, spying Ruben on the way. “Wanna watch TV?” He asked, wiping his still red eyes.

“S-Sure,” Ruben answered, deciding not to sour the boy’s good mood by asking what had happened. He asked Usnavi about it later.

“Sonny…got into a pretty bad fight at school,” Usnavi explained. “He’s pretty shaken about it.”

Shaken was an understatement. For the following several days, Sonny refused to go back to school while the boy he supposedly fought with kept dropping off his missed homework and the occasional treat. This whole situation seemed way more unusual than he thought. But when he asked, Usnavi made it clear to Ruben that he didn’t want to push Sonny, as what happened was more traumatizing than he could explain.

Ruben hated to do it, but he pushed further. “What are you not telling me?”

Usnavi froze for a moment before taking a deep breath. “…A wolf attacked the boy Sonny was fighting with.”

“W…What?” Ruben breathed.

“That’s what the boy said…honestly that’s the best explanation we have.”

“Jesus…” Ruben said softly. Usnavi nodded and silence filled the room. “M-Maybe…I could talk to him,” Ruben suggested.

“…Just don’t try and push him, okay?” Usnavi asked. “Oh, uh, if you’re going up there, that boy left Sonny’s homework again; could you bring it up to him?”

Ruben nodded; he gathered up the homework and candy bar that had been left on their doorstep and made his way up to Sonny’s room. He knocked and slowly opened the door, finding the boy curled up on his bed.

“Hey…” He said softly. “Can I come in?” Sonny didn’t answer, so Ruben took that as a yes. He closed the door behind him and sat next to him on the bed. “So…Usnavi told me what happened.” Sonny tensed slightly. “Are you okay?”

Sonny probably didn’t expect that question, as he hesitated before nodding. Ruben slowly raised his hand and hesitantly rubbed Sonny’s back. “It’s not your fault…” He said softly.

“But what if everyone at school hates me…?” Sonny asked so softly, Ruben barely caught it.

“Sonny, no one could possibly hate you,” Ruben said, almost offended that someone would even think of hating the boy. That unfortunately didn’t seem to sway Sonny. “What about that boy?” He asked, being careful as Sonny tensed. “Does he hate you? Is that why you fought with him?”

“He wouldn’t leave me alone…” Sonny mumbled. “I just wanted him to go away…”

“Why did he not go away?” Ruben gently pried.

Sonny paused. “I don’t know…”

“Well, I don’t think he hates you,” Ruben said. “If he did, he wouldn’t be bringing you your homework and all these treats.” He placed the snacks on his nightstand, but Sonny didn’t change his demeanor. Instead, Ruben heard sniffles coming from him.

Instinctively, Ruben carefully lifted the boy up and hugged him to his chest, rubbing his back soothingly. Sonny resisted a little, but eventually relented to his hold, crying softly into his turtleneck.

“Aw, it’s okay…” Ruben whispered. “It’s okay, pumpkin…” The minute the pet name left his mouth, Ruben froze. He hadn’t called someone that since he was a kid comforting his little sister. Thankfully, Sonny either didn’t mind or didn’t notice, as he nuzzled Ruben, clenching the back of his shirt in his little fists.

“I wish...I could go back…” Sonny hiccuped. “Go back...and stop everything…”

Ruben felt his heart clench at those words and he found himself holding Sonny tighter. “Sometimes I wish that too…”

Sonny blinked and peeked up at him with fearful eyes. “You...you wish you didn’t meet us?”

“No!” Ruben exclaimed. “No no, I would never want that!” He stroked his curls. “I meant that...sometimes when something bad happened to me, when I was your age, I would wish I could change it too.” Sonny deflated in relief.

“But...you have to move on,” Ruben continued. “No matter how bad it gets...worrying about the past won’t solve anything…” He took a deep breath. “And sometimes...even if something bad happens...something good can come from it.” He looked down at Sonny. “You know who taught me that?”

Sonny shook his head, “No…”

Ruben smiled. “You did, when you and Usnavi took me in.”

Sonny smiled back and buried his face in his chest again. “I love you, Uncle Ruben…”

Ruben felt guilt rise up in him. This boy was opening up to him, when Ruben had been with them for a long time now, and he had yet to tell them the truth about himself. Ruben pushed the guilt down and focused on the boy in his arms; he would tell them when he was ready. When he was ready…

“…I love you too, pumpkin…”

A few weeks later, Sonny went back to school, thanks to some coaxing from his friends, Ruben, and Pete, the boy who he fought with. Ruben was so glad to see Sonny walking to school again every day. He had missed Sonny and his friends’ little visits to the pharmacy. Sonny’s smile was back like nothing happened and Ruben couldn’t be happier.

Once they had gotten back into a steady routine, Ruben felt the guilt come back. They deserved to know…after everything they did for him, they deserved to know.

Finally, one day, once Sonny was sent up to bed, Ruben stopped Usnavi on the stairs. “Could I…talk to you? …Privately?”

“What is it?” Usnavi asked with concern.

“There’s…something I want to tell you.”

Ruben recounted every detail to Usnavi, even details he didn’t know he remembered. Maybe it was because he had kept it all cooped up inside him for so long. Regardless, it didn’t take him long to burst into tears as he told the story. He faintly felt Usnavi rubbing his back as he stumbled through the rest, Usnavi somehow catching every word.

When he was done, he was a bawling mess, and Usnavi just held him tightly, murmuring soothing words to him. Ruben then felt a familiar tiny body join the hug and he felt a pang of fear that Sonny had overheard everything, but he was too overwhelmed to really dwell on it.

“You’re safe here,” Usnavi said softly. “No one’s ever gonna hurt you here.”

“If they do, I’ll fight them!” Sonny agreed, bringing a small smile to Ruben’s face. As Ruben sobbed while clinging to Usnavi and Sonny, Ruben felt a weight lift off his chest. He was finally free…free of his past…and he had people who still accepted him in spite of it. That was all he could ask for.

Another month passed and Sonny remained moderately energetic, particularly around Ruben.

Usnavi eventually took him aside and asked him what was wrong, and Sonny looked up at him with glassy eyes. “I’m tired of hiding from him,” He said. “I…I wanna tell Uncle Ruben!”

“Mijo, you know we can’t!” Usnavi protested.

“Why?” Sonny whined.

“Because we don’t know what he’ll do!” Usnavi responded. “He could run away or tell someone about you; this isn’t something you can trust to just anybody!”

“But Uncle Ruben isn’t just anybody!” Sonny cried. “I trust him, why don’t you? He’s familia!”

An answer died on Usnavi’s tongue, because there was no answer. In truth…he did trust Ruben, especially after hearing what he went through. He hated lying through his teeth to Ruben about Sonny; lying to him about what happened with Pete was hard enough.

Sonny lowered his head, rubbing his arm. “Uncle Ruben told us his secret…so why can’t we tell him ours?”

Usnavi bit his lip and gazed at the window as lightning flashed; a storm would be coming shortly. Sonny didn’t want to hide anything from Ruben, even his greatest secret. A secret that could risk everything. Usnavi sighed and opened his mouth to speak, when Sonny’s head shot up sharply. The boy’s eyes narrowed, and they darted back and forth.

“What is it, mijo?” Usnavi asked. Sonny didn’t answer and broke into a run. Usnavi followed him down the stairs until they reached the living area where they froze in their tracks.

The back door was wide open, the curtains blowing from the wind. Dirty shoe prints dotted the floor and carpet and some things on the coffee table and couch had been thrown into disarray.

But the thing that scared them the most? Ruben was gone.

Sonny transformed and began sniffing the area, hurrying up to the door. “Do you smell him?” Usnavi asked.

“Yeah!” Sonny nodded. He moved to the back door and smelled the air before bolting out the door.

“Sonny, wait!” Usnavi called. Rain started to fall as Sonny ran up the mountain trail and Usnavi gave chase.

Ruben struggled as hard as he could, clawing at the arm wrapped around his neck as he was dragged up the mountain path. His ziptied wrists made it more difficult than it already was and the slippery ground wasn’t much help either.

“You’ve hidden well,” Ian growled in his ear. “Was a real pain to find you, you know?” Ruben whimpered. “Well, I’ll tell you what, this is never gonna happen again, got it?”

Ruben shook his head, tears starting to form in his eyes. “Ian…please-”

He was cut off as Ian held a small knife under his chin. “Oh no, you’re not going to say another word; when we get home, I’m going to make sure you’re locked up so tightly you won’t even think about escaping again.” Ian’s eyes were murderous. “You left me with a limited supply of that drug, Rubes; it’s pure dumb luck Jason didn’t come back before I found you.” Tears dripped down Ruben’s face, mixing with the rain that started to fall.

“And now you’re going to finish what you started.” Ruben choked on a sob as Ian continued to drag him. This was it; his life was over. If only he had a chance to say goodbye to Usnavi and Sonny. If only-

A growl filled the air and a small dark figure leapt out of the trees. Its paws landed on Ian’s back, knocking him and his prisoner to the ground. Ruben lifted his head to see a full-grown wolf before them; its brown fur was on end and its lips were pulled back in a fierce snarl, its ears bent back flat against its head. Ruben found himself shivering from the piercing glare the wolf was giving them.

“Don’t. Move.” Ian hissed to Ruben, clamping a hand on the scruff of his neck. Ruben let out another whimper and the wolf tensed. Ruben’s eyes widened as the wolf clearly set its sights on Ian.

“Easy now…nice doggie,” Ian said as he slowly got up, dragging Ruben with him and the wolf’s eyes fell on the knife as he directed it at Ruben. “Easy boy…eas-”

The wolf charged forward and leapt towards them. Ruben felt himself be thrown to the ground. He covered his face and curled into a ball, expecting to feel teeth and claws, but he felt nothing. All he could hear was Ian…screaming?

Ruben slowly raised his arms from his face, only to see the wolf on top of Ian, attacking him viciously, the knife lying on the ground. Only the occasional lightning flash illuminated the scene, giving Ruben a good view of the vicious animal attacking his tormentor.

“Ruben!” Usnavi suddenly appeared beside him, soaked from the rain as well.

“Usnavi…?” Ruben couldn’t process this.

“C’mon!” Usnavi started to haul him up by the arm. “We gotta get out of here!” Usnavi picked at the zipties on his wrists and Ruben looked back at the wolf and forced himself to turn away when Ian let out a roar. He kicked the wolf off him, resulting in a yipe from the wolf and that makes Usnavi freeze and whirl around.

Ian, sporting plenty of bloody bites and scratches, barreled towards Ruben and Usnavi. Ruben felt himself get shoved away from Usnavi and his eyes widened as he saw Ian on top of Usnavi, a hand on his neck and the knife raised.

Usnavi clawed at his hand and struggled as Ian grinned maniacally down at him, and Ruben heard himself scream just as thunder clapped loudly.

A second later, Ian was being dragged off Usnavi. The wolf was back, dragging the maniac off Usnavi by the leg. Ian screamed and let go of the knife as the wolf dragged him out of sight before more snarls and growls filled the air with the screams.

Usnavi slowly sat up and rubbed his neck while Ruben couldn’t help but stare at the place where Ian had just been dragged. Seconds later, the screams stopped, and the wolf reemerged, red eyes glinting in the darkness. Red stained the wolf’s mouth and paws and he whined.

To Ruben’s horror, Usnavi got right up and walked towards it. “Usnavi…!”

Usnavi knelt right in front of the wolf and wrapped his arms around its neck. “It’s okay…” He whispered. “It’s okay…it’s over…” The wolf’s red eyes faded back to green and it started…to morph.

Ruben’s eyes widened as the wolf was replaced with Sonny, clinging to Usnavi tightly. That was the last thing Ruben remembered before his vision left him.

“Ruben…”

“Uncle Ruben…?”

“Ruben…wake up...”

“Is he okay, Navi…?”

“I told you, mijo, he’s fine, he was just scared…”

Ruben felt a bed underneath him and he recognized the voices around him. Were they safe? Oh god, did Ian have them? Ruben opened his eyes and the two cousins lit up.

“Uncle Ruben!” Sonny cried.

Ruben felt a swell of relief as Ruben saw the familiar walls of his room. “Sonny…” The boy hurried forward and hugged him from the edge of the bed, but Ruben looked at Usnavi. “Ian...where-”

“He’s gone,” Usnavi answered.

“Are you sure?”

“He’s not coming back, trust me.”

Ruben felt any remaining fear turn to water as he slowly remembered what had taken place. But then the implications settled in and his face became shocked.

Usnavi stepped towards him, looking a bit uncomfortable. “What do you remember?”

Ruben looked at his quilt. “Ian...he was here…”

He had taken him by pure surprise. Ruben had his back to the door but thought he had heard it softly open. He felt a hand clap over his mouth and a hand wrap around his chest, dragging him out the door before he could even process what was going on.

“He...dragged me...up the mountain...and then…” He remembered the eyes and the fur. “A wolf...a wolf appeared.” He could still clearly remember the creature in great detail.

“It...attacked us...it went after Ian...then you were there, Usnavi,” He looked at the older De la Vega. “But then…” His hands shook. “Ian attacked you...I was so scared...I thought I was gonna lose you…”

Usnavi squeezed his hand in reassurance. “But then...the wolf...it took Ian away...and...and…”

“And?” Usnavi gently prompted. “I...I thought I saw...Sonny…” Ruben said slowly. “Sonny, he...he was…no that, that’s impossible…”

“No…” Sonny spoke softly. “It was me…”

Before Ruben could ask what he meant, he saw fur start to cover the boy’s body. His face elongated into a muzzle and ears poked out of his head. Seconds later, the very same wolf stood before him.

Usnavi watched Ruben carefully as the wolf sat on the ground, ears drooping as if in shame. The wolf then took a step towards Ruben, and he instinctively recoiled slightly. Hours ago, he had seen this very same wolf tear apart Ian; seeing it look gentle was bit jarring.

“He won’t hurt you,” Usnavi said softly. “It’s still Sonny.”

The wolf walked closer, but Ruben remained still. “How…?” He rasped. His mind could barely process the fact that this was the same sweet little boy he had grown to love these past few months.

“We don’t really know,” Usnavi answered honestly. “Except that it’s genetic...his father was the same as him.”

The wolf slowly put his front paws on the edge of Ruben’s bed to get a bit closer. Ruben couldn’t help but flinch and regretted it when he saw the wolf’s eyes fill with sadness. ...Sonny’s eyes.

Ruben felt his arm slowly lift and find its way to the wolf’s head. He felt the soft fur under his hand and the wolf seemed to slowly perk up in happiness. Ruben was reminded of Sonny’s face whenever he ruffled his curls; he could even see the boy’s smile on the wolf’s face.

This wasn’t a trick, a dream, or a hallucination. This was real.

“Sonny…it’s you…?”

Sonny’s tail wagged and he jumped onto Ruben’s bed happily, licking his face like a big happy dog. Ruben found himself spluttering out a laugh as Usnavi deflated in relief and a few moments later, the wolf vanished and Sonny was a boy again, lying on his chest.

“I’ve wanted to tell you for so long!” Sonny exclaimed. “I knew you would keep our secret!”

Ruben smiled at Sonny, almost forgetting what he had just witnessed and how impossible it was and looked at Usnavi. “Does anyone else…?”

Usnavi shook his head. “There...are a lot of things we’ve lied to you about,” He said softly with remorse.

Ruben shook his head, “I have no right to blame anyone for keeping a secret.”

Usnavi smiled in relief and sat on the edge of his bed. “You have no idea how good it feels to finally tell someone about this.”

“You know our secret; now you’re familia for real!” Sonny beamed.

Usnavi smiled. “I’d joke about how now we can’t let you leave, but I think that would be in poor taste.”

Ruben chuckled despite how right he was. “Yeah, too soon.”

Sonny nuzzled Ruben again and Usnavi found himself joining the small group hug that Ruben returned.

He was free…at long last he was free from that man. He was gone for good. He could finally live his life in this new place that he was now glad to call home.

Even if he was living with a…half human, half wolf, he wouldn’t trade this place for the world.

#au blurbs #writing #wolf children #ruben marcado #ruben and sonny #usnavi de la vega #sonny de la vega

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provocativescribe · 6 years ago

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John’s Movie List

This is a re-post of an original post from XXXFamilyFun (aka John Valjean) with flagged images removed.

One of the most common messages I receive is about good incest movies. I wrote a post that was fairly popular, which I will link to at the bottom of this post. But first, let’s revisit my criteria for a good incest scene in a movie:

Criteria #1: The guys should be good looking and they should look the part. There’s a scene in Falcon’s “The Dark Side” (2002) where Derek Cameron and Race Jensen play son and father, respectively, but Derek Cameron (who is definitely hot), looks too old to play the part of the son. Just by a few years.

Criteria #2: The actors need to play the part. Even if they only do it a few times, I need to hear a “fuck me Dad” or “take that dick, son” or else it just plays like any scene from any other movie.

Criteria #3: Set the scene up a little bit. I want to know why the father and son, brother and brother, or cousin and cousin are about to do some dirty business with each other. If the scene starts and we, as viewers, just learn that the guys having sex are family members, then it also just feels like a scene from any other movie.

Criteria #4: As you will see, it should probably be directed by Chi Chi LaRue.

Okay, so you know what I like, and that’s what you’ll find in most of the following movies (which are listed in no particular order):

“Brother to Brother” (All Worlds, 1996) Okay, Chi Chi LaRue’s “Brother to Brother” has a brother/brother scene that I have never made my way through. The guys just do not look like brothers and I don’t find it very hot. So why is it even on the list? Well, there is a scene where the brothers’ uncle (played by Drew Andrews) spies on the lads while they sleep in their tightie-whities. He’s so turned on by it that he pulls his nice long dick out and jacks off to the boys sleeping. Andrews plays the part perfectly, looking around nervously to make sure he doesn’t get caught and then wondering what to do with the cum he decided to spill in his hand. Eat it, of course! He gobbles it down with relish and it’s impossible not to cum to this incredibly hot scene! Just because it’s incest-lite doesn’t make it any less effective! (Director: Chi Chi LaRue)

“Father Figure” (All Worlds, 1999) I remember reading a review of this movie and the feeling bad about myself afterward. The writer said that the dialogue in the scene where the father (Sam Crockett) fucks the daylights out of his son (Stoney) left him squeamish. This was my favorite part. I thought, “Am I some sort of degenerate?” I eventually decided I wasn’t. In fact, I love when the characters embrace their parts and, holy fuck, does Crockett embrace his role as the father who pops his son’s young cherry! “Back into it, Boy!” he commands as he fucks his son senseless. If ever there was a go-to incest scene, this is the one for me. I hate that the production values are so cheap, but Crockett makes this a must-see scene for anyone who enjoys incest-themed porn. (Directors: Peter and Casey O’Brian)

“Fox’s Lair” (Studio 2000, 1995) Some of the sex in the final scene, where three muscle-bound brothers fuck each other, can be a bit drab, but the build-up to it is hot as hell. Steve Fox, Ty Fox, and Ryan Fox (they used to give the actors the same last names to continue the brotherly illusion) play three brothers exploring their sexuality are varying levels before the three of them flip-flop in the final scene. It’s definitely worth a watch because too many incest movies rely on pairings as opposed to multiple family members jumping in the sack! (Director: John Trennel)

“Family Secrets” (Jocks, 1996) I was torn on adding this movie to the list because it’s even more incest-lite than “Brother to Brother.” This one also features Crockett who goes to visit his cousin Jake Taylor (one of my all-time favorite pornstars). During the visit, the two men don’t come out to each other. That is until Taylor brings home some slutty pals and a hot forgy ensues. Crockett sucks off Taylor and the two make out, and that’s about it. I hope you can find the scene online and compare it to Crockett’s scene in Father Figure. The guy really gets into the part and adds a layer of filthiness that so many actors don’t bother to do when they’re in niche movies like this. (Director: Chi Chi LaRue)

“Here Cums the Bridegroom” (Private Man, 2007) If you follow my blog, then you have probably guessed that I am into straight guys who fall into gay sex (and fucking love it). If that’s also your bag, I think this movie will hold a special place in your heart. On the wedding day of the very hot groom (Glenn Santoro), he can’t help but fuck and get fucked by the members of his wedding party, his father-in-law, and his brothers-in-law. This video is hot as fuck. And it ends with an orgy of most of the participants from all of the previous scenes. It’s on the list because power-top brother (Lucio Maverick) fucks his power-bottom brother (Mario McCabe) enthusiastically while Santoro fucks another guy to their side! (Director: Tom Bradford)

“Ivy Blues” (Catalina Video, 1985) This one goes way back to the 80s, but the trip is worth it. Ricky Turner is home from college and ready to have some fun with whoever is closest. In this case, it’s his limo driver. When his brother (Michael Mann) comes home and sees what his brother is up to, he’s not at all disturbed. In fact, he decides to join the two and fucks his brother in the hot final scene! Mann, who went by a number of names back in the day, was one of the hotter performers at the time, so it was wonderful to see him topping his slutty little brother. (Director: William Higgins)

“Phoenix Rising” (Falcon Studios, 1999) I’d say this movie is a little more than incest-lite, but not much. Still, it’s worth a watch to see yummy Daddy Jason Branch fuck his rambunctious nephew (Tristan Paris) with the help of three domineering African-American studs. There’s some filthy dirty-talk between the uncle and nephew during their brief fuck scene, but it’s goddamn hot. It ends with Uncle Jason blasting a thick ball-busting hot load all over his dirty nephew’s young face! (Director: Chi Chi LaRue)

“Roll in the Hay” (Jocks, 1994) Mark West and his sons entertain a group of city slickers. In the third scene, West and his son (Christian Fox) come upon ripped David Logan jacking off on their property. Not phased in the least, a threesome ensues which finds son going down on father and father going down on son. West was probably cast as the father because he had two modest crows feet, but that’s fine with me because he’s incredibly sexy. I get sent over the edge hearing him command, “Suck your daddy’s dick!” I’d have loved to see these two fuck because Fox was an enthusiastic bottom, but alas it was not meant to be. (Director: Chi Chi LaRue)

“Brothers and Other Fantasies” (All Worlds, 1999) Easily one of my all time favorite incest scenes. I’m not totally into twinks, but young Matt Bandero legitimately looks like Vince Bandero’s kid brother. Matt spies on Vince jacking off and a hot incestuous scene plays out where Matt comes in and sucks his big brother off as Vince stays wholly in character. “Have you been watching me fuck my girlfriend, Matt?” as the younger brother swallows Vince’s long cock. Look. This. Clip. Up. If you’re into incest, they do not get much better than this. Vince fucks his little brother wildly, even after he admits that Vince is too big for him to take. (Director Chi Chi LaRue).

“Spring Break” (Falcon Studios, 1988) Uncle Chad Douglas is sure his nephew, Cory Monroe, is down to fuck and wastes no time telling the boy what he wants in this Falcon 80s classic. Douglas knows exactly what he wants and he’s going to take it, blood relation or not! This scene is so hot because Douglas and Monroe are of a pair of hot performers who know how to put on a hell of a fiery performance. (Director: Matt Sterling)

“Bad Boys Get Spanked” (Channel 1 Releasing, 2007) This video has what is one of my favorite incest scenes from the last few years. I’m not sure how this didn’t make it on my initial list. A father (Brock Armstrong) has been summoned to his son’s (Tristan Sterling) school for a disciplinary meeting with a member of the faculty (Drake Jaden). Jaden suggests spanking as a method to punish the boy, who has been acting out on campus. Armstrong is immediately turned on and a hot, hot, hot threeway ensues in which all of the cast stay in character. Listening to Armstrong eat out his boy while his teacher watches will drive you wild, as will everything that comes after! (Director, Chi Chi LaRue)

“Bone Island” (Kristen Bjorn Video, 2004) Kristen Bjorn incorporated a fair amount of incest in his videos, with varying results. Sometimes the brothers/cousins don’t seem to act like they were related or the scene might just be the dud of the video. While the brothers (Diego Pastores and Guillermo Pastores) in this scene don’t fuck, they kiss and suck with passion. Diego and Guillermo are trespassing on the porch of Miguel Peron, who is about to call the police on the boys. When they beg him not to, he suggests the brothers suck him off. This scene is key to the video because the brothers have trepidation about what is about to unfold. Of course, they go for it and the scene is very hot. If you know Bjorn’s work (and I really hope you do!), you’re familiar with how well he choreographs his scenes and the plentiful and big cum shots he incorporates. Good luck making it through this scene without blowing a load of your own! (Director: Kristen Bjorn)

“Billy’s Tale” (Falcon Studios, 1993) This one is a Cinderella story in which you’re totally chill with how the step-siblings treat their put-upon brother. Billy (Chet Roberts) is forced to wait on his muscle-bound step-brothers (Trent Reed, Erik Houston, and Glenn McAllister), who apparently lie around and eat all day (though they have mysteriously fine bodies). When the brothers so chose, Roberts becomes their sexual plaything, but the scene moves past pseudo-incest as Houston goes down on McAllister’s fat dick and eventually eases his ass down on the beast. In the third scene, Jake Andrews shares the brothers, who are not shy about touching one another in front of strangers! (Director: Steven Scarborough)

“Grunts: Brothers in Arms” (Raging Stallion Studios, 2008) In this military fantasy about a “Gay Bomb” that turns straight men into oversexed gay animals is hot as hell, but I would have loved for the brothers in the film (Steve Cruz and Orlando Toro) to act a lot more like brothers! Make no mistake, their scene is hot! They fuck and suck passionately and Cruz is a very vocal bottom. However, it would have been so much hotter if Cruz had thrown in a couple of “fuck me, bro” or something to take the scene up a notch! The filmmakers get extra points for making sure Toro and Cruz look like twin brothers! (Directors: Chris Ward and Ben Leon)

“Joe Gage Sex Files 11: Doctors and Dads #2” (Dragon Media, 2012) Okay, how can you take a list like this without including Joe Gage, who, like LaRue, clearly has a knack for incest. Jake Steel is the father and Tyler Sweet is the son, in this scene that builds in a way that only Gage has mastered. Tyler is at the doctor after he hurts his nuts. His father, the campus coach, comes in to check in on his boy, who is wearing a hospital gown. Steel starts fondling his son slowly and the two share a number of intense glances and a few brief exchanges before Sweet is kneeling in front of his father doing what he does best. Steel and Sweet are another pair of strong performers who gloriously maintain the father/son illusion throughout the scene. (Director: Joe Gage)

“Raw” (All Worlds Video, 2004) The yummy Kent Larson is anxious Groom and Kyle Lewis is his sexy brother. You may also remember incredibly chiseled Lewis as the older brother in 2005’s “Little Brother’s Big Secret”. The scene in that film is hotter, but watching Lewis attempt to calm his brother’s nerves by fucking him shortly before he’s supposed to walk down the aisle is something to behold. Add to that, the bride’s hot brother (Jonathan West) joins in on the action halfway through the scene. (Director: Doug Jeffries)

“Fratrimony” (All Worlds Video, 1990) Jerry Douglas incorporated incest into many of his films, but none more so as this video featuring Tim Lowe and Butch Taylor as brothers who have the house to themselves for the weekend and begin to explore their sexuality in unexpected ways. The video is somewhat unique because it only features Lowe and Taylor. There are a few problems though. Taylor seems way too old to play a guy who’s fresh out of college and Lowe makes a shit-ton of weird faces when he cums and when he’s getting fucked. Still, the scenario is still hot and I usually don’t make it past the intial scene, which finds Lowe and Taylor jacking off together in bed. The two eventually jack each other off to completion. (Director: Jerry Douglas)

Just look at the gaze of pure lust Taylor gives Lowe. Douglas knew how to direct his actors.

I hope you enjoyed this new list of incest-themed videos! Sorry, I don’t have links to the movies! These are all from my private collection. The following is the link to the previous post:

Click here to find John Valjean’s long-form stories now exclusively at Smashwords!

#movies #family #brothers

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jadekitty777 · 6 years ago

Text

Bound to the Sky with You

So, fun fact! Every story from today onward will be an AU. Because that was the rule I decided to set up for myself, just to keep things interesting.

Day 2 – Take Your Kid to Work Day @taiqrowweek

Summary: Life for Taiyang was simple. He told stories to his kids. Brought in the dawn. Kept watch for the clan.

It was meant to stay that way.

And then he found Qrow, and that complicated everything. [Dragon-Fantasy AU]

Rating: K

Word count: 8k

Notes: So, I will absolutely understand if this story isn’t reblogged, because as it stands right now, it’s only got setup for potential Taiqrow. Why? Because while originally wanting to do a one-shot for the event, this became a prologue to a much longer novella I have not yet had time to give adequate focus to, but one I hope to pour time into later on this year. The more plot I mapped out, the more I truly wanted to let the story breathe and flourish. Believe me when I say Taiqrow will be the focus (because, I mean, have you met me? I’m all about these boys) but like the story, I want that aspect to have time to come to light.

For now, thanks Taiqrowweek for the inspiration and I hope you all enjoy this humble beginning!

Ao3 Link: Prologue

A long, long time ago, when the world was still very new, the great God of Light turned to his first-born son and decreed that he was to travel the entirety of His vast lands and, upon returning, would have to bestow a gift to the world. The demi-god, named Ozpin, thought very carefully on what he wished to give as he traveled from corner to corner. It was a long journey before he stood back before his father, and when the God of Light asked what his son had decided, Ozpin said:

“Father, I have scaled the great mountains and walked the open plains. I have been to the dusty deserts and to the rolling seas. I have trudged through the murky swamps and drifted through the canyons. I have chipped off ice from the glaciers and taken the molten rock from the volcanos. I have climbed every tall tree in the forest and counted every small pebble in the pond. And now that I have returned, I have realized one thing.”

“Speak it, my son.” The God commanded.

“The deserts were always hot without relief. The mountains always had snow that never melted. The forests rained endlessly and the winds roared across the oceans constantly. I wish to grant the world a chance to change at different times of the year. I want to see rain in the deserts and the clear tops of the mountains. For the forests to dry and oceans slow.”

“And how do you propose for this to come about?”

Ozpin replied with a smile sly and proud: “We can create a new species for the world as bright as humanity. One of which will coexist with the fauna and flora and will oversee these ‘seasons’ of change.”

And that was how Dragons came to be.

However, trouble was instantly afoot. The God of Darkness, who knew of his brother’s plans, made sure to speak up at this moment – for it was unfair for Light’s son to give a gift when his daughter was not given the same indulgence. Seeing no flaw in his sibling’s reasoning, Salem too was set out on a journey and returned much sooner than her cousin. When asked what she had decided, she said:

“I have seen what Ozpin’s gift has done. The trees that do not gather enough water stand in your forests and rot without end. There are ponds both too dry and overflowing. There are creatures unable to stand the frigid cold or burning heat, yet unable to do more than suffer.”

“This is quite the problem.” The God of Darkness pronounced. “Speak, my daughter. What do you say should happen?”

“The gift I wish to bestow is that in which things can pass on and be reborn. For things to fall and come back. For the world to move like the sun and the moon.”

And that was how Time began.

At first, everything seemed to be in balance. The seasons shifted and the wildlife flourished, creating a world of beauty and life. Dragons and humans especially lived among one another with respect and care to each other. Dragons would kindly share their talents to protect their counterparts and provide a long, fulfilling livelihood for the humans and, likewise, the humans would offer their own protections and offer their companionship that made their lives richer than all the gold in the world. They existed together in perfect harmony.

But that was the funny thing about time. It had a habit of-

“Daaad! You’ve told this story a billion times.”

“Sssh. It’s just getting to the good part.”

“Ruby you’ve heard this a billion times.”

“So now it’s a billion and one.”

“But we’re gonna miss the sun!”

“There’s no missing the sun Yang.” Taiyang input patiently, hiding a chuckle as his eldest daughter gave out a little roar of fury, throwing up her hands and falling back into a heap on the stone floor. “You wouldn’t have to wait so long if you didn’t get everyone up so early.”

“Humph!” She crossed her arms, her long, slightly spiked tail thumping on the ground in quiet agitation. It was a good thing she wasn’t an earth dragon or, even in her humanoid form as she was now, she might have caused an earthquake.

“Hey, hey dad! Can I come this time?” Ruby, who had been lounging in her full dragon form, sprung forward like a rabbit, her clawed, front feet landing on his knee as she leaned towards him. “My horns grew a whooole inch overnight, see?”

He placed his hand between the little bumps on her head. He squinted. “You can’t mean these tiny nubs, can you?”

Now it was his youngest’s turn to whine as she splayed across his lap. “Nooo, they’re big and beautiful!”

“They will be one day but you can’t rush growth.” Taiyang sighed fondly as she continued to carry on, scratching his claws along her scaled back soothingly. “When did I get such impatient daughters?”

Yang pulled herself up, rolling her shoulders and stretching out her feathered wings. “Patience is for old guys like you.”

He laughed heartily. “You only get to call me old when I’m losing half my sunbeams on the flight in like a certain overeager fledgling I know.”

“Hey!” His eldest pouted. “Just you watch, I’ll bring so many in you won’t even need to be there!”

“Is that so?”

“It’ll be so much ‘so’ that you’ll just go ‘whoa’!” She said, inflecting the last word with a sense of awe.

“Take me with you. I wanna see!” Ruby demanded as she rolled onto her back. She started to wiggle, giggling when he started to scratch her stomach. “Aahaha, dad no, that tickles!”

“Then you shouldn’t leave your stomach exposed!” He said, tapping her nose affectionately.

The sound of wings flapping through the air drew their attention, the three of them looking over as a fledgling flew into the mouth of the den. She was primarily white with light blue accents to her scales and a deeper blue shade on the underside of her wings. She was built similarly to himself and Yang when in full form, wherein she stood on four, powerful legs like an oversized lizard, and her wings connected to her shoulder blades, the span of them stretching nearly twice her length. She had an elongated snout and jagged horns that shot up from the back of her skull. The only differences were that she was much slimmer, aiding for the softer flight ice dragons often had to have when laying frost or breathing snowfall, and her spikes went all the way along the base of her spine rather than just down her tail. As they watched her, the small dragon hopped forward some as a much larger one glided in behind her, this one very similar to herself except instead of blue, her accents were a shimmery silver.

“Weiss!” Ruby rolled out of his lap, charging forward to run over to the other fledging, bouncing around her. “You’re back! How did it go? Oooh, tell me everything!”

“Well,” The other replied, shifting into her humanoid form. Tai guessed it was only because she wanted to give his daughter the full effect of her smug grin as she loudly proclaimed, “I put up all the icicles in the trees today.”

Before she could get too proud of herself, her older sister, also transformed, delivered a sharp rap to her head. “Don’t lie.”

Weiss nursed the bump with a frown. “Alright so, maybe not all of them.” She turned back to other, saying, “Still, I did a lot!”

“Well, enjoy them while they last because once I bring in the sun, they’ll be gone in the blink of an eye!” Yang said as she joined them.

“Oh, so you mean I have nothing to worry about?”

“What’d you say iceberg!?”

“You clearly heard me sunburn.”

Winter rolled her eyes at the young dragons’ antics, turning when he approached. “I spotted the Belladonna brood on the way in. Blake was with them today.”

“Really? I bet Ghira and Kali are overjoyed.” Tai could almost picture the furred dragons’ proud gaits as they walked their daughter through the steps of shadow manipulation. “Bet they’ll be talking up a storm when they get back.”

“Hmm.” Winter arched an eyebrow his way. “Sounds familiar.”

“Ehehe.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, trying hard to block out how embarrassing he had acted after taking Yang on her first flight to dawn. “Maybe I had been a little excited.”

“Try a month of nothing but you chattering everyone’s ear off who cared to listen. We’re all dreading the day Ruby’s antlers come in.” Before he could find a good response to that, a loud commotion drew their attention, seeing the animated young drake was dancing around her sister and friend, little red petals falling around in little bursts. Winter shook her head. “Which is going to be very soon, it seems. Petals already?”

“Yeah. They started up last night. By spring, she’ll probably be ready to bloom flowers.” Tai said, unable to keep the weight from his voice.

Astute as always, the younger turned to him, crossing her hands behind her back. He always wondered how she managed it with her wings. “You’re going to have your claws full pretty soon. Have you given any thought to who you’ll have discipline her?”

“Uh, well, Peach maybe. Fruit isn’t that different, right?”

The look she gave him was definitely disapproving. “If I recall, the Pine brood are garden dragons.”

“Oscar’s only a few seasons shy of maturing himself. I can’t possibly ask when they have their own son to focus on.”

“The Marigolds? Their son is much older.”

Tai growled lowly at the thought of the detestable drake whose honor as a dragon was about as low as the roots he planted. “I’d sooner throw myself to Salem’s Grimm.”

Winter sighed. “What, will you train her yourself?” When he didn’t respond for several seconds, she deadpanned, “You must be joking.”

“I watched Summer for years. I think I could handle it.”

“You know it’s not even remotely the same-” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know why I bother. Though, if you’re going to do something that foolhardy, then I don’t know why you keep denying her on coming along. You’ll need the practice.”

It was surprisingly hard to beat that logic. “You know, being lectured by you is rather uncomfortable.” He shot her a grin. “You’re so frigid about it.”

“Ugh!” In a fit of rare immaturity, she smacked his arm. “Don’t you have some sunlight to catch?”

He laughed, glancing towards the mouth of the den where the sky was turning cerulean. “I guess I do.” Tai called over to where the girls where still chattering away, “Yang, it’s time to go!”

“Yes!” She flew over and shifted into her full form halfway over, bouncing on the tips of her claws. “Let’s go!”

He placed a hand on her head. “Just a second.” He looked back across the den where his other daughter had lowered her snout to the floor, every inch of her radiating disappointment as she blew away some of her petals. “Ruby, you too.”

Her head shot up, looking to Weiss who merely shrugged and waved her away, before Ruby was up and across the floor in three giant leaps. “Really?!”

“As long as you promise to stay close-”

“Yes, yes, yes! I promise!”

Yang seemed equally excited as she bumped heads with her sister. “Just wait until you see me in action!”

He nodded to them. “Alright. Let’s get going.”

Light was remarkably heavy.

Even after all these months, Yang still had trouble keeping her flight level as she tried to keep up with her dad. She could feel the weight of the beams on her glowing wings, the pressure trying to pull her down. It took all her power to fight against it. It wasn’t nearly as bad when she first started out though; back then, she had plummeted right out of the sky at the mere touch of the sun and her dad had to swoop in and catch her.

She wasn’t sure how her dad did it every day, bringing in all the light to their hollow like it barely fazed him, especially when she knew, besides herself, he was the only sun dragon in their area. They weren’t like the mountain clan – who she’d heard had at least two broods, one of which had eight kids. She’d heard a few of the other adults talking, saying maybe a few might migrate this way when they came of age. It only made her more determined to learn as fast as she could, so no one had to worry anymore.

“Yang!” Her dad called, “You’re losing too much altitude. You need to glide more.”

“Yeah, I know!” She said, trying not to flap her wings too hard as she tried to catch herself back onto the air currant. She only lost a few beams before she was able to level out again.

He gave her a fanged smile. “Not bad. You’re definitely getting better.”

“Yang, you look awesome!”

She looked at where her sister was, perched on their dad’s back. She couldn’t help but preen, calling back, “Yeah?” She really hoped Blake thought so too. Her best friend had promised to watch her when she flew in and she didn’t want to make a fool of herself.

“Hey wait, what about me?” Tai intervened.

Ruby snout wrinkled. “Dads can’t be awesome.”

He placed a clawed foot against his heart, mock-groaning in pain, “Oh no, I think that comment mortally wounded me. How will I ever go on?”

Yang tuned out their antics, focusing on her flight and each careful wingbeat as she looked to the horizon. It was a few more minutes before the jagged, shadowed peaks that surrounded their valley came into view. “Dad, the ridge!”

He nodded, glancing over his shoulder. “Hold on tight Rubes, the dive is pretty steep.” Then to her, “You want to lead today, little sun?”

“Definitely.” She answered, brimming with confidence. Holding the light on her wings while also curving them inward was the most difficult part and she had only just started to get it right. But she had been practicing the technique for days now, hours spent mimicking the way her dad did it the best she could. A few times she had even carried Ruby while trying it, hoping to mimic the heaviness that would be on her wings but she couldn’t keep balance and they ended up crashing through a few tree branches. Hazel had given them quite the talking to after that one.

But she knew she was really getting the hang of it as she broke over the hills and turned her nose towards the ground, not even flying slightly crooked as she came down. Leveling out over the treetops was a bit more tough, and she lost a few more beams as she had to bat her wings a bit too hard, but after that, it was just a matter of flying to the center. She watched the nighttime darkness get overtaken by her light – though it couldn’t reach the corners of the valley. It would be years before she could do that, when she would eventually grow into as massive a dragon as her dad.

Yang held herself aloft with the currants, trees turning into wide areas of snow dusted plains and then finally water as she passed over the central lake. She could tell Weiss had helped make the clumps of frost on the edges for there were a lot of ugly, deformed bumps lacking the natural style Winter had. As she got to the other side, Yang pulled up vertically, spreading her wings wide and giving a hard flap to shake off the last beams, watching the small cone shape that formed and hit to the other end of the valley. She gave a roar of excitement – it was twice as big as yesterday’s! – before she cartwheeled out of the sky and landed on the bank. Her feet sunk into a few inches of snow.

Barely a minute later, her dad was soaring overhead, the rest of the darkness quickly being eaten up by the light before he was touching down beside her. He laid across the ground, making it easier for Ruby to slide off, and her little sister came bounding right for her, eyes glittering like stars. “That was so great!” She exclaimed. “You made it look so easy.”

“Well, of course.” Yang fibbed, standing a little taller. “But you haven’t seen anything yet! Dad, can I take Ruby with me while I do the dapples?”

He gave a nod. “Just don’t stray too far.”

“We won’t. Come on Ruby!” She said, hurrying towards the tree groves. Ruby hopped after her, creating big holes in the snow where ever she landed.

Dappling, otherwise known as guiding the light through the thick leaves of trees so they touched the ground, was one of the easier things she had to do, especially during winter when most trees didn’t even have leaves. She knew her quick-to-impress sister would get a kick out of it. It wasn’t like she never saw their dad do these same things, but Yang understood there was something more exhilarating about watching someone they had shared the hatchling burrow with doing things the adults could. It was a sign they were all growing up.

“Okay, so watch this.” Yang said as she hovered underneath the branches of some pine trees. She tilted her head back, sucking in a deep breath, before blowing it out. A tunnel of wind and golden sparkles emitted from her throat and caused the branches to shudder, light coming on through. Similar to a fire dragon, her breath held a certain heat to it, though it wasn’t hot enough to scorch or burn. She looked down at the speckled ground, drinking in her sister’s cheers, and leading her through the forest. After a few more groves, she started to throw in a few flips and cartwheels to add a little extra flair to her performance.

Shortly after they entered the eucalyptus field was when her sister fell unusually silent. Yang paused turning to look back at her and seeing Ruby had frozen, peering off into the snow. “Hey, what’s wrong?” She called, turning back to rejoin her.

“I don’t know.” She said, sounding trouble. “But doesn’t that look weird?”

Yang turned her head, quickly spotting the unusual mound in the snow at the base of a tree. She could have believed it was another mishap of Weiss’s if not for the slightest tuft of black sticking out of one end. “Maybe a wolf?” She took a few steps forward, cautious at first until she recalled they had been making enough noise to startle the beast had it been able to awaken. “I think it’s frozen.” She said.

Ruby gasped in excitement. “You could unfreeze it!”

“I, uh, I don’t know how to do that.” She’d seen dad do it a few times to some unfortunate animals and even once to a whole trove of unlucky sparrows that had frozen to the ice of the lake. But she wasn’t really sure how it worked.

Her sister deflated some, sparing the mound a concerned look. “We can’t just leave it though…”

“Yeah.” She turned, flying up between the trees. “I’ll call dad.”

As he walked around the lake, Tai swirled his tail in the frigid water, watching the ripples carry the sheen of light across the glossy surface. He had just completed the circuit and was blowing warmth back into the tip of his now numb tail when he heard Yang’s roars. They were urgent but not panicked, so he knew she wasn’t in danger. Still, he didn’t waste time, taking off and quickly finding his daughter, her head poking up between the eucalyptus trees. “What happened?” He called, shifting into his humanoid form so he could more easily navigate through the branches.

“We found a frozen animal.” Yang said.

Ruby had scuttled forward on her belly, a hair’s breadth from an unusually-shaped pile of snow. It looked like it could have been as big as an adolescent deer. She looked back at him, trying to whisper, “We think it’s a wolf.”

Tai frowned at the sight of the poor thing, only to look down when Yang nudged her snout against his hand. “Can I try unfreezing it?”

“Well…” He hesitated, glancing back at the creature, debating. He knew it would be good practice and at least it was a large animal; it would be less delicate. “Alright, I’ll guide you through it. But, you have to go really slow, okay? If it is still alive, you can shock its system if you try bringing it back too fast.”

Yang seemed a little nervous, but mostly determined. “Got it.”

“Alright Ruby come over here and give your sister room.” The garden dragon lifted herself from the snow, slinking over to his side. Yang took her place, leaning down on her front legs. “Okay. So, it’s just like how we melted morning frost during autumn. Use soft, short bursts of breath back and forth along the body. If you get too tired, let me know. We can trade off.”

His daughter nodded, inhaling deeply, before her sun breath sparkled along the snow, turning her head to and fro as she did. It took a few minutes before true progress started to show, the snow slowly turning to slush, falling off of the form in wet clumps. For the most part Yang paced herself, he only having to warn her once when she went a little too fast, a huge chunk falling from what he assumed was its rump, tufts of wispy black fur coming into sight.

“I can hear it breathing!” Yang said, tail wiggling with excitement as she inhaled again.

“Do you think it’ll want to play when it wakes up?” His youngest asked as her sister continued to warm the beast.

He crossed his arms, saying sternly, “We’re not keeping it Ruby.”

“Aaah. But I already named it Zwei!”

Anything else he was about to say to that caught in his throat when another clump fell away, revealing not more dark fur, but a broad forehead and the curved dip of an eye framed by a fine eyebrow. He choked on air, his tail wrapping around Ruby, pulling her close to him as he shouted, “Yang, stop!”

His daughter did, at first in confusion and then with dawning realization as she quickly wheeled backwards, running into his legs. They stood there, several long seconds ticking by, and Tai tensed up as more snow fell, exposing the rest of the face; he had a slightly pointed nose and an angled chin with fine hairs of scruff along his jawline. Definitely a man.

Questions twisted in his mind without answer, heart beating a panicked rhythm in his ears. How was he here? Where had he come from? How had no one else spotted him until now? Were there more? Or, perhaps, was he a scout for another group? Were they planning a raid?

Yang looked back at him, “Dad…?”

“Is that a human?” Ruby also looked up at him.

He grit his teeth, voice a rough growl as he said, “We’re leaving. Now.” He turned. He needed to get his girls out of here and tell Sienna of the intruder.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he almost tripped over his youngest when she jumped out in front of him. “But we can’t just leave him! He’ll die!”

“Ruby this isn’t up for debate. He’s a human. He’s dangerous.”

She looked past him, back at the crumpled form in the snow. “He’s not dangerous, he’s hurt.” When she looked at him again, her face was earnest. “Didn’t dragons used to help humans?”

“That…” He sighed, pressing a hand against his forehead. “That was a long time ago. Things have changed.”

“Then can’t they change again?”

“Ruby, enough! We’re going!”

She ducked around his hand that tried to grab her, hopping over to hide against her sister. “Yang, you agree with me, right? We should do something.”

“Well…” The elder fanned a wing over her sister, taking a few uncertain steps back when he whirled on them. She darted looks between him and the human, saying, “He… hasn’t done anything wrong yet.”

“It doesn’t mean he won’t. It doesn’t mean he hasn’t. He could of set traps.” He waved a hand back towards the mountainside. “It was those kinds of things that scarred Blake. Took away Hazel’s sister. Killed-” Tai’s throat closed up, unable to finish. The sharp nails of his hand dug into his palms as he clenched them into tight fists.

“But won’t we be just as bad as them if we do nothing?” Ruby’s voice wobbled. “This is wrong! You know it is!”

He spread his wings, roaring back, “It’s not that simple! Actions like these have consequences! You can’t just-” The sudden sob drew him short, chest tightening as he watched the way his youngest buried herself into the underside of her sister’s wing. He shut his eyes, taking a few, calming breathes. When some of the heat in his blood had subsided, Tai knelt down in the snow, saying gently. “Rubes, you’ve got a good heart. Like your mother, you have a deep-rooted desire to bring hope to this world. But, truth is, whether they be dragons or humans, not everyone is ready for that.”

One wet, silver eye peered towards him. “Not even you dad?”

The expression was so startling familiar to him, that he couldn’t help but see a younger Summer imposed over her from a time long ago, when he was still an adolescent himself.

He found her sitting in the middle of her flower field, curled in a protective ball with her knees drawn to her chest and tail curled around herself. Even the little white roses growing in her antlers seemed wilted. As he approached, stepping around her blossoms with care, he heard a few sniffles and it managed to break his heart. She probably knew it was him, because she didn’t startle as he settled down beside her. “I uh, I beat up Cardin for you?”

She drew in a sharp breath, looking up at him with watery eyes. “You don’t think it’s stupid, right?”

“Of course not.” He reached out, using his knuckle to brush away some of her tears. “I think it’s admirable. It takes a strong heart and steady resolve to say the things you do. Don’t let what that acid-spitter says get you down.”

She gave a shaky giggle, wiping away the rest of her tears. “He doesn’t spit acid Tai.”

“Coulda fooled me.” He growled some, though he was quick to shake off the irritation, focusing back on the drake. “Tell you what. Let’s do it together. Just me and you. We’ll make the world a better place.”

“You promise?” She tilted her head towards him in quiet askance. “You really promise?”

He chuckled as he lent down, hooking one of his horns with hers. “Cross our antlers, hope to lose them…”

She smiled, pressing their foreheads together. “-Stick an arrow through our sternums.”

His hand curled around his left horn as the memory faded away. He looked to his girls, Ruby’s hopeful gaze and Yang’s uncertainty seeming to strike at him without ever uttering a word. Slowly, he looked to the human still lying in the snow.

And he got to his feet.

Warm.

It was the first thing Qrow was aware of; it was warm. It felt like the springtime sun, bearing down but not stiflingly so. Had he fallen asleep in the fields again?

“Mm…” He turned his face, his cheek brushing against something smooth. He couldn’t really process well what that could be; the most ridiculous thought was it was a river stone, but it was definitely too large to be that.

Wait, hadn’t it been winter?

“I think he’s waking up!”

“Ruby you promised to stay back.”

“I got her dad.”

The unfamiliar voices stirred him further and the effort it took to try and come to awareness was unusual. Something seemed wrong about all this, but he couldn’t quite figure out why. His mind felt like it was slogging through a swamp, struggling to keep itself above water while bits of information sunk into the mud and out of reach.

He was finally able to open his eyes. They were dry and unfocused and it took him a few blinks before he was able to adjust to the daylight, the fuzzy features of what he had felt before unblurring, until he could discern that he was curled up against a wall of honey yellow, a bit taller than where his shoulder was. It was also scaly.

Like it was catching onto a decaying vine only for it to fall hard to the ground when it inevitably snapped, his mind decided that was the time to slam a flood of disjointed memories into the forefront of his head.

“We really caught a winner this time!” Mercury laughed, kicking the metal cage. The brown dragon within gave a yelp of fear.

Qrow crossed the tent, fury boiling under his skin as he clutched onto his sister’s wrist. “Have you gone mad?! You took a kid!”

“Sssh, just stay quiet.” He soothed to the shaking drake, trying to pick the lock as quickly as he could before Emerald came back. “It was Amber, right? You’re gonna be just fine.”

While the rest of the room warped and twisted around him, he found he could still focus on the red eyes that pierced him with their intensity. “You disappoint me, little brother.”

He was falling, falling… into darkness and cold.

Qrow jerked upwards with a cry, “Raven!”

He quickly found that it had been a poor idea, his vision blurring worse than when he would try and drown a keg of penny-ale. He fell against the yellow wall, groaning as he pressed a hand against his face. He’d been tossed through his twin’s portals before. While it often did knock him out, they’d certainly never left him feeling weak like this. “Ugh, what happened?”

A voice, the first one he had heard and was definitely that of a young girl, came somewhere from in front of him. “Dad kissed you back to life!”

…What?

“N-No! I was breathing warmth into his lungs.” That one, male and rather gruff, came from behind him and… above. Qrow was starting to reach a conclusion of where exactly he was and knew it would be just like Raven’s sick sense of humor to choose a place like this. If he ever saw his sister again, if he got out of this alive that is, he swore he was going to punch her in the face.

Still, he took a breath and braced himself, opening his eyes to just make sure.

His eyes zeroed in on the wingless drake first. She had a serpentine body that was mostly black, though her belly and the tiny, thorn-like spikes on her spine were red. She was very young, barely any horns to speak of on her head and she stared at him with an open sort of curiosity and innocence that seemed to be universal in kids.

The mimic standing protectively by her was a few years older and had clearly lost some of that youthfulness. She had hair that was canary-yellow bright with wings that matched, though he caught hints of orange as well, almost like fire. Her white horns were particularly interesting, curving back from the forefront of her skull, bending away from one another only to re-meet at the tips in a heart-like shape.

Qrow looked down at the tail he was using for support, trepidation filling him as he turned his head and slowly looked up.

And, Ozpin be damned, there was daddy.

He was impressively large, about the length of a cottage and, if he stood, probably as tall as one too. His whole face radiated danger, from the tip of his nose where a single sharp point rested to the spikes that poked out from his upper jaw, to the massive, tusk-like horns that curled out from his temples and bent back along his skull in a staircase-like pattern. The amount of ways Qrow could die from gorging or crushed bones was merely a choice of favor. That didn’t even include the rows of deadly fangs that could rip him apart in a heartbeat.

He was yellow all over, though unlike his daughter he lacked her brightness, seeming to be of a collection of burnt shades. His main body was all honey-yellow, but underneath his jaw and probably down his belly was a more burnt-orange coloration. He didn’t have any protrusions on his back, only from the base of his tail to the tip, where it fanned off into a collection of fiery-shaded feathers that reminded him of a falcon’s tail, but with a few elongated stems that ended in rhombus shapes like a peacock’s. The stem of his wings had scales like his body, but the rest of them tipped off into gigantic feathers that matched the shade of the tail’s.

“I hope you didn’t kiss me with those teeth at least.” Qrow articulated intelligently.

Check ‘a dragon rolling its eyes at him’ off the list of things he thought he’d never see. “Can you walk, human?”

Unsure if he should push his luck, he quickly got to his feet, swaying a bit. “Uh, yeah. Definitely.”

“Good.” He turned his head some, looking to the younger pair. “You two. Home. Now. And not a word about this to anyone.”

“Aaah. Can’t we stay?” The drake whined.

“No.” That was not a tone even Qrow would argue with right now.

The elder sister was still watching him carefully. “What are you going to do?”

“We’re going to have an exchange of some words and then I’m going to take him out of the valley.” He really hoped that wasn’t actually code for ‘eating him alive’ or something. It had the air of how a farmer would tell their littlest ones that all the chickens that were mysteriously disappearing were merely ‘flying home’.

“Alright.” She gave him one last look-over, before turning and heading further into the forest. “Come on Ruby.”

Ruby gave another elongated whine. “Okay, okay.” She waved a paw – a foot? – at him, “Bye Mr. Human!” before hopping after her sister.

Despite his best efforts, Qrow felt his legs give out on him. He sighed and watched the children disappear into the tree line. “Cute kids.” He wasn’t sure what to make of the rumbling noise the other made – was he humming or growling? “So uh,” He looked up, not entirely surprised to see the other was already staring back (was this what mice felt like when they were under a cat’s paw?), “I normally have a lot more pride than this but: don’t eat me, please.”

The dragon’s nostrils flared. “Why would I go through the trouble of helping you if I was just going to kill you?”

Qrow actually didn’t know what to say to that. “Maybe you like your meals… running?” If only he could get copper in exchange for all the times he still said inane stuff anyways, he’d be an aristocrat by now.

“Look, human.” He returned impatiently, “I’m not going to hurt you unless you give me reason to.” He lowered his head to view him better and Qrow became acutely aware of two things. First was that this dragon’s face was wider than his whole chest and one bite would undoubtedly tear him in two. The other was that he had dark blue eyes identical in hue to the evening sky. “So, how did you get here?”

“Well uh, you see,” He said, trying to stretch for time as he searched for a response that wouldn’t end his life instantly. Lying was out of the question – no way could he come up with something adequate under such a situation. But telling the full truth was equally a poor choice that could lead to dire consequences on his still breathing body. He settled for as little detail as possible. “I ended up losing a huge chunk of revenue for my village. One of the witches exiled me here. Probably hoped I’d be ripped apart.”

The dragon tilted his head. “Revenue?” He repeated, testing the word.

“You know like, money?” When it was obvious that also didn’t register, he explained, “For us, it’s a necessity. We use money to trade for things we need. Food, clothes, ale; that sort of thing.”

“So, you lost this ‘money’ and your punishment was death?”

“It was a lot of money. Enough to probably feed most of the village for several months.”

“How did you lose it?”

Uh-oh. He probably should have expected that question. A cold sweat built along his back. “Some of us sell… animals, to one another, that help us with our lives. Like horses. They pull troughs on our farms and help us travel. Chickens and cows provide food. I ended up not locking the cage we were transporting them in and well,” He spread his arms out, “There went the money, running away.”

“Sounds like a steep sentence for a run of bad luck, if you ask me.”

He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at that. “Welcome to my world, bud. There’s a reason I was named Qrow.”

The dragon drew back some. “What’s wrong with crows? They’re rather intelligent, if a bit recklessly brave.”

“Uh, never mind. Guess it’s just a human superstition.” The other made that growly-hum noise again, perhaps debating another question, when a crackling overhead drew his attention. Qrow looked up as well, seeing an avalanche of snow from the trees was starting to fall, only to yelp as he was cast in sudden darkness. He flinched, ducking his head, every muscle in his body tensing up in preparation for the end.

A few moments passed, and he dared to peek upwards when nothing happened. Yet, even when he realized the dragon had stretched his wing over him, it didn’t seem to comprehend.

“Winter is going to kill me.” The dragon grumbled, shaking out his feathers, bits of snow flying everywhere. That sentence didn’t make any sense either. Qrow knew the dragons had a lot to do with the change from one season to another – could the seasons somehow punish them if they didn’t do it right? How would that even work?!

Then, for the second time that day, he remembered it was winter – but it had been so warm, he was having trouble remembering. As the other drew back his wing, Qrow looked around, realizing that most of the forest floor around them had been cleared of snow, revealing the brittle grass and shriveled leaves underneath. But it only seemed to cover the immediate floor around them, as if they were in some sort of summer bubble; beyond that it looked as icy and unforgivingly chilly as the season promised to be.

“You’re,” He spoke up hesitantly, “Making it warm?”

“Of course I am. You were frozen in the snow.” The other replied matter-of-factly.

“Oh.” He racked his brain, trying to recall if he’d ever heard of a dragon having such a power before. He knew different dragons had different abilities. That there were fire breathers and ice layers and flower bloomers. Amber had been a leaf turner, which was part of the reason why she had been so highly desired in the first place. The noble class had become rather enamored with catching ‘beauty dragons’, those that were mostly harmless but could create gorgeous displays. They paid top coin for decorations that would perform for their amusement.

Yet, he’s never heard of one that just created warmth. “How?”

He never thought a dragon could look so baffled. “I’m a sun dragon.”

“A what?”

“I’m…” This was starting to feel like backwards déjà vu as it was now the beast’s turn to try and find the words to describe something he inherently knew. He scratched a claw against the underside of his chin. “You know the first light you see that touches the earth when the sun rises? Or the rays that come through during cloudy days? Dragons like me do that.”

So, he was a light bringer. Qrow didn’t know why it seemed so strange that the species had their own names for themselves. He had just assumed they all used the same terms. He wanted to ask more questions, because it still didn’t explain how he was making it warm, but the other spoke first.

“Anyways, can you actually stand now?”

He coughed down his embarrassment and got to his feet, surprised to find that it was indeed much easier than it had been before. He took a few steps parallel to the other’s tail, ascertaining there was no shake in his knees or stiffness to his muscles anymore. “Yeah.”

“Good.” Then, right before his eyes, quicker than a blink, the dragon changed. One second he was tall as a house, the next he was standing only a few inches shorter than himself, copycatting a human form. He was dull blond with tanned skin and broad shoulders. Like all mimics though, he kept his wings, tail and horns, though in smaller, much less threatening size. When he spoke, even his voice had changed, no longer having that permanent snarl to it, “Come on then.”

Qrow, who was still trying to catch up to what he just witnessed, didn’t really process the command. What was that? There hadn’t been a sound of bones popping around or a bright light or anything he had expected there to be. Was it just illusionary magic like Emerald’s? But no, he couldn’t move around so quietly if it was just a trick like that. It had to be actual shapeshifting, but how did it work then?

“Uh, human?”

The voice broke apart his thoughts and he looked up at the other, finding it odd that the once terrifying face now seemed so kind. Then again, that was the entire crux of the trick. Dragons knew that appearing as if they were the same or, at least similar, embedded a false sense of security that humans grew lax to. It gave them an edge so that when the time was right, they could shed that fake skin to steal away with whichever goal they were aiming for.

So then, why didn’t you change Amber?

Qrow rubbed at his temple, finding things weren’t adding up like they should be and he wasn’t really sure what to do with that knowledge. “Uh, sorry, I’m coming.” He said hurrying after him. He came to walk astride him, though making sure he kept a respectable distance, side-eyeing him. He couldn’t help but wonder if the light hairs on his face was meant to copy the spikes on his jawline, Qrow’s own scruff or just was a personal preference. “So, what’s your name?”

“Why do you want to know?”

He shrugged. He actually didn’t know. “Just curious, I guess.”

Those eyes, still very blue, narrowed suspiciously. But, whatever ill thoughts the other had seemed to go nowhere as he still chose to answer. “It’s Tai.”

“As in, tie a knot?”

“As in, Taiyang.”

“Wait. Doesn’t that just mean sun?”

“What can I say?” He shrugged, waving a hand outwards. “I radiate sunlight.”

Qrow stared, a little stupefied. “Was… that a joke?”

“Well look at that. I’m sunny and funny.”

He wasn’t sure what was more ridiculous: the words themselves, the deadpan delivery or the fact it actually got him to laugh, even if he did try to stifle it. He was doubly surprised when Tai let out a soft chuckle as well. This has been probably the craziest day of my life. Qrow decided. I’ve gone from thinking I was about to be breakfast to laughing with a dragon.

It wasn’t a far walk before they were out of the trees, and the forest opened up into a wide, pure white field of snow. Its centerpiece was a gigantic lake, the edges piled with ice, though it wasn’t quite cold enough to freeze over yet. There were more woods surrounding the lake in every direction, a mismatch collection of trees both evergreen and deciduous. It felt like walking into a fairytale’s magical land, everything so beautiful and pristine.

And it was also so silent that it was near impossible to miss the faint roar in the distance. It was definitely not from any normal mammal and it was quick to remind him he wasn’t exactly safe here.

The other heard it too, glancing in the direction it must have come from, though his expression didn’t shift much.

“Friends of yours?” He asked nervously.

“Someone’s playing.” Tai offered as explanation. He wasn’t sure he wanted him to elaborate.

“So uh,” He started, turning to the other, “Where are you taking me anyways?”

The mimic pointed to the northeast where a mountain range with snow-dusted tops stood tall. “There’s a trail that runs through those mountains and leads to a human village. It’s the closest one around. I’ll take you halfway; but after that, you’re on your own.”

He nodded. Yeah, he could handle that. “So, how are we getting there?”

The look the dragon sent him could only be described as wicked. “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”

…You have got to be kidding him.

As it turned out, Qrow was not afraid of heights.

He was, however, quite terrified of being crushed between dragon feet, which was the more immediate danger he found himself in as he sat between Tai’s cupped claws. He felt rather like an insect that had been caught by an eager child rushing to the house to show his parents what he had found. At least the dragon’s grip was steadier than one’s; so much so, were it not for the roar of the wind and the rotating swish of heavy wings, Qrow may not have believed they were in the air at all. There was little to see in his dark hollow, the only light coming from above him where the other’s feet didn’t quite meet. Looking through the space yielded nothing but the view of the other’s underbelly.

As the minutes ticked on, merely sitting and waiting for them to reach their destination, it occurred to Qrow that in the span of an hour, he had given a dragon more trust than he even held for his own blood. It perhaps beat out the last, most foolish act he had ever done. Considering he had only done said act last night, he started to wonder if he was perhaps stricken with madman’s disease. Or was being compelled by Salem’s troves of phantom Grimm. A witch’s curse?

He was given no more time to consider further, as the gravity around him shifted with sudden descent and the wind’s roar turned into a whistle. The impact of them landing was jarring enough Qrow was thrown onto his back. A moment later, the other’s top foot lifted, and he had to blink away spots from the onslaught of sunlight suddenly coming down.

“We’re here.” The light bringer announced.

Shakily, Qrow got to his feet, stumbling a bit as he hopped to the ground below. Just like in the clearing, the surrounding area was clear of snow. Behind them was the range of mountains that had been miles away just minutes ago and, before them, a straight path cutting between leafless trees. Winter’s grip on the forest made it appear quite lifeless and desolate.

The dragon morphed once more, stepping up to stand at his shoulder as he gestured forward. “This is an old migration route. No one travels it anymore, but if you continue to follow the path out of the forest, it’ll lead you to a meadow. The town is situated not far from there.”

“Got it.” He felt weary just looking at the snow-packed trail he’d have to plough through. “Kind of wish I wore better boots though.”

“This might help.” Tai spread his wings, just enough for him to pluck off a feather. He rose it to his face and when he breathed out, a gentle light like miniature sunrays emitted from his mouth. It caught the feather, alighting it in a soft, golden glow. He held it out towards him. “The magic won’t hold forever but should last until you get there.”

Hesitantly, Qrow took it, feeling an immediate warmth radiate from his fingertips and rush down his body like a gentle blanket. “Whoa.” He awed as he looked down at himself, almost expecting to be glowing himself. When he looked back up, it seemed the mimic was trying his best not to be amused by him. “I uh, I think this is twice I’m in your debt now.”

“No.” Wings rustled as Tai turned his gaze away. “If you’re in anyone’s, it’s my daughter’s. I was going to leave you to freeze.”

Well.

Fair enough.

“She’s, uh, a good kid.” He coughed down his unease and tried to mask just how eager he was to get moving and put this strange, strange event behind him.

From the look on Tai’s face, it was clear he felt similarly. “Well.” He haltingly said, “May Ozpin’s grace be with you.”

He still had enough manners about him to give the proper reply. “And his power with you.”

The mimic nodded, facing back for the valley as he mumbled, mostly to himself, “Would rather have his omniscience.” He spread his wings and took off for the sky, changing mid-leap.

Qrow watched as the dragon disappeared into the mountains. When certain he was truly alone, he clutched onto the feather and started his journey onward.

#taiyang xiao long #qrow branwen #taiyang #qrow #Taiqrow #taiqrowweek #ruby rose #yang xiao long #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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