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sadoeuphemist · 4 years ago

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“So this is a library,” said Shaw, wrinkling up his nose at the faintly musty smell of parchment. He peered up into the high arched ceilings, the flat of wrymsbane resting cold against his nape. “Not particularly defensible, what with all these massive windows and all.” He felt obligated to end on a complimentary note. “Lots of books, if you like that sort of thing.”

“Oh, yes, and it’s in these archives that I’ve discovered exactly what we’ve been looking for,” said Annalthea, bustling between the rows and rows of shelves. The librarian was a plump, unimposing woman who, as could be expected, looked utterly unsuited for the task of dragon slaying. “If you’ll just give me a minute - I’ve got them right here …”

“Take your time,” said Shaw. He casually twirled his blade, admiring the gleam of it. “We’ve got this whole ‘chosen one’ business down to a craft. Sure, you’re the one fated to kill the Writherdrake, but no one said you had to do it on your own, yeah? You say the word, I can put together a party of the finest dragon slayers you ever seen. You want ballistas? Faefire? You want a team of trained harriers to claw his wings to shreds?” Already his blood was pulsing with the possibilities. “I promise you this: I’ll have you driving a blade into the dragon’s heart even if I have to hold the bastard down myself.”

Annalthea poked her head out from between the shelves. “You ... you did read that part in my note about the Amulet of Destiny?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, boss told me about that. Amulet, that’s fine too. Always did admire that sort of sideways thinking, not letting fate box you in.” He stood in the open lobby, taking a few practice swings. “So if it’s a heist we’re planning, I know just the rogue for it, Sylvas Slyphfoot, fellow could steal the shadow off a cat. But if we’ve got magics involved, temple guards and that sort, we’re going to need to be recruiting a Gray Warder - there’s a few of them to be found in Breath’s End, but you generally need a line with the Underguards for that -”

He fell silent as Annalthea emerged from the shelves, hidden behind a massive stack of books that she set down with a thump on one of the tables, dusting her hands off triumphantly. “Uh,” said Shaw, looking the pile of books up and down much in the way a man might scan a corridor for traps. “What’s all those for, then?”

“Research!” Annalthea said, swiftly subdividing the stack into smaller piles, flipping books open and arranging them in front of her in quasi-military formation. Finally satisfied, she sat down, surveying her domain as if preparing to march into battle. She turned to Shaw. “Shall we begin?”

---

“Now, the Amulet of Destiny,” Annalthea said. “Of course, everyone’s heard of it, it’s appended to the end of all Skein prophesies - ‘and so the Amulet of their Destiny shall weigh heavy around their neck.’ The current High Knot of the Priesthood of Ludd is claiming it’s nothing but a metaphor, that every prophesy they make is immutable, but even a casual perusal of Ludd’s 64 Strings - much less the entire history of the Priesthood! - shows that’s clearly not true! The Amulet was considered for centuries to absolutely be a real artifact, with multiple Knots affirming the fact of its existence. Ludd himself writes in interweaving 9, verse 4 of the Strings that ‘the Amulet hangs on the Skein, and only by grasping this may a man change his fate.’” She looked up expectantly at Shaw.

Shaw furrowed his brow, made himself look as serious as possible. “Mm. Yeah. Like you said.”

“Now the thing is, mentions of the Amulet of Destiny actually predate the creation of Ludd’s Blood’s Skein - it’s part of a much older tradition that got absorbed by the Ludd Priesthood. I was cross-referencing different versions of the legend -” She held up a thick volume bound in dull red leather - “Geoffrey Rymer’s Assorted Tales and Legends of the Northern Isles - an invaluable resource - and the Amulet has been placed everywhere from Mount Hyperboreax to the Living Tombs of Ebon. So, using Parcefalus’ A Genealogy of the Second World - plus a bunch of other minor historians who aren’t part of the standard curriculum,” she added apologetically, as if she was depriving him of a particular involved leg of the hunt - “I’ve traced the earliest oral traditions of the legend to the Chalk Giants, who according to Rymer say - hold on -” she said, darting to the left and flipping furiously through another book, finding her place and putting on a scholarly affect- “’say in their dusty tones that the amulet is buried in the barren cleft of the earth, and is so responsible for the slow advancement of the continents upon one another, in that dreary part of the world we call the Wastes.’”

Shaw blinked. “Uh-huh,” he said, leaning over her shoulder and squinting at the incomprehensible squiggles she kept eagerly pointing out. “Okay, so, it’s in the Wastes, right, that’s the whole upshot of that?” He put his thumb to his chin. “Bit more complex than I thought, then, we’ll need a Waste-tracker for that -”

“But that’s not all!” Annalthea said. She slid to another section of the table. “So, Wastern literature is notoriously inaccessible, and what little we do know about their culture has been filtered through the self-serving biographies of would-be colonizers, like Castafez and Pinafetta. Notorious stories about rampant cannibalism, sacrifices to the Elder Wurms, the supposed ‘canals of blood’ made famous by Pinafetta’s infamous Report to the Imperial Committee - ”

“Hold on,” said Shaw. “Supposed? So you’re saying the canals of blood and all the rest, that’s not true?”

“They’re unreliable sources!” said Annalthea. “What I wanted to do was find firsthand sources for Wastern culture, because if the Amulet of Destiny is indeed buried there, surely they’d have some native accounts of it! Now, in the Chronologies commissioned by High-Mother Gortel, who was of course sympathetic to Wastern culture, having a son-in-law from those lands, it says - Hold on a minute,” said Annalthea, scrabbling for another book.

“Is this - Is this all relevant?” said Shaw, looking with a growing dismay at the massive expanse of words across the table. “We started with the Ludds, fair enough, but now I don’t know why we’re talking about that Gortel, and Parsifus or whatever his name is -”

“Parcefalus,” she said, looking at him concernedly. “You know, the Genealogies? Indirectly responsible for the whole dynasty of the Sun-Kings, it’s where they drew their authority from?”

“Whatever,” said Shaw, ignoring her tone. “And that old witch Gortel’s been dead for ages! Ruled over a completely different continent! What are we doing, hopping around the world, then?”

“Oh, but don’t you see!” said Annalthea, looking up at him brightly. “If we’re assuming the Amulet is in the Wastes, we need to find accurate accounts of the region to make our plan, and that involves a marshaling of historical data in order to figure out which sources can be trusted! There’s really no other way to do it other than going through the archives.”

“But we could just hire a Waste-tracker …” Shaw protested weakly.

Annalthea raised an eyebrow at him. “Have you read the Travelogues of Hyxeramminnieax? Across the Boiling World by P’tarri Fnordottir? Fnordottir in particular exposes the Waste-tracker system as little more than a fraud, perpetuated by generations of liminists who make their living as glorified tour guides showing off deserted portions of the Wastes!”

She stood before him, backed by her tremendous ramparts of books, and Shaw found himself utterly unarmed on this particular battlefield. “All right,” he sighed, and reluctantly sheathed wrymsbane, slumping down on one of the library’s many chairs, “Go on, then.”

“Right,” said Annalthea, already drawn as if magnetized to another tome. “Now, as I was saying, we see the Amulet of Destiny reappear in the Chronologies, obliquely, this time, in the form of a logical paradox supposedly etched into stone by the Oracle of the Wastes - no such etching is actually known to exist, of course. But the riddle, I think, is informative in how Wastern philosophy was viewed at the time. It goes, essentially: How can such an amulet ever change your destiny unless your destiny to begin with was to obtain the amulet!” She looked to Shaw, and not finding the reaction she had been expecting, turned back to the books. “Hold on, I suppose it loses something when not in the original Diretongue, let me find the translation by Aoi Iidii here - it’s by far the best attempt to really grapple with the lexicon, I think, by throwing some Quaennya into the mix -”

Shaw could feel the library’s shelves implacably closing in on him. The entire world could be bound between the covers of a book, apparently, and soon so would he. “Uh-huh,” he said.

“- but how could they have claimed such history with Wastern culture?” she was saying. “If we go back to Parmodines’ accounts, and all the others contemporaneous to him, there’s no trade, there’s no cultural exchange, there’s no nothing! The most there is, is this text supposedly dictated by the blind philosopher Jaenus to his disciple -”

Shaw looked on with glazed eyes. “Uh-huh.”

“- the direct words of the Oracle Morag herself! See, according to Torvid of Irridia’s writings, his master Jaenus would slaughter sheep and drag them out into the Wastes for her, and while she sucked the bones clean they would discuss philosophy, and he would memorize each word precisely as she said it! Of course, she also ate him eventually -”

“Absolutely fascinating,” Shaw said, stifling a yawn.

“- amulets made from his bones being sold, according to Torvid’s journals, which were called aloun, meaning protection, supposed to protect their bearers while journeying into the Wastes. Now, if we trace the original legends from the Chalk Giants about the Amulet of Destiny, we can see that Torvid’s mission to Qarilan coincided with the earliest recorded mentions of the legend -”

“Uh-huh.”

“- Torvid, being the tutor of the Princess Catalana, is widely accepted to have influenced her religious awakening and the subsequent founding of the Flower of the Eternal Now, a short-lived cult during the Majal Period. Rumor has it that he even had an affair with her, although this of course cannot be proven -”

“Mrhmm.”

“- and here, in Book Four of The Bliss-Touched Nectar, she says, ‘Cede not the desires of your heart, for it is the shell’ - and that’s how Poryphys translates it, shell, but in the original text it’s aloun! Torvid’s aloun, and Jaenus’ aloun!” Her voice rose in excitement, and Shaw was roused blearily from his stupor. “See, she says, ‘Cede not the desires of your heart, for it is the shell, aloun, that shall be consumed in the blooming of the seed, to form the plant that grows without restriction!’“ She was beaming at him. “Don’t you see? That’s it! That’s the Amulet of Destiny! It’s the answer to the riddle! How can you come to possess the seed of your fate, unless it was your fate to possess it to begin with?”

Shaw stumbled to his feet, groping vaguely for his sword. He was certain he had missed something terribly vital. “Uh, so?” he said. “What’s the answer to the riddle, then?”

“It’s in the desires of our heart,” said Annalthea, earnestly pressing both hands to her chest. “The Amulet of Destiny, it was a metaphor for free will all this time, corrupted by centuries of oral folklore into an actual mythical artifact! It was in us this whole time!“

Shaw blinked at her, his hands falling to his sides. “Uh...”

“That’s how we change our destiny!” Annalthea said. “Of course, it’s such an obvious philosophical and narrative tradition dating back to the Irridians! The artifact, and then the quest, only to discover in the end that you were the bearer of the sacred truth all along - That’s the true value of an archive like this one,” she said with satisfaction, “being able to see how people before us went through their lives, pick out the patterns, so that we can learn from what’s come before! To think, we might have spent weeks on some fruitless quest, exposed to the elements, harassed by all sorts of ne’er-do-wells, only to learn what was available to us this whole time! Entire continents and centuries are accessible to us, just by opening a book!”

“Uh, of course, of course,” said Shaw, befuddled. “So, I - Well we’re not going after the Amulet now, definitely -” She beamed at him, tapping a hand over her heart. “So …” He struggled to get back on familiar ground. “We’re back to the slaying the dragon plan, then?”

“Oh!” she said. “Heavens, no!”

“Then, uh, what?”

“Well, I don’t need to do anything now, do I?” Annalthea said, and began briskly stacking the books back in piles for reshelving. “That whole prophesy nonsense - I’ve already changed my destiny by refusing it.” She bustled past him, her arms full of books. “I’m sure you’ll be much better off without me getting in your way, anyhow.”

“But -” said Shaw. “But, no, you can’t -” His hand went instinctively to the hilt of wyrmsbane, and he found himself wishing that there was something productive to stab with it. “But what about the Grey Skies! The Writherdrake! The only one who can pierce his heart!”

“Oh, goodness,” said Annalthea, and put a hand on her cheek, looking at him sympathetically. “I’m just a librarian, dear. I tend to the books. What would I ever have to do with a dragon?”

---

Annalthea stood over the smoldering remains of the library, her clothes and skin stained with soot, ash gritty beneath her feet, raised blisters on her hands. She was looking into the depths of a building that no longer existed: every rafter, every shelf, every floorboard, every scroll, every page, incinerated and reduced to ash.

Her fingers were hooked into rigid claws, lined with weeping blisters. A low moan came from her throat.

Shaw came running up, There was a wound across his scalp, his hair dangling gristly with blood, scorch marks streaked across his armor. Blackened burned flesh bubbled across his left arm. “Oh good, you’re alive,” he muttered. “Dragon’s gone. Razed us clear to the ground and veered off to the west. More safeholds to pillage, I suppose.” He peeled his hair out of his face, taking in a breath, and found a bit of rubble to sit on. He grimaced at his left arm. “It’ll heal. Didn’t even give me the chance to stab him a good one, the bastard. I mean, town’s burning, but any fight you can walk away from, right?” He looked over to Annalthea, let his gaze drift over the former site of the library. “Ah.”

A tremor began in Annalthea’s shoulders, shook her rib cage, made her hands tremble so badly that she clenched them into fists. “Look,” Shaw said awkwardly, half-standing to raise a hand over her shoulder, and then deciding better of it and sitting back down. “You can’t blame yourself for this, all right? You weren’t trained for this at all, and these prophesies - well, I don’t hold much stock in them myself! Chosen ones, huh!” he said, and snorted. “Why’s it never a professional who gets chosen, I ask you? You, and your books - Why, no one could have expected it of you, it’s a completely unfair ask -”

“I’m going to kill that dragon,” Annalthea said.

“Uh?” said Shaw.

“I’m going kill. That fucking. Dragon,” Annalthea said, each word forced viciously out of her throat. “Every book. Every last one of them. Burnt. Burnt to the ground.”

“Oh,” said Shaw, and then leapt to his feet. “Oh!”

“Lost,” said Annalthea. “All of it. The irreplaceable archive of generations. Burnt to the ground by a fucking overgrown lizard.” She looked at Shaw, her eyes blazing through her blackened face. “I’m going to slit his fucking throat.”

“Yeah,” said Shaw, nodding along. He drew wyrmsbane again, slightly tarnished but still deadly. “Yeah!”

“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to claw out his eyes. No - I’m going to carve out his heart and make him watch as I eat it while he’s still alive, make him watch each bite with his last gasping breaths as I taste the brimstone on my tongue. And then I’m going to kill him,” she said, “and then I’m going to rend. His. Soul.”

“Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah!” said Shaw, excitedly kicking up ash. “I can still get a party together, won’t take two ticks - I know this warlock, you should see what her eldritch blasts can do to dragonscale -”

Annalthea swung her head to him. “You said he went west?”

“Uh-huh,” Shaw said, “but if you just hold on -”

She was already heading westward, trailing a cloud of ash in her wake, moving quickly but implacably, as if she would never tire. Shaw watched her in wonder, his spirits much buoyed, and was about to run to catch up with her when he let his gaze drift once more to the ashen field, the burnt remains of the library. He felt, vaguely, like he ought to say something in memorial of his encounter with this odd and fateful institution, some testament to the fallen before embarking on their valiant quest.

He bowed his head, put one hand over his chest. “Too bad I never learned to read!” he said, and set off.

#fiction #repost

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buffyversefanfiction · 4 years ago

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Buffy versus The Originals

Warnings: I do not own nor claim to own the copyrights to the following tv shows; “Buffy the vampire slayer”, “Angel”, “The Originals”, “The Vampire Diaries”. Nor do I claim to own any canonical continuation via comics, spin-off televisions and such. I do not claim to own any of the characters within either the Buffyverse or the TVDverse, I am purely doing this for non-profit as a fan of both worlds and fanfiction itself.

15 Plus: May contain medium to graphic displays of violence and torture, displays of witchcraft practice, horror elements, supernatural elements, sexual innuendos, and scenes of a sexual nature.

F/F, F/M, M/M, GEN + OTHER

Preliminary Round: Part One

Buffy Summers managed to stop yet another apocalypse not that there was ever any doubt that she would win, she always wins. Although, to be fair this time around her hometown of Sunnydale was destroyed during the big battle and what once was a beautiful Californian town looked like nothing more than a tribute to the Grand Canyon leaving Buffy and her friends homeless.

Luckily, the blonde-haired vampire slayer knew of a certain vampire with a soul called Angel who happened to live in a semi-decaying hotel located in Los Angeles, and after a quick and awkward phone call with the vampire she once loved Buffy, her friends, her loved ones, and her fellow slayers made their way to L.A. to seek refuge with Angel and his team at the Hyperion Hotel.

Angel well and truly had his hands full at the Hyperion Hotel after rejecting Wolfram and Hart’s offer, his city always kept him busy with its many supernatural creatures, but he also had the complicated mission of trying to wake the woman he loved from her supernaturally influenced coma.

So, when Buffy, his former love, called him up looking for a place to stay briefly he was more than willing to oblige, hoping Buffy and her team could help in waking Cordy up.

Cordelia Chase had gone from being a spoiled rich girl at Sunnydale High School, to the vision’s girl at Angel Investigations to a half human, half demon, hybrid that found herself getting possessed by a rogue member of the powers that be called Jasmine, the latter using a magical pregnancy to give birth to herself, sending Cordy into a coma shortly after giving birth.

Cordelia was the heart of Angel Investigations and it was struggling to operate without her, her friends and loved ones, were struggling to cope without her and so, Angel, Wesley, Fred, and Gunn were more than thrilled to have guests at the hotel who could lend a helping hand.

Faith Lehane had also gone through many changes herself, going from being a rogue slayer pitting herself up against Buffy, to finding redemption with the help and patience of Angel. So, after becoming Buffy’s ally once again, and helping her defeat the first in Sunnydale, the brunette Boston born slayer was more than happy to check into the Hyperion Hotel and catch up with her old friend Angel, especially after hearing the tall, dark, and handsome, vampire with a soul, needed help in waking Cordelia from a coma.

Buffy, Angel, and both their teams, sure proved to be the big help that Angel Investigations needed with the night-to-night hunting, and patrolling, however, the mission to awake Cordelia Chase struggled to pick up momentum which Cordelia herself began to grow impatient about as her fragmented spirit began appearing to them all frequently, complaining, and eager to get back into her comatose body.

Willow Rosenberg searched every grimoire, book, and magic shop to find a magical solution to Cordelia’s coma until eventually she came up with the idea to cast a spell which would not only summon Cordelia’s spirit but would force said spirit to return to her body. The spell in question required a non-beating heart, horns from a near extinct demonic species, and the translation of a long-forgotten language.

Willow waited for a reasonably quiet night to perform the spells she believed would bring Cordelia back to her body, waiting until it was just her, Buffy, Angel, and Faith in the hotel and gathered them all within the grand foyer of the hotel, as they each sat down on the floor in a circle, while Willow held a book in her hands, ready to cast her magic, ready to bring Cordelia Chase back.

The first spell to summon Cordelia’s spirit was performed, cast, and executed to perfection by the brilliant red headed wonder witch, however, the second spell to return Cordelia to her comatose body went a little awry as Willow accidentally opened a portal to a whole other dimension, a portal which wound up pulling Cordelia’s spirit into, as well as Buffy, Angel, and Faith before closing itself and leaving Willow completely alone, and without any idea of where they went, or how to get her friends back.

“Way to go Wills, now where the hell did, she send us this time?” Faith wondered as she, Buffy, Angel, and Cordelia found themselves, picking themselves up off the ground within the bayou in New Orleans late at night, each of them completely confused as to where Willow’s spell had sent them to. “I think it is safe to say we’re definitely not at the Hyperion Hotel, and knowing our luck we’re probably not even in Los Angeles.” Buffy replied to her, as she looked around the bayou, attempting to piece together where they were. “Hey! I’m back to being solid again!” Cordelia screeched with excitement as she threw her arms around Angel and pulled him in for a hug, the two of them equally as excited to see and feel each other once again. “Enough of the sickeningly sweet reunion time, we all know what happens when you get happy Angel.” Faith warned Angel, as she pulled him out of Cordelia’s arms, eagerly breaking off their hug. “You’ll lose your soul, then Cordy becomes food to soulless you, and me and B wind up tossing a coin to see which slayer takes you down this time around. “Well at least Willow’s spell to put you back in your body clearly worked.” Buffy stated to Cordelia, before the questioning slayer turned her attention to Angel. “You did not store her body in the woods, did you?” “No, I never!” Angel denied nervously, as he noticed a disapproving glare from Cordelia. “Not like you can blame him if he did, I mean maybe the big man’s still a little pissed about you bumping uglies with his son, I mean did you not used to change his diapers?” Faith teased Cordelia, more than happy to stir the pot between Cordelia and Angel. “Firstly, that was some wacky super powered bitch called Jasmine who not only hijacked my body but got me pregnant just to give birth to herself. Secondly, I would never sleep with his son when not possessed…stupid rogue powers that be hussy!” Cordelia snapped back at Faith, clearly disgusted. “I swear those powers that be can go straight to hell!” “As fun as this is, how about we change the topic and find a way back to the hotel?” Angel suggested to the women, more than eager to change the conversation about his son Connor’s past with the woman he loved. “Yeah, I don’t really want to hear about my ex’s love triangle with my high school classmate and his adult son.” Buffy agreed with the brooding vampire. “Straight to hell, you hear me?” Cordelia screamed upwards towards the clouds, hoping the powers that be were listening and heard her fury. As the foursome decided to explore their whereabouts it did not take them very long to find their way out of the bayou and learn that they were in the city of New Orleans, the only thing they did not know was the fact that they were no longer in their world, they were now in the Mikaelsons’ world…

Preliminary Round: Part Two

Josh Rosza had been through a lot since turning into a vampire, going from being a club kid turned vampire to best friend to the young harvest witch Davina Claire to the boyfriend of werewolf Aiden, but the hardest change in his life that he had to adjust to was losing his first love at the hands of a wicked witch called Dahlia, a loss that at first he blamed Klaus Mikaelson for.

Josh was never particularly popular with any of the original family of vampires and neither did he want to be, knowing all too well that friends of the Mikaelson siblings tended to quickly turn into foes before winding up permanently dead at their hands but all that had changed over the last few months following the notorious family defeating Dahlia.

Following Camille O Connell’s unexpected departure from New Orleans, Josh had managed to take over her job bartending at Rousseau’s which meant dealing with all kinds of clientele including none other than the hybrid Klaus Mikaelson himself, who had become a regular while drowning his sorrows every night since Cami had left.

Fear was quickly taken over by fascination as Josh’s reluctance to grow close to any original began to dwindle as friendship quickly grew between Josh and Klaus, a friendship which had started out with two lonely hearts before developing into something much deeper, a bond truly cherished by them both.

Klaus Mikaelson tended not to make friends easily mostly due to the fact he did not want to and even when the original hybrid did make the occasional friend it was never too long before he either watched them be murdered or they displeased him in some kind of way leading to him killing them.

However, following Cami’s decision to leave New Orleans behind for good, the fact Hayley Marshall had moved away with his daughter Hope and his brother Elijah was not currently talking to him, Klaus was in need of some kind of company and he found that and more with newbie vamp turned bartender Joshua Rosza.

Klaus found himself spending more and more time with Josh as a regular at Rosseau’s until the two unlikely companions quickly found themselves developing a friendship made from two lonely hearts graduating into something deeper and before long the original hybrid would come to think of the vampire bartender as his best friend, a friendship which Klaus valued greatly and would protect at any cost.

Rebekah Mikaelson had been granted her freedom from always having to be by her brother’s side, forced to endure heartbreak after heartbreak as Klaus put his needs and wants before her own time and time again, but now she was free and yet it did not feel like it to the original female vampire.

Rebekah had been travelling the world in search of a way to bring her brother Kol back, chasing leads from her older sister Freya, hoping to find some magical remedy to restore her family, but as the months went by and the leads grew thinner the original was starting to run out of steam and her warring brothers Klaus and Elijah was doing anything but making her feel free from her family entanglements.

So, Rebekah decided it was time to pay her family a little visit to reconcile Elijah and Klaus’ brotherhood having had to step in many times before, like when they thought over Tatia then squabbled over Katherine Pierce, as the blonde haired immortal beauty just found herself being thankful that this time her brothers weren’t fighting over another bloody doppelgänger.

Elijah Mikaelson had spent a thousand years sticking by his brother Klaus’ side, cleaning up his messes, and attempting to keep the rest of his family in line but after Klaus used their aunt Dahlia to cast a werewolf curse on Hayley, the woman he loved, he was done fighting by his brother’s side and although Hayley forgave Klaus after New Orleans’ regent witch Davina Claire broke the curse, Hayley decided to move away with Hope.

Hayley Marshall still popped into New Orleans as her and Klaus shared custody over their daughter Hope but she lived there no longer and although she did not live far from the city she lived far enough away to start a new life, a life that Elijah Mikaelson was no longer a part of much to his own heartbreak.

Elijah knew he could not blame Klaus entirely for Hayley’s decision to move but he also knew the curse sure did not help things, in fact if anything he believed it determined her decision and with her now gone and Rebekah too, Elijah was running out of reasons to remain forever by Klaus’ side.

Freya Mikaelson had taken to the oldest sibling role a little far too well and she had started to feel the weight that came keeping a family like hers from killing each other. Not only did the Mikaelson witch have to play mediator between a warring Elijah and Klaus but she was also using her expertise to try and help her youngest sibling Rebekah to find a way to resurrect Kol.

Family was not Freya’s only struggle however as she tried to stop Davina Claire and her vampire father figure Marcel Gerard from declaring war on her siblings every other day, while finding unlikely common ground with Vincent Griffiths in restoring their city for the better as well as keeping her promise to her brother Finn, one that meant finding him a suitable body that would require minimal violence if possible.

Freya literally had everything on her shoulders and was trying her hardest to wear it well, so the last thing that she wanted, needed, or even expected, was the arrival of two so-called vampire slayers, a demon, and a vampire with a so-called soul.

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ninja-muse · 7 years ago

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Urban Fantasy Recommendation Masterpost

This is a list of the urban fantasies I’ve enjoyed most over the years, split down a few lines and to be updated as I discover new series. I’m also including contemporary fantasies because the lines often blur. Hope you find something you like on it!

$ for LGBT characters £ for characters of colour € for characters with disabilities * for potentially problematic depictions of the above ! for #ownvoices (all based on my slightly spotty memory, so feel free to correct if I’ve missed something)

World-Focused

or stories that spend most of their time steeping you in the magical world

American Gods - Neil Gaiman £

Shadow Moon gets out of jail and is hired by the cagey Mr. Wednesday to … he’s not really clear, honestly, but it puts him in the path of people who may or may not be gods. Multiple mythologies.

Among Others - Jo Walton €!

A 1980s teen flees her troubled home in Wales to get to know her birth father and attend an English boarding school. Is her mother’s family able to work magic or is it just wishful thinking? Reading science fiction might give her the answers. British folklore and faeries, and a very interesting take on magic.

The Boggart - Susan Cooper

A Canadian family inherits a Scottish castle inhabited by a mischievous boggart—who then stows away and finds himself in Toronto. Scottish folklore.

The Bone Clocks - David Mitchell £

The life of a woman from teen-hood to old age as she lives her life and occasionally intersects with an ancient war between good and evil, fought with telepathy and other things that look a lot like magic.

The Changeling - Victor Lavalle £ !

After his infant son is violently attacked, Apollo Kagwa, used bookseller, descends into the hidden world of New York in search of his vanished wife.

The City We Became - N.K. Jemisin - $ £ ! for race

New York City, newly alive, is being attacked, and six humans, no longer quite human, must do everything in their power to save their city.

the Dark is Rising series - Susan Cooper €*

A group of English kids—four siblings, a seventh son, and a boy who might be a reincarnated Arthur—versus the forces of darkness. Five books, only the last of which includes all the kids. Cornish and English folklores, Arthuriana.

Gods Behaving Badly - Marie Phillips

The Greek pantheon now lives in North London and is as dysfunctional as ever. Artemis walks dogs. Aphrodite does phone sex. Apollo is a washed-out TV psychic who’s just fallen, via Eros, for the cleaning lady—who’s trying to date someone else, thank you very much. Greek mythology.

The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker £

A golem and a jinni both find themselves in turn-of-the-century New York, both literally and figuratively. A beautiful exploration of the immigrant experience, friendship, and identity. Jewish and Arabic folklore.

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

A mostly-good angel and mostly-wicked demon discover they’ve been training the wrong Antichrist days before the scheduled apocalypse. The real Antichrist wants a dog and to save the whales. Also features a legacy witch, a rookie witch-finder, the Four Horsemen, the Four Other Horsemen, Satanic nuns, and a Queen soundtrack. Christian mythology.

The Hunter’s Moon - O.R. Melling

A Canadian teen visiting her Irish cousin ends up mounting a cross-country road trip to retrieve her cousin who’s run off with the faeries. Irish mythology.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London - Garth Nix $£

In the summer of 1983, Susan Arkshaw travels to London to find her birth father. What she discovers is a family of magical booksellers, and an Old World that’s very much alive.

Middlegame - Seanan McGuire

Roger and Dodger are exceptionally gifted, telepathically linked, and a little more than natural. James Reed will stop at nothing to use them, or people like them, to get ultimate power. Alchemy, time travel, and portal fantasies are involved.

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman £

Richard Mayhew has it all: a good job, a hot fiancée, a nice flat. Then he helps an apparently homeless girl with the power to create doors and is pulled into the magical community below London. Nothing will ever be the same.

Of Blood and Honey and And Blue Skies From Pain - Stina Leicht

It’s tough, living in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and Liam finds it harder than most. No one trusts him, he can’t find work, everyone wants him to choose a side, and to cap it off, he feels like a monster is inside him and knows something inhuman is stalking him and his. The war between the Fey and the Fallen is heating up, and the only people keeping peace are an order of priests—who also, surprise, want Liam’s help. Irish and Christian mythology.

The Sixth World series - Rebecca Roanhorse $£€ !

Maggie Hoskie is a Monsterslayer of Dinétah, but she’d rather not be. Even rescuing a kidnapped girl is supposed to be a one-shot deal. But the monster’s a new one, an apprentice medicine man’s attached himself to her, and Coyote’s around, so of course it’s not that simple. Navajo mythology.

Son of a Trickster - Eden Robinson £€ !

Jared’s life sucks. He’s sixteen, living in a crap house in a crap town with crap prospects. He’s paying his dad’s rent with weed money. His mom’s more interested in parties than holding down a job. His only friend’s a pit bull. And just when he thinks that’s as low as it gets, a raven shows up and say he’s Jared’s real dad. Heiltsuk (and other First Nations) mythology and folklore.

Sparrow Hill Road - Seanan McGuire

Rose Marshall, the Phantom Prom Date, the Ghost of Sparrow Hill Road, hitches her way from coast to coast while dealing with paranormal problems and route witches—and avoiding Bobby Cross, the immortal who killed her.

Sunshine - Robin McKinley

Rae is a baker. Tough and practical and smart, but a baker. Who’s just rescued herself and a vampire from captivity using magic she’d half-forgotten she had. Unfortunately, the master vampire’s still after them, the magical police know something’s up, and she just wants to keep being normal. Includes mild, realistic PTSD and a whole lot of delicious desserts.

An Unkindness of Magicians - Kat Howard

The Turning has started in New York and every magician in the city has their own reason for entering the tournament—power, status, acknowledgement, revenge, revolution. The high stakes would be enough for anyone, but it’s starting to look like there’s something suddenly wrong with magic, too.

Witches of Ash and Ruin - E. Latimer - $ £ € *

Dayna wants to be a witch, live her life, and block her OCD thoughts so she doesn’t have to deal with them. Then scary but gorgeous Meiner and her coven roll into town prophesying Bad Things, and a serial killer reappears who seems to target witches and shit. Meet. Fan. Themes of family and abuse.

Ysabel - Guy Gavriel Kay

Ned Marriner’s tagging along with his photographer dad to Provence when he begins to notice magic awakening around him. There’s an ancient love triangle that‘s repeated throughout history, using contemporary locals as proxies—and it’s very interested in Ned, his new friend Kate, and his father’s entourage.

Mystery-Focused

or stories that spend most of their time solving a magical crime

The Arcadia Project series - Mishell Baker $£€ !

Millie’s nearly broke, scarred, a double amputee, mentally ill, and Done with all the BS around that. She’s also despairing of ever resuming her directing career, so when a mysterious woman offers her a job with her temp agency, she’s intrigued. What wasn’t mentioned? She’ll actually be an immigration agent working with the Fae of Hollywood, and one of them’s just gone missing.

the Blood series - Tanya Huff $£€

Vicky Nelson is the pinnacle of the tough, no-nonsense PI—which poses a bit of a problem when she’s hired to catch a “vampire” on the streets of Toronto and then actually meets one. (He writes romance novels.)

the Felix Castor series - Mike Carey $*

Felix Castor is an exorcist. A hard-drinking, down-at-the-heels exorcist in a London brimming with ghosts and demons. Unfortunately, he never seems to get the easy cases where he can just waltz in and play a tune—and his past mistakes might be coming back to haunt him.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - Douglas Adams

Dirk Gently solves mysteries by wandering around, getting into strange situations, and then connecting dots no one believes even exist. Like time traveling robots and Romantic poets, or rampaging eagles and mold-ridden refrigerators.

The Grendel Affair - Lisa Shearin £

Makenna Fraser is a seer working for Supernatural Protection and Investigations in New York. “Seer” meaning she can spot the ghoulies and ghosties few people can, including her coworkers. When an off-the-books gnome removal turns into a blood-soaked crime scene, she and her partner are handed the case—but will her eagerness to prove herself just land her in hotter water?

the Greta Helsing series - Vivian Shaw $£

Dr. Greta Helsing serves the undead of London. Her best friends are vampires and demons. The boundaries between worlds are thinning, causing all manner of metaphysical trouble. Plays with 1800s horror classics; equal parts sensible, disturbing, and funny.

the Greywalker series - Kat Richardson $£

Harper Blaine prides herself on rationality and unflappability, but after briefly dying on a case, she’s suddenly wrong-footed and seeing ghosts everywhere. In the middle of all that, she’s hired by a mysterious voice to track down an organ that’s more than it seems, and suddenly haunted street corners are the least of her problems.

the Incryptid series - Seanan McGuire $£

Meet the Price family, a close-knit group of cryptozoologists whose mission is to protect and preserve endangered cryptids like dragons, gorgons, and the religious Aeslin mice from humans. They’re also hiding from the Covenant of St. George, a.k.a. why the cryptids are endangered in the first place. Technically paranormal romance.

the Iron Druid series - Kevin Hearne £

Atticus O’Sullivan is a herbalist and seller of New Age paraphernalia by day, two-thousand-year-old druid by night. He thought moving to Arizona would keep him safe from gods bent on revenge. He thought wrong. Multiple mythologies.

Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge - Paul Krueger $£€ !

Bailey Chen is fresh out of business school, broke, and living with her parents. When a childhood friend offers her a job as a barback, she takes it as a stopgap—but then she discovers the secret cabal of bartenders who fight demons using magical cocktails and after that, there’s no looking back.

Moonshine - Alaya Johnson £

Zephyr Hollis, a charity worker and ESL teacher in 1920s New York, and therefore flat broke, takes a side job from a student, Amir, without asking questions. But will the vampire mob, the drug-crazed vamps, Amir’s literal smoking hotness, or her family history do her in first?

Night Owls - Lauren M. Roy $

Valerie is a vampire with a successful campus bookstore. Elly grew up fighting monsters and fearing for her life. When their paths collide via a book in Elly’s keeping, they must unite to prevent said monsters from unleashing hell and then some.

the October Daye series - Seanan McGuire $£€

Toby Daye wants sleep, coffee, and for everyone to leave her alone already—not necessarily in that order. Unfortunately, as a changeling Knight and PI with a knack of finding people and solving problems with maximum chaos, none of those things will ever be easy to come by. Multiple folklores.

the Olympus Bound series - Jordanna Max Brodsky $£

Selene di Silva’s been keeping her head down for a long time, shutting herself off not just from New York, but from the world. (Being a former goddess will do that.) But then she stumbles on the body of a woman who’s been ritually sacrificed and her past as Artemis comes rising up again. Greek and Roman mythology

the Rivers of London series - Ben Aaronovitch $£€

When Constable Peter Grant meets a ghost at a crime scene, it’s only logical for him to take a witness statement. When DCI Thomas Nightingale learns of this, he offers him a job as an auror the sorcerer’s apprentice a valued member of a magically-focused police unit. London, its river goddesses, various magic workers, assorted Fae, and the Metropolitan Police will never be the same.

the Shadow Police series - Paul Cornell $£

Following the mysterious death of a suspect, four Metropolitan Police officers are drawn into London’s sinister magical underworld in their hunt for a killer.

the Smoke series - Tanya Huff $*£

Tony Foster’s found his footing as a PA on a Vancouver-shot vampire show. Unfortunately, the paranormal weirdness that is his life continues and it’s somehow up to him to save the day.

Unholy Ghosts (and following) - Stacia Kane £*

Chess Putnam works as a Church exorcist, partly out of obligation and partly for the pay, which goes to fuel her drug addiction. Unfortunately, no ghosts are nice ghosts and her private life keeps intruding on her cases.

the Watch novels - Terry Pratchett

Ankh-Morpork is the citiest of fantasy cities. Its City Watch is a bunch of misfits. Sam Vimes isn’t putting up with any nonsense. Somehow, they fight crime.

Zoo City - Lauren Beukes £

Zinzi December is a con artist and occasional finder of lost things who lives in the Johannesburg slums with her sloth familiar. Her latest case? Find a pair of missing teen pop stars—before the apparent assassins do.

#book recommendations #masterposts #urban fantasy

1K notes · View notes

alia-turin · 7 years ago

Text

Title: Broken Bonds [Chapter III] Previous chapters: Chapter I, Chapter II AO3

Characters:

OC, Libertus Ostium, Cor Leonis, Luche Lazarus (mentioned), Titus Drautos | Glauca (mentioned), Nyx Ulric (mentioned), Gladiolus Amicitia, Crowe Altius (mentioned), Iris Amicitia

Warning:

SFW for work, next chapters might not be but there will be warning.

Notes

Right, now I'm slowly reaching to the point where you can see a bit more Comrades spoilers, mainly the fact that Gladio appears at some point. A lot of references here toward Kingsglaive.

Tagging: @birdsandivory @yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy @jojopitcher @fromunseeliecourt @xanxusthot @lazarustrashpit @littlestfangirl

Ada stepped off the truck and noticed that the arm of one of the refugees was bleeding. She felt bad for not noticing that earlier, but the combat had drained big part of her strength and she had spent most of the journey sleeping.

“Hey, let me help with that.” She reached for the refugee, but he pulled away as if she was trying to sell him poison.

“I don’t need the help from treacherous witches.” He spat in front of her legs and probably was going to say or do way more but a hunter came between the two of them.

“Easy there, pal. She just saved all of your asses.” The hunter made sure the man walked away before turning to Ada.

“Thank you.” She muttered, not really sure what else she was supposed to say. Technically the glaives were treacherous.

“Not a problem.” The man gave her a warm smile and proceeded to help the rest to unload the truck. Ada just stared at the men, women and children coming to Lestallum, but kept her distance not wanting a second accident like that. She had faced something similar in Insomnia, locals hated refugees like herself, but she also had managed to build her life there.

‘All my friends are gone.’

That wasn’t entirely truth of course, Libertus was here and from what she gathered from him other Glaives were around or coming to join them. The problem with Libertus was she felt guilty for what happened to Crowe and knew how close they used to be.

‘Is there something I don’t feel guilty about? Crowe’s death, the Kings death…even Luche’s death which was ironic since he got what he deserved.��

“He won’t be the only one who would do that, you know?” The Marshal had stepped behind her and interrupted her thoughts. Her heart was still skipping a beat whenever he came close to her, after all he was the Marshal and even if she fought alongside him just hours ago, he remained a legend and a hero. The way he fought made her feel even more intimidated by him. She considered Nyx, the Captain and Luche as the best fighters she had ever seen, but the Marshal was something completely different. He has turned fighting into form of art.

‘That’s why he is still alive.’ Ada reminded herself, but then again, she was alive as well and it wasn’t because of her superior skills.

“I can’t say I blame him, sir. The Glaive did betray the king, and it doesn’t matter if two, ten or twenty among them didn’t. The fact is the Captain, I mean general Glauca was a Glaive. I can deny all day that I had nothing to do with that, but Glauca decided that for all of us one year ago.” It was still very difficult for her to process the thought. She needed a year to finally come to terms Luche and the rest had betrayed the kingdom. Probably another year would make her come to terms Titus Drautos wasn’t the man she thought he was, very literary.

“First of all, don’t call me sir. Marshal or Cor, but no sir. Second, you did well today.” He didn’t exactly smile, his face reminded expressionless, but she could see some sort of approval in his cold blue eyes.

Ada watched as the Marshal walked away and took a very deep breath. Cor the Immortal just told her she did a very good job. She looked around to check if there was someone who saw that to ask them if he really did but there wasn’t. She was all alone, not a single person she could share the one moment of excitement.

On her way to Monica, to sort out some final details, she met Libertus. Ada didn’t forget about lunch with him, but the Marshal asking her to join him in the rescue mission had provided her with a very good excuse to avoid him.

“I’m sorry Libertus, the Marshal wanted me to go with him.” She probably should have looked for him and explain she was going away with the Marshal, but it subconsciously she had avoided the whole thing.

‘What have I become, by the Astrals, he is my friend.’

“Don’t worry, when you didn’t show up I asked here and there and figured it out.” He gave her a friendly smile which made her heart sink. She didn’t deserve that sort of kindness. “But we can grab desert?”

“Sure!” she agreed unable to say no and followed him to the improvised canteen. She was silent while walking, letting him talk about how Lestallum had fought the demons and how they started building the barricades and all other defense mechanism they had put into place.

‘Does he know about Crowe…does anyone know about Crowe…’ Ada couldn’t stop thinking about that while listening to his voice.

When they reached the canteen, the desert was some strange looking cake which made Ada wonder if she really wanted it that bad. She just hoped there will ne enough sugar in it to help her boost her strength.

Libertus led her among the tables and sat next to a cute looking girl with black hair and a big man with very similar facial features to the that girl.

“Ada, that is Iris, she overlooks one of the local shops. She helped me earlier to find some clothes for you.” Libertus explained and girl beamed with the brightest smile Ada has seen in months. This smile reminded Ada of herself, years ago when she first came to Insomnia. She was a refugee, escaping the war, very similar to this girl and somehow she had managed to keep her spirits up and make a new home. That wasn’t the case now.

‘Maybe we all get just once second chance and we have to use it wisely, after that we die.’

“It’s so nice to meet you! Libertus told me you guys both come from Galahd, I have never been there, maybe you can tell me about it.” Isis said with bright smile on her face.

“I don’t mind.” Ada smiled in return but in fact she did mind. Galahd was painful topic after all. Last person she talked with about Galahd almost turned her brain into jelly on his floor.

“I’m Gladio.” The man next to girl flashed her with bright smile and gave her his hand in a greeting. He was really a mountain of muscle, massive compared to the girl next to him. His shirt was unbuttoned and Ada could see scars covering his chest as well as his face.

“Gladio is my brother.” Iris continued. “He is Prince Noctis’ shield. He just arrived in town”

Ada’s discomfort in the present company grew rapidly. If that was the prince’s shield it meant his father was the king’s shield, killed by no other but the Captain of the Kingsglaive. She felt responsible for their father’s death even if rationally she realized there was nothing she could have done. Unable to figure out what to say she just smiled back at Iris.

“Excuse me I have to check something with, Monica.” Ada grabbed her plate and stood of the table as quick as possible without looking as if she was trying to escape the conversation, which actually she was doing.

She didn’t check anything with Monica instead went straight to her new accommodations. Her ‘apartment’ looked very similar to Libertus’ but had significantly less furniture and personal items. Her backpack was there and someone had left a blanket over the bed but that was just about it.

“Ada.” Libertus’ voice came in as he knocked at the door. “Come on, I know you didn’t go to speak with Monica.”

She opened the door and let him in without looking at the man.

“You want to talk?” he leaned against one of the walls as Ada sat on bed. She was still not at her full strength and that trip with the Marshal did drain her. She caught herself that she was trying to hide her weakness from Libertus absolutely unintentionally. Ada knew Libertus wasn’t here to kill her, if he wanted to, he could have done it hours ago, but she just couldn’t relax. She used to trust the Kingsglaive more than anything and she knew Libertus was good, but her subconsciousness wasn’t letting it go.

“Talk about?” there was one thing she wanted to take off her chest, but it was too painful. It was going to break Libertus’ heart the same way it broke hers, assuming he didn’t know already.

“Come on. You sound all happy about desert and then you leave the table. What happened there?” Libertus had changed so much in that one year. She never perceived him as a leader or someone who was able to lead but now he was wearing the shoes he was given.

“Do you feel guilty? About what happened?” Ada decided to fight against her new developed instinct to ignore everyone and hide herself behind imaginary walls.

“At times. Sometimes I would sit and think, what could have been done to prevent that or what did we do wrong, but none of us could have seen the Captain being Glauca. Even if somehow, we had sniffed out Luche and the others, who could have imagined that about the captain.” Libertus gave her an encouraging smile and Ada felt as if she didn’t deserve that kindness and his friendship.

“I could have.” She wasn’t looking at him but rather down at her shoes. The dirt on them was annoying her and she suddenly felt hysterical need to clean them. “I should have seen that coming.”

“How?” Libertus stepped closer to her and knelt in front of her forcing her to lift her head and look at him.

“You know Luche and I were close, right?” her eyes started filling with tears.

He nodded.

“He has been talking for probably two years how he feels the king is not doing enough and we are just being used. How he misses Galahd.” Ada paused. Memories, both good and bad, started flowing through her mind uninvited. “And then it was the phone calls. He would walk out of the room to talk with the Captain on the phone. I knew it was Drautos because I saw who the caller was, I even picked up the phone once when Luche was in the shower, I thought he might be seeing someone else and used ‘Titus Drautos’ as the caller ID so I don’t get suspicious. It was the captain’s voice and I never questioned why. I just let it past, I let it happen, I wasn’t good enough to see it. I was too naïve and even happy.” Truth was she felt guilty for feeling happiness in that situation. “Insomnia was my new home, I had friends…I was blind.”

“Hey, hey.” He grabbed her hands in his and made her look up. Her eyes weren’t just filled with tears now, she was crying. Funny it has been year since that happened, and she had been blaming herself for Luche every single day but she never cried. “We all missed that. Tredd, Luche…they spoke like that not just in private. How many times have you heard Tredd or Axis talk over drinks how the king is using us and all that? Far too many. What we all did was laugh or tell them to stop complaining. Nobody ever said a thing. Plus, I hope Luche is suffering somewhere in his death, but one thing I have to give the bastard is he was smart. He never would have allowed anyone to suspect him, nit until it was time to strike.” Libertus fell silent for a moment then added with more cheerful voice. “He was smart enough to hide your relationship. I mean we all suspected he is not just nice and friendly to you, but none of you ever said anything.” That was true. They both had agreed that would create more trouble so they kept it low key. “How long have you been at it?”

“About four years.” Ada answered drily. It seemed awful long time but it wasn’t. Four years meant nothing when you couldn’t see something so obvious. “Crowe knew. I told her.” Crowe was like bigger sister for her, looking after her when she joined the Glaive.

“She never told me.” He was still trying to keep the cheerful tone, but Ada could see how Crwoe’s name brought certain sadness to his voice.

“Libertus…Luche killed Crowe.” Suddenly the smile disappeared from his face and he let go of her hands. “I’m so sorry. When we were fighting he told me he did it. He told me that he shot her.” Ironically for all his threats and skills Luche never used a gun against her which probably would have ended things way quicker.

‘Hands are more personal than bullets.’ She was convinced that he had to hate her a lot in order to strangle her and try to break her skull instead of just shooting her. ‘Or I wasn’t worth the bullet.’

Libertus didn’t say anything. Ada was hoping he would just nod and say that he knew. That he would be angry or sad, but that silence was killing her. Funny how several minutes ago she wanted to avoid him exactly because of what she knew, and now she hated herself sensing the perspective she might lose him as well.

#final fantasy xv #ffxv #final fantasy 15 #ff15 #cor leonis #libertus ostium #luche lazarus #gladiolus amicitia #iris amicitia #my writing

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chocobroing · 7 years ago

Text

A New World Chapter 6~Gladio/OFC, Ignis/OFC, Noctluna, Promdy NSFW!

Tagging: @themissimmortal, @lady-asuka, @ignis-scientia-estrogen-brigade, @itshaejinju, @poisonous-panda, @dirtyffxvconfession, @xnoctits, @cupnoodle-queen, @chocobro-daydreams, @nifwrites

Warnings: Horror movies, sexual content, bath sex, childbirth

...

Chapter 6: A Day in the Life

A few days after Christmas, the snow got really bad. It was a borderline blizzard. The roads were closed and no one could get to work. The snow was about seven feet tall and a snow truck couldn’t get out there. The only one who went to work was Gladio so he could help anyone who was stuck in the storm. Ella never really worried about Gladio when he worked because he knew what he was doing, but here she was praying that he was going to be okay and that he wouldn’t get stuck in the snow.

Ignis, who adjusted to having his sight back in his remaining eye, made everyone some warm soup and hot chocolate and they lit a fire in the fireplace to keep the house warm just in case the power went out. It probably wouldn’t because Ella’s father installed a backup generator for the backup generator. Ella wasn’t worried about the power, but she was worried sick about Gladio. She gazed down at her sparkling engagement ring on her left ring finger and prayed to God that he would make it out of the storm in one piece. She just got him. She couldn’t lose him now. She wouldn’t survive if she lost him.

Prompto, the ever-glowing sunshine, noticed Ella nibbling on her bottom lip nervously and decided to cheer her up. He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Hey, don’t worry, Ella,” he said cheerfully, causing her to gaze at him with a furrowed brow. “I know Gladio. He’s tough. A little storm like this is nothing. He’s held back three Behemoths at the same time. He went up against the Blade Master and survived.”

“The Blade Master?” That piqued Ella’s curiosity and it took her mind off worrying. “Who’s that?”

“He was original Shield to the King,” answered Prompto, thinking back to what Gladio told him. “You see, after Gladio had his pride bruised by Ravus Nox Fleuret, Luna’s brother, he left the group and joined up with Marshal Cor Leonis, a friend of Noct’s dad. Cor knew where the dungeon housing the Blade Master was and Gladio wanted to go up and claim the honor of fighting said Master. Gladio got knocked down a few pegs when he first went up against the Master and he trained hard to reach a level that rivaled the Master. Finally, he managed to best the Blade Master and claimed his sword. Gladio learned that Cor also fought the Master but he survived when most men died. That’s where Cor got his moniker ‘The Immortal’. Gladio got some of his scars from it. Gladio’s tough, Ella. You don’t need to worry about him.”

Ella nodded in consideration and was slightly awed that her fiancé went up against such a dangerous foe and survived. She knew Gladio was a tough fighter but she never knew about the Blade Master story.

“So, the Blade Master was a ghost?” she asked, thinking about the man Gladio fought against.

“Not exactly,” replied Prompto. “In my world, magic was real and it kept his will alive. He was waiting for the chosen Shield that would protect the chosen King. Gladio proved himself worthy—of living and power.”

“That sounds like my Gladio,” said Ella, smiling to herself. “He’s too stubborn to quit.”

“That he is,” mused Prompto, nodding. “He’s not a quitter and he refuses to let others quit. His father and sister were the same way.”

“Wait, Gladio has a sister?” That came as a shock to Ella because he never talked about his family.

“Yeah,” replied the blonde, nodding again. “Didn’t the big guy tell you?”

“No,” said Ella bitterly, narrowing her eyes in anger. “He didn’t tell me anything. Why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“I’ve known Gladio for a long time,” said Prompto hesitantly. “It probably hurts him to talk about his family. His father died when the Empire attacked our home. According to some documents I’ve read, Lord Amicitia’s body was placed right next to the king’s when they took over Insomnia. Gladio never had time to grieve for his father the right way. He took out his anger on everyone, mostly Noctis because Noct was not hiding his grief from everyone. Ignis was the mediator in our group so he had to frequently tell Gladio to back off of Noctis. Iris, Gladio’s sister, survived the attack on our home because some loyal servants of the Amicitias and we met up with her in Lestallum. She, too, was affected by her father’s death but she hated to let anyone see it. I’ve walked in on her crying a few times and was sworn to secrecy not to tell anyone. Do you get it now?”

Ella’s anger melted away and she felt immense pity for Gladio and his sister, who was pushed out into the real world too quick. She knew Gladio wasn’t one for showing weakness. He always acted too macho to reveal the feelings in his heart and when he did, he did it out of anger. He never hit anyone but he would raise his voice and say sharp things.

“I’ve told him about my family life,” remarked Ella, still curious. “Why didn’t he tell me about his?”

“Some things are more painful than others, Eleanor,” said Ignis, sitting down on the couch. “It’s not easy for Gladio to admit that he is flesh and blood too. During the time Noctis was in the Crystal, Gladio told me that he regretted not telling his father that he loved him. Gladio, of course, would tell his father that he loved him, but Gladio felt he didn’t say it enough.”

“I see,” whispered Ella, nodding, with a sad expression on her face. “Poor guy. No one would know he is carrying all that baggage around. He’s always so happy and content.”

Ignis gave her a soft smile. “Being around a loved one can change everything,” he said gently, placing a hand on her arm. “He confided in me that with you, everything will be okay. He told me that you make him feel better. You make him happier, Eleanor. You’re the reason for the twinkle in his eyes and the joy in his heart.” The sincerity of Ignis’s words made her smile and she felt a little better.

She didn’t want to dwell on depressing things so she decided to change the subject. “How about we have a movie day?” she suggested. “I’ve set up the Blu-Ray player to watch The Conjuring. What do you guys think?”

“Isn’t The Conjuring a horror movie?” asked Prompto, looking a bit nervous. “They’re not my cup of tea.”

“Oh, come on, Prompto,” said Noctis, appearing from relatively nowhere. “It’s not that bad.”

“Okay,” said the blonde, looking a bit hesitant. “But, if I end up with nightmares, I’m kicking Gladio’s ass.”

“Fair enough,” remarked Ella, shrugging as she went the put the disc in the player.

…

About thirty minutes into the movie, Prompto was clinging to Cindy and burying his face into her shoulder. Freya was hiding her face in Ignis’s shirt, trembling in fear. Luna had a protective hand over her stomach and used Noctis’s shirt as her vision block. Ignis, Noctis, Cindy, and Ella just stared at the screen in awestruck fascination. When Prompto thought it was safe, he turned and looked back at the movie only to hide again because it showed the witch Bathsheba. To make himself feel better, he started up a conversation with Ella.

“Y-you know, you and Gladio remind me of Ed and Lorraine,” he remarked in a shaky voice, making it a mission to avoid looking at the movie.

“How so?” asked Ella, chuckling, not taking her eyes off the screen. “Those two are the best power couple ever. Noct and Luna are more like them.”

“Thanks,” said Noct brightly, seeing that as a compliment.

Soon, the conversation went flat because everyone kept screaming at the jump-scares and were terrified by the creepy stuff happening. Even dignified Ignis jumped in shock. Prompto was pretty much sobbing at the end when the exorcism was almost done. When Ed condemned Bathsheba back to hell, everyone did an ovation. They were happy that the bitch was sent back to hell where she belonged. Finally, the movie ended and everyone was quiet until Ella spoke up.

“Anyone wanna watch the second one?” she asked with a devious smirk on her face.

“No way in hell!” yowled Prompto, trembling like a leaf. “I’m done with scary things!” As soon as he said that, the power went out and the room was pitch black. A loud, high-pitched scream came from Prompto and he jumped into Ella’s lap like he was a five-year-old.

Ella felt like her legs were going to lose circulation because how large Prompto was. He wasn’t fat but he was muscular and muscle weighed more than fat. He wrapped his arms around her neck and sobbed into her shoulder like a child. Apparently, he was too afraid to know that she felt like she was being strangled by him.

“Prompto,” she said in a strained, choked tone. “The house has a back-up generator. It will turn the lights back on in a second.”

“It’s Bathsheba!” he screamed, ignoring her trying to reason with him. “The witch has come to kill us!”

“No, she hasn’t, Prom,” said Noctis, reaching around in the dark to grab Prompto by the arm. “It’s just a movie and the Warrens condemned her to hell so she can’t come back. I promise she isn’t here.”

That calmed Prompto down a bit. “Really?” he asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

“Yeah, hon,” said Cindy gently, placing a hand on his other arm. “That witch ain’t coming back. ‘Sides, if she did, y’all could send her back. Y’all fought daemons. She’s a cake-walk compared to them.”

“You’re right,” said Prompto in a confident tone, unaware he was still on Ella. “We are stronger than her.”

“As great as that is, Prompto,” squeaked Ella, pushing on his chest to get his attention, “could you please get off of me? You weigh more than you look, you know.”

“A-are you calling me fat?” asked Prompto, sounding wounded.

“N-no,” wheezed Ella, feeling as if her chest would explode because how heavy Prompto was. “Muscle weighs more than fat, meathead.”

“Oh,” said Prompto cheerfully, getting off of her lap.

As soon as he was off, Ella gasped to catch her breath and placed a hand to her chest to slow her racing heart. “God, Prompto,” she sighed, shaking her head. “You are bigger than me, you know that, right?”

“Well, not by much,” he pointed out. “You’re five foot four and I’m five foot eight.”

Ella let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes, and she straightened in her seat. “I swear, when the lights are back on again, I will kick your little Chocobo booty.” That sounded like a promise, but Prompto knew she wouldn’t act on it. He was too lovable to stay angry at. However, he got off her lap and it felt like she could breathe again. It was a like a huge bag of bricks had been lifted off of her.

Suddenly, the front door slammed open and shut and everyone jumped like it was a gunshot going off. Prompto was back in Ella’s arms and everyone huddled around each other in a protective manner.

“It’s the witch!” bawled Prompto, clinging to Ella again. “She’s here to kill us!”

Everyone was too scared to deny his claim and tensed up. Noctis and Ignis got in front of the women and Prompto to form a protective shield. Like predators, they carefully walked over to the entrance of the living room to confront whatever was coming. It wasn’t long before Prompto jumped up and joined the other two, pulling his pistol out of its carrier. Ella positioned herself in front of Luna and Cindy just in case a crazy axe murderer was going to strike at them. A large black figure moved down the hallway leading into the living room and Ella’s heart skipped a beat.

A low, familiar groan came from the figure but no one relaxed. “I’m exhausted,” complained the voice, sounding very much like Gladio. “Hey, why are the lights off?”

As soon as he said those words, the lights flickered back on and the heater came back on. The first thing Ella saw was Gladio standing in the entrance of the living room looking like a giant human popsicle. His police uniform and official jacket were covered in white powder and his face was unusually pale. His lower jaw trembled with shivers and shaky breaths came from his blue lips. His long black hair was completely mussed from the storm and his amber eyes were full of exhaustion. It was apparent that willpower was the only thing keeping him on his feet.

Ella dashed over to him and threw her arms around him, ignoring the fact that he was freezing. She ran her fingers through his drenched, tangled hair and held him tightly, trying to transfer her body heat to him. It wasn’t like Gladio to get cold easily. He always felt like a huge furnace and it kept Ella warm in bed. The fact that he was shaking from head to toe told Ella how cold it was outside.

“You need to get out of these wet clothes,” she said immediately, peeling his jacket off his shoulders. “We need to get you into a hot bath or shower. You’ll catch pneumonia if you don’t get warm and dry soon.”

“Ella, baby,” he said shakily, trying to sound strong and nonchalant, “really, I’m fine. I’ve been through worse.”

That wasn’t untrue but she didn’t want to hear it. “Gladio, get into the bathroom and into the tub,” she said, enunciating her words slowly like she was talking to an idiot. “You’ll catch your death from chill.”

“Babe, I’m fine,” he said again, taking her warm hands into his cold ones.

“Gladiolus, don’t argue with her,” said Ignis, coming to Ella’s rescue and sounding just like his usual mother-hen self. “She’s right. You’ll get ill if you don’t get warm soon. Go draw a hot bath and soak in it. It will raise your temperature again.”

“Iggy, I’m fine,” he repeated, sounding more annoyed this time. “Stop mothering me.”

“Dude, your lips are blue,” intoned Noct, pointing to Gladio’s mouth. “Do what Ella says. You’ll get hypothermia if you don’t warm up.”

Gladio looked like he wanted to deny it but he conceded with a sigh. “Fine,” he groused, pursing his lips in a pout. “But only if she takes a bath with me.” He wrapped his arms around Ella in a possessive way, not unlike a child latching to its mother’s leg when going to school the first time.

Cindy and Luna hid their laughs with coughs and Ella’s face flooded with heat, making her face crimson. She would never hear the end of it from the others. She knew Gladio could be clingy sometimes when it came to her. He was acting like a big baby.

“Alright,” sighed Ella a little dramatically. “But it’s a bath only, Gladio. No…playtime in the tub, okay? That’d be a mess I’d have to clean up later.” Her stern look dissuaded any argument Gladio might have.

“Okay,” he agreed a little reluctantly, deflated from her words.

With that, the two walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind them.

…

Once in the tub, Gladio sat behind Ella and she had her back resting against his muscled chest, sighing in contentment. He wrapped his arms around her stomach and smelled the fresh scent of her skin. When he looked down past her shoulder, he could see her breasts lifting and falling with each breath she took. She looked very happy being in his arms again. He wanted to make some passionate love to her but he was going to respect her wishes and hold off. Just feeling her nestled up in his arms was enough.

“Don’t fall asleep,” he said, his chest rumbling from his voice.

“I’m not,” she murmured, her eyelids heavy from weariness. “I’m not sleepy.”

Gladio smiled at her in a fond manner and stroked her arms with his large, calloused hands, making her sleepier. He kissed her on the side of her head and his lips trailed down her cheek and neck, stopping at where her shoulder and neck met. She let a small smile spread across her face and rested her head on his shoulder.

“That feels nice, Gladio,” she murmured, sounding very pleased.

“You haven’t been sleeping well, huh, baby?” Even though it was a question, he knew the answer because he had been in her bed. He knew that she was exhausted from her work.

“The weather has been hell on my job,” she whispered, tension building in her brow. “Not many people buying means no money, which means not much in the bank, and that—”

“Shh,” murmured Gladio, kissing the shell of her ear. “Let it go, baby. Go to your quiet place.”

She allowed a chuckle to escape her lips. “Shut up,” she teased, poking him and leaving a crescent-shaped indent with one of her long, sharp nails. “How do you feel, Gladio?”

“I’m warming up if that’s what you’re asking,” he replied suavely, running his fingers over her stomach. “On the other hand, there’s something else that’s warming up too.”

When she looked back at him, she saw him giving her a sultry smirk and it made her feel weak. She knew she told him no bath sex but he was too damn persuasive. The look he was giving her made her breathless. His half-lidded amber eyes were dark, almost a melted color, and his lips were parted. She turned so her body was facing him and placed her hands on either side of his face, bending to press her lips to his. As soon as their lips met, Gladio reacted immediately and moved so his wet form covered hers. Ella spread her legs to accompany him and he sank into her effortlessly with a deep groan.

The love-making was fast and erratic as if Gladio was needing it to feel alive. He had a rough hand supporting her back and surged into her, causing her to let out moans of bliss. She couldn’t even breathe because of the heat and how she could feel his deep thrusts in her throat. She wrapped her arms around him and arched up into him, pressing her chest against his. He let out a growling moan and came deep inside of her, holding her tightly. She looked at him through blurred eyes and could see the passion and adoration in his handsome face. A smile spread on her face and she caressed his cheek with a gentle hand.

A loud moan came from her as she reached her climax and her inner muscles contracted around his member. She dug her nails into his back and her head fell back, giving him access to her throat. Gladio’s vengeful lips sought her neck and began kissing and biting it, leaving marks on her skin. She didn’t feel any pain because she was in the throes of ecstasy. In the midst of her high, she was dimly aware of Gladio fisting her caramel locks of hair and growling her name. Hot cream shot into her uterus and it prompted her to release, hard. She screamed out Gladio’s name as she clenched around him and released her liquid onto his member.

Finally, boneless, she fell against him, her cheek resting against his chest, and drifted between awake and asleep. Gladio ran a soothing hand down the column of her back and smiled when she nuzzled into him. They stayed in the water until it started to cool. Gladio pulled out of her but kept her in a tight embrace. With all of his strength, he picked her up and carried her out of the tub, wrapping her up in a towel first before wrapping himself.

After he wrapped the towel around himself, he gazed back at Ella and saw her legs were trembling with the effort to keep herself upright. He tried not to feel prideful, but he couldn’t help himself. It gave him primal glee to know that he reduced her to a shaking, graceless mess. Smiling, he approached her and scooped her up, carrying her out of the bathroom with her head resting on his shoulder. He knew that she was almost asleep. Her breathing became steady and even.

When he stepped out into the family room, he saw that the gang was watching a movie about an animated lion cub and the cub was crying out for his dad. He recognized the movie as something from Disney, one of the biggest animation studios ever, but this one wasn’t entirely light and cheerful. The cub found his father’s body and began crying and snuggling into the body. Gladio gazed over at Noctis and saw that the king was crying out loud. The poor man was bent over, his face buried in his hands, and Luna wrapped her arms around him, tears in her eyes as well. Gladio didn’t know what the movie was all about since he just got out of the bathroom, but he knew it hit Noctis hard.

“What’s going on?” Gladio asked quietly, looking over to Ignis for answers.

“Freya turned on this movie called The Lion King,” explained the tawny-haired man, nibbling on his bottom lip nervously. “It’s about a young lion prince and his relationship with his father. The cub’s uncle murdered the father and the little cub is devastated. I think Freya didn’t know how hard this movie would hit Noctis. She didn’t know about his father.”

Gladio’s gaze traveled over to the bent over king and saw that Freya and Prompto were trying to comfort him. He felt deep pity for the young king. He didn’t know that his father’s death still affected him like this.

“For heaven’s sake, Gladiolus,” hissed Ignis, getting the shield’s attention.

“What, Iggy?” Gladio was lost as to why Ignis sounded so scandalized.

“Put some clothes on,” he said, exasperated. Sometimes, Ignis felt like the only adult in this family.

Gladio just remembered that he and Ella were still naked from the bath and hurried to get to their room. As Gladio was drying her off, Ella seemed to wake up enough to get dressed. She selected a loose long-sleeved shirt and a pair of warm, comfortable woolen pants and she tied her hair up in a sloppy manner. Without a further word, she got into bed and bundled herself up under the covers, falling asleep almost immediately. Gladio gave the sleeping woman a kiss on the forehead and stroked her cheek with a gentle hand.

“I love you, baby,” he whispered to her, feeling her shift under his touch.

“I love you too,” she mumbled before turning on her side and going into a deep doze.

With a fond smile, Gladio turned the light off, walked out of the room, and carefully shut the door behind him. Ella needed some rest after the hectic week she had been through. He was exhausted too but he was used to grueling work. He was trained for it, and he expected it. However, Ella was a small woman and she wasn’t used to heavy work. The snow made it extra hard for her because it did some water damage to the store and ruined some of the stock. That was money being lost and it had to be replaced, but trucks or planes couldn’t make it out in the storm. He’d help her, but she was more stubborn than him. He loved that about her.

When he got back to the living room, he saw that Noctis was wrapped in a blanket roll and the tears were gone. His face was still flushed and his eyes were red-rimmed. However, he seemed better now that the death scene was over. Gladio let out a sigh and walked over to sit next to Noct, who scooted a bit to give the larger man some room.

“Where’s Ella?” stage-whispered Prompto, leaning over from his spot on the other couch.

“Sleeping,” replied Gladio quietly so he wouldn’t interrupt the movie. “She was bone-tired after that bath. Hell, she almost fell asleep in the tub.”

“Indeed, she would have if you didn’t make her, as you put it, bone-tired,” interjected Ignis, giving the large man a disapproving look.

Gladio had the grace to look flustered and embarrassed. “You heard that, huh?” he muttered, nibbling on his lower lip.

“We all did, Gladio,” commented Freya dryly, turning to give him a deadpan look. “Why do you think we turned The Lion King on? You were both too loud. Also, we could hear the thudding in the tub.”

Prompto let out a snort. “If you really wanna get the motor running, why don’t you just fuck her at work?” he suggested sarcastically. “I’m sure that would get her rocks off.”

Gladio smirked at the idea. “Not a bad idea,” he admitted, looking devious. “I’d love to bend her over the desk, rip open her professional outfit, and bury myself right in her—”

“Are you done?” hissed Noctis, shooting them all a glare. “I’m watching my movie.”

“Sorry, princess,” said Gladio, settling back on the couch. “I didn’t know a movie about an animated lion and his doofus co-pilots meant so much to you.”

“In Noct’s perspective,” came Luna’s soft voice, “he’s Simba, I’m Nala, Prompto is Timon, Ignis is Zazu, and you, Gladiolus, are Pumbaa.”

“He thinks I’m that fatass pig!” Gladio sounded horrified. “That’s rude, Noct!”

“You’re right, Gladiolus,” agreed Ignis, his irritation coming to the surface. “The pig is smarter than you.”

That burn was too much for Prompto. The blonde fell over Cindy and the couple began snorting and laughing. Freya had to bite her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing out loud. Ignis seemed proud of his little zinger. Noctis put a hand over his mouth to smother his laughter and Luna, to her credit, did a good job hiding her chuckles. However, when she did, she felt a sharp-shooting pain in her abdomen. It felt like her pelvis was screaming in pain. She had felt some cramps during the day, but thought it was just pregnancy gas. However, these cramps felt different. Noctis seemed to notice her discomfort.

“Lu, you okay?” he asked, concerned for his wife.

“I-it’s fine, Noct,” she said weakly, placing a hand on her stomach. “I just felt some pain.”

“Hey, where’s that odd water coming from?” asked Prompto, pointing out a growing stain near Luna’s legs.

Ignis and Gladio knew immediately what it was. Freya bolted off of her comfortable position near Ignis and ran to turn the lights on, noticing the water was from Luna herself. Noctis and Prompto began to panic. Luna was in shock, but she wasn’t terrified.

“Oh, shit,” said Gladio, running to grab his phone. “We need to call an ambulance.”

“We can’t!” snapped Ignis, his stress coming out as anger. “The roads are bloody closed! The ambulance wouldn’t make it!”

“Airlift?” suggested Freya, a note of hysteria in her voice.

“It’s too dangerous,” negated Ignis, shaking his head. “She’s either going to have to hold on, or she delivers right here in the family room. Freya, love, you are a medical practitioner. You’ve delivered babies.”

“No, I haven’t!” screamed Freya, panicking. “I’ve delivered puppies and kittens, not human babies!”

“How different can it be?” asked Prompto, smiling in his fear.

Before Freya could answer, Luna let out a pain-filled scream and placed a hand on her stomach, bracing herself. The scream made everyone jump and shake. They had never heard such a horrible sound from the sweet, quiet woman known as Luna. Dismissing her obvious lack of training, Freya was the first to move.

“We are not delivering this baby in the living room,” she said sharply. “Noct, carry her to your room. Ignis, get me some towels, scissors, and water. Make sure you disinfect the scissors. I have some rubbing alcohol in the bathroom. Gladio, wake up Ella and tell her it’s time. Prompto, you and Cindy keep trying to get ahold of the hospital. The phone lines and cell service are most likely knocked out but keep trying.” Everyone just stared at her, not moving, as they took her in her orderly, professional attitude that she portrayed at work. “Go! Now!” At the sound of her voice, everyone moved.

Noctis scooped Luna up and dashed out of the living room. Ignis ran about the house looking for the items Freya told him to find. Gladio was quick in going to his and Ella’s room to wake his sleeping lover up. Freya ran into hers and Ignis’s room and changed into some scrubs. She found some rubber gloves and went into the process of scrubbing her hands. Ignis was in the same bathroom with her, disinfecting the scissors like she ordered. They barely acknowledged each other because how important this was.

After cleaning her hands, Freya slipped on the gloves and ran into Noctis and Luna’s room. Ignis followed after her with the towels, scissors, and a basin of warm water. Ella was in the room, hair mussed from sleeping but wide awake. She held Luna’s hand as the woman tensed with a contraction. Noctis hurried to pull up her maternity gown and remove her panties, so Freya could get to work. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Freya carefully spread Luna’s legs and saw that it was past being time to deliver.

“Okay, Luna, I need you to push,” instructed Freya, positioning her hands in front of Luna’s vaginal opening to catch the baby when it was time.

With a loud scream, Luna pushed and squeezed Noctis and Ella’s hands, sweating with the exertion. Noctis felt like passing out but he had to be strong for his wife’s sake. He glanced over to Freya, who looked deep in concentration, and Ignis, whose face was a pale shade of green, and noted that whatever the other man saw, it wasn’t pretty and Ignis had seen some shit.

Much to their shock, Prompto came in with the camera he got for Christmas and prepared to take pictures. Noctis was wondering what the fuck Prompto was thinking, but couldn’t find himself to care. Luna, however, noticed and went into full daemon mode.

“GET OUT!” she screamed at the blonde, who was shaken by the sight of the baby crowning.

The man ran out of the room, green in the face, and went to throw up presumably. Luna didn’t seem to give a shit at the moment because she was still pushing and screaming out her agony. Ella grabbed a washcloth and pressed it to Luna’s forehead, wiping the sweat away. Noctis stroked the hair out of Luna’s face and caressed her cheeks, trying to keep her calm.

After what felt like hours later, the baby was finally out. Freya’s brown eyes were full of tears and a smile spread across her face as the beautiful little human fell into her hands. Ignis was quick in getting a towel and wrapped the baby up. Freya took the scissors from Ignis and snipped the umbilical cord, snapping the baby free from its bonds from the sac. The little one let out a mewling cry and the happy parents looked to see their pride and joy. Luna and Noctis fell in love with the baby instantly. Freya handed the baby to its beaming mother and Noctis had nothing but love and happiness in his eyes.

“It’s a beautiful girl,” said Freya, her voice weak and hoarse from shock.

Everyone noticed that the baby had a small tuft of black hair and the congratulations commenced. Gladio walked over to Noct and pulled the smaller man into a hug. Ignis patted Noct on the shoulder and beamed at his crying friend. Prompto dashed in, camera in hand, and snapped a picture of the baby immediately. He threw his arms around Noctis and hugged his friend tight.

“Congratulations, man!” he cried, patting his buddy on the back. “She’s beautiful!”

“Yeah, looks nothing like you,” jabbed Gladio, smirking in a teasing manner.

“Oh, shut up,” snapped Noctis but his smile never wavered.

The boys crowded around Luna and the baby, oohing and awing over the tiny person. Ella helped Freya with the afterbirth and hugged her shaken sister tight. Cindy ran in, phone in hand, and smiled upon seeing Luna and the baby.

“Great news,” she breathed, green eyes beaming. “I got through to the hospital and they’re sending an ambulance.”

“About bloody time,” snorted Ignis, shaking his head. “Freya here already did their work for them.” He went over to his lover and kissed her on the forehead, noting how pale she was. “Are you alright, darling?”

“I just helped a woman deliver a baby, Ignis,” replied Freya, eyes wide. “How do you think I’m doing? I’ve never delivered a human baby before.”

“You did beautifully, my love,” he purred, pressing a kiss to her neck. His lips started trailing lower and lower, over her shoulder, until Freya lightly patted him on the chest.

“Stop it,” she reproved, but she was smiling. She couldn’t help it. He was too magnetic and persuasive. She wondered how anyone could resist him once he turned the charm on. “We can do this later. Preferably after I shower.”

Ignis gave nod but his green eye darkened with lust at the thoughts of what was to come. He was anticipating and his body was waking up at his salacious thoughts. He couldn’t wait to get her alone. All he wanted was to pin her to a bed and adore her until her body was sore and trembling. To distract himself, he gazed over at the happy couple holding their baby. He smiled softly and saw how tenderly Noctis kissed his wife on the forehead. He felt like a proud father and wished that King Regis could see this.

“I haven’t seen anything this miraculous since the Lady Lunafreya healed my sight and allowed me to see you,” said Ignis, smiling at Freya, who blushed crimson.

“That had to be your best Christmas gift, huh?” Freya was only poking fun at him, but she knew he meant it.

“Of course,” he replied in a silky tone, pressing another kiss to her temples.

“You did good,” she said softly, wrapping her arms around him and squeezed him tight as they watched everyone admire the baby.

“No, you did,” said Ignis, giving her a look of pure love and adoration. He gave her another kiss on the forehead and held her close.

It didn’t take long for the EMTs to arrive with a stretcher. Even though Luna was fine, they still placed her and the baby on the bed and ran her out to the ambulance. Noctis ran after them, followed by Prompto and Cindy. Freya dashed after the EMTs and told them everything that happened, about how she was a veterinarian and that she was the only one who knew how to deliver a baby.

As Gladio watched everything happening, he realized that there was a never dull moment in this crazy family and he hoped it would never go away. The craziness fit their family. It’s what made them, well, them. This was them. This was their family, and they couldn’t be happier. No matter what hard times would come, they would always lean on each other, like many families did before them. This was a family that many wanted and that Gladio felt blessed and lucky to have. He wouldn’t trade it for the world. He found his reasons for living and continuing on, and this was it. He couldn’t wait to see what the coming years would bring him and it anticipated it with open arms. As long as Ella and his family were at his side, he didn’t need anything more. The future was waiting and he couldn’t wait to be a part of it.

#gladiolus amicitia #original female character #gladio/ofc #ignis scientia #ignis/ofc #prompto argentum #cindy aurum #prompto/cindy #noctis lucis caelum #lunafreya nox fleuret #noctluna

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marshall-chamberlain · 8 years ago

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MALphelia :: Black Magic of Mullholland Drive

Who: Alex, Marshall, Ophelia, and Harley. What: The boys trying to get their bodies back feat Ophelia and a little bit of Harley later. Where: After the Magic anon 4/19 Notes: Cursing, Anger, Cuteness, Failure.

Marshall rolled his eyes at his brother. "Great now we're at a "I-know-you-know-I-know" situation and I hate that." It irritated him that his brother avoided him the way he had, but he sounded teasing nonetheless. "If it lasted how it had, it would've lasted longer, but they were stupid and got themselves killed." He could be to blame, and he did blame himself for no protecting them, but that was a different story. "Lets save a talk for a day when we're in our own bodies, m'kay pumpkin?" Marshall gave a smile that really fit Alex, which he could only blame on the body swap. "Oh how cute." The older boy responded to his brother's nickname of the blonde.

Ophelia had woken up as soon as 'Alex' left the room earlier. She didn't think much of it, she knew he left in a hurry but she didn't know why. Not really. By the time the boys showed up she was dressed and starting to lazily make food with magic. Hearing Alex call for her made her move out of the kitchen towards him, though she of course went towards the one that looks like 'her twin'. "Hey you.." She called out before moving to kiss Alex's cheek.. though it was actually Marshall's in their current spot.

Alex laughed at his brother's joke. "We could definitely get into that conversation," he grinned. "Sounds like someone's not over it," Alex muttered. "Whatever you say, buttercup," Alex returned with the same grin, though it was creepy how good of an impression his brother did of him. He glared at Marshall automatically as Ophelia kissed him. "Oph," he said again, chewing on his lip. "Wrong twin." He was proud enough that she could tell them apart. "For once," his voice was still Marshall's and it bugged him now. The hilarity of the situation had faded.

Marshall didn't move as the blonde neared him, and he let her kiss his cheek. A small laugh escaping him as his brother slightly piped up about the switch. "Oh but it was such a nice greeting." Marshall responded through a grin as he caught his brothers glare. He didn't dare touch Ophelia, this was enough for now.

Alex "It was meant for me, asshole," Alex growled. His brother's grin was infuriating enough. "You enjoyed that too much."

Ophelia was easily more than puzzled. She knew that glare and pulled back from 'Alex', nearly dropping the things in the kitchen at the distraction. "..Excuse me." The witch said to set things down and turn things off before returning to the boys again as they finished bickering. "I'm sorry- I'm just.. What is going on here?" The blonde asks as she looked between them. She knew the differences: the voices, the hair, the markings. After a moment she moved forward to pull Alex's collar back on his shirt. But it was Marshall's body. "You don't have your scar. Which means he has to." She said pointing to Alex's body. "So... who did I kiss? I'm lost."

Alex shook his head. "Marshall," he growled. In a more gentle voice, he responded to Ophelia. "You kissed Marshalll." He turned to Marshall. "There, that was your revenge for my kissing Harley. Great." He pulled Ophelia towards him, wrapping his arms around her protectively. "Proud as all hell that you know the difference between us, but we got cursed." He swallowed. "Wondering if you knew how to fix this with your magic stuff?" He looked to Marshall, sending him an "I told you it wasn't her fault" look to him at her obvious confusion in all of it.

Ophelia 's eyes widened slightly as he growled at her the way he had. He never growled at her like that when the talked about jealousy before. "I kissed Marshall?" She asks looking between the boys again, and back to Alex.. who looked like Marshall. "Revenge for kissing Harley?" The witch knew that Alex and Harley had kissed, but didn't know when, and she could only hope it was before she was even in Alex's picture. Before she could even finish that thought, he'd pulled her into him, her hands landing on his chest as she looked up to him. It was strange to say it was him but it wasn't at the same time. A smile took over his lips at his compliment. "Cursed.." She repeats softly to let him finish. "I can try?" The witch responds with a small shrug before looking between the boys again. "My fault?[/i

Marshall chuckled slightly as Alex got so jealous, even thinking back to their living years- he couldn't think of a time Alex was this jealous. Aside from Darla, but that was something different. This was different. "She kissed my cheek and I didn't do shit." He corrects with a pointed look at his brother. "So no, this isn't even, but do keep wearing that deep green shade of jealousy. You wear it so nicely." Marshall said through a smirk. "Right, because it was just me thinking it was he, right?" If the ship was sinking, they were both going down.

Alex felt immediately guilty for growling. It was Marshall, though. Marshall near Ophelia was worse than anyone else near Ophelia. He felt more like himself, despite the tongue piercing constantly in his awareness, when Ophelia was in his arms. "That was once. I feel nauseated thinking about it. You can have your twelve year old brat," he muttered, looking back to Ophelia, sure that he got the better straw in this deal. "Fuck off," he muttered to Marshall in response to Marshall's comment on his jealousy, not even looking away from Ophelia. "Yeah, just you," he lied.

Marshall rolled his eyes. "Oh but it was fine to start a bull shit fight over." He comments just above a mumble, leaving out the fact that it was basically a suicide mission for Alex. "Don't call her 12. I don't need to feel like a pedophile because my crazy blonde acts like a child in different ways than yours does." He'd met ophelia in their time here, enough times to know she could pout like a 3 year old and go from sad to happy like one as well. "I'd love to but I still look like you and I don't want you to do something stupid with my body- like fuck your girlfriend." His eyes looked between the two love birds and as much as he was happy for his brother, it was nauseating. "That's some bull shit because even you said she could possibly fix it which means you think she could've possibly done it."

Alex ignored his brothers mumbling. He snorted, looking over at his brother, before his smile faded. He squeezed her closer to him protectively. "Well, now look what you've done," he muttered. He looked at Ophelia at his brother's words, raising his eyebrows in a slight smirk at her. He turned back to Marshall anyhow. "That would require me seeing you naked again, not something I'd like," he shook his head. "I said she could fix it because she's a witch and she knows how to fix shit, but go ahead put words in my mouth." He rolled his eyes.

Ophelia smiled slightly as he said he felt bad- no- nauseated. "She's obsessed with him anyways so I don't care." She said while shaking her head, feeling more comfortable against an unfamiliar body. It wasn't a full lie, she just really really wanted it to be before she was in the picture. The way they fought made her hold back a snicker. Her arms wrapping around his neck as he squeezed her closer, if not just by muscle memory. That being until the comments about her when she pulled back the slightest bit, not really wanting him to let go of her and vice versa. "I'm a mental lady and it looks like you both signed up for someone mental and clearly so did we childish blondes." She throws a look to both the boys and finally pulls away from Alex. "If we're going to try and mess with this, I need books." The witch said while pointing to the front door of Alex's room, just to have it open as she did.

Marshall gave a forced puff of air, his eyes closing for a moment as he shook his head. An actual 'wtf' moment. "What the fuck did I do?" He asks before growing wide eyed. "Dude I still haven't pissed, let's drop it." There was a part of him that felt bad for calling Ophelia out along with Harley but if the ship was going down, then apparently 4 of them were going down with only 3 in the room. "Sorry." The vampire pushed out half-heartedly as she left to get her books

Alex felt warmer instantly with Ophelia's arms around his neck. She put him at ease. "You're my favorite mental lady. The only one I'll ever need," he preened, trying to make up for what his brother said "You suggested it," he muttered, grinning back to Ophelia. Alex grinned with pride when she opened the door to leave. He looked to Marshall boastfully, not that it would matter. "She called me sir once," he smirked.

Marshall shook his head. "I suggested keeping an eye on you so you didn't use my body for that." He corrects as the smaller blonde left the room. A scoff escaped the man as his brother started to boast about his one time. "That's called submission, and I really hope it's happened to you before this girl."

Ophelia left for her room to grab a few books in her hands a few were put into a mental rucksack for her to float to Alex's room behind her. It didn't take her long to get back, of course. "So.. you guys are fast runners, but how's your reading?" She asks while setting the books on the kitchen table in neat piles. There was left over static on them as they sat on the table top, though she kept one in hand to start reading it. "I doubt i'll be any help. It's not my spell which means i probably can't reverse it."

Alex rolled his eyes. "It has, you twat. But it was expected with other girls. Nicer with Ophelia." Upon Ophelia's return, he looked at Marshall. "He's an English professor. English nerd too," he jerked his head toward Marshall with a grin and lifted up his shirt to show Marshall's raven tattoo. "Poe reference, how fucking original." He bit his lip, thinking about his own habits. "And I read. A lot. And write some." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. Strange how he hadn't told Ophelia about his second favorite pastime.

Marshall scoffed slightly again at his brother's response. "Nicer with Ophelia." He mimicked his own voice, because it just sounded funny hearing himself say it twice. Though he was soon shot back at with the Poe tattoo. "Right because yours are any better." He motioned to his burning book. "Go fuck yourself, my man." For some stupid reason a smirk started to pull at the corners of his mouth as he rolled his eyes. It probably had to do with how much Alex seemed to suck up to Ophelia. He hadn't seen that in a long while. It used to be him that Aldwyn sucked up to.

Ophelia giggled a bit as the boys went back and forth with tattoos. "Girls, girls- you’re both pretty." She said waving them over to the table as she walked and read at the same time. Her head only lifting as Alex said he read and wrote, a small smile arrived and left in an instant. It was just for him really. "Well it sounds like you both won't have a problem helping me with the books. Be careful of the shocks though. Just search for something with transformations. Skim."

Alex glared at his brother when he was mocked. He snorted, realizing that the way his brother mocked him was exactly the way he mocked Marshall. "I really do have a terrible impression of what you sound like," he laughed. He bit his, lip shaking his head at his brother. He held up his middle finger in return. Impressing Ophelia wasn't something he did purposefully, but every time she smiled at him, he got a burst of energy. He caught the smile she'd given him, knowing he'd be blushing if he had the ability. He bit his lip and looked down shyly, rocking back and forth on his heels until she gave him instructions. "Your books have shocks too?" he asked, a slight smile audible in his voice.

Marshall 's brows rose as Alex agreed with him. "See? I'm not just a completely cocky bastard." He says with a pointed look. The middle finger, all of it really, made a laugh finally leave him. "Like a teenager again." He mumbled before sitting at the table to take a book after her warning. It wasn't a bad shock, but like a carpet-sock shock.

Ophelia the smile was heard and she looked back over her shoulder to him. "Left over static from being carried in magically." She reminds before picking up a book to hand to him. "Otherwise, no, not unless I've locked them. Then they'll be covered in much worse."

Alex smiled at his brother's laugh. "Shut up," he muttered to Marshall, sitting down next to him. He took the book from her, barely phased by a shock as small as this one at this point. The shocks from kissing her were much better. "Right, you might want to warn me which ones you've locked."

Ophelia let out a small laugh as the boys started up again. "Well they kinda glow purple and they're in their own dark section so like.. don't go there?" She suggested before smiling between them again "But I'll show you eventually. I gotta speed read if we need to get anything fixed outta here."

Alex turned his attention back to Ophelia at her laugh, though he should have been skimming his book. She was quite aware that he was in love with her by now. He was aware of it too. Marshall was probably being choked by that awareness. "I'll remember that," he nodded. He nodded in agreement turning back to the book she'd handed to him. He started to read through. His mind worked faster than human minds, making it easier and faster to read. He'd read probably ten pages before he got distracted by Ophelia again. He watched her as she read, beautiful, stunning, gorgeous as she always was.

Ophelia nodded slightly and opened the book to the first real page. She placed a hand on each page and closed her eyes. The pages lit up slightly as she started to scan about 30 pages before she felt Alex's eyes on her and she opened them to look at him. They were just a bright white until she took her hands off the pages where they flipped to where she'd stopped in real time. "So give me some clues, you guys just.. woke up like each other? You didn't do anything, right?"

Marshall gave a slight groan at the two love birds, he was happy it wasn't him for once. When he saw the way she'd worked he was honestly amazed. Her question had his eyes darting between her and Alex for a moment. "You wanna answer that, or?"

Alex rolled his eyes at his brother. "No. I woke up, and I was you and you were freaking out outside the door to your room," he recounted. He rubbed his eyes. "No, fucking clue."

Ophelia let out a little giggle until she realized that Marshall had left Alex's bed with her in it. "I really hope no one saw anything of mine in all this mess." She says in passing, shaking her head at the idea before diving back into the book the way she had a moment ago. "Whatever this is.." She says as she opens her eyes and they're that bright white again. "... I don't think it'll last long."

Marshall chuckled at his brother. "I had a right to freak out." He comments before looking to Ophelia. "I saw nothing, I didn't even know you were in the bed until I got to the bathroom." The vampire clarifies as he looks back to the book in his hands. "So far I don't see anything down here about body switching or transformations."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Once again, no chill." He stared at his brother before he answered Ophelia's question. Alex rubbed his temple and attempted to read again. In a couple minutes, he was done with the book. There was nothing. He looked up at Ophelia. "How are you so sure about that?"

Marshall shrugged. "At least you're not growling because I saw her or something." He comments while looking up from his book for a moment. In nearly identical timing he set his book down with Alex and started for another one, only this time he actually got shocked by it. "Fuck" The vampire mumbled before opening it up anyways, shaking his head at it.

Ophelia stopped once she'd finished the book, her eyes returning to normal, though she kept this one open. "I'm just happy I wasn't seen. That would've been awful." She says and turns to a page by just waving her fingers. "I think I read something back over here that says something about spells happening fast. Plus.. we're on a a TV show so like.. This could be planned for just an episode, you know?"

Alex turned to Marshall. "Did you?" he asked, brown eyes dark and staring into his brother's. He snickered as he saw his brother get shocked by the book. "You get used to it," he said lightly, picking up one for himself. "It would have been a privilege for him, though I'd have to kill him," he said lightly. "So a privilege with consequences." His grin faded as she spoke. "Well, shit," he mumbled, disappointed that they couldn't change back right away. "We'll lose our streak then."

Marshall gave Alex the worst deadpan of a look. "She was covered up the whole time. I left the bed and didn't even know she was in there, which means I wasn't even touching her- calm down." His eyes narrowed at his brother for a moment. He looked away when he was shocked but looked back as he snickered. "I'll be fine without getting used to shocks from your girl, thanks."

Ophelia 's cheeks started to turn a deeper red as Alex mumbled to himself. She could only hope Marshall didn't mine or really wouldn't catch on fast. "It's fine, we'll just have to start over for a new one." She shrugged and shut the book, moving for another one in false hope

Alex wasn't entirely convinced. He looked at Ophelia for some verification of what his brother said, providing she could remember and she hadn't been entirely asleep. "Marshall got his panties in a bunch over a little shock," he said, exaggerating his brother's accent to sound even more pompous that it already did. Alex looked down disappointedly. "Still stupid."

Marshall rolled his eyes again. "Yes, do please twist my words." He says calmly before looking between the two lovebirds. Mostly at Alex. "Mate- are you actually sad over what I think you are?" The last thing he wanted to talk about was Alex and Ophelia having sex for multiple days in a row, but here we were.

Ophelia sped through a great few pages before Alex's pouting made her chuckle again. She got up, setting the book down and moved to kiss his head as she walked towards the kitchen. "I forgot I had food going on in here, do either of you need something from in here?

Alex "It's from a book, first of all. Secondly, it's like you've never gotten shocked by magic before. I thought your life had been fulfilling. I thought you'd experienced everything," he teased. "Fuck off. At least, I'm not fucking her with your body," he said, smiling sweetly. He looked up to Ophelia. "I'll get it," he said. He didn't really like the idea of her serving him blood, not yet.

Marshall shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "Right because me saying 'fuck' as I pick up a book is the biggest reaction ever, right? Nothing like trying to make yourself look better, little brother." His small smile turning to a grin. "And thanks for that, I wouldn't want you to have some reason for you to be pissed and say I fucked her when it was just you as me." The idea alone makes him cringe slightly. "Don't take too long in there."

Ophelia 's smile grew as Alex got up to follow her to the kitchen. With a wave of her hand she started to cook again, there wasn't much going on- basic pancakes and hash browns. It felt weird to want to kiss the wrong twin, but she really wanted to. It must've been the fact that she missed Alex as much as she had.

Alex "It's quite a reaction from you. You have two modes: Robot or raving lunatic." He rolled his eyes. "Thirteen minutes. Get over it," he rolled his eyes. There was definitely a difference between how they acted toward each other. He'd always thought of Marshall as the older, more level-headed one, not that he'd ever admit it. "It's tempting, can't deny that. But once again, don't want to witness you having sex, don't want to witness you naked," he responded, biting back a cringe. He turned back toward Marshall rolling his eyes. "I'll get some for you too," he muttered before heading back toward the kitchen. He watched her start breakfast again with a small smile. He was tempted to kiss her as well, but he didn't want Marshall's lips anywhere near her. He was stuck watching her from afar. He looked away, grabbing a pitcher of blood and putting it in the microwave for he and his brother to share. He leaned on the counter as he waited for it to beep, watching Ophelia cook. "You look beautiful today," he said softly. He grabbed two cups out of the cupboard and brought everything out to the table. "Bon appetít," he muttered at his brother.

Marshall "Inaccurate." He responded while shaking his head. "Now who's the over reacting one?" The man asked before letting out a laugh. "It's still 13 minutes that I was born before you." He'd always watched over Alex like he was a year or two younger even though they were the same age. Marshall was always protective over his brother, which is why he was quick to jump to conclusions about nearly anything relating to him. "Good- thank you." Was all he could agree at the cringe-worthy situation. "I don't need anything." Marshall wanted to protest though Alex had walked away by the time he said anything.

Ophelia started food on high to get it done fast though she wanted the give the boys time alone without her. When Alex walked in and started their own food she smiled to him. His compliment making her shake her head because she was a mess; her hair crazy, and she stole a shirt and pants from him in the moments she had to wake up that morning before the boys came running back. "You're a bias source for that compliment, but thank you.." It felt weird having 'Marshall' stare at her the way Alex had, though she knew it was Alex, she could feel it. It bothered her that she hadn't felt it right away however

Alex

"Too accurate. Still you." He shook his head. "Best thirteen minutes of your life, I bet," he muttered. It was weird having Marshall tease him this way again. They'd gone so quickly back to bickering like they had never lost eight hundred years. It felt nice. He'd felt less alone in the last two weeks than he'd felt in eight entire centuries. It was weird going from sharing every aspect of your life with someone to being completely alone in a matter of hours. That's what happened all those centuries ago. His brother was back. He'd hate to admit it, but he felt safer, more complete. Less like half of him was gone.

Ophelia had the ability to look beautiful regardless of what she was wearing. At least Alex thought so. "Doesn't make it untrue," he said.

Marshall shook his head. "Nope, I had tons of life without you, so it's all about the same at this point. Don't flatter yourself." Marshall says while fixing himself in his clothes, he felt uncomfortable to say the least. His eyes fell to the cups on the table and he shook his head. "You don't even hide it, huh?" He gestures to the glasses as Alex seemed to walk away again. "Can I actually trust you with my body? And what happens when you two share a bed tonight or whatever night we change back where I wake up in bed with her again?"

Ophelia moved fast to kiss his cheek, it didn't do what she wanted, but it was something. "You're still not totally correct because of your rose colored glasses, but, thank you." She mumbled against his cheek before pulling back to attend to food again

Alex looked from Marshall to the glasses and shrugged. "I know I'm a vampire, she knows I'm a vampire. You know I'm a vampire. They know I'm a vampire," he gestured around, though he wasn't entirely sure if the general public could see them right at that moment. In the kitchen, he felt fire spread in his cheeks at the feeling of her kissing him on the cheek. He pulled her back and kissed her on the lips. "Rose colored glasses or not, you're beautiful," he said quietly. Walking back out to the living room, he laughed lightly at his brother's question. "How about a sleepover. You and I take the sofas. Ophelia takes the bed. We switch back. Neither one of us wakes up in a bed with Ophelia." Hopefully all of it would end tonight.

Marshall raised his hands, shaking his head slightly, he just liked being more sly with it. Or more real depending on the night. Glasses just felt so mundane. "You're not wrong." He comments with a shrug. As his brother returned he let out a small laugh. "Oh great, it's as if we're tiny and sharing a room again. What a lovely idea." It wasn't something he really wanted, but it was better than another bout of jealous brother.

Ophelia gasped slightly as he pulled her back, she wasn't expecting it at all, but she loved it. The kiss sent a fire though her heart and she couldn't help but smile. "You're going to get us in trouble if you keep that up." She comments before pushing away from him to let him return to the other room so she could finish food

Alex grinned a little at his brother. "Rarely am." He knew his brother would protest that. It was bait for more bickering, which he was starting to like a lot. The kiss felt amazing, probably because he wasn't supposed to be kissing her. Especially with Marshall's lips. But Marshall wouldn't remember it. He wouldn't get to experience it. He sighed as she pushed away from him, longing to sweep her up in another kiss, but he didn't. "My middle name is trouble," he said in a low voice, quirking his eyebrow. At Marshall's words, he laughed. "Yeah. If I get a nightmare, will you hold me like you used to?" he asked in a high voice.

Ophelia shook her head to his low tone, she loved it far too much. "You're really gonna break a promise to your brother for a streak?" She asks trying to hold back a smile, it was a bad idea, but she was also kinda into it.

Marshall shook his head, cringing again at the idea. "That's no my job anymore, Ald." The man said while standing up as it hit him that this could confused the other gal they talked about earlier. "I should go tell Harley in case this carries on for longer than intended. Don't do something stupid with my body." The vampire warned with a look at his brother before starting off towards the other blonde's room.

Alex bit his lip thinking about it. He'd been joking, not actually suggesting anything. But the more he thought about it, the more he tried to justify it in his head. It would still be him. She'd see Marshall, but she could still feel the difference, hence how she'd barely looked at Marshall since he'd come in, since she'd realized that Alex was stuck in his body. Her eyes followed Alex. That's how he liked it. "He's my brother, so, er, yeah." He raised his eyebrows. He could tell she wanted him then. The temptation was entirely based on how it was wrong, and that's exactly why he wanted her. She turned off his brain, anyway. He'd barely remember he was Marshall. They could be fully clothed. "You should put real clothes on, though," he teased. "Not that my sweats aren't flattering. They are. I just—." He thought for a moment. "Think you might look particularly beautiful today in a skirt."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Some big brother you are," he retorted, crossing his arms. "We've talked about this. How do I know you won't fuck Harley in my body?" he raised his eyebrows accusingly. His brother left and he turned his head back towards Ophelia with a smile.

Ophelia let out a small laugh as she heard Alex's response. "I'm no help, sorry." She shrugged her shoulders, referring to the fact that she wasn't going to stop what was about to happen, she was helping Alex break his promise after all. His skirt suggestion caught her slightly off guard for a moment, but she shrugged instead and turned off the food. "I get it- sweats aren't the same and they don't hide things." The door closed which was her signal that Marshall had left so she grabbed Alex's hand and brought him to the bedroom with her. With a playful shove, she pushed him towards the bed so she could head to his closet where she'd left a few dresses by now. She quickly chose a floral pattern strapless sundress just to move back towards the bed. "Better?"

Alex shrugged. Her shove didn't do much normally, but he figured he might as well humor her. He stumbled backward, sitting down, waiting patiently. When she came out, his face lit up. "Beautiful," he said. "Though, call me crazy. Never been a fan of fucking on a bed fully clothed. Elsewhere with clothes on, maybe." He stepped closer to her. "Also, warning you. Stupid brother got his tongue pierced." He stuck his tongue out with a stupid grin.

Ophelia shook her head at the way his face lit up, as bright as a lamp. How stupid. How adorable. "I do love this dress, so thank you." She said with a nod, and she continued with his next words because she agreed. A bed and clothes was just so much fabric. "So..where is elsewhere?" The witch asks while closing the gap between them. "Warn me?" She asked just to get everything explained as she saw his tongue. A laugh left her lips at his grin, that stupid face that was too cute for his own good and it wasn't even really his face. "That's... alright." She said sounding a little unsure at first. "I think it'll be fine, really, but we don't have much time anyways, right?"

Alex leaned his head back, more and more tense the closer she was to him. "Against a wall, on a counter, on a table, in a chair," he counted off the different possibilities. "I don't think it'll take much time for either of us, considering how quickly you led me in here after Marshall left. ""

Ophelia gave a slight huff as he lifted off different places. "I was just making sure you wanted it in the apartment." She comments before letting out a laugh. "You were the one that got upset about streaks and..You started all of this." The blonde reminds gently before moving to peck his lips fast. "Choose a spot- I've literally only got this dress on so we're good."

Alex had her and sped outside the room in an instant. They were in the kitchen. "This way you can keep an eye on breakfast in case it burns." He bit his lip at her other words concerning what she was wearing. Every word she spoke was turning him on.

Ophelia gripped him tight as he sped her to the other room. "I just have to put it away at this point, I left it twice- I'm clearly not eating for a while today." She comments before giggling slightly, his lip bite just killing her. Her fingers curved over the top of his pants and she moved close to him to kiss his neck. As she did, she started to back up towards the counter, pulling him with her as she nipped his skin gently. Making sure not to leave a mark on Marshall's actual body.

Alex let his head fall back from the moment her lips touched his neck. He pressed her close to the counter. Her kisses were already letting his mind forget everything, just how he liked it. It took her no time at all to get him hard. He tipped her chin back up so that her face was near his and pressed his lips on hers parting his lips, needing to feel every inch of her mouth against his. His hands went to her dress, slowly riding up her skirt over her thighs. He pressed her into the counter, lifting her up a little bit so she could sit on it.

Ophelia smirked against his skin as his head started to fall back. There was nothing that could put to words how much she loved his reactions to her touches and kisses. A small noise left her lips as he pressed her to the counter, her heart starting to pick up in excitement. Easily her head lifted to have their lips meet, she didn't mind the tongue ring, it was something she could work around. With their eyes closed it was just Alex, there wasn't this whole.. weird..thing. Her legs started to slowly cover in goosebumps as his fingertips glided over her skin, her hands moving to rest on his shoulders as he lifted her. Her legs immediately parted for him to move between because that's how they were anymore, her left leg raised slightly so that it started to wrap over his hip to pull him flush to her and the counter.

Alex loved the noises she made. He ground against her, turned on as hell; it was all he could do. He held her hip, following her lead this time to press into her and starting the grinding once again. His hands ran up and down her thighs. The fast strokes turned to him gripping her thighs as they continued kissing, and his hands went to grip her lower back holding her even closer than before.

Ophelia gasped again as he ground into her, she loved when he did that. It was needy, she loved needy. It was just slightly awful this time because it was just Alex's own pants and underwear in the way. Every time her moved into her she got wetter, a small moan leaving her lips as he started up again. His hands on her felt like her own shocks and she couldn't explain why, but it started to generate a shock to her lips in the interim. As his hands fell to her lower back and he moved again she actually had to pull away from his lips. "No. Pants." She huffed while starting to unbutton his pants, her hand diving into stroke him immediately. Her eyes looking up to him as she did

Alex nodded quickly, his eyes never left hers. He felt his eyes roll back as she stroked him. He was holding back moans at this point, no need to alert anybody of their activities. His hands went back to her thighs, gliding up until he reached her center. "Damn you're wet already," he murmured against her lips. "Damn, I need you."

Ophelia bit her lip to muffle a small laugh that started to leave her as his eyes rolled back in his head. No doubt that was Alex. She started to speed up her strokes as soon as he started to move over her thighs. "You excite me." She chirps out softly against his lips before her hand started to slow to his next words. The need got her, mostly because that's all she seemed to do. Need him. "Please." The blonde breathed out. "I can't wait anymore."

Alex stifled a laugh at her small chirp. "Do I?" he asked. His voice felt more like his own. It was low and scratchy. At her first request, he was ready, angling her towards him before she could finish talking. He put his hands at her lower back. He slowly entered her, not needing to look down to know what he was doing. His forehead fell against hers as he did. "Fuck, Ophelia," he said softly. He thrusted once and immediately pressed his lips back to hers, needing to muffle any moans coming out of his throat.

Ophelia nodded ever so slightly against his lips. "Of course, how else would you explain that?" She asks before pecking his lips softly, hearing the tone of voice change slightly and it made her more excited. It was like it was actually Alex. His dominance never really left and that was evident when he pulled her the way he had, and she was more than ready for him to continue. Her hands moved to grip his shoulders as he pushed into her, a moan muffled behind her lips as she bit them closed. His forehead against hers made her heart nearly sing. "I told you, you excite me." She reiterated before he'd thrust finally. A moan started to leave her again and it was muffled by him, she'd never been happier.

Alex "It could be the body I'm in," he teased. He knew it wasn't. A moan from Ophelia vibrated against his lips when he thrusted. He pressed his fingers into her back harder. His thrusts quickened and another moan bubbled out of his throat. He pressed into her lips harder. He started to kiss down her jaw down to her neck. Moans coming out muffled against her skin. "Challenging you to be quiet. Can you do that?"

Ophelia shook her head fast, her eyes widening for a moment. She knew it was a joke, but she never wanted Marshall, it wasn't the body- it was Alex. She wanted Alex in any form. The digits in her back sent shivers up her spine and she couldn't help but roll her hips against him as he continued. The moan against her lips killed her. As he added pressure to their lips, she pushed back, gasping as he started to trial over her skin. His question surprised her, but she liked it. The blonde bit her lip for a moment before nodding to him as she thought about her answer. "Mhm.." The witch starts slightly weaker. "I think that might be able to happen.."

Alex smiled in satisfaction at her answer. The rolling of her hips against him caused him to moan heavily. "Fuck, Ophelia," he said weakly. He nipped at her neck. "Can you?" He kissed down her neck onto her collarbone, continuing to nip and suck at her skin. Challenge her to cover it up. He dragged his lips down to her chest and to her cleavage

Ophelia blushed again as he moaned, she felt proud. "Yes?" She asked teasingly after he'd moaned out her name. The nip to her neck made her muscles clench on him slightly, her body doing it almost involuntarily. "I'll have to hold them back or muffle them on you- but, of course." Her head started to fall to the side, exposing her neck to him more, a smile on her lips as she spoke however. Like she was proud to impress him. When he kissed her, she wished he could kiss her everywhere, but the chest was a lovely start.

Alex "You know what you did," he muttered, shaking his head weakly. He felt her muscles clench and smiled against her skin in satisfaction. "Perfectly fine with me," he said slowly. He pulled her dress down, fully exposing her breast and looked up to her with dark unblinking eyes. "You know you're beautiful." He cupped her breast and slid his tongue down toward her nipple. He closed his mouth around it, sucking and turning his eyes back up to hers again. He dragged his teeth very lightly downward then finally pulled back.

Ophelia shrugged innocently, gripping his shoulders as she did to remind him the innocence was just a look. "Good, you'll just have to make sure we don't mark you up." Without much warning he'd pulled her dress down and she met his eyes again. It was weird to have him compliment her, because it didn't sound like Alex. Ophelia loved that voice, so to hear him in Marshall was a little jarring. But she'd never bring it up. "Thank you." The girl said back softly as he'd started down her chest again. She was happy for once that the counter made her a bit taller than him. Her legs finally wrapped around his waist so she had something to stabilize her as she arched herself away from him slightly as he continued. She muffled a moan and moved her hands to tangle in his hair to pull him back after he'd nipped her, her lips crashing to his fast

Alex agreed with her about not getting marked up, though it killed him. He loved when she marked him. He'd almost forgotten it wasn't his body to be marked by her. Alex tried to speak as slowly and low as he could to sound most like himself. He'd worked for years to get rid of his accent, and only partially managed. He kissed back eagerly, missing her lips in the moments he'd strayed. Alex went back to thrusting, needing her around him, needing the tension to be released.

Ophelia could only hope he'd get back to his regular body soon, she didn't want to have to sneak around to be with him like this ever again. She needed nothing more than to have him like this, his lips on hers while she practically wrapped around him to be as close as possible with him. After a moment she parted their lips again, because she was doing her best not to give them away. "Close."

Alex missed his own body. As much as he'd always wished he could be Marshall as a kid, he wanted to be himself. He wanted his own familiarity, his voice, smell. piercingless tongue. Having sex with Ophelia made him almost forget what was going on. All he knew was they needed to be quiet. At her warning, he sped up the thrusts. He came hard, thrusting through his orgasm, his own moan of her name was muffled by their lips locked together.

Ophelia crashed her lips to his happily as he picked up pace. A moan left her lips onto his as he brought her to orgasm along with him. Her legs locked around him, keeping him as close as he could as she slowly moved away from his lips, but only his lips. "...I'd say I'm not done with you, but I don't think we have enough time.'

Alex pulled out, leaning against Ophelia. He would have been out of breath if he had working lungs. He chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I should get dressed in case Marshall is on his way back." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and walked toward his room. A shower would've been a good idea if he didn't mind seeing his brother naked, which he did. He dismissed that idea immediately and settled on washing his face and changing his clothes to something more him, i.e. a black t-shirt and jeans. He walked back out, feeling more comfortable now that he wasn't wearing his brothers high fashion.

Ophelia sighed at the loss slightly, trying to catch her breath as he fell against her. "Won't he think it's fishy we both changed?" She asks before returning the kiss. After a moment she started fixing her hair back in a messy bun, puling her bangs out a moment after. Next was her dress. There was no need for underwear so she just hopped off the counter and lifted a hand to clean the counter and put the food away. The clean up was done, her food plated and floating to the table as she walked towards their room again. Stopping in the doorway, a smirk curled the corners of her lips. "At least we didn't break the streak"

Alex shook his head. "Nah, he changed out of my clothes really quickly. Then again, they were sex clothes," he chuckled. He looked at her; messy bun and all, she was gorgeous. He was whipped. He looked up at her in the doorway. "Of course we didn't," he grinned and kissed her on the cheek as he walked by again. In a louder voice that he aimed toward the door, he called out "Marshall, if you don't get back here soon, I don't know what I'll do with Ophelia."

Ophelia blushed slightly. "So that's where my sweatpants went... Well- yours, but- mine." She smiled, already loving the fact that she could steal is clothes and call them hers, or even say 'their' room. "Does that make this the sex dress then?" The witch jokes gently as she caught his eyes again. Those piercing eyes. "You were the one pouting about streaks." She says while rolling her eyes as he kissed her cheek. A giggle escaped her as Alex called out to Marshall, and she couldn't help but move towards him, her hands moving to wrap around his waist in a hug. Her face buried in his chest, now he even smelled like Alex- which was important.

Alex "Your sweatpants?" he said, loving that she called them her own, but still deciding to be fake offended. "Our sweatpants," he said, before letting out a small laugh. He squinted his eyes before answering. "Yes, but as far as I know, Marshall doesn't do drag, so it should be safe," he chuckled. "Yeah, I was pouting about streaks, but we saved it." He grinned wider at her giggle, loving that laugh. He wrapped his arms around her, tightly in a hug, letting his chin rest on the top of her head. "You smell like sex," he muttered. "That's not good; normally it is."

Ophelia nodded a bit, a proud look on her face. "Yes, my sweatpants." The blonde says in a sure tone before he'd used the 'our'. "Well I can live with that." She agreed while giving a one shoulder shrug as he chuckled again. "I didn't mean for him- I'm saying for future reference." Her smirk turned slightly mischievous. "Well then I guess we've got this dress to thank for us not missing the streak." His comment to her smelling of sex made her pull away slowly. She wanted nothing more than to be buried in his embrace but it didn't last. "..Well something tells me I should shower then so your brother doesn't say the same thing." A sadder look moved to her face. "And I can't even offer a shower- that's sad." Ophelia pouted in the slightest bit

Alex grinned. "Our sweatpants," he said again. "Oh right, definitely the sex dress, but, just in case you're wondering, he's not going to steal your clothes." Alex grinned widely. He narrowed his eyes again at her mischievous look. He shook his head. "We would've found a way, with or without—" he pulled her close, putting a hand on her inner thigh, "your dress," he smirked. He sighed at her. "He wouldn't dare. He might get more suspicious if you do shower." He liked the smell on her. Also the thought of her showering when he didn't feel done with her after their last round made his chest hurt. He pecked her on the lips. "To shower or not to shower."

Ophelia felt weak in the knees at his grin. Damn him. "Finneee. Our sweatpants." She agreed before giggling slightly again. "I didn't think he was into dresses, he seems more into bow-ties." The blonde comments casually again before he'd pulled her back. A small gasp left her lips as she crashed into him. Her cheeks were hot, even her chest. "It was more fun with you requesting clothes." Everything was fun if you were doing it for someone else. "More suspicious? There's just no winning!" The blonde starts to protest again before she'd returned the peck. "I'd normally say shower but I love showers best wit you.."

Alex "I don't know if bowties are much better. The fucking pretentious ass," he rolled his eyes. He chuckled proudly, holding her close from the back and gradually dragging his hands up her thighs. "The dress does compliment your eyes. No denying that," he whispered against her ear before kissing her neck and backing off of her with all of his willpower. He smiled as she returned his peck. "Yeah. I'd just be standing out here. Waiting. Knowing you were in there. It would be agony."

Ophelia giggled slightly at his reaction. "Bowties are fine, but dresses are better. Obviously." That laugh and how it accompanied his hands had her heart starting to speed up, and she couldn't help but blush again. Like she wanted to shy away and be coy but she couldn't. He had her blushing constantly anymore. It must've been the honeymoon phase but she was fine with that too. "Flowers and Blue, who would've guessed?" The blonde joked before her eyes fluttered close as he kissed her neck. She was heartbroken when he pulled away and the sigh that left her made her brows fall. "So we're risking smelling like sex..because we don't want to be caught having sex. Sounds fake. But okay- lame, but okay. "

Marshall got in enough words to have Harley understand what was going on, he even kissed her on the cheek before he'd heard Alex from down the way. With a heavy amount of 'get up and go' he was back down the hall in moments. Like he never even left. He was just scared his brother would do something stupid with his body. "Don't do something we'll both regret." The man called out through a cringe as he got back to the door and let himself in. When he passed through the doorway the pair had just parted and his eyes narrowed on them for a moment. "..I wasn't gone all that long, nothing happened right?"

Alex nodded in agreement. "Obviously dresses are better. On you. You probably won't catch me wearing one." The warmth of her skin made him want to start over again, kissing her neck, dragging his hands all the way up. He heard Marshall coming, though. It killed him to back away. He grinned, shaking his head. "Lame as shit. I agree. We'll make up for lost time," he promised. He looked up as his brother walked in. "Look at her," Alex sighed. "I don't think I could regret doing a single thing," he said biting his lip and kissing her on the cheek before noticing the hickey on her collarbone and didn't react. Alex looked at Ophelia, knowingly, though no expression was on his face. "Pretty sure you would've heard us," he responded.

Ophelia 's eyes shifted as she thought about the idea of him in a dress. "You could probably still make it work." She notes, giving a shrug. His fingers felt like ice against her, plus his plush pillow lips on her neck meant that she was done for. How she wished Marshall had taken his time to speak with Harley. "I'll be holding you to that day in bed." She nods, before turning to see Marshall. His compliment making her feel fuzzy, well that, and the kiss to her cheeks. Her eyes met his and she ended up taking his hand, tangling their fingers casually before turning back to Marshall. "I promise nothing happened. The most that did happen was a bit of kissing because there's no way I'm not doing that when i live him." It was her most casual attempt to assure Alex's brother he didn't break his promise.

Marshall looked between them with suspicious eyes. They were so lovey in the first part that he honestly didn't know if they had or hadn't. Her slight smell change and literal change of clothes had him skeptical, but his brother had also changed and he didn't want to read into that at all. "I believe her over you for some reason." The vampire said while waving his hand. "Do we get back to looking or just live out our days here as each other and hope it goes back?"

Alex 's eyes shifted as well. "What about high heels?" he joked lightly. He rolled his eyes lightly as she also assured Marshall of their innocence. She lied to his brother for him. It made him love her more. He squeezed her hand when she tangled their fingers together. "Little kissing," he confirmed. "Only on the lips," he assured his brother. "That's not surprising," he shrugged. He turned back to Ophelia with pleading eyes. Especially after what Marshall almost walked in on.

Ophelia nodded excitedly. "I'd love to see you in high heels, actually. To see if you could even work them." The squeeze to her hand made her smile and she returned it easily. She lifted her attention from Marshall and got pleading eyes. "Let's find something to see if we can get this back to normal.." Pulling Alex with her, she started towards the rest of the books. "I'm sure we can end this"

Alex "I could make high heels work," he assured her with a broad grin. He felt relaxed as she squeezed his hand back. "Awesome." He let himself get pulled along behind her. He sat down at the table, grabbing a book off the top of the pile that he didn't recognize, feeling a slight shock as he opened it. He had more motivation to find answers now. "isn't there a way to google this stuff?" he asked, slightly impatient.

Marshall made his way to the table where he'd sat before, starting up in another book. He could only hope that this witch could find something to help them. And fast. There was no way he could stand seeing his body being used for mushy-gushy stuff with his brother and his girlfriend. Not when he was just getting back on a friend base with his brother. "Sure- a kiss- whatever." He chuckled slightly, shaking his head. "I'm pretty sure no book has 'google'.. But if you know of online sites for spell casting please do bring one up."

Ophelia let out a small laugh. "I could've guessed." The blonde said before nodding a bit. She ended up sitting at the table again, scanning through the books like she had earlier. "Sorry- just reading." She commented in passing before getting through an entire book just to throw it over her head and have it land on the coffee table in the living room. Immediately she grabbed another book and started again, she got about half way through before she pulled back with a gasp. "No way!" She exclaimed before taking the book towards the kitchen again.

Alex deadpanned at his brother. "No shit, a book doesn't have google," he muttered. He looked up at Ophelia's outburst. "Tell me, now. Please," he begged, leaning back in his chair to crane his neck toward her. "Do I get changed back? Does it require me to wear a dress? Speak now, O."

Ophelia squealed in excitement as she started around the kitchen. Quickly she put a pot filled half way with water on the stove, and lit a flame under it just to double back out of the kitchen again. "I need ingredients from my place. If all goes well.. You guys should be back soon. If this is the spell they used." She gave a shrug and started towards her place again. A few minutes passed and she came back with a bag of jars. She followed the recipe, adding eye of newt and the scale of a dragon, among other things, and then she called the boys to the kitchen. "To finish it I need you both to spit in the pot or drop hair in or something and then you both have to drink a glass..."

Alex chuckled a little bit as she squealed. "What if it isn't the spell they used?" he asked curiously, slightly worried. He trusted her more than anyone else, but he didn't really trust anyone else, so that wasn't saying much. Alex stood up and bit his cheek before spitting in the pot. "Finally, I'll get back to my normal fucking tongue," he muttered loud enough for his brother to here him.

Ophelia shrugged. "Then nothing happens." The blonde says as she keeps going, the pot starting to bubble. It was a murky brown-green color and she sniffed it once Alex spit in it. "One more and it's done." She chirped out happily again.

Marshall curled his lip at the idea of drinking something with his and his brothers spit in it. But still, he was going to participate. "Shove off with your tongue comments. You're lucky I didn't go get yours done." He says with a roll of his eyes before spitting into the pot. "I'm trusting you to get us back to how we were." The older twin says looking to the blonde as she worked.

Ophelia grinned as the stew started to glow. She stirred it a few times and started to spit it up into two cups. "If this is what they did- a different version even, this should get you back. If not, we can try something else. And hope for no gills." Her tone was serious even whens he was joking so she had to add to it. "That's a joke people."

Alex "If you did, I'd take it the fuck out," he responded to his brother. "I'm drinking a bottle of mouthwash after this," he muttered, holding the cup in front of his face. "An entire bottle of mouthwash. Then taking a shower to wash the Marshall off me." He clinked his glass against his brother's and held it up to his lips before pinching his nose and chugging the entire thing in one gulp.

Marshall rolled his eyes slightly at his brother. "You'd still be in pain." He comments with a smirk on his lips. "You and Me both." His skin was crawling just looking at the mixture. "Let's just make sure we all get our own things back after all of this." They clinked glasses, he gave a nod, and downed the glass just to set it back on the counter.

Ophelia bit her lip, looking between the boys. "Okay well.. If it works, you guys might pass out. Fun fact." She comments as she waited to see if they'd start to get dizzy or just black out and fall over

Alex swallowed and put the glass down on the counter. "Oh fuck, that's gross!" He grimaced, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Oh well, I should be near a couch," Alex muttered and started to walk but collapsed on the way over.

Marshall only agreed with a grimace, shaking his head as he tried to shake the flavor from his tongue. "What the hell was in that thing?" He didn't even get a step behind his brother before he fell out behind him.

Ophelia gasped as they both collapsed, her hands moving to cover her mouth. "..I didn't think it would happen that fast." She mumbles to herself before getting to her knees to pull Alex 's head to her legs so he was resting on something instead of just having his head on the floor after he'd fallen. "Sorry... I hope this works." She was basically talking to herself but she could really only wait for them to wake up now

Alex should've ached more from collapsing on the hard floor. He should have felt the hard floor. He didn't feel that. His eyelids fluttered and he looked up at Ophelia, realizing he was laying in her lap. He gave her a tired smile. "Did it work?" he asked. He heard his own voice and scraped his teeth across his tongue. He poked her lips. "I missed seeing you through my eyes." He sat up on his own looking at Marshall's passed out body. "Ah, look at my brother. Peaceful. Not breathing. He looks dead. Do I look that dead when I'm sleeping?" he asked Ophelia worriedly.

Ophelia had a worried look on her face until Alex started to wake up, and she gasped again, her eyes growing a bit wider. It would've been awkward if he woke up as Marshall again. "I think so.." She said as her expression started to relax and a smile slowly started to spread over her lips. The poke making her blush. "I missed you being you." The blonde jokes as her thumb brushed over his cheek gently. When he sat up she practically tackled him down again, her arms ducking under his in a hug. Her head turned to look at Marshall and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "I mean... you're the living dead, Al. So if you're sleeping you look peaceful, but you also- you know- you're not moving. It's nice for being a pillow though?"

Marshall woke up a few minutes after his brother, rubbing his head as he did. "Please let me be me again." He mumbled to himself before looking to his side to see the lovely couple getting back to being just that. And he was looking at Alex, which meant he was back as himself. "Ohsweetbabyjesusthankgod" The man blurted out fast before falling back again slowly with his arm raised in praise. "Ophelia you're a miracle worker."

Harley walked in her eyebrows furrowed a bit as she stared at the three people in the room, scratching her temple. "Okay, but seriously the Freaky Friday shit still going on? Or can I actually like kiss you now with out being repulsed?" She pointed to Marshall or whoever was in Marshall's body, though her body felt it's signature pull as she stared at her sire, blue eyes meeting his brown. "Instinctively I say yes, but if there's anything left of that dick in you, I need to know," she used her thumb to point at the youngest Chamberlain.

Alex smiled happily as she stroked his cheek. He squeezed her as she tackled him, laughing a little bit. He frowned when she told him he looked dead. "That's unfortunate," he said. Marshall waking up made him snicker a bit. He stared at Marshall, waiting for it to hit him that he was in the right body. He looked at Ophelia proudly. "Good job, babe." He kissed her cheek. The grin on his face faded when he heard Harley's voice. "I hear a baby crying incessantly. Marshall, please shut it up, will you?"

Ophelia practically melted into him as he squeezed her, though she pulled back again just in time to see his pout. "No, you look peaceful. I've watched." She admits in passing before looking to Marshall. A blush fell to her cheeks as she got the compliment from both of the boys. "Thanks, guys." She comments in a softer tone, her face scrunching slightly as Alex kissed her cheek. Her head turned after a moment to have her eyes land on Harley, and she actually had to cover her mouth at Alex's comment so she wouldn't laugh. "Alex." The blonde commented like a parent while smacking his arm gently. "Not nice, she's just worried about him like I was you."

Marshall slowly sat back up as he heard Harley's voice now in the room. "I'm not Alex anymore." He says while shaking his head 'no', his eyes locking on Harley until Alex piped up and his eyes drifted to his brother. "Fuck right off." His tone was stern, eyes squinted for a moment as he started to get up to walk over to Harley. It was only then did he really feel his head and he actually got dizzy for a moment. "Damn, that stuff really got me with the floor."

Alex would've teased her about watching him sleep, but he did the same. "Whoa, wait. Did you kiss her in my body?" Alex asked with a troubled look on his face. "Mouthwash. Shower. Fuck," he muttered, looking to Ophelia. He hadn't kissed her since being back in his own body. Her being on his lap made it nearly impossible to get up for anything, so he wasn't going to bother. He grinned widely at his brother and Ophelia after his comment, even after being smacked in the arm. "Luckily, you broke my fall. Thanks for that. Protecting me as you always have."

Harley smirked giving Ophelia a small wink, looking back to her sire with a soft smile. "Good," she murmured, moving a couple inches in, kicking her shoes off at the door. She may of hated Alex but she would respect his place. Wriggling her eyebrows at Alex as Marshall scolded him. She blinked as Marshall got up to move, only to stop, clearly looking dizzy. "Sit back down, love," she murmured, leading him back to the couch, gently brushing his hair back a bit. Kissing his cheek. "You need some blood," she muttered softly, stroking his chin just a bit. "Relax, I got some in my bag," she eyed Alex. She thought about offering Alex some but she hadn't gotten back to quite liking him yet. Tugging a thermos out of her bag, she popped the cap. "Here," she murmured, handing it to him.

Marshall shook his head fast. "Yeah right, mate. And let you kiss her again? Yeah fucking right." He said while rubbing the back of his head, moving to sit on the arm rest of the couch as Harley approached him. This kiss to his cheek surprised him, but he let it happen. His eyes drifting to Alex's in that moment to catch his reaction fast. "Uh-- thank you." The vampire smiled to her after a moment, taking her thermos from her just to sip it and hand it back. "It wasn't a blood thing, more of a 'whatever she put in that brown goop' thing."

Ophelia waved to Harley as she winked at her. "Hey." She said softly. She pretended she didn't really hear Alex's mutter because she was with others, but her cheeks gave her away as they tinted a darker pink fast before going back to normal. The grin made her roll her eyes. That stupid grin. "I didn't really break it. You fell, I just happened to pick you up once you fell and placed you on my lap. Though I did try to leave some healing up here when I played with your hair." The witch references while running a hand through his hair again. "But I will be here for protection.."

Alex found himself relieved when Marshal shook his head. He rolled his eyes at Harley's entering his apartment. He found himself squeezing Ophelia tighter to him when she sent her a wink. "Waking up to your face was still very nice, so thank you for that," he said gently. He looked over at Harley. "There's a minimum age of 18 in my apartment. Pretty sure you don't fit the requirement," Alex muttered as Harley kicked off her shoes and walked further inside. He scrunched his nose in disgust as he saw her coddling his brother, making eye contact with Marshall and rolling his eyes. He turned back to Ophelia. "We're not that gross, are we? Not that repulsive?"

Harley smiled to Ophelia, "Hey, when you got time, I found the right ring," she smiled, before turning her attention back to the less attractive male in the room, at least by her opinion. Pursing her lips, just a bit before turning her back to him. "See, I figure you'd think more highly of your brother and realize he's not a pedophile, but think what you want," she hummed. Staring at Marshall. "Brown goop," she muttered. "I don't want to know," she added, sitting on the couch as she tugged her skirt down keeping her eyes on Marshall, not wanting to look at the other two in the room mostly Alex. "Either way blood my help the weird whatever feeling."

Ophelia 's stomach fluttered as he pulled her closer to him. "No problem, the plan was to make waking up easier. It would've been a little awkward if Marshall woke up on my dress instead." The blonde comments with a small giggle. "Oh c'mon, Alex." The witch playfully smacked his chest, looking over to him at his question. "We're probably worse because we actually like each other currently." Her eyes lifted to the other blonde again. "We can probably finish that ring here and now actually, since I already have a base goop in there." The witch teased gently before realizing something. "You know.. with this swap... we've all kissed each other."

Marshall rolled his eyes, ready to leave, though there was talk of more goop and rings so he knew he wasn't leaving any time soon. "Can we please stop calling Harley a child? It's nauseating." He comments, rubbing the bridge of his nose to not look at anyone anymore. "The brown goop got us back in our bodies, but whatever Ophelia put into it was bin worthy, really."

Alex chuckled as Ophelia smacked him again. He rolled his eyes heavily at Harley. "I think lowly of everyone. It makes the reality so much less disappointing." He looked back to Ophelia. "No, but we're not gross," he protested. The more that Ophelia and Harley talked to each other the more he felt like fully shielding Ophelia from Harley's view. He looked at Harley with a strange look. "Please don't remind me," he said weakly.

Harley laughed just a bit, not the least bit jealous by this fact, Ophelia was a hell of a kiss so was Marshall, but in her mind if anything happened during the switch it really didn't matter cause it wasn't actually Marshall. Staring back at Alex, she crossed her arms just a bit. "Hey buttercup it was your idea," she shrugged. Crossing her legs as she sat on the couch staring at Ophelia. "I got the ring in my bag," she murmured. Leaning forward to dig through it, pulling out the small ring, it had a black sapphire dead set in the middle with silver and flecks of rose gold detailing it. Standing up she smiled towards Marshall. "We both know I'm not a kid," she smirked towards him. "Do you feel like you're going to be sick? Or is the blood helping?"

Ophelia perked up slightly. "Except me." She chirped out proudly to counter Alex's remark about thinking lowly of everyone. Her eyes fell back on him and she couldn't help but shake her head, a smile pulling on her lips. "As a person who normally hates human contact.. We're pretty gross." Quickly she kissed his cheek to distract him before looking back to Harley. "Ignoring that goop comment- lemme see the ring." Her hand extended outwards towards the other blonde and she can't help but laugh. "No one here is a kid. Though- I think you are the youngest out of all of us.."

Marshall shuttered slightly. "You're pretty gross." He comments while trying not to smile because he was actually happy his brother was happy for once. "What ring?" The older vampire asks curiously as he looked between the two girls. "I hit my head on the floor and drank some goop, I don't think anyone feels fine after goop." Was all he said before sitting back up, fixing his glasses back on his face. "It should stop soon since Alex seems hunky dory." A small smile finally appearing on his lips.

Alex squeezed Ophelia closer as she piped up. "Are we gross enough to scare them out of here?" he asked her, turning to catch Ophelia's eyes. He ignored Marshall's comment. "I feel fine, but Ophelia's probably done something to help that," he shrugged. "Buttercup?" he asked, offended. "And you went along with it," he retorted back at Harley.

Harley shrugged just a bit. "You remind me of Buttercup, tiny and full of rage," she piped up. "Well, I did-- and I have accepted that, so enough with the kid jokes," she muttered, looking back to Marshall. "Ophelia offered to make me a ring like yours," she handed the ring to Ophelia grinning. "I sort of thrive being the youngest, I don't know why, I've always been the youngest in basically everything, it's how the fucking dice always land."

Ophelia took the ring from the girl as Alex hugged her closer. "I doubt we are." She comments to Alex softly, off to the side, before kissing his cheek again and catching his eyes. The voices started to grow in a room with other people but as soon as she caught his eyes they started to quiet again. "I did- sorry." The blonde perks up, tearing her eyes from Alex to look to Marshall to say her sorry. Her eyes dropped to the ring after a moment and she smiled back to Harley. "This is cute, it'll be a nice daylight ring. C'mon." The blonde said while tapping Alex's shoulder before standing up. "We'll get started"

Marshall looked between Alex and Harley. "Can I please not be here while you both play the blame game about kissing?" He adds fast. His eyes follow the ring and he nods to the words of the girls. "No problem.. But it sounds like we'll all be able to go outside in the day time soon, so that's lovely."

Alex shook his head at Harley and then looked to his brother. "You and Harley are welcome to leave whenever you like," Alex muttered. He felt a little better when she kissed his cheek, and more when she looked into his eyes. He could feel her relax as well. Alex grunted as Ophelia stood up. "I'm fairly certain that Ophelia and I have other plans that don't involve sunlight, after she makes the daylight ring, so." He stood up as well, stretching. He'd prefer it that Ophelia didn't make the daylight ring, but part of him could vaguely remember his first days without his ring. It was tough. If he had more empathy, he'd care that Harley couldn't go into the sunlight

Harley smirked just a bit. "I felt instantly drawn to it the moment I saw it, so I figure the ring I'll never take off again better be something I love," she shrugged. Looking back to Marshall. "Sorry," she uttered, shrugging her shoulders just a bit. "Seems so," she moved to follow Ophelia easily stepping around Alex, keeping a few inches between them, not even looking at him as her an Ophelia walked. Moving to rest her hands on the back of her head. Her her heart could beat it would show how nervous she was about the whole process. "Well after my ring is made I'll leave if you fucking want," she bit back, staring at Alex, eyebrows knitted together, before looking back to Marshall. Biting back a very catty remark as she shoved her firsts into her leather jacket, finally moving to meet Ophelia again.

Alex felt instantly uncomfortable as Harley stepped between him and Ophelia and looked at her with alarmed eyes. "Good, great. Take your jolly sweet time returning too. Honestly, no rush coming back here."

Ophelia smiled happily towards the girl. "Good choice." The witch agrees as she led the other blonde to the kitchen. She was actually surprised when she stopped near the stove and Alex wasn't directly behind her but she didn't think that much of it. While the others bickered, she ended up dumping her little pot and starting a new recipe, the ring in the bottom as she added more on top of it. By now she'd remembered about half the recipe, however because she needed help- her hand lifted and her nearest book opened to the correct page where she read and continued. "Now now, girls, one of you is my love and the other is a possible friend which I don't do normally so..." She stopped to look over her shoulder at the two. "Be nice. For me?" Her final words matched with her eyes that aimed for Alex's.

Marshall was actually happy it wasn't him bickering for once. He took his silence and headache and ended up following the others into the kitchen. "Since we're having a little... gathering in here."

Harley hummed, staring into his eyes. Not able to hold back any and all catty comments. "I mean-- after all, it would be better if I weren't in yours or Marshall's lives so maybe I won't return," she shrugged. Looking back to Marshall, with a soft smile. It was clear that was far beyond the truth, she was trying. Still Alex knew how to get under her skin. Licking her lips she looked down again, her mouth suddenly feeling dry after those words. She looked back to Ophelia, rubbing her fingers over her shirt as she pursed her lips. Peering between her and Alex, moving to find a place on the opposite end of the kitchen and away from the other Chamberlain brother. Her eyes darting up to see Marshall. "You feeling better?"

Alex met her gaze and relaxed a little bit. He was still not the biggest fan of Harley. "If by nice, you mean quiet, then sure," he said grudgingly, crossing his arms and leaning back on his counter. He looked over at Marshall when he'd entered. "Now it's a party," Alex muttered sarcastically.

Alex said nothing back to Harley, letting her have her pity party by herself. He relaxed when Harley was farther away. He scooted closer to Ophelia in her absence.

Ophelia smiled a bit as he backed down slightly and moved in closer to her. "Thank you." She said to him off to the side before lifting a finger to light the contents of the pot on fire with a flick of his wrist. "Annnddd..Sorry." The witch started before moving to pull a strand of hair from Harley's head and throw it into the fire. It started a slow burn over the ring and she ended up moving back to hug him again as she waited for it to stop. "I love parties." She commented in a slightly dazed tone as her head fell against his chest.

Marshall shook his head, placing his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the door frame of the kitchen. "Yeah, it's going away." He nods, a small smile playing on his lips as he answered her. His eyes dropped to the pot on fire and his brows raised. "The faster that dies the faster we leave, right?"

Alex nodded at Ophelia, though she'd already turned around, so she couldn't see it. He squeezed her closer, feeling immediately better about the amount of people around him now that Ophelia was hugging him. He rested his chin on the top of her head. He looked at Marshall, relieved for his brother that his headache was going away. He noticed the smile and recognized it. Same smile. Same look Alex got around Ophelia. There was something about Harley that Alex had never experienced, never seen. He trusted Marshall's judgment, even if Marshall didn't trust his judgement. If Marshall cared about her, there was something worth caring about.

Harley winced as a piece of hair was tugged from her head, blinking just a bit as she tilted her head, watching the water boil with her hair in it, licking her lips as her eyes darted back up towards Marshall with a soft smile. "I'm glad," she uttered, giving a softly shrug. "Hopefully," she murmured. Her smile growing a bit as her eyes stayed on her sire's from across the room. Not breaking even as the two in between them seemed to cuddle against each other. Chewing her lip just a bit more, she swore if her cheeks could redden they would right now with the feeling that her stomach was getting. Butterflies were an ever growing thing in her life now that he was back in it.

Marshall chuckled slightly as Ophelia took the hair from Harley, her wince making his face contort slightly. "Me too. You alright?" He asks curiously, finding it funny the tables had turned. "I don't think we'll all be getting along for a while, but that's alright too, because I actually don't want to be around anyone. Most times." The man said before scratching his head again. "How long will this fire take to burn off? Can we leave and come back for the ring?"

Ophelia 's fingers gripped his back slightly as she felt him lay his chin on her head and he squeezed her closer. Now she just had to wait for the fire to burn off, which was fitting. "It shouldn't take too long but it's not even wearable until it's not hot so, you could leave and come back for it?" The blonde shrugs slightly, not moving from Alex at all

Harley bit her lip, tilting her head her blue eyes not leaving his, slowly moving towards him. "I'm fine, one less hair, more of a surprise really," she smirked. "Nah, I don't think so either. I feel that, I'm not the best around people, unless I'm hungry," she uttered, finding his pull even stronger as it seemed so easy to talk to him, though she did miss their slight flirty banter. It seemed like they were fitting just a bit better than before. Looking to Ophelia as his question was answered, she found her hand slowly slipping into into his. Licking her lips she looked up to him. "Let's go," she nodded. "I really would like to go."

Alex stayed quiet again. He'd already voiced his wishes for Harley and Marshall to leave. He felt better with Ophelia's arms around him. Not to mention the way that Marshall and Harley interacted. It was cute to see Marshall show some interest. He'd crashed a few of Marshall's weddings; actually, he'd crashed all of Marshall's weddings. It was clear that Harley was something special for him. He hid a slight smile at Harley's urging to go. He looked over at Marshall knowingly. Alex was a little bit relieved he hadn't completely ruined everything between Marshall and Harley as Harley had said before.

Marshall was surprised that she'd pulled his hand from his pocket, but he just shrugged, giving Alex a look as he went with it. "Well I guess we're going then." He comments as he squeezed Harley's hand in passing. "I'll see you later then, thanks for switching us back." The vampire said through a smaller smile again as he waved to his brother and Ophelia with his free hand while leading Harley out of the apartment.

#alexanderxchamberlain #ophelialange #alphelia #bmomd #wildoneharley

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