#lamb: nothing can make me stray from my goals

[lil-vibes]

Life footage of me grinding god tears for 2 days straight in my new safe + narilamb being sickeningly soft

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Take My Hand ~ Lucifer x Reader

For so many, even those who know him, Lucifer is an enigmatic riddle that will never be solved. A question with no answer. A blank, white puzzle.  He keeps his stoic facade at all times, overworks himself on anything Diavolo gives him, and if he runs out of work, he finds more, from somewhere that nobody, even the young Prince, has no idea.

He’s always so strict and proper, dresses royal and there is seemingly no imperfection to him. Hell, even Asmo, the most narcissistic brother, is not-so-secretly jealous of his beauty and dominant and mysterious aura that engulfs him, that makes him even more enticing than one could think.

So what is the mysterious of this overly strict Fallen, the one that God loved the most, the one that led the Rebellion of the Celestial War aeons ago, actually hiding? What emotions is he so desperately trying to hide behind those sharp, ruby eyes of him that read into you like infrared?

What kind of fragility is trying to hide being that frozen block that became his heart that aches and burns harder than the Sun itself?

Perhaps that is something that only someone with a fresh perspective shall witness, someone who walks around like a ghost, unnoticeable, yet her eyes are wide and attentive, that can peer right into the depths of anyone’s soul.

They are complete opposites, and yet, they are more alike than anyone could even begin to realise - That is, if they are so adamant to be ignorant, as they’ve always been.

Apart from Solomon, not one, but two other humans were brought into Devildom, and that is because fate made it so that Lucifer chose a girl that had a sister.

A twin sister.

So of course, you cannot separate twins, so Diavolo was okay with bringing both of them, thinking it would be reminiscent of the 6th and 7th brothers, especially for their personalities are like light and day, like the Sun and the Moon, both of them beautiful, yet completely different.

And that was quickly made obvious once they arrived, for the brothers quickly swamped all over the younger sister, since she was a lovable, social butterfly, an extroverted free soul who loves to fool around and bend the rules to breaking point.

The older sister, however, was an introvert of few words, yet all of them were meaningful. She was incredibly diligent and hard-working, studying since the first day in RAD, she was much too busy to even bother going out of her way to break the rules, and had to do everything in her power to get her sister out of trouble, including doing her homework, to avoid detention.

The eldest brother, the most attentive, was quick to realise that all the brothers were attracted to the sunshine like moths to the fire that they didn’t even bother approaching the zircon wrapped in a velvet handkerchief.

He was, however, completely drawn to her...Or maybe it was the mystery surrounding her that he was interested in? He read once, in a human book, that the most intriguing is the journey, not the destination, yet he couldn’t help but wonder if it was similar to going to one’s soul.

Y/N’s soul was pure, it was bright, it was beautiful and tempting, which went in complete anti-thesis with the facade she pulled for everyone - And just like twins are, like Yin and Yang, she was truly the complete opposite of her bright sister that held a dark soul.

But days began to rapidly pass by, and with each day, countless of problematic events happened, that made Lucifer, and not only him, pissed off beyond belief, at the younger sister, and the older one was forced to bare the consequences and solve the problem..

These continuous occurrences started eroding her soul, bit by bit, darkening it, overshadowing her light, and it was beginning to concern the raven haired man, for, in the end, it was still his job to make sure the humans are okay and comfortable in Diavolo’s Kingdom.

Exams were coming along, and Lucifer could see Y/N was beginning to become much paler and less talkative. He didn’t see her as often outside of the classroom, and even to meals that they would always share together...And he began to worry.

He knows very well that humans are very frail, weak and sensitive creatures, that constantly needed to be taken care of, and he knew very well that she wouldn’t have much until she’d collapse.

“Does anyone have a pen, please? All of mine have been completely used up, and I need to urgently finish an assignment.” 

Speak of the devil, Lucifer thought, as his D.D.D.’s notification sound popped on his study desk, where he, himself, was also working on his own assignments, and he chuckled at the coincidence, and pondered over if he should tease her a bit, to provoke her, or not.

Something that Lucifer always loved was to push someone’s boundaries...Not some pushover like Mammon, clearly, but strong, dominating people, much like Satan, much like himself. He wanted to see how far can he push someone until they get angry, until they lose their composure, until they show their true face, until their facade crumbles, and they are no longer the self they show to everyone.

It’s satisfying seeing others step on their pride...

Since he would never do that, clearly. He isn’t the Avatar of Pride for nothing.

Asmo: Nope! I only have my personalised, engraved pen, and I can’t give it to everyone! Beel: Sorry, I accidentally ate all my pens while trying to write my homework. Belphie is sleeping. Levi: I don’t have pens, I write everything on my laptop. Satan: I always misplace mine. I only have the one I keep in my notebook. Mammon: Lol, you’re doing homework? Hah, what a dork! Sorry, I ain’t using Goldie to buy pens! Why not ask your sister? Anyka: You bought 10 pens barely 2 weeks ago, how the hell did you even finish them? Y/N: I have a lot to do. Do you have any spare pens? Anyka: Lol nope x Ask Lucifer or idk Barbatos??

The opportunity is shining, so...Should he start provoking her? Or would that break her even more? This should certainly be interesting... And if anything happens, he always knows when to put a stop to this charade. “I have a spare fountain pen, if it would do.” he sent her a DM, waiting for an answer. “Perfect. Are you in your study, or your bedroom?” she sent an immediate answer, which made him smirk. “Study. If you beg me nicely, I can also give you the ink for it.” he was playing with fire, and damn, was it exhilarating. “You...Want me to...Beg? For a pen and ink? To do my assignments? I don’t think Diavolo would be pleased to hear that.” she typed after an obvious few moments of hesitation. “Sometimes compromises must be made in order to achieve your goal. You are aware, I am sure, that if you do not finish your homework for tomorrow, you will receive detention.” this was getting very interesting, and he couldn’t wait to see what her next step would be. “Fine. I will ask Barbatos then. Thanks for the offer. Have a pleasant night.” she cut him off with clear acid in her words, which made Lucifer chuckle in satisfaction.

She was though, and entertaining. What an adorable little lamb.

And it was true, she asked Barbatos, who told her that he couldn’t go over to the House of Lamentation, for he has to take care of Diavolo, and he refused to allow her to leave the dorms without someone by her side to make sure no stray demon attacks her.

That was a true bummer.

So...She had to step on her pride to get a stupid pen to finish her assignments.  It wasn’t even homework, but she still had hours of work she had to do. It was barely midnight, she couldn’t even attempt to go sleep now.

Going to sleep means obvious overthinking, which means lack of sleep, so better be productive and work, then destroy yourself more than you already are, doing nothing, while staring and cursing the ceiling.

Y/N sighed, breaking the pen in two out of anger, and wobbly got out of her study chair, making a bee line to Lucifer’s study and knocking on the door, waiting to hear the approval word to enter the room. She barely opened the door, walking in front of the seated form of Lucifer, who held his spare fountain pen almost mockingly in front of her.

He was watching her like a hawk, every movement analysed as if under a microscope, almost as if he was carefully searching for any flaw or mistake she would make. However, he could see she wasn’t well. She was sleep deprived, her complexion was much paler than normal, she had dark bags under her eyes...And her posture was slouched, almost sloppy. Lucifer knew she has always been a diligent person, so the homework couldn’t possibly be long overdue. She would have done it in the day it was given. So...What was the urgency? Could it be that...She was...Just like him?

“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to beg for a pen, but, Lucifer, may I please borrow your pen? I promise to return it to you tomorrow, buy a new ink, to your preference, as soon as classes are over and I can go to proper shopping.” her voice was tired, just like her mind and body. She held no emotions in her words. It was almost as if she was intentionally damaging herself to make up for-

Oh.

Perhaps she wasn’t as different from him as he thought she was, and now, at least, he can better understand why she was deteriorating as fast as she was.

“You can keep it, I don’t mind. However, as the head of the student council, and the one who has to overlook this exchange program, I would have to advise you to take better care of yourself and rest, instead of overworking yourself.” Lucifer told her, with a less condescending voice, only to receive a sarcastic scoff, which confused him. “Tell me that when you’re going to follow your own advice.” and she left.

A chuckle escaped his mouth as soon as the door was closed, and for the first time in ages, he actually went to bed early...For his standards. He had to be very attentive of this one, however...She was much more interesting than he believed.

And the first thing he saw in the morning, as he stepped in the classroom, he saw Y/N handing a file to her sister - A file with all the homework for the whole week, that is - And now he could understand why she was overworked. She was going about life in all the wrong ways...Not that he should be one to talk. He knows his own faults, but admitting them to another is a complete different matter.

But things were going to take a horrid turn for the worst, beginning with Diavolo calling everyone for the Student Council meeting, only to announce that the exchange students were going to have a lowered pass/fail line anymore, but will have to work and achieve the demons’ standards and rise to the challenge given.

“If you’re going to control a demon’s powers, you need to have a proper understanding of them and how they should be used.” Diavolo said, which made him realise that the twins, somehow, managed to make pacts with all of the brothers...All of them, sans one. That one being himself, of course. “Hey, whoa, that’s a bit sudden, don’t you think? Exams are just around the corner!” Anyka protested, obviously shocked. “RAD exams are surprisingly tough.” Belphie nodded in agreement. “I’m sure both of you are going to do great, especially if you’ve studied a little bit throughout the semester.” Diavolo smiled, as usual, and the older twin mimicked no emotion on her face. “But...! But I haven’t! I had fun with the brothers all this time...What am I gonna do?! Y/N, say something!” the younger twin shook her sister, waking her up from her trance. “Hmm...? What should I say? He’s right.” she shrugged, not bothering to look at anyone. “I’ve already considered that, and I have a plan. Satan, you are going to be tutoring Y/N and Anyka up until the day of exams.” Lucifer dumped the responsibility on the blond brother, who was barely able to say anything from the shock of being put on the spot. “Oh, that’s perfect! Thank you soooo much, Satan! You’re the best!” Anyka jumped on the 4th born, who chuckled awkwardly. “Thanks, but I can do this by myself. If this was all, then I’m going to see you during the exams. Bye.” she gave a brief peace sign, before leaving to her room, no doubt continuing her studying.

Obviously, Lucifer knew she had it in the bag if she focused. She’s a smart girl, she won’t have any problem...If she stays healthy, that is.  There was something about her that made him want to approach her, to hold her face, to look her in the eyes and tell her to stop doing this to herself. There was something about her innocence and heart that made him want to protect her at all cost, even if that meant protecting her from herself. He pondered offering to tutor her, but what could he even tutor her about, when she clearly knows everything there needs to be learnt about the exams?

He wanted to kiss her hands and reassure her that everything will be okay, and he wanted to hold her tight and help her fall asleep without having running thoughts through her head all the time.

But he can’t do that, can he? If he were to approach her, she’d run away, like a scared little baby fawn trying to find her mama, while being chased off by a hunter. He had to be gentle with her, delicate, to lure her into a sense of security and safety...A warm haven by his side...

But can he really manage to do that, when he’s supposed to be the Big Bad Scary Wolf who punishes everyone and doesn’t allow happiness in the dorms, as per so gracefully described by his lovely brothers?

The first day of the exams came much faster than Y/N realised - She had no idea how time flew by so fast, it felt like she just blinked and bam, exam days - So here she was, drinking her 3rd coffee for the morning while writing her answers for the exam.

Caladrius Blood was the third ingredient for that famous ancient elixir that required Powdered unicorn hood and bittergrass root, for the Magical Potions exam from that morning...

A forest, what covered the surface of Devildom shortly after it came into existence, the answer for the History exam from the afternoon...And a three-legged crow being the relief sculpture at the entrance to the Devildom royal tomb...

Yes, these were all incredibly easy questions, she had no problem, clearly. And that was the same for the 2nd day, with the hexes and curses... And then came the practical exam...Seductive Speechcraft test.

She looked around the classroom with a frown, knowing she had to pair up with someone, but all the brothers were crowding around her sister, and she could only sigh, looking down with her arms crossed, not knowing what to do.

“Would you like to pair up with me, Y/N?” Lucifer’s voice rang soothingly in her ear, making her turn around, her eyebrow raised in confusion. “You...Want to pair up...With me?” she asked in a slow, unsure voice, which made him smile and nod. “Yes, is something wrong with that?” he bent down slightly, getting closer to her face. “No, of course not. I was just...Surprised that anyone wanted to pair up with me. Anyway, we should get started.” she nodded, looking away from him and guiding him to a more secluded part of the classroom. “You have to be the one doing the seducing. I am really curious how you are going to proceed. Could you, perhaps, be...Scared?” with his infamous smirk, he looked smugly at how her otherwise unfaltering facade began to break slightly. “No...It’s just...If I knew I was going to be the one doing the seducing, I would have put on some make up this morning, so I wouldn’t look like I just woke up from death after being buried for 100 years...No, make that 1000 years.” she corrected herself after taking a quick look at her reflection on her D.D.D. “I can assure you, your appearance, for us, demons, won’t change a thing. It’s the words and gestures that matter.” he let out a soft chuckle, watching her nod in acknowledgement. “Okay, if you say so, then I will have to believe you. Can you promise me that you won’t attempt to kill me...Again...No matter what I say or do? Trust me, I want top grades, and I’m going to do anything in my power to snatch them.” her voice now was much firmer, and it sounded clearer, more confident. It was clear that her pride and ambition were on the line, and he wanted to see how she was going to seduce him. He could feel electricity running through his veins from the excitement. “Yes, of course. I won’t do anything to you. In fact, I will be the human, and you will be the demon. You have all the power now. Amaze me, Y/N.” he watched her turn to the side slightly, as if preparing her A-Game face - He was expecting her to try out an impersonation of a succubus, since they were plenty in Devildom, but what she did...Was beyond Lucifer’s power of comprehension.

Her eyes held a glimmer of innocence and pity, her soul somehow seemed to glow with purity and light, just like it was when she first arrived. Her demeanour wasn’t assertive, confident and mysterious, but held a tint of submissiveness and glowing affection, as if she wanted to touch him, but she was too afraid to approach a deity.

He thought that, as he gazed with interest at the girl in front of him, only to be shocked completely by how sweetly alluring her voice could sound, and he almost felt the need to have her cup his face so he could melt into her warm, soothing caress.

“Lucifer...Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Have you noticed how your health is starting to decline? I know you are a demon, and a few hours cut off your usual sleeping schedule won’t mean much for you, but you are exhausted, Lucifer. I hate seeing you like that...Overworking yourself...Finding more work to get piled under, even if you’ve already finished your assignments. I worry about you, and your health...But more...I worry about the reasons for your overworking. I know you’re trying so hard to keep away all the intrusive thoughts that keep plaguing your mind...You think that working to exhaustion is going to keep your mind busy, so you’ll sleep without having to overthink.” hearing those words, Lucifer truly wondered if she had veela or succubus genes in her family, or if her tongue was laced with the sweetest poison there is. She slowly approach him, gingerly holding both of his hands, looking down, imitating a timid kitten, and guiding him to the nearest chair behind him, so she could be at his height...Just a little above, creating the perfect angle to change from a submissive expression, to a more dominating, seductive gaze.

“You’re always so concerned about your brothers, wanting to make sure everything goes perfectly, to the plans that you create, because if things go out of control, you are afraid they will have to suffer...Just like it happened when you led the Rebellion. You still feel guilty for what happened. You are afraid that they regret following you...And so, you are purposely hurting yourself...And this self-inflicted pain became your own sense of comfort and defense. You are afraid that, if somehow, you indulge in your pleasure and the pain disappears, things are going to go out of control completely. You are afraid of the unknown and what it could bring...But trust me, Lucifer...I promise you...They love you. They love you, just as much as you love them. They don’t regret following you. You are a family, and they are happy and content staying together, all 7 of you, together. You deserve to be happy too, Lucifer. You deserve to allow yourself a day off from all this mess, and indulge in your pleasures.” she was so close to him, whispering in his ear, then crouching down, holding his hands, keeping them together and kissing them softly, sending shivers down his spine...But more, he froze completely on the spot. He was shocked...His mind was almost completely blank...Because...How could she possibly know all of this? How can she speak like that? She’s just a human...So...How...? Surely, his brothers had no idea, so how could she, a mere human who came by less than an year ago, understand and know him so well? His heart was beating fast, and it was in pain. It was expecting...It was conflicting everything he ever stood for. A day off? A day for himself? A day of self-care? A day...With her...?

“Won’t you allow me to take away the pain, just for the night? Allow yourself to feel something else other than pain and misery. Allow yourself to be happy. To feel emotional pleasure. Allow yourself to be yourself again, only for a night, because Lucifer, you are not a robot, or a machine, you are not programmed, wired, or running or petrol or gasoline. You have a beautiful heart that feels so much, but you are afraid of the myriad of unknown emotions that are desperately trying to burst out and scream at you to let loose...Because you can. You showed me that you are capable of letting loose, when we were stuck in Levi’s game. Do you remember, Lucifer? We were up on the roof, you had your hair in my lap, and I stroked it gently...You were smiling so beautifully...So carefree...Because you had no worries on your mind or heart. You were yourself. And you were happy.” she put her forehead to his, speaking softly, barely above a whisper, but despite her tone, her words spoke loudly, strongly, into his heart, making it pump faster and faster, energy shooting through his every nerve, vein, artery and capillary...His mind was completely captivated, and his heart was captured. Without even realising, his lips were parted and his eyes were wide from the shock, imagining himself in this utopic paradise that she created merely with her words.

���All you have to do is take my hand and follow me. It’s simple. You can do it, Lucifer. Let yourself feel. Let yourself be...What do you say?” she was perfect. She didn’t break her act for not even a split second. The sparkle in her eyes was there from the beginning to the end, and he could feel her fast-beating heart - It was regular for her, as she had the heart rate of a rabbit - It almost seemed natural for her to persuade and sweet-talk anyone like that. Without even realising it himself, he took her hand, looking at her eyes with an expression of wonder, awe and complete fascination...Until she gave him a devilish smirk, and her eyes started glinting with mischief, which made him frown slightly in confusion.

“I won.” was the last thing she said to him before pulling away from him completely, retorting to her bland and pained, exhausted demeanour. “If I made even Lucifer look at me with glazed eyes and made him take my hand, to take him to some dreamland oasis, then I’m sure I deserve the highest mark in the class.” she chuckled with a deadpan expression on her face, not looking at him. “How...Did you do that?” he asked in a low voice, almost not believing what just happend. “Oh, that was possibly the easiest thing I’ve ever done in a long while. You see...I hold great pride in being incredibly intuitive, perceptive, detail-oriented and being able to properly read people...And their hearts. If I had Asmo, I would have told him that he has an amazing personality, and he’s not just all-looks. If it was Mammon, I’d have showered him with praises. If it was Beel, I would have played the family, Lilith and guilt card...And the list goes on. If you, however, are asking how I managed to say all the right words to you...Well...It’s a bit different...And personal.” she spoke, looking at the teacher with a half-smirk as she was given the highest mark, and rightfully so. “What could be so personal that you managed to speak to me as if you are some ancient demon who has been luring people for aeons with her sweet words laced with acid?” he stood up, looking down at her with a stern expression, yet his mind and heart were fighting a war of conflict. “...I told you everything I would have liked someone to tell me all this time.” the raven haired man could see sadness clouding her face, before leaving to her room.

That was a true experience for Lucifer, he couldn’t deny that to himself, and more, for the whole day, no matter how much he tried to work - Her words kept haunting him, and as soon as he picked up the pen, he immediately thought back at the exam and threw it back on the desk.

He tried taking a hot bath, tried listening to that TSL soundtrack, but she was the one to give it to her, after she spent a fortune on Akuzon for his birthday present, but of course, he thought back at her, and he had to stop the music altogether.

Everything he did, he was reminded of those words that held the flavour of the Poison Apples he eats so often, and it was driving him insane. He could feel his brain overheating, and the pressure on his chest was so great that he wanted to dig his nails into his chest and rip apart the flesh, take out the heart and stomp on his heart, because he couldn’t take it anymore.  He was a demon, and he was a heavy sinner - He NEEDED to grab her hand and escape the horror of reality. He needed to feel that he wasn’t bound by space, nor time, a body or a brain - He needed to be just one soul, bound to another, to feel no more pain, no more reality - Only euphoria, content, happiness, pleasure.

He couldn’t believe he was so willing to give in to his desires, and it was only because of her. It was HER fault. And yet, her last words before her departure from the classroom kept echoing constantly - 

“I told you everything I would have liked someone to tell me all this time.”

He was right all along.

She truly was like him. She was the only one who could properly understand him, and likewise, he was the only one who could take her pain away.  Maybe it was his guardian-complex, having to constantly look after someone, needing to be useful to someone... He needed her, as much as she needed him... Because, unlike him, she could easily waste away, as she is nothing more than a human resembling the first Snowdrop in Spring. He could resist until the end of this world, just as he has done until now, but she couldn’t.

The endless train of thoughts was interrupted by yet another knock on his door, that proved to be the same person that plagued his mind - The little lamb walked into the wolf’s den, almost as if summoned, out of her own accord.

To bring him back his fountain pen, along with the promised high-quality ink...It made him chuckle at how adorable and thoughtful she was being, without realising.

“...You are troubled by something. Do you...Want to talk about it...Or should I leave you alone? I did say some pretty heavy words today, I understand if you wouldn’t want to stay in the same room as me for a while.” she gingerly put the items on his study, not looking up at him. “How come you never looked me in the eyes until then?” he asked, looking at her from the office chair. “I...Was never able to look anyone in the eyes, in my life. Now even my sister or my mother. It makes me start panicking...I get intimidated and scared...So I look away. I forced myself to behave the way I was supposed to, but it was the last thing from comfortable. Don’t take it personal.” she chuckled awkwardly, stepping back. “I was surprised that your words had such an impact that I was ready to follow you...But would you follow me? Would you be able to do the very thing that you told me just today? Would you be willing to strip away that facade of yours, take care of yourself, and allow your heart to feel again?” he asked, stepping slowly in front of her, almost resembling a predator prowling to its prey. “...I don’t want to break down and cry, because if I do...Things will only go downhill, very fast and very hard. I’m...Usually on a downward spiral, but when the wave hits...It takes a long time to swim back to the surface...And I’m sure for how many more times will I have the strength to move and breathe.” she muttered, shuffling on her feet, and Lucifer could understand very well. He could see how frail she has become, and it was all because her brain was working against her so heavily, for whatever reason that was eroding her so badly. “If you promise to stay by my side, I will be here to hold your hand and pull you out of the stormy tides. I will walk next to you for your whole journey, until you get tired of me. You just have to take my hand and let yourself be...Let yourself feel. Let out all the pent up emotions, then smile at me, because you have a beautiful smile, and I haven’t seen it in ages. I know you are afraid...It is frightening walking alone, in the dark, with so many monsters around you, ready to gnaw and maul at you...By I will be there, waiting for you, guiding you with a flashlight, ready to hold and protect you...So...What will you do, Y/N? Do you seek salvation and happiness, or are you ready to give up on yourself and want to succumb to the bottomless pit of the abyssal ocean you were thrown into.” he mimicked the way she talked, the way she moved, the way she articulated her words, as he took his gloves off, touching her face and softly caressing it, bending slightly to peer into her eyes.

He could see that she was afraid - She was beginning to tremble, her eyes were glossy, brimming with tears, her bottom lip was quivering and the conflict of good and evil was obvious inside of her - Her hands were in the air, ready, but not entirely, to grab his hands...

“All you have to do is take my hand and follow me. It’s simple. You can do it, Y/N. Let yourself feel. Let yourself be...What do you say?” he mimicked her own words, wanting to see if it would be enough of a push for her 

Choosing was truly a mortifying experience, but she was strong, he knew that - And that was made obvious when her shoulders finally started shaking, her breath becoming ragged....

And she threw her arms around his torso, letting rivers and rivers of tears fall down her already exhausted face. Her body was so small compared to his, so small...And so cold, in his warm arms...He couldn’t help but hold her tighter, stroking her hair soothingly, putting a kiss on the top of her head.

“Please take care of me, I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I-I don’t want to leech off of you...I’ve always been everyone’s therapist...And I know how much it sucks...B-But you’re the only one who ever bothered to show me any kindness and understanding. Please, Lucifer, don’t let me drown...I’m so tired of swimming...I can’t go on.” her sobs were so pitiful and broken that it shattered his heart and resolve, and all he could do was guide her to the bed, knowing she was too weak to sit up for too long, and started rocking her gently, as he would do with his brothers long ago, in the Celestial Realm, whenever they were upset or had a nightmare.

“Don’t worry, Y/N, I’m here, and I’m not going away until you tell me to. You won’t drown...You grabbed the lifeline the second you took my hand, and I’m going to make sure you keep floating above the sheen of the water and have no problem breathing.” he reassured her, knowing very well how hopeless it feels being in that situation...But now they could at least cling onto each other for help, support, love brightness.

“How...? How did you know everything...?” she asked, clutching on his shirt, almost as if the harder she pulled, the better the chances of survival. “Because the very words you told me are what you needed to hear the most.”

[sur-un-fil]

“Karma is a bitch”

My entry in @nayialovecat's second contest! In both languages, of course... A (huge!) thank you to @waruihoshi for correcting the english version, without her I would have been too ashamed to participate! It's really a little novel, not my best, but it's the first time I participate to a contest and especially for a text in English. Here it is :)

I'll start with the English version and the French version is just below.

Enjoy!

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Fifteen didn't deserve this. He wasn't a bad ... person, and as long as he could remember (that is, until the morning before), he hadn't done anything to justify finding himself tied up and left to feed the Demon. Other than falling into a trap, of course. It wasn't fair. He still had several hours to live, he didn't want to end like this! Well, he would come back to life in the next cycle, but for some time now they had become unusually long. Who knows if they wouldn't just stop someday? Today, for example? With the bad luck that Fifteen dragged on, it was quite possible! So when the Demon offered him a chance to survive, he jumped at it. Two minutes was always better than nothing. Fifteen swallowed his first impulse, which was to sit on the floor to cry and thought while pretending to negotiate with Bendy. He had to surprised him. Show ingenuity. Not easy, for beings made of ink, black magic, despair and small habits. But Fifteen was not a fool. And above all, he was friends with John. John who always came home from Sammy with a blissful smile. He didn't believe for a second that the abomination in front of him was a god. No, he was a poor monster like all of them, but a monster with fangs and claws and a filthy appetite. Yes, but with one or two weaknesses ...

- Just a minute and twenty seconds, my pretty little snack, Bendy creaked with a smirk.

Fifteen flinched. And rushed forward. They weren't that far from his goal. And at that point in the cycle, Fifteen was pretty sure he knew where to find him. He was running as fast as he could. If the Demon was playing fair, he would keep that big, crooked devil form with a damaged leg, which would give him a chance to outrun him. But Bendy was hungry ... Fifteen forced himself not to think about what would happen to him if the Demon took on his bestial form. He bumped into walls as he turned in the hallways, jumped over the black puddles that splashed under the pounding of his feet, hurt his hands as he pushed the doors back ... But he didn't think about it. While fleeing, he tried to mobilize whatever persuasion he had left. He couldn't tell how long he had been running, or even if Bendy was already chasing him. And he wasn't going to stop to listen. Sammy's slogans were displayed on the walls, confirming that he was on the right track. The path they all avoided carefully, usually.

And he found him. Well, "found"... As he opened the door to the radio room, he crashed into Sammy and knocked him down on the floor, swept away by his speed and relief. Before the ex-musician could open his mouth to insult him (and surely promise him some very painful punishment), Fifteen took a deep breath, got up on his hands to look him in the eyes - actually in the mask - and bawled with conviction:

- I WANT TO CONVERT!

Sammy was speechless. It was the first time that one of these ... Useless things had come to him on purpose.

- This is ... Is it true? I mean ... Of course.

Fifteen nodded frantically, persuaded to hear the Demon already coming.

- Uh ... well, let u's talk to you about our Lord first, and ...

- NO! No. Erm, excuse me. Too much faith. Please, dear prophet, could you baptize me right now? I NEED it, you understand? It can't wait!

Fifteen could see the stars shining in Sammy's cardboard eyes. This ability he had to animate his mask had always scared him. But if this freak managed to save his life, he swore to ... To ... To avoid making fun of him too often with his friends. There. He owed him that.

He pushed himself up and jumped to his legs, then reached out and picked Sammy up. He then pushed him as respectfully as possible into the radio room and closed the door. It was paltry protection against Bendy, but maybe it'll give him a few more seconds?  It was worth trying.

Sammy stood in the middle of the room, with dangling arms. He seemed completely overwhelmed bythe turn of the events. Fifteen, in a hurry to save himself, threw himself on his knees in front of him. He then lowered his head and clasped his hands, like he had sometimes caught John doing. Sammy seemed to come out of his delighted amazement. He playfully ran to the back of the room, rummaged in a shelf, and came back to him with a step that  Fifteen considered happy, even from the depths of his fear. He then planted candles in a circle around Fifteen, lit them with a dexterity born of habit (and boredom too). Curious, Fifteen raised his head a little. Sammy wore a clean mask, which a smile bigger than the one of the little devil himself. He had set up a large cardboard representation of Bendy behind him and he was standing in front of Fifteen , his arms raised and a small cup in his right hand.

- My dear ... Sammy began in a powerful voice.

He suddenly lowered his head towards his future follower, who was quivering with impatience and terror.

- What's your name ?

"Fifteen, dear prophet,"  Fifteen replied, emphasizing the last words. He could have sworn that Sammy straightened up, repeating incredulously "Dear Prophet."

- My dear Fifteen, I have the pleasure of welcoming you among the disciples of our Lord Bendy. You've come a long way to get here ...

"But very quickly, believe me!" Fifteen thought sourly.

- ... and we reassure you. You made the right choice. A life full of joy and duty awaits you! You are going to us ...

Fifteen wasn't really listening. He kept a ear open, rolling his eyes internally, annoyed by Sammy's bombast. The ex-musician finally endeds up being silent, perhaps running out of inspiration. He raised his cup to the ceiling. Then he poured it on Fifteen's head. It was cold and oddly thick. And it smelled ...

"... bacon? Is he really baptizing me with soup?"

- You are now part of our community. There are still three of us!

And Fifteen finally heard it. The thud of heavy clawed hands on the floor. He tried to stay calm. He still had a handful seconds left, so he had to try his best. - Let us pray! he exclaimed loudly. He hoped Sammy would take the tension in his voice for a new and vibrant faith.

Sammy looked so delighted with his spontaneous proposal that Fifteen started to feel a bit guilty.  The feeling quickly disappeared when he remembered that his "dear prophet" had previously condemned him to a terrible death. Shivering, he joined his voice to Sammy's, intoning with him a prayer that he found  ridiculous, even though he had forgotten what they were supposed to sound like. He lowered his head, kneeling with his back to the door, with the weirdo reciting happily beside him when the door was torn off its hinges. He didn't move, praying harder, as Sammy turned his head.

- My Lord! What a happy surprise! I have great news: you have more and more believers!

Out of the corner of his eye, Fifteen distinctly saw the Big Bad Ink Demon flinch and step back at the warmth of the masked fanatic's welcome. He only stuck his big horned head through the doorway.

- I forgot you were there, Sally.

- ... Sammy, my Lord.

- Yes, that's what I said, Bendy replied in his deep, husky  voice. Wait ... what are you telling me? What believers?

- New stray lambs opened their eyes and came to worship you! That's wonderful! We will be able to honor you as it should be. Three believers! Imagine how many altars we can build!

- W ... What?

- You will finally be satisfied! Besides, your presence here is proof. I never have the honor to see you at this point in the Cycle. Usually I have to look for you for a long time, or even hide to see you. But you came on your own. You must have felt the power of our love. So the more you will give us the joy of being with us, the stronger our faith will be! 

Fifteen continued to pray absent-mindedly, saying whatever came to his mind that sounded a little religious, but not missing out a crumb of what was happening near to him:

- And we thank You, ô Black Ink, for all these wonderful cartoons You have made. For the strength of their film, which allows us to continue to admire You ... As well as for, uh ... the furniture ... No ... For the bacon soup. Yes, that on the other hand, it is really a miracle that we still find some!

He saw Bendy give him a longing glance, before quickly returning his attention to Sammy, who was beaming with happiness, and  slowly walking towards him with arms wide open. The Ink Demon looked as though he was afraid of what he was planning to do and stepped back again like a big and nervous cat.

- You don't have to, really ... grumbled Bendy.

Sammy was still approaching, looking terribly affectionate, and the Demon whirled around and rushed off down the hall. The prophet slowly lowered his arms, disappointment written on his cardboard mask. Then he turned to Fifteen , who had taken the opportunity to get up and who could not contain his smile. He was alive! He had escaped Bendy! It was a wonderful, a magnificent cyc ...

- Good! Obviously, our Lord, overwhelmed with joy, had to leave. We must now prove ourselves worthy of his trust! I'll teach you the slogans we'll paint on the walls, and show you how to make altars. But I think we are also going to have to innovate. There are more of us, so we have to do new things. We're not going to leave each other now, Fifteen. There is so much to do !

Fifteen felt his happiness of survival die out at the prospect of having to spend all subsequent cycles doing silly and unnecessary things, trapped by a fanatic far too enthusiastic about his faith. Who talked a lot. And who was way too dangerously good with an axe for Fifteen to run away too.

Maybe being eaten by Bendy would't have been so bad after all.

At least it would have been quick.

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[statticscribbles]

Response

Summary: Malachai/Reader;  When hiding your crush goes too far

“Hey Malachai. You busy?” You peer around the doorway of the office in his house and he peers over the reading glasses he has grinning. “Not for you; what’s up?” “I just wanted to tell you something; kinda of big.” “Oh? Got some words about some score?” “No, uhh, Lance proposed.” “Oh, you said yes right?” You try not to frown when Malachai forces a laugh. “Yeah I did.” You find yourself forcing a smile right back at Malachai and try your best not to voice the chorus of please stop me, please tell me you love me that repeats in your head as Malachai turns back to the paper work. “Let me know when the wedding is; I’ll save the date and all that.” He waves his hand and you sulk off, lingering in the hallway but far enough away you miss the way he hisses in anger shoving the paper work to the floor trying his best to snarl but it just ending up as sobbing.

The same is said for him; his imprisonment in his office results in him not seeing your eyes track the pictures of the Ghoulies hanging on the hallway; most of them some variation of you and him together, the other Ghoulies filtering in and out, Lance missing in all of them. He misses how you curl into yourself walking down the hall feeling more and more like a mistake; you make it to the living room, your eye catching onto the shelf that holds all the skulls and other knick-knacks; a sinking pit in your stomach that crawls up into your chest when you realize half of the items are things you’d bought on trips Malachai had sent you out on.

You’re not planning on avoiding him but James appears mumbling about you needing to show up to the next meeting or else; and you roll your eyes only a little shocked you’d managed to successfully avoid three meetings so far. You wonder why Malachai is so intent on letting your slacking go unpunished; maybe he just assumed you’re busy with wedding things. You’d been avoiding Lance if you’re honest as well; you’d gone to the first meeting after announcing the wedding to everyone; most of the Ghoulies congratulating you and making sly jokes about you trying to climb ranks; everyone switches it up claiming Lance is using you to climb ranks. You ignore the way Jenny’s hands linger on Lance and how he doesn’t seem to look towards you besides when someone almost shoves his head towards you. James keeps his voice steady as he repeats that Malacahi needs to see you now. He hisses and goads you towards the House of the Dead and you follow like the lamb you know you are, wondering how fast the slaughter will be.

You’re almost nervous when he calls you into the back of his house; it’s his bedroom, and area Ghoulies only go into when they don’t come out the same, either physically or emotionally injured. You hate how you hope it’s just a physically injury. You’re not sure what he’s upset about, missing meetings with a valid reason was never a problem; you couldn’t count the number of times the other Ghoulies had missed months of meetings just because they’d slept in or been in different cities unknown to the rest of the members.

“Y/N. Sit.” He gestures to the edge of the bed and you’re about to say something when he shoves a crumbled piece of paper into your face, almost pushing you back on the bed from the force of it. You’ve never seen him this upset and you hastily pull at the paper smoothing it to scan over the familiar rsvp and save the date letter you’d packed fifty of a week ago. You’re about to question it, but instead note the check mark that had been crossed out and redone at least four time. You finish smoothing it out and fold it nicely.

“Oh come on Y/N, you can’t be serious right? This is the most overly honeyed sryup-y fake love sounding wedding invitation I’ve ever read! Yeah sure till death do you part; uh-huh we’re all gonna believe that.” He snarls pulling the letter back towards him; you release it nervous about him ripping it. “Malachai please stop; please just-“ “You’re gonna die at 12:45 on May 17th; don’t worry I RSVP’d you’ll see me there, I’ll be in the back; waiting. You’ll be up at the altar minus the casket.” He snaps throwing the letter to the floor.

“Why are you so hung up on me marrying him? It was fine when he proposed; when we were dating but as soon as he wants to marry me? As soon as I want to be happy; there’s a problem? Why can’t you just let me be happy?” You scowl at him and watch as he recoils. “IF YOU THINK I DON’T WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHO INTRODUCED YOU; WHO SPENT ALL THAT TIME WITH YOU TRYING TO FIND YOUR DREAM GUY AND LETTING YOU SETTLE CAUSE WHOEVER YOU HAD IN MIND WANTED NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. COME ON Y/N; HOW CAN I MAKE IT MORE OBVIOUS I’VE BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU THIS ENTIRE TIME.” “YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME WHEN I ASKED ABOUT GUYS WHO WERE INTERESTED IN ME!” You match his volume voice wavering only slightly and biting your tongue to scream how much you want to forget the whole wedding unless it’s with him.

“YOU NEVER WANTED ME!!” “I ONLY EVER WANTED YOU” You jerk back half panting form anger half sobbing when Malachai hesitantly tries to reach towards you. “Y/N.” “It’s fine Malachai; we’ve moved past it.” “Can’t move past something that never happened.” “Why does it hurt then?” You offer, your voice cracking and half hidden behind the tears starting.

“Y/N, baby come here.” He offers his arms out and you let yourself fold into him. You sit in silence trying your best not to memorize his face and his tattoo’s, or how his arms tighten around you and he sighs body relaxing slightly when you press yourself closer to him. “I caught Lance with Jenny; twice.” “I caught him three times, once with James, and twice more with Jenny.” Malachai speaks softly and you nod, not caring if he’s lying.

“And how many people have you been with?” You ask, not trying to justify anything, he just shakes his head and sighs. “None, not since we didn’t have anything happen.” You try your best to laugh but just end up crying for a moment. “Come on Y/N. It-“ “Didn’t matter.” You sigh resting your forehead on his shoulder. “Lance doesn’t even care.” Malachai hums in agreement and you try to nod but he leans back so you’re both lying on the bed. “Just relax, just sleep okay.” You don’t nod, keeping silent as you try your best to not think of anything that happened in the past twenty minutes.

You wake up alone, under the covers; you can hear people moving father towards the front of the house and you can’t hear much of anything beyond what sounds like casual chatter. You slide out of bed shaking off the sleep that remains and cringing when you can hear someone drop something expecting shouting; nothing comes and you try your best to keep your mind off of everything before your impromptu nap. “Mal’s? How long was I asleep?” You call out getting no response and sigh. “Malachai?” You continue to call as you walk into the living and main meeting room.

“Oh, hey Damien.” You nod to the Ghoulie sitting in the armchair. “Hey Y/N. Mal’s went out to get a drink. And food; he’s getting Pop’s I put in your usual order.” “Thanks Damien.” He nods and you can see the way his eyes flicker back to you that he knows. “He’s not getting Pop’s is he?” “Oh he is; he just had to-“ Damien doesn’t finish as Malachai comes back in holding pops in one hand and trying to hide something in his other hand as he see’s you in the room.

“Boss she’s-“ “I can see that Damien.” “I was gonna text you but-“ “It’s okay; go get your burger kid.” “I’m older than both of you.” “Then go get your burger gramps.” Malachai grins and Damien smirks. “What did you do?” You glare and Malachai rolls his eyes hold a bunch of flowers he’d tucked behind himself.

“You got me flowers?” “You always said flowers helped when you were sad.” “I said that like a year ago.” Malachai shrugs and hands them to you. You’re sitting next to Damien across from Malachai  when theres a banging on the door. “Ignore it.” Damien shrugs and takes the distraction to steal two of your fries. “Hey those were mine!” You laugh and he grins Malachai’s eyes stray from the door only slightly. “Excuse me.” He huffs getting up and vanishing to the entrance way to answer the continued banging.

“So please tell me he didn’t plan some horrible surprise for me?” “Oh no; he’s making you make up for the missed meetings.” “Wait there’s a Ghoul meeting right now? I can’t; I have to-“ You’re trying to come up with an excuse and Damien shakes his head, nodding back to the seat you’d scrambled out of. “So. I’m glad we all responded in a decent time; as we all know. Y/N and Lance are getting married in May. Any objections? I have a feeling we’re not going to be let in the church; hell I think some of us might combust.” He wink and a couple of the Ghoulies laugh. “Well?” “This is dumb.” You speak up and a couple of the members grin shaking their heads.

“It’s not, not when it comes to you.” They chorus different iterations of this and you can feel annoyance prickling behind your eyes. “WHY? What the fuck does everyone suddenly care about me!!??” “We don’t; Malachai is in love with you so we gotta keep you happy.” The room goes silent and you turn to look at Malachai. “Malachai is what?” Malachai shakes his head. “Like you didn’t know that.” “You said you wanted me back, not that you were in love with me! That’s a whole different playing field Mals!” Malachai shakes his head.

“Not really, when it comes to you it doesn’t matter how I feel. I just need you to be happy, no matter who it’s with. Lance makes you happy we go with Lance; if it’s Damien or Sasha, hell even FP; whoever makes you happy, whatever makes you happy; is what my goal is. No matter what.” “So if I said I wanted you to kill someone.” “Name them. You mean everything to me Y/N.” “Then why were you letting me get away! Why did you never say anything?”

Malachai chews him lip and looks away from you towards the rest of the Ghoulies before nodding at them to leave. You sit, waiting as they leave, as the quiet settles on the house of the dead once more. You swear you can’t even hear the two of you breathing. “Y/N.” You’re not even sure where it came form or if he even opened his mouth but you nod waiting for an explanation. He nods back towards the back rooms; and you idly wonder what is going to happen in his bedroom this time.

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[stattic-writes]

Response

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[sydneysageivashkov]

hear those bells ring deep in your soul (1/2)

Lissa Dragomir should be happy with her life: she's gotten her place on the Council, her relationship is going well, spirit darkness isn't bothering her, and she's studying her dream degree. Instead, a girl with a purple and yellow aura is following her, insisting that there's a whole life Lissa doesn't remember.

Lissa seeks out answers, but answers have the potential to turn the entire Moroi world upside down, and with it, everything Lissa knows about her past.

ao3 | ff.net dragoway friendship, dragozera, sydrian, jeddie, romitri

Lissa struggled into a sitting position, her hand moving to check the back of her head. Warm blood was oozing from the crown of her head, wetting her fingers. She didn’t have time to focus on it, though – Sonya could heal her later.

If there was a later.

Rose struggled to her feet beside Lissa. Getting thrown against the wall had seen Rose worse for wear, and even Lissa could tell that she was flagging. Still, Rose planted herself in front of Lissa, bringing her fists up in front of her.

“You’re not going to hurt her,” snarled Rose.

“Hurt her?” said Victor, cocking his head. “Oh, no, my dear. I have no need to hurt her.”

Rose spat at him. There was blood colouring her spittle. “Bullshit. You want to be king, then you need to take out the queen.”

“Not quite,” said Victor. He nodded at Robert and said, “Everything is possible with spirit. Even a peaceful revolution.”

“Peaceful?” scoffed Rose. “Peaceful like using good people as your puppets?” Rose took her eyes off Victor, just for a moment, to glance desperately at Dimitri. He didn’t respond, his arms crossed as he started blankly across the room.

“Robert,” said Victor. “It’s time.”

“Rose,” said Lissa. She didn’t know what Victor was planning with Robert, but she knew it wasn’t good, and she couldn’t see them pulling off another miraculous escape: not with Dimitri compelled, Christian knocked out, and Eddie still on the other side of the country. She just wanted to see her best friend’s face one more time before it ended. “Rose, I love you.”

“Liss, I can’t -”

Lissa Dragomir woke up from her nightmare to her boyfriend hovering over her, staring down at her in worry. She blinked away the last of her sleep, his face sharpening in her vision. “Morning,” she whispered.

He learnt down and kissed her lazily, languidly, before pulling away. She made a face; he had morning breath. “Morning,” he echoed.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Just past seven,” he said. “You’ve got the Council meeting soon, remember?”

“Oh, god,” said Lissa, bolting out of bed. “I’m going to be late! You should have woken me sooner!”

Adrian’s laughter followed her out of the room.

-

Lissa arrived at the Council Chambers with exactly three minutes to spare. It wasn’t the entrance she had wanted to make to her first Council session, but at least she hadn’t been late. That would have been completely unacceptable.

“Vasilisa!” exclaimed Victor. She hurried over to him, smiling wide at her uncle. “I was starting to worry.”

“Adrian let me sleep in a little too long,” said Lissa, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. “I’m not too late, am I?”

“Of course not,” said Victor. “The only restriction is getting here before the doors close, and you’ve made that.”

“Good,” said Lissa, relieved. “I can’t believe I slept so late; I could barely sleep last night, I was so nervous about today.”

“There’s nothing to be nervous about, my dear,” said Victor. “Trust me. You’ll do wonderfully.”

Lissa smiled. “Thank you, Uncle – or should I be calling you Your Majesty in here?”

“You’ll call me Your Majesty when the doors close,” said Victor. “But I think we can get away with it for the moment, hm?”

“If you say so, Uncle,” said Lissa. Behind them, the royal guardians closed the doors, Guardian Belikov ritually locking them. Lissa left Victor to take her seat under the Dragomir banner. The seats were more comfortable than she expected them to be, but she still couldn’t sit easy.

Are you out there, Father? she wondered. Are you proud of me?

She looked out at the gallery. Adrian was just taking his seat in the front row, and when he saw her looking, he shot her a thumbs up. She smothered her smile, looking down at the table. She focused on the smooth wood that the council table had been carved from, the way the lacquer gleamed under the lights, the dark spots in the wood – anything to keep Adrian from distracting her.

“I now call to order the latest Council session,” said Victor. He stood at the head of the table. Behind him was his throne, carved meticulously with the symbol of the Dashkov at its top, with the other royal families’ crests winding their way down the sides of the chair. “The first order of business is our newest member – Princess Dragomir?”

Lissa rose to her feet, willing herself not to fall or otherwise embarrass herself. Everybody was looking at her, but she ignored the eyes on her, looking steadily at Victor. “Your Majesty.”

“Do you swear to serve the Moroi people?” asked Victor.

“I do,” said Lissa steadily.

“Do you swear to uphold and defend our laws?”

“I do.”

Victor smiled. “Welcome to the Council, Princess.”

Lissa shrank back into her seat gratefully. Across the table, Ariana Szelsky smiled at her reassuringly. It could have gone worse, she thought.

It was a short meeting – Lissa’s induction and the return of the Dragomirs was the main agenda for the day. Lissa listened calmly through the rest of the meeting. She had studied most of the issues in the lead up to the family quorum being changed so she could hit the ground running when she finally joined the Council.

Afterwards, she ducked out of the palace before Adrian had a chance to find her. She loved her boyfriend, but his ideas of celebration were probably extravagant. Lissa didn’t want a party right now. She wanted to spend the time remembering her father and Andre, the ones who should have been seated at the Council table.

She cut across the lawns and hurried towards the gardens. The Court had a large set of gardens – fitting, for the royal residence. It was mostly quiet at this time of night, and she knew the quietest spots in it. She ducked under weeping willow’s curtain of leaves. It was her favourite place in the whole of Court, a little nest away from the eyes of everyone else. She was the Princess Dragomir, and the eyes followed her everywhere – but not here.

She stopped short. There was someone else under her willow. He looked up, pushing his black hair out of his eyes and narrowing them at her.

“Sorry,” said Lissa. “I didn’t realise -”

“Princess Dragomir,” he said. “Didn’t expect to see you here. Aren’t you meant to be gossiping with the rest of the Council? Deciding how to get more dhampirs killed?”

Lissa flushed, her fists clenching. “I didn’t have anything to do with the age law, and you know it, Ozera.”

She hadn’t spoken to Christian Ozera in years. He had kept to himself in school, and she had left him to it. In all honesty, she was surprised he was at Court – she would have expected him to distance himself from the Moroi world as much as he could, after graduation – and especially after what had happened with his aunt.

“I bet you spent all of your first Council session fighting it, though,” said Christian. He widened his eyes in mock surprise. “Oh, wait, the Council was too busy bending over itself welcoming the lost lamb home, wasn’t it?”

“Look, I had nothing to do with the age law, and I had nothing to do with your aunt,” said Lissa. “Not that I have to share my goals with you, but the King and I are working to repeal the age law, so if you want to go after anyone, it should be Nathan Ivashkov or Reece Taurus, not someone who’s on your side.”

Christian stared at her for a long moment then looked down. “You’re right. Fine. You’re not the problem with the system.”

“Thank you,” huffed Lissa. “Now, are you going to harass me all afternoon, or am I fine to stay?”

“You can stay, but -” Christian paused then continued, “Don’t you have that Ivashkov boyfriend? Shouldn’t you be with him after your first Council session? Seems like the kind of thing a boyfriend would want to celebrate.”

“He does,” said Lissa with a sigh. “There’s just not much worth celebrating. I haven’t done anything yet. I didn’t say two words in that session. There’s no point in celebrating being a royal if I can’t do anything with my status.” She smiled wistfully. “When I get the age law repealed, or legalise magical self-defence, then maybe we can throw a party. But until then, it’s just celebrating a terrible system.”

Christian half-smiled at her. “You know, you might actually be alright, Princess Dragomir.”

“Your approval means so much to me,” deadpanned Lissa, but she smiled all the same.

When she went back to her and Adrian’s apartment, the sun was already starting to crest on the horizon. She hadn’t meant to stay out so late. She hadn’t meant to talk to Christian for any longer than it took to apologise for disturbing him. And yet…

She pushed the door open, and Adrian jumped. Her eyes widened at the sight: he was by the stove, a pot on and boiling something. The counter was like a disaster zone, with too many mismatching ingredients to possibly be used for just one meal.

“Lissa!” exclaimed Adrian. “Shit, I -” He gestured at the mess. “I meant to make you dinner.”

Lissa smiled. It was sweet of him, even if it had ended up a bit of a disaster. “We’ll get take out.”

“I made you something else,” said Adrian. “Something that I didn’t fuck up.” He scurried to the other side of the room, where there was something waiting for Lissa that hadn’t been there when she had left that morning. A sheet covered a canvas, and Adrian pulled it off with a flourish.

It was a painting. A girl stood in a red dress, surrounded by purple and yellow. It was a beautiful painting, but…

“Is that me?” asked Lissa in confusion.

“Yeah!” said Adrian.

“But the painting has brown eyes,” said Lissa. The work was so impressionistic she was willing to forgive other differences between her and the girl in the painting, but the brown eyes seemed a bit too far from reality.

Adrian waved his hand dismissively. “It just worked better that way. Artistic licence.” He looked at her hopefully. “Do you like it?”

“Of course I do,” said Lissa, pulling him into a hug. “Thank you, Adrian.”

-

Lissa loved college. Really, she did. Her political science major was preparing her for her life on the Council, and her creative writing minor was keeping her sane through all her stresses. Still, that didn’t mean that lectures couldn’t drone on a bit.

God, Foucault was the worst.

She sighed as she rested her head on her hand. Next to her, Serena smirked and whispered, “How do you think the rest of us feel?” She nodded minutely at her partner, Will Kavinsky, who was seated closest to the door, ready for any Strigoi.

Lissa smothered a grin and turned to look at the lecturer again. Her head snapped back. There was a girl there that she had seen before. Not in class – Lissa had gotten familiar with all of her classmates’ auras in the first few weeks of semester. This girl was new, and so was her yellow-and-purple aura. But Lissa had seen that aura before somewhere, and recently, too.

She didn’t look out of place. She was alternating between watching the lecturer and scribbling down notes, just like everyone else in the room. She was dressed nicely, but not too nicely for a college campus, and she hadn’t looked at Lissa once, as far as anyone had noticed. If she had spent too much time studying Lissa, then Serena or Will would have noticed. But Lissa was certain: she’d seen that girl before.

Well. Class had certainly gotten much more interesting.

After her class ended, Lissa had an hour until her elective class on religion and folklore started. She and Serena headed to their preferred café on campus, Will following a safe distance behind. Lissa ordered a hot chocolate for herself and an espresso for Serena – her guardians needed all the help they could get, especially since they were personally interested in Lissa’s classes. Then she chose a seat by the window and waited.

The girl turned up, just like Lissa had known she would. Both Serena and Will looked up as the door opened, but their gazes seemed to glide right off her. She ordered herself a latte before settling down on the opposite side of the café, pulling out a book and beginning to read. The book was thick and well-worn, a hardcover with leaves of paper that weren’t quite all the same size. The girl ran her fingers over the words, mouthing something to herself. Her aura flared more purple than ever.

“Lissa?” asked Serena. “Everything alright?”

The girl was moving. She had put her book back in her bag, picked it up, and headed to the bathroom. Not anything unusual about it – maybe a little paranoid, since the only half-drunk coffee seemed to indicate she was coming back – but Lissa still got to her feet. “I just need a minute. I’ll be in the bathroom for a second, alright?”

“Alright,” said Serena, who would no doubt have her eyes glued to the bathroom door the whole time Lissa was gone.

The bathroom was empty when Lissa arrived. All the stalls were vacant and no one was at the washroom. Lissa turned to leave, wondering if spirit was starting to get to her, and ran straight into the girl. Lissa stifled a shriek before saying, “Sorry, I didn’t mean -”

“Lissa,” said the girl.

Lissa took a step back. “Who are you?”

“My name is Sydney Sage,” she said. “I’m here to help. Something’s wrong, and I think you might be the only person who can do something about it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Lissa, taking another step back. “My guardians are just outside. They’ll know if -”

“I’m not with the Strigoi,” said Sydney. “Please, I know this is going to be a lot to believe, but if you’ll just hear me out for five minutes -”

“Hear what out?” said Lissa.

“Adrian’s favourite food is raspberry slushie,” said Sydney. “I know that’s not even a food, but try telling him that. His favourite game is Monopoly, his favourite flower morning glories, his favourite song Shine On Your Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd.” Lissa stopped. Her thoughts raced ahead of her: She’s making this up – but Adrian was listening to Pink Floyd just the other day – “He’s only broken one bone, when he was six and tripped down a set of stairs chasing a cat to pet,” continued Sydney.

“How do you know all of this?” whispered Lissa. “You’re human.”

Sydney turned her head slightly, and light caught on her cheek. Silver glinted in the shape of a lily. “I’ve had some experience with Moroi.”

Alchemists had gold tattoos, thought Lissa. She didn’t know everything about the Alchemists, though, so instead she said, “But you know about Adrian, not just the Moroi. How do you know so much about my boyfriend?”

Sydney’s face tightened, just a little, almost imperceptibly. “That’s what I need to talk to you about, Lissa – Y – Princess Dragomir.”

“My guardian is going to come in here eventually,” warned Lissa.

“We think that there’s some kind of mass compulsion,” said Sydney. “I was assigned to protect -” she hesitated “ – someone for the Moroi, with the help of a few guardians. One morning, they woke up, and they didn’t know why they were there, they didn’t remember anything that had happened over the past few months, they didn’t know me. I managed to get their memories back, but as far as any of us can tell, it’s affected every Moroi and dhampir out there.”

“I can’t be compelled like that,” said Lissa. “I’m a spirit user. I’m naturally resistant to compulsion.”

“Do you have a tattoo?” asked Sydney. She did. She had a dragon tattooed on to her shoulder, the symbol of her family. Sydney saw the confirmation in her eyes and pushed on. “Does Adrian?”

“Yes,” whispered Lissa.

“Sometimes, a tattoo can be used to reinforce compulsion,” said Sydney. She tapped the silver lily on her cheek and said, “Trust me. I’m very familiar with it.”

“I don’t have any reason to believe this,” said Lissa. “What you’re saying is insane – compulsion over every Moroi and dhampir out there? The amount of power that would take to maintain would drive anyone mad.”

“You’re right,” said Sydney, grimly. “It would drive someone insane. It just won’t always be the spirit user.” She fished a phone out of her pocket. “Look,” she said, switching the screen on and holding it out to Lissa. The phone was already open to a camera roll of photos and Lissa swiped through it. There was Adrian, with his arm wrapped around a young girl Lissa didn’t know, kissing the top of her brown curls. One of Eddie Castile – Lissa hadn’t seen Eddie since she graduated – with Sydney and the girl, laughing.

Lissa stopped on the third photo. It was one of her, dressed as a fairy, arm in arm with another girl that Lissa had never met. The other girl had dark hair and tanned skin, and her face was turned away from the camera because she was saying something to Lissa. Lissa was laughing, her head thrown back. They were in matching costumes, both wearing fairy wings and both with liberal amounts of glitter scattered through their hair and over their skin.

“That was at Halloween last year,” said Sydney. “Rose sent the photo to Dimitri, and he shared it with Eddie, Jill and I.”

“I don’t - ” Lissa broke off. She didn’t understand any of this.

“We can fix this,” said Sydney. “But we need your help.”

Lissa swallowed hard and looked back up at Sydney. “My guardians won’t let me go anywhere.”

“That’s where I come in,” said Sydney. She rummaged through her bag and took out a piece of cloth tied around something that smelled of herbs, hanging from a long black cord. She handed it to Lissa and said, “Wear this around your neck and they won’t see you leave.”

Lissa took it dubiously. “I don’t see how a bunch of herbs is going to make me invisible.”

“You’ve got your tricks, I’ve got mine,” said Sydney. “Trust me. You don’t want to be using anymore spirit.” Lissa slid the black cord over her neck. She couldn’t see any difference, but Sydney nodded in approval.

This is a bad idea, thought Lissa. You’ve never met this person in your life. She’s been stalking you, and now she’s taking you away from the guardians. She could be leading you into a trap.

But Lissa had so many questions, and not a single one of them could be explained by anyone other than Sydney Sage. So when Sydney left the café, Lissa followed.

-

When she was in the car with Sydney, Lissa waited until they had pulled out of the parking lot before she finally asked the obvious question. “How did you do that? Serena and Will didn’t even see me.”

“Magic,” said Sydney. “It’s not common, and it’s not intrinsic to us like it is for Moroi, but some humans can use magic, too. It’s the only reason I was able to get the others’ memories straightened up.”

“Who are the others?” asked Lissa.

“Eddie Castile,” said Sydney. “You know him, right? That didn’t get taken from you?”

“We both went to Saint Vladimir’s, yeah,” said Lissa. “Who else?”

“Jill,” said Sydney, looking at Lissa out of the corner of her eye. “Jill Mastrano. There’s more to it, but that’s definitely been taken from your memories. And Neil Raymond and Angeline Dawes, who are our other two guardians.”

“That’s a lot of guardians,” said Lissa. “You said that you were protecting someone. Who?”

“Jill,” said Sydney. “God, I shouldn’t have to be the one to tell you this. Jill’s an illegitimate child, but one with enough royal blood to be considered part of one of the royal families, and we had to keep her away from the rest of the Moroi population because without her, her family wouldn’t make quorum, and she was being targeted for it.”

There was only one royal family who was struggling to make quorum. “No,” said Lissa. That was too far over the line. That was a lie. “You’re lying to me. Let me out, let me go!” Lissa threw all the compulsion she had into the command, but Sydney didn’t even blink.

“Sorry,” said Sydney. “I can’t be compelled anymore. You’ll still want to see this, Your Highness.”

“My father would never have cheated on my mother,” seethed Lissa. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re trying to do – you’re not even a real Alchemist, are you? Alchemist lilies are gold!”

Sydney smiled, very faintly. “You’re right. I’m not a real Alchemist. I haven’t been one for a while. But I’m not a real Alchemist anymore because I love your sister like she’s my own, and I would do anything to keep her safe.” Sydney took a left turn into a suburban neighbourhood. The houses were run-down and the yards weren’t well-maintained. Lissa stared out the window, watching the beat-up cars pass them. “We can’t all afford luxury on the run, Your Highness,” said Sydney.

Sydney pulled into a small house on the end of the street. The front door opened and Eddie Castile appeared. Lissa unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. She couldn’t believe Eddie was in on this, whatever this was. He had always been a good guy at school, kind and funny and clever. She never would have believed Eddie would do anything to hurt her.

“Eddie?” she said, tentatively.

He smiled. “Hey, Liss.”

“She doesn’t believe me,” said Sydney, getting out of the car herself. “She’s in denial over Jill.”

Eddie’s smile dropped. “What happened to Mason Ashford?” he asked.

“What? Eddie, didn’t he die in the attack?” said Lissa.

“He died in Spokane,” said Eddie. “What about sophomore and junior years? Where were you?”

“At school,” said Lissa, even as she tried to remember her sophomore year. The details seemed fuzzy – she had been repeating Elemental Basics, right? And she’d been dating Aaron – but hadn’t she broken up with Aaron by then?

“Were you?” said Eddie.

“Where else would I have been?” whispered Lissa.

Another face appeared at the door, a dhampir girl a few years younger than Lissa, with strawberry blonde hair and a serious expression. “Eddie, Jill needs you.”

Eddie didn’t pause to explain, and neither did Sydney. Eddie turned on his heel and half-jogged back into the house, while Sydney ushered Lissa inside. “It might be daylight, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe,” said Sydney. “Seriously, we’re not going to hurt you.”

Lissa followed Eddie down the short hallway into a bedroom. Eddie was crouching by a girl in the corner, her brown curls wild and askew. She was wrapped in his arms, and he pressed his lips to the top of her head, murmuring comforting nonsense. The girl startled as Lissa entered, trying to back up further into the corner, but there was nowhere to go.

“Jill,” said Sydney, softly. “We’ve got Lissa. We can fix this.” This was her supposed sister? Lissa wondered, staring in amazement.

Jill shook her head, her movements jerky and sudden. “There’s no fixing this,” said Jill. “It’s over, it’s over, he’s won.”

“This isn’t you, Jill,” said Eddie. “Remember? It’s not you.” He looked back up at Sydney and asked, “Have you found anything yet?”

Sydney shook her head. “Bonds and spirit use aren’t understood by Moroi, let alone witches.” Eddie swore under his breath and kissed Jill’s forehead again.

Lissa knelt beside Jill, reaching out to touch the girl’s arm gently. She knew better than anyone that spirit didn’t cure mental illness, but she wanted to, she wanted to help the helpless, desperate girl and give her some hope. Lissa’s magic shimmered, going from her hand to Jill, and Jill went still.

“Jill?” said Eddie, cautiously.

Jill looked up, her face still wet with tears. “Lissa?” she whispered.

“Hi,” said Lissa.

“What just happened?” asked Sydney.

“I think – I think I just healed her,” said Lissa, studying Jill’s face. Eddie’s arms tightened around Jill, and Jill reached up to wrap her hand around Eddie’s, smiling.

“The darkness is gone,” said Jill. “I can still feel him, but the darkness is gone.”

“Holy shit,” said Angeline, from the doorway.

“Language,” chastised Sydney without so much as looking over her shoulder. “Are you sure, Jill?”

“Yeah,” said Jill. Her face was regaining some colour. Without the tears and the fear, Lissa could see she was even very lightly tanned – she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen a Moroi who spent enough time in the sun to tan. Jill got to her feet, pulling Eddie with her, and kissed him soundly.

“Oi, lovebirds!” said Angeline. “Haven’t we got something more important to be doing?”

“Angeline,” chastised Sydney again, though there amusement in her voice.

Jill pulled away, looking very pleased with herself. “Nothing’s more important than kissing Eddie, but I guess we can work on other things, too.”

“Their first kiss was after staking a Strigoi,” said Angeline, to Lissa. “Nothing makes them more annoying than mortal danger.”

“Sydney claimed that you were my sister,” said Lissa.

Jill sighed. “I never thought I’d have to do this again – but, yes. My name is Jill Mastrano Dragomir, and I’m your sister.” Lissa stepped forward, inspecting Jill. Their hair was nothing alike, Jill’s brown and curly to Lissa’s blonde and straight, and the shape of their faces were different – but Jill’s eyes were Dragomir green, a pale green that Lissa had seen in her mirror a million times before.

“I need to hear everything,” decided Lissa. “Your whole story. Then I can decide whether I trust you.”

“Fair enough,” said Sydney. “I wouldn’t believe this without proof, either.”

They went to the kitchen, because Jill’s messy bedroom was no place to have a serious discussion. Angeline got herself a bag of chips from the cupboard and sat on the counter, while Sydney and Lissa sat at the table. Jill and Eddie hadn’t let go of each other and sat next to each other, their chairs dragged close together so that their shoulders brushed.

“Start from the beginning,” said Lissa.

Jill snorted and muttered, “Easier said than done.”

Sydney quelled Jill with a look and said, “It was a month ago now. Jill and the rest of us were all at Amberwood Preparatory School in Palm Springs – that’s where she’s been hidden.”

“Smart,” murmured Lissa. She couldn’t think of a place less welcoming for vampires, Moroi or Strigoi – except for maybe the Sahara Desert. It certainly explained Jill’s tan.

“We weren’t the only ones there,” said Sydney. “Adrian was also sent to Palm Springs, because he and Jill are bonded.”

Lissa stared at Jill. “Like – like Vladimir and Anna?”

“At least you remember that much,” muttered Eddie.

Sydney nodded. “Adrian was summoned back to Court. There was a Strigoi restored nearby, and they wanted all spirit users at Court to investigate.” Olive Sinclair, remembered Lissa. The first Strigoi to ever be restored. It had been a miracle, one made by Robert Doru. “Back in Palm Springs, Eddie, Angeline and Neil all woke up with no memory of why they were in Palm Springs. None of them even knew each other, or that Jill was a princess. If I hadn’t been able to get hold of a memory charm, they would have stayed that way.”

“Even when Sydney was able to give our memories back, I could still tell what we were supposed to be ‘remembering’,” said Jill. “I could see it through the bond with Adrian. He thought that you were just about to get your place on the Council, and that you and he were dating.” Jill’s face scrunched up in disgust.

“Why is that such a problem?” demanded Lissa hotly.

“Because you were seeing someone else,” said Eddie. “So was Adrian. You were friends before, nothing more.”

“You’re saying that my entire relationship was manufactured,” said Lissa, flatly. “That it’s just compulsion binding me to my boyfriend.” All four exchanged uncomfortable glances. It was clear that that was exactly what they thought. Lissa pursed her lips and said, “Finish your story.”

“We got attacked by guardians the next day,” said Eddie. “We barely got away. They were coming for Jill. We thought at the time that they were rebels, but we’re not so sure now.”

“You have a bondmate,” explained Sydney. “Her name is Rose Hathaway. She was your best friend and guardian, and as far as we can tell, no one has seen her since the change.”

“What are you saying?” asked Lissa, slowly.

“We think that the spell was cast so that you and Adrian -” Sydney paused then said, “Do you know mobile phone towers? They spread reception for mobile phones in the area, allowing you to get reception. We think that – well, we think you’re the phone towers, and they’ve harnessed your spirit abilities to transmit the new memories.”

“What has this got to do with Jill and – and Rose?” asked Lissa.

“Have you been having any side effects from spirit use lately?” asked Sydney. “Has Adrian?”

Lissa thought back. She hadn’t felt any darkness, but she hadn’t been using enough spirit lately to feel it – had she? She had made some plants sprout flowers the other day, and when Adrian had gotten a paper cut she had healed him, and she had been practicing dream walking…

Okay, maybe she had used spirit a little too much to be feeling so few effects.

“It’s because the darkness has been pushed out of you on to your bondmates,” said Sydney, gently. “From Adrian to Jill and from you to Rose. We think that’s why they wanted Jill, and why they’ve taken Rose – to keep them under observation.”

“What do these people want?” asked Lissa. “You keep saying that they’ve changed our memories, but from what?”

Again, there was a round of uncomfortable looks. It was Eddie who eventually responded. “It was Victor Dashkov and his half-brother,” he said eventually. “He used it to make himself king.”

“What?” said Lissa. “Why wouldn’t he have been king? He’s the most obvious choice after Tatiana died, unless you’re saying he actually murdered and then changed our memories.”

“No,” said Eddie. “Tatiana really did die last year. She really was assassinated by Tasha Ozera. But Dashkov was never an option in the elections, because he was never in the running.”

“If he wanted to be king so badly, then why didn’t he just run in the elections, fair and square?” asked Lissa.

“Because he couldn’t,” said Eddie. His voice was so gentle that it made Lissa’s hackles rise, knowing that there was bad news coming. “He was stripped of his titles and royal status for kidnapping and torturing you into healing him.”

Lissa froze. “My uncle would never do that to me.”

“Lissa, I’m sorry, but -”

“No,” interrupted Lissa, cutting Eddie off. ���You’re lying. My uncle would never do that. He wouldn’t even have to! I’d heal him, no questions asked. What you’re saying makes no sense. You’re lying.” She stared around at the others. “You’re all lying.”

Angeline rolled her eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake -”

“Lissa, please -” started Sydney.

It was Jill, though, that got Lissa’s attention. “Look at my aura.” Lissa looked, letting her aura vision flare into life. Jill’s aura was a warm blue, mixed in with greens and purples, with a shadow outlining it. “You can see that my aura is connected to something, right? Follow that link.”

Lissa followed it. She grasped the link and pulled at it, looking for the other end. A second aura flared, gold and purple and pieces of black scattered through it. Lissa knew that aura. She was seeing a shadow of Adrian Ivashkov in Jill’s aura. Lissa gasped, and dropped the link.

“I’m Adrian’s bondmate,” said Jill. “I’m your sister. I’m not lying about those things, and you can tell that. We’re not lying about anything else, either.”

Lissa didn’t know what to think. Jill’s paternity and bond were undeniable – but everything else was so far out of the realm of possibility that they couldn’t possibly be true. Her uncle would never hurt her. She had never met anyone named Rose. And she knew her own feelings.

“Take me back,” said Lissa.

Sydney hesitated, and Angeline opened her mouth to protest, but Eddie said, “I should be the one to take you back. It’ll be dark by the time you get to campus.” He glanced at Sydney and said, “Neil should be back any minute. You and Angeline can handle things till then, right?”

“I’m right here,” muttered Jill, as Sydney nodded.

Eddie stood up, catching the keys when Sydney tossed them to him. “Come on, Lissa.”

The drive back to Leigh was quiet. When they pulled into the slip lane that led on to campus, Eddie said, “I know everything sounds insane. Seriously, I do. I’ve been there, remember? I had Jill and Sydney telling me all these things that morning that I had no memory of. But I swear, Lissa, it’s all true.”

Lissa blinked back tears stinging at her eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

“Please, just -” Eddie sighed. “Look into Rose. She was at Spokane, too, when Mason died, and I always said I’d take care of her, you know? And now she’s missing, and there’s not a goddamn thing I can do about it.”

There was a surprising amount of self-loathing in his voice. Lissa couldn’t do anything but nod.

Eddie watched from a distance as Lissa made her way back to the café. Serena was still there, but Will had gone – was looking for her, presumably. Serena was pacing furiously, but the moment she saw Lissa, she ran to Lissa’s side, checking her over carefully.

“Where were you?” demanded Serena.

“I… just needed some time to myself,” said Lissa. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

When Lissa turned to look, Eddie and the car were gone.

-

She didn’t say anything to anyone.

I should tell someone, she thought, over and over again. There was a witch that could just waltz in under the guardians’ noses, and God only knew what she wanted. It was a security risk, one that they couldn’t risk.

“You’re acting strange,” said Christian, one afternoon. He propped himself on his arm, staring at her accusingly. They were back under the willow, their shared place of quiet, with Lissa nestled in its roots and Christian lazing on the grass beside her.

“No, I’m not,” said Lissa, automatically.

“Yes, you are,” said Christian. “You’re thinking too much. Even I can tell it’s a bad sign.”

Lissa narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you saying that I’m empty-headed most of the time?”

“That’s not what I’m saying and you damn well know it,” said Christian. “Spill it, Dragomir.”

Lissa hesitated, then without even deciding to, the whole story came pouring out. “I met these people at Leigh the other day…”

Christian listened from beginning to end. He didn’t interrupt to ask questions, like Adrian might have, just let her clarify herself as the story went on. When she finished, he blew out a long stream of air and said, “That is definitely not why I thought you went missing.”

“Why did you think I went missing?” asked Lissa. He made it sound like there was some kind of conspiracy going on.

Christian shrugged. “Don’t know. Just knew that you weren’t being honest about the whole ‘needing space’ thing.” He thought for a moment then said, “So Adrian doesn’t know anything, huh?”

“I haven’t told him everything, but I’ve asked about Palm Springs and he said he’d never been, and I’ve mentioned the name Jill Mastrano to him and he doesn’t even blink,” said Lissa. “Trust me, he isn’t that good a liar. He doesn’t know anything.”

“But you know they’re bonded because you followed the bond in their auras,” mused Christian. “Have you tried doing that yourself?”

Lissa blinked. “What?”

“Well, they said you’re bonded with someone, right?” said Christian. “If you can follow a bond between two other people’s auras, why not your own?”

Lissa nodded slowly. “It… might work.” She held her arm up and summoned her aura, the shimmering gold surrounding her arm. She could see the link, and she closed her eyes as she tried to follow it back to its source. All she could feel was darkness. What if there was nothing at the other end? What if there was, and she couldn’t make contact? She still hadn’t managed dream-walking. No, she thought, pushing the doubts away. I’m doing this. She pressed further, focusing on the image of the dark-haired fairy making Lissa laugh.

Lissa?

Lissa jumped. Christian said something, but she wasn’t listening. Rose? Is that you?

Holy shit, Lissa! Are you okay? How are you doing this?

I’m… okay, thought Lissa. I followed the link between our auras to you. Are you okay?

I’ve been better, said Rose. There was a pause, then, You still don’t remember me, do you?

You know about that?

Are you kidding? Your head is a far more pleasant place to be than my own recently. I’ve been watching. I know your memories have been fucked with. Like everyone’s. There was a clear note of misery in her voice, impotent fury mixed with hopelessness.

I’m sorry.

It’s not your fault.

Who’s is it? asked Lissa, half-dreading the answer.

Hang on, let me try something, thought Rose. Before Lissa could ask what, she was assaulted with a series of images and memories: a pressure bearing down on Lissa’s skull as Victor watched on impassively; Natalie – poor Natalie, who’d been killed by a Strigoi in their senior year – as a Strigoi herself with blood drying on her lips; Christian being thrown against the wall, the fire in his hands winking out, as Victor Dashkov swept into the throne room with Robert Doru on his heels.

Lissa gasped, her hands flying to her head. She clutched at her temples, doubling over. At once, Christian was at her side, his hands gentle on her shoulders. “Are you okay? Lissa, can you hear me?”

Sorry, said Rose. Is that Christian? Figures you’d find him again, in your own little quiet place.

You know him?

Yeah, said Rose. I know that was a lot to take in, Liss. I didn’t realise it’d hurt.

It’s okay, said Lissa. If you hadn’t shown me, I don’t think I would have…

Her own uncle. The man who had taken her in after her family’s death. The man who had fought to give her back her rightful place on the Council – or had he even done that? Was that a lie, too? She already had quorum through Jill, back before the memory change, if Jill and the others were telling the truth.

Her uncle.

Yeah, thought Rose, heavy with sympathy. I know.

Do you think I’ll ever get my memories back? asked Lissa. Do you think any of us will?

I don’t know, said Rose. I hope so.

Rose?

Yeah?

I’m going to find you.

[strxga]

Nevermore Analysis

I just really enjoyed the song so I figured I’d break down the lyrics for the fun of it.

So obviously this is a song about Blake and Yang’s triumph over Adam. There’s some thoughts and opinions regarding how that went that I might discuss some other time but the song also gives us some insight as to Adam’s past and his personality. I’ll be using @elusive-lamb​‘s lyrics and there are some that are not complete, but I think they’re good enough to make an analysis out of! All lyrics credit goes to them.

Nevermore, nevermore Will I be afraid or will I run away It’s behind me Freedom is finally here You may have taken the lead but I’ll even the score You won the battle you won’t win the war Not now and nevermore

The Chorus clearly addresses Blake finally resolving her issues and no longer running away, because she’s put it behind her and now with Adam no longer tailing her and freed from the White Fang’s influence she’s finally able to be herself without worrying about endangering others. The chorus mentions how Adam ‘took the lead’ likely referring to how she was under his control and looked up to him, but their conflicting ideals led them to cross blades when they no longer saw eye-to-eye. He ‘won the battle’ the moment she led her fear of him control her actions, which led her to run away, but ultimately Blake overcame this now and forever, or as the song puts it, nevermore.

You talked of subjugation I answered your violent plea Youth and infatuation Kept me too blind to see

This clearly refers to Adam slowly losing grip over the White Fang’s goal and instead focusing on the subjugation of mankind to pay them back for how they treated the Faunus and how they treated him. Blake, young and enamored with Adam the freedom fighter, was unable to see how vicious Adam’s goal was and how it would only further hurt the Faunus in Humanity’s eyes. She was blind to the hatred that fueled Adam.

You think you’re someone’s hero Your heart it won’t ?? I challenge you with a ?? The blood of the savior is not to be lionized

Again, this refers to Adam. He saw himself not just as Blake’s hero but as the hero of the Faunus and the White Fang, the one who would liberate them all, but his heart was filled with anger and hatred and his goal was only for himself. He was no savior but he was seen as such and he was lionized. Adam was first shown to be regretful of his actions when taking human lives in his short, but Sienna and the White Fang celebrated his actions. Him being lionized is what set him on the path of destruction in the first place, but now he’s gone too far and he’s to no longer be lionized or celebrated.

Back when it started I thought that justice was your goal Then in the darkness You lost your mind and I lost my soul That’s in the past and I won’t be controlled

This is an interesting because again, it shows that originally, justice may have truly been Adam’s goal, but the way Humans treated him - treated the Faunus and the things they did and said, him being humiliated by the S.D.C. for an unknown amount of time or years, he lost himself in the darkness he was plunged into. He lost his mind and Blake in turn, for blindly following him, ‘lost her soul’ and became ‘controlled’ by him by genuinely believing in him and his violent ideals. But that’s the past and she’s not going to let him talk her into following him again. She’s free of the darkness that controlled him and intends for it to stay that way.

You had me down, defeated A state that I can’t allow It’s over my fears retreated I’m more like an army now

This is self-explanatory. It mainly talks over how Yang suffered defeat at his hands and wallowed in depression. But she had to get over it again and now that she’s finally had time to think it over and the support of her friends, she has overcome her fears. It is about how she is the same unstoppable Yang that we met all the way back in Volumes 1 and 2.

You offered hope, salvation Gave me a place to be But your version of liberation Was all about you it was never applied to me

Adam took Blake in and offered her hope and salvation and talked her into joining the White Fang even when her parents had left it. It just comes around again to how Adam’s goals for the Faunus were motivated by his selfishness and his desire to make Humans pay for what they did to him. Blake disagreed once she no longer felt like she wanted to take part in this, she ran away, as seen in the Black Trailer.

I won’t stay a martyr It’s my turn to take back what you stole And this time I’m smarter

Again, Yang. She’s taking back what he ‘stole’ which can apply to many things, but personally I think it refers to how he stole her drive and determination and plagued her mind with fear of her. By defeating him she took herself back from the nightmare he plunged her into and she can finally be herself without fear of seeing him again.

I made a vow, I’m not alone Not dying now we’re protecting our own

Blake again with what she said in canon. She’s not alone because, unlike Adam, she didn’t push others away for her own sake and her goals. Instead she’s allowing herself to be protected by others and protecting them without running away like she’s done many times before.

There’s no cause to celebrate Another soul consumed by hate and spite Another destroyed life

This line is directed at Adam and how, despite how the FNDM sees it, Adam’s death is not something to celebrate. It’s horrifying, it’s terrifying and scarring to see how much he must’ve been pushed to believe Humanity needed to serve the Faunus rather than the other way again. His life was destroyed because he was forced beyond redemption by Humans and thus, his life was destroyed not just by his hand alone but by the way he was treated for the majority of his life and by the encouragement of those who saw violence as the only effective tactic.

There’s no pleasure, there’s no joy It’s just the story of a boy who lost his way

Pretty self-explanatory. There is nothing happy about Adam’s death or about Blake and Yang having to take a life. It’s, again, the story of a boy who lost his way. Again, this heavily-implies that originally Adam did not want to enslave humanity or that he was abusive with Blake during the time they were together. What pushed the two apart was not that he physically, emotionally or sexually harassed Blake because he did care for her while they were together. It’s their clashing moralities and ideals and how he was swallowed by darkness, a darkness he couldn’t escape. The song itself is a testament on how a Faunus who experiences pain and torment of unbearable degrees like Adam did is bound to become a monster that fights what once tortured him.

Into shadows strayed To see the light of day Nevermore

He lost his way, he went stray and lost himself in the shadows, and now that he’s gone because of his hatred, he won’t get to see the light again. Nevermore. Adam Taurus made his choice and unfortunately it led to his death.

Again, just stating this because I don’t want to get hate telling me to kill myself, this is just an objective analysis. It is nice we get more Adam characterization through the lyrics and to know he once believed in the cause but being rewarded for being violent ultimately led to the man we got to know in the show. While it’s a bit iffy how the show portrays that it’s okay for the protagonists to commit crimes like treason, murder and breaking of authority because they’re the good guys, overall this was an excellent soundtrack to end the volume with.

[rex101111]

Punching in the Right Direction-chapter 1:

Another fic! :D And this time one with more then one chapter hopefully! Got this idea a while back during a conversation with @hatefilledpoptarts and I thought it was cool, but my computer dying almost cost me the whole thing, but thankfully I was able to retrieve it! (along with a bunch of other stuff) So! Here’s a thing I hope you like it!

In a police station in Shibuya, a very tired man is hunching over the front desk, his forehead pressed to the polished wood and his cap to the side of him, one of his hands rubbing the back of his neck while the other hung behind the face of the desk.

The day was long, tedious to the point of tears, and more than anything else, uneventful. No stray pickpocket being dragged kicking and screaming to be written up and thrown in a cell for a month, no big busts or emergencies to speak of involving any more huge villain outbreaks, and because of this continuous streak of nothing his superiors thought it would be a good idea for him to spend the copious amount of time he had to sort through a veritable mountain of overdue paperwork from around the station that have built up over the last few months.

On the one hand he privately considered it tantamount to torture, but on the other he couldn’t help but be a bit grateful that something like what happened in the Kamino ward wasn’t plowing through the station, give and take.

He had just finished about half an hour ago, with the help of a few friendly civilian workers and more than a few near screams of frustration, and his shift would end an hour after that, so right now all he wanted was for the day to continue being a bore for just that long so he wouldn’t have to add on overtime on top of that.

But, as these things tend to turn, a fairly muscle bound man decided that this was the perfect time to enter to enter the station, by way of kicking the door open, and make the day just a bit more eventful.

He was large in every sense of the word; he was at least seven feet tall, broad shouldered with arms like raw iron pipes and legs like tree trunks, muscles seeming to bulge on every surface visible to the eye, and there was plenty to see considering he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and as soon as he entered the station his presence seemed to fill the whole room.

The fact that his entrance had every single officer in the building pointing guns at him didn’t diminish how suffocating his simply being present had felt.

His myriad of flame red bruises and mildly bleeding cuts that covered his whole torso weren’t much help either.  

He looked back and forth between all the wary officers, pointedly ignoring their command to put his hands up as he scratched his almost comically square chin, grunting, “….So,” He started making every person in the room jump and making one policeman fire off a shoot, which sailed over the large man’s head without him even acknowledging it, “This is a police station yeah?”

Nobody answered him properly, only more demands for him to put his hands over his head.

He sighed, “Oh for fuck’s sake…” He turned around to look behind him, “Kid, you try talking to these bozos.”

Among the screaming of the officers, a tiny figure emerged from behind the man’s legs, her small stature being compounded by the immediate comparison to the muscle bound individual, and she peeked nervously at the people around her shouting, and found that she couldn’t gather the courage to speak.  

Not that she needed to, as soon enough people started noticing her, and how close she was standing to the intruder, some started quietly lowering their guns, a few others tried to beckon her closer to what they considered safety, only the tired policeman at the front desk, whose tired day slowed down his reaction considerably, was able to fully comprehend the situation.

Well, as much as can be gleaned about it anyway.

He cleared his throat, earning him the attention of both the police officers and the two visitors, “Can…can I…help you…sir?”

The man in question sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his head, “Fucking finally, someone who doesn’t want to kill me today,” He looked straight at the front desk, “Yeah! The name’s Kendo Rappa, I’m here to turn myself in!”

His announcement caused a great deal of confusion in the room, whoever didn’t lower their firearms already did so, and the front desk clerk was fairly stumped himself, but decided to roll with it, taking out the proper forms while nodding numbly, before something occurred to him, “Wait…what about the girl?”

“Oh?” He looked down at the girl, who was now clutching the fabric of his torn pants, the horn on the side of her head digging a bit into his sore leg as she clung to it, but he ignored that and just pointed down to her, “She’s Eri, she’s why I came here,” He gestured vaguely around the room, “Y’know, to turn myself in.”

The clerk nodded his head slowly, keeping his eyes on the girl as she seemed to keep to her position next to Rappa with no intention to budge, before returning his gaze to the man, “Alright, but what do you want us to do with her?”

Kendo opened his mouth, only to stop short to scratch at his chin again. He did this a few more times, unintentionally defusing what little tension there still was in the room before his just rubbed the back of his head, his face tired and a bit annoyed, “Shit…” He muttered between his teeth, just barely loud enough to be carried across the room, “I don’t fuckin’ know, didn’t think I’d make it this far.”

The clerk stares at him for a few long moments, before he takes out the rest of the forms needed for the processing of new inmates, already seeing the overtime he would need to punch in because of this, hoping the chief would see fit to send him home before it got too dark.

----

Of course, that there is only how our story begins to wrap up, so the question remains, what led up to it?

The short answer being that it started a few months before, miles away from the station, and miles more below the concrete of the bustling streets.

It started with Rappa, still wearing the heavy black mask that donated his position as one of the mighty Eight Expendables in service to the Eight Precepts, walking around the hallways of the base out of hair pulling boredom.

It started with Eri running into his legs at full tilt, the impact causing her to fall on her backside, her eyes shooting up to gaze up at this massive tower of muscle and blood lust that was Kendo Rappa, utter terror making her shake where she lays.

It started with Chisaki calmly catching up to her looking down on her with a gaze only fit for a lamb meant for slaughter, before raising his gaze to meet Rappa’s wilted mask, “Thank you Rappa, you just saved me a few hours chasing her down,” He leered back down at Eri, “Come Eri, enough messing around, we’ve things to do.”

It started with Rappa noticing how utterly desperate and afraid this girl is, how she gets up as slow as she can, shivering all the way up, to face Overhaul, slowly following him back with a lowered head.

It started with Eri throwing Rappa a look that was as loud as a shrill scream at the top of the lungs, seeming to beg for help.

It started with Rappa walking away, averting his eyes from the girl, the clenching in chest that he gets from her eyes pissing him off. He takes long, heavy strides, and just keeps going and going until he runs out of breath, an hour passing like nothing.

It starts a few moments afterward, when that clenching refused to go away, and the memory of the silently screaming look she gave him burning on the back of his eyelids.

----

Weeks pass, and in that time Rappa comes to a fairly belated discovery.

He doesn’t know a damned thing about Overhaul’s plan. Well, that wasn’t completely true, he knew a few snippets of it, some random details that together provided a fairly nebulous picture of the end goal of the Eight Precepts, but he doesn’t know enough, not enough to really be invested one way or another, not enough to inspire in him this burning loyalty that every other Expendable had for the bird faced prick.

There was one very simple reason for that, Rappa didn’t give a shit. Not about the Precepts, not about Overhaul, not about whatever lofty dream they were all supposedly chasing. Not one, single, solitary shit.

At least…he wasn’t supposed to. He wasn’t there to serve at the pleasure of some germaphobe who was looking to bring back the “glory days of the Yakuza”, he was there to punch a dude’s teeth in, kill him, and then kill anyone who tried to stop him while he was on his way out, that was the plan, his plan, and it was a damned good one as far as he saw it.

Or at least it was a few months ago when he “joined” the Precepts, now he was beginning to realize he should have thought about it more.

Headache inducing hindsight aside, the fact was Rappa was stuck; the one person who he wanted to kill in this entire place only gave him a chance at him rarely, and always on his terms, and he was surrounded by a bunch of morons who thought this asshole with a beak stuck to his face was the bloody second coming, and took every opportunity to remind him of that whenever he dared to do something as audacious as speaking his mind.

All this put together piqued his curiosity a bit, but never enough to make him actually care to ask exactly what it was Overhaul planned to do.

And then he ran into a scared little girl, and now Rappa couldn’t stop thinking about it, couldn’t stop wondering what the hell this girl had to do with anything, why Overhaul himself seemed to grant his undivided attention to her.

Couldn’t stop wondering why she was so damned scared.

To his infinite frustration, Kendo started giving a shit, and as most things tend to do, it pissed him off.

So he did what he always did when he was pissed off, he looked for something, or more preferably someone, to punch. Today, that person was Tengai.

“Think fast asshole!”

A series of bellowing crashes bounced around the room, random grunts still fresh to the Precepts fleeing from the sound as quickly as they could, a few veterans only speeding up their stride a bit to gain some distance, Rappa was known for his temper, so this was not an uncommon sight by any means, but that didn’t diminish the spectacle of Rappa throwing a hail of lightning fast strikes towards one of their own, the impacts shaking the concrete walls of the complex like a dozen canons going off at once for each hit.

The barrier monk noted that Rappa was especially pissed today, seeing that he was putting considerably more force into his strikes than usual, even throwing a few curse words between the punches, he raised his brow as he saw the maniac start to breathe heavily and just keep punching, like he was trying to work something else out besides his temper.

He calmly put down the book he was reading, looking straight at Rappa, silently putting his palms together as he spoke up, “Feeling stressed today Rappa?”

“Shut the fuck up!” Kendo screamed, throwing a particularly harsh punch smashing into the monk’s barrier, “Ain’t in the mood for your pseudo-Buddha bullshit!”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Tengai observed, “Though that would invite the question of why you’re so stressed?”

“I said shut up!”

The barrage continued for another few minutes, the raging man slowly winding down until his fists hung limply at his sides, a few droplets of blood seeping through his gloves, and Tengai spoke up again, “Whatever it is, it must be fairly serious, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this riled up before.”

Rappa breathed heavily for a few more moments, before slumping down a nearby wall, making a point of not looking at Tengai, “Nothin’, just been a shitty couple of weeks.”

Tengai only raised his eyebrows at that, “You just spent the last ten minutes pounding away at my barrier while screaming your head off,” He said, tone even and unimpressed, “I think ‘shitty’ would be putting it lightly.

Rappa didn’t respond, only continued to look at the wall ahead of him, only caring to put his breathing back in order.

Tengai sighed, picking up his book again, “Fine,” He muttered easily, “Keep sulking like a child if that’s what you want to do,” He flipped pages until he came back to where he was before, “No skin off my back.”

They’re quiet for a long moment, motes of dust floating in the air and tiny chunks from the ceiling falling around them, either bouncing off Tengai’s shield or swatted away by Rappa’s hands. For that long moment, Rappa only stared ahead at the wall, before finally breaking the silence with a shake of the head, “Met a girl a few weeks back.”

Tengai didn’t even lift his eyes from the page he was on, “How sweet.”

“A little girl.”

“How disgusting.”

Rappa whipped his head towards the monk and rapped the back of his knuckles on his shield, “Not like that you jackass!” He huffed while he flexed his sore fingers, “In the base I mean, a little girl with white hair and a horn sticking out the side of her head running around, you know her?”

This time Tengai did lift his eyes to meet Rappa, looking slightly alarmed, “Of course I know her, that’s Eri!” He put the book down again without bothering to mark his page, “What was she doing running around?”

Kendo shrugged, “Fuck if I know, looked pretty scared though,” He scratched his chin, “Was even more scared when Overhole caught up to her and took her some place, ”He looked more intently at Tengai, who breathed in relief when he mention the girl being taken, “What’s his deal with her anyway? She his daughter or something?”

Tengai blinked, and gave Rappa a look of utter amazement, “Do you ever pay attention to anything?”

Another strike crashed against the invisible shield, “Do you want a broken jaw?”

A long suffering sigh escaped Tengai, “Eri isn’t his child…though she is important to him,” He looked straight into the eyes of Rappa’s mask, “In fact; she is the very cornerstone on which he is building his plans.”

Rappa paused, choking down his reflex to call out Tengai on bullshitting him, “The hell are you talking about?”

Tengai began to speak more passionately, as the rest of the Expendables tended to do when discussing anything having to do with Overhaul, “Overhaul has made a wondrous discovery in Eri, within her lays a quirk that will serve as the lynchpin of the ascension of the Precepts to the top of the criminal world.”

Rappa couldn’t hold it in, laughter shaking him as Tengai’s speech went on, only to burst when he mentioned her quirk, “Okay, now I know you’re full of crap.” He shook his head, thinking back to when he met Eri, “The kid I met was a spindly little twig,” With eyes so desperate he still can’t forget them, he fails to mention, “What? Can she make nukes out of her tears or some shit?”

Tengai visibly deflates at the sound of Rappa’s mocking and laughter, huffing as he narrows his eyes at him, “Nothing quite so crude…although,” He picks up his book again, tiring of Rappa, “I think it’s fair to say that she has the most powerful quirk in the world.”

Rappa clicked his tongue, “Full of shit, no way, no way that a kid that-“ (scared, tired, small) “-weak can have a quirk that damn strong.”  

Tengai just keeps on reading, his generosity regarding his attention and time having apparently run out, even making a point of making a shooing motion with one of his hands as he turned a page.

Rappa stares at him for a moment, huffs, and throws one more punch his way before stomping his way out.

The nagging feeling in his chest morphs and shifts, becoming an itch on the back of his head.

No helping it now, if he’s already giving a shit, might as well scratch it.

-----

Chisaki Kai sits at his desk inside his personal office, looking over various files, his eyes roaming across the pages slowly and carefully.

Recent purchases of “Trigger”, info on new recruits, and most importantly of all, developments in regards to his most important project. He scans the information on those pages far more carefully than even the others, making sure he commits to memory what has been discovered so far and the progress yet to be made.

As he formed his actions for the rest of the day regarding that progress in his head, he hears a commotion outside his door.

“Get out of my way, need to talk to Overho. “

“Rappa you can’t just-“

“Out of my way.”

“Overhaul is too busy right-“

“I said-“

Overhaul knocked on the metal surface of his table twice, stopping the noise, “Come in Rappa.”

A moment passes, his guard shuffling out of the way as Rappa nearly knocked the door of its hinges as he opened it, peering down the beak of his mask at his so called "boss." He could see Chronostasis lean forward to look inside, one of his hands twitching near his gun.

Chisaki shifted his eyes slightly in his direction, which made him stiffen in place before leaning back away from view. He then shifted his eyes back up to look at Rappa, who had still not said a word since he entered, which was strange in every sense, considering his temperament.

"Can I help you Rappa?"

"The fuck are you planning?"

….well, this could be interesting.

[megsblackfirewrites]

The Devout and The Heretic: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The walls of the House of God were shaking with the power of their voices. The hymns had never been sung so powerfully or so full of devotion, of that Jack was certain. His wife’s beautiful voice quivered in the air beside his, harmonizing perfectly as they led the hymn. It wasn’t even intentional; everyone simply knew that Jack and Blaire Morrison were the ones that led the rest of them in song.

The final note hung in the air before the congregation sat down as one. Jack’s heart never felt lighter than after he had finished singing. His big chest rose and fell as he held his wife’s hand in his lap, smiling up at the Father as he took his regular place at the stand.

“Ah, there is nothing more beautiful than a congregation singing in perfect harmony,” Father Matthew sighed happily. “Well done. Now, as is our tradition, I would like to turn the floor over to you, my lambs, and inform everyone of the wonderful moments in your life this week.”

“We’re expecting our third child,” a woman said as she got to her feet. “I’m four months along and the baby is healthy. The doctors expect that I will have the same complications-free pregnancy as the other two.”

The congregation cheered as the woman sat down. Another man rose to his feet and smiled.

“My construction business has gotten its first out of town contract and I expect to bring a good amount of income back to our wonderful city,” he said.

Everyone cheered as the man sat down. Jack lifted Blaire’s hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles before he got to his feet.

“The mother cat I have been looking after has had her litter and I woke up this morning to find her placing the last of her three kittens on my face,” he said.

Everyone laughed as he sat back down. Jack’s happiness always came from the animals he cared for; he was devoted to his wife and his job, but they did not cause the same elation that caring for a shy cat or a skinny dog brought him.

The sharing continued for another ten minutes before the Father took over. “To hear such good news warms the depths of my soul,” he said. “God shines his love heavily upon us. I will close out today’s congregation with a reading from Genesis.”

Jack tuned out the Father as he looked at the cross above his head. He knew his elation would leave as soon as he was given his weekly charity assignment. It wasn’t that he didn’t love giving back to the community, it was just that he felt it was less charity if it was not given freely from the heart without prompting. This just felt like they were being forced to give back because it was expected of them rather than because they wanted to.

The congregation rose to their feet and Jack followed, filing up to the front to speak with the Father. He was handed his folded up slip of paper and the Father rested his hand on Jack’s head, calling for God to look favourably on his devout son. Jack thanked him before stepping to the side to wait for Blaire.

“I’m working the soup kitchen again,” Blaire huffed as they made their way to the car. “That’s the third time this month.”

“They need a lot of hands there,” Jack smiled at her. “More than half of the papers are for the soup kitchen.”

“And what is your assignment?” she asked.

Jack unfolded the paper and slipped into the car. “Tourist Information Bureau,” he said. “Interesting.”

That wasn’t one he even knew was an option. The Tourist center was outside of their little community, closer to the edge of the city where the drifters came and went. It was much less devout there and he had heard rumors that devil worship was widely accepted. He tried not to shudder at the thought. How could anyone worship such a vile, corrupting individual that wanted nothing more than to control the souls of humans to fight God’s divine right to rule?

“Ugh,” Blaire wrinkled her nose as they left the church parking lot. “I’ll send you with holy water so you can douse anyone that wears the badge of a heretic.”

“Blaire,” he laughed. “Our goal is to help those that have strayed down the wrong path, not chastise them. That is for God to decide their fate.”

“Well, I hope they all burn in Hell; I don’t want to share heaven with them,” she shuddered.

“Blaire,” he scolded. “My darling that is not the way.”

“No,” she agreed sullenly. “But it would be nice not have to share Paradise with them.”

Jack hummed softly in agreement. He didn’t like the idea of those that did not earn a place in Paradise walking through those eternal fields of splendor. It was almost a slap to the face for a devout like him. He worked hard to earn his place and someone that did not care was allowed into the Heavens? No, it wasn’t fair.

He pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. The birds were singing in the tree and he smiled as he headed into the backyard. He pushed the door to the rabbit hutch open and smiled as Hana-bunny came hurrying over. The others hopped along behind her, their floppy ears dragging through the hay as they came to investigate.

“Hello, my babies,” he cooed as he started filling water and food dishes. “Come and eat. Did you have a good morning? Daddy did.”

Hana-bunny followed him around the hutch as he tidied up and spread new straw for his five little darlings. Zarya decided that the aglet on his shoes were better than her bunny pellets and he had to shoo her away before she made herself sick. Lucio stood up on his hind legs, sniffing at Jack’s pants before he bounced off excitedly. Mei flopped over happily beside Zarya, her little pink nose twitching as Zarya turned to groom her best friend’s face. Only Satya seemed interested in the food, turning her head to watch him as she munched the pellet.

“Everyone happy?” Jack asked as he checked the litter and cleaned it out. “If it’s nice after lunch, I’ll let you run around the backyard, okay?”

He knew his bunnies couldn’t understand him, but the excited hop that Hana-bunny gave made him smile. He left the hutch and locked the door tightly behind him. He went to the other shed and let the goats out, smiling as Junkrat immediately bounced off, not minding his two new legs at all. He was taking to the prosthetics better than he could have hoped and he was beyond happy to see the kid running around the backyard. Roadhog followed at a much slower pace, little black ears swivelling as Junkrat raced around.

“Well, good to see you’re in a good mood,” Jack teased.

Junkrat immediately hurried over and headbutted Jack’s knee gently, his little sandy brown tail wagging. Jack knelt down to scratch the kid’s ears, smiling as Junkrat bleated happily. He heard the backdoor to the house open and Soldier came trotting over, immediately trying to herd Roadhog away from the vegetable patch. Junkrat bleated his displeasure as the old white German Shepherd tried to get him away from Jack. Jack chuckled at their antics before he got to his feet.

“Keep them out of trouble, Soldier,” he said.

Soldier cocked his head to the side before going to move Roadhog away from the garden again. Jack headed inside to get changed into a much looser set of clothing than his Sunday clothes. Blaire was already making lunch, bustling around the kitchen and humming happily. He smiled at the sight as he came downstairs.

“And how’s the most beautiful woman in Hope’s Rest?” he teased as he walked over to kiss her.

“I’m doing fine, my equally beautiful husband,” she said as she turned to kiss him in return. “You going to call the tourist stand?”

“After lunch,” he said. “I want to enjoy my time with my wife. God has graced me with her presence and I intend to make my love known.”

Blaire laughed at him as she set their sandwiches out on the table. “Oh, you charmer,” she teased. “Get eating, Jack, before the bacon gets cold.”

Jack smiled as he started eating his sandwich, but he didn’t miss Blaire’s smile fade as she watched him. His stomach sank; what had he done to earn that face? Was she really that annoyed that Mondatta had brought her kittens to him? Or was it that he went out to tend the rabbits before going to get changed? His babies needed to be taken care of before he ate. It would be unthinkable of him to do otherwise.

They ate in silence and when Jack had polished off his plate, he got up to call the tourist station. After briefly explaining that he was with the Church Of Dawn’s Saints, the lady on the other end of the line let out a relieved laugh.

“Oh, good. Could you come down here right now? We’re swamped,” she said.

“Oh, right; there’s that festival down at the waterfront this week,” Jack said. “I’ll be there shortly, ma’am.”

“Thank you; what is it you boys like to say? Saints bless your kind heart?” she laughed.

“Something like that,” he laughed.

He said his goodbyes before returning to the kitchen. He kissed Blaire’s cheek before he went to get his jacket. He flipped the collar up as Blaire walked over, a large frown on her face.

“You’re heading out?” she asked.

“They need help right now on account of the festival,” he replied. “I’ll be back later. Love you.”

He gave her one more kiss before he headed out to the car. The drive over to the tourist information building was uneventful; there wasn’t even a crazy driver on the road to honk at. Jack appreciated it as he parked and headed for the front of the building. He really did not enjoy getting angry at others; it was such a waste of his energy.

“Jack!” Hana shouted as she came running over. “Yes! The cool teacher to help alleviate our boredom!”

Jack chuckled as he gave his favourite student a hug. “I highly doubt that, Hana,” he said. “I’m here to volunteer.”

“I know that,” she rolled her eyes. “That church of yours is actually good for something other than throwing nasty looks at everyone not in that cult.”

“It’s not a cult,” Jack sighed as he shooed her along ahead of him. “It’s just a different Protestant religion. We have our purpose in the world and we do what we can with it.”

Hana rolled her eyes as he signed the volunteer check-in book and took his place behind the counter. He had a few minutes to breathe and reassure Hana that no, there wasn’t homework due tomorrow in his class, before people started swarming the information center. He did his best to be as helpful as he could, handing out pamphlets to people and pointing them in the right directions for particular landmarks around the city.

He’d barely been there an hour before someone walked in that made Hana’s jaw drop open. Jack finished helping a nice elderly couple that were hoping to do some bird-watching at the national park a few miles out of town and turned to see what the gawking was over. His jaw almost fell open in shock to at the sight of the biker shaking his hair out. Jack momentarily appreciated that the man’s leather jacket wasn’t covered in spikes, before he noticed that the man had both ears pierced with a giant chunk of black rock sitting in the lobe, a bar through his eyebrow, a lip ring, his nails painted black, and his long hair pulled back into a loose ponytail.

“Is there a problem, sir?” Jack called as he waved the man forward.

The man’s grin would have made any teenage girl’s heart melt. Jack could only label the man as “trouble” with all the tooth the man was showing. The man removed his sunglasses and fit them onto the collar of his shirt. Crow’s feet crinkled at the corners of the man’s eyes, pegging him as far older than his powerful body would claim. The warm, brown pools drew Jack in before he was ready to resist, making him drown in their depths as butterflies decided that his stomach was the best place to start flying around.

“Well, that depends, cutie,” the man said in a voice that was both confident and soft; again, teenage girls would be falling at his feet by now. “You got a name?”

Jack let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sir, that is not what I meant,” he said. “Do you often walk into establishments with the express purpose of annoying the staff and wasting their time?”

“Ow,” the man pressed his hand against his chest. Big hands and rather calloused by the looks of it. Man did a lot of physical work; interesting. “Now you’ve cut me real deep, sir. I was just asking for the name of the man that was helping me.”

“Jack,” Jack sighed. “Now, how can I be of service?”

“Heard there was a dragon boat festival in town,” the man said. “Thought I’d check it out.”

“That particular event isn’t until Tuesday,” Jack said as he handed the man a pamphlet. “But it is a sight to behold. Most of the boats are manned by international competitors.”

“Nice,” the man said as he looked the pamphlet over. “Uh, what’s going on tomorrow?”

“Well, the morning would be sailing lessons,” Jack said, “and then there’s supposed to be a beer garden in the evening after a large barbeque to kick the week long celebrations off. It is always a treat.”

“What would you suggest?” the man asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I’m particular for the history walks and tours,” Jack smiled. “But that’s a personal bias since I’m a history teacher. Most visitors rave about the amusement park set up on the south end of the pier, but it’s geared towards a much younger age group so I wouldn’t recommend it for a man your age.”

“My age?” the man grinned.

“Early forties,” Jack shrugged. “Don’t think you’d get a thrill out of the teacups. You’d probably get stuck in them; I would.”

The man pursed his lips before dropping himself forward onto the countertop and propping his chin in his palm. “You didn’t answer me; what would you suggest?”

Jack looked at the man for a moment before he snorted. “There’s a custom cars and motorcycle show on Wednesday. Lot of mechanics love it.”

“You going?” the man grinned.

“No,” Jack replied.

“So you wouldn’t recommend it,” the man chuckled. “I really want to know what you would go for. I think I’d enjoy it more if you were into it.”

“I don’t see how,” Jack frowned at the man. “We do not move in the same spheres.”

“You sure?” the man grinned.

Jack lifted an eyebrow. “Unless you intend to tell me that you attend church dutifully on Sunday, complete mandatory weekly volunteer hours, and keep a hutch full of rabbits, yes, I’m certain,” he said.

The man stared at him. “You have rabbits?” he whispered.

“They’re adorable,” Hana cackled as she handed a pamphlet off to a young woman that was almost drooling on herself at the sight of the man in front of Jack. “Satya’s still really shy, but Hana-bunny loves everyone.”

The man let out a long sigh before he looked at Jack. “Don’t suppose I could pay to see those bunnies?” he asked. “I love animals.”

“He’s free on Tuesdays!” Hana grinned. “No history classes at summer school.”

Jack gave her a cold look before he let out a long sigh. “I do not require to be paid, but if you want to bring some rabbit food, I would appreciate it,” he said.

“So, Tuesday,” the man mused. “Say, around noon?”

“Very well,” Jack sighed and gave the man his address. “Please don’t wear anything that dangles; the goats like to nibble.”

The man’s mouth opened in shock. “You have goats?!”

“Two,” Jack replied, trying not to grin. “Like I said, no dangling pieces on your clothing unless they’re secure. I do not need my kid eating something dangerous to his health.”

“It’s a date,” the man grinned as he pulled his sunglasses off of his shirt. “Name’s Gabriel, by the way. But you can call me ‘Gabe’.”

“Very well, Gabriel,” Jack shook his head. “See you Tuesday.”

Gabriel winked at him before he put his sunglasses on and left the building. Hana playfully waved her hand at her face and let out a long sigh. Yup, Gabriel was definitely a teenage girl magnet. Jack opted to ignore Hana’s attempts to tease him and returned to his job. He still had a few hours left to work before the building closed up for the day.

[askdawnandvern]

A Lamb Among Wolves: Ch 18

his is quite possibly the longest chapter I've ever written. Longer than anything in "The Rehabilitation of Dawn Bellwether" and any of the chapters in this story as of yet. Initially it was supposed to be combined with the previous chapter, but once how saw how long it was getting I had to break it up. Even this is pushing it at 25 pages, but I felt it couldn't be split up anywhere else. This chapter had a bit of last minute tweaking done with some help from my Patreons, so that it felt more natural and realistic. I really have to thank them for their help, and continue to support me as I write this and create other stuff. If you are interested in early access stuff and being part of out little book club, you can check out my patreon. Every little bit helps keep the stories and art coming!

(If you are interested in commissions, contact via PM for pricing and availability.)

https://www.patreon.com/wastedtimeee

-WT

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Chapter Eighteen: Of Old Flames and Funnel Cakes

Stress, fear, anxiety and woe. Since Vernon had arrived at his family home just two days ago those feelings had never strayed too far away from him. It had managed to make the relatively short time spent at the Hunter Ranch feel like an eternity. For every little glimmer of hope, every ounce of promise, for every little bit of joy, there managed to be something that came along and ripped it away from him. His Father's attitude, Yuri's crude and tasteless sense of 'humor', Zach agreeing with Dorian about the couple staying away from the fair. All of it had been twisting the wolf's insides further and further. Each act adding to the growing sense of dread and misery in the wolf faster than the rest of his more accepting family members could ease it. But finally, for the first time since he had arrived in the North Meadowlands, Vernon was actually having great time.

It had been hours now since he and Dawn had first set out with the goal of making their date at the fair the best it could possible be. The sun had shifted from the edge of the horizon to far overhead, their shadows tapering to little more than a concentrated blot beneath their feet. Despite the intensity of the noon day rays against Vernon's fur, the wolf could feel a wavering in its strength. The warmth of the summer sun finally beginning to wither away before the growing chill of the autumn air. It struggled against the cool breeze, at least keeping it warm enough not to need a jacket, but thankfully beaten down enough by the cool air to keep the fair grounds from being stifling.

From her perch atop the wolf's shoulders, Dawn had lead the charge in the couple's desperate need for fun and relief from the family reunion. The ewe was unusually exuberant, excitement lacing her every statement as the couple began to meander through the crowds of mammals. Her rising excitement had the wolf grinning stupidly in mere seconds after she had started.  It became clear very quickly to Vernon that the sheep hadn't been to anything like a fair or amusement park in ages. It shone in her childlike wonder and glee as she stared in awe at the variety of attractions. Much like the excitable fox who had left for the rides just before them, the ewe was pointing from ride to ride as she struggled to settle on what to go on first. Each decisive and final choice turning on a dime as she spotted yet another new ride she hadn't seen.

It was Vernon who ultimately became the deciding factor of their first ride together. Dawn had been in the middle of listing off several different choices before she evidently remembered that she was with someone. Vernon stifled a laugh as Dawn suddenly froze mid sentence, glancing down at the wolf she had been clutching on to so tightly.

"V-vernon I'm so sorry." The ewe began to blush. "I was so overwhelmed by all the rides I didn't even think to a-ask you."

Vernon flashed her a warm smirk. After such a hard start to the day, nothing could make the wolf feel better than seeing his mate brimming with excitement and joy.

"W-what do you think we should ride?" Dawn asked, squeezing his shoulders a bit as she leaned further over his head.

"Welp..." Vernon scratched his chin. "Since I was a little pup, every year when the fair came around the first thing I'd ride was the merry go round." The wolf shrugged slightly, causing the ewe seated on his shoulders to rise and fall with his motion. "I guess it sort of became a tradition of mine."

"Well then, no sense in breaking tradition." Dawn smiled widely.

Turning her attention back to the fair around her, the ewe stabbed a finger in the direction of the ride.

"Onward, my valiant Puppy!" Dawn giggled as she spoke, squeezing his shoulder tightly with her one hoof still holding on.

The line for the ride was short, which Vernon had expected. It was never the most popular ride in the fair, but it still was one of his favorites. As they entered the ride the Vernon found himself overwhelmed with the sudden feeling of nostalgia as he spied over the various seats. The finely polished and colorful exotic birds looked as though they hadn't aged since his childhood. Cockatoos, parrots, parakeets and even a massive toucan pulling a chariot made for an amazing display of bright and tantalizing colors, which only became more entrancing as the ride was in motion. Vernon stopped briefly as he passed a familiar old macaw with a chip in it's beak, gently rubbing a paw across its smooth surface as memories came flooding back.

The wolf had neglected to tell Dawn how such a gentle, slow paced ride became the favorite of a young, excitable wolf pup. But the last thing Vernon wanted to do was ruin the mood they had just struggled to get back into by bringing up painful memories. Yet as he glanced into the shining eye of the old macaw he couldn't help but recall his countless rides on its back. How many times he held his paws tightly around it's neck, staring up at the sky and wishing the old bird would take off into it. Flying the young wolf away from his troubles. Away from losing Dawn, away from his anger at the world, away from all of it. The wolf shook his head as he drew his paw back from the bird, worried that lingering any longer would prompt his mate to question why. Those memories were long gone, and now his ewe was back. It wasn't worth ruining the date to mourn what could have been.

Naturally Vernon opted for the chariot, the only double-seater on the ride, and the perfect place to enjoy the experience with Dawn. The wolf made a dash for the seat, fearful that another fairgoer would nab it despite the lack of riders. Once he had staked his claim, he eased the ewe off of his shoulders and onto the seat before taking a spot next to her.

He watched the ewe put her hooves on her knees, leaning forward as she waited excitedly for the ride to begin. Vernon in turn simply leaned back against the hard wood of the seat back, leaning one of his arms on the side edge of the chariot as he watched her. The wolf couldn't help but admire her sheer joy. She was clearly putting in the effort of forgetting everything in favor of just having a good time, and if she had any lingering thoughts or doubts, it certainly wasn’t showing.

As the ride jolted to a start, he watched the sheep jump slightly in surprise and couldn't help but chuckle. Dawn flashed the wolf a dour frown.

"What?" She asked.

Vernon shook his head dismissively. "Nothin' Darlin'."

The ewe leaned back as the ride began to pick up speed, but her eyes remained on the wolf.

"C'mon Vernon, what?" This time a giggle escaped at the end of her sentence.

"Yer just so darn adorable. I can barely stand it." The wolf said, a goofy grin crawling across his face.

"VeeEERNoooOOON!" Dawn whined, giving the wolf a playful slap.

"Yer only making it worse." The wolf chuckled.

"So are you!" Dawn blushed, placing her hooves over her muzzle. The ewe slid slightly away from Vernon as she eyed the wolf warily. "Y-you don't smell it do you?"

Vernon crooked an eyebrow. "The pheromones or the-?"

"Yes, my pheromones." Dawn replied.

Vernon leaned near the sheep, taking a good hard whiff of the air around her. It was there, sure. But it was barely noticeable over the fading scent of his Mother's perfume.

"Perfume's doing its job." Vernon stated.

"G-good." Dawn gave a shaky reply as she placed her hooves back on the seating. She was quiet for a moment as Vernon kept watching her. Clearly there was more on her mind.

"A-and the perfume isn't too b-bad now?" Dawn asked timidly, twiddling her hooves nervously as she spoke.

Vernon chuckled, but instead of giving her a reply the wolf simply pulled her close to his side. The ewe resisted for a moment, but in the end she gave in, allowing herself to lean against his chest as the ride continued to whirl around them. Once Vernon heard her let out a contented sigh, the wolf slacked his grip, allowing his arm to hang loosely against her.

"This answer yer question Honey Lamb?" Vernon asked.

He felt the sheep nod affirmatively against his side, placing a hoof on his chest as she continued to lean against him.

"Good." Vernon rubbed Dawn's shoulder gently. "Now let's just enjoy ourselves."

The rest of the morning would go more or less the same, the ewe only seeming to worry about her scent more than anything else. Her pheromones had spiked a few times as they moved from ride to ride, but it had managed to be nothing the wolf couldn't endure. And as the day progressed the wolf could feel himself growing more and more at ease. His stress, his doubts, all of them were rapidly falling away as he enjoyed being with the one he loved, the two just having mindless fun as they experienced the excitement of the fair together. The teacups, the spinning swings, the funhouse, the bumper cars, with each attraction the wolf’s troubles felt more and more distant. The misery the weekend had been causing him become more and more obscured as his date reinforced and strengthened the whole reason he had come to the reunion in the first place, to simply show Dawn a good time. And with every smile, giggle, and hug from the petite ewe, the wolf’s heart swelled with love.

Now that lunch had rolled around the wolf was practically back to his old self, strolling lazily across the fair grounds with Dawn holding his paw tightly as they walked together. The only thing left nagging him was the lingering embarrassment of accidentally taking a bite out of Dawn’s hair instead of the cotton candy they had bought to split. He made the mistake of not looking down when she had held the staff of spun sugar up for him, instead staring off at the next attraction he had his heart set on riding with his date.

Vernon let out another quiet whine as the memory replayed in his head.

“Vernon stop.” The wolf turned his attention to the small sheep at his side.

“What?” Vernon asked.

“You’re still thinking about the cotton candy.” Dawn eyelids drooped as she stared at him.

The wolf scratched the back of his head, flashing an uneasy smile.

“You could tell huh?” Vernon muttered.

“Vernon. It’s fine.” Dawn laughed, running a hoof through the fluffy mane that Vernon had coined her nickname from before placing it against her hip. “You barely bit into it before you realized what was wrong. You didn’t even pull any wool out.” Dawn let out a sigh. “Trust me, it’s not the first time someone tried to eat my wool.” Dawn let out a sigh.

Vernon eyed the ewe curiously. “Oh really?”

The ewe blushed slightly, letting out an awkward cough.

“W-well you know, college.” Dawn murmured. “A lot of mammals experimented with hallucinogens and stuff. Yellow lichen gum was a big hit on campus.” Dawn place her hoof over her face. “So when you have a mare for a roommate who’s very into hallucinogens, you find yourself waking up to a horse slobbering on your head a fairly often.” Dawn sighed.

Vernon let out a barking laugh.

“You can’t be serious!” The wolf choked through his laughter.

The ewe let out an exasperated sigh. “At least cotton candy was actually involved this time around.”

The wolf smirked. “And in my defense, they did go out of their way to make it look like you.”

“Oh yeah.” Dawn laughed. “There’s something very comforting about a cotton candy stand run by coyotes who craft the cotton candy to look like cartoon sheep heads.” The ewe shook her head. “I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that I was eating a crude replica of my own head, or you were.”

Vernon flashed the ewe a half lidded stare, a mischievous grin crossing his muzzle.

“Well, I do love to eat you Honey Lamb.” Vernon chuckled. “Granted it ain’t exactly the same thing, but it certainly is tasty.”

Vernon had barely finished his statement before Dawn abruptly released her tight grip on his paw. Blushing intensely, the ewe took a few steps away from the wolf, clasping her hooves over her muzzle.

“VERNON!” She hissed, her tone was stern but it wavered, the lamb clearly attempting to keep from laughing. “You are KILLING me! I can’t take this today!”

Vernon let out a soft chuckle. “Sorry Mutton Chop, I keep forgetting.”

The ewe wiped a hoof across her brow, letting out a frustrated sigh.

“At least that means the perfume is doing its job.” Dawn sighed. “But that doesn’t make it any easier for me! You have to cut down on the flirting.”

Vernon placed his paws in his pockets, looking down at the worn dirt path beneath his feet. The wolf idly kicked a small stone, glancing back at Dawn occasionally with a pair of wide, sorrowful eyes. It was all an act of course; the wolf wasn’t quite done teasing his mate. But he knew his weaponized ‘Puppy Eyes’ were the best in his arsenal when it came to flustering Dawn.

“Oh Puppy no!” Dawn immediately scolded. "Don't you give me that look!"

“I-I’m sorry Floofs, I-“ Vernon suppressed the urge to smirk, holding steadfast in his mock frown.” I just love ya so much, I can’t help myself sometimes.”

“You already have me!” Dawn chuckled. “You don’t have to flirt anymore!”

Vernon broke his sad façade for a moment, flashing the ewe a brief smirk.

“Where’s the fun in that?” The wolf replied.

“OHH!” Dawn huffed. “ Mean, MEAN wolf!"

Vernon slipped back into his dejected stance, making his eyes as wide a he could and feigning a sniffle.

"A-aw, now ya gone and hurt me Dawn." Vernon whimpered. "Cut me deep."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the ewe's frustrated face, but he could also see a hint of worry, part of her clearly wasn't sure if she had really hurt him, and Vernon was ready to continue to play on it to get one up on her.

"V-vernon!" She stammered. "S-stop, please!"

"I just wanted to have a good time with ya." Vernon whimpered. "Now I got ya scolding me for showin' ya how much I love ya."

"Y-you are still toying with me aren't you?" Dawn sputtered. Vernon could tell her resolve was weakening.

Vernon slackened his stance further, his ears flattening against his head as he stared back at the ewe.

Dawn's own protective stance seemed to shrink, and her muzzle twisted into a worried frown.

"Oh...oh Vernon." She murmured. "I-I'm sorry. I am, really." The ewe took a careful step closer, all the while the wolf kept up his sorrowful act, waiting for the chance to strike.

"I love your flirting, r-really." She continued. "I mean I love when w-we flirt together. B-but you have to understand why that's n-not so easy to deal with today."

Of course Vernon knew better, he had some idea what the 'itch' was like. But the opportunity to tease was simply too good to pass up. If they had been back in Zootopia, the little problem with Dawn's pheromones would have been something they would have been able to deal with swiftly, several times in one evening. The wolf would have been eager to make sure his ewe spent the week walking funny rather then frustratingly stewing in her own wool. And, as much of a risk as it was just getting too strong a whiff of her scent, another part of Vernon was compelled to drink deeply of it. The intoxicating aroma of Dawn's natural scent was something the wolf had become addicted to, and he had never smelled it as strongly as it had been that morning. He knew it was wrong, that it would be torture for the both of them, but his need of that familiar flowery and fruity scent he had grown to love was getting the best of him.

The wolf gave a somber nod, keeping his attention mostly to the ground as the ewe took another cautious step toward him. Glancing up at the timid ewe, Vernon turned up the heat by adding a quivering pout to his deadly Puppy eyes. It was nearly time to strike, he just needed her to fully let her guard down.

"Oh Vernon, please." Dawn sighed, opening her arms wide as she gestured the wolf toward her. "I'm sorry."

The wolf dropped his false pout in favor of a devious smile as he sprung his trap. Lurching forward, the wolf snapped the ewe up into his arms and pulled her tightly against his chest. He had taken her by surprise so well she hadn't even fully registered what was going on until she was firmly pressed against his plaid shirt.

"V-Vernon! WHA-NO!" The ewe sputtered, squirming wildly as the wolf held her tightly. With his prey properly restrained, he was free to torture her just a little bit more, even though in a way it was torture for the both of them. Vernon placed his muzzle firmly against the poof of her wool, burying it all the way through to Dawn's scalp.

"Y'know that wool was surprisingly tasty. I may need a few more nips!" Vernon laughed.

"NOOoooOOO!" Dawn whined, still frantically wriggling as Vernon began to plant kisses all over the top of her head. With each quick, tiny peck the wolf could hear a giggle force it's way through Dawn's protests. Eventually the ewe gave up on fighting to get free, and Vernon could feel her hooves pushing against his neck as the wolf continued his assault. She was desperately trying to push him back, but she didn't stand a chance. The wolf had no plans of letting her go until he was good and ready. Another few playful kisses and the wolf got a slight whiff of what he was searching for, that familiar aroma just barely rising over the withering scent of his Mother's perfume. Vernon took a deep breath as he moved in for another kiss, closing his eyes as he relished in the smell for a moment.

However, his trajectory had been slightly off, and in the haze of the ewe's delicious odor, the wolf had sort of forgotten exactly what he was doing. It was only when his teeth found a soft, playful purchase on the rim of one of the ewe's ears did Dawn manage to drag him out of his growing cloudy, dream-like state.

"V-Vernon." The wolf felt one of Dawn's hooves paw at his chest feebly. Her voice had shifted from playfully irritance, to worrying, to an almost pleaful tone. And simultaneously, as her wilted plea reached the wolf's ears, he was hit was a powerful blast of pheromones. It was enough to make the wolf reel back slightly, shocked by just how potent he had managed to make it with such little effort. Either the perfume was rapidly losing strength, or he just hadn't managed to get her that riled up all morning.

Vernon quickly placed the ewe down, and Dawn quickly darted a few steps away from him. Dawn was blushing furiously, but Vernon knew he was looking just as bad.

The wolf scratched the back of his head, letting out an awkward cough as he tried to distract himself by staring at the nearest ride or stand he could find.

"S-sorry Darlin'." Vern muttered. "I-uh..."

He suddenly felt the ewe's hooves push at his waist, causing him to stumble back slightly. Dawn was glaring at him, cheeks flushed with red and puffed out in annoyance.

"I'm going to remember this!" She hissed. " I'm going to get you back later, I swear!" Dawn pouted.

Vernon couldn't help but laugh, it was clear he had embarrassed her. But her stern scolding carried with it a hint of vague playfulness, as if whatever evil scheme she was cooking up she was anticipating with glee.

"D-don't worry about that too much Honey Lamb." Vernon sighed. "Trust me, that was more painful for me t-than I thought it would be." The wolf let out a weak, faltering chuckle.

Dawn stabbed finger into the wolf's chest poking him several times.

"Oh no, that's not enough!" She huffed. "We're in public!" The sheep said, glancing over her shoulders warily. Placing a paw to her muzzle, she lowered her tone to a whisper. "I don't need all the rams here knowing I'm in season!" Dawn whined quietly. "I-It's...personal."

Vernon nodded meekly.

"I-I'm real sorry Floofs." Vernon said, leaning down to Dawn's level. The wolf had to stop himself from placing his paws on her shoulders. The last thing he wanted to do was possibly make it worse.

"I-it's okay." Dawn mumbled, twisting a hoof awkwardly into the dirt. "I-I'm not mad, I'm just embarrassed."

The wolf nodded solemnly.

" I didn't really think about the other mammals pickin' up on that smell before. I promise I'll try to hold back on the flirting and the huggin' and stuff." Vernon said, offering a weak smile.

"W-well." Dawn twiddled her hooves nervously. "D-don't hold back too much okay?"

Vernon chuckled. "Alright Honey Lamb, you got it."

As the wolf rose to his feet, he felt the ewe give him another light shove.

"I'm still going to get you back though!" Dawn whined.

Vernon let out a loud barking laugh. "Alright, alright, you'll get your shot. I've still got a lot planned out today."

"On top of all this?" Dawn asked. "We've already covered half the fair!"

"And I intend to cover the other half." Vernon replied, flashing Dawn a wide grin. "I'm going to make sure we at least get around to the tunnel of love today."

"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Dawn yelped before clasping a hoof over her muzzle in surprise of herself. "T-there's no way I can do that right now. I'm feeling so-"

Vernon placed his paws out protectively. "Easy, easy there Floofs. Not right now of course." The wolf chuckled. " Gotta let ya cool down a  bit first."

"But Vernon, are you sure it's really a good id-?"

"Dawn we ain't bunnies." Vernon replied. "We ain't gonna come out of that tunnel with twenty kids. The perfume is working well enough, and I'd like to think you feel I got some sense of self control."

The ewe gave a slow, wary nod.

"O-okay..." Dawn relented. "B-but way later. Like at the end of the day."

"You got it." Vernon affirmed.

As the wolf started to make his way back into the crowd, he felt Dawn's hoof find his paw again.

"S-so is that everything?" Dawn asked.

"Heck no." Vernon said, his voice practically singing with excitement. "When were finished at the fair, you and me are gonna have a nice, quiet picnic in the fields back home. Just the two of us."

"R-really? You planned that too?" Dawn pressed.

"Yeah, I already set aside a little care package of pies and other stuff at the house. I bet you were wondering why we hadn't had any of Ma's free food yet?" Vernon grinned down at the ewe.

"Actually I did find it odd you insisted we split cotton candy and funnel cakes for lunch. I mean that's barely food." Dawn tutted.

"Yep, all part of my master plan." Vernon beamed. "I'll make the hot corn right out there, and we'll have pie and all sorts of other goodies. Then we can watch the stars come out, just like I used to when I was a Pup."

"Oh Vernon." Dawn cooed. "T-that sounds wonderful. You planned all this out ahead of time?"

Vernon's grin just grew wider. "About a week before we had the trip pinned down Floofs. I'm going to make this the best weekend of our lives, family or not."

The wolf's eyelids drooped slightly as a mischievous smile returned to his muzzle.

"And you can get me back all you want when we're out there." The wolf cooed. "And if you get a little frisky, well we can take care of that too my little Honey Lamb."

"VEEERNOOON!" Dawn whined, the blush returning to her muzzle as she playfully slapped at him. Vernon couldn't help but chuckle to himself, it was far to easy to fluster the lamb. And it was something he was sure he'd never get tired of.

"Wait Vernon!?" A voice rang out, a familiar voice that reflexively caused Vernon's ears to sag and his muzzle to twist into a sharp grimace.

"Vernon Hunter!? OH EM GOODNESS! I can't BELIEVE THIS!" No, it couldn't be. She couldn't be here. Vernon felt a hard lump form in his throat.

'She moved away.' Vernon thought to himself. 'Zach told me she moved far away!' The wolf was frozen stock still, his body fighting to turn in the direction the call had come from, but his mind too fearful to confirm his suspicions.

"Yoo-hoo? You go deaf Scrappy?" There it was, the last painful bit of confirmation the wolf needed to know exactly who was calling out to him. That nickname had been exclusively used by only one wolf in his entire life, tied up neatly with a chunk of his past that the wolf had tried so desperately to forget. Vernon cursed silently to himself as he turned to face the music.

The wolf kept his gaze low, first eyeing the now very confused looking ewe by his side. But as he dragged his sight-line up he eventually met the gaze of the one other wolf aside from Yuri he could have happily gone the rest of his life without ever seeing again. His ex-mate from High School, Anabelle Windpaw.

It was almost surprising how little the red wolf had changed since he had seen her last. While the couple had long since broken up by the end of high school, she continued to make herself a presence in Vernon's life right up until graduation. Each tedious and irritating encounter went more or less the same. The she-wolf would 'randomly' run into Vernon when she happened to be with her newest boy toy. She would flaunt his prowess  and superiority while simultaneously belittling Vernon's weakness and overall failure to keep her. At least that how she liked to tell it, whether you wanted to hear it or not.

Despite getting slightly taller, the fiery red and creamy tan fur was still just as he remembered it. The same went for the several garish 'traditional' Canidean feather earrings the she-wolf had strewn about her ears. She even still wore the same faded red vinyl jacket, with the same patches and runes related to 'native wolf' culture that Vernon was certain she didn't know the actual meaning of. Of course her outfit wasn't complete without her professionally 'worn' clothing. Her faded blue jeans with precision tears made by  mechanized hands, and a tee-shirt that simply said 'wolf pack' made to look as though it had been through several hundred washes, although the wolfess had probably bought it yesterday. She had always called the style 'distressed', which to Vernon translated to 'clothing that looks like it would be in a thrift shop, but sold  for three times the price.'

But the thing that really made the wolf feel as though he was staring directly into his own past, that made his stomach lurch, was that same smug and self-righteous grin she always wore. Her green eyes gleaming with mischief despite conveying a half lidded disinterest. In that moment, Vernon felt like he was in High School all over again.

"Ana." Vernon grumbled through clenched teeth.

The she-wolf let out a laugh.

"What are the odds I'd run into you of all mammals out here!" She grinned. "Last I heard you ran off to Zootopia with your tail between your legs because you couldn't cut it as a cop."

The second sentence out of her mouth, that had to be a new record for the she-wolf. Usually she at least tried to keep up the pretense of a casual conversation for a few minutes before starting to tear into him. It was clear she had been honing her skills with time. Vernon let out a harsh sigh before turning on the sarcastic pleasantries.

"Ana, and here I thought you had become a professional drifter, moving from town to town to find the biggest, toughest wolf you could to suck dry before dumping him for the next hapless sap." The wolf retorted, flashing a fake smile.

Ana simply chuckled in response.

"Those of us who are proud of our heritage call that being nomadic. It's in a wolf's blood. Not that I'd expect you to know anything about that." The she-wolf returned the false smile in kind. "Of course there's always something that draws us back home I suppose."

Before Vernon could fire off another biting comment, Ana cut him off.

"Oh, oh! I have to introduce you to my mate!" Ana said, turning to the crowd behind her.

"Ken, Ken Darling, come here! There is someone you have to meet!" She cooed.

There were roughly three or four wolves in the crowd behind her, but naturally the largest wolf was the one who stepped forward. His fur was pitch black, obscuring most of the features of his form while causing his green eyes and gleaming white fangs to stand out like stars against the night sky. Unlike Ana, this wolf was dressed to the nines, wearing a sleek grey suit and deep green tie. It appeared immaculately maintained and tailor fit, so much so that even Xavier's classiest attire would make him look like a pauper by comparison.

As the wolf casually approached the group, it became apparent that the wolf was even slightly taller than him, perhaps by one or two inches, and his shoulders just as wide as Vernon's. Everything about Ken's appearance made it perfectly clear why Ana chose him. He was an 'Alpha', and the aura around him practically screamed it from the heavens themselves.

"Vernon, this is Kendrick Loupon." Ana beamed, patting the wolf's broad chest gently as she leaned against it. "He's the Assistant Representative of the entirety of the Meadowlands. He works directly under Representative Damon Ruddy!" Looking up at the dark black wolf, Ana's smile was practically childlike. "He's a big mammal in the Meadowlands Community. Probably bigger than your old 'Mam."

Vernon sneered. The wolf had always been fine with Ana's usual superiority shtick, but when she brought his folks into the conversation it always got his hackles up.

Ana turned her attention back to Vernon, her smile twisting into a more venomous sneer.

"And Ken Darling, this is Vernon Hunter. It's probably quite hard to believe, but he was my mate back in High School. You know, before I discovered what true 'Alpha' wolves were like." Ana tutted. "He was lucky to have me for as long as he did."

"Ha, ha, ha." Vernon stated sarcastically. "Lucky is one interpretation, but I personally think 'cursed' is more appropriate wouldn't you say?"

Ken let out a deep throaty chuckle, extending a paw out to Vernon, but Ana caught his arm mid-way, pulling it back toward him.

"Oh Ken don't!" Ana laughed. " I'm pretty sure failure is contagious Darling. We don't need Vernon's weakness tainting someone of your stature."

Vernon let out a quiet growl as the large wolf eyed his mouthy mate with slight confusion.

"S-She's the ex you were talking about on the train?" Vernon heard Dawn whisper as she tugged at his paw.

"Unfortunately." Vernon muttered, briefly frowning down at the ewe.

"O-oh Mutton chops." Came her nearly inaudible reply.

Ana seemingly hadn't noticed their little exchanged, she was too focused on the story she was preparing to tell. Vernon had of course heard it all before, he imagined that the wolfess had it boiled down to bullet points by now, ready to prattle it off to her newest mate as her cautionary tale of choice.

"Oh wow, it's all coming right back." Ana cooed. " I can't tell you how many times old Scrappy over there failed to stick up for his mate and be a proper wolf."

"Scrappy?" Ken asked.

"That's was one of the nicknames I gave him." Ana flashed a smug grin Vernon's way. "Well, that's the most polite one anyway."

Vernon balled his free fist tightly as Ana let out another laugh.

"But I called him Scrappy because he lost most of the fights he got into. I swear, he was absolutely terrible in a brawl." Ana mused.

"That's because you got me into those fights." Vernon grumbled. "Very unnecessary fights. With mammals way larger than I was."

Ana dismissed his objections with a wave of her paw. "Oh please Vernon, it's not my fault you were such a coward you didn't want to stand up for me when other mammals had wronged me."

"Yeah, let's share some examples shall we?" Vernon growled. "How many times did you insult someone because they 'looked at you wrong',  or how you 'heard they might of said something about you' when they never even met you." The wolf shook his head. "You never let anything go, and would goad mammals into a frenzy just to sic me on them. Yeah, but they wronged you."

"AHH!" Ana squealed with delight. "I just remembered that time with that brown bear. The look on your face when he had his jaw wrapped around you neck was absolutely priceless!"

Vernon uneasily groped at his throat as the memory came back to him. The wolf had never forgotten the feel of the angry bears incisors on his throat, the pressure of the teeth against his jugular.

"And surprise, surprise, you lost that one too." Ana teased.

"I also cut a scar across the poor fella's eye." Vernon grimaced. "He's still got that because of me, and I hate myself for it."

"Pft...so you gave him a scar. Big deal." Ana mocked.

"Nah, 'course it's no big deal." Vernon grumbled. " Would have been better if I killed him right? More 'Alpha'? More like a real wolf would have done?"

"Well, nothing says Alpha quite like a wolf whose spent some time in prison." Ana let out another long laugh before trailing of into a contented sigh.

"Just seeing you reminds me of how foolish I was when I was younger." Ana shook her head dismissively. " I was so naive when it came to picking wolves that were 'pack leader' material. So many disappointments, so many failures." The she-wolf glared at Vernon briefly before turning her attention back to Ken. "It took a wolf like Ken to show me what it means to be a true 'Alpha'." Ana cooed, gently pawing at Ken's chest appreciatively. The large wolf squirmed slightly, seemingly uncomfortable with the attention. Perhaps it came off a little too lurid for a public display.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Vernon spat, eager to push the conversation by as fast as possible.

Ana scoffed, rolling her eyes as she clutched back up against the towering wolf next to her.

"Oh, well if you must know. Ken has to be here because of his position in the community. He and Damon are going to be presiding over several very important Harvest Festival ceremonies and so he decided to take me along and turn it into a little date!" Ana cooed, patting Ken's chest gently.

"Yeah, I'd love to be wearing casuals right now." Ken said, scratching the back of his neck. "But technically I'm on official government business, at least part time, so I need to look the part." The wolf gently tugged at the collar of his suit. "To be honest it's a little stif-"

"He's also going to be presiding over several traditional Canidean wolf pack rites for the local native community." Ana cut the large wolf off, continuing her pitch.

"Did you know Ken is half native grey wolf? It's true, his Mother was part of a tribe on the West Coast before she moved to Zootopia." She smiled broadly. "He is very in touch with his cultural roots, and Ms. Loupon instilled a deep respect in him for our ancestors cultural practices."

"W-well I mean not all of them ar-"

"Yes, my mate truly is a perfect balance of a modern wolf, and a proud native warrior. A real Alpha male. A true Canidean wolf." Ana sighed dreamily before turning her attention back to Vernon. Her eyelids drooped as the smug grin returned to her muzzle. "Which is more than I could say for some of us here."

Vernon chuckled, surprised at just how thick the she-wolf was laying out her endless praises of the large, dark wolf. The wolf imagined it had been a long time since she had a good outlet to dump her insecurities on, and his presence gave her the perfect opportunity.

"Oh yeah." The wolf shook his head. "That's right, if I remember correctly the last native wolf in your family line was your great-great grandmother. So that would make you the least native mammal here by default."

That was the first time Vernon saw Ana's smug facade drop slightly. The wolfess grimaced briefly before turning her nose up at the wolf.

Satisfied he had hit his mark, Vernon continued. "Even so, not like that kind of thing was ever a big deal to me. Native, non-native, we're all wolves." It was an olive branch, one Vernon was sure that would ultimately be wasted. But at least he was attempting to turn the tone of the conversation to something less bitter and spiteful.

"Spoken like a true omega wolf." As expected, Ana was quick to toss that branch aside. "I swear if your family respected anything about their roots you would have been kicked out of your pack a long time ago."

Ana's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "Oh, is that why you're here? To plead with your Father to let you back into the family? To give you your name back? Are you just Vernon 'No last name given' now? Oh that wou-"

"W-what is your problem!?"

The sudden statement startled the wolf, but not because what was said, but rather who had said it. Looking down, the wolf found that Dawn had stepped forward slightly while still clasping his paw. Her other hoof was balled into a tight fist that matched his own. Ana seemed confused before discovering the voice had come from below her line of sight.

"E-excuse me?" Ana sputtered.

"Y-you heard me!" Dawn's voice waivered slightly, but ultimately remained stern.

"Why did you even bother us? It's clear you don't like Vernon so what was the point?" Dawn released her grip on Vernon's paw, taking another step toward the she-wolf. The ewe stood firm, her fists clenched as Vernon watched.

"Do you honestly have nothing better to do?" Dawn continued, her voice rising slightly. "Are y-you so childish that you need to validate yourself by seeking out a mammal you dated in High School just to put him down?"

The ewe pointed a finger at the bewildered she-wolf. "What was that, more than ten years ago? And your dwelling on it like it was yesterday? Is there nothing more going on in your life?"

The she-wolf was silent, merely blinking at the ewe in shock. It was clear Dawn had caught her off guard. But the lamb also managed to catch Vernon off guard as well. Dawn had made great strides in finding her own voice since the 'Zootopia's Last Night' affair. It was a change the wolf could see growing in her with each passing day. The way she carried herself, holding her head a bit higher than she used to. Standing up for herself more often. Vernon assumed that the close call she had suffered that week in the hospital had fundamentally changed her, like many others who have had close brushes with death.

However it was still surprising to the wolf to see the timid little ewe so boldly stand up to Ana, and it caused Vernon's heart to swell with pride and love. The wolf soon found himself returning the smug smile the same she-wolf had been previously wearing.

Ana tried to laugh, but a few coughs choked through it. It was clear the wolfess had lost some of her stride with Dawn's unexpected interjection.

"A-and what's this supposed to be?" Ana stuttered slightly as she gestured to the petite ewe. " Did I judge you too soon Scrappy? Is that a snack for later?"

Vernon crossed his arms, letting off a derisive huff.

"Heck no, that's vile." Vernon sneered.

Vernon watched as the she-wolf crouched down to Dawn's level, leaning close to the little sheep.

"You know another great thing Canidean wolves had right you little grazer?" Ana sneered, her eyes flicking between Dawn and Vernon as she spoke. " That the only use for a sheep was for clothing and food."

"Hey now-" Ken tried to interject, but Ana was on a roll.

"You know, I've been all over North Mammalia, and met all sorts of REAL native wolves." Ana hissed at Dawn. " I've even been to a few communes, waaaAAAaaay up north where they still see sheep as a hearty meal." Ana grinned broadly, leaning practically muzzle to muzzle with Dawn. Vernon couldn't see Dawn's reaction, but her legs were beginning to tremble. Whatever resolve the ewe had was being pushed to it's limit. "Once or twice, I've even had the pleasure of partaking in one of their traditional hunts, and the thrill of biting into a real rack of MUTTON!"

As she spat out the word mutton, she lunged forward causing Dawn to stagger backward slightly. Dawn looked back at Vernon fearfully for a moment, but rather than run back to his side she returned to her defiant stance.

"Ana please!" Ken raised his voice slightly, his eyes shifting across the various fair-goers. Vernon had nearly forgot about them in the heat of rising altercation, but it seemed they had yet to draw any attention from the passers by. "This is the Meadowlands Darling, please don't uses words like that around my constituants."

Ana let out a derisive snort as she eyed Ken briefly. Still Ana seemed pleased enough with the reaction she drew out of the sheep, the smug grin returning to her face. The she-wolf returned to her feet, taking her place back at Ken's side.

"Honestly it was a beautiful ritual, it's a shame more wolves don't honor their roots like that. Such a proud and visceral tradition ." Ana chuckled.

"Well native wolves had a lot of stupid traditions." Vernon chuckled. "That's why all those tribes have practically died out. In another fifty years or so those die hard packs will be nothing more then a black mark in the history books."

"Not with wolves like me keeping the culture alive." Ana sneered. "I'll make sure it lives on in my pups."

Vernon scoffed, shaking his head in dismissal.

"So I take it he's your body guard then?" Ana ignored him, turning her attention back to Dawn. "Otherwise I can't imagine you'd have the gall to talk to me like-"

"She's my mate." Vernon said firmly, stepping to the ewe's side and grasping her hoof again. The wolf squeezed it tightly, flashing Dawn a soft smile. Dawn had done enough fighting on her own for his sake. The wolf felt it was time to step up.

The ewe looked back at him in shock, at least at first. It only took seconds for tears to start flowing from the corners of her eyes.

"V-vernon." She murmured.

"W-wh-what?" Ana's eyes flew open, blinking rapidly. "I-I'm sorry, w-what was that?" The she-wolf stumbled over her words.

Vernon took a deep breath, puffing his chest out proudly. Dawn was his, and he wasn't ashamed to make it clear.

"This is Dawn Bellwether, and she's my mate." The wolf stated confidently.

Ana simply seemed to freeze, eyes wide in disbelief as to what she had heard. But behind her eyes Vernon could see a hint of glee. A shine like the one a pup gets on the early Yule morning, looking over the mound of presents that had been left the night before. It was as if the information had simply over stimulated her, shut down her ability to process it, and the reaction was waiting for her to come back online.

Suddenly the she-wolf reeled back, letting out the most uproarious and boisterous laugh Vernon had ever heard from her. She placed a paw over her eyes as she continued to laugh like maniac, reeling back and forth as she continued to cackle. As her laugh grew louder and louder, Vernon could see a crowd beginning to draw around them The fairgoers had all stopped dead in their tracks, now looking intently at the scene before them.

With another hard reel back, Ana's laugh turned into a howl. And it didn't take long for some of the other wolves in the fair to join in. Vernon could hear them piping up from all over the carnival. Surprisingly, Kendrick kept silent. It was clear that like Vernon, the wolf had trained himself to suppress the urge to howl. Instead he seemed to become increasingly flustered.

With that last howl, the she-wolf fell into a crouch, clawing desperately at her chest as tried to catch her breath.

"Wait, Dawn Bellwether?" Kendrick asked. Seemingly trying to change the subject away from the scene Ana was trying to create.

"Y-yes?" Dawn muttered weakly.

"Ah, I was a big fan of your political career!" Ken said, clapping his paws together. "I followed it really closely up until...um...well you know."

"O-oh..." Dawn murmured, twisting a hoof awkwardly into the dirt.

"But I have to say, the laws you helped get passed for the city wer-"

The wolf was unable to finish his sentence before Ana slammed into his side, a laugh escaping through her labored breath as she struggled to keep from collapsing.

"OH THIS IS TOO PERFECT!" Ana practically sang. "VERNON HUNTER! THE WEAK OMEGA WHO COULD'T KEEP A REAL SHE-WOLF SATISFIED IS A DIRTY PREY CHASER!" Ana let out another howl of laughter. "AND NOT JUST ANY PREY, BUT A SHEEP!"

"Ana, calm down, you're stirring up the other wo-"

The wolfess gave her mate a playful elbow to the rib.

"AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF, SHE'S AN EX-CON!" Ana wheezed. "SHE WAS GOING TO WIPE OUT ALL THE PREDATORS IN THE CITY REMEMBER!? WHAT, DID YOU FORGET THAT SCRAPPY!?" The wolfess pawed at her increasingly uncomfortable looking mate.

The she wolf began to wipe tears from her eyes as she continued to choke out laughter. "OR DO YOU LIKE THAT? BEING SUBORDINATE TO SOME GRAZER WHO LOOKS AT YOU LIKE YOU'RE THE LESSER MAMMAL?"

"ANA! These are my constit-" Ken reached out a paw, but the she-wolf pushed him away. Ana strolled up to Vernon, putting her face right up to his as she tried to suppress her laughing fit.

"Does she hit you? Huh?" She continued. "Do you tell your co-workers you got a black eye from 'falling down the stairs'?" Ana grinned evilly. "Or do you like letting her own you because you're so weak? So lowly? Such an omega that not even a female of your own species would put up with you?"

The she-wolf turned to the crowd, holding her paws out as if beckoning them to join in her spectacle.

"WHAT A FREAKSHOW! A SHEEP AND A WOLF!" Ana let out another howling laugh. "HOW DISGUSTING! HOW UNNATURAL!" Ana shot a glare at the couple. "It's just plain wrong."

With that Ana turned back to Ken, proudly strolling back toward the now flustered looking black wolf. However, stopped mid-way, turning her head back to glance at the pair.

"But I suppose it makes sense." Ana chuckled darkly. "Two broken, twisted, sick freaks with no one else to turn to. A weak willed, soft, miserable excuse for a wolf. An omega in every sense of the word. And a fragile, tiny little sheep who spent her life playing second fiddle to everyone and couldn't even get her petty little revenge plan right. Who's praying that everyone will forget what she did the first time around because of what she did a few months ago." Ana scoffed. "And they won't, by the way."

"You know what you problem is Ana?" Vernon said coolly. The wolf gingerly released Dawn's hoof from his grip, marching back toward the now smugly smiling she wolf. Vernon had enough. In the past he had been more than willing to simply let Ana tire herself. To continue to lob insults until she grew bored and left. It was pointless to stoop to her level. But with all those times Vernon had been alone, and wasn't compelled to argue pointlessly with the nasty she-wolf. He knew she was wrong, and nothing he could say was going to change that, so it had never been worth his time to protest. Seeing her again after all this time had thrown him right back into his High School mindset, and he had been ready to let it play out the same way.

But then Dawn spoke up, stood up for him in the face of Ana's insults and put-downs. Dawn reminded him that he wasn't in high school anymore, that things were no longer the same, and that someone was looking out for him. And it was his time to defend his mate just as she had for him, to say all the things he had always wanted to tell the nasty she-wolf that he never thought he'd get the chance to say. That was, until now.

"You're scared of anyone knowing who you really are." Vernon spat.

Ana raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Pft...what?"

"Look at you." Vernon continued. " All this native wolf pride bullcrap. The last name 'Windpaw'?" Vernon scoffed. "Any mammal with a lick of knowledge about native wolves knows that no actual tribe would recognize you, right? Because wolves that get kicked out, or choose to leave their packs don't get to keep their pack name."

Ana's grin faltered slightly, eyes widening in shock.

"W-what?"

"We both know the only reason yer great-great grandma came to Zootopia was because she was an omega, just like my grandma." Vernon spat. " They left because they hated native wolf tradition, they hated what it represented. Just like every other native wolf that moved out here. They were happy to take their husbands name because they didn't want anything to do with where they came from, but they also had no last names to replace!" Vernon sneered.

"You may have found out what your grandma's old pack name was, but to any actual native wolf tribe, they'd never accept you, especially the actual Windpaws if they are still even around. As soon as anyone found out you were from Zootopia, they'd know why." Vernon gestured to the she wolf.

Ana was frowning now, her ears completely flattened against her head.

"Hell, you don't even know any actual native wolf howl-speak do you? Aside from the curse words." Vernon spat. "Or has that changed since I saw you last? The gods know you weren't a big reader."

"I-I-I-" Ana stammered, clearly unable to think of a good snide reply. Rather than give her the opening, Vernon pressed on.

"But you needed to be unique, to have an edge right?" Vernon turned his back the the she-wolf as he started pacing. "Otherwise you had nothing else that made you different from the other wolfess' in our school. " Vernon pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "So you embraced the Native Wolf in your blood line for better or for worse. It was something, anything you could grasp at to help you stand out."

By now Ana appeared to be shrinking slightly, slinking deeper into her boyfriends side.

"So you gleaned all the most basic knowledge about Native Wolf cultural and crafted this tough, wild persona around that tiny element in your families history, because you had absolutely nothing else to offer anyone." Vernon stomped back towards Ana, stabbing a finger at her. The she wolf recoiled slightly, as if she had expected Vernon swing at her.

"And it made you insecure. So desperate to be liked and validated that you put down everyone around you to build yourself up, to stroke you ego. And when you had a mate, you constantly put them to the test to prove they cared about you. Because you needed to be sure, you needed constant reinforcement that you were loved. And it was never enough." Vernon was beginning to smile as he watched Ana cowering. The weight of the days earlier pressures were suddenly all rising to the surface. Flowing out of him like a waterfall as he unloaded the days baggage in one rant focused at the cruel red wolf.

"And that's why your back right? Why you came back to Zootopia?" Vernon mused, scratching his chin. "You never went to any communes, or at least you were never allowed to stay at them. Because of who you really were."

"Th-that's not true!" Ana hissed. Her voice waivered, the wolf's words were   obviously hitting her sore spot.

"So YOU came back to Zootopia with YOUR tail between your legs. And kept up your old persona because at this point it was really all you had. Because you are empty." Vernon spat. "You are an empty, hollow shell of a wolfess who clings to the faded image of old wolf traditions because without them you have nothing else."

Vernon turned to engage the crowd, spreading his arms out in a similar fashion that Ana had before.

"And me? Well I get the heat because I'm the first one. The one you were the most open with. The one who knows all of your secrets. The ones you hoped I'd never repeat if you kept putting me down. If you brow beat me into shamed silence."

With that Vernon strolled over to Dawn. Taking hold of her hoof with a firm grasp the wolf pulled her forward slightly. With a nod, Dawn and Vernon stood their ground at each other's side. Her touch emboldening Vernon's resolve, the look of determination in her eyes pressing the wolf onward.

"Look at us Ana!" Vernon snarled, gesturing at himself and the ewe.

"Think whatever you want, but she's my soul mate!" Vernon barked.

"And he's mine!" Dawn added, seemingly trying to be as loud as she could.

"We have each other." Vernon smiled. "And one day your going to run out of mates to use up and find yourself all alone. An embittered old she-wolf without a family or friends, without pups of her own, because you drove them all away."

Vernon let out a hard sigh as the scene fell silent. Ana looked like she was nearly going to faint, but Vernon still had one last thing to say. The grin on his muzzle widened as he prepared his final statement, knowing it would leave the she-wolf devastated.

"Because you're an Omega on the inside Ana Millfang." Vernon said coldly. "And you always have been."

Ana's eyes went wide in what Vernon could only describe as sheer terror.

"Y-you-You." Ana choked. "R-remembered my-"

"Your real last name." Vernon said, a smug grin creeping across his face.

At that moment Ana began to shudder, and Vernon watched as the flesh beneath her fur went through several shades of red as the shock turned to pure rage. She hadn't seen that coming, she had never expected the wolf to stand against her, much less actually tell the truth about her. The bits he had learned before she had made her full transformation into the self described alpha female she now was. Her cheeks swelled as she began to sputter a rebuttal.

"WHY Y-Y-I, I-" She snarled, glaring daggers at the couple. "I'M GO-"

Ana shook her head briskly before switching her stare to the towering wolf next to her. Her eyes were so focused on Ken it looked as though her vision alone could cut through the wolf's flesh.

"WELL!" Ana hissed.

"W-well what?" Ken stuttered.

Ana slapped a paw hard enough against his chest for the whole crowd to hear. It echoed over the silent fairground as Ken winced.

"STAND UP FOR YOUR MATE! BURY HIM!" Ana frantically gestured toward Vernon.

Ken pulled at his collar.

"Ana, I'm a politician.' the wolf coughed,  adjusting his tie as he seemed to compose himself. "I'm not the type of mammal who gets into fist fights. It's bad for my public image."

Ana gave the wolf another hard slap, causing him to wince.            "THEN WHY AM I EVEN WITH YOU!?" The she wolf hissed.

Ken looked down at the wolfess in annoyance. It was slight, but Vernon could see it in his eyes. The large wolf let out a sigh.

Ken pulled away from the she-wolf and walked toward the couple. As he approached he seemed to swell his chest, an obvious attempt at intimidation. Ken loomed over them, an imposing aura flowing off him despite keeping a calm and pleasant look to his face.

"Vernon Hunter, right?" Ken spoke quietly.

"Yes." Vernon said with a growl.

"Good, good." Ken muttered. "I'm sorry to say this isn't the end of this my friend."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The wolf hissed.

Ken looked over his shoulder briefly, letting out another sigh before turning back to the couple. "You'll see soon enough Mr. Hunter. You'll see."

With that, Ken turned to the crowd of fair goers, raising and lowering his arms as if signaling the crowd to simmer down.

"I'm sorry for that little ahem...." The large wolf glanced over at his mate, who simply turned her head away from him, letting out an annoyed huff. "Disruption. But please, go back to enjoying the fair. I apologize if my mate said anything out of turn, it's been a stressful day for the two of us."

With that, Ken glanced back at Vernon. For a brief moment the wolf felt another lump form in his throat, the sudden fear of Ken trying to sic the crowd on the two of them rising in his mind. But instead the official turned back to the crowd and calmly continued.

"Her remarks toward sheep folk were completely off base, and I do not support them. And I assure you we will be discussing this later." Ken glared at his mate, earning yet another huff.

"Anyway, please enjoy the fair." Ken concluded, before making his way back toward Ana, extending an arm to her as he passed. Ana however, pushed it away, keeping a few feet from the wolf official. Clearly his little public apology had pleased everyone but her. Letting out a sigh of defeat, the wolf strode forward. Ana gave on last glare back at Dawn and Vernon, turning her nose up before following behind Ken as the pair walked into the crowd and disappeared.

Vernon stood tall, still clutching Dawn's hoof tightly in his paw as he let out a relieved sigh. He had done it, he had finally told Ana off and mam' had it felt good. It certainly had taken the edge off the anxiety and misery that Vernon had built up from earlier in the day. But his brief elation was short lived as he looked down at the worried looking ewe next to him. She seemed to quiver as she latched on to Vernon's arm completely, looking up at him with tear filled eyes.

"O-Oh Vernon." Dawn sobbed. "W-what are we going to do now?"

"W-what? What's wrong Honey Lamb? We told her off. We-"

Dawn shook her head briskly, wiping her eyes against his arm.

"D-Didn't you hear what Loupon said?" Dawn stammered.

"Oh that?" Vernon chuckled. "It's fine Darling. He's got nothing."

"B-but Vernon!" Dawn pleaded. "He's a politician! I k-know politicians! H-he might have connections Vernon!" The ewe wept.

"Aw please." Vernon smirked. "What's the worst he could do to us?"

[mychiccabin]

Throw These Throw Pillows

  Once you have all of the furniture in your room, it’s time for decorations. Decor adds life, personality, comfort to a room- and it can easily be changed out to suit the seasons, or your mood. Throw pillows in particular are easy, inexpensive ways to change the feel of the room, boom, instant makeover!

I stray towards the kitsch and love to have a couple pillows that I change out for the big holidays (Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Halloween, St Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s- okay, most of the holidays) so I have classical beautiful pillows that I switch out seasonally and use as a base and a couple of fun holiday specific pillows that I layer around the specific holiday (my husband makes me keep it to the holiday month- he is less cheesy than I am). My mother, on the other hand, has beautiful, classic pillows that perfectly match her furniture, and she only changes these out when she is doing a complete overhaul of her decor, once to twice a decade (although she does have Christmas pillows and her holiday decorating puts mine to shame- whether the trait is inherited or learned, I definitely got it from my mom). My sister, my other design collaborator, uses neutral, elegant base pillows and then has a few elegant pillows that she will switch out seasonally (earth tones for fall and winter, pastel for spring, and bright colors for summer). The point is, change out your pillows as frequently or as infrequently as you want, pick whatever style you want, but here are some tips for helping you get started in your throw pillow search (there are literally thousands to choose from):

Size and Shape

Sofas: largest pillows should be on the outside, smallest on the inside

Chaise and beds: largest pillows should be at the head moving to the smallest on top

For a plumper looking pillow, pick an insert that is a size larger than the case

Mix and match sizes and shapes: four square pillows and a rectangular pillow in the middle on a sofa, a circular pillow layered over a square pillow, a star pillow on a chair

For a more textured shape, “chop” pillows so that they bend in at the top

“Chopped” pillow

Color

Feel free to vary the colors of your throw pillows but stick to a color palette

Try getting a couple of sets of complementary pillows, if you have seven pillows in your seating area you could have three sets of pairs and one accent pillow, all following the same color scheme

Tie the color scheme with the rest of the room. Choose a primary or secondary color in your rug, sofa, accent chair, duvet, wall color or the other decor

When layering different pillows, have the busiest pattern on top or as the largest pillow- making it the key pillow, mix with a simpler pattern (like strips) and a solid

Material

Feather and down are softer and squishier, but they are also pricier and don’t hold their shape as well

Cotton, foam, and synthetic fills don’t look as cloudlike, but they hold their shape better

For added interest, pick a different casing material, texture from the sofa or bed

Feel free to mix and match textures

Keep in mind the function of the pillow. Some materials are harder to clean: silk, fur… Some textures are less comfortable: sequins, buttons…

Number of Pillows

The goal is style and comfort. On couches, don’t have so many there is no room to sit. On beds, don’t make unloading the pillows a ten minute process

For a classical look, stick with symmetry

For a more contemporary look, try an asymmetical approach

Handwoven Bhujodi Horizontal Diamond Strip Pillow Cover

“Handcrafted by the local artisans of Bhujodi, a traditional weaver’s village in India”

22″x22″

Cotton, bamboo, wool, silk

Price: $169

Handwoven Bhujodi Horizontal Stripe Pillow Cover- Lumbar

“Handcrafted by the local artisans of Bhujodi, a traditional weaver’s village in India, our pillow covers pay tribute to the intricate handiwork of Kachchh textiles.”

13″x21″; 18″x24″

Cotton, bamboo, wool, silk

Price: $149- $169 

Graffito Salmon and Cream Pillow

Abstract and neutral perfect for a rustic or a contemporary cabin

22″x22″

Cotton and linen

Price: $219

Doe Fawn Pillow

Make fauna your neutral with this beautiful pillow.

22″x22″

Price: $173

Harbor Island Pillow in Oatmeal

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Normandy II Pillow in Garnet and Gold Branches

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Mongolian Pillow

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Nivala Pillow

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Cuesta Pillow Cover

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Monarch Pillow Cover

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Cotton Knit Pillow Cover

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Cotton knit

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Layered Brushstrokes Pillow Cover

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Cotton

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Breuer Throw Pillow

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Wool/cotton blend. Polyfill

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Branchville Square Faux Fur Throw Pillow

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Faux fur. Down/feather fill.

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Stone Beadwork Velvet Pillow

Nothing says luxe quite like velvet and beadwork.

14″x20″

Velvet 

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Hutch Black Pillow

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Brookings Pillow Cover

Add some flora without adding too muc color

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Harbour Island Pillow in Charcoal

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14″x48″

Linen

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Suede Flange Pillow Cover

Smooth as Suede

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Suede 

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Leather Double Band Inset Pillow Cover

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Linen and leather

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Pair Old Southwest Old Style Pillow Covers

Try these pillows for some southwest flavor in your ranch.

18″x18″

Acrylic and muslin

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Masson Hair on Hide Pillow

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Cowhide

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Lodge Cabin Hooked Wool Pillow

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Wilderness Hooked Moose Pillow

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Bear Track Pillow w Tassels

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Moose Red Plaid Pillow

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Wilderness Ridge Knitted Moose Pillow

To get a homey feel, opt for a knit pillow like this one.

17″x17″

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Campfire Accent Pillow

A quilted campfire to cozy up with by your real fire

15″x15″

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source https://mychiccabin.com/throw-these-throw-pillows/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=throw-these-throw-pillows

[askdawnandvern]

A Lamb Among Wolves Ch:12

So unfortunately I didn't exactly hit my goal on the number of chapters built up before starting to post again. I got close, just not where I'd be fully comfortable. As I've pretty much learned the hard way here, writing semi-competently means not trying to force it. When I did, the content was below my usual level of acceptability. And one chapter I was working on had a whole eight pages reviewed and completely re-done because of it. But I'm happy with what I have now, and confident it makes for a good and believable story. Well, as believable as a story about talking animals can be. Going forward, aside from commissions, I'm just going to have to write when the creativity just starts flowing naturally. Setting aside time to focus strictly on writing simply causes me to waste more time that could be devoted to drawing and other works that don't require any deeper thinking than what to depict.

If I should run into any snags, or run out of chapters at some point obviously I'll warn you guys ahead of time. But until we come to that point, if we do rather, just keep expecting Monday chapters. I'd hate to end up having to deprive you at least a weekly fix, but should things reach that point, please don't hate me. I just want my content to be as best as I can do. So let's begin with the second act of the story, shall we?

-WT

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

Chapter Twelve: Primal De-scent

"At first glance, most mammals couldn't tell the difference between a wolf of Roaropean descent or a wolf of North Mammalian descent. There is some degree of species overlap despite the continental divide, and even when presented with two wolves who are obviously of the grey wolf variety it's reasonable to assume they could have come from anywhere in the world. Because of reasons such as this, most mammals would also be quick to assume that all wolves are more or less the same. Sharing the same beliefs, social structures, behaviors and so on. But as we discussed previously with the settling of Zootopia, the interactions with the early wolf natives prove such a notion could not be farther from the truth. And upon closer inspection, you will find that many of the differences between native and non-native wolves are as drastic as night and day."

"It was Leif Hunter's notes that gave us our first real look into the society the native wolves had come to build for themselves. But since then the topic has been more thoroughly explored and expanded upon by daring explorers and researchers, as well as expounded upon by defecting "omegas" wishing to leave their society behind."

"There are a great deal of nuances between the tribes scattered across North Mammalia. The number of gods and goddesses across each tribe alone could have hours worth of passages devoted to them. But for brevities sake I'm not going to go over every single unique difference between the known packs. A complete compilation of wolf history isn't really the goal of this book. I am merely trying to present the portions I believe to be pertinent in order to get a better understanding of the motivations of the Bellwethers and Hunters. So you as a reader can better understand the forces that shaped myself and Vernon's lives, however small some portions may be."

"In this instance the most relevant pack would be the remnants of the Redclaws, and the factors that put them at odds with the early settlers and continues with the Roaropean wolves today."

"Despite the numerous gods in the different packs, they did have one unifying source of worship that even they shared with the Norwulves. This was the lunar god, and moon worship. To the Redclaws it was known as 'Pawluuk', and much like their Roaropean counterparts it governed a great deal of their actions and cultural events. Full moons were seen as optimal nights for hunting prey, as well as for ceremonies and mating rituals. Canideans lacked the agricultural systems that their brethren from across the sea had developed, but still observed smaller harvest events of their own. Most of their vegetation was scrounged from natural local outcroppings, but such natural springs were not tended nor fostered intentionally."

"The majority of their diet was derived from prey tribes and packs, from rabbits to rodents. Sometimes they even fed on other predators such as foxes, badgers and so on. These carnivores weren't picky, and weren't very merciful either. They also fed on non-sentient animals such as fowl and fish, and today that is what most tribes have come to rely on rather than their sentient neighbors."

"Canidean wolves also howl, like their Roaropean counterparts. It filled similar roles such as being a form of prayer, solidarity, and emotional expression. However, where they differ is in the development of a form of howl-speech. It was primarily used to measure distance, ready packs for war movements, and signaling positions between members of the pack. However, there are also instances of howl-speech being used playful conversation, mostly to fill in for concepts and things that had no verbal equivalent. Each tribe has their own variant of this language, and the Redclaws were no exception."

"Canadean wolf pack structure, unlike Roaropean packs, became more rigid rather than laxer as the tribes developed. Alpha males, along with the alpha females, lead their respective pack and its communal structure. The position of Alpha was not something relegated to the sire of the pack, but rather it was a position held by the strongest warrior in the tribe. It was also a position that was in constant challenge by the pack Betas. The Beta wolves were normally the enforcers and active warriors in the tribe. When not challenging for dominance they would aide the leader of the pack on hunts as well as reinforce the social structure of the tribal community. They had a great deal of incentive to fight to keep the pack the way it was, because they were the only pack role below the alpha that were automatically given permission to have a mate of their own without any sort of proving right ceremony. Permission to be tithed to a pack female and produce offspring was something that was to be earned by show of strength, and if a male couldn't keep up with the betas he was seen as inferior and would risk never getting pack approval for a tithing rite. Limiting breeding among the strongest of the wolves not only insured a more powerful pack, but allowed the leader to better control the growth and shape of the pack, as well as secure his position at the top. But in this day and age the degenerative effect of this practice on their numbers is reaching a critical point among the remaining clans."

"The lower positions were relegated to the growing pups of the betas in the pack, as well as the occasional stray looking for a new pack to prove themselves in. Adult wolves that didn't fall into the Beta category were usually relegated to tending to the village, and maintaining the order while the others were off on hunts or warring against other tribes to protect the pack from sneak attacks. In order to mate, they didn't necessarily have to reach Beta status, but they had to prove that they were strong enough to be worthy of the privilege of having offspring. This is where the mating ritual of the tribal packs comes into play."

"While Betas enjoyed the automatic approval of tithing to a mate, and the feast that would celebrate it. Those below the rank of Beta would have to go through a trial to prove they were fit to survive, and thereby reproduce. The exact elements of ritual differ from tribe to tribe, but they are almost unilaterally based on sending the prospective couple deep into the woods to survive on their own for one week. They are given nothing, forbade to mate, and in the case of the Redclaw tribe not only were they expected to last all seven days, but return with a number of prey for the tribe as payment."

"Working together to survive as well as meet the goal put forth by the tribe is what makes or breaks a mate. If they succeed it is apparent to the tribe that they are strong enough to survive, and the gods favor their pairing. The leader of the Redclaws then used the load of prey that the couple brought back to hold a great feast celebrating their union."

"But here's where an interesting little caveat comes in amongst the wolf tribes. The existence of a pack class that is simply not in the lexicon of the Norwulves, at least not at the time the tribal wolves were discovered. This is the so called 'Omega' wolves, the lowest caste among the Canideans. Omegas tended to live on the outskirts of existing tribes, usually on their own but sometimes with a small family in tow. They would be tolerated by the dominant pack, but never allowed to enter the main village. These wolves more or less survived on their own, either from scavenging scraps from the dominant tribe or hunting without the aide of an established pack. The hunts often went poorly because even if the omega succeeded in snaring prey, should the dominant catch wind of the successful hunt they would take most of it as payment for allowing the Omega to live so close to them."

"So we arrive at the question, how does a Canidean wolf end up becoming one of the loathed and detested omega wolves? As Leif would discover and write in his notes, becoming an omega could be the result of a number of factors. Any alpha who failed to hold his position against a challenging beta would find himself demoted to an omega and ejected from the pack, along with his female. If he died at the paws of the challenger the Alpha female and her pups would be driven off to live as omegas. Surviving males of village raids would be ousted as omegas for failing to protect the pack. If a couple waiting to be tithed mated during their survival trial they would be ousted. The list went on and on."

"So naturally, Leif Hunter was able to get a great deal of inside knowledge and help when it finally came time to oust the Redclaws from Zootopia permanently. In the end, their strict belief in weeding out the weakest among them lead to their inevitable downfall. In the packs continuing war against Archibald Bellwether, they had cast out more omegas than ever before. This both ultimately decreased their effectiveness as a fighting force as well as made them a great deal of vengeful enemies. Today, the Redclaw pack only exists solely by its omega descendants. The last pure bloods to the north bred themselves out of existence nearly one hundred years ago, but that hadn't prevented them from spreading tales of the treacherous Norwulves, and their crusade against their own kind in favor of lesser mammals. Because of this, most native wolves regardless of tribe have a bitter dislike and distrust of any wolf they perceive to have Norwulff ancestry.”

“Those visiting, or even now living amid the modern mammals of Zootopia still seem to hold this grudge despite their surroundings. Those wolves also still tend to look down their snouts at most prey as well, the superiority complex ingrained in their culture still as vehemently strong as ever. It's reasons like that which lead some mammals to believe that there are still tribes out there that to this day still prey on sentient  mammals when given the chance."

"But where do the native wolves play into the Hunter family now? After all its been close to three hundred years since Leif drove the Redclaws out of the North Meadowlands, and the Redclaw tribe itself is long dead and gone. Well, that lies in the omegas that became official citizens of Zootopia and permanent residents of the Alpine Ridge District."

"It is known that a great deal of the omega wolves came in as the build up to Leif's war lay on the horizon. But after the dust settled and Leif stepped down as the district representative omegas slowly began to trickle in from all over North Mammalia and Canidea. The tales of the Hunter's treacherous attack was also a tale of encouragement for those cast from their respective packs, and so they began to migrate to what they hoped would be a better life. These wolves were eager to toss away the belief system that had short changed them in favor of what they saw as a superior way to live. Within the first three generations after Leif's death, omega natives began popping up on the Hunter family tree. Vernon's great, great grandmother was a native wolf from the west coast, ousted for her lack of hunting prowess from a pack known as the Moonfangs. She had a natural talent for botany, and settled land just on the edge of the Alpine Ridge. It was there she built a modest house and opened a farm."

"At one of the first Harvest festivals she met Silas Hunter, and later tithed to the wolf. Silas took primary ownership of the modest farm and built it into a fine ranch home for their expected family. They would have three children, only one of which would stay to keep the family farm running while the others went on to law enforcement. In the 1920's, the border between the North Meadowlands and Alpine Ridge was redrawn, and the Hunter ranch found itself absorbed by the new North Meadowlands. Vernon's great grandfather would have two sons and a daughter and again only one would stay to keep the farm running. Aldus Hunters took great pains to modernize the current Hunter ranch in an effort to prepare it for his own children. Unfortunately, Vernon's grandfather would have only one son before his mate Allison Hunter passed away. That wolf, Dorian Hunter, had no interest in continuing keeping the Hunter Ranch at all, or so I've been told. I suppose he would have simply left if it hadn't been for Vernon's Mother."

"Audrey Hunter, maiden name Snarllör, is not only the mammal who kept the Hunter Ranch from being abandoned, but ironically is one of the last blood links to the remnants of the Redclaw pack. Her grandmother, Talia Redclaw was one of the last remaining Redclaw families in Zootopia before tithing into the Snarllör family. It's strangely poetic that the pack the Hunters had driven out would end up keeping them from leaving the North Meadowlands."

"AWOOOOoooooOOOOoooo!" Dawn winced as a lone howl echoed through the home, causing the ewe to clamp down on her laptop protectively. After recognizing just what the noise was, the ewe opened her laptop back up. Glancing at the corner clock on her computer, the ewe could see it was just a few minutes after seven in the morning. Dawn outstretched one of her arms as she let out a weak and somewhat shaky yawn.

"Audrey wasn't kidding about waking up early." Dawn mumbled, hitting the save button on her work in progress.

Dawn was rather groggy, the inevitable end result of a rather poor nights sleep. Of course she had expected as much when she had been told she'd be spending the night sharing a room with Vanna. From an instinctual standpoint alone the prospect of sleeping with a strange, massive predator nearby would be enough make an easy sleep a struggle. But Dawn was prepared for much worse, as she was dead set on finding out just how Vanna truly felt about her. For all she had known at the time, the tigress could have absolutely hated her. But for all that preparation and steeling herself, the last thing Dawn could have even conceived was spending the wee hours of the morning singing terribly off-key duets with the massive tigress. Their unexpected shared love of the famed llama songstress Suri Nicks had the pair gossiping and giggling like school girls. Dawn could have never foreseen her first night at the Hunter Ranch ending on such a wildly fun note, and yet it had. In the short span of an hour or less, the tigress had went from a cold stranger to practically a sister, and the ewe couldn't have been happier.

But even with the pleasant turn of events with Vanna, the ewe found herself robbed of a good nights sleep regardless. She had spent the night tossing and turning, waking back up at nearly half hour intervals until about six in the morning. At that point Dawn had simply thrown her hooves up in defeat, and instead turned back to her historical writing in an effort to lull herself back to sleep via boredom.

At first it hadn't been completely clear what was stealing away the ewe's much needed rest. The first suspect was Vanna's humidifier, but turning it off while the tigress slept did little to change her predicament and so she elected to turn it back on as to not risk disturbing her newly earned friendship. After that Dawn suspected it was a subconscious fear of the coming day, and mending the fences with Dorian. But after how things had turned out with Vanna, the sheep was feeling considerably more positive about what lied ahead of her. At that point all that seemed left was to furtively grasp at straws. Was it the strange bed? The foreign smells? The deafening silence outside compared to the hustle and bustle of big city living. The ewe threw her pillows by her side, pulling herself tightly against them when it suddenly dawned on her the true nature of her nocturnal discomfort. There was supposed to be a big grey wolf lying where her pillows now lay in a crumpled heap.

Dawn hadn't realized just how used to the comfortable wall of fluff that Vernon’s inviting pelt provided she had become. She found herself missing the warmth of burying herself into his fur, the low and oddly soothing grumble of his snoring, the familiar earthy scent he always seemed to exude. She also missed the feeling of comfort and protection that came with having his large paws wrapped around her tightly, pulling her in close. It was almost laughable to the ewe. She absolutely hated being reminded of how small and weak she was, and yet here she had been actively pining for the feeling of protection that came from her mates embrace.

Three months of sleeping in the same bed had made her completely reliant, no addicted to the wolf’s presence in order to sleep peacefully. Even the quiet, instinctual fear of wolves ingrained in a sheep had seemingly gone radio silent in Dawn’s head. To the primal animal buried deep inside, Vernon appeared to have become a complete non-threat. His harsh edges and predator features sanded away leaving behind little more than a cuddly stuffed animal. It craved his feel, it craved  his scent, it craved...

Dawn shuddered as she felt a tingle shoot down her spine, a low and lustful bleat involuntarily escaping her throat. The ewe quickly wiped her brow, cursing under her breath as her mind had inadvertently drifted to a sudden, strong desire to mate. Giving a brisk shake of her head, the ewe did her best to cast off the feeling, but despite her best efforts the tingling sensation seemed to linger. It was a different sensation than normal, but still quite familiar to the sheep. Something symptomatic of a condition the ewe was now silently praying wasn't picking this morning of all mornings to start. As if the weekend couldn't have been more of a difficult venture, the ewe seemed to have started suffering the symptoms of remnant estrus early.

"Please don't let it be that, not now." She whined quietly. "It was supposed to start next week." She hissed under breath as she closed her laptop.

Her remnant estrus, a leftover relic from the days of ancient sheep breeding seasons was something she was long accustomed to, but it was never the less an irritant. While mammals had long evolved to desire to mate all year round, many mammals still had retained little leftovers encoded in their DNA, and sheep just happened to be one of those mammals. The thing was, for Dawn at least it had become a highly predictable process. Her semiannual estrus-high that came in the fall and spring was something she usually had down to the day. Thinking back, she had felt some of the early symptoms the day before. But they could have been easily mistaken as simple nervous jitters for the upcoming re-union.

But as she allowed her mind to drift back to her mate she felt a second strong jolt of desire shiver through her. There was no mistaking it now, it was just that much stronger than normal. Dawn wiped the sweat off her brow again. Now she was really feeling the itch, the gnawing desire for Puppy's 'attention'. The only thing the ewe could reason for it's early arrival would be the fact that she was in an active relationship, and thus her body had responded to the frequent 'attention' in kind.

Spending so many years out of a relationship, and her most recent years before Vernon spent in nearly complete isolation had dampened that urge significantly when it reared it's ugly head, but now...

A series of howls echoed though the house, far to many for Dawn to reason it was simply the five wolves she had already met. They varied in length and octave, some deep and bellowing while others high and seemingly gleeful. On top of that Dawn could also hear a strange whooping like laugh that sounded nothing like a wolf.

"ROOOOAAAAAaaaaaAAAAARR!" Dawn jumped as she turned her attention to the tigress across from her. The groggy looking cat had leaned up on one paw, her eyes still partially closed as she snarled. As the roar finally died away, Vanna slumped hard back down against her pillow, dragging one over her head.

"Five more minutes..." Vanna grumbled beneath the fabric.

Dawn's heart was beating at a mile a minute as she clutched her chest tightly. She hadn't exactly been prepared for that kind of wake up call, and was thankful she had already been awake before Vanna's roar. Even so, it seemed that her roar had silenced the other wolves in the Hunter household, so at the very least Dawn had the lingering silence to calm her down.

The ewe scooted off her mattress, opening the nearby drawer to grab her clothes for the day. Dawn grabbed a lavender tinted plaid shirt that she had bought specifically for the trip. It was something Judy had suggested when she had spoken to her over the phone about the coming trip. It had been years since Dawn had been out to the country, and Judy thought it would help her to better fit in among the country mammals. As well as having the added bonus of being a more rugged material suitable for farm work, which it seemed would turn out to be a boon if she actually helped at the stall. The only thing she hadn't listened to Judy about was the jeans. The rabbit said it would be the more durable option, but Dawn simply couldn't do it. The wool on her upper thighs made jeans impossible to pull above her hips without bunching up on her legs.

Dawn grasped a dark purple skirt from the drawer as she made her way over to the corner of the room where a pinkish tinted room divider leaned against the wall. Dragging it out and into place, Dawn huddled behind it and quickly changed into her country dress. It only took a few minutes before Dawn was dressed up and ready to go.

Dawn straightened the hem of her skirt as she glanced at herself in the nearby wall mirror. The ewe took a deep prideful breath as she eyed herself. She certainly looked the part, and she was ready to attack the day. She was determined to fit into her mates pack and at the very least win his Father's respect, or go out trying.

As the ewe strode back to her bedside there was a gentle knock at the bedroom door. Vanna let out a groan.

"Go away..." Vanna grumbled.

"Dawn." She could hear Vernon's hushed whisper on the other side of the door. "Honey lamb, you up yet?"

"Oh Vernon!" Dawn chirped before clasping her hooves to her mouth. Glancing over at Vanna, the tigress remained unmoving. The pillow still remaining firmly clasped atop her head.

Dawn scurried over to the door, gingerly opening it as quietly as possible to avoid drawing any ire from the bedridden tigress. As the door swung open the tall and familiar wolf was revealed leaning against the frame. He was wearing a plaid shirt of his own, a deep blue print with a pair of faded blue jeans to match. Around his neck was the familiar green bandana the wolf seemed to love to wear. Dawn found it sort of ironic that Vernon teased Wade over his faded blue cap, when Vernon seemed to have a similar attachment to the jungle green garment. But she did like the way it made his deep emerald eyes stand out as he stared down at her. The wolf gave her a broad smile.

"Well look at this!" Vernon chuckled. "We match." Vernon brushed a paw down his shirt.

Dawn cocked an eyebrow, placing a hoof on her hip as she flashed the wolf a wry smile. "Well one of us is going to have to change."

The two shared a laugh before Vernon eased into a crouch, placing a soft kiss on the tip of Dawn's snout.

"Mornin' Honey Lamb." Vernon rumbled softly. The low tone sent a shiver down her spine.

"Good morning Puppy Love." Dawn smiled warmly, trying to suppress the tingling that was being stoked by her urges. It wasn't too hard as the ewe was able to focus on the bags under the wolf's eyes. Dawn quickly reached out, giving the soft area below one of Vernon's eyelids a gentle rub.

"Oh Puppy." dawn cooed. "You've got terrible bags, you're all puffy under your eyes."

The wolf wiped his eyes as he stood back up, seemingly desperate to rub the sleep away.

"Y-yeah, yeah." Vernon muttered. "I didn't sleep so well last night."

"O-oh." Dawn said as the wolf leaned in, giving the ewe a more intense stare.

"You don't look like you slept to well either." Vernon said. " Guess the concert kept you up pretty late huh?" Vernon grinned, cocking an eyebrow.

"O-oh...you heard that huh?" Dawn mumbled.

"Not too much, the insulation in this place is pretty thick. But me and Zach recognized the basic tune." Vernon shrugged. "I trust that means things worked out pretty well huh?"

Dawn smiled widely. "Actually yes, we-"

A pillow sailed over the ewe's head and struck Vernon in the stomach before slumping to the floor by his feet. Dawn turned around to see that Vanna's head was exposed, one of her eyes now squinting at the two.

"Please, please go away." Vanna mumbled. "I just want a few more minutes."

Vernon chuckled, flashing the ewe a grin. "We can talk about it on the way down to breakfast. Best to leave ol' miss grumpy puss to herself for a while."

Dawn watched as the tigress stabbed a finger in Vernon's direction despite not raising her face from the pillow.

"Don't act like you wolves are any better with mornings than I am." She grumbled. "Just make sure they save me some coffee by the time I get downstairs." She hissed, burying her head more aggressively into the pillow.

Vernon suppressed a snicker as he reached for the door knob behind Dawn. Taking the hint, the ewe scooted into the hall allowing him to close the door to the bedroom tightly behind them. Now up and about, Dawn was ready to hit the bathroom and fix herself up before meeting the other wolves.

"I do need to fix my wool and brush my teeth." Dawn said. "I can't go do-"

Vernon shook his head. "Don't worry about it Floof's. Most of the mammals downstairs have bed head anyway." Vernon laughed. "We usually clean ourselves up after breakfast."

Dawn shook her head. "Oh but Vernon, I cant go down there like this!" Dawn said, raising her hooves to accentuate her point. "My poof's all messed up and I've got stray wool everywhere. I would make a terrible first impression."

"I think you look real pretty." Vernon smiled warmly, drawing a harsh blush from the ewe. She could feel that familiar itch coming back. Dawn did her best to shake it off, but by that time it was apparent that Vernon could tell something was going on. His ears now stood straight up and sharply pointed. The wolf took a few whiffs of the air before eyeing the ewe curiously.

"D-Dawn," He muttered quietly. "I u-uh...I smell ya." Vernon said.

Dawn gave a meek nod.

"It's really strong." Vernon said, his voice seemed to break slightly. The wolf gave a brisk shake of his head.

"S-stronger than normal. Are you feelin' alright Lamb Chop?" The wolf asked.

Dawn twiddled her hooves together nervously. For a brief moment she wished she could go back to before the wolf was even aware of her pheromones. But that cat was long out of the bag, and now the wolf had become quite attuned to them.

"I-I uh..." Dawn muttered. "I-I think I've kind of gone into remnant estrus early..."

Vernon looked puzzled for a moment before it seemed the realization hit him. The wolf wiped a paw across his brow.

"W-well that shouldn't be a problem for e-everyone else." Vernon mumbled. "I mean I couldn't pick up on that until..." The wolf trailed off, a lurid glimmer forming in his eye. The wolf shook his head briskly in a clear effort to maintain composure.

"M-maybe it is a good idea to hit the bathroom first." Vernon muttered. "Or maybe one of these guest rooms..." The wolf gave a slight whine. " For like five mi-"

Dawn shook her head briskly. "No Vernon! Remember what you told me yesterday!" Dawn crossed her arms.

"S-sorry Honey Lamb!" Vernon yelped, shaking his head. "It's just r-really strong. I-I I'm going to have a hard time keeping my head on straight all weekend if I'm constantly smelling you. You know how well a wolf's sniffer works!"

Dawn placed her head in her hooves. "I-Is it really that noticeable?"

Vernon put a paw to his forehead, a look of concern crossing his face. " To me, yes." He nodded. "And if it keeps up it'll be distracting me all day." Vernon shook his head briskly, stabbing a thumb in the direction of the downstairs. " And that mess down there will pick up on that pretty quick. Especially Yuri." Vernon grumbled.

The wolf dragged a paw across his face, slowly pulling it across his tired eyes. "By the gods, like he needs any more material to harass us on."

Dawn brought a hoof to her chin, scratching it thoughtfully. "Well, if this were normal circumstances there would be a pretty easy way to fix this." Dawn mused.

"How?" Vernon asked quizzically.

"A quick rut would quell the urges for a few days and therefore my pheromone levels would go back down to normal, but-"

"Great!" Vernon interrupted, his eyes seeming to shine with lust. " We'll just duck into one of the guest rooms and-"

"They will hear us!" Dawn yelped. "You said-!"

The wolf shook his head in a clear effort to come to his senses. "Yeah, yeah I know what I said!" Vernon crossed his arms, his muzzle twisted into a snarl as he seemed to curse himself. "This had to happen now." He shook his head. "I mean I can tolerate the usual dose, but if it's going to be coming off this strong-"

"I-I'm sorry." Dawn murmured.

Vernon sighed. "It ain't your fault Honey Lamb. I'll just have to work a little harder to keep it together is all. I can do that." The wolf ran a paw through his hair tuft.

"You make it sound like you're the only one who has to." Dawn smirked. "Considering I know the only one who can give me the 'attention' I need to ease this particular feeling is going to be right next to me most of this weekend."

Vernon chuckled weakly. "Maybe it's for the best we didn't end up sharing a bed."

Dawn frowned slightly. "Y-yeah." The ewe rubbed one of her arms as she looked to the floor. "I did miss you though."

Looking up, she found Vernon dreamily smiling back at her. "I missed you too Honey Lamb." The wolf crouched, taking one of her hooves in his paw. "How do you think I got these bags under my eyes?" The wolf said, pointing to the dark puffs beneath his eyes.

"Oh Puppy!" Dawn was nearly leaned in for a hug before stopping herself. She quickly recoiled, causing the wolf to follow suit.

"Ahem." Dawn coughed, adjusting her glasses. "I should definitely go to the bathroom and cool down for a bit before we face the family."

She watched as Vernon grew a wide and mischievous grin.

"Oh no, no mister." She tutted, waiving a hoof. "You're going to have to wait outside."

Vernon's ears sagged as he grimaced.

"Once I've cooled down, and doused myself with my usual products you won't even smell me. We'll be fine." Dawn asserted.

The wolf eyed her warily, seemingly nervous. " I- I don't know Honey Lamb, I mean-"

"It will work, trust me!" Dawn said proudly as she began to lead the walk toward the bathroom. However, despite her proclamation, worry was starting to build in her mind once again. To Dawn, it was beginning to seem as if fixing one problem only left a spot open for another one to take it's place.