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cheerycherrycandy-resurrected · 4 days ago

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Hunter's Moon (Medieval AU pt. 2)

Epilogue

With everyone settled at the Abbey, Rain and Dew think about taking the final step in their relationship. Swiss and Mountain spend some quality time together outside of its walls and return with something – or someone – rather unexpected.

This is it! Thank you so, SO much for following along!! 🖤🖤🖤

I think that's going to be it for these characters for a while, unless inspiration strikes me. I have more ideas for a new fic that has been on hold since before I started writing this (as the “short 15k” fic it was meant to be), but in the meantime I've slowly posting my character designs from this AU, linked via my AU masterpage.

Rating: T Content: young orphaned ghouls Words: 6952

I'll leave y'all alone for a while now this is done lol, @ashthewaterghoul @bloodfin @cosmicseafoam @everybodyshusband @jazz-bazz @karmicbias @kentuckyfriedsatan @midnight-moth @nefariousghoul @papaslittlesunshine @zombiequeen777 @0-miles-away @ghostedrain

Links to full fic: Tumblr | AO3

Read below, or on AO3!

By the time late autumn rolled around and the final auburn leaves on the trees that matched the colour of Mountain's hair began to fall, so too did Swiss and Mountain fall further for each other. As sure as the turning of the seasons, the pair were undoubtedly soulmates.

Life had changed far less than any of them could have expected: they had been so close for so long now that this new step in their relationship was not as monumental a shift as they had thought it might be. Their days were still spent by each other's sides when it was possible, or in each other's thoughts when it was not. Even the other ghouls had a hard time remembering the time before they were a pair.

The winter was one of hibernation for all the ghouls, sheltering behind the thick walls of the Abbey. The warm temperatures inside matched the warmth of their new family as they huddled together in the Den of an evening, watching the snow fall and paint the ground in a pristine, gleaming blanket of white.

As he had in the long winter nights at their farm, Dew had taken his responsibility as pack heater very seriously. In the same way Rain had helped him connect to his hidden water element, he had grown more attuned to fire after spending time with the Abbey's fire ghouls, and his magic was stronger than it had ever been now that he had found a community within them. Some of the older ghouls who remembered him from his previous time at the Abbey were still a little off with him, but none were outright rude, and Dew was finally self-assured enough to know that he could not force everyone to like him.

He especially liked Ifrit. Despite their very different personalities, with Ifrit being so outgoing that Dew thought he could walk up to a wild bear and try to befriend it – or scarier still, to Mountain – they were becoming fast friends. As another fire ghoul who had run away from his clan while still very young, they had a lot in common. Dew's mischievous side, one that had evolved and mellowed out of his already quick temper, complemented his new friend's perfectly, much to the chagrin of the ghouls who crossed their paths.

One such ghoul was Mountain. As soon as Dew had found out how scared of him Ifrit was, he had made it his mission to remind the gentle giant of a ghoul about it at every opportunity. It had finally reached the point where Mountain was also becoming afraid of bumping into the young fire ghoul. He thought he should probably apologise, but had no idea how to start or really what he would even be apologising for, and so Swiss had stepped in. The multi ghoul had talked Mountain down, explaining that Ifrit was absolutely fine, despite their first encounter,evident by how Dew always had some story or another about which ghoul or sibling Ifrit had coaxed into bed that week. Eventually, the tensions quieted when Ifrit came to realise that Mountain did not want to gut him on sight, and the whole incident was reduced to a small in-joke between Mountain, Swiss and Dew.

Rain was delighted by each and every new development of Dew's friendships, overjoyed that his beloved ghoul was finally coming out of his shell more. His newfound pod of water ghouls were equally smitten with Dew's continued efforts to learn about and fulfil all the mating traditions their kind were used to. Mist in particular had caught him slacking off his duties in the library on many occasions, having discovered something else he could do to further woo Rain written in an old text and fallen down a rabbit hole of research.

Dew's efforts were certainly paying off: while Rain himself was already deeply smitten with Dew, the rituals he was completing were building the sacred mating bond between them. As millennia of ghouls before him had, Dew was demonstrating his commitment to Rain and any future offspring they may bear in the water ghouls’ own manner.

As sociable a species as they were, their mating traditions were the most private of any ghoul and, like the fluid nature of their element, their bonds were not sealed in a single ceremony. Rather they were an ongoing stream of promises through small actions; forming a bond as a river forms a valley. Whereas quintessence ghouls sealed their bonds in His eyes through the spilling of their mixed blood during a full moon, and earth ghouls funnelled their shared energy into a plant that would grow as strong as their love, both in ceremonies in front of their clans, water ghoul bonds were most precious when they were formed with no witnesses but Him himself.

One day, Rain and Dew's bond would be complete. They hadn't discussed when exactly that would be; they both knew it was something they couldn't put a date on, something they would just feel when the time was right. They had, however, decided that when that day came, they would conclude with one last ritual; this time for Dew. Fire ghouls had a ceremony of their own, a tradition almost diametrically opposed to those of the water ghouls. Instead of building something, creating nests and future resources, fire ghouls would braid small locks of their cut hair together to symbolise their union, before sending it up in flames; their love burning brightly together for their pack to see.

Dew would have plenty of practice by then Rain thought, having received countless intricately braided blankets and other gifts made of woven kelp from the lake that the other water ghouls had helped him harvest. He had thrown himself so deeply into learning about water ghoul culture, Rain felt almost guilty how little he still understood about fire ghouls. Dew seemed unbothered though, and there would always be time for Rain to learn more later. They had forever, after all.

Swiss and Mountain were yet to have a conversation about any sort of mating ceremony, although there was an implicit understanding that it would happen in the Spring. Swiss, as a multi ghoul, had no specific ritual he believed in following; his clan had none of their own that he remembered outside of the human wedding ceremonies they partook in for appearance's sake. Earth ghoul rituals however most commonly took place in the spring. In spite of Mountain’s clan’s more brutal traditions, they had also always celebrated in the traditional way, by planting something meaningful to the couple and funnelling their combined energy and love into it. As most plants did best when planted in the springtime, most mating ceremonies had taken place in the same season.

Of more pressing concern to the pair though was the planning of their upcoming expedition. Once the worst of the winter had passed, they wanted to head out to explore the frozen wilderness to experience it in all its sparkling, icy glory. What neither said aloud, but both had thought, was that they would then still be home in the springtime.

Home. It was a new experience for Swiss, knowing he could travel and still have a place to return to. Finally, he could appreciate the land they lived in, and experience existing in nature rather than merely surviving in it. For the first time since he was young, he felt the grounding presence of home; a guide rope back to the surface when he explored too deep. It had taken him a while to realise that home wasn't necessarily a place, but rather a feeling. Losing his city and his family all at once had made the two feel so connected, and his wandering in the many years that followed had lacked either one. In finding his new pack, he had simultaneously found his new home in the village and so he had still never had to think of them separately.

The Abbey was his home now, to be sure, but that hardly mattered. The difference in scenery here compared to their little farm was stark, and yet the feeling was the same. His home wasn't a place; it was his pack. Leaving the village had felt nothing like leaving his city: he had his pack with him still, and wherever they were was home.

Going travelling with Mountain, instead of feeling like he was leaving his home behind, actually felt exciting. After all, he would be taking a part of his home with him; the part that lived deep inside his heart. He couldn't leave anything behind, not when he carried all of his packmates’ love so close to him. The thought brought a peace and security to Swiss that he hadn't felt so deeply and truly since he was young.

They left after the last frost, when the weather was starting to warm up again but before the snow had fully melted. The pack had waved the pair off one crisp morning, even Copia joining them at the main doors to wish them well and watch as they strode off between dew-kissed trees. The chill was invigorating as they hoisted their packs further up onto their shoulders and bade a fond farewell to their home, at least for a while.

It wouldn't be a long trip, not this time, they had agreed. The world was wide and there was so much to explore, but for now they would stick to their plan of heading to the mountains. Copia had helped them acquire supplies from the nearby village; sturdy boots, fur coats, proper sleeping mats and food rations. They had tried to insist that they make their own way, but he had assured them that it was nothing: really just fair payment for their work so far around the Abbey.

If things were tougher than expected, they could turn back. There was no urgency to their exploration, no pressure to hurry along the paths ahead, and the freedom of it was intoxicating. Certainly, the camping part of their expedition was perhaps a sore subject after the rather difficult time they had had travelling to the Abbey, but there had been other factors which made that journey harder than necessary. This trip was all about enjoying nature, just the two of them. Mountain could – and indeed Swiss hoped he would – show off his knowledge and love for the world he had grown up alongside, and Swiss would finally be able to see more of it, building the connection with their environment that most other ghouls had. Most importantly, he had the best ghoul in the world to show it to him.

Trekking along the valley that separated the Abbey from the mountains ahead had been so peaceful, full of a tranquillity that Swiss hadn't known he could feel. They were completely alone under the ice blue sky with a contented silence falling between them for large swathes of the day, and yet it was never quiet. The twittering of birds rang out overhead, the myriad conversations of a species he would never understand and yet could somehow grasp the meaning of completely. Beside them, the river tumbled by in a constant jumble of excitement and frenzy. They hadn't been away long, yet everything was already so much more enjoyable than their hurried trip north months previously.

Ascending the mountain had an altogether more solemn atmosphere, the chaos of the river far behind, and the crunching of their feet the loudest sound. The air grew colder as they climbed, and the terrain shifted from compacted earth and leafy flora to jagged rocks and equally angular evergreens. Despite the quiet, it was still clear that the mountain was full of life. From animal tracks and spindly nests high up in the rocks, to iron footholds hammered into sheer cliffs and rickety rope bridges neither of them was brave – or perhaps foolish - enough to cross.

At one point, Swiss had been convinced he had spotted a yeti, a vast off-white figure far away in the distance reaching up with a tremendous bellow that echoed as far as him and Mountain. The tracks left in the snow when they eventually dared to continue on told a different story; a large bear, its fur covered in snow, seemed a much more reasonable explanation.

The joy of exploration was infectious, capturing both of their imaginations. They trekked over glaciers, frozen rivers of ice trapped in the stony grip of the peaks around them and emerged from valleys into blinding sunlight. As they approached, the animals who called the frozen landscape home scattered, hiding away in their dens to stay warm in their own fur coats rather than the man-made ones Swiss and Mountain wore.

They had continued hiking up until they reached the summit, looking out over the world enveloped in a blanket of clouds. It was nothing like Swiss had ever seen before, everything else they knew seeming so distant down below. Stood on the snowy peak, it truly felt like he and Mountain were staring out at everything ever made while simultaneously being the last two lives on earth.

Descending the mountain had almost been harder than ascending, watching every footfall with deep concentration. It was that concentration that had allowed them to sense the nearby presence of life, Swiss's small quintessence sense niggling in the back of his mind for several miles already. Mountain had also spotted tracks that seemed more humanoid than beast, although he had put them out of his mind as an impossibility. They were almost down to the valley now, and then it would be just one more day of travel to reach the closest town where they could rest fully and recoup supplies.

It was as they were carefully picking their way down a rocky scree that they spotted them; tucked behind a boulder, almost entirely hidden under the spindly shrub growing around it, were two pairs of dark purple eyes staring fearfully out at them. Swiss stopped abruptly, almost causing Mountain to crash into him and send him flying down the slope, before smiling cautiously at the cowering figures. They were ghouls, that he could tell instantly, quintessence ghouls judging by their eyes and the faint static buzz that lingered in the air around them.

“Hi there,” he cooed softly, as though he was approaching a wounded animal, “are you alright?”

The figures didn't move, staring unblinkingly up at the two towering ghouls casting a shadow over their hiding spot. Swiss realised how they must look and crouched down, motioning for Mountain to do the same. The earth ghoul fished some food out of his pack as he did, passing it to Swiss who gently placed it in front of him, before shuffling backwards to give the ghouls space.

One of them, a male, scuttled forward, his eyes never leaving the two strangers as he reached out a long, skinny arm to grab the bread and fruit. He retreated as quickly as he had emerged, but he didn't tuck himself quite as tightly behind the rock this time. Spindly fingers split the chunk of bread down the centre, giving the larger section to the ghoul behind him, before doing the same with the dry ribbons of apple leather.

“My name's Swiss,” the multi ghoul smiled again, keeping his tone gentle, “what's yours?”

The flicker in the ghouls' eyes told him they understood him, even if they seemed reluctant to speak themselves. Mountain introduced himself too, trying to aid Swiss with the amicable, non-threatening atmosphere he was building.

“'M Mountain.” Swiss heard him shuffle, knees likely burning from crouching after walking for so many weeks, before seemingly losing his balance and landing on the dirt path with a grunt. As he winced, rubbing his backside that smarted from the fall, the pair of ghouls glanced at each other, giggling softly.

Swiss followed suit, flopping down into a seated position himself. The quintessence ghouls seemed instantly more relaxed now nether of the large strangers were in any position to pounce, or even move, in a hurry. The second one crept out from behind the rock to get a better look at them, whispering in the other's ear. She was a ghoulette, they realised.

“What are you doing out here? Are you with someone?” Swiss continued, hoping they spoke the same language while wanting to check there would not be an angry clan of quintessence ghouls descending upon them for accosting their young any time soon. The pair of youngsters whispered to each other again before meeting his gaze, clearly putting on their bravest faces.

“Ph-phantom,” the ghoul stuttered out as the ghoulette grabbed his hand to reassure him, “my sister–”

“I'm Aurora,” she almost whispered, “and we're all alone.” She fixed Swiss with a beady gaze, clearly growing with confidence as he and Mountain continued to stay flat on the ground.

“You're going to help us?” she spoke with a stronger voice now, as though her own thoughts were solidifying in front of her. Swiss supposed she was quintessence, and some of them had a way of knowing things that rivalled even the air ghouls, back at the Abbey.

“You have food,” the first ghoul said again, watching Mountain cautiously, “where from?”

Digging more out of his pack Mountain attempted a smile of his own, careful to keep his lips in front of his teeth to not appear more threatening than he knew he likely already did.

“We brought it with us,” he replied quietly, gesturing into the valley below, “we came from down there, we wanted to see the mountains.”

The ghouls looked at him, then at the distant valley, then back at him.

“Our family lived on the mountain,” Aurora, the ghoulette, said sadly, “but they're all gone now.” She turned her head into her brother’s chest, and he wrapped protective, albeit skeletal, arms around her comfortingly.

Swiss and Mountain exchanged glances – any threat that could wipe out a whole clan of quintessence ghouls would be a threat to them to.

“A ghoul,” the male nodded gravely, “he hurt our Mama.”

“Do you know where he went?” Mountain asked gently but with enough urgency that both ghouls paused in their chewing to look up at him. Exchanging a glance, they both pointed up and over the mountain, away from the direction they were headed. Maybe Swiss’ earlier conviction about seeing a yeti wasn’t totally unfounded, but was instead something rather more threatening. Mountain sighed in relief however; they had seemingly missed him and he was unlikely to cause any future problems for them as they headed south and away from the mountainous territory.

“We’re very happy you’re safe,” Swiss was still talking to them like they were a pair of wounded animals, but they seemed to be responding well to it, “they hurt your Mama, but could we help you find the rest of your family?”

They shook their heads in sync.

“Papa told us to run,” Aurora, evidently the more talkative one, raised her head again to speak, “but we felt his energy go dark. Everyone’s did.”

“We left them.” Phantom whimpered, his lower lip wobbling but keeping a brave face up and refusing to let tears fall. It was the ghoulette’s turn to comfort him, whispering words the two older ghouls could not hear.

Swiss felt his heart breaking for the young pair. He knew intimately the exact struggle they had been though, and at a similar age. Having each other would help them, but nothing could truly ease the pain they felt. Time would help them, but freedom from guilt was something he had spent many years battling, something he had learned may never be possible to live without. He lived despite it though, and he prayed with every fibre of his being that these ghouls would learn to too. There and then, Swiss made them a silent promise: he would never let them beat themselves up the way he had done. He would walk over hot coals before he let harm come to them.

Jolting back into the present, Swiss felt Mountain’s gaze on him.

“You’re staring, Love.” He whispered under his breath, concerned for the multi ghoul.

“Sorry.” He muttered, hoping he hadn’t frightened the siblings. Mountain distracted them by offering his waterskin, while Swiss regained his composure. Rather than fear though, the pair seemed more curious in Swiss than ever, as if they recognised something lurking behind his eyes.

“Y’know,” he started, shifting his weight to make himself more comfortable on the hard ground, “something very similar happened to my family too. I was about your age, and I thought I had a great life. I didn’t have any brothers of sisters like you two, but I had lots of cousins. Friends too, who lived nearby.”

He left out the parts about his friends being human – that ghoulish abnormality could wait until they fully trusted him.

“One day, our home was attacked just like yours. My parents wanted me to run, so did my whole family, but I wanted to warm my friends to get away too!”

He felt four bright violet points laser-focussed on him, but unexpectedly two green ones too. Thinking about it, he supposed Mountain had never heard the full story before; only the sanitised version he had sung about in the tavern on occasion.

“My parents begged me to run with them, but I was young and stubborn. I tried to help my friends, but they didn’t want to leave our home. When I tried to run after my family I found my parents had stayed to wait for me, but they–”

The two young ghouls looked solemnly back at Swiss, understanding they shouldn’t have had at their young age clear in their eyes. Swiss heard shuffling behind him, until he felt Mountain’s arms snake around his waist and his chin hook over his shoulder, comforting him. Understanding the truth behind the city’s fall was one thing, but Mountain had not known anything of the guilt Swiss still harboured over it.

“They died protecting me, so I know how you feel,” Swiss summarised, not having expected to bring up the well-buried memories of their cold, still faces when he awoke that morning, “but it’s not your fault, alright?”

Phantom and Aurora nodded fervently, a newfound understanding and kinship on their faces behind the pain that was so apparent there.

“So please, trust me when we ask that you come with us now. We can help you, I promise.”

“There’ll be more food?” Phantom asked hopefully, already eyeing up Mountain’s bag again.

“All the food you can eat.” Mountain chuckled. Despite everything, he supposed they were still normal young ghouls at heart.

They looked to Swiss as though awaiting confirmation. He smiled and nodded, amused at how quickly they had decided he was trustworthy with just some food scraps and a few understanding words. It was good they had found them first; quintessence ghouls were powerful, and he didn’t want to think what could have happened had they been captured by any other ghoul seeking to abuse that power for their own ends.

“There’s other ghouls where we’re going too,” Swiss continued, “good ghouls – they’re like our family.”

The pair exchanged another look, before Aurora spoke up in a very small voice.

“How far is it to your family?”

“It’s still quite a long way,” Swiss winced apologetically, thinking of how weary they already were, “maybe one more day down the mountain to where we can get more food, then another week beyond there?”

“Less if we hire a horse and cart,” Mountain murmured in his ear, “they wouldn’t have to walk, and we could all get back sooner.”

He had a point – they had discovered on their outbound journey that several of the towns between here and the Abbey had operated on a trading network; fresh fruits and vegetables from around the Abbey making their way to the colder climate of the foothills, and stables loaning mounts between the settlements.

“Less than a week,” Swiss corrected himself, looking at the forlorn faces in front of him, “just one more day by foot, then we could travel the rest of the way in just a few days with a wagon and horse.”

“We’re going to help you,” Mountain spoke up with surprising conviction, “you’re not alone anymore.”

With some effort on everyone’s part, the two young ghouls eventually scrambled to their feet and the small party could continue a halting descent down the last of the mountain. Their shoes, while they looked to have been suitable for the terrain some time ago, were worn and thin, and Swiss began to wonder if they wouldn’t be better off simply carrying the two scraps of ghouls. They remained glued to each other’s side though, and he could see no benefit that could come from tearing them apart.

Besides, with each step, the pair seemed to grow in confidence; their tired and sluggish steps becoming nimble and light. This was after all the terrain they were familiar with, made evident as they hopped effortlessly over the rough surfaces like mountain goats. They weren’t speaking much, both clearly still on-edge, even though as quintessence ghouls they could most probably feel that there was no animosity or danger from the large ghouls they were travelling with.

Their progress slowed as the ground flattened out, the paths made soft with the beginnings of the snowmelt from higher lands. Swiss and Mountain urged them on to where they knew they could make camp with promises of hot food, but both knew the rest of the way to the town tomorrow would be a struggle. So much for an relaxed trip thought Mountain, flashbacks of their original flight to the Abbey with a sick Rain at the forefront of his mind.

Something else about the two quintessence ghouls would become difficult in the morning too: their less-than-human appearances. Both seemed to be having trouble with their glamours; their horns and tails hidden safely away but their other unnatural features still clearly on display. Any human who so much as glanced at them currently would be left with the very distinct impression that they were not of this world.

The ghoul had black, shaggy hair with an almost-luminous white streak that kept falling in his eyes, and matching silver blotches scattered across his dark grey skin. The ghoulette was an opposite in complexion, so pale she could have blended in with the mountain snow, if not for her equally dark hair that flickered in a rainbow of colours like oil on water. They had near-identical facial features, down to the glowing shade of violet of their eyes, making Swiss wonder if they weren’t just brother and sister but rather twins. Any siblings were rare enough by ghoulish standards, but twins were almost unheard of.

Aside from their most clearly inhuman features, both ghouls were also concerningly skinny and malnourished, enough to attract unwanted attention even if they did get their glamours together overnight. Swiss and Mountain would have to split up tomorrow, an added complication, with only one of them going near the town while the others waited outside and out of view of the humans.

Finally, the group made it to where Mountain wanted to make camp. The sun had almost entirely set as he went about pulling foliage into a makeshift cover and Swiss built and lit a fire. Phantom and Aurora huddled around it as the flames caught, so close that a protective instinct in Swiss wanted to beg them to sit back a little.

Neither Swiss nor Mountain slept much that night, both too distracted by the quiet huffing breaths of the sleeping quintessence ghouls.

“They're so young, they didn’t deserve any of this.” Swiss whispered forlornly into the air in front of him as Mount held him close to his chest, neither taking their eyes off the small sleeping forms curled together for security and warmth.

“They’re practically still kits, Mount. They can't be much older than when I was when I ended up alone!” He sniffed loudly, holding back tears in Mountain’s reassuring arms.

“Hey, shh…” The earth ghoul rocked him comfortingly. “They’re safe now, they’re here with us.”

Swiss sniffed again, wetly, as Mountain rocked him soothingly.

“And you turned out wonderful, you know? If they have the chance to put their lives back together now, think what they'll be like when they’re all grown up.”

His next sniff was a more resolute one; a promise to so good by the young ghouls.

The next day, everything went smoother than they could have expected. After a slightly rocky start with the two young ghouls waking up and forgetting their unfamiliar surroundings and company for a moment, they set out on their way, slowly. Swiss had waited with them well outside the town limits, as they still seemed most comfortable with him, and he worked hard to keep them distracted with the last of their food while Mountain headed into the town.

He returned a few hours later, pack refilled and a rented horse and cart in tow. Before they left the Abbey, Copia had insisted they take a pouch of emergency money lest they get into trouble, and they couldn’t be more grateful to him for it. They had sworn not to touch it, but knew the old man well enough to know that protecting a pair of young orphaned ghouls would more than count as an emergency in his eyes.

The rest of their journey was swift and uneventful, so much so that Swiss began to wonder if someone was looking out specially for them. Days were still long, and their charges were still skittish at every strange noise and smell, but they made good progress and met surprisingly few other travellers along the road. The young siblings had scarves now, bought for warmth as well as camouflage, draped over their heads which they could hide further behind if they came across any humans. In fact, the only hindrance they had encountered so far was an early spring rain shower, making everyone just a little bit colder and more weary than they already were.

Mountain and Swiss stayed single-minded in their mission to return to the Abbey as quickly as possible, to get the quintessence ghouls somewhere warm and safe where they could begin to heal from their ordeal. Neither would sleep properly or allow themselves to relax until their duty was done.

The air ghoulettes saw them returning, although they had no idea who the figures travelling with their packmates could be. As she had been on the first day of their arrival at the Abbey, Cumulus was waiting by the gate. This time though, Cirrus and their whole pack were also waiting beside her. The arrival of a horse and cart had raised some eyebrows; Mountain and Swiss were not the type of ghouls to shy away from a few days trekking. Had one of them perhaps been injured?

Mountain passed the reigns of their borrowed horse to a waiting Cowbell, who steadied the mare while the wagon's occupants disembarked. The earth ghoul stepped down first, before a murmur of surprise echoed through the assembled ghouls as he turned to help two small ghouls down after him. Swiss brought up the rear.

The pair of larger ghouls, derailing the expected joy and exuberance at their return for now as they stood not facing their pack, protectively ushered their young charges forward to meet the assembled ghouls.

“This is Phantom and Aurora,” Mountain spoke with an authority that suited him well, as unfamiliar to him as it felt, “and they need our help.”

“We can explain more later,” added Swiss in a softer tone, clearly aimed to comfort not only the pair quivering beside him but also his own pack, “but for now, they need hot food and to rest.”

As could have been expected, Cumulus stepped forward immediately, a gentle and welcoming smile replacing the look of confusion on her face.

“Well you're in the right place for that, little ones!” With a glance at Swiss and a nod of confirmation from him, the quintessence ghouls shyly approached her. Cirrus joined her, looking more uncertain than her mate yet also smiling softly at Phantom and Aurora.

“Come on, let's go and get you fed.”

The pair hesitated, observing the assembled crowd of the rest of the pack. They seemed more curious than frightened though, especially of Aether who was hanging back at the rear of the group. Swiss had been worried – although he hadn't said a word – on the final steps of their journey about how they would react to him. Even though he knew Aether was a gentle giant, Swiss had been quietly fearful that his generally large stature and the universal assumption that quintessence ghouls were bullish and violent when others encroached on their territory would frighten the young ghouls. Maybe they sensed his pacifism, or maybe they were simply too naive to know better, as their attention soon switched to observing the rest of the assembled pack.

“Go with them, they'll take good care of you.”

All heads turned to look at Dew, as he suddenly spoke up in a surprisingly sweet tone. Rain squeezed his hand. The promise of a warm meal seemed to finally win out over their intrigue at the collection of new faces, and the two quintessence ghouls trotted after Cumulus and Cirrus.

As soon as they disappeared behind the Abbey walls, Swiss let out a tremendous sigh of relief and slumped against Mountain. They had got the pair here in one piece and they were now safe, at last. The mood was more sombre than anyone could have expected for what sould have been a joyous reunion, but it was very clear why.

“They'll be fine,” Mountain rubbed Swiss’ lower back comfortingly, “they've got no choice with those two looking after them.”

Swiss smiled weakly.

“Well that was all very unexpected.” Sunshine said lightly, shattering the strange silence that had befallen the group. That seemed to do the trick, as Swiss finally felt able to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

Finally, the pack had the reunion they had been expecting. Amid the hugs and loud questions from all the ghouls, and Aether admitting he had used the same calming quintessence trick he used on his more anxious patients in the infirmary on Phantom and Aurora, they heard a commotion as Copia came jogging across the crunchy gravel, robes askew.

“My ghouls! I just heard that you had returned!” He coughed and composed himself, red-faced and out of breath as he was, slightly embarrassed at his undignified appearance. “I am delighted. I trust you had an enjoyable time – and what was this I heard about some young newcomers?”

“Sorry we couldn't send news ahead, Papa,” Swiss was quick to apologise, “and it's a long story!”

The man smiled indulgently.

“Let us retire inside then! You must tell me all about your trip. All of us are desperate to know every detail!”

Swiss and Mountain shared a look.

“If it's alright Papa, I'd like to check on the new ghouls first. Just to check they're settling in.”

“Ah my, of course,” Copia patted Swiss gently on the shoulder, “forgive an over-excited old man. It has been so long since I had adventures of my own you see! I'll be in my study, when you have time.”

Phantom and Aurora were doing just fine, it turned out. The ghoulettes had settled them in front of their Den fire, as they had for Dewdrop all those years before, and they were happily ripping into a whole roasted chicken Cumulus had smuggled out of the kitchen. They looked up at Swiss from the floor with matching grins, shiny with food grease, and his heart had melted. He could see why ghouls would go to war over their kits.

Over the weeks that followed, the young ghouls had filled out some, losing the hungry glint in their eyes. Swiss had quickly found that in helping them, it had also helped him work through his lingering feelings about his past. The pair looked up to him, which he hadn’t been expecting. Whether they had just latched onto the first person they met, or if they really did feel a kinship with him from their similar backgrounds, it didn’t matter. They were clearly looking for a role model and so he would be one.

Their personalities had also started to shine through, shyness now almost entirely evaporated. Aurora was the more independent one, that was abundantly clear. She was smart and witty, and Swiss thought she could probably run the whole Abbey if left to her own devices. Phantom had been quieter to start with, clearly the more sensitive of the two, but he borrowed a confidence from his sister in a way that was endearing to watch.

Swiss had noticed him mimicking some of his own actions too, and it gave him a strange feeling in his stomach – pride, possibly? He was planning to teach Phantom to play the guitar soon – the ghoul had shown a great deal of interest already, his tongue sticking out between his teeth as Swiss showed him how to play a chord or two. Aurora seemed less interested in the guitar. If anything, she was more into dancing; twirling around with the other young ghoulettes of the Abbey and singing along while her brother sat watching the band's performances, utterly enraptured.

As sweet as their early idolatry of him had been, Swiss had been worried about them getting to know other ghouls their own age. Mountain had reassured him countless times that they would be fine without him interfering and he had been right, of course. They had quickly settled into a wing of the Abbey mostly occupied by other quintessence ghouls. Led by Delphinia from the infirmary, they were continuing the pair’s education starting with their clearly-lacking glamours. Swiss found himself feeling like an older pack member to them; he was not used to ever being seen as responsible, but it felt good.

The rest of the pack couldn’t help but feel a fondness for Phantom and Aurora either. Their interest in Aether hadn’t wavered when he stopped using his own quintessence to calm them – if anything it only served to make them more curious, and he was happy to indulge their attempts to practice their newly-learned skills on him.

Dew however was utterly fascinated by them. He had never seen twins before in his life, only ever hearing exaggerated horror stories featuring them, told under the cover of night. From the first moment he met Phantom and Aurora, with their perfectly synchronised head-turns and a continued unsettling silence, he had been captivated. Dew had quickly learned that the pair were definitely not scary at all; especially Phantom, when his eyes would unknowingly blink out of sync with each other. It remined him of a frog.

For ghouls that looked only a little younger than the age Rain had been when he first joined the clan, they both seemed pretty clueless. To think; he had first thought Rain to be the most sheltered ghoul in existence! Naive would have been a better description for the young siblings, but Dewdrop had never claimed to be anything but clueless himself.

As they settled, Dew remained absolutely enchanted by them. He chose to ignore the niggling thought in his brain that perhaps he was feeling the exact same thing Cirrus and Cumulus had felt when he first arrived, bedraggled and pathetic, on their doorstep.

~~~~~~~

As the final vestiges of winter faded and spring fully embraced the earth with her arms, so full of life, Swiss and Mountain only grew closer, knowing what their next step would be.

On a sunny morning with the sky filled with birdsong, Swiss, Mountain and their pack gathered under the freshly green canopy of trees in their garden. Together, the pair pushed handfuls of earth around the myrtle sapling beside the bench that had been the site of so many key moments in their story together. Laying their hands side by side on the soil, they poured all the love they had for each other, and for the earth that had brought them together and held them close, into its roots. The tiny flicker of green-gold from Swiss’ fingertips was a new sight for Mountain and he gasped in astonishment.

“I’ve been practicing,” Swiss whispered with a conspiratorial smile, “specially for this. For you”.

The beaming smile Mountain gave him could have rivalled the brightness of the sun.

On that warm spring day, with the whole pack celebrating the formal union of two of their number, there was only room for love. The love that had been simmering between Swiss and Mountain for longer than either could remember, the love that had blossomed so suddenly between Dewdrop and Rain, but most of all the love that the whole pack shared.

Not one of them had room in their thoughts today to dwell on the events that had brought them to the Abbey, or the reasons they had ended up in the village in the first place. None of them could ever forget those past hardships, but they could choose to move on from them; to set them aside for this brief moment and embrace the parts of life that hadn’t been dealt to them but that they had chosen instead. Today, they had all decided to focus on love.

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ghoultrifle · 1 year ago

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Ghoul IKEA Trip!

This has been sitting in my drafts for a while but @jimothybarnes's thoughts made me actually finish writing it (@jazz-bazz tagging bc i see you in jim's tags)

dew and aurora can't be trusted to behave so they're left at the cafe with a pile of swedish meatballs. dew ends up with lingonberry jam all round his mouth like he's just finished a hunt

rain comes out with no less than 8 blåhajs

phantom buys matching djungelskogs for him and aurora to make up for her not being allowed in

cirrus and mountain play hide and seek in the bedroom furniture section but mountain's horns always peek out of wherever he's hiding :(

aether spends the entire time playing make believe with rain in the room displays. they get lots of concerned looks from other customers: "honey the baby's crying again can you PLEASE put her down in the *squints* smågöra cot I'm trying to cook dinner on the *looks down closely* blixtsnabb hob", "ugh you're such a terrible wife I'm going to our *checks label* idanäs bed!"

cumulus and swiss have their game of seven minutes in heaven rudely interrupted by mountain trying to hide from cirrus. they get a lecture on the ride home about the importance of public decency

papa is incredibly disappointed that none of them actually bought the furniture needed for the new summons' rooms

#trifle writes #ikea ghouls #the band ghost #nameless ghouls #shitghosting #aurora ghoulette #ghoul hcs #cirrus ghoulette #dewdrop ghoul #rain ghoul #swiss ghoul #phantom ghoul #aether ghoul #cumulus ghoulette

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floating-goblin-art · 11 months ago

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comm for @jazz-bazz for their fic!

#arttag #the band ghost #nameless ghouls #dewdrop ghoul #rain ghoul

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midnight-moth-draws · 7 months ago

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@papaslittlesunshine @jazz-bazz as requested - raindrop, princess on top, bbg on the bottom

#midnight moth draws #raindrop #rain ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #nameless ghouls #the band ghost fanart #nameless ghouls fanart #the band ghost #I drew them kilonova style #but no horns cause lazy

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randomvarious · 4 months ago

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Today's compilation:

The Beat Generation 1992 Beat Poetry / Jazz / Spoken Word / Vocalese / Comedy

The much publicized, ridiculed, and parodied Beat Generation, which started sometime in the late 1940s and was eventually subsumed by the hippie and countercultural movements of the 60s, did not end up producing too much music of its own, but the whole lifestyle and aesthetic that it promoted, along with its iconic literary works from the holy trinity of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs, is integral to the history of popular music as we know it. The beatniks themselves worshipped jazz cats like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, and plenty of musicians, such as Bob Dylan and The Beatles, drew lots of inspiration from the Beat Generation. Plus, another major figure of the movement, Neal Cassady, was also in The Merry Pranksters, a roving group of folks who ended up bridging the chronological gap between beatniks and hippies, and toured the continental US in a bus while giving out free LSD to people, which was chronicled in Tom Wolfe's famous Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test book; and members of the Grateful Dead were in those same Merry Pranksters too.

So what we have here is less a triple-disc compilation of music from the Rhino label—although there is definitely music on it—and more a full-on audio documentation of what made the Beat Generation what it was, which in addition to *some* music, includes a lot of Beat poetry, interviews, news items, and mini-audio documentaries too. Here, you get 197 minutes of Beat material, a solid chunk of which is provided by that aforementioned holy trinity themselves, plus kindred spirits like controversial comedic legend Lenny Bruce, whose righteous battle for the freedom to publicly say whatever he wanted without any repercussion made him a Beat ally, even if he was not in any way a beatnik himself.

But for the music that *is* on here, we've got some of the bebop jazz tunes that the beatniks went totally nuts for, including Charlie Parker's terrific "Cosmic Rays," which is one of many songs that demonstrate just what a deft saxophonist Parker really was. And we've got something from Tom Waits too, who arrived way too late to be a beatnik himself, but was nevertheless fond of the movement, and wound up showing his appreciation with his uniquely gravelly voice on "Jack and Neal / California, Here I Come," in which Jack is Jack Kerouac and Neal is Neal Cassady.

So if you're looking for over three hours of music, you're not gonna find it on this release, but if you want something of a definitive audio document of one of the most important and influential subcultures to have ever been formed in American history, without which where we would be now as a culture and society is completely unknowable, you should definitely check this thing out.

And by the way, there's an acid jazzy mid-90s trip hop tune by a German guy named Jazz Con Bazz called "Wayz of Life" that I've been listening to for years now that samples one of the audio documentary tracks that appears on this release. Really blew my fucking mind when I heard the sample too; like, I felt like Wee-Bey in that famous scene from The Wire that's since been turned into one of the greatest gifs of all time. Holy shit! 🤯

Highlights: CD1:

Nelson Riddle - "Route 66 Theme"

CD2:

Charlie Parker - "Cosmic Rays" Edd "Kookie" Byrnes - "Kookie's Mad Pad"

#beat poetry #poetry #poem #poems #jazz #spoken word #vocalese #comedy #music #60s #60s music #60's #60's music #50s #50s music #50's #50's music

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alwaysjustmina · 1 year ago

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Whispers of Rain

Chapter 7 - You Have Got Your Hooks In Me

Thank you to @papaslittlesunshine for betaing as always and of course @midnight-moth for listening to my depraved thoughts. Also special shout out to @jazz-bazz for asking if they can do the handwritten letters for Letters to Dewdrop, check them out, they are amazing!

Thank you @kamonart for this amazing art!

As soon as Eidolon woke up he knew immediately he felt like he was the safest he could ever remember. The rise and fall of the chest in front of him as the body moved and stretched, he found himself nuzzling closer, not wanting to lose this feeling.

He didn’t know when he made the connection of what was happening, that this was Dew kissing him, that Eidolon’s erection was pressed tightly into Dew’s. It may have been when he felt how their bodies move against each other, the wetness of arousal between them. It definitely was after the first kiss.

He tried to stop Dew before it escalated, but he felt so good next to him. He knew he had a thing for Dew, but that Dew was in love with someone else, so it felt wrong to continue. He called his name numerous times, but when Dew said how good he felt, he felt himself melt. Thinking it was for him, and how much he wanted this.

He realized when Dew made the connection a moment before he said his name, he felt his body go rigid and pull into himself. Eidolon moved his hand, relinquishing the grip he had on Dew’s back, his body crying out in agony that it was denied what it needed. He wanted him, but more than wanted, he was falling for him, and it hurt when he said his name and he realized he wasn’t talking to him. The moans Dew emitted weren’t for him, but for someone topside that he didn’t know if Dew would ever see again, or if Eidolon would ever meet.

Dew, for his part, looked at Eidolon in shock, shock that he let himself do this. He took in the ghoul in front of him quickly, noticing the tremble in his lips, his heavy breathing. He didn’t want to hurt Eidolon, he was his only friend here, but the look in his eyes is what really froze time for him, as tears gathered on his lids, threatening to spill over.

He’d be lying if he didn’t think Eidolon was attractive and something more than friendship had developed between them, but when he went to comfort Eidolon, all he saw was Rain’s eyes in the elevator as Ifrit kissed him. How destroyed he was. He knew he wasn’t the one that could offer a soft touch to Eidolon right now. It wasn’t his place.

He pulled himself out of Eidolon’s embrace, mumbling an apology, as he scooted to the edge of the bed to stand up, not seeing Eidolon’s hand reach out. Reaching out to do what, he was unsure of, but he already missed the touch of Dewdrop. Tears silently spilled down his face as Dew exited to the bathroom, to find solace by himself.

Dew quickly turned the shower on, before turning and locking the bathroom door. He caught his reflection in the mirror above the sink, his eyes unfocused, his lips spit slicked, his hair mussed, and then the marks on his neck from where Ifrit had sucked and nipped along his skin, the yellowing on his cheek from a healing punch. He dropped his face into his hands, sobbing, how could he fuck up like this?

How could he say Rain was all he wanted, when he had proof on his body of two other ghouls? He didn’t know how long he stood there in front of the mirror before he heard the soft knocking on the door and Eidolon saying that they had received a message from Ifrit. He could hear the hesitation in his voice, the fear of rejection from Dew, the words laced with sadness.

Dew gathered himself, and said he would be out in a few minutes, jumping in the shower to wash away more of the shame he felt. The betrayal he was committing against Rain.

As soon as he could prepare himself, he left the safety of the bathroom. On the bed were clothes laid out that he quickly slipped on avoiding eye contact with Eidolon who sat at the head of the bed with his knees pulled to his chest.

“One of the servants came up and said that Ifrit wanted to see you, he is waiting outside the door to show you where he is waiting.”

Dew nodded, and moved towards the door, as he heard Eidolon whisper his name. He didn't look back. Dew knew that if he gave himself the chance to look at Eidolon, to look in his eyes, he would break again. How could he explain to him that yes, he cared for him. That he liked him but he didn’t trust anything his head said anymore. That he couldn’t do this to Eidolon, and worse, he couldn’t do this to Rain.

He quietly shut the bedroom door behind him without hesitation, ignoring the quiet sob as the door clicked closed. Why did he always do this to the people he cared about? Just a few months ago, he remembered the same sound coming from Rain’s room.

His mind turned to Ifrit, what did he want now? What more could he do to him?

Read more on Ao3

#whispers of rain #rain ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #nameless ghouls fanfiction #nameless ghouls #ifrit ghost #ghost band #ghost fan fiction #fan fiction #mina writes

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everybodyshusband · 7 months ago

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PURPLE GRAPE FANTA!!

we used to have that back home but its… discontinued maybe? idk i can never find it anymore…

my mom said theres purple fanta still in singapore, and i found this in ONE store here in germany, taste mostly similar though not as intense as the one i had, but looking at the packaging ig this is imported from china? which makes sense bcs china and japan and korea have the wildest things 😂 the other day i found cute peach fanta imported from japan

oh that looks GOOD :0 now i wanna go on a search for the discontinued forbidden purple fanta noooooskdhdjdjd

#jazz-bazz #ask box #husband rambles

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jesusbutbetterrr · 1 year ago

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Ghoulette Appreciation Weeks 2024

Well the time has come about my silly phone friends!! New year, new chances to show some love to our wonderful ghoulettes.

Use this not only as a chance to write about past and present ghoulettes, but also any OCs you may have!

There are two prompts for each week, you can choose which one you want, combine them both, even do a separate work for each if you please. Please feel more than free to tag me in each work, I'm beyond excited to see what everyone creates in the upcoming weeks!!!

Jan 1-6: Start of something new & girl's night out/in

Jan 7-13: stealing clothes & period stuff

Jan 14-20: first ritual & lazy sunday

Jan 21-27: trans ghoulettes & elemental practice

Jan 28-February 3: comfort & hobbies

February 4-10: Murder ghoulettes & self care

February 11-17: "Cant you see how much I love you?"/love confessions & makeovers/dressing up

February 18-24: coffee shop au & sick fic

February 25-March 2: pranks & getting a pet

March 3-9: marriage/soul bonding & laughing

March 10-16: caught in the rain & long distance relationships (romantic or platonic)

March 17-23: beach day & playful one upping

March 24-30: last ritual & learning new things

In the process of putting together this list I had some wonderful people pitch in to help. A special thank you goes out to @jimothybarnes @jazz-bazz @littlemoon-beam @mac-and-thefox @cheerycherrycandy-resurrected @ghoultrifle @to-spread-the-ministry <333

If there is anyone I've missed please let me know, I want to give credit where it is due.

And I believe that is all, go crazy y'all :)

#ghoulette appreciation weeks 2024 #nameless ghoulettes #cirrus ghoulette #cumulus ghoulette #sunshine ghoulette #aurora ghoulette #mist ghoulette #ghoulette oc #the band ghost #ghost the band

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sphylor · 2 years ago

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Hey! I saw you said you wanted an ask about how the others found out about kitty Dew and i would LOVE to be that ask. Please share all of your thoughts with us.

@riverghoulsworld @jazz-bazz i would love to share all my thoughts on how the other ghouls found out about kitty Dew!! this will be a continuation of this post so if you havent already go read that first. thoughts under the cut:

its not until a few months after they come back from tour that the other ghouls find out about kitty Dew. he hadn't gone kitty again whilst on tour and the times he had back at the abbey had been spent alone with Rain. he would feel himself slipping and tug on Rain's sleeve and Rain would instantly understand what's going on and scoop him up and carry him back to his room. there they would cuddle and play and do anything kitty Dew wanted to do. and since he was with Rain it was no longer a bad experience for him. he felt safe and content with him. but he still wasn't ready for the others to see that side of him.

it happens by complete accident, though. one day they're all in the living room lounging around and talking but its a bit too much for Dew. everyone's voices are too loud and there's too many people and they're all talking and someone decided to play music which just adds to the noise. he's squashed between Swiss and Aether in what used to be a comfortable position but now he just feels trapped. Rain is on the complete opposite side of the room, deep in conversation with Mountain, but Dew can't seem to find his voice to call out for him. Swiss is telling some sort of story next to him and Cirrus is laughing so loudly. he's so overstimulated he doesn't even realise the edges of his mind start to go fuzzy. he eventually snaps when Swiss' hand flies a bit too close to his face as he gestures. Dew doesn't even think. he just bites down on Swiss' hand and starts hissing.

everyone goes silent. someone turns the music off but Dew doesn't even realise. he's slipped into kitty brain now. Rain is obviously immediately across the room. he pulls Dew into his lap and sits there on the floor with him, cuddling and cooing him while Dew goes full kitty. Dew's meowing and nuzzling into Rain, calling him mousey and just acting so soft and sweet. the others are so confused because they've literally never seen him act this way before. even Swiss is ignoring the pain in his hand to watch the scene in front of him. when Dew is occupied with his tail, Rain glares around at the others, letting them all know throught that look that if they even think of making fun of Dew no one will find their bodies. he tries to pick Dew up and take him to a more private place like their room but Dew wont let him for some reason. instead he gets up from Rain's lap and starts individually investigating all of the ghouls in turn.

he gives the little puncture wounds on Swiss' hand little licks, looking up at him apologetically whilst Swiss just absolutely melts over how adorable he is. he headbutts Aether, demanding pets. he lies across Cirrus' lap and plays with Cumulus' hair whilst being coddled and showered with affection. he plays with the tuft of fluff at the end of Mountain's tail and then tries to climb him.

Rain tells them enough to assure them that, whilst Dew was overstimulated and that caused him to regress, its a normal thing for him to do and they just have to make sure to make a calm and safe environment for him. once Dew's back to being Dew they do talk about it more with him. they apologise for not realising that Dew wasn't doing ok and reassure him that he can trust all of them. they ask a lot of questions and really do try their best to understand what Dew needs and the best ways to help him when he's kitty. and even though Dew is feeling slightly mortified still and not very happy that that's how they all found out, he gets such a warm feeling in his chest just knowing how loved he truly is.

he still mostly goes kitty around Rain and will always seek him out because he's his mousey <3 but he trusts the other ghouls to look after him too now and loves the attention they all give him.

(once again i still have more to say on this so if you drop me an ask i'll make a post/posts on how kitty Dew reacts to meeting Sunny, Aurora and Phantom for the first time)

#kitty dew #dewdrop ghoul #they all love and care for each other so muchhhhhh

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thehypnone · 6 months ago

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Have I used this joke already? Yes. Will I use it again? Absolutely.

KKEENNDDRICK!!! DROP ANOTHER DISTRACK (GHOUL ORGY) AND MY LIFE, IS YOURSSS /ref /pos

Oh please great father I BEG OF THEE

Not Alive For Anyone

WC: 3,1k

Relationship: Dewdrop/Mountain/Swiss/Phantom

Tags: Foursome - M/M/M/M, Transmasc Dew, Free Use (kinda), Cunnilingus, Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Objectification, Anal Sex, Vaginal Sex, Pressure Kink (is that a thing?), Edging, Degradation, Creampie, Aftercare

Notes: Combining with a commission from @jazz-bazz :3 Beta read and edited by the lovely @mac-and-thefox <3

Read under the cut or on AO3.

The rehearsal today was particularly hot.

The air conditioning went out and Copia ordered some people around so it would get fixed and they did, but it died again just as the band started playing the first song, to their collective annoyance. Papa was obviously frustrated, too, but decided to use this as an opportunity for them all to build up some heat resistance—as if they hadn't already played countless shows in horrid heat fully costumed.

This led to everyone being as snappy as they were horny, due to them sweating bullets and scenting the windowless room with it.

Dewdrop, though, had no issues whatsoever.

He does sweat, yes, but his fire nature makes the heat itself not much of a bother and still, the rehearsal was nothing compared to some shows they had played. So while everyone just wanted to get it over with and go shower and fuck, Dewdrop was having actual fun, as usual during a practice.

He doesn’t really understand why he got jumped by three of his packmates the moment he put his guitar away. He’s hardly ever going to say no to a casual orgy, though, so he didn’t protest being picked up and thrown over Mountain’s shoulder. There were fingers in his cunt and asshole before they even reached Swiss’ room. There he got thrown onto the bed and stripped with no regards to what he wanted or didn’t want.

He thinks he should be grateful that they decided to finger him open—just enough so he doesn't bleed when they spear him on two fat cocks. He’s on his hands and knees with his throat filled by Mountain’s cock as the earth ghoul licks into his cunt to loosen him up while Swiss is behind him, stretching his ass with near clinical precision; poking and prodding as if he’s nothing more than a doll to be inspected prior to using.

Oh, how Dewdrop loves being used.

“So cute,” Swiss hums, adding another finger to the two already nestled inside the fire ghoul’s warm hole. Obscene noise reaches his ears as the multi ghoul thrusts the digits in; Dewdrop has been leaking everywhere since Mountain has picked him up.

He has nearly forgotten about the fourth ghoul that’s in the room with them. Phantom is kneeling by Dewdrop’s head with a tight fist around his cock, slowly stroking himself to the sight of the fire ghoul choking on Mountain’s cock.

The earth ghoul wants to cum first before they really start so that he might have a chance of lasting for long enough. He never can on his first. Shooting down Dewdrop’s throat is a great way to start, indeed, and the fire ghoul’s enthusiasm when it comes to sucking dick is unmatched; Swiss knows he doesn’t have that much time to work him open because of that.

Sure enough, the multi ghoul pushes four fingers into him just when Mountain lets out a nearly guttural groan as Dewdrop makes him cum. Phantom keeps watching; he even dares to reach out, wipe a drop of cum that leaks out of the fire ghoul’s mouth with a finger and bring it down onto his own tongue.

Mountain stays on his back and once he gets the go-ahead, Swiss wastes no more time before grabbing the fire ghoul and sitting him on the other’s cock, hard again. Dewdrop doesn’t even have the time to register the fullness as he is being pushed down—back to Mountain’s chest—and then Swiss is moving Phantom to his liking, too. Suddenly he is sliding the young ghoul’s dick into Dewdrop’s cunt and bending the young quint over him so Swiss can prepare him for his own cock.

Phantom moans and drools onto the fire ghoul’s chest as it is his turn to get stretched out and treated like an object. His hips keep giving light twitches seeking friction instead of just sitting idly in the glorious place that is Dewdrop’s pussy, but Swiss allows no such thing. He holds him still with his free hand and threatens with his claws every time the quintessence ghoul tries to hump into Dewdrop.

“You’re gonna move how I want you to and that’s it, Phantom.” Swiss’ tone alone makes Phantom shudder and whine; it’s cold, the warmth and affection that’s usually dripping from every word Swiss utters is absolutely gone. The quintessence ghoul thinks he shouldn’t be as turned on by it as he is, but alas.

“Swiss–”

“No, shut up,” he snarls and Phantom moans in reply. Swiss chuckles cruelly at how much of a mess he is as he finishes stretching his ass. He smacks his cheek just hard enough to leave a mark before wiping his hand and shoving his cock into him in one swift thrust with no more preamble. Phantom whimpers at the sudden fullness and his own dick kicks where it’s still nestled in Dewdrop.

The fire ghoul himself is way past incoherent at this point, stuffed full and squeezed, and nobody has really moved properly yet. He doesn’t even pay much mind to how he thought it would be Swiss and Mountain fucking him; not that he doesn’t enjoy having sweet little Phantom in his pussy.

He really fucking does.

So if someone were to ask him how exactly he ended up in his current predicament, he would not really know how to answer. Don’t get him wrong, he is enjoying himself immensely, but at this point the others have him so brainless he genuinely can’t remember what led him to…all of this.

“How does his cock feel, huh?” Swiss asks, probably referring to Phantom. He can’t be sure considering Mountain is also buried inside him to the hilt, of course. Either way, they both feel divine. “Hm, kitten?”

“‘S good,” Dewdrop slurs, high on sensation already, and the multi ghoul grins as he thrusts roughly into Phantom where he’s glued to his back. That makes his own dick slam deep into Dewdrop’s cunt, filling him to the brim with the help of the big earth ghoul cock in his ass. “So good, fuck.”

Their position is rather complicated, but they are making it work.

Swiss grunts into Phantom’s ear with every thrust, sheathing himself inside him over and over again and making him do the same to the fire ghoul. The room is filled with filthy sounds of slick flesh against slick flesh and various noises of pleasure falling one by one from four mouths.

Dewdrop is the most lost one, of course.

He’s not really registering what’s happening anymore, he just knows he’s warm, full, and nicely squeezed; the waves of pleasure that are washing over him every second have him out somewhere by the orbit. His eyes are glassy with it and unshed—for now—tears and his pupils are blown so wide the embers of his irises are nearly gone.

Swiss regrets he’s too far to really look into these pretty eyes and see how empty Dewdrop’s brain is.

Mountain isn’t doing much at the bottom of their sweaty fuck-pile; he is holding both of Dewdrop’s wrists in the circle of one of his hands and toying with the fire ghoul’s clit with the other—not with the intention to help properly stimulate him, no. Mountain is doing it for himself, all but fidgeting with the little thing as Dewdrop’s wet hole squeezes his cock over and over again. The earth ghoul is simply content with being cockwarmed and occasionally clenched around if he flicks the fire ghoul’s cock in the right way or if Swiss makes Phantom hit that good spot inside him.

He nuzzles his nose against his shoulder and neck, licking over the scars that are left of Dewdrop’s gills and enjoying the smell he loves so much—of a bonfire that has just been put out with fresh water—being so strong right there. He thinks about what he would do if the gills were still there, how he’d lick inside and suck on the pretty fins surrounding them. Alas, he only worries the delicate skin of the crook of Dewdrop’s neck between his fangs and resists the urge to pierce it just yet; there will be time for that later.

“Mounty–” Dewdrop moans; being beyond any words but their names. The earth ghoul in question presses a fang to a bumpy scar and chuffs in acknowledgement of whatever it might be that Dewdrop was trying to say. Not that it matters much, anyway.

Phantom is nothing more than a two-in-one dildo and a fleshlight as Swiss controls his every movement with a big, warm hand sprawled out over his chest—the other one dimpling the skin on his hip in a possessive grip. It’s Dewdrop that is completely immobilized and reduced to a whiny mess, even though the quintessence ghoul has no control over himself either. He loves it; he’s not even addressed as much as Dewdrop. Swiss is nothing but vicious and the only comfort Mountain has to offer—at least for the time being—is the fire ghoul’s to take.

They should have invited Rain, Swiss thinks. As far as he’s aware the water ghoul got snatched by the ghoulettes after the rehearsal, but Swiss can’t help but wonder how much more wrecked Dewdrop would get if Rain were with them. The power he has over the fire ghoul is something as impressive as it is scary.

They will definitely invite Rain next time.

Phantom’s moans are the loudest and the highest and Swiss absolutely cherishes them. He prides himself in being able to pull all those lovely sounds out of the young ghoul and he knows them so well by now he could categorize them precisely. That’s why he knows exactly when to shove his cock into him harder, when to do it faster, and when to pull out completely just to hear Phantom cry out for it, hating the sudden feeling of cold and empty.

But then Swiss slides back in and all is right in the world again.

Yes, all four of them are enjoying themselves immensely.

Dewdrop tries to arch his back against the onslaught of sensation but Phantom’s hands that are planted firmly on his chest and his—or rather Swiss’—rhythmic thrusts effectively keep him from it. The fire ghoul is literally stuck and he drops his mouth open in a wanton moan at the realization of just how helpless he is right now.

Phantom lets out a similar noise when Dewdrop squeezes around him and Swiss chuckles cruelly behind him. “Two little whores made for being used, how pathetic. Isn’t it, my love?”

Dewdrop’s entire body vibrates with the rumble that comes from Mountain’s chest. “I think it’s rather adorable. It’s like they were made just for us to use.”

He squeezes around the fire ghoul’s slim wrists for good measure; as if to show off just how perfect of a fit they are. Swiss chuckles and nods in agreement.

Dewdrop whines loudly and wiggles his fingers in an attempt to…they’re not sure, really, but the next sound that comes out of him is too close to a sob for Mountain’s liking. “P–please…”

The earth ghoul hums and both lets go of his wrists and pauses toying with his clit. He drags his big hands over Dewdrop’s small body, tweaking his nipples on his way, before he wraps them tightly around him. He squeezes the remaining breath out of him and drills his cock into his hole as the fire ghoul clenches around it at receiving even more of that grounding pressure he craves so much. He flops his half-limp hands back down and grips Phantom’s wrist with one and Mountain’s forearm with the other in a silent plea of keep me close.

Even though they were all happy to reduce him to nothing but a few holes for them to fuck for the time being, he is still their beloved Dewdrop.

“It’s alright, fire lily,” Mountain rumbles into his ear, “I’ve got you, make us feel good some more and it’ll be your turn, I promise.”

Seeing Mountain take on the task of assuring the fire ghoul’s comfort, Swiss smirks; intending to take his cruelty up a notch before they finish.

“Useless without us, both of you,” he spits out with another forceful thrust into Phantom. “Fucking each other and being fucked by us is the only thing you’re good for.”

The quintessence ghoul moans all whorish at his words; a slut for cruel degradation that he is. He pants hard with his head hung and his eyes glued to where Dewdrop’s cunt is being stretched open on his cock, leaking more and more slick with every thrust. It’s an addicting sight and feeling, truly, and Phantom feels a dangerous swoop low in his stomach.

“Swiss–Swiss, I’m…I’m close, ‘m gonna–” he whines as his body moves of its own accord to search for something that will bring him to his orgasm. Swiss, though, doesn’t let it get too far.

“No, you’re not,” he snarls, “not until I tell you.”

Phantom whimpers but there’s nothing he can do about it, really, and everyone involved knows he loves it.

“How’s it going down there, my love?” the multi ghoul asks Mountain. “As hot as up here?”

“Hotter,” he admits, making Swiss chuckle. “I’m close, too, darling.”

“Alright then.”

Swiss groans as he picks up his pace and slams into Phantom with enough force to make the entire bed rattle against the wall.

“You can cum,” he whispers into the quintessence ghoul’s ear and cums deep inside him, grunting. The feeling of the multi ghoul’s cock slotted right against his prostate and the warmth filling him makes Phantom grind into Dewdrop for the last time before he tips over the edge, too.

Dewdrop cries out as he takes his second load of the night. Mountain presses down on his stomach and lets out a growl as he feels Phantom’s softening cock and his own through Dewdrop’s flat tummy. The earth ghoul bucks up into him and finally allows himself to sink his teeth into his shoulder and then he’s gone, too, spilling into Dewdrop’s ass.

Phantom goes completely boneless once he goes down from his high, flopping down onto a very fucked out but still very desperate Dewdrop. He would cry and beg for them to make him cum if only he weren’t squeezed so hard there’s no breath left in his lungs. Swiss somehow holds himself up behind Phantom, pulling out as he breathes heavily and folding in on himself where he kneels.

He knows he’s the one who will regain his composure the fastest and that means he has to switch his semi-cruelty off and give Dewdrop his release; preferably before the poor ghoul drops and descends into real panic.

It’s easy for him to roll Phantom off of him, the bed is big enough so that he can pick Dewdrop up and lay him down next to the quintessence ghoul with Mountain still taking up the middle. The fire ghoul cries out in desperation as he gets manhandled and spread out on his back for Swiss to do whatever he wants to him.

“S–Swiss, pl…please, I–I can’t, I need–please,” Dewdrop babbles, flopping his arms around as if he’s trying to claw his way to getting his release.

But he is completely at Swiss’ mercy; he couldn’t fight him even if he wanted to.

Maybe he does, a little bit—too brainless to realize how much gentler Swiss is now and that whatever he’s going to do is finally going to be for Dewdrop, not someone else.

The multi ghoul lays on his front in between his legs and cannot waste any more time—not only because of his affection for Dewdrop, but also the delicious display of the fire ghoul’s holes all puffy and leaking his packmates’ cum right in front of his face.

Dewdrop must be cleaned up, of course, so why wouldn’t Swiss do it with his tongue?

He descends and plunges the appendage deep into the fire ghoul’s cunt and he absolutely wails; loud enough to wake the dead, probably. Without ghouls bigger than him on and under him, Dewdrop writhes in oversensitivity. Swiss only holds his hips, keeping at least that part of him still enough so that he can enjoy his dessert.

Neither of them notices Mountain gathering Phantom up and off of the bed and taking him to the bathroom to clean him up. They’ll be done before they come back, surely, just in time for a post-coital cuddle pile.

It’s obscene how the multi ghoul eats Dewdrop out, alternating between sucking on his cock, licking Phantom’s cum out of his cunt and doing the same to Mountain’s in his ass. It’s all sloppy and Swiss is all but drowning, but he doesn't ever want to stop.

He will, though; causing the fire ghoul actual anguish is not the plan. Swiss lets go of his hips with one hand and brings it down between his legs. He pushes two of his fingers into Dewdrop’s asshole, his thumb into his pussy, and closes his mouth around his clit.

He sucks and the fire ghoul is gone.

His holes squeeze around Swiss’ fingers and his thighs around his head as slick gushes out of him and absolutely drenches the other’s face and neck. He pulls away immediately, knowing that after being edged for so long, Dewdrop would fall into overstimulation that much faster and that much more intense than usual.

Swiss rests his cheek on the inside of the fire ghoul’s thigh and breathes in the smell of sex hanging in the air; so beautifully concentrated just between Dewdrop’s legs. He’s gasping for breath, laying sprawled out like a wet noodle with no strength to move even an inch. Swiss rubs his warm hands over his skin, wherever he can reach, to ground him and help him come back down smoothly.

Swiss’ eyes close at some point, but he can’t bring himself to care; he’s comfortable snuggled between Dewdrop’s legs. The next thing he knows a blanket is being thrown over him—still there—and there’s another warm body cuddling up to him and the fire ghoul. Phantom shoves his face into Dewdrop’s tummy and wraps his tail around Swiss’ waist. Mountain joins them a moment later, laying down in the other direction and manhandling Dewdrop so that his head is pillowed on his stomach.

Their position is rather complicated, but they’re making it work.

#the band ghost #hypnone writes #nameless ghouls #dewdrop ghoul #swiss ghoul #mountain ghoul #phantom ghoul #hypnone's commissions

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cheerycherrycandy-resurrected · 4 months ago

Text

What You've Done, You Cannot Undo (Medieval AU)

Epilogue

As summer fades, the ghouls settle in further. New friends and relationships blossom, and a new band performs their first ritual in the local village.

Rating: M Content: possessive behavior Words: 4812

Links to full fic: Tumblr | AO3

Not bad for a fic that was meant to be 5 chapters and about 15k words… this was supposed to be a quick little fic that I wrote before moving on to write the longer soulmates AU I’ve been planning since around March!

As I think I've mentioned, this isn't the end! This was always supposed to be a Raindrop fic, and so Swissalps's story will be continued in a sequel. I'll be dropping the first chapter shortly, and I have a special invitation for it if anyone wants that in their ask box! message me or reply if you'd be interested?

I can't let myself get too sappy here or it'll end up longer than the chapter itself. But thank you to everyone who's been so lovely about this fic in replies or reblogs (especially looking at @everybodyshusband @cosmicseafoam @jazz-bazz @0-miles-away @papaslittlesunshine @ligovskaya @midnight-moth @karmicbias @kentuckyfriedsatan and anyone who's AO3 username I haven't correlated to a tumblr blog yet!), I wouldn't have stuck with this so long without you guys 🖤🖤

Read below, or on AO3!

The weeks passed, the summer fading further every day. With the final harvests nearly all brought in and the trees painting themselves in a hundred shades of amber and gold, autumn was finally upon the Abbey. No amount of dulling of the colours of nature could dull the passion of Rain and Dew’s relationship however, even as they found themselves slipping into a routine. For the Abbey’s fire ghouls, it was all hands on deck to help keep the grain dry, yet amidst his busy schedule Dew still found ample time to luxuriate in him and his pack’s safe and comfortable new home. Most importantly though, he thought, he had time to spend with his m– Rain.

Dew had to stop himself for the thousandth time from thinking of Rain as his mate. To him, the rituals were practically complete. Having passed on his amulet, he had opened his heart and shared his soul. For Rain though, he knew they were only at the end of the first step of the many that comprised a water ghoul's courting ritual. They had many months left before Rain would have completed his side of the tradition; the next step being gifts that were less about being pretty, and more practical gifts for their future together. Dew had no way of knowing that Rain was already hard at work on that front; taking advice from his new pod of water ghouls on the best kinds of kelp to harvest from the lake here, and the weaving patterns that would create the softest possible blankets from it. Dew was happy to wait for Rain however; even if it took millennia, he would wait for him.

As the weeks passed for Dew and Rain and their relationship grew both deeper and stronger, Swiss and Mountain continued to dance around each other, both backing out of making the final move at the last second. Their friendship had never been stronger, and with that came the higher pressure of what was a stake if their feelings were not reciprocated.

Aether could see straight through their – at times – comedically oblivious behaviour. He had known Mountain for so many years now, and Swiss a great number too, that he could decipher the thoughts running through their heads just like reading a book. Seeing his pack couple off like they were doing could have made him feel lonely and jealous, he supposed. Considering his thoughts however, he couldn't find a scrap of negativity towards any of them. Really, he was just happy to see his pack happy.

He had a fulfilling life; a pack, new friends around the Abbey. Aether had always said that he was happy alone, with no desire to settle with a mate. Admittedly, Mountain had said something similar when they first met, but Swiss seemed to have been an exception there. Over the recent weeks since Cumulus had properly introduced them, Aether had especially been enjoying getting to know Cowbell. The quiet ghoul's steady, timeless attitude felt grounding amongst the recent chaos of his life, and Aether could tell they seemed as delighted to have made a new friend as he was.

Aether’s role in the infirmary was also going better than he could have expected. Astra had quickly seen how unnecessary any training she could offer him would be, and had set him up mentoring some of the younger quintessence ghouls. To his mild amusement, he had gained a small gaggle of quintessence ghouls who followed him around the infirmary like little ducklings, hanging on his every word and keen to lap up every scrap of knowledge he imparted. Aether found he enjoyed that side of his new role more than he had expected, and looked forward to teaching the younger ghouls each shift.

With the Harvest Festival quickly approaching, one of the main tasks of the infirmary ghouls had been to prepare a supply of tinctures and remedies for the ghouls and siblings alike who would inevitably indulge a little too heavily in the Abbey’s famous blackberry wine. Due to his extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs, Astra had delegated the task of organising this to Aether, who had grasped the extra responsibilities firmly.

Before the festival however, came the one thing that was more exciting to the pack; Swiss, and Copia’s first musical engagement in the local tavern. Sunshine and Mountain were also heavily occupied now in rehearsals for it, the three ghouls – and one human – doing an excellent job of hiding their nerves from the rest of the pack.

The pack was something else that had grown stronger at the Abbey, thought Aether. It hadn’t taken long for the five ghouls to begin to see the ghoulettes they lived their lives in such proximity to as more than just casual friends. Dew had clearly seen them as family long before the others had, but within the span of time they had been here the other ghouls also came to see them as an interwoven part of their lives.

The ghoulettes, Cirrus and Cumulus in particular, had been referring to the new ghouls as pack, long before they were aware of it. The Den had become so much more crowded and noisier since they arrived, but none of the ghoulettes would change it for the world. The Abbey could feel large and lonely at times, and the constant presence of at least one member of the newly extended pack made everything feel cosier.

Indeed, the concert – Aether still found calling it a “Ritual” to be laughable, although he would be happy to be proved wrong – was to be their first true pack adventure. The nine ghouls, plus Cowbell, Copia and several Siblings of Sin, were all planning to make the journey down the hill to support their leader’s latest passion project. Cowbell had offered to drive them in the large horse and cart usually used for their monthly grocery runs to the village, and as such the event was developing quite a party-like atmosphere.

Even amongst the ghouls not attending, most either too busy or incapable of holding an adequate glamour, the day held excitement and novelty. There was a general buzz in the air throughout the Abbey, and it was riding this high that inspired most of the ghouls to finalise their remaining chores before the harvest festival the following day.

One ghoul in particular who seemed to be buoyed along by the jubilant environment was a young, dark-haired fire ghoul. He was comparatively new to the Abbey, arriving some years after Dew left. Swiss was hurrying back to the Den, bringing armfuls of freshly-washed clothes from the laundry when the fire ghoul strode up to him with a self-assured, almost cocky, grin.

“Good luck for tonight,” he purred in a low voice like treacle, reaching out a muscular arm to lay a hand on Swiss’ own bicep, “I’ll be at the festival tomorrow, if you want to get a celebratory drink together?”

Swiss stood confused: he couldn’t remember ever speaking to this ghoul before, and certainly not in a way that would cause him to be so familiar with him. He hoisted the pile of clothes further into his arms, trying to think of a polite was to ask who he was exactly.

“I, um…” Swiss trailed off, distracted by a low noise ringing in his ears. He shook his head slightly, trying to dislodge it but to no avail: if anything, it seemed to be getting louder. A dark and earthy scent suddenly assaulted his senses, and he wondered if he was falling ill, or if he had been cursed or something. It seemed the fire ghoul could feel it too though, as Swiss saw the colour drain from his face, rendering his tanned, olive skin an ashy grey. His terrified eyes were fixed on a point above and behind Swiss, and he stood frozen like a deer caught in a ranger's torchlight. Swiss cautiously turned around, half expecting to see some kind of nether-worldly monster oozing out of the wall.

All he saw was Mountain however, stood tall and stony-faced with a dark aura emanating from him. The added height of his antler-like horns meant he cut an imposing figure. His lip curled into a snarl as he growled again, and a new wave of that woodsy, almost possessive scent washed over Swiss. As much as it seemed to be scaring the fire ghoul, Swiss thought it smelled divine. He smiled at Mountain with a questioning head-tilt, wondering where this strange behaviour was coming from so suddenly. The Earth ghoul’s eyes were fixed on the fire ghoul however, who managed to unfreeze for long enough to stutter out a disjointed sentence.

“I’m sorry!” He looked like he was staring straight into the face of death himself. “I didn’t know, I’m sorry!”

With a jerk of his head, Mountain dismissed him, sending the terrified fire ghoul scuttling down the hallway as fast as he could run, his tail between his legs. Once he was out of sight, Mountain seemed to calm down. His expression softened, and the air around him seemed lighter again.

“What was all that about?” Swiss asked, confused by the earth ghoul’s sudden black mood, and the even more sudden departure of the unknown fire ghoul.

Mountain muttered something Swiss didn’t catch and started relieving him of the large bundle of black clothes in his arms. Swiss trailed back to the Den beside him, still utterly confused by the interaction that had just taken place.

“Was I meant to know who that was?” He mused aloud. “He acted so familiar, yet I can’t remember him from anywhere!”

Mountain almost dropped the clothes, as he doubled over and snorted with laughter, previous aggressive attitude long behind him now that he had the multi ghoul to himself again. Was Swiss seriously that clueless about the fire ghoul’s unsubtle actions? Ever since he’d known him, Swiss had been taking advantage of the humans’ proclivity for flirting with him, often reciprocating if he thought it would secure him more work, or tips and favours. He couldn’t think what would have changed now to make him so oblivious, unless it was simply that it was another ghoul, rather than a human?

“He was clearly flirting with you, Snapdragon!” Mountain guffawed in disbelief. “Could you really not tell?”

Swiss’s quizzical expression suggested that no, he had not been aware of that. Adding to his confusion was Mountain’s reaction: he seemed to be finding the fire ghoul’s actions funny now, but what had the growling and – he realised what it was now – scenting been about? The bounce in the taller ghoul’s gait could only be described as victorious, and he chose to file all the hope about why that could be away until after their performance tonight. That wasn’t a distraction he would allow himself today, not when Copia was relying on him.

Swiss had a suspicion however – one he kept to himself – about why he hadn’t grasped what the fire ghoul was really suggesting, and it had everything to do with the earth ghoul trotting slightly ahead of him. He was self-aware enough to know his feelings for Mountain bordered on infatuation, and he figured that now he had become used to the intensity of those feelings that he had forgotten what anything smaller felt like. The thrill of attraction, or of a newly developing crush felt so insignificant now that they were dwarfed by the magnitude of his feelings for the earth ghoul. He only had eyes for Mountain, and the thought of anyone else thinking they stood a chance in the battle for his heart was laughable to him. Hastening his steps to catch up with Mountain, Swiss fell into step with him to revel in being by his side once again.

Reaching the Den just before they did was an excitable Dewdrop. He burst through the main door, and then into the room he shared with Rain, brandishing a dull metal object.

“Look!” He exclaimed to a slightly startled Rain lounging in their nest. “A horseshoe!”

Rain could see that, although what he couldn’t see was why Dew was quite so excited about such a mundane object. He smiled at him with a questioning tilt of his head and waited for Dew to elaborate.

“The humans do something with them at weddings,” Dew explained as he joined Rain on the bed, still clutching the curved iron shape, “something about them catching luck? I thought we could hang it on our door!”

He held it out for Rain to examine, demonstrating how it could look like a vessel for capturing luck when held in a U-shape. Rain took it from him, and it really was just a regular horseshoe: slightly rusted and worn down from use. More interesting than the horseshoe though, Rain realised that this was the first time Dew had ever brought back something to keep for himself. He let Dew chatter on about needing to find a hammer and some nails, if they should think about painting their door before or after mounting the horseshoe, and what colour Rain would like if so, would he like teal? Rain nodded along, only half his mind on the conversation. The other half was preoccupied celebrating this relatively large step for Dewdrop; this was yet more proof that he was finally starting to settle properly and relax, putting down roots for himself and Rain, finally feeling a sense of permanence.

“I got it when I went to see Cowbell just now,” Dew elaborated, “to check if they’re all ready to drive the cart down to the village tonight. They were just reshoeing the mare we brought with us from the village, so that means this shoe played a part in getting us out of there! It really is lucky!”

Rain melted further. It was becoming increasingly apparent that deep down Dew had the potential to be an incredibly sentimental ghoul, and he couldn't wait to see how that continued.

“It seems to be working so far then,” Rain murmured, holding it up, “I've had nothing but luck since you came back for me.”

With that, he leaned in to steal a kiss; both the horseshoe and all talk of home décor soon being forgotten.

The day seemed both to drag and pass all too quickly at the same time. Before they knew it, Swiss, Mountain and Sunshine were all dressed, and carefully buffing the metal masks that were a part of their outfits one final time. Copia had decided they added a nice touch to their costumes; the shining horns hinting at their ghoulish nature without actually revealing it. The whole Den was alive with excitement and nerves, the fervour growing as the light outside began to fade.

Walking out to the front courtyard to meet Cowbell with the cart, Swiss proudly led the way with his guitar strapped to his back. This felt familiar, and more importantly it felt right; doubly so with Mountain by his side. Cowbell was leaned against the wooden trailer, as human-looking as anyone could remember ever seeing them before. They were smiling softly, although slightly apprehensively, as the pack approached. Behind the pack followed the Siblings of Sin, who had initially been keen for an evening out but now seemed to be regretting their decision. Swiss could smell the waves of alarm pouring off them as they got closer, none of them used to interacting with the ancient ghoul who lived in the stables.

“Good evening, dear ghoul!”

Copia greeted Cowbell as he bustled forward and hoisted himself up next to them at the front of the cart. The rest of them would be travelling in the back, even though none of them were particularly keen to be sharing the space. They had no choice however, and the Siblings dutifully lined up behind the crush of ghouls that were piling in and jostling for space on the narrow wooden benches. Rain and Dew happily squeezed themselves into a corner, and Swiss settled himself into another; Mountain willingly joining him and shuffling closer until their thighs were pressed tight against each other. There was eventually space made for everyone and with a jolt, the cart set off. The sudden motion and continued bumping along the cobbles of the courtyard threw Mountain even closer into Swiss. Even once they were onto the smoother path into the village, he remained plastered along Swiss’ side as the countryside flew by.

It really was a beautiful evening, Swiss though as he glanced out at the trees and fields around them. The orange sunset cast its glow over everything, making the whole world look like it was on fire. Most vibrant of all however was Mountain; his auburn hair glowing in the light like it was itself aflame. With his large horns glamoured away, the russet glow was all that served to make him appear as otherworldly as he did. Swiss thought that the whole world around them could truly be on fire, and he would be happy to sit and burn if only to stare at Mountain for a second longer.

They continued rattling down the hill towards the village, and Swiss felt a pang of longing when he spotted Dew with his head leaning on Rain’s chest; held against his front by the water ghoul's long arms. He wished he could be so casually affectionate with mountain, but he dared not. He wouldn’t allow himself to dream that until he had first concluded the hard part – making sure they really were both on the same page. He didn’t deserve such a reward without the prior work, he thought.

All too soon they were slowing to a stop outside a wide stone building that was emitting a narrow stream of smoke from its chimney: the village tavern. The Siblings practically fell out of the cart, their instincts screaming at them to put some distance between themselves and the ghouls.

“Go, my Children, enjoy yourselves!” Copia laughed as they threw themselves towards the tavern door.

The ghouls were only slightly more restrained as they clambered down and spilled into the building. Cowbell made no move to follow the others inside, instead staying next to the pair of horses, stroking one's nose. Aether paused, looking back at them.

“You aren't coming in?” he asked, worried that the ghoul didn’t realise that they were welcome in too. Cowbell shook their head. They didn’t like crowds, especially human ones, as the noise and bustle were too much for their deeply ancient mind to handle. Despite that, the biggest thing stopping them now however was their appearance: Cowbell gestured to their feet, where Aether saw that their hooves were very much still visible.

“My glamour’s incomplete,” they shrugged, “’m out of practice. It’s been centuries since I last used it.”

One day, Aether thought, he would ask Cowbell just how old they really were. He suspected it was millennia.

“Go inside with the others,” Cowbell smiled a wonky smile, “I’ll be happier listening out here anyway. Besides, I have company.” They stroked the second horse. Reluctantly, Aether followed after the rest of the rabble he called pack, throwing a final look back at Cowbell. They were muttering something in the horse’s ear while continuing to pet them. It sounded to Aether like they were speaking Infernal, a language only spoken in the pit, or so he thought. The horse didn’t seem perturbed though, and she whinnied happily at the attention.

Inside the tavern, the atmosphere was jovial already. The large room was dimly lit, wood-panelled walls and supporting columns all stained dark with years of fire and tobacco smoke. Scattered across the panelling were a patchwork of lighter sections from recent and less-recent repairs. The only lighting came from lanterns that lined the walls and hung directly from the vaulted ceiling, as well as a small number of candles dotted on tables that lent a cosy and friendly air to the place.

Better lit however, was the makeshift stage against the wall. It was slightly raised, simply built from a few wooden planks resting on crates, but it did the job. On the other side was the bar, its countertop polished as smooth as glass from generations of patrons leaning on it. Along its length were a line of stools with faded fabric covers, and the remaining floor space was filled with a hodgepodge of tables and chairs, scattering in increasingly private settings ranging from the centre of the room to corners almost entirely shrouded in darkness.

Leaping lightly onto the stage, Copia looked resplendent in his robes, with his face painted black and white in the mimicry of a skull. Swiss thought he cut an imposing figure, when he wasn’t turning around to look at his ghouls with nerve-tinged excitement at least. The man stretched his arms out wide, the candlelight flickering off his bedazzled chasuble and truly making him look like the head of the dark church.

Before long, the tables began to fill up with locals, intrigued by the talk of visiting musicians from the mysterious Abbey up at the top of the hill. Rain, Dew and the other ghouls not performing settled themselves at the table nearest the stage, Dew looking particularly excited and practically bouncing in his seat beside Rain. Swiss didn’t know what had overtaken him recently, but he seemed so much lighter and carefree now. He assumed it was Rain. The bustling crowd completely filled the tavern as the four musicians took their places on stage. Swiss caught Mountain’s eye once he was settled on the box he used as percussion. He saw the twin green flashes of his eyes behind his mask wink at him, silently wishing him luck. Swiss beamed back at him, his teeth glinting in the firelight through the bottom of his mask. With a final tune of his guitar, and another smile at Sunny, Swiss nodded to Copia and the man addressed the crowd.

The ritual passed in a blur, and before Swiss knew it, they were leaving the stage to rapturous applause and cheers. As he stepped down onto the solid floor, Swiss had a large beer thrust into his hands by a grinning stranger. The jubilant atmosphere continued as the night wore on, the ghouls and their Papa swept up with the crowd, never finding their tankards dry. Even the ghouls who had not been performing seemed to be having fun, spending the local money Copia had given them to allow them to fit in and enjoy the night. The man himself was circling through the crowd, inviting anyone and everyone to the Abbey’s harvest festival the following night. His plan to spread their message was going better than any one of them could have imagined, and he had gained the interest of several curious village members.

The noise and ruckus were proving too much for Aether however, and after a while of watching Dew and Swiss race each other to down their pints, he grabbed a pair of tankards and slipped out the door. Another musician had taken the stage, an accordion player, and Aether found Cowbell tapping along to the beat on the frame and iron wheels of the cart with two sticks like it was a drum kit. Aether chuckled as he approached.

“Copia ought to make the band all wear floor-length robes, then you could join them!”

Cowbell looked slightly sheepish at being caught, but their forked tongue slipped out as they smiled anyway. They joined Aether where he perched on some crates and accepted one of the beers gratefully. Apart from the rhythmic sound of one foot and one hoof tapping on the ground, they sat in a comfortable silence; two friends enjoying each other’s quiet, unhurried company.

Back inside, Swiss could feel every drop of alcohol going to his head, and he thought Mountain must be feeling it too. The night was blurring together into a busy cacophony of singing, cheering and laughing. The one thing he could feel coherently was the constant, grounding pressure of Mountain’s hands on him. The earth ghoul had slunk across the tavern to join him, then barely let him go all evening, always keeping a hold of his waist or hip, or letting their shoulders press against each other. If their tails weren’t safely hidden away, Swiss had the feeling that they too would be braided together.

In his fuzzy mental state, he wasn’t entirely sure what could have brought such behaviour on. The almost possessive twinge to it, like Mountain was trying to ward the humans off, was making his him feel even more floaty than the alcohol. Running on a high from the successful performance, Swiss couldn’t find the mental energy to really care about why Mountain was suddenly glued to him, he only cared that he was. He saw Rain and Dew similarly pressed together, and his inebriated mind let him convince himself that they could be the same, if just for tonight.

Whoever was on stage currently seemed to know the audience well and was gradually convincing more and more of the tavern’s patrons to dance to the jig he played. The humans pressing close, swirling and stamping to the beat, swept the ghouls up in their fervour. Swiss soon found himself pressed closer to Mountain, dancing partners even without indenting to be, the pair clutching each other's arms for balance as they ebbed and flowed with the tide of the crowd.

As the dance ended, Swiss fell against Mountain’s chest. The earth ghoul held him close while they both caught their breath and laughed at the exhilaration. For a while, they held each other and swayed to a slow dance only they could hear. Hearts beating in sync, Swiss looked up at Mountain to see him already staring down at him. His peridot eyes were at the centre of his vision, the only thing Swiss could focus on. They seemed to grow and expand to fill his field of view, and Swiss only realised that this was because they were getting closer together when the twin points of light blurred out of focus.

Swiss’s eyes fluttered shut, and with his vision gone all his other senses heightened in response. He could feel Mountain’s breath against his face and could smell the sour note of beer in it, although he didn’t find that as off-putting as he supposed he should as he stretched up on his tiptoes to bring them closer still. Swiss felt rather than heard Mountain’s final sigh against him, before the soft yet insistent press of Mountain’s lips to his shook him like an earthquake. With all their prior hesitancy washed away by the free-flowing liquor, Swiss pressed back instinctually, throwing his arms around Mountain’s shoulders and holding on like his life depended on it.

Time meant nothing to the pair as they ignored the general ruckus of the crowd around them, and the chorus of whoops and cheers that Dew was leading. It was like all the background noise had faded away leaving only them stood in a world of their own. Before long, although it was really several hours at this point, Copia was desperately trying to shepherd his sleepy, tipsy ghouls and the Siblings into the cart to head back to the Abbey. They had a busy day tomorrow, he reminded them, as he had promised all the villagers that their little band would be performing at the harvest festival too.

Slowly, they all stumbled out into the brisk night where Aether and Cowbell were waiting, three sheets to the wind themselves. Swiss and Mountain had managed to make it over the threshold of the tavern without separating, but getting into the cart proved more difficult. Breathing their own air for the first time in a while, they unsteadily clambered into the trailer, cramming themselves into a corner to continue where they left off, despite the jeers from the ghouls around them.

“Even we're not that bad!” Swiss thought he heard Dew crow from somewhere behind him.

Eventually, they had made the short trip back up the hill and were all bumbling back into the Abbey, still drunk off free beer and good energy. Kiss broken, Swiss continued to hold Mountain's hand as he pulled them into the Den and their room. He kicked his boots off, uncaring where they landed as they tumbled into bed, still giggly and touchy but both too tired to do any more than that.

“Today was fun.” Swiss purred sleepily, as he wriggled in Mountain's arms. The earth ghoul was almost asleep already as he hummed in affirmation. Quickly, they fell into a deep, contented sleep. They could think about what the events of tonight meant for them in the morning.

To be continued...

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