#listen i know she's reacting to hunter's powers but the framing was so funny

[gayspiderman]

#live luz reaction

[gffa]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark, coming August 25, promises to be a beautiful tribute to the just-completed animated series. The anthology will collect 11 stories by 11 authors — Lou Anders, Preeti Chhibber, Zoraida Córdova, Jason Fry, Rebecca Roanhorse, Greg Van Eekhout, Tom Angleberger, E. Anne Convery, Sarah Beth Durst, Yoon Ha Lee, and Anne Ursu — including 10 retellings of memorable episodes and arcs and one original Nightsisters-based story.  So if you loved the tales of Ahsoka, Maul, and clanker-busting clones, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark will give you the chance to experience them again in a whole new way. Like Captain Rex on a recon mission, StarWars.com reached out to each author to learn why they love The Clone Wars, and which stories they’re telling. Lou Anders (“Dooku Captured” and “The Gungan General,” based on the episodes of the same name): I love The Clone Wars for expanding the story of Anakin’s fall from grace. Skywalker really shines in the series, and we see what he truly was, and what he could have been, and by giving him so many opportunities to excel in the early season, his ultimate fate is that much more tragic. I also love the series for gifting us my all-time favorite Star Wars character, and one of my favorite characters from any universe — Hondo Ohnaka!      My chapter is a retelling of the first season story arc that plays out across the episodes “Dooku Captured” and “The Gungan General.” I wanted to explore this storyline because I find Count Dooku a fascinating character. Sometimes pure, mustache-twirling, mwa-ha-ha evil can actually be boring to write, but a villain who feels they are justified, either because of perceived slights or intellectual superiority or the failure of their rivals or birthright are much more interesting, and Dooku is a bit of all of this. For research, I obviously watched tons of Clone Wars. But I also read up on everything about Dooku I could find, and I listened to Christopher Lee and Corey Burton’s interpretation of the character over and over, trying to internalize their speech patterns. Dooku is so gorgeously supercilious. It was just a blast to get in his head and see the world from his perspective. (And the fact that the storyline gave me another chance to write for my beloved Hondo Ohnaka was an added bonus!) Tom Angleberger (“Bane’s Story,” based on the episodes “Deception,” “Friends and Enemies,” “The Box,” and “Crisis on Naboo”): There’s a lot to love in The Clone Wars, but I think it’s Ahsoka’s arc that really stands out the most. Ventress’s arc does, too, and the way that these arcs cross at the just the right moment is really great Star Wars!      My chapter is based on the “Crisis on Naboo” story arc. It’s basically a Space Western. The baddest bounty hunter of them all, Cad Bane, is hired to kidnap the Chancellor. What he doesn’t know is that almost everyone is lying to him, especially a fellow bounty hunter who is really Obi-Wan in disguise. In the TV version, we see it all from Obi-Wan’s point of view, so we know that Bane is getting played. In this retelling, we see it all from Bane’s point of view and, boy, is he going to be mad! To prepare I watched both The Clone Wars AND old spaghetti Westerns starring Bane’s inspiration: Lee Van Cleef. Preeti Chhibber (“Hostage Crisis,” based on the episode of the same name): I love the story that the prequels tell, but because of the nature of what they were trying to do — tell a decade and a half worth of story in three films — we’re missing major moments in what the war really means to the galaxy at large, and in the Skywalker saga itself. The Clone Wars tells us that part of the narrative, it gives us the shape of what entire populations of people had to go through because of this war manufactured by the ultimate evil. And within that scope gives us the hope and love and beautiful tragedy we associate with Star Wars on a larger scale. (Also, Ahsoka Tano — The Clone Wars gave us Ahsoka Tano and for that I will be ever grateful.)      I’m writing Anakin’s story during “Hostage Crisis” — an episode in the first season of The Clone Wars. I decided to write the story entirely from Anakin’s perspective, which meant being inside his head before the fall, but where we are starting to see more of the warning signs. And then there’s also the romance of this episode! Anakin’s love for Padmé is real and all-consuming and, as we eventually find out, unhealthy. So, this is a romantic episode, but one that shows us Anakin is ruled by his heart. And that that’s a dangerous thing for a Jedi. In order to best wrap my own head around what was going on, I watched the episode itself several times, and read the script, and then I watched the chronological episodes of Anakin’s run-ins with Cad Bane, so I could get a real feel for where he was with his understanding of Bane’s character. E. Anne Convery (“Bug,” based on the episode “Massacre”): I love it because I think it’s a story that manages, while still being a satisfying adventure, to not glorify war. It does this mainly by following through on the arcs of wonderful, terrifying, funny, fallible, and diverse characters. From the personal to the political, The Clone Warsredefines the ways, big and small, that we can be heroes.      My chapter is the “original” tale, though it still touches on The Clone Wars Season Four episode “Massacre,” with brief appearances by Mother Talzin and Old Daka. If I had to boil it down, I’d say that it’s a story about mothers and daughters. Honestly, it felt a little like cheating, because writing new characters meant I got to be creative in the Star Wars universe somewhat unencumbered by what’s come before. I did, however, have several long text chats with Sam Witwer because I was interested in Talzin’s motivations. We talked about stuff like her capacity (or lack thereof) for love. I think I came away thinking she was more a creature driven by issues of power, control, and the desire for revenge, whereas Sam was a little kinder to her. I mean, he is her “son,” so you can’t really blame him for wanting to think better of her! I always love a story within a story, and I was interested in the space where the high mythology of Star Wars and the home-spun mythology of fairy tales could intersect. I drew on my own background in mythology, psychology, and the language of fairy tales, plus I did my Star Wars research. Re-watching the Nightsisters episodes was just plain fun. Zoraida Córdova (“The Lost Nightsister,” based on the episode “Bounty”): The Clone Wars deepens the characters we already love. It gives us the opportunity to explore the galaxy over a longer period of time and see the fight between the light and the dark side. Star Wars is about family, love, and hope. It’s also incredibly funny and that’s something that The Clone Wars does spectacularly. We also get to spend more time with characters we only see for a little bit in the movies like Boba Fett, Bossk, Darth Maul!      My chapter follows Ventress after she’s experienced a brutal defeat. Spoiler alert: she’s witnessed the death of her sisters. Now she’s on Tatooine and in a rut. She gets mixed up with a bounty hunter crew led by Boba Fett. Ventress’s story is about how she goes from being lost to remembering how badass she is. I watched several episodes with her in it, but I watched “Bounty” about 50 times. Sarah Beth Durst (“Almost a Jedi,” based on the episode “A Necessary Bond”): I spent a large chunk of my childhood pretending I was training to become a Jedi Knight, even though I’d never seen a girl with a lightsaber before. And then The Clone Wars came along and gave me Ahsoka with not one but TWO lightsabers, as well as a role in the story that broadened and deepened the tale of Anakin’s fall and the fall of the Jedi. So I jumped at the chance to write about her for this anthology.      In my story, I wrote about Ahsoka Tano from the point of view of Katooni, one of the Jedi younglings who Ahsoka escorts on a quest to assemble their first lightsabers, and it was one of the most fun writing experiences I’ve ever had! I watched the episode, “A Necessary Bond,” over and over, frame by frame, studying the characters and trying to imagine the world, the events, and Ahsoka herself through Katooni’s eyes. The episode shows you the story; I wanted to show you what it feels like to be inside the story. Greg van Eekhout (“Kenobi’s Shadow,” based on the episode “The Lawless”): What I most love about Clone Wars is how we really get to know the characters deeply and see them grow and change.      I enjoyed writing a couple of short scenes between Obi-Wan and Anakin that weren’t in the episode. I wanted to highlight their closeness as friends and show that Anakin’s not the only Jedi who struggles with the dark side. There’s a crucial moment in my story when Obi-Wan is close to giving into his anger and has to make a choice: Strike out in violence or rise above it. It’s always fun to push characters to extremes and see how they react. Jason Fry (“Sharing the Same Face,” based on the episode “Ambush”): I love The Clone Wars because it made already beloved characters even richer and deepened the fascinating lore around the Jedi and the Force.      I chose Yoda and the clones because the moment where Yoda rejects the idea that they’re all identical was one of the first moments in the show where I sat upright and said to myself, “Something amazing is happening here.” You get the entire tragedy of the Clone Wars right in that one quick exchange — the unwise bargain the Jedi have struck, Yoda’s compassion for the soldiers and insistence that they have worth, the clones’ gratitude for that, and how that gratitude is undercut by their powerlessness to avoid the fate that’s been literally hard-wired into them. Plus, though I’ve written a lot of Star Wars tales, I’d never had the chance to get inside Yoda’s head. That had been on my bucket list! Yoon Ha Lee (“The Shadow of Umbara,” based on the episodes “Darkness on Umbara,” “The General,” “Plan of Dissent,” and “Carnage of Krell”): I remember the first time I watched the “Umbara arc” — I was shocked that a war story this emotionally devastating was aired on a kids’ show. But then, kids deserve heartfelt, emotionally devastating stories, too. It was a pleasure to revisit the episodes and figure out how to retell them from Rex’s viewpoint in a compact way. I have so much respect for the original episodes’ writer, Matt Michnovetz — I felt like a butcher myself taking apart the work like this! Rebecca Roanhorse (“Dark Vengeance,” based on the episode “Brothers”): I always love a backstory and Clone Wars was the backstory that then became a rich and exciting story all its own. The writing and character development is outstanding and really sucks you into the world.      I chose to write the two chapters that reintroduce Darth Maul to the world. We find him broken and mentally unstable, not knowing his own name but obsessed with revenge against Obi-Wan and we get to see him rebuild himself into a cruel, calculating, and brilliant villain. It was so much fun to write and I hope readers enjoy it. Anne Ursu (“Pursuit of Peace,” based on the episode “Heroes on Both Sides”): The Clone Wars creates a space for terrific character development. The attention paid to the relationships between Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Anakin and Ahsoka make for really wonderful and resonant stories, and give so much depth to the whole universe.      I was at first a little scared to write Padmé, as her character felt pretty two dimensional to me. But the more I watched her episodes in Clone Wars, the more dimension she took on. She’s such an interesting character — she’s both idealistic and realistic, so when corruption runs rampant in the Senate she doesn’t get disillusioned, she just fights harder. She has an ability to deal with nuance in a way that is rare in the Republic — and it means she’s not afraid to bend a few laws to make things right. In this chapter, the Senate is about to deregulate the banks in order to fund more troops, and Padmé decides to take matters into her own hand and sneak into Separatist territory in order to start peace negotiations. Of course, neither Dooku nor the corrupt clans of the Republic are going to allow for this to happen, so the threats to the peace process, the Republic, and Padmé’s life only grow. This arc is the perfect distillation of Padmé’s character, and it made getting into her head for it fairly simple. But I did watch all the Padmé Clone Wars episodes and read E.K. Johnston’s book about her, as well as Thrawn: Alliances, in which she has a major storyline. I really loved writing her. Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark arrives August 25 and is available for pre-order now.

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Klaus x Powered Reader

Summary: Reader is part of the umbrella academy but came when they were 12 due to parents needing help for them, ya know controlling powers and whatnot. They can shapeshift into any animal and their senses are heightened n such.

Warnings: bloody, fighting bad guys, bit of Klaus fluff

You know that moment in a movie where they freeze frame and then the character says something like “you’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.”

Yeah with Klaus you have those moments more times then you could count. In fact, if you had a dollar for every time Klaus has gotten you into a freeze frame moment. (And you’ve thought about this often.)

You could probably afford a real nice apartment with actual food in its fridge. Instead of living at the Academy with some apples and Klaus’ latest alcoholic beverage.

But alas, here you are in a back alley as Klaus’ bodyguard waiting for some Italian mafia members to come get their money that he owes them. Well that’s what you’re assuming but Klaus insists they’re just some moody tough guys. Okay sure.

You watch Klaus as he paces back and forth in front of you counting his cash for about the 50th time in the past 10 minutes.

Klaus stops abruptly and turns to you with a smile, “You know what I love about you, Y/N, every time I think things could get worse I look at your pretty face and I know you got me.”

Sighing in knowing annoyance you look up at him, “Are you short.”

Klaus snorts, “No actually I’m pretty long.” He says with wink.

You look up to the sky trying not to crack, you couldn’t give him the satisfaction even if it was funny, not the time or place. Especially considering his dumbass is short some cash he definitely owes very soon.

You look over to Klaus again and raise an eyebrow.

“Alright how much?”

He twiddles is fingers while avoiding your curious gaze. “Oh you know...a couple hundred or so.”

“So that’s why I’m here, emotional support my ass”, You say rolling your eyes a bit amused nonetheless.

Klaus may be an idiot but he’s funny and kind and you love him. Also you do enjoy beating up gangsters or whoever these thugs of the hour are.

Folding your arms while giving Klaus a smirk you tell him, “Well your friends better get their asses here cause when they do. I’m gonna knock their teeth in for making us wait in this shit ally. I’ve been suppressing the urge to vomit for 10 minutes.”

He nods in agreement, glad you’re not about to rip him a new one for his latest antics.

“Wait, does it really smell that bad, I mean the dumpster is at the other end of the ally.” He says in confusion.

You put your hands on your hips glancing at the dumpster and then focusing on Klaus.

“I’ve got the whole animal kingdom inside me Klaus, I know you can kinda smell that dumpster from here, but listen. For me it’s 1000x worse and let me tell you it doesn’t smell like a bath and body works around here.”

Klaus laughs scratching the back of his head, “Right, right, sorry.”

Suddenly a sketchy looking black car rolls into the ally, coming to a halt as three angry looking men walk out. Clearly hiding something within their coats, the “leader” it seems steps up and speaks.

“You betta have that 1,000 you owe us right fucking now you little theif, I don’t appreciate you takin’ my mother’s gold necklace, rest her soul.” He growls.

Klaus raises his hands up, “Listen buddy, you stole that from your own mother at her funeral...and let me tell you she’s not to happy about it.” He says looking to his left where you assume this guys dead mother is standing.

The bald guy behind him shakes his head and says, “So fuckin what? We needed that shit for other important purposes raccoon eyes.”

Klaus now lost as to where this situation is about to turn looks over at you clearly needing assistance. While mouthing “help me”.

Walking past him you hold your hands up showing you have nothing to hide, “Now that’s not very nice, a real shit personality, your mother would be very disappointed in how you’ve turned out. Cause let’s be honest it’s not like your looks are doing anything for you either.” You say snickering trying to see how they’ll react.

The first guy smirks reaching into his coat to pull out a nasty looking knife. “See this right here, I’m a good old fashioned man, I don’t believe in guns.”

You raise your eyebrows at him, “Oh well in that case we should all be quite relieved then.”

Looking behind him you notice as his two friends pull their own weapons out, which consists of a hammer and some type of meat hook.

“Klaus couldn’t have picked an easier bunch of idiots to fuck up then these psychos.” You thought.

The bald one begins to move brushing past the first guy looking like he’s seeing red.

“Jesus, man I didn’t mean to offend, I’m just making friendly conversation.” You muse.

Baldy begins to charge holding up his hammer ready to strike. “Come here you bitch, that’s my husband you’re talking to.”

He swings as you side step him, tripping him as he falls directly onto the concrete. Conveniently dropping the hammer in the process. Klaus being the ever troublesomely fantastic sidekick, picks up the hammer and throws it at you.

Gripping the hammer tightly, baldy rises from the ground faster then you’d expected mouth bloody and boiling with rage.

But in a hot second his bearded buddy in crime sprints towards you with his meat hook seemingly out of nowhere.

Klaus yells for you to watch out but you didn’t even need to look, this guys heart beat is louder then a firework and you’re faster then a viper, your senses on overload. As you turn around in record time to grab the guys right arm with the meat hook.

With your left hand tight around this guys beefy one you hold on and push his assault giving him more power. Effectively fulfilling your plan and leading the hook right into baldys chest. Who was fortunately running towards you.

A split second later with the hammer in your right hand you swing it forcefully into the guys shins. Hearing a sweet sickly crunch sound and the wild howls protruding from your assailants throat.

“Sorry I didn’t know you were married.”

“Fuck you!” He screams.

You look up hearing the sting of metal being swung in the wind, to see a knife heading straight for your throat.

With lighting reflexes you grab his wrist, the knife inches from your vulnerable skin.

Klaus gasps in the background terrified and relieved at not getting your throat slit.

You turn your fingernails to sharp cat-like claws that dig dangerously into his flesh, causing hot blood to drip out. The man drops the knife and grimaces in pain.

“I don’t know about you but I don’t think my boyfriend owes you three motherfuckers shit.” You growl, eyes beginning to glow an electric blue while the whites of your eyes shift to black, something that happens when you start to use your power.

“Fuck you, and fuck that thieving piece of junky shit crying in the corner.”

Your mood darkens, “Wrong answer.”

Letting go of his bloody wrist you grip his throat with your left hand lifting him off the ground. He begins to choke and struggles against your tight grasp.

“I know you’ve heard of me from other friends of yours, so listen very closely. If you touch Klaus again or anyone else around here who’s just trying to survive in this city. I won’t be so generous next time. Or maybe I should rip your fucking face off right now.” You squeeze tighter drawing blood.

“Y/N.”  Klaus says softly.

“Let’s go home.” He asks with pleading eyes and you snap back to reality smelling the iron scent of blood on your hands.

Sometimes you can get carried away feeling the rush of the hunt, a taxing side affect of your power, one you’ve always struggled to control.

Letting the man go he slumps to the ground coughing and sucking in straggled breaths.

“ Alright, me..me and the boys...won’t do nothing....you have my...my word....no bullshit nothing....I swear.”

“Good cause your friends are gonna need more then some stitches.”

You quickly leave the ally and start walking down the street towards the Academy.

Breathing heavily, you look up at Klaus who’s at your side as you start to feel a bit embarrassed that he saw you lose it a little.

He holds onto your arms stopping you, “Don’t worry, we’ll have a bath and watch some movies...hey you like that Museum one?”

“The Night at the Museum.” You say smiling still feeling off.

Klaus’ face lights up, “Yeah that one, with the big T-Rex skeleton and President Roosevelt on a horse.”

He links your arms together and you both begin walking again.

“Y/N, I’m not afraid of you, you know. I never have been, I actually find it pretty sexy of you to beat up bad guys for me and keep the neighborhood safe-er. Ben thinks so too, minus the sexy part of course. Only I get to enjoy that.”

You relax more into his side and once again start to feel a bit more at ease with yourself.

“Oh wait a second, here put these sunglasses on, your eyes are still playing mood rings with us. Don’t wanna freak out the civilians” He laughs.

“Thanks, I did wonder why that kid back there looked like he just saw a ghost.”

Klaus winks, “Maybe he did, cough cough..Ben...cough cough.”

“You’re an ass.” You say while rolling your eyes

“Yes indeed my love but remember I deal with the supernatural of all sorts, from ghosts to monsters, nothing phases me.” Klaus states proudly.

You laugh, “ Okay Van Helsing, this monster wants a bath with her hunter then.”

Klaus kisses your cheek, “That can be arranged my dear.”

Smiling up at him you hold him tighter and think to yourself how weird your life is, but you wouldn’t change it for anything.

- okay wow alright, first story ever I hope it’s good or at least some people like it. It was honestly fun to write ngl.

[wonderwafles]

They Took One, I Took Three

Summary: It is not from Toland that Eris expects any help, but the universe can be surprising.

Notes: Based on the “Eris has a Worm in her gut” theory. Incidentally, my first time writing Eris/Toland! I hope it works out a little bit.

It wasn’t a surprise, really.

When the snow fell harder than Eris had ever remembered it doing and the pain started in her stomach again, she knew what it was. What it had to be.

Still, when she made her painful way into the deserted Hall of the Vanguard and pushed Ikora’s notes aside to fix her hands like tree trunks on the plain wood of the table and heave great breaths. She squeezed two of her eyes shut, and left the third open to stare at the table.

It was the middle of the night. Ikora and Zavala had gone to bed, and Cayde went to do whatever it was someone who was both an Exo and a Hunter did when he was supposed to be sleeping. The cleaning frames had moved on, and only belatedly did she look around to see if Xur was lurking in the corner (he was not).

The thing inside her twisted and fought like it was trying to escape, and she had to push her hood back and unwrap her eyes when her head started to pound. She finally closed the third one; black fluid rushed more quickly without the bandage, staining her clothes. She shuddered as she thought she could hear the beginnings of a voice, speaking to her with twisting words that she tried her best not to understand.

So no, it wasn’t much of a surprise that somebody else heard it too.

Her first indication that he was there came subtly. The shadows lengthened without an object to cast them. The torches guttered, a thin chill entered the windless hall.

“You’ve been reading too many horror novels, Toland.”

The air stilled.

“One can never read enough,” a voice said from behind her. It would have sounded like a teacher’s, thin and reedy and lecturing and almost perpetually slightly disappointed, but for a layer of threat. She would have found Toland defending his overdependence on horror tropes funny if she wasn’t so exhausted.

She turned, and he was behind her.

Translucent, apparently not ready to wholly surrender his grip on death, Toland looked much the same as he had left them; surprising, considering his eagerness to shed his mortal form. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes.

She turned back to the desk. She would not be the first to speak, would not give him that pleasure. Instead, she did what she had come here to do, and grabbed a book.

He glided up to her and looked over her shoulder. “Ah, the Metaphysics of the Hive by Allman Heart. A fine book, if you are alright with rampant propaganda and misinformation.”

“I am not here to learn,” she responded. “I am here to fight.”

“Typical Hunter,” he said. He crossed over to the side of the table, close to where Cayde stood. He still wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Flickering lights?” she asked. “An unnatural chill? You are trying to be dramatic.”

Toland narrowed his eyes. “You are not concerned with bigger things?” he asked her. “You know why I have come.”

She did. She wasn’t sure that Toland would show himself to her out of the kindness of his heart, but to solve a mystery?

“You are dead,” she told him.

“As Guardians, we know better than most that death is relative,” he said, waving a hand unconcernedly. “You are not. But you’re dying.”

She’d thought hearing the word would be impactful. But instead, it felt almost relieving. What was happening to her had a name. It was mortal – eminently so. After she’d given up her Ghost, she’d had time to get used to mortality. It was the way the Hive played with death that scared her, now.

But she was survivor. She would fight. She would endure. She had sworn that to herself long ago, and she wasn’t about to give it up now.

“Do you know how to fix it?” she asked him.

Toland hesitated. She supposed he must have known the question was coming, but he hadn’t prepared himself to say ‘I don’t know’.

“Perhaps,” he said instead. “Perhaps not. I am not sure if any of the Hive have attempted to have their Worms removed. I have the impression it would be a costly procedure for beings so twinned to the Dark. It may be different for you.”

“You left us.”

Toland reacted like he’d been slapped, but recovered quickly. “You were fools to think I owed any loyalty to you. My interests have always been my own. I apologize if I did not make that clear enough, but you had all heard the stories. Eriana knew what she was getting in to when she solicited my help.”

Eris felt almost startled she brought it up. She wasn’t thinking about it when she’d considered the possibility of his appearance, and certainly not when she’d heard the shadow of his whisper for the first time, one voice of many crying for her attention. Dearest Eris, it’s not all bad... But as a dying woman she thought she’d rather earned it.

“And besides,” Toland continued. “Would it have made any difference if I had committed myself to Crota’s demise? We were unprepared. Even I admit that. Crota was simply stronger than us, and in those spaces that is all that matters.”

She wanted to say that Oryx’s death proved otherwise, that the Guardians who’d set free the Light and refused Oryx’s powers, their right as his killer, had brought the Light into ‘those spaces’. But that would be a gamble. She did not know that Toland had been watching, although she’d suspected, and she didn’t know if he’d care. It was his ego she wanted to hit, but that wouldn’t do her any good.

“Why did you swallow the Worm, Eris?” he asked. She thought he had tried to sound objective, but the way his voice caught on ‘Why’ and the way he refused to look at her at all made the effect moot.

“It was the only way to escape the Pit that you left me in.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Here I am.”

Toland paced, as he always did when his mind was working. “Proof of one hypothesis does not disprove another,” he said. “The beast must have told you what you were getting into.”

“It said that I must follow my nature.”

As soon as she said it, the Worm responded. It began its writhing again, sent its honeyed voice echoing through every corner of her being.

Why do you deny the Oath, o bearer mine?

You see him! Toland! He knows the true shape! He has denied his weakness, his dependence, and look at him now! He has ascended! While you cling to life, weak and dying, he will never die again!

I can bring you strength. The krill are weak; you have proven that. It is with your kind that the final shape rests. I can help you prove it.

But you must help me first.

“It’s lying,” he said. “Or at least, it is not telling the truth. It is killing that feeds it. Killing, and strength, although to the Worms the two are synonymous.” There was something like admiration in his voice.

“I know.”

This brought him to a pause. “You do?” he asked.

Eris grinned a crooked grin. “You are not the one with a specimen in your gut,” she said drily.

“Unfortunately,” he murmured.

She supposed that she should have found that offensive, considering her current state, but most of her just found it funny. If anyone asked her who Toland was, she would point to when he was upset and jealous a ghastly supernatural worm wasn’t chewing at his insides.

She didn’t realize she was laughing until he scowled at her. “Stop that,” he said. “You’re exacerbating the symptoms.”

It was true. The pain sounded acutely every time she drew in a deep gasping breath and rattled her body with laughter. She tried to stop, but instead it just became silent.

Finally, the pain became too much to bear, and she doubled over, grasping feebly at the table. It didn’t help that the Worm took this opportunity to redouble its efforts, clawing at her stomach with fervor. It was hungry, and she knew that from here it would only get worse.

When Toland grabbed her shoulders, it wasn’t gentle or comforting, but it was steadying. He hauled her to her feet. “You’re crazy,” he snarled.

Finally, Eris set her alien eyes on his. He wavered for a moment, but stared fully into them. She thought she could see fear in his; she wasn’t sure what he saw in hers.

He released her. After a few heartbeats, he lowered his gaze. The Hall of the Vanguard was silent once again for a moment.

His hand hovered over her stomach. He looked at her, asking for permission. She gave it with a nod.

He touched her armor, but somehow she thought he didn’t need anything more. The Worm would have been as plain as day to him. He lowered his ear, as though she were pregnant and he were trying to feel a kick.

“You fed it your Ghost,” he exhaled. “Oh, Eris.”

That was the most emotion she could remember him showing to her. It was unsettling. “It needed a signifier of our oath.” She let out a shaky breath. Of all of her trials in the Pit, this was the worst. “She agreed that it was necessary. There was enough Light in her to feed it for a year, she said. Maybe more.  But then it would hunger again.”

A hesitation, as she thought of the moment she offered her first companion to the thing. The Worm snapped her up in an instant, like a snake in front of a mouse. “It gave me the strength to fight the strongest Hive on equal footing. When I lashed out, the universe flinched. It was the only reason I made it out.”

Toland didn’t seem to be listening, so engrossed he was in her stomach, but he responded easily. “I liked your Ghost,” he said thinly. “She was intelligent. Clever. Kind.”

“She was,” Eris agreed softly.

Toland stood up. “I will ask around,” he said. “Keep my ear to the ground, as Cayde might say. Perhaps the Techuens will know something, or even the Nine-”

“You don’t have to do this,” Eris said. “I have accepted my fate. Hopefully I will have time to complete my duty here, but after that? I am not afraid to die. I know none who walk the Tower are.”

Eris was grateful Toland didn’t ask after her duty. Instead, he leant forward and clasped her shoulders. Eris bent and placed her forehead against his chest. It was an odd embrace, and Eris was not sure where either of them had learned it, but it felt right.

To refuse Toland’s help was likely foolish. But there was still anger in her, anger at him and anger at herself. Spurning Toland would satisfy both.

“I will ask,” he said firmly. “I do not promise anything. But I – I think I would not like to be the last of Eriana’s fireteam.”

“You wouldn’t,” she whispered. “Trust me.”

When she looked up, he was gone.